Page 29

My hands slide down his sides to his hips, holding him steady as I work my way lower, tracing the dips and planes of his abdomen with my tongue.

His skin tastes faintly sweet here, and the bioluminescence follows my mouth like a trail of stars.

His cock is hard against my chest, leaving a slick trail of natural lubricant on my skin.

"The way you respond to me," I murmur against his skin. "It's intoxicating."

Kav'eth's fingers tighten in my hair, not pushing, just holding on. "I've never... felt anything like this. So much sensation, so much... feeling."

I pause in my exploration, meeting his eyes. "Too much?"

"No." His certainty flows between us. "It's... I have never experienced this kind of attention before. Even during our previous encounters, there was urgency, necessity. This feels..." He struggles with the concept. "Different."

"Good different?"

"Yes. Like I am..." Another pause as he searches for words. "Like I am wanted rather than needed."

The distinction seems important to him, though I can sense through our bond that he's still working through what it means.

I smile against his hip and continue my journey, taking my time as I move lower.

My tongue traces the crease where thigh meets groin, and he shivers beneath me.

His cock is fully hard now, flushed a deeper blue than the rest of his skin, the head glistening with natural lubricant.

When I finally take him in my mouth, the sound he makes is almost reverent, and his bioluminescence flares so bright it bathes the room in golden light.

I explore him with my tongue, tasting the sweet, slick fluid his body naturally produces, another Nereidan trait that never ceases to amaze me.

It's warm and slightly viscous, with a faint taste like honey and something exotic I can't quite place.

As I work my way along his cock, the natural lubricant increases, coating my tongue and lips.

It's perfect for what we'll need later, and I make a soft sound of appreciation that vibrates through him, drawing another gasp from above.

My hand slides down to cup his balls, feeling their weight and warmth as I continue to work him with my mouth.

The empathic bond lets me feel his pleasure alongside my own, creating a feedback loop of sensation and emotion that's unlike anything I've ever experienced.

I pull back slightly, looking up the length of his body to meet his eyes. "You taste incredible," I tell him, before returning to my task with renewed enthusiasm, taking him deeper into my throat this time.

His hands tighten in my hair as I swallow around him, and the effort it takes him not to thrust up into the wet heat of my mouth flows between us. I appreciate his restraint, the way he's following my lead in keeping things slow and deliberate despite the growing urgency building in him.

After several minutes of this delicious torture, I finally pull away, my lips slick with his natural lubricant. I gather some on my fingers, feeling its silky texture as I move my hand between his legs, past his balls to the tight entrance hidden there.

"Still okay?" I ask, circling gently.

"More than okay," he breathes, his legs falling open further in invitation.

I press one slick finger inside him, watching his face as I do.

His eyes flutter closed, his lips parting on a silent gasp as I find that spot inside him that makes his whole body tremble.

The natural lubricant his body produces makes this part easy, allowing me to work him open gently, adding a second finger when he's ready.

My movements are unhurried, still focused on maintaining the intimate connection we've built.

I gather more of his natural lubricant on my fingers, the slick fluid warm and perfect for what comes next.

This isn't about efficiency or reaching a goal, this is about showing Kav'eth that he's worth taking time for, worth cherishing.

Worth this kind of attention.

I can sense his confusion at the care I'm taking, the deliberate focus on his responses. He's used to efficiency, to purpose-driven actions. This patient attention to his pleasure seems to puzzle him, but in a way that's clearly affecting him deeply.

"Are you certain?" Kav'eth asks softly as I continue with careful, gentle touches, working a third finger inside him with practiced ease.

"About this? About you? About us?" I lean down to kiss him again. "Never been more certain of anything in my life."

His response is lost in the kiss, but his certainty matches mine, his understanding that this is different from anything either of us has experienced before.

I take my time with the preparation, scissoring my fingers gently, watching his face carefully for any sign of discomfort.

But there's only pleasure there, his golden eyes half-lidded, his lips parted slightly as he breathes my name.

When my fingers find that spot inside him that makes his whole body tremble, I linger there, stroking gently until his thighs are shaking and his bioluminescence is pulsing in time with his heartbeat.

"Derek," he gasps, reaching for me. "Please."

It's not a demand born of impatience but a genuine plea for connection, and I answer it by shifting my position, covering his body with mine.

I gather more of his natural lubricant, slicking myself with it, marveling as I always do at how perfectly evolved Nereidan bodies are for pleasure.

The feel of skin against skin is overwhelming, heightened by the bond that lets me feel his pleasure alongside my own.

I brush damp hair back from his forehead, looking down into those incredible eyes.

"I love you," I remind him, kissing him deeply as I position myself.

When I finally join with him, it's with the same careful attention to his comfort and pleasure. I sink into him slowly, giving him time to adjust, watching his face, feeling his responses, adjusting my movements to what he needs rather than what I want.

The heat of him surrounds me, and the unique sensation of fullness, of being both the one giving and receiving pleasure flows between us. It's dizzying in its intensity, and for a moment we both just breathe, foreheads pressed together, adjusting to the overwhelming intimacy of the connection.

"Perfect," Kav'eth whispers, his hands coming up to frame my face. "You're perfect."

"Not perfect," I correct gently, moving slowly inside him. "Just yours."

The distinction seems to matter to him, and his bioluminescence flares in patterns I'm learning to recognize as pure joy. His understanding that this is what intimacy can be when it's built on love and trust rather than just physical need flows between us.

But more than that, I can sense him learning something new about connection, though he doesn't have words for it yet.

"I have never..." he starts, then stops, his hands tightening on my face.

"Never what?"

"Never been with someone who chooses to focus entirely on me. Always there has been purpose, function, duty. This..." His bioluminescence pulses erratically. "This is only for... for us."

