Tentacle on 34th Street (Tinsel and Tentacles 2.0)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

C ryss pulled up outside Alex’s apartment and tossed it into Park. The need pulsing in his blood was a dull roar, just barely contained. He eyed Alex in the dim light, the urge for more kisses too tempting. If he started again, he wasn’t sure they’d stop. He’d heard Alex’s thoughts of one night together, but Cryss sensed that would make the following weeks of separation next to impossible. One taste before it was ripped away? No. He’d go mad.

“I’ll get your bike,” Cryss murmured, opening the driver’s door. He slipped out and lifted the bike before carrying it toward where Alex was stepping out of the truck.

Alex tucked the helmet over his arm and grabbed the handlebars, searching Cryss’s face. It looked as if he wanted to say something, and Cryss sensed what it would be. He wasn’t sure he could say no.

“Would you… like to come upstairs for a drink?”

“No,” Cryss murmured.

Alex’s face fell, his brow furrowing.

“If I come up for a drink, we both know what happens next. One night won’t be enough to sate this need I feel for you,” Cryss said. “I want to honor your request of no contact, but I don’t think I could if you take me to your bed tonight. The temptation for more would be too much.”

Alex’s eyes widened before going heavy lidded.

“I think it’s best we both go home, alone,” Cryss whispered.

Alex nodded. “Okay. I’ll have Jonas revise a contract and send it to you tomorrow. Please return it as soon as you can.”

“I will. I promise.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Alex.”

Alex lifted his bike onto his shoulder and walked into the entry of his apartment building. As soon as he was safely inside, Cryss climbed back into his truck. The drive home was painful. Squeezing the steering wheel until it felt as if it might give, he regretted his decision to refuse Alex every single mile splitting them apart. Less than an hour later, he pulled into the drive in front of the townhouse he shared with Qylar on 34 th Street.

As soon as Cryss opened the front door, Qylar poked his head out of the kitchen and walked closer. “Did he agree to your proposition?”

Cryss grinned. “Yes.”

Qylar chuckled. “Good for you. When will you see him again?”

“Not until the parade.”

Qylar frowned. “What? That’s nearly two months away. You might find another plaything by then.”

Cryss narrowed his eyes. No other man would sate the lust in his veins. “Alex isn’t a plaything.”

“What is he, then?” Qylar searched his face, attention rapt.

Cryss tossed his keys into the bowl by the door. “I don’t know. He’s no plaything, though. Don’t you ever call him that again.”

Qylar stiffened a moment before apparently letting the comment slide. “Two months, though? Do you know how much of a pain in the ass you’re going to be until you get your hands on him?” Qylar scoffed, spinning and returning to the kitchen. “Maybe I should rent a hotel room until Thanksgiving.”

“I don’t like it any more than you do, but Alex is behind at work and needs to focus if he’s going to give me the holidays. I promised him I would be good and let him work, and so I shall.”

“Two months,” Qylar groused again. “Two months of getting my head bitten off. Two months of you being an irritable asshole. Two months of hell.”

“If I hear you say the words two months again, I’ll put my foot up your ass.” Cryss ensured the blinds were closed near the door before closing the thick drapes. Once he knew they were safe, he kicked off his shoes, peeled off his sock, and undressed down to his briefs. He stretched out his tentacles in both his arms and legs, freeing them for the first time in hours. He crawled into the kitchen, where Qylar was making something. By the smell of it, he wasn’t sure he wanted to eat it.

“What’s that?” Cryss asked, wrinkling his nose.

“Now you complain about my cooking? The torment begins already.” Qylar split his tentacles apart and reached for a spoon on the island behind him. He dipped it into the pot and lifted it to his lips for a taste, cringing. “Oh, no. That’s not good.”

“I could tell that from the scent. Is something wrong with your nose?”

Qylar pushed the pan from the burner with a sigh and flipped off the gas. “I’m not the gourmet chef you are. Sue me. At least I attempted to cook dinner—though, honestly, I assumed you’d spend your night with Alex.”

“I wish I had,” Cryss said, reaching into the cabinet and wrapping a tentacle around a stack of takeout menus. “What are you in the mood for?” He opened several of them at once. “Korean? We haven’t had Korean in a while.”

“Fine. Order my usual,” Qylar grumbled, tossing the food-like substance in the pan into the trash.

“Take that outside,” Cryss said. “It stinks.”

Qylar pulled out the trash and reformed his limbs. “I tried!” He faked a sob. “I worked so hard to make this a happy home and this is the thanks I get. A housewife’s life isn’t easy, you know?”

