by Delaney Rain
It was possible all of that might’ve been worth it to have Ty and their kids and adventures like this for their rest of his life.
Eric swam over to Ty, took his respirator out, and kissed them soundly. Ty seemed a little bewildered until Eric mouthed that he loved them. Ty giggled at him and promptly made him put the respirator back in, but Eric knew they understood.
I love you. You’re amazing. Stay with me forever.
Primus decided they wanted to walk from the aft deck to the pool, and then the rest needed to do the same. It was a long walk, and Eric suspected they took breaks not to stop and see things, but because the kids just weren’t strong enough to keep going. They were stubborn, though. Definitely that.
The noise of them on this epic journey was probably a good thing—at least, Eric hoped they needed to let the occupants of the pool know people were coming with a lot of advanced notice.
When they got to the lounge, Michael was coming up the spiral staircase from the cabins. He looked freshly showered and had a towel around his waist. The both of them had been wearing shorts or towels this entire time, but right now, Michael looked a lot more comfortable in his skin than Eric had ever seen him.
“Hey, how was the trip?” Michael asked the kids.
They had, of course, collected tiny souvenirs and now presented them to him as he squatted down for a look. Crowding close, they talked about everything they’d seen and made him hold each item. Meanwhile, Eric was practically vibrating with the desire to ask Michael what he’d done while they were diving.
Not wanting to be quite that rude, Eric told Michael about the dolphins. When the kids started scratching themselves, that meant they were getting too dry, so Eric got everyone moving toward the pool again. As they were filing into the water and greeting Serion to begin their stories all over again, Michael walked ahead of Eric, stooped for a moment, and kissed Serion right on their smiling lips.
“Yes!”
Everyone stopped and stared at Eric as his entire body blushed.
“Sorry. That was, uh…”
Grinning, Michael said, “Excitement over your friends’ new relationship?”
“Yep, that.” And Eric just had to hold his hand up for a high-five, which Michael laughingly gave him.
“Are you going to make babies now?” Cinqus asked in all innocence.
Michael and Serion both spluttered and blushed, and Eric could tell all the kids were going to keep asking until they had an answer.
“Maybe someday,” he said. “They need more time to get to know each other.”
Each little head nodded sagely before returning to their stories and detailed item inventory. Eric left them to it in the pool with Ty and Serion, going over to sit in the other lounge chair beside Michael.
“Don’t ask me for details,” Michael said.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“You’re grinning like an idiot.”
“So are you.”
Michael chuckled and glanced over at Serion with the most love-struck expression Eric might’ve ever seen. “I might ask you to take the kids swimming again later.”
“Just say you need to check the navigation and go on up to the bridge together. There’s a very study table up there.”
Michael blinked at him. “You two do that, like, twice a day.”
Eric waggled his eyebrows at him, making him laugh. “I mean, sometimes I am checking the navigation and piloting.”
“But you don’t need Ty for that.”
“Nope.”
Shaking his head, Michael sat back, that grin still there. “A sturdy table, huh?”
“Very sturdy. And there’s cleaning supplies in the cabinet behind it.”
Michael groaned and covered his eyes, but Eric still felt quite accomplished.
Chapter Fifteen
Eric and Michael hiked up the hill to the house from where he’d docked the yacht. It was a somber walk, but Eric did feel some of the day’s tensions ebbing now that he was home.
He had dropped off the Cecaelia earlier in the day so he could take Michael to Kauai. All of them had probably been avoiding the subject, but Michael had still needed to report the fact that his uncle’s boat had sunk and he was the only survivor. The authorities had been sympathetic and thorough with their paperwork, even offering to take Michael to tell the rest of the family what had happened.
But Michael didn’t have any other family, and Eric’s heart broke for him. It had only been him, his uncle, and cousin. Now, it was just him. Even though it had always been implied, Eric made sure Michael knew he could live with them on his island for as long as he wanted.
After a stop at Michael’s apartment to get some of his things, they were finally home. They left Michael’s boxes in the house, took a brief tour, and then Eric led them down toward the lagoon. He hoped Michael would come to think of all of them as his family someday soon.
“What’s that blackness in the water?” Michael asked, pointing.
Eric looked up and froze. Half the lagoon was dark, inky dark, and that could only mean one thing.
He screamed Ty’s name and ran.
Heart pounding fit to burst, Eric headed straight for Ty as they walked out of the shallow water near Eric’s chair. “Everyone is fine,” Ty said, their arms full of hatchlings. “We were all startled, and Serion is making sure it is gone, but everyone is well.”
Eric touched each little head, noting frightened eyes and how tightly they clung, before pressing his forehead to Ty’s and trying to remember how to breathe.
Michael asked, “What’s Serion looking for?”
“A small shark,” Ty said. “Our ink will have—”
“There’s a fucking shark in my lagoon?” Eric stood up, scanning the water, homicidal rage replacing his fear. “I’ll fucking kill it and eat it for dinner.”
“Easy,” Michael cautioned. “You stay here with your family, and I’ll see what Serion’s found.”
Suddenly, a long and slim gray object launched up out of the water near the mouth of the lagoon, spun end over end, and landed with a smacking splash in open water.
