Page 8 of Tis the Season for Tentacles (Tinsel and Tentacles 2.0)

Chapter Eight

“Tentacles and Torment: Body Swapped” by FeliXFiles

Fandom: “The Tentacular Tales of Captain Starblade” by KirklovesSpock4eva

Tags: Lord Vardox, Captain Starblade, body swap, tentacles, 18+

Part 5 of Tentacles and Torment

Starblade stared at the tip of one of his tentacles as it started to secrete a copious amount of natural lubricant. The now sensitive appendage throbbed with arousal.

He never knew that Vardox’s tentacles felt like this.

Vardox—wearing Starblade’s form—smirked at him. “You don’t want to abandon this opportunity to experience things from my end, now do you? I can recognize the interest in your eyes.”

Starblade swallowed, feeling his cock pulse with desire. He took a hesitant step closer to the bed.

Vardox stroked his cock with one hand while continuing to finger his hole, eyeing Starblade with obvious anticipation.

Damn and blast!

He might be stuck in this body, but he didn’t have full control over it. It pulled him toward the other man, tentacles reaching out to touch.

“That’s it, darling,” Vardox purred. “Come and fuck this ass that wants my cock and tentacles so badly.”

Starblade’s shaky control snapped and he lunged for Vardox, ready to give him exactly what he wanted.

FELIX

S asha and I eagerly pull the rest of our group over to the town’s equivalent of an outdoor skating rink.

We follow a queue of folks to rent some skates, although I quickly realize from looking at others around us that these aren’t like the ice skates on Earth. They actually seem to be contraptions that attach to the bottom of one’s footwear, like removable spike cleats for getting traction on the ice. On these attachable devices are double blades that support both sides of the foot rather than a single blade in the center. I’m sure they’ll take a little bit of getting used to, but I’m game to try.

“Are you from Vegas?” Sasha asks. “When did you learn to skate?”

I grin. “Nevada born and raised, but I used to play hockey as a kid. My gramps loved taking me to the indoor rinks.”

Najar tilts his head. “Gramps? What is that?”

“A nickname for my grandfather. He basically raised me along with my nana—my grandmother.”

Najar considers this before studying me with a solemn expression. “Did your parents die when you were young?”

I understand why he’s asking, especially since he was orphaned so young. It makes my heart hurt just thinking about Najar being without any family as a child.

Given even the small tidbits he’s shared, I’m beginning to understand why Najar doesn’t trust outsiders and has a lot of emotional walls up.

My answering smile to his question is tinged with sadness. “No. I don’t know who my biological father is, or if he’s even still alive. He never stuck around and has never tried to search me out. As for my mom, I haven’t seen or spoken to her in years. I’m honestly not even sure if she’s still alive, either.” I sigh. “She was never the responsible type and tended to run from her problems. Gemma and I were left in her parents’ care when we were really young, so for all intents and purposes, my grandparents were my parents.” I look away, feeling tears come to my eyes. “Unfortunately, they both passed away a few years ago. That’s why Gemma and I only have each other now.”

“I’m very sorry for your loss. Your grandparents sound like they were wonderful people. They raised you well.”

I blink away my tears and smile at Najar. “I was incredibly lucky. In all likelihood, I probably wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for them.” I chuckle. “My nana would be so excited to know I’m on an adventure with extraterrestrial beings. She was big on alien conspiracy theories and used to watch lots of those investigative shows on Roswell and stuff.”

Finally, it’s our turn in line to rent our ice gliders, as they call them.

Luna takes one look at them up close and deftly steps aside, shaking her head vigorously. “I’m gonna sit this one out, friends. It seems like it would be a good idea to make sure one member of our crew doesn’t sustain any potential injuries while we’re here.”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” Sasha chastises with a grin.

“Trying to glide around on ice with sharp metal blades attached to my feet sounds like a recipe for disaster. Hard pass, thanks.” Luna gives us two thumbs up. “But you all have fun and try not to incur any serious head trauma out there.”

When Najar is handed his pair of ice gliders, he regards them with a furrowed brow. “I believe Luna had the right idea. I will just return?—”

“Ahem.” I put my hands on my hips and stare Najar down. “No more bailing on ice skating allowed. Besides, this will be fun. Just try it.”

He purses his lips as he studies the ice gliders. My peer pressure tactic seems to be having little sway.

Sitting on an empty bench nearby, I pat the seat beside me. “Come join me, and I’ll help you get them on.”