Cryss shook his head as he reached for the phone and placed their order. Later that night, after dinner, enough laps in their basement lap pool to wear him to the bone, and a shower, he collapsed on top of his bed. Exhaustion made it easier to fight the urge to get in his truck and return to Alex, but not by much.

A ping sounded on his phone.

Good night, Cryss

Cryss smiled, glad he finally had the man’s phone number. Before he could reply, he received another.

Is this really how you spell your name or did the agency make a weird typo when they sent us your information?

Cryss chuckled to himself. He was constantly being asked that question, but on his planet, it was normal. He couldn’t tell Alex that, though.

That’s correct. Blame my parents.

I bet you were bullied for that. Poor guy

Actually I wasn’t, but if you’re willing to comfort my broken spirit, I’ll lie and say I was.

He could almost see Alex scoffing while lying in bed reading that.

No undeserved sympathy will be given. You have to earn it with real trauma.

Noted. Are you in bed yet?

Why? I won’t be sending you pictures of my , fyi

Or my

Cryss chuckled. As if he didn’t already have an idea what both looked like after their shoot together.

I didn’t ask. I’d rather not be tempted to come back to your apartment tonight and take you up on your offer.

The little thought bubble never popped up. Had he ruined their conversation by mentioning his refusal? He waited a few more seconds before lowering his phone to the surface of the bed. Another few seconds and there was another ping. Cryss grabbed the phone, eager to continue their conversation. He’d take any scraps he could get until Thanksgiving.

Now I’m in bed. Alone thanks to you

Says the man who was shocked at my indecent proposal earlier tonight.

At first glance, I kind of felt like I was being backed into a corner. It rang of an ultimatum. I didn’t like that feeling

It was no ultimatum and I’m sorry if that’s the way it came out. You’re free to say no. I hope you won’t, but it’s your choice. I’ll never force someone to spend time with me who doesn’t wish to.

The longer I sat with it, I realized I could say no. We have time to find another model, but I want you there

And I think I might enjoy spending the holidays with you

Warmth spread through Cryss as he smiled.

Me, too.

I better get to bed. I have an early morning. You might start regretting the morning texts waking you up

I won’t. I don’t need as much sleep as most.

Night, Cryss

Sweet dreams, Alex

Cryss reread the messages before dropping his phone on the nightstand. He got under the covers and flicked off the light, imagining Alex across the city doing the same. He closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep but knew it wouldn’t be easy. Even the two hundred laps hadn’t taken all of the edge off. After tossing and turning a bit, he finally drifted off.

And was awoken sometime later to someone moving in his bed. Cryss cracked a lid open and found himself in his old bedroom on Nefyria. What the hell?

A palm slid over his back, and he rolled and stared at the man in his bed. “Alex?”

“Hmmm?” Alex murmured sleepily. He opened his eyes and looked around, frowning before eyeing Cryss. “Well, helloooo.” He leaned up and pressed his lips to Cryss’s. “Where are we?”

“My old bedroom on Nefyria. I’m having a dream, it appears.”

Alex chuckled. “Sex dreams. The best kind.”

Cryss chuckled. “Who said anything about sex?”

“We’re in bed together. Naked. And as you said earlier tonight, we both know where this leads.”

“Indeed.” He laid back and drew Alex into the curve of his arm, their naked bodies rubbing against one another under the bedding. Curious as to how his mind extrapolated the data he’d already gathered, he whipped the sheets back and got a good look at Alex naked. Or rather, his mind’s best guess. If Alex looked half as good in real life, he’d be a happy man. He drew his palm over Alex’s chest and down closer where a thin trail of hair led to a neat patch above a pulsing, hard shaft. He’d felt Alex getting hard against him on the sleigh, and it had driven him over the edge of reason and likely was behind the dream.

Cryss gripped the base and drew his hand to the tip, a single pearl of pre-cum easing out. “You’re stunning, Alex.”

“Not compared to you,” Alex said, running his palms over Cryss’s chest. He moaned as Cryss continued to leisurely stroke him. Lowering his hands farther, he reached Cryss’s hard shaft, the head leaking cum. “For fuck’s sake, Cryss. Who needs this much cock? It’s overkill.”

Cryss chuckled. “Sorry?”

“I mean, really. It’s well above your…” Alex sat up on his elbow. “Your belly button, which is quite odd. I noticed it at the shoot. It’s almost flat.”

“It’s not like yours because I was spawned, not born. Our link to the birthing parent tears away after we slip into the waters of the spawning grounds.”

Alex pressed his finger against his spawn point. “Spawning grounds?”