“There goes the shark.” Michael trotted over to Serion as they aimed for the beach.
Eric heaved a shaky breath. In fact, all of him was shaking. He slowly sat down on the sand and welcomed Ty into his arms when they leaned against him. Sniffling a bit, the kids migrated to Eric or touched both their parents as everyone watched Michael and Serion down near the lagoon’s entrance.
“We need a gate,” Eric whispered. “Something that will keep out sharks and anything else like them.”
“A good idea.” Ty turned and kissed his cheek. “But we all did as we should,” they said in their teachable moment voice. “Everyone spread ink and swam away.”
“We hid in the coral,” Primus said with half their tentacles still wrapped around Sextus, who didn’t seem to mind. “Serion scooped us out.”
“Hiding was smart,” Ty said, “but we were worried when we couldn’t find you.”
Eric twitched and looked at Ty. “You just used a contraction.”
“A what?”
Huffing a laugh, Eric hugged them. “Never mind. It’s okay.”
They sat together talking quietly about what Eric and Michael had done, how he was going to stay with them for a while. The kids were on board with having their guests become family and still wanted to know when they would get new hatchlings to play with. Considering Michael and Serion held hands as they came back toward them, Eric thought maybe it wouldn’t be long now.
When Eric felt like he could stand up and walk around without passing out or throwing up, he took Michael back up to the house to check out his supply of wood, rope, nets, and pulleys. He and the workers had needed to do things more manually when they were working on the house because it would’ve been crazy to try and get machines out here. Since he’d bought it all, they’d left everything in his tool shed.
Between the two of them, Eric and Michael we
re able to work out a design that might do what they needed. Mainly, it had to be weather-resistant and secure, but it also had to open so the Cecaelia could come and go through it.
The pulleys proved invaluable, as did the heavier posts. Getting those in took the rest of the day, so as the sun began to set, they settled on stretching a fishing net that Eric had found when he first arrived between the posts, temporarily closing off the entrance to the lagoon.
Just that much took away enough of Eric’s worries for him to relax a little more. While he and Michael sat with the kids—who’d volunteered to go into their playpen—Ty and Serion scouted the lagoon for any other large predators. All they found was an eel, which they promptly escorted out of the lagoon.
That evening, Eric sat in his partially submerged chair with his head tilted back to watch the stars shine. Sextus was curled up and sound asleep on his chest, while the rest of them slept in their playpen. They’d gotten big enough that they didn’t all fit under the branch anymore, but they were making it work. Eric thought it was possible they wanted to feel as secure as they’d felt back in their early days when they hadn’t worried about getting eaten in their own home. He patted Sextus gently and hoped the gate would help ease their fears and his.
“You’re missing it,” Ty whispered as they walked over.
Eric grinned for the contraction usage continuing. “Missing what?”
Ty pointed, and Eric gasped in delight when he looked over.
Michael and Serion were in the water out near Blowjob Rock. With only the moonlight illuminating them, all Eric could really see was how close together they were and when their heads touched.
Ty held up their hand, clearly looking for a high-five, and Eric gave it to them.
“It’s okay with you,” Eric asked, “that they stay, right?”
“Of course.”
“Okay. I don’t know if it’ll be forever, but I let Michael know he’s welcome.”
“He lost a great deal. I wouldn’t want him to be alone.” They grinned, their tooth gleaming in the moonlight. “Besides, Serion is in love with Michael and was very excited to learn we can breed with our humans.”
“Oh, that’s great. I mean, Michael might not be thrilled about hosting, but once those kids are out, he’ll be hooked just like me.” He gave Sextus a little kiss on their head and got a tiny snore in return.
Ty slid their hand slowly up Eric’s thigh. “How long will you continue to wear clothing now that we are home?”
“It was to help Michael be comfortable, but if he’s comfortable enough to be out there having sex in the lagoon, maybe he’ll be fine with running around naked, too.”
A few of Ty’s tentacles wrapped around Eric’s legs, making him squirm in his seat.
“There’s a baby sleeping on me.”
“They could be sleeping with their siblings.”
Eric snorted quietly and got up to put Sextus in the playpen. He was glad that the switch from breathing above and below the surface was so easy for them since Sextus didn’t even twitch as Eric set them down. Like puppies, the rest wiggled around and welcomed their sibling right into the pile. When Eric was sure no one had woken, he tossed his shorts up onto shore, and returned to his chair.
Ty climbed right up onto his lap, tentacles and arms wrapping around him as they kissed slowly and deeply. This felt like a homecoming, but also like a reaffirmation. I love you. I need you. And Eric gave himself over to the building passion between them.
When Ty backed off and went under, Eric tried to keep his sounds to a minimum while a very eager mouth enveloped his cock. He petted Ty’s sleek skin and massaged their shoulders and neck, giving back how he could while Ty sucked and laved at him.
Fingers teased at his hole, and Eric spread his legs as wide as he could while slumping down in his seat. Ty pressed steadily deeper, opening him up, and Eric shuddered in anticipation of what he hoped was coming for him.
Gripping Eric’s thighs, Ty resurfaced and said, “Eric, may I fill you?”