He grimaces but does what I say.

I fit my ice gliders to my boots quite easily. I’m not sure what material they’re made from, but it molds to the size and shape of my boot almost organically and then locks in place nice and tight. I marvel at the technology.

To test things outs, I stomp each of my feet and am relieved to see the gliders are quite secure and stable.

Najar continues to look skeptically at his gliders as he puts them on with obvious reluctance. I decide to goad him a little bit.

After all, fair is fair, right?

“Don’t tell me the big, mighty Dravethian warrior is scared to try ice skating?”

He fixes me with an irritable glare. “I am not frightened. I simply do not see the point of this activity.”

Okay, maybe Luna was right about the whole stick-up-the-ass side of Najar’s personality. He might be sexy as all get out, but he also needs to lighten up a bit.

But my sensible brain reminds me that, given his upbringing, he probably never had a chance to indulge in fun just for the sake of fun. It’s a sad thought and one that immediately makes me want to help Najar get in touch with his inner child.

“You told me this planet is safe. You’re not on duty, so why not live a little? There’s a festival going on, so let’s be festive .”

Khephren hears that and waddles over to us on his gliders, his tentacles in their coat sleeves waving all over the place and his eyes bright. “Yes! Felix is right, my bestie. We must indulge in the fun around us. When on Glacius Major, do as the Glacians do!”

Sasha leans into his side. “Skating is actually fun. Give it a chance, Najar.”

Najar folds like a deck of cards under our joint attack.

“Fine. I yield. I shall try the… ice skating.”

Sasha takes hold of his husband’s hand. “Let me teach you, Tentacle Boy.”

“I can’t wait, my love!” Khephren replies giddily, hearts in his eyes as Sasha leads him toward the rink.

They are ridiculously cute together. I can’t help but feel a pang of envy.

Najar gets to his feet a little unsteadily, and, deciding to be bold, I reach out and take hold of one of his gloved hands. “Come on. I can teach you too.”

He grumbles but lets me drag him with me. It’s a good thing I keep him close because the rink is a happening place and there are already quite a few folks enjoying themselves on the ice.

It takes me a moment or two to adjust to the differences of these ice gliders to traditional skates. They balance my body in a way that reminds me more of four-wheeled roller skates from my youth. Keeping that in mind helps me reposition myself a little as I move.

“Let me take a quick loop or two of the rink and once I’m confident I’ve got the hang of these gliders, I’ll come and teach you,” I tell Najar as I lead him over to a low wall where he can hold on for support.

I do a couple of laps around the rink, smiling the whole way as my body remembers the old movements and easily adapts to the new footwear. It’s been years since I last did this. But I know why. Once I started grad school, I was swamped with so much work that I had no time for extracurricular activities. Then, after Nana and Gramps died, I stayed away because it brought up too many painful nostalgic memories.

But right now, I feel freer and more lighthearted than I have in far longer than I care to remember.

The fact that it took aliens abducting me and taking me to another planet to rekindle my love for ice skating seems to perfectly fit the weirdness that characterizes my life at this moment.

Sasha pulls up next to me, arm in arm with his husband, who appears to be finally getting the hang of things. Khephren beams, his face downright incandescent.

“Isn’t this so much fun? I love it!”

Sasha gazes at him with a smitten look. “So glad we found a new activity that we both like and can do together, babe.”

Khephren leans over and kisses his cheek before whispering to me, “Please go and help Najar. He’s stubborn, I know, but I think he would have fun if he just loosened up a little bit.”

I nod and head over to the glowering man who’s holding on to the wall so tightly I’m afraid he might leave permanent indentations from his grip.

“Okay, I’ve got the hang of these gliders now. Let me teach you some basics,” I offer.

The look he gives me is distinctly wary.

I roll my eyes. “Come on, big guy. I’ll help you. It’ll be fun.”

“I do not believe I enjoy this… ice skating.”

I laugh. “You haven’t even tried yet. Come on.”

He lets out a disgruntled huff and holds out his hands.

I take them in mine and carefully skate backward as I pull him along with me. “Take it slow and get a feel for the way you need to move your feet. Go with the forward glide, don’t fight it.”

Shakily, Najar manages to stay mostly upright as I pull him along.

“Try not to look at your feet the whole time,” I urge.

His mesmerizing eyes lock with mine and we almost skate into someone ahead of me.

Focus, Felix!

