Page 12 of Holiday Wishes and Tentacle Dreams

But other than the tentacles and the long body, they shared little else with the creatures. Doren’s skin was a rainbow of iridescent colors, all of them spiraling into a screwlike shape that allowed Doren to move faster than any indigenous marine animal.

Doren themself was not as fast as the rest of their family. That thought lingered even as they wove in and out of a largeschool of bluefin tuna. Any of Doren’s siblings could beat them in a race, and Bard left them all in the dust.

Bard would have been most of the way home by now. Bard wouldn’t have wasted time talking to the handsome stranger. No, not stranger. New friend!

Doren had spoken to many a human as they popped in and out of Linwood Falls, and none had intrigued them like Jake had. Doren didn’t understand what was different about him.

Part of it was his looks, sure. He was shorter than Doren’s human form and had the most gorgeous brown eyes, with almost otherworldly lashes. The rest of his face was cute, too, covered by a dashing short beard with just a hint of gray here and there. Jake’s hefty form was solid, with some substance to him, and Doren found that delicious. The way his flannel shirt stretched over his belly, the way his jeans seemed about to give up the ghost because his round ass couldn’t be contained, made Doren tingle. The sensation was faintly alarming.

They’d never been attracted to ahumanbefore. Of course, they also hadn’t been attracted to one of their own kind, either. On Earth, the only beings from Doren’s planet were their family, as far as they knew. They’d never met another “alien,” as the humans called them.

But the images that sprang into Doren’s mind when he thought of Jake were unexpectedly sensual. Undoing the buttons on his flannel shirt to let the chest hair and belly free. Caressing that gorgeous ass. Some of his fantasies even involved usingtentacles. Doren had never even considered his appendages might be used sexually.

But the thoughts weren’t only erotic. Doren also fantasized about holding Jake. The man had kept Doren at arm’s length, which made sense—theywerestrangers—but behind the protective layers, Doren sensed a deep hurt. And maybe beneath that, a spark of hope?

They weren’t sure. But Doren wanted to find out.

Almost ramming straight into a craggy underwater outcropping of rock, Doren was wrenched back to the present. They had to get home! Ruminating on Jake wouldn’t ease their parents’ worries.

They shot down deeper, moving at an angle in order to catch the one thing able to speed this journey up.

The Gulf Stream.

Doren dove straight in, the current sweeping them along. In some ways, riding the Stream was akin to surfing up on the surface. It didn’t go all that fast on its own, but using it as a boost to Doren’s own rate of travel meant they could shoot forward and cut the time of the trip in half.

It was alsothrilling. A school of dolphins watched from just beyond the edge of the current as Doren swept by. They were smart little guys, those dolphins, but they could be such assholes.

Doren was booking it now, finding a focus even as coral reefs and a few giant lobsters flew by, their shells the color of dark caramel. It was meditative, the water rushing by, centering them and allowing them to calm themself. Their parents would be fine. No one would be angry. Maybe Doren would have the chance to know Jake a little better.

Between the speed of the water and their ruminations, they almost missed the entrance to the submarine canyon where their family lived. Doren probablywouldhave missed it, except for the tentacled creature waiting for them there. A spitting image of Doren, with one fundamental difference: their body wasn’t an iridescent rainbow. Instead, it was a rich midnight blue.

Bard.

If Doren could have sighed in this form, they would have. This was a bad sign. Doren slowed to approach the crack in the continental slope.

“Sib, where have you been?” Bard’s voice echoed in Doren’s mind. In their true forms, Doren’s race had no organs to create sound. Instead, they communicated through telepathy. It was convenient, but also meant that Bard couldn’t hide how frustrated they were.

“A human moved into the house by the beach where I surf.” Doren slid closer to Bard, although they kept enough distance in case Bard’s anger boiled over into something physical. They’d been known to tousle on occasion, and tentacle slaps were no joke.

“You had to find a new place to surf?” A hint of hope rode along with the words, and Doren winced inwardly as they squashed it. They couldn’t lie to each other, not telepathically.

“His cat ran away, and I saved her from her ignoble fate.”

Bard growled in their mind. “Doren!”

“He was nice! I liked him. Plus, I performed an act of heroism, so I’m certain he was grateful and found my company pleasurable.”

Bard didn’t answer for a long moment, just staring at Doren with their unblinking eyes. Lacking eyelids, Doren’s species could look very intimidating when circumstance called for it.

Finally, Bard turned away, speaking as they did. “Mom and Dad are waiting for you.”

A shiver shot down Doren’s body, and they followed behind Bard, the excitement draining away. This couldn’t be good.

The canyon opened up into an enormous chamber. Doren’s family had carved it out in the first years after their arrival on Earth. A bioluminescent coral bathed everything in a gentle green glow, and although they had no need of buildings under the ocean, their species loved art. It filled the huge expanse, sculptures and paintings and more. Each family member had their own little area, and even the sleeping platforms were decorated with ornate designs.

At the center of it all were Doren’s mother and father. Doren pushed out a train of bubbles as they shot over to them, doing their best to approximate a human sigh.

The first thing Doren noticed was their mom’s shaking tentacles. A wave of guilt hit them, like a harsh acid deep in their stomach.