“Hell yes.” But in trying to get into position, he nearly drowned himself.
“Turn around,” Ty said through a giggle before helping Eric out of the chair.
On his knees in the sand and holding onto the arms of the chair, Eric couldn’t hold back his moaning when Ty got enough of their cock into him to really thrill them both. Not all of it but enough to have Eric biting his lip to keep quiet as Ty rocked inside him, rubbing and stretching over and over again. When Ty’s smaller tentacles came around and wrapped up Eric’s straining cock and balls, he knew he wouldn’t last much longer.
The water lapped at the chair as Ty’s hands and tentacles wandered Eric’s body, pushing him higher with each thrust. He clenched on Ty’s thick cock, wishing it was all of that sea monster crammed inside him. And maybe he said that out loud because the instant Eric started coming, Ty pushed deeper, shoving every last inch of their cock deep inside Eric’s pulsing body.
He cried out then, couldn’t even try to stop it and kind of didn’t care who knew what that sound meant. While he quaked in delicious ecstasy, feeling Ty’s cock flood him so deep inside, Eric released every noise of intense pleasure he wanted. And when Ty whispered in Eric’s ear that they loved knowing he was theirs, claimed within and without, Eric shuddered with satisfaction and came a little more. Even as Ty withdrew, Eric clung to the chair and moaned from the sensations and knowing some of Ty was staying inside him.
Ty maneuvered Eric around so he lounged against Ty now sitting in the chair. Reveling in the afterglow, Eric let himself float, his upper body anchored in Ty’s strong arms. Eventually, Ty pulled him down and close, cuddling him up with arms and tentacles.
“Can I have some elixir?”
Ty held up that scoop-shaped tentacle, and Eric drank down a couple swallows. The warm buzz made him sigh as he petted along Ty’s arms and closed his eyes.
“Rest now,” Ty whispered. “Your family is safe and happy.”
“My family… I love you so much.”
“I know.” Ty kissed his cheek and held him close.
Chapter Sixteen
The days passed quickly as Michael and Eric concentrated on finishing the gate. It took about two weeks to get it all working the way they wanted. In the end, Michael demonstrated opening and closing the whole thing whether someone was on land or in the water, while Eric stood nearby with his arms full of hatchlings.
They’d refused to come out of the playpen this entire time and hadn’t been willing to swim down and watch the demonstration from the water. Part of that was Eric’s fault and he knew it. Ty had had to have a talk with him about how his fears were scaring the crap out of their kids. Yes, the ocean was dangerous. Yes, sometimes bad things happened. But constant fear would probably kill all of them faster than some random reef shark.
And Ty reminded Eric that they’d chosen this lagoon to breed in before they’d ever met Eric. This place was one of the safest Ty had ever been, so Eric needed to chill.
“See?” Eric said when Michael finished re-closing the gate. “No big things with teeth can get in here now.”
“What about small things with teeth?” Secondus asked from Eric’s left arm where their tentacles were wrapped so tightly, he was starting to lose feeling in his hand.
“There’s nothing in here you can’t handle. Or do you think Serion and Ty are lying?”
That seemed to give them pause.
“Sweetheart, you need to stop squeezing my arm because I can’t feel my fingers. I’m going to drop Tertius.” Instead of letting go, everyone doubled-down on their grips. “No, don’t do that. I’m— Okay, we’re going in the water.”
They squealed their protests until they went under, but he knew in his heart that they were fine. Everything was fine. He trusted his and Michael’s work and he trusted Ty and Serion when they said this place was safe. He just had to prove it to the kids he’d accidentally traumatized.
With rapid readjustments, they moved aroun
d until they were holding onto his shoulders with a couple of them aiming for his head—the parts that weren’t completely underwater.
“It’s safe here,” he said, “and we’re doing this.”
He went under and swam for the door they’d built into the gate. Holding his breath and ignoring the way they were pulling on his hair or squeezing so hard he’d have bruises, Eric showed them how the door opened and closed. He demonstrated that the net’s openings were only big enough for three of his fingers in a triangle shape, which meant even their little heads couldn’t fit through. He went up for another breath, and then took them down to the bottom to show how the gate touched, so nothing could slip underneath. With the top being about three feet above the waterline, nothing would be going over it either.
“See how safe the gate makes this place?” He tried to keep his voice light despite the fact Quatrus might be tearing his hair out with the multiple grips they had with their tentacles. “Everything’s okay here now.”
Ty appeared beside him. “And now that I will begin teaching you to hunt and defend yourselves, you will be safe out there and in here.”
Eric glanced skyward and hoped he hadn’t been on his way toward making them agoraphobic. “Yep, Ty’s going to teach you all the secrets to being tough and independent. You’ll own these waters, and the sharks will swim away screaming when they see you coming.”
Primus snorted in Eric’s ear, but it sounded like they thought that was funny, not that they doubted him. When Quatrus then tried to disentangle themselves from Eric’s hair and couldn’t, it seemed to break even more of the tension when everyone giggled that Eric’s hair was like tentacles now.
“It is so safe,” Serion said from the shoreline where they held Michael’s hand, “that Michael and I would like to breed here. With your permission, of course.”