We successfully make it around the rink once.

“You did it! Pretty fun, huh?”

“Thank you for helping me.” His tone is gruff but sincere.

Aww. The guy’s definitely awkward when it comes to social niceties, but he’s not a bad person.

“My pleasure. Shall we do another lap?”

He studies me for a long moment, his expression unreadable.

Finally, he nods. “One more.”

I grin and decide to shift positions, moving to his side and looping my right arm with his left. “Let’s try it like this.”

His eyes widen but he nods. We move slowly at first but pick up a little speed as Najar’s movements become less jerky and stiff.

But just when I think it’s smooth sailing—or skating—ahead for us, Najar loses his rhythm and does a comical mock dance of waving tentacles and skittering legs as he tries to stop himself from sliding on the ice.

I try to help but an instant later, his feet go out from under him and he falls backward, pulling me with him.

We land with a thump, and I’m surprised that it doesn’t hurt.

When I open my eyes, I realize I’ve landed on top of a very big, golden alien who has somehow managed to not only support himself with a couple of his tentacles but also has wrapped two of them around me to keep me safe when we fell.

Do I swoon a little?

Hell yes, I do. But I keep it from showing on my face.

I swallow and bite my bottom lip. “Um, thanks for bracing my fall.”

“Think nothing of it. It was my fault, after all.” Then he scowls. “The damn thermal suit sleeves for my tentacles restrict my movements too much. I’m sure I would have been able to maintain better equilibrium if they were free to move more naturally.”

I pat him on the shoulder placatingly. “I’m sure you’re right.”

We stare into one another’s eyes and I realize I’m still lying on top of the poor man. Blood rushes to my cheeks as I awkwardly clamber off him— stupid bulky thermal suit —and manage to get to my feet.

I offer him a hand but he shakes his head, instead getting to his knees and knee-crawling over to the exit.

Luna is standing on the non-ice side of the rink door, laughing her fool head off and pointing a finger and three tentacles at Najar. “Hahahaha! Never thought I’d see the day you’d be brought to your knees, Naj! That was hysterical to watch, by the way.”

He glowers at her and makes his way to a bench to remove his gliders. “I doubt you would have done much better.”

She smirks. “Probably not, but then again, I wasn’t fool enough to go out there to begin with.”

It’s my turn to glare at her. “Najar was very brave for trying something new. And he did quite well for his first time skating. Everyone falls when they first start out. Heck, even professionals fall sometimes.”

She winks at me and I join Najar to remove my own gliders.

His expression is clouded so I give him a friendly elbow in the side. “Hey, don’t pout. Seriously, you did great for your first time. We managed a nice couple of laps around the rink. Falling is just part of learning how to skate. Don’t feel bad about it.”

He grunts. “I believe one time was more than enough for me when it comes to ice skating.”

Wanting to get back to the lighter mood we had going before he fell, I suggest, “Why don’t we go and do something you’d enjoy?”

Luna flashes us a knowing look and starts waving us off. “Great idea, Felix! You two go and have fun. I’ll stay here and watch over Sasha and Kheph.” She gestures to the rink. “Seems like they’re still having some super lovey-dovey time together. We can meet back up when it’s time to return to the ship.”

“Sounds good. What do you think?” I ask Najar.

He considers me for a moment, and I kind of wish I could read his mind because the guy can be rather inscrutable at times. Although I suppose that adds to his sexy warrior mystique.

“Why don’t we wander around and see what catches our fancy?” he finally offers.

My lips curve into a relieved smile. “I like that plan.”

I reach out and link my arm with his naturally just like earlier—because I can be a smooth motherfucker when I want to be.

“Let’s stick close so I don’t get lost. There are lots of folks around.”

He blinks at me for a second but then nods his assent.

We wend our way through the dense crowds in the center of town, where the majority of the festivities are happening. Eventually, we discover an interesting ice sculpture garden we heard others talking about, but there’s a huge line so we decide to try again later.

After wandering for an hour, we get hungry and decide to explore some of the food stalls. I’m not entirely sure about most of the meat dishes on another planet like this, so I opt to try what resembles a mini-baguette that is filled with a local variety of melted cheese, which the vendor assures me is safe for humans. Najar selects some kebabs with grilled Glacius boar meat that smells quite good.

He notices me studying his food. “This meat is probably safe for human consumption.”

