Citrine (Deliverance #3)

29. Eli

29

Eli

Even though he's an alien, he has the same glossed-over look in his eyes my exes had when they were listening to me rant, though I should praise him for staying perfectly still while listening to me.

I can't tell if I've just dated men with undiagnosed ADHD or I'm just a parrot because it was quite regular for them to stand up and walk around, some avoiding a conversation all together. I have once heard the phrase pretty girls shouldn't talk before.

Sadly, while the misogyny in the statement I reject, I can't deny that my running mouth is a problem.

Still, the words spill out like water bursting from a reservoir. It doesn't help that my brain is constantly working overtime to churn out more thoughts and my anxiety heightens the more he touches me.

I can vividly feel every move he makes and the slightly rough suckers on his tentacles. I don't know if he's doing this intentionally.

No. I doubt he is. This is completely foreign territory for him.

My body is shivering from the inside out. There's an instinct, a desire bursting from deep inside my body beneath my blubbering foolishness, waiting to break out of my skin. I can feel it in every touch, every caress.

"W-Wroahk?" I ask, surprised by how light my voice is.

I feel his chest rumble, deeper than any man's I've ever rested on. He's speaking again.

"What is it?" he clicks back, his tone surprisingly soft.

"I… never mind."

"You do not hesitate to speak your mind, but now you pause?"

"Well, it's… I can't explain it. I feel strange."

"Do you hurt?"

I hesitate to reply. My breath is caught in my throat and the sensations build.

Heat pools to the lower part of my body as I try to form a coherent thought. He's right. Normally, it's hard to render me speechless. And it's not like I haven't felt desire before, but he is not the least bit human. And an asshole.

"I… don't."

"Your body is becoming warmer. Why?"

"I don't know, not really."

"Do you only know useless things?"

That one hurts.

My padre used to praise me as smart, but maybe all those years of mediocrity have eroded it all. Here I am. Stranded on an alien planet, and I feel horny as hell. It's so ridiculous, I would laugh if I could get rid of the lump in my throat.

"I guess I don't know a lot, at least not much that helps when I'm here."

"I see. Do you keep speaking because you wish to know more?"

He surprises me, again. He is so alien, not understanding my culture at all, but somehow still insightful. I twirl around and stare at him. He stares back, unafraid, unabashed.

"Yes. My mind is always wanting to know more. I'm on a different planet! Right now, aside from wondering how to freaking escape, my mind is burning to know just how this planet moves. Do the same laws of gravity apply? I mean, they must, I suppose. But what more about this planet do we need to know to survive? To thrive?"

"You know so many words and ask so many questions, yet you have no answers. Your curiosity is never sated. Why?"

I smile up at him and caress his face. His skin feels strange under my palm, but it doesn't irk me anymore. His eyes are clear, but if I look deeper, there's just a hint of curiosity. An octo-shark-dolphin-man with more power in one tentacle to crush me to mush is curious about… me.

"Wroahk, why don't we move beyond the lake? Explore?"

His clear eyes darken almost immediately.

"No."

Well, it was worth a shot. There's not that much curiosity in his eyes, it seems.

"That's fine."

I can always convince him later.

He slinks off my body and drags a trail back out to the lake, which he does frequently so he won't dry out. He seems amphibian, maybe, but the feel of his skin is closer to a marine animal. I wonder what else makes him different from me.

Now that I know I'm safe with him, I don't like when he leaves me alone.

I follow his trail and find him floating along the surface of the river. He is splashing around, like his tentacles were lubricating. I'm wondering if he stores water in his tentacles to stay longer on land. I'm also wondering why he's doing all this to stay by my side.

I sit by the shore and watch him. Not all the rocks are sharp, though it is hard finding a good spot at first, but I find it. He sees me as I sit and draws closer, staring at me from the edge of the water. I watch his tentacles move, entranced by their floatation. I'm tempted to ask, but I just watch.

A sight that speaks many words. I understand it now.

"Why are you watching me?"

He barely ever initiates conversation. Perhaps he's changing.

"I'm wondering how the water feels."

I'm not. I'm more curious about what he'll say.

"You can come in."

He's inviting me into the water. His voice is loud enough for me to hear over the waves and the crying giant birds, but not harsh on my ears. It sounds like he's projecting, like echolocation. What a splendid evolutionary trait. I don't quite sound like that when I speak.

I mean, he obviously understands me, but I'm missing something that gives my voice the same resonance. I want to be able to do that too, although everyone will tire of my yapping even faster if I did.

"I can't swim very well."

"You won't drown."

I look back at his tentacles as he speaks. They seem sturdy enough to hold me above water, so I choose to trust him. I stand on the rocks and tread carefully, mindful of my poorly protected feet. This black suit is great and all, but the 'shoes' leave something to be desired.

I get to the edge of the water, and he stretches a tentacle out, wrapping it around me. I feel weightless as he lifts me up and gently brings me into the water.

It feels warm upon contact, but colder as my body moves below the surface. He holds onto me carefully as he swims, swirling the water as we move. He doesn't say anything as we just float on the water.

"Do you need the water to live?"

"Yes. I don't like it."

"Really? But you need it."

"I don't have to like it."

He seems irritated, yet his hold remains gentle.

"It tastes disgusting, and it feels disgusting."

"I'm sorry."

I don't know what to say, though I can certainly relate.

Instead, I reach out a hand waiting for him to move into it, and comfort him, running my hands along his upper arms as he tentatively asks and then mimics my gentle shoulder strokes.

Each touch making both of us breath a little heavier.

We stay like that for a while before we get out and head back to the cove. It seemed like I was right about him retaining water in his skin to be able to last longer on land, although it looks very uncomfortable with some of his suckers swollen.

