Away in a Tentacle Lair

11. Leo

Chapter eleven

Leo

W e snuggle on the bed as the afternoon sun casts a warm light across us. Kai rests against me as I draw lazy circles across his bare back. I’ve never had a moment like this after sleeping with someone. I know I play on the harder side of a one-night stand, so the aftercare has always been important, but this is more than simply putting him back together. This is both of us wanting to spend time with each other. I should be out there trying to secure a job at the marine centre to stay here and see where this relationship goes—hopefully moving forward towards deserving those three words that popped out of my mouth earlier.

"Hey," Kai chuckles, nudging my shoulder with his cheek. "Lighten up. You're frowning like you're trying to solve the mysteries of the deep blue sea."

I can't help but smile at his playful jab.

"Guess I'm just caught in a bit of a moral dilemma," I admit, meeting his gaze. "It's about the marine centre."

"Ah, your preferred employment is the bane of my family’s existence," he murmurs, propping himself up on one elbow to give me his undivided attention. “I would say it doesn’t matter where you work, but you’d know that was a lie.

"It's complicated," I begin.

All I can offer is the promise that we’ll find a way to work it out.”

"I mean, on the one hand, working there will be this incredible opportunity, right? To learn, to make a difference. But then..." I pause. “It feels like I'm choosing between my dream job and... you."

Kai exhales slowly, the warmth of his breath tickling my skin. “There’s the ethics, too. You could pick me and have a happy life here.”

“You know you couldn’t be happy with me if I worked there, and neither could your family.”

"Leo," he says, sliding onto his knees, "whatever you decide, I'm with you. Your dreams, your values—they're part of who you are. And who you are is someone I care about deeply. I won’t tell you the only way we can be happy is if you give up your dreams."

"Thanks, Kai," I reply, feeling gratitude for this man. "That means everything."

He lies down again, and I return, tracing constellations on Kai's skin, my fingers dancing across the warm canvas of his back, when he breaks the silence with a dreamer's whisper.

"If you choose to walk away from the marine centre, you won’t struggle for money," Kai muses. I have enough for both of us. We could spend our days diving into the heart of the ocean, just you and me. We could chase the currents, explore hidden reefs, and sleep under a blanket of stars.

"I’d like that very much, but I need some time to figure this out in my mind before I decide anything," I reply, trying to keep my tone light, but I can feel my smile falter. The idea of giving up my dreams for a one-night stand is terrifying. I’ve fallen hard for the man in my arms, but I need a longer, more secure relationship.

Kai rolls over, his gaze earnest and searching. "I know. You need to give it a lot of thought, and I’m not pushing you; I just want to answer the questions I know you have flitting through your head," he says softly. "I’ll shut up now and just grind against you until you decide to be mine.”

He ends his speech by keeping his promise, rocking his hips against my thigh. “But just because I’m keeping quiet doesn’t mean you have to.”

“You haven’t managed to keep quiet yet,” I remind him.

“No, but I have managed the humping part,” he mutters in a cheeky tone. “Priorities.”

The simplicity of his vision is tempting, a stark contrast to my aspirations. But Kai doesn't push; he lets the idea linger between us like a buoy bobbing on gentle waves. Rhythmic, like his cock rubbing against my leg, annoying me with the friction on his clothing.

“If I don’t discover what is living in the bay, I probably won't get offered the position anyway.” That doesn’t stop my dilemma, though. This job is only one part of my dream. If I pick Kai over my dreams, I’ll have to give up finding my place in another marine centre worldwide. There isn’t any point in asking him if he’ll come with me. Although he is already living his dreams, I don’t think his family would let him go. Am I willing to fight them all for him?

“Stop thinking about it,” Kai grumbles, sounding sleepy. “Your fingers were nice.”

I realise I’ve stopped working my fingers across his skin. Determined to enjoy this man while he is here and only let our future concern me when alone, I return to gently touching his bare skin.

“What was the first thing you noticed about me?” I ask, trying to use our connection to ground myself.

“Stalker in a wetsuit,” Kai laughs, his head resting on my chest. “It was your eyes first time because everything else was covered in your wetsuit.”

“Well, I didn’t want to freeze my nuts off.”

“Oh, I see. That was the first thing you noticed about me?” Kai says in a hurt tone, but we both know it's not true.

“The first thing I saw was your feet,” I confess. “No flippers. Then no air tank. I’m attracted to insanity.”

“That would sound far more sexy if you were attracted to how long I can go airtight for.”

“Never thought of that.” But now it’s all I want to think about. “A ten-minute blow job sounds pretty appealing.”

"It does, and you’ll have the pleasure of being my first," he grins, but then his eyes flick to the clock, and it's like a spell's been broken. He bolts upright, a flurry of tanned limbs in his urgency. "Shit, look at the time! My family's curfew—"

"Again?" I can't keep the question from spilling out. It's the same rush as the first night we met, the panic that grips him when the hands of the clock dictate it's time to return to his other life—one I'm not quite part of, not yet.

"Old habits," he says, throwing me a rueful smile over his shoulder as he scurries around, gathering his belongings. "You know how it is."

Do I, though?

I frown, but I force it away as quickly as it comes. Kai's presence and support are more than I could've hoped for, but as the door clicks shut behind him, I’m left in the sudden, stretching quiet, I can't shake the feeling that there's more to Kai Briareus that I'm still waiting to uncover.