Cryss smiled, unable to hold back the secret he couldn’t share in real life. “I’m an alien.”

“Oh really?” Alex lifted a brow, clearly not believing him. “That would explain all that cock, I suppose.”

Cryss split one of his arms into three tentacles, wrapping all three around Alex: on the arm, leg, and cock.

Alex bellowed, trying to back away but not able to with Cryss’s grip around him. “What the fuck?”

Cryss frowned. An odd reaction for a dream. “I won’t hurt you. I’ll never hurt you, Alex.”

“You have tentacles for an arm,” Alex yelled, eyes wide. “This isn’t a dream, it’s a fucking nightmare!”

Cryss reformed his arm and released Alex, who skittered out of bed and against the far wall. Maybe it was a nightmare. A vision of how Alex might react if he ever learned the truth. Cryss frowned, shocked he’d even consider telling Alex what he was. They never showed themselves to humans. It was against their laws. But something inside made him realize that he might want to share everything with Alex…

Everything.

Maybe this was his chance to practice what he might say.

“Alex,” Cryss said, sitting up in the bed. “I don’t want you to fear me.”

“What are you?”

“I come from a planet called Nefyria in another galaxy, far from Earth. Look out that window and you’ll see.”

Alex carefully plodded over and looked through the balcony’s windows. “Oh my god… it’s beautiful.”

“Your eyes remind me of the color of our seas.”

Alex spun to face him, back against the wall again, nervously eyeing Cryss.

“Qylar and I have been stuck on Earth for several years, after our ship malfunctioned. We’ve not been able to secure enough materials to repair it, not that we’ve tried very hard. I rather like the freedom of not being the me I am on Nefyria. My grandfather was exiled here many years ago, and I often spent a lot of time with him while I was growing up. It’s almost a second home.”

“You’re telling me that aliens have been coming to Earth for years and we don’t know it?”

“We’ve been coming to your planet for centuries,” Cryss murmured. “Not just Nefyrians but many different races across multiple galaxies.”

“What are you planning to do to us?”

Cryss sighed. “First off, your movies with alien invasions really have given you all a warped sense of first contact—though I do appreciate Roddenberry’s take on the whole thing. I’ve been a Trekkie since I was a boy.” He chuckled to himself. “We have no plans to harm humankind. If we did, it would already be done. Your planet is under our protection.”

“Why do you protect us?”

“This world is the closest one we’ve found to our own kind. We have many similarities in our humanoid form. Our scientists were the first to arrive. Over time, your planet has become a source of academic study, a vacation destination for the stupidly rich, and a small number have even settled here, mixing among you, like I do.”

“You really don’t plan to harm us?”

Cryss shook his head. “We have no plans to harm humans. You specifically?” He captured Alex’s gaze. “I want to be the man to worship your body and shelter your heart.”

Alex’s shoulders loosened, dropping closer to their normal height.

“I’ve never felt this way before, and to be honest, it’s thrown me,” Cryss continued. “I can’t stop thinking of you. I can’t stop wanting to be beside you. I’ve known you two days. Yet, it feels as if I’ve known you longer. Like… our souls have been joined before and are desperate to reunite.”

Alex searched his face. “Is this some kind of human suit you’re wearing?”

“No. This is my body. It can simply transform into something else.” Cryss slowly separated the three tentacles of his arm and then the other before both legs. He allowed the rest of his body to shift, watching as awe, wonder, and fear flashed across Alex’s face. Cryss reformed into humanoid shape and smiled. “Both versions are all me.”

“Did your cock just become tentacles, too?”

Cryss nodded, fighting a smile. “Yes. All limbs and appendages.”

“You look a little like an octopus. But not, either.”

“We stare a small percentage of our genetic material with Earth cephalopods. We also share a great deal of it with humans.”

“How is that possible?”

“Your scientists’ theory of the big bang is not too far off from being correct. When the universe was first formed in an act of violence, the same essential building blocks were blast into every corner of it. We are all made from the same stardust. On Earth, life sprung from that and formed two different category of animal. On our world, it fused together and made one.”

Alex took a hesitant step forward. “Can I see them again? Just the one arm. Not all of it.”

Cryss separated his left arm and stretched his tentacles as far as he could before coiling them closer.

Alex took another slow step, reaching out to touch the tip of one. He yanked his hand back as if he’d touched fire. “It feels weird.”

“To you. To me, it’s perfectly normal. I’ve lived in this body for over forty years. In time, it could become normal to you, too.”