“I’d rather not take too many chances,” I say. “Food poisoning is no fun and meat tends to be riskier than a lot of other things.”

And I don’t want to contemplate alien meat-borne parasites…

Focusing on my own snack, I take a bite of my gooey cheese baguette, moaning with pleasure. The bread is crispy on the outside and wonderfully fluffy on the inside, and the accompanying cheese reminds me a bit of a mix of brie and gouda.

“This is delicious. It would be great with some sautéed mushrooms and onions.”

“Much the same as some places on Earth, there are limited fruits and vegetables grown in this region due to the constant winter climate. As a consequence, the diet of most inhabitants leans to mostly meat and fish along with dairy and heartier grains.”

“Don’t they do any greenhouse cultivation?”

“From what I understand, they do cultivate some vegetables that way, but it’s expensive and difficult. Instead, they focus on the few durable kinds of produce they can raise naturally. Some arctic greens, root vegetables, and one natural fruit that grows year-round in the winter climate.”

My eyebrows arch with interest. “What is it?”

He flashes a brief but genuine smile. “Let’s see if we can find someone selling it here.”

We wander around until Najar spies what he’s looking for and leads me to a yeti-like vendor selling candied frost plums.

“This is a local delicacy,” the vendor explains.

“Is it safe for human consumption?” I ask.

He nods. “There are no species we are aware of that cannot eat this fruit.”

We buy a bag full of the berry-sized treats to share.

Taking a modest gamble, I remove my glove and pluck out one of the delicacies from the bag, then pop it in my mouth and pray it doesn’t make me sick.

It’s sweet and a little tart, reminding me of a cross between a cherry and a cranberry, with a hint of red grape. As I crunch on it, it releases a final burst of refreshing juice flavor.

“Mmmm. I can see why these are so famous here.” I hold the bag out to Najar. “Try one. They’re delicious.”

Najar fishes one out of the bag and pops it in his mouth. “Mmm, yes. Quite lovely.”

“We should save some for the others.” I close the bag with only a bit of reluctance.

Najar nods and his lips quirk. “They will, no doubt, enjoy them—especially Luna. She has a rather significant sweet tooth, as you Earthlings like to say.”

I laugh. “Good to know if I ever need to bribe her.”

We stroll through the streets, enjoying the festival-like atmosphere of the winter market, and I’m relieved that Najar and I have finally found a comfortable vibe. My hopes for us kindling a friendship are growing, and I’m pleased to discover that we manage to converse with greater ease as time goes by.

Najar is not the most talkative of men, but I also don’t need to fill every moment with conversation. I’m perfectly all right with sharing companionable silence while we walk arm in arm.

It’s getting closer to the time when we are scheduled to meet up with our group and head back to the ship for the night. Already, the sun is starting to set amidst a sudden onslaught of snow flurries.

When we finally reconnect with the others, the weather has taken a rapid turn for the worse, and all the festival vendors are packing up and retreating.

“This isn’t good,” Najar says, lines of worry on his face.

“Let’s hurry to the carriage station so we can get back to the Sleigh Belle,” Khephren suggests.

We hasten in that direction but when we arrive, we find they’re closing up shop as well.

“I’m afraid there will be no more carriage service to the landing site today,” the hairy bear-like manager says. “We have a sudden snow squall coming on. I suggest you seek shelter quickly.”

“Can you direct us to an inn nearby?” Najar asks.

“Most places are fully booked up for the festival, but there’s one place I know that might still have some rooms available.” The carriage-shop manager shares what appear to be GPS coordinates with Najar who inputs them into a handheld mini tablet-like device.

“Thank you, sir. Please be safe on your way home,” Najar offers.

We part ways, and Najar leads us, using his device to guide us. After turning down several side streets, we finally reach a quaint, European-style inn reminiscent of ones I encountered in Salzburg, Austria.

By now, the snow is coming down heavily, and the wind is so strong that visibility has become limited. When we enter the front door, we find ourselves in a cozy tavern with a large fireplace keeping the space toasty warm. All of us are ready to escape the cold and find some respite here, so we stomp and shake off the snow that’s accumulated on our thermal suits and boots before moving toward the bar.

Another Yeti-like creature, this one sporting a bartender’s apron, comes out from behind the counter with a toothy smile. “Good evening, travelers. Are you here for dinner?”

