Page 26 of All You Need is Alien Love (Tentacular Tales #4)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
With one final graceful swing of his blade in a perfect arc, Vardox gave Khamos mercy and cut off his head.
The crowd in the stadium roared with excitement at his victory.
But Vardox only cared about the man he’d come to rescue.
When the officials brought out Starblade and his crew, Vardox’s tentacles finally relaxed at the sight of his precious captain.
Fortunately, Starblade looked hale and hearty. Khamos had at least kept his Katnu oath.
No one was more shocked than Vardox when Starblade came striding over to him, a furious expression on his face.
“Wha—” Vardox began to ask, utterly out of his depths for once. He’d never seen Starblade so angry.
And Vardox had done a lot of things to irritate him in the past. After all, an exasperated captain was an enticing captain. But now, he looked more fiercely serious than Vardox had ever seen him.
Starblade grabbed one of Vardox’s bleeding tentacles.
“You’re hurt,” he accused angrily.
Vardox blinked and then gaped at his sweet captain.
For the first time in his life, he was rendered speechless.
Was Starblade… worried about him?
Vardox couldn’t help but thrill at the idea. Now we’re getting somewhere.
— The Tentacular Tales of Captain Starblade , Ch. 161
Kai
I pick up a naked and highly aroused River and settle into our new Jacuzzi tub with him in my lap.
Although we have a very enjoyable and large walk-in shower that we’ve made plenty of use of together, I was adamant that we needed a place where we could leisurely bathe one another whenever we so desired.
So, we’d had the tub put in not too long ago.
As usual, I’m happy to say I made the right call on that one.
Once we’re submerged in the hot water and I get the jets going, River sighs happily. “Best idea, babe. I think I had a lot of leftover tension from the stress of the Sanctioning Ceremony, and this is obliterating all my aches and pains. Does that make me sound super old mannish?”
Steam from the hot water soon turns his cheeks pink and makes his curls go even wilder. The sight makes my hearts dance in my chest.
I massage his tight shoulders and he moans.
“Not at all. There was a lot of stress leading up to the event itself, not including the invasion threat we’re preparing for.
I’m not surprised you were wound as tightly as you were.
Believe me, I was nervous too. But for now, we can relax a bit.
We’ve overcome the first big hurdle and we should celebrate that. ”
“Amen to your galactic gods on that one,” he murmurs.
With his back pressed against my front, River cranes his neck and studies me quietly for a moment. Just like before, for a flash of an instant I swear I can see a glimpse of our future together in his eyes—and it’s amazing.
Unable to hold back, I lean down and kiss him tenderly, worshipping him with my lips.
It isn’t long before he’s squirming in my arms. My mate can be adorably impatient sometimes.
Two of my tentacles come out and hold him firmly in place. “Patience, my love. I want us to take our time tonight.”
“Whhhyyy?” River whines. “I’m horny as fuck. We haven’t been able to sex one another up for three whole days.” He struggles against my tentacles to no avail. “I need some relief or I might lose my ever-loving mind.”
I stroke his curls, marveling at their springy texture.
“All in good time.”
He glowers up at me. “You’re planning to torture me tonight, aren’t you?”
I laugh. “If you mean making love to you slowly and passionately, then yes, that’s exactly the torture I have planned.”
He arches an eyebrow. “I swear, the longer I know you, the more I understand why you love my Tentacular Tales series so much. You’re Starblade on the streets, but Lord Vardox in the sheets.”
I nip at his earlobe and nibble on it, making him squeak and squirm in my hold.
By now, I’ve discovered every erogenous zone my mate possesses, and I intend to make full use of them all tonight.
“If you’re only now realizing that fact, then I have to say you’re a little bit slow on the uptake.”
He gasps in mock affront. “How dare you, sir.”
I chuckle and grab the plastic pitcher I brought with me, filling it with water.
“Simmer down for a moment and let me wash your hair like a good mate.”
He sighs dramatically but settles his back against my chest. “I’ve never met a man who takes so much delight in washing my hair. Heck, none of my other partners ever washed my hair, now that I think of it.”
A third tentacle comes out, slithering down his torso and along his inner thighs, making him gasp and shudder with need.
“I like the fact that this is something only I have ever done for you as a lover.”
