Page 30 of Hummingbird and Kraken

Declan shook his head in the negative while nuzzling into Geir’s neck. “Bread. Later. With dill.” His breaths came out as little puffs against Geir’s skin, as sweet as kisses.

“Alright.” He pressed his lips to Declan’s head. He wasn’t wearing the sparkling paint on his eyelids today, but he was still just as beautiful.

He touched each eyelid with his lips, adjusting himself so that he would be comfortable on the couch for as long as Declan wanted to sleep.

Maybe he had something to offer after all.

Chapter 10

Declan

Declan blinked his eyes open, his brain still fuzzy with sleep. It was dark, and his neck had a crick in it from sleeping at a funny angle. He tried to stretch and found his arms pinned across his chest by tight, heavy bands.

It probably should have frightened him, but instead it felt peaceful and quiet and safe. He was warm where the bands pressed against him, spiraling down to his feet. Even his feet were safe, he thought with dream-infused logic.

Now he was starting to remember where he was. He knew the comforting bulk that was rising and falling beside and beneath him with slow, steady breaths.

Though his neck was still uncomfortable.

“Geir,” he whispered.

Geir’s body tensed for a moment in surprise, then his deep, husky voice whispered back. “Declan? Are you awake?”

“Mmmmmmm… Neck hurts.”

Immediately the bands pressing around him started to withdraw. He grabbed instinctively at the nearest one. He wasn’t ready for this to be over yet.

Geir froze, which made Declan freeze, too. Pulling on Geir like that was probably a bad thing.

He dropped his grip. “Sorry about that. I just didn’t want you to let go. I mean, I should probably stretch. It’s bad to be tied up in one position. Or, you know,” he made a gesture toward the tentacles that Geir probably couldn’t see. “But after I stretch, maybe…” A boy could always hope.

Geir blew out a relieved breath, and the tentacles came back, slowly and questioningly. It sounded like Geir was worried that he’d done something wrong, too.

As much as Declan liked the idea of Geir taking charge, it was nice that Geir was figuring out some things, too. It was nice that he was listening.

Nice because it meant that Geir would respect his boundaries, and nice because Declan had so many ideas that he hoped they could try out. Geir had seemed open to things so far.

Declan slowly stretched and twisted, working the blood flow back into his limbs and movement back into his joints. Nothing had been so tight that it cut off circulation, but the small stretches felt good. As he moved, Geir’s tentacles followed him, stroking and massaging.

It was heavenly. A perfect mix of movement and confinement, where Geir was soothing his tight muscles and also silently communicating that he would keep him held close. Geir used mostly the velvety, smooth lengths of his tentacles that lacked the suckers, keeping the pads at the ends with their rough suckers above his clothes.

Declan relaxed into it, moving his limbs slowly and luxuriously, and letting Geir knead and caress them as they traveled. A moan rose to his lips and he didn’t try to stop it. He wanted Geir to know how good this was. Massage and aftercare and little thrill of slippery tentacles holding him, all rolled into one.

“You like that?” Geir asked into the dark, his rumbling voice felt as much as heard.

“I love this. We could do this all night.” He rotated his neck around in a lazy circle, tracing a similar path with his left foot. Geir followed both of them.

“You need to eat, though,” Geir said dubiously. “I can’t always hold you.”

Declan sighed dramatically. “Are you sure? I think you could.”

Geir let out a surprised chuckle. “You still must eat. Close your eyes.”

Obligingly, Declan did. Closing his eyes sounded like it might result in a nice surprise. The tentacles surrounding his chest withdrew, then the harsh overhead light flickered on.

Alright, so that wasn’t really a nice surprise, but it was pretty cool. He blinked for a moment, letting his eyes adjust. Then he looked at the light switch on the wall behind the couch. “Wow! You can reach all the way over there?”

Geir shrugged. “I don’t think I can reach the bread, though.”