Khephren pulls back his hood, releasing his mane of vibrant pink hair, and smiles. “We’re from off-planet and just arrived today. Unfortunately, we missed the last carriage to the landing site before the storm hit. Now we’re looking for a place to stay until the snow squall passes since we’re unable to get back to our ship until then.”

The innkeeper studies us with a frown. “Hmm, I don’t have many rooms left, but let me check my register. We’ve been very busy with all the festival attendees and now the storm is pushing most places in town to capacity, I’m afraid.” We follow him over to the bar, where he pulls out a ledger and studies it closely. “You’re in luck. I still have two full rooms available, plus a bed left in the women-only dormitory.”

Luna raises her hand. “No worries. I’ll take the bed in the dormitory.”

The innkeeper smiles. “Oh, good. I think we can make this work, then.” He uses a device to scan her hand before giving her a flat metallic object. “Here’s your biometric key card.”

“How does that work?” I whisper to Najar.

He leans closer and I try to ignore the fact that he smells like musky man magic. “The device he used takes a scan of the guest and syncs the key card and door access to only that person’s biological signature.”

My eyes go huge. “Like a DNA key card?”

His lips curve in obvious amusement. “Something like that.”

“So cool,” I mutter to myself.

The innkeeper hands Luna a small bag. “Here’s a complimentary overnight kit. I’m thinking you didn’t bring any necessities with you for a day trip to the festival? Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do to make your stay more comfortable.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate this.”

“My pleasure. The communal showers for the dormitory are just across the hall from the sleeping quarters. Very convenient and clean.”

Luna beams. “Perfect. I’m all set.”

The innkeeper goes through the same hand-scanning procedure with Khephren and Najar, then hands them biometric key cards too.

“Would you all like meals included with your stay?” he asks.

Khephren speaks up for our group. “Yes, please. For now, we’ll at least want dinner and breakfast tomorrow. But we may need to extend our stay if the storm lasts longer than that.”

The innkeeper bows. “Of course, sir.”

“Wonderful. We’ll go get situated and then come back. I’m sure looking forward to enjoying a hot dinner in your lovely tavern here.” Kheph grins at all of us. “How about you guys?”

We all agree that hot foot sounds amazing and my stomach actually decides to growl making everyone laugh.

The innkeeper goes over the cost of our stay with Khephren, who scans a device that contains his intergalactic credits information to pay for our stay.

I feel bad having to rely on them for all of this, but I have no currency that would be accepted in the universe. Then again, I am their abducted guest, so I don’t let myself get too stressed about it.

Luna flashes us a big grin. “Let’s all meet back here in twenty minutes. Sound good?”

We all agree, and she skips off to the women’s dormitory the innkeeper directs her to at the back of the building. Meanwhile, he leads the rest of us up a flight of stairs to the private guest rooms.

That’s when I belatedly start to realize this situation is going to get real awkward real fast, because unless I miss my guess, I’m going to be rooming with Najar.

Well, crap.

The innkeeper stops in front of one door and favors Sasha and Kheph with a smile. “You mentioned that it was nearly your one-year anniversary, so you’re the perfect pair to enjoy the inn’s Honeymoon Suite, which happens to be vacant right now.”

Khephren’s eyes are very nearly shooting sparks of excitement. “How wonderful! I can’t wait to see it.” He uses his high-tech key card to open the door.

He and Sasha head inside and Najar and I stand awkwardly in the hallway.

Khephren’s voice trails out to where we hover. “This is like an early anniversary present.”

“Ooh!” Sasha exclaims. “Talk about cozy and romantic. I love it.”

Khephren peeks his head back out the door, his face flushed. “I do believe my husband and I might have an early night tonight.”

The innkeeper rubs his furry hands together. “I’m so glad you’re pleased. And congratulations to you both.”

Sasha peers around his husband. “Actually, do you offer room service?”

“For a small additional fee, we’d be happy to bring a hot meal to the suite,” the innkeeper offers with a bow.

“Make it so, Tentacle Boy,” Sasha says, giving his husband a playful smack on the ass and disappearing back inside the room.

Khephren places their dinner order with the innkeeper and gives us an only slightly apologetic smile. “Looks like my love and I will be enjoying our meal privately tonight. We’ll meet up with you all in the morning.”

Before we can even respond, he slams the door in our faces.

I’m starting to panic a little now, but I bite my tongue and silently follow the innkeeper as he leads us to a room at the far end of the hall.

