Alphie Read online

  It’s that sweet-smelling spray that’s coming out of his tentacles and fogging our room in a hazy cloud. Or maybe it’s just that my eyes are hazy now. Maybe I should be angry or scared that Alphie is probably drugging me, but I’m pretty sure he can’t control it. He looks more worried about this than I am.

  I mostly feel relieved. I want to help him. I always want to help Alphie. The gas is just making it easier. It’s like a reassuring hug. Or a bizarre form of foreplay.

  I inhale deep and allow myself to get lost in the thrilling drag of his tongue against mine—in the strangely comforting grip of his tentacle arms that are coiled around me like boa constrictors. This isn’t the way I pictured our first kiss, but it’s still incredible.

  Alphie wants me, and I’m not going to let anything ruin that for me.

  Suddenly, my feet aren’t on the ground anymore. Alphie carries me across the room, and tosses me onto the mattress, his tentacles still holding me tight.

  He winces. “Sorry. During my spawning heat I may get a little aggressive.”

  “It’s okay,” I assure him. I like this bold, wild version of him.

  The thin, white cloud fills the air around us. Alphie takes in a big breath, and his nostrils flare, his pupils blown. He attacks my mouth with another kiss, more like a predator, and... God. Every nerve ending in my body is on fire.

  “You’re beautiful, Garret. The most beautiful human I’ve ever met,” Alphie whispers, sinking on top of me, his tentacles unwinding as his full weight presses me into the mattress.

  “I’m not. I’m just—”

  He stops me with a kiss. “You are.” The rubbery texture of his suction cups drags against the sides of my arms, making my skin tingle from his touch. “I want to see you. Is that okay?”

  I’m not much to look at. The idea of being naked in front of Alphie makes me nervous. Even though we share a room, I’ve always been careful to change clothes in the bathroom. Sometimes people tease me about my appearance. What will Alphie think, when I’m exposed in all of my awkwardness? Will he change his mind?

  The last time I got off with a guy we kept our shirts on. But the last time I got off with a guy, it was just a casual thing. Nothing about this feels casual.

  “Okay,” I say, trying to relax.

  Another wave of mist wafts between us. “My body lets off this gas during my spawning heat. It will make us both more… willing to do stuff. Are you okay with that?”

  I wish he would stop worrying. “It’s okay. I want to do this with you.”

  He smiles, almost shyly. I don’t think the gas has a complete hold on him yet. For a moment, he’s just regular Alphie.

  Then his right tentacle snakes under the hem of my shirt, sliding it up my chest. He stares at my exposed skin for a long moment, dragging his suction cups across it. “Lovely.”

  His tentacles grab for the neck of his own shirt, yanking it over his head. He lowers himself on me, the warmth of his naked skin flush against mine. I close my eyes and swallow hard. Being skin to skin with him like this is wonderful.

  I lift my arms above my head. He pulls my shirt off completely and crawls off of me. “Turn over.”

  I try to hide my disappointment as I roll over. Does he already want to get going? I was hoping we could kiss and cuddle for a little while longer before the egg thing. I feel a tinge of doubt. I don’t think I’m ready yet.

  The tip of his tentacle runs up the length of my spine. His lips follow, gently pressing at the small of my back, and working their way, inch by inch, up my body. The sweetness of every kiss relaxes me again. His body rests on top of mine. Something hard and hot presses against my ass. Instead of feeling doubt, an ache blooms between my legs.

  “I want you,” I whisper.

  He kisses my shoulder, the crook of my neck. “You mean like this?” His hips roll, the heat of his cock grinding against my ass.

  I let out a loud breath. “Yes.”

  He does it again. I arch up against him.

  “Oh, Garrett. You feel so good.”

  The weight of Alphie’s body still rests on top of me as we’re both lifted a foot into the air by the coils of his limbs. It’s such a bizarre sensation that I go into a panic until more of that wonderful gas fills the air around us.

  A tentacle slithers underneath the front of my jeans, and pushes against the front of my jeans. I moan.

  His other tentacle pokes at the button of my jeans, maneuvering all around it. “I can’t… my tentacles, they…”

  “It’s okay. I can’t do it.” I unbutton my jeans for him.

  One of his tentacles slips underneath my briefs, and he pulls them down to my knees with my pants. Once my jeans are gone, Alphie lowers us unto the mattress again and grinds the front of his jeans against my bare ass.

  A tentacle slithers underneath my hips, and brushes gently along the length of my cock. Which is rock hard now.

  His weight is gone for a moment, and then he’s back. The rough texture of his jeans now smooth, naked skin. He sucks at my neck as he gyrates against me, his hard cock rocking back and forth between my asscheeks. The tip of his tentacle brushes against my shaft again, winding around it.

  His limbs rock us back and forth in time with his hips, while he strokes me.

  “Oh, Alphie. That’s...”

  He sets us down on the mattress, and releases my cock. He drags his suction cups down my chest in calming circles. “It’s okay.” A suction cup rubs against my nipple. The sensation is electric. My breath catches.

  “You like that?” he whispers in my ear. The suction cup locks onto my nipple and sucks.

  “Fuck. Alphie…”

  A different suction cup finds my other nipple. I writhe in his limbs as he squeezes both of them at the same time. I feel more grounded now that we’re on the bed, but the sensation is so intense, I shake my head.

  “Do you want me to stop?” Alphie asks.

  I shake my head again.

  He releases me, his limbs slithering down to my cock. The skin on the outside of his tentacles is a lot smoother than his suction cups. He encircles my cock with this smoother skin. His other tentacle travels past my balls, and lower still.

  I want this with Alphie. I do. But I’m still a little nervous.