River swallows thickly as my tentacle continues to caress the tender flesh of his inner thighs and all the way up to the top of his groin, always staying within a hair’s breadth of his cock but never coming into contact with it directly.
River gasps and one of his hands goes out to grasp the edge of the tub. “There’s a limit to how much teasing I can handle right now.”
“Duly noted, darling,” I tell him as I tip his head back and pour water over his golden curls. It takes a couple of rounds until I manage to get his hair appropriately wet, and then I start to sensually massage his scalp, kneading in the shampoo as I go.
River moans. “Fuck. You’re so fucking good at this.”
I smile, my chest filling with pride.
When my eager tentacle curls gently around his erection and slowly begins to stroke him in the water in tandem with my hand movements on his scalp, River groans.
“About fucking time,” he whimpers.
It isn’t long before I have him panting and moaning in my embrace. Two of my tentacles gently restrain his arms so that he can’t touch himself, allowing my third tentacle to take full control of the pleasure he’s receiving.
I’ve only just rinsed the shampoo from his hair when River’s body stiffens and he cries out in satisfaction, my tentacle having brought him to his first release of the evening.
I smile to myself, admittedly a bit smugly, again.
This is only one of several climaxes I intend to help him reach tonight.
River slumps back in my arms, limp and satiated, and I take the opportunity to massage in the conditioner he likes.
Early when I met him, I was fascinated by his hair and secretly spent some considerable time online educating myself on the care and maintenance of natural curls. River’s hair is so gorgeous that I became determined to help him keep those curls as beautiful and well cared for as possible.
In retrospect, this should have clued me in to how special he was to me from the start, but I wasn’t ready to accept that truth right away.
My research taught me that the conditioning process is particularly important since River’s hair type can often suffer from dryness, especially in a desert climate like Vegas. As I finger-comb the conditioner through his golden locks, I hum happily to myself.
There’s something incredibly soothing and satisfying about doing this, about taking care of my mate.
Never in any of my past relationships did I ever show such infinite care and downright pampering toward a partner. It’s further proof that River is the perfect life mate for me.
River brings out in me those things that make me a better man and a more giving partner.
Once I’ve rinsed out the conditioner, I grab a soft washcloth and lather it up with the citrus body wash River loves. I set about meticulously cleaning every inch of his body with all the reverence it deserves.
“This is the life. It’s like I have a life mate and a cabana boy all in one,” he says with a satisfied sigh.
I can’t help but chuckle. “So my plan for tonight wasn’t so bad after all, was it?”
He snorts. “Well, I’m feeling a whole hell of a lot more mellow and chill with things now that I’ve gotten one good orgasm out. Undergoing the different trials was nothing in comparison to the torture of not being able to touch you for three whole days.”
“I completely agree. In fact, I didn’t sleep a wink the first night. Thank the galactic gods the ceremonial elixir knocked me out last night or I might not have had the energy to get through today’s events.”
“Poor baby,” River coos. Then he sighs dramatically. “It was tough but we survived.”
I chuckle. My mate is a bit of a drama queen, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.
River snuggles closer and intertwines his fingers with mine. “I respect your cultural traditions, I really do, even if I think some of them are really damn antiquated.”
“You demonstrated great forbearance given the circumstances, my darling,” I murmur.
“Really? Wait, are you teasing me?” he asks, tilting back his head to squint at me.
“No, not at all. For you, you were very patient.”
He rolls his eyes and splashes me with water. “Now I know you’re teasing me.”
After playfully tussling around in the water for a bit, I finish cleaning every inch of him then nuzzle my nose into the crook of River’s neck, inhaling his clean, fresh scent and feeling at peace.
I can’t help but marvel and the amazing man who will now be officially recognized across the universe as my life mate.
“I’m so lucky to have found you, my love.
You are utterly captivating, not just to me but to almost anyone who meets you.
Hell, even though you haven’t traveled the universe yet, you’ve already garnered considerable intergalactic clout.
When we go on our honeymoon, I have no doubt you’re going to be approached by many who want to get to know you. ”
He snickers softly. “First of all, I’m the one who found you , buster. You’re welcome by the way. Also, I’m not sure that my tentacle porn story has garnered me intergalactic clout .”