We move together in a rhythm that's entirely our own, taking time to kiss and touch and simply be present with each other.

There's no rush, no performance, no goals beyond the simple pleasure of connection.

His legs wrap around my waist, changing the angle slightly, and we both gasp at the new sensation.

"Yes," I breathe, my movements growing more deliberate but no less gentle. "Just like that."

Kav'eth arches beneath me, his hands sliding down my back to my hips, not to guide but to feel the movement of muscles beneath skin. How much he enjoys the physicality of this, the weight of my body on his, the friction where we're joined, the slick heat between us, flows clearly between us.

I shift slightly, bracing myself on one elbow so I can touch him with my free hand.

His skin is hot beneath my palm as I trace the patterns of light across his chest, down his stomach, finally wrapping my fingers around his cock.

The dual sensation, my hand and my body, makes him cry out softly, his head tipping back to expose the elegant line of his throat.

I lean down to press kisses there, tasting the salt of his skin, feeling the rapid beat of his pulse beneath my lips.

My hand moves in time with my hips, steady and unhurried despite the building pressure at the base of my spine.

The slide of his slick cock against my palm creates a delicious friction that has us both moaning.

"I can feel you," Kav'eth whispers, his voice thick with wonder. "Everything you're feeling... it's incredible."

I know what he means, the empathic bond lets us share not just physical sensation but emotional connection, creating layers of pleasure that build and reflect between us like light bouncing between mirrors. It's overwhelming in the best possible way.

The bond has never been this strong before.

Each time we've been together, it's grown more powerful, but tonight it feels like there's almost no separation between us, his pleasure is my pleasure, my emotions are his emotions.

It's as though we're sharing one nervous system, one heart, one mind.

His mounting pleasure flows as if it were my own, each touch and movement affecting him in ways I can sense without words.

And through it all, I stay present. Not thinking about what comes next, not analyzing the experience, not performing. Just being here with him, feeling what he feels, giving him my complete attention.

It's the first time in my adult life I've managed to be this fully present with another person, and the irony isn't lost on me that it took leaving Earth entirely to learn how to actually be here.

"Derek," he gasps, and his approaching climax mirrors in my own body.

When Kav'eth's breathing becomes more erratic, when his closeness builds between us, I don't speed up or change what I'm doing. Instead, I lean down to kiss him deeply, letting him know through touch and empathic connection that I'm with him completely.

"Let go," I whisper against his lips. "I've got you."

His release, when it comes, is intense but somehow gentle, accompanied by waves of light across his skin and emotion that leave me breathless.

The empathic connection amplifies everything, pulling me into his pleasure, letting me experience it alongside him.

His bioluminescence pulses in time with each wave, turning his skin into a canvas of golden light that almost seems to reach out and wrap around me.

The intensity of feeling his climax pulls me over the edge. I follow him moments later, my own release enhanced by the echo of his pleasure, creating a feedback loop of sensation that seems to last forever, each of us feeling the other's pleasure which intensifies our own.

Afterward, I don't immediately move away. Instead, I stay close, pressing soft kisses to his face and neck while we both catch our breath.

"Thank you," Kav'eth whispers, his fingers tracing patterns on my back.

I laugh softly, finally shifting to lie beside him but keeping him close. "For what? Great sex?"

His expression turns tender, golden eyes luminous in the dim light. "For giving me all of yourself."

The raw honesty in his voice hits me like a physical force, stealing my breath for a moment. "You'll always have me."

Kav'eth's lips curve into a genuine smile, a rare expression that transforms his usually composed features, and he pulls me closer.

We tangle together, my leg thrown over his, his arm curved around my waist. The skin-to-skin contact makes his bioluminescence pulse gently, casting a soft golden glow over us both.

"I never understood the human fascination with cuddling," he admits, his voice low and content. "It seemed inefficient."

"And now?" I ask, nuzzling against his neck.

"Now I see its merits." His fingers find my hair, stroking through it with gentle curiosity. "Your heart rate has slowed. Mine as well. There are physiological benefits."

I laugh against his skin. "Is that your way of saying you like cuddling?"

"Perhaps." The smile carries in his voice. "I find I enjoy many things with you that I did not enjoy before."

I prop myself up on one elbow to look down at him, taking in the relaxed set of his features, the way his bioluminescence has settled into a steady, contented glow. "Like what?"

He considers this, his hand still moving through my hair. "Conversations without purpose. Physical contact without agenda. Moments of... stillness."

"Stillness is good," I agree, leaning down to kiss him softly.

He responds by cupping my face, drawing the kiss out until we're both breathless again. When we finally separate, his eyes are shining. "I've never experienced stillness like this. It's... peaceful."

"That's what happens when you let yourself just be instead of always doing."

"You make it sound simple."

"It is simple. Not easy, but simple."

We lie there together, trading lazy kisses and gentle touches as our bodies cool.

There's no urgency now, just the quiet pleasure of being close.

I trace the patterns of his bioluminescence with my fingertips, watching how they follow my touch like ripples in water.

He explores the lines of my tattoos, asking quiet questions about their meanings that I answer in whispers against his skin.

"I could stay like this forever," I murmur, already feeling sleep tugging at the edges of my consciousness.

"We have time," Kav'eth says simply, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"All the time in the world," I agree.

The empathic bond between us pulses with contentment, softer now but no less powerful. His emotions settle into a warm glow of satisfaction, and he can sense the same from me. His breathing slows, matching mine, our hearts finding the same rhythm.

In this moment, with his body warm against mine and the echo of shared pleasure still coursing between us, I realize that for the first time in my life, "all the time in the world" doesn't feel like an empty promise. It feels real. Possible.