Citrine (Deliverance #3)

48. Eli

48

Eli

I can feel him staring at me like I've grown two heads again. In his defense, I have grown tentacles, fins, and gills, so it might not be impossible. It's much harder to stay on land these days, but I am training myself not to forget the essence of being human.

When I reach my hands forward, I notice the new webbing between them and it feels like I just cursed myself.

Dammit.

I take a deep breath, and just let it go. At least I'll swim better now.

"That is long enough. Come back inside the water, Eli."

I jump when he says my name, then whirl back around, searching his face to see what earth-shattering thing must have changed. He's never said it. I figured he never would.

Only his torso is above water and he's wearing the same annoyed expression as always. He floats closer to the surface, his tentacles rising slightly above the water when he moves. I move closer to the water, sitting by the shore and dipping my leg in.

He's saying my name.

He has changed, that much I can tell. That initial coldness and penchant for murder has all but disappeared. Well, it's still there. He's very ruthless against those who try to intrude on his territory. I assume the sinking stacks of Many Teeth is piling up at the bottom of the lake.

I move into the water, trying to puzzle out what has shifted in him.

"There's no need to worry. Just us two here," I reply, caressing his face.

I wrap my legs around him, staring deep into his eyes. All I do is touch him, and the desire in my body flares like a storm. The urge is uncontrollable, and the desire is reflected his eyes. It surges even more when he snakes his hand around my waist.

"Be gentle," I whisper to him as he bends to claim my lips.

He's rough without meaning to be, and far too gentle in other ways, but he's figuring it out.

He's learning to avoid scraping my lips with his teeth, although I know he enjoys the taste of my blood. His long green tongue makes kissing an adventure, wide, thick, slightly bumpy, and a massive overstimulation of the senses.

I pull away first. He lets me go as I dive back into the water, hydrating myself. He releases me, letting me catch my breath, the predator in his gaze as he roams his eyes over me.

A tentacle pulls me close, one of them flicking between my legs, more at each breast.

He pulls me in close, his face near my ear as he whispers. "I can taste how much you want me."

He has no reason to tell me he can sense my lust. I know he's doing this just to rile me up.

It is most definitely working.

His arm rubs on mine, softly, slowly, like he's trying to lather me up.

" Basta. You can be rougher. I won't break."

He moves behind me. "Kind hands."

Right. He is entirely dedicated to making sure he treats me as gently as I treat him. He mirrors so well that I'm scared of the changes I've seen. He's still cold and abrasive, but during these moments, he's as gentle as the lake current, sweeping me off my feet even though I'm resisting.

My heart is stuttering. I have to admit I'm moved. If this situation wasn't so weird, I would've already leaned into it, with more than just my body, at least.

I turn around to face him, leaning in to kiss him again. He doesn't refuse and our breaths blend as we steal each other's air, my tongue moving meekly under his overbearing tongue.

Kissing is his one exception to being rough.

It's hardly sweet, but goodness does it make the butterflies in my stomach frenzy.

His hands move from my waist to my chest. He seems drawn to them, like they're completely new. He traces his fingers from the nipple down to the base, sending shivers down my spine at how intentionally he's teasing me.

His teeth scrapes against my neck, his tongue teasing my collarbone.

"Can I taste you?"

I know I asked him to ask but this is just embarrassing. I barely nod my head before I'm flipped over and I feel the warmth of his face against my lower lips. His long tongue wraps around my clit, licking and tasting me thoroughly.

I can't get used to this pleasure coursing through me like lava.

"Wroahk …"

"Be patient," he echoes back, returning to driving me against a wall.

I feel my first orgasm build and with one last caress of his flattened tongue, my body almost evaporates as I reach my peak. His tongue brushing against my clit as he licks me clean, elongates it and all I can do is latch on to him and let the feeling overwhelm me.

I don't think it's possible to have normal sex after something like this. There isn't a man in the galaxy who can satisfy me more.

My stomach grumbling stops him from going any further, his eyes already searching for a meal while I'm wishing he didn't stop. However, he cares more about my well-being before anything else.

"Whatever you catch, I'm not eating it raw anymore."

I can deal with being a pescatarian. It's a move up from being vegetarian, but since I need it to survive, I can make the change.

However, eating things raw is gross.

While he dives in the water to find us some edible fish, I scrounge around to find something to make a fire.

I go back up to the cove, making a run for it so I don't dry up. The leaves and branches are still where I left them and are dry by now. I pick them up, dragging them back to the shore. I look around the rocks and find the perfect rock formation to use as a fire pit. As I'm setting up, I hear him emerge from the lake behind me, putting his catch right beside me.

It's a huge fish, bigger than my torso. I don't know where he found it and I have nothing to compare it to. Thankfully, it doesn't have scales, so preparing it won't be hard. Now I just have to convince him to gut it since he can't start the fire himself.

"All you have to do is cut the fish open, pull out its guts before we can eat it. Come, I'll show you."

I've seen plenty of fish cleaned, since my padre liked to take me fishing. I prefer not to hurt living things, but the fish is already dead.

All I can do is thank it for its sacrifice and cook it well.

I slice into it with a hard rock, point to what needs to come out, and let him take over.

He might grumble at me for all the new things I introduce him to and the thinking he would prefer not to be doing, but he always watches intently.

I go back to trying to start a fire. I gathered every different type of rock I could find, and I just have to hope some combination of them will make a spark.

When I glance back he is already done and is washing the fish and himself in the lake.

Using bits of leaves here and sticks there, my fire pit has come together. Because of the sheer size of the fish, I might have to use it as a stove rather than roast it. I pick up two broken rocks and start striking them against each other.