Alex searched his face before attempting another cautious touch. He didn’t snatch his hand away the second time. Cryss remained still and allowed Alex time to explore. His shifted form was much more sensitive, though, and the man’s hand on him made the want to touch back grow. Alex grew more courageous, turning the tentacle over to eye the suckers. He touched one. “It’s a little… sticky.”

“Not sticky. Inside the sucker are microscopic ridges and swirls, much like my fingertips and yours. Together, they can grab hold of whatever it touches with ease. It can also release with ease, too.”

Alex searched his face for a moment before touching another sucker and swirling his finger over it.

Cryss closed his eyes, struggling to stay still. “Our suckers are also similar to a tongue. We can taste the things we touch. Or the things that touch us.”

Alex pulled his finger away. “So I basically just shoved my finger in your mouth?”

Cryss chuckled. “No. Not exactly. I can’t eat with my suckers, they’re just incredibly sensitive. I can feel your heartbeat through your fingertip when you touched me there. I tasted saltiness.”

Alex’s face warmed.

“Was it your cum?”

Alex’s face grew redder, his mouth dropping open. “I wiped it off with a tissue before I fell asleep.”

Heat pulsed in Cryss’s veins. “Were you stroking yourself while you were texting me?” Why bother asking? It was his dream, and he’d supply the answer he wanted, true or not.

“I can’t text well with one hand.”

Cryss smiled. Maybe he wouldn’t supply the answer he wanted. “Were you thinking about me when you stroked your very lovely cock?”

“Wouldn’t you like that I did?”

“I would. I wish I could’ve heard you come. I hope to soon, though.” He moved his tentacle closer to Alex’s hand. “Can I touch you now?”

“Slow,” Alex warned, offering his hand toward the central, longest tentacle.

Cryss inched closer before wrapping the narrow tip around a single finger first. He released and curled around Alex’s wrist before inching up his arm.

“It tickles,” Alex whispered.

As Cryss crawled higher and covered almost the entire arm, he saw panic rising in Alex’s face. “I won’t hurt you,” Cryss whispered. “I’ll never hurt you.”

Alex’s heart raced in his chest, his gaze glued on the tentacle holding him. “Do you swim? You know… like the octopi on Earth?”

“We can. We’re quite proficient swimmers.”

“Can you swim all day without coming up for air?”

“As long as I fully shift into my other form, yes. I can’t stay underwater as long otherwise, though longer than humans.”

“I used to have vivid dreams of the ocean. Swimming deep within it for hours and hours without coming to the surface. I think that’s why I became a swimmer. I was on my high school swim team and nearly went on to the Olympics.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Rebellious streak with a mother who pushed too hard. I gave up swimming just to piss her off. I regret it to this day.”

“We’ll have to go swimming some day.”

“Perhaps.” Alex watched Cryss’s tentacle, fascinated, the fear slowly drifting from his face. “I used to dream of men with tentacles, too.” He paused, softly scoffing. “Odd. I’d forgotten that until just now. When I was a small boy, I’d tell my mother the tentacle men were in my dreams, and she’d get so upset. I stopped telling her and eventually the dreams stopped.”

“Maybe you saw one of us as a small child,” Cryss murmured. “We’re not allowed to show ourselves to humans, but rules are often broken, and accidents happen.”

“Maybe, but I can’t remember anything like that,” Alex said, reaching for another tentacle with his other hand. “I grew up on the East Coast. My parents live in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, so who knows?”

“Did those dreams scare you?”

“No,” Alex said. “I liked them. They would swim with me—protecting and guiding me.” He lifted his face to Cryss. “Maybe that’s why I’m having this weird ass dream. The tentacle men drifted out of my subconscious for some reason and merged with thoughts of you.”

“I’m the one dreaming here.” Cryss smiled, reforming his arm and offering a hand. “Come to bed with me? I’m tired, and I want you beside me when I go back to sleep.”

Alex hesitated a moment, but eventually took Cryss’s hand. He slipped back into the bed. “Just to sleep. I’m not ready for tentacle dick.”

Cryss laughed. “Noted.”

“Okay, I have to ask. Can you fuck both ways? Together and apart?”

“Yes,” Cryss replied. “I can. Both ways.”

“Well, things wouldn’t be boring with you in bed, that’s for sure.”

Cryss drew Alex into the crook of his arm, tucking his human’s head under his chin. “I doubt they would even if I didn’t have a tentacle dick, as you call it.”

Alex yawned. “We can find out in the next dream.”

Cryss pressed a kiss to Alex’s forehead and smiled, enjoying the thought of that. If he couldn’t have Alex in real life, at least a part of him would. “In the next dream.”