I find sustenance for myself and sit by the tree, finishing the fruit I collected. I will worry about finding proper food for later. He sits right next to me, his tentacle wrapped around my waist. He still hadn't let go of me since we left the water. For some reason, I offer him a piece one of the fruit.

He gives me a look of disgust, or I assume so based on context so far, tossing it away with his free tentacle. I chuckle and continue eating, pausing mid chew as an idea forms in my head.

"Why don't you try tasting it? You said the fish tastes disgusting, so I was wondering if you might want to eat something else."

"Don't want."

He's so obstinate.

The look on his face is comical in how mulish it is and suddenly the ever-present arousal flares. When did his grumpiness become… cute?

"Would you like a kiss, Wroahk?" I ask, surprising myself. "It's like kind hands, but better."

"Better? What is it?"

"It's not something I can explain. It's just something I'll have to show you if you let me."

I've lost my mind. Maybe it's the loneliness getting to me, but I cannot believe I'm about to kiss an alien who would've preferred to eat me just a few days ago.

I bite into a fruit and rise to my feet so that I'm facing him. I lean in and kiss his lips, if I can call them that. They look like lips and slightly feel like them, too. It’s just a gentle peck, but his whole body trembles.

Luckily he doesn't taste or smell like anything he eats.

I smile and lean back to look at him. "Do you like it?

He stares back silently, like his thoughts are racing. I can see the gears turning in his head.

I chew and swallow the bit of fruit in my mouth and wait for him to answer. It's rare to find a man who hasn't been kissed, but even stranger to find out aliens don't have a concept of kissing.

It's a bit sad.

"You… what did you do?"

He's stuttering. How delicious.

"Like I said, it's called a kiss . "

I hear his clicks but can't decipher them, like he's mumbling to himself. I wait patiently, mostly because I'm amused. It's not everyday I can catch him off guard. I do wonder what would happen if we…

He stops muttering and gets his usual intense predator stare back. "I want more."

A zing of pleasure surges. "Open your mouth."

He cracks his mouth open really wide, just like if he planned to devour prey, and it sends a shiver down my spine that starts as fear, and then transitions to something else.

"Do you clean your teeth?" I ask, instantly killing the mood.

"Of course I do," he clicks out, annoyed with me again. "Do you?"

"Yes," I drawl, not sure that sticks quite count, but ever since I got here my mouth has stayed clean regardless of what I eat. "You don't need it open that much. That's good. Now follow the movement of my lips and tongue."

I decide to ignore the issue for now. I can always abort if he tastes like fish or Many Teeth.

Seeing him with his lips lightly parted and his eyes filled with anticipation makes my body throb with excitement.

I lean in again and brush my lips against him, my tongue darting out and rubbing along the edge of his thin layer of lip.

He responds, and it's clumsy, like kissing a virgin with sharp teeth, but still pleasant. He tastes a bit acidic, but in a nice sort of way.

"Again," he growls out.

I move my face closer, and this time he responds, scraping my tongue against his teeth as I struggle a bit against the rising amount of force he's using.

"Be gentle, Wroahk. It's not a fight."

He grunts but does exactly as I say.

We try again and this time, it's no longer distracting. There's no hint of a fishy taste I would've expected from an alien who feeds predominantly on aquatic animals, but it's more similar to the acidic taste you get from eating an unripe fruit.

Good thing I always liked sour candy.

I pull back and lick my lips, staring at him breathlessly.

Another tentacle wraps around me and pulls me closer, running along my body. His suckers cling to skin, one of them latching onto my breast, the thin fabric of the suit doing little to dampen the erotic pull.

His eyes are blank, his chest heaving.

I pull back, staring at him breathlessly. I didn't expect to feel this need spiraling within me. My body shivers as I wait, craving his soft exploration of my body.

"Wroahk, are you okay?"

My head is close to his chest, making his reply almost achingly loud.

"Strange… I feel very strange."

I laugh, laying against him. I don't know if aliens have the concept of virginity, but he's acting like a prepubescent boy who just kissed his crush. I'm honored to be a crush more than anything, but humanity's first exploration of an alien race can't be sexual in nature.

Can it?

His hand reaches down and pushes my face up to his, eyes swarming with desire. I grin, offering him the other half of the fruit, trying to put some space between us while I get my body under control.

"I have more to show you if you'll just eat this."

His eyes clear a bit, and his lips turn in annoyance. He snatches it from my hands and tosses it into his mouth, swallowing it without chewing. For a giant alien, it probably is just a snack. I wait patiently for his feedback.

"Don't want."

Well, it was worth a shot. I don't know if I was waiting for a miracle, but maybe it's a human thing to be vegetarian. Expecting that from another life form is being ridiculously delusional.

Maybe that's what I'm best at.

"More," he demands.

He eagerly swoops down and waits for me to claim his lips again. His eyes are closed, like he is savoring the taste. His arms wrap around my waist and his tentacles wrap around the rest of my body, from my upper torso down to my legs. His suckers fasten to my breasts and nipples, kneading them unconsciously as they move.

I can't help but moan, cutting my lip on one of his sharp teeth. I pull back and see him lick the blood off his teeth, staring down at my chest.

"Do you hurt?"

"No! It feels… good. Don't stop."

It honestly felt amazing. Even as I answer him, I'm fighting back the urge to moan senselessly. Heat pools to my groin as every part of my body is being stimulated at the same time.

"Fuck! That feels… Wroahk…"

At the call of his name, he kisses me again. I feel something different from the tentacles, much harder, pressed against my legs. I pull from the kiss and look down to see two different looking tentacles that I haven't seen before. If I'm right, those are… but where would they even fit?

"This is going to pose a slight problem," I say to myself out loud.

The strange-looking tentacles keep pressing against my leg as I wonder about another thing.

Why do my ribs hurt?