The first strike sets off Wroahk because he writhes over immediately, demanding to know what I am doing, snatching rocks out of my hands.

I explain it to him, and he calms down, and eventually stops grabbing the rocks back out of my hands after I curse him out for three solid minutes.

He's calm now, but looks angry when I catch him glancing over in my direction. It makes my lips twitch, as I continue to try new combinations.

It's a reddish rock against a greenish one that finally does it, which explains why it took so long. Neither color is something I associate with strikers.

I position myself near the sticks and leaves, and strike them together again until one lands exactly where I want it.

I blow on it excitedly, but patiently until it catches, then continue to feed it kindling until it is strong.

When I look over at him in triumph, his face displays his discomfort.

"You are too close, Eli."

I open my mouth to argue, but then I realize he's right. My skin really hates me right now.

It's a challenge to take continual dips into the water while also feeding a fire without dousing it. Eventually the coals are big enough for what I plan to do and I bring a suitable sized rock slab to place over my fire pit to cook my fish.

We laze in the water for a while as the rock heats. Then I place the large fish on it before heading back to the water.

He surprises me by sitting by me on the shore. He leans over to kiss me, holding my chin in his hands. I smile as I stare at his lips.

"That will take a while. Want to—"

I don't get to finish before he takes me down into deeper water.

His normal tentacles spread me open, teasing me with their slight brushes. He keeps his lips on mine, distracting me. His distraction works as I almost don't notice him entering me. However, his sheer size makes it impossible for me to ignore for very long. I gasp as his other mating tentacle goes in, filling me up even more.

He stays there for a bit with both holes filled, probably trying to give me a moment to get used to it. This gentleness doesn't suit him, but I'll take it. Even without moving, his mating tentacles are enough to rouse me to another orgasm.

"You… can move," I say.

He returns with a surprising kiss on my forehead, waiting for me to signal that I am ready for more.

Maybe this new body isn't so bad if we can do this…

I nod my head, letting him know I'm ready.

He thrusts almost immediately, and it feels like all the air is taken out of my gills. I feel him hitting the deepest parts of me without remorse, taking away all my inhibitions.

All I can do is gasp for air as he plays me like a drum, bringing me closer and closer to a crescendo.

Not long after, he releases whatever the fuck he has in his semen that makes me feel like I'm on fire, bringing multiple shudders from me.

He holds me close to him, cocooned, with his suckers thrumming all over my body.

Then I remember the fish. My eyes open wide and I try to get his attention.

"We have to go back. It'll burn."

"No," he says, kissing my forehead again.

I kick out at him, and he eventually relents and brings us up to the surface.

I sprint toward the fire pit. Thankfully, we got there just in time and only one side's a bit burned. I flip it to the other side with a stake and just wait until I can pull it out. I use multiple leaves as a plate and hand over a slice to him.

I feel like a wife serving her husband some parody of a dinner. Fuck. Life sure does get weird sometimes.

He picks it up and sniffs it, staring at it suspiciously. I ignore him and blow on mine to cool it off, eager to taste it. I catch myself salivating and remind myself that I need to eat this meal with reverence and not hunger, even though I'm starving.

The moment I take a bite, he throws the whole thing down his throat, still somewhat hot. I stare at him with wide eyes while he sits there in silence.

"That was hot. Are you okay?" I ask.

Without a single response, he turns his back and dives into the lake. I watch for a few minutes before I see him resurface and come back to me.

"I was drying out."

"Okay."

I don't press further because he seems embarrassed. He doesn't eat more but watches me finish the one on my plate carefully. I wait for the other slices to cool before handing it to him.

"Don't worry. These won't burn your throat."

He reluctantly takes them. A glance back over and I know he's enjoying the meal.

It didn't taste as good as the grilled fish my padre would make, but it was still very edible.

Not bad for his first cooked meal. From the way he looks at the fire like it might jump out and attack him, it's likely his species is in its early stages of development.

Although, I suppose they may never reach that point. It's weird to think of cooked food and the warmth from a fire as only a human necessity.

"Did you like it?" I ask him.

His tentacles twitch, his shark eyes look away. "It was strange, but not unpleasant."

Wow. For him, he might as well have started dancing and whooping in excitement, but I would have liked some more enthusiasm.

I roll my eyes and change the subject. "Let's go to the other side of the lake now."

From the look on his face, it's the very last thing he wants to do, and his black eyes are darting from side to side, likely thinking of a way to distract me.

"Stop delaying it, Wroahk. Just take me there. This time you can just swim me over so we don't waste time and I don't stir up any more Many Teeth."

His body slumps, but he doesn't argue.

He swims slowly at first, but after a prod him with a sharp finger and narrow my eyes, he moves so fast I get dizzy.

I'm still trying to get my bearings when we stop abruptly. I decide to ask him some questions while my heart catches up.

"So you have only seen the weird green guys? No one who looks like me?"

It takes me a long moment to realize he hasn't answered, and when I look at him, he won't return my gaze.

What the fuck. He has seen someone like me.

I break the surface of the water, then give him a piece of my mind. "All of this time telling you what I needed and you just—"

I'm interrupted momentarily as he pulls me back down and I have to switch over to projecting echoes deeper in my chest.

I let out a long string of curses, which sound really weird as a mix of English, Spanish, and whale echoes, and then I get myself back under control again.

He's moved us around so I can see his face, though he's holding both of my hands with his tentacles so I stop trying to scratch him to pieces.

My chest heaves for a moment, and he looks excited by my anger. It makes me want to scratch the smug look right off his face.

"Was it a male?"

He keeps my gaze. Nope.

"A female?"

He looks away. He saw someone and didn't tell me.

I'm going to fucking kill him.