He beams at us. “I gave your friends our Honeymoon Suite, but that’s not the only themed room we offer.” He waggles his hairy eyebrows at us. “I could tell just by looking at you two that you’ll benefit from this room. It’s for those looking to rekindle the spicy flame in their relationship.”

Panic sweat forms on my brow and I turn my horrified gaze on Najar, whose face has gone worryingly blank.

The innkeeper continues happily. “Because of their specialty themes, these two rooms aren’t booked as regularly as my others, so you’re quite lucky I still had them on a night like tonight.”

With obvious reluctance, Najar carefully uses his key card to open the door and steps inside.

Warily, I follow him for two steps, only to come to a screeching halt.

We’ve ended up in a room that is a cross between an alien bordello and some sort of love hotel that rents specialty rooms by the hour.

I stare around me, trying to take it all in at once.

The walls are covered in a wallpaper that features a disturbing pattern of what looks to be a variety of alien penises. Against one wall are several clear shelves lined with what appear to be a colorful array of extraterrestrial sex toys designed to suit a wide range of personal preferences.

A heart-shaped indoor hot tub bubbles away in one corner, next to the window that looks out over the town. The window ledge has a shelf full of colorful bottles that look like they might contain perfume or oils.

But the thing I’m most worried about is in the center of the room—namely, an enormous round bed covered in a blanket that looks uncannily like velvet. It could seriously give a Vegas theme hotel a run for its money.

“There’s only one bed,” I squeak, trying not to hyperventilate.

The innkeeper cocks his head at us in confusion. “It should be more than big enough for the two of you. It’s designed to fit up to four medium-sized beings. Why, a few weeks ago, we had a Morgelyff polycule with five partners that managed to squeeze in there just fine.” He stops and strokes his beard with a chuckle. “Of course, they were from Graxlog V and that planet’s known for some wild sexual practices. But never fear. The floor is waterproof, and we hose it down and disinfect it after every guest visit.”

Oh, sweet Jesus.

“Could you possibly see if any other guests might want to switch with us?” There’s a faint note of desperation in Najar’s voice that makes me feel a little better.

The innkeeper guffaws. “Come now. Don’t be intimidated. This room has revived many a relationship over the years. Give it a chance.”

“Would there be any other inns nearby that might have a double room available?” I dare to ask.

He shakes his head. “Doubtful. And I wouldn’t recommend trying to go outside again tonight anyway. It’s quite dangerous when the weather gets like this.”

Najar forces a smile. “We’ll be fine. Thank you. We’re very grateful to have such a… lovely room to stay in.”

The innkeeper’s eyes sparkle. “Oh good! I know you’ll love it if you give it a chance. Trust me. You won’t regret it. This room is fully stocked with anything you might need.” He gestures to the ledge by the hot tub. “There are aphrodisiac oils for your pleasure and several types of lubricant to suit your taste. Oh, and all our sexual aids are all properly sterilized between guests and free for you to enjoy as well.”

“Uh…” is all I manage as I stare at the three rows of shelves lined with toys.

The innkeeper claps his hands together decisively. “I’ll let you get settled. Dinner will continue to be served in the tavern for another two hours, so come down at your leisure.” He winks. “Or feel free to order room service if you don’t want to leave your love nest.”

Whistling to himself, he retreats down the hall, and we’re left alone in our very own alien sex room.

I dart a quick glance at Najar, who’s calmly unbuttoning his thermal suit like the campy porn set we’ve walked into is totally normal.

Damn him.

“How are we going to make this work?” I ask.

He shrugs out of the suit and goes to hang it up in a wardrobe, where I also spy pajamas along with bathrobes and slippers.

And some leather and lace items I’m going to ignore.

“It’ll be fine,” Najar says dismissively. “The bed’s huge. We can share it easily.”

“B-but…” I sputter.

He turns and frowns. “What’s the problem?”

Evidently, he’s not remotely bothered by this situation.

Talk about a kick to the balls of my ego. So much for my meager sexual allure.

“Never mind,” I mumble.

Najar’s frown deepens. “I can sleep on the floor if the idea of sharing a bed with me is so repellent.”

Okay, now I’m just acting like a jackass.

“No. Ignore me. We can share the bed.”

I focus on undoing my thermal suit and once I’m free of the bulky garment, I hang it up in the wardrobe beside Najar’s and retreat into the bathroom and give myself a minute to calm down.

After all, Najar and I can totally share a sex-dungeon bed as platonic pals, no problem.

Right?