  More gas fills the air. It calms me, but not as much as the way Alphie plants kisses on my neck and ear. The first time I had anal sex, it wasn’t like this. It was with my high school boyfriend who was just as awkward at sex as I was. I didn’t like it that much. But I think I’ll like it with Alphie.

  He scoots his body back. One of his tentacles pumps my cock, while the other pushes my right leg up to my chest. “Hold that.”

  I do as he says. It feels as natural as breathing.

  His minstritations to my cock are agonizingly slow. I’m worked up. I want to come soon, but it’s a steady back and forth, no escalation of pressure or tempo.

  At least there’s an escalation of what’s going on with the other tentacle. The tip is ghosting along the sensitive skin between my asscheeks. Then there’s a sudden wetness.

  I jerk my head back to look. Did I accidentally—release something?

  “Sorry. My tentacles leak when I’m really aroused. It’s supposed to be… lubricant. I know it’s weird, but I can’t help it.” His tentacle runs through the liquid and presses against my hole. “Garrett, please. I want you so much.”

  I exhale. This is it.

  “Will you please go slow?”

  “Yes,” he whispers, kissing my neck. “I swear to you.”

  At first, it just feels like pressure. He keeps circling around the sensitive spot—massaging me, lubricating me. Eventually, he pushes inside—just an inch or so. He buries his nose in the crook of my neck and moans.

  Alphie’s tentacle isn’t like a dildo or my fingers. As it glides in and out of me, reaching a little deeper each time, it drags against my prostate with a dexterity that leaves me breathless. He isn’t just fucking me, he’s… touching me
, carressing me, pushing against me in just the right spots in exactly the right way. I can’t control myself. I rock into him, writhing every time he hits that sweet spot. “Please, more.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I bob my head back and down. If he doesn’t give me more soon, I won’t be able to stand it.

  I expect him to go deeper, but instead his tentacle widens. “Oh, God. That’s…” Now he moves deeper. It’s almost scary deep. I reach back desperately, needing to touch him, needing some kind of reassurance that he’ll take care of me if I open up that much for him.

  He moves in closer, and kisses my cheek. “During my spawning heat, there’s a stretching agent in the lubrication coming out of my tentacles. It will make you a little loose down there, just for tonight.”

  He withdraws, only to thrust back in further this time. His breath quickens.

  “Does this feel good to you too?” I ask.

  “Oh, yes.” His voice is thick, like he’s so aroused he can barely speak.

  I completely forgot about the tentacle around my dick until that starts moving again too. Then there’s more gas. He cries out, and bites down on my shoulder.

  Something spurts onto my back.

  “Did you just come?”

  “Yes,” he hisses.

  He begins thrusting into me in long, slow strokes, just like the stimulation to my cock. There’s so much lubricant, the sound of it is obscenely loud. He hits my prostate expertly every single time. My high school boyfriend definitely didn’t do that. My body can barely handle all of the sensations at once. I don’t even bother to keep quiet anymore. I want Alphie to hear my moans.

  One of his suction cups latches to the tip of my cock, and it’s all too much.

  “Fuck” My orgasm crashes into me hard. I clamp down on his limb, and he’s so big, it’s almost painful. He just keeps going. And I think he’s getting bigger.

  “I want to do it,” he rasps. “Oh, Garrett, please let me do it.”

  He means lay the eggs. Now that he’s so big inside me, I don’t know if any kind of stretching agent will be enough. I can barely handle him right now.

  But the idea of him pulling out right now is even worse.

  “I think I… need it.” The realization is both horrible and intriguing.

  What is happening to me?

  Alphie moans, and stops thrusting all of the sudden. “If you don’t want them, I have to take it out now. You have to decide now.” Gone is the throaty roughness to his voice. He’s in a panic now. He wants to give me a choice.

  I remind myself that this is Alphie. I trust him. A new ache pulses inside of me, and it’s strong. But maybe this is just a part of being with Alphie. I’ll have new desires I’ve never had before. Is that so bad?

  “Please, Alphie. Now.”

  He groans and bites down on my shoulder, as his tentacle grows alarmingly wide at my rim. I scrabble at the sheets in a blind panic. He’s going to tear me in two. The stretching agent isn’t enough. It’s too much. But he keeps pushing it, keeps biting down on my shoulder. And then my body sucks it all the way inside.

  Alphie’s bite relaxes. “I’m sorry. There’s one more.”

  I don’t think there’s space for another.

  Almost in cue, that horrible ache returns. I need that egg. My whole body yearns for it.

  “Please,” I say, bracing myself.

  Alphie whimpers as his tentacle widens again. This one feels wider than the last, and it pushes the other one deeper inside of me. I ball my hands into fists, pushing my fingernails deep in my palm. Alphie lets out a guttural grunt, and the egg slips inside, as his tentacle retreats.

  I am horribly, impossibly full. “What do I do, Alphie? Help me.”

  “Relax. The eggs need a few hours to absorb your DNA through the membranes of their shells.” His tentacles recede, their bright pink color mellowing into Alphie’s pale human skin. He wraps his human arms around me instead.

  A few hours? I can’t stand this for even another minute. I’m too full.

  “I can’t wait that long.”

  Alphie’s hand lowers to my abdomen. “You won’t be able to release them until they’re ready. I’m so sorry, Garrett. I should have locked the door. I should have saved you from myself.” His anguish breaks my heart.

  “You said… that I’d be okay.”

  “Yes. Our hosts always bounce back completely. It’s only temporary—”

  The gas still makes my head foggy, but I remember what Alphie told me about the beginning. “I’m the only Fibropod with eggs left. The last of my kind.”

  I can’t hold on. I just have to remember that I’m doing this for Alphie.

  “Will you stay with me?” I ask.

  “Of course. But if you want me to leave. If you’re angry—”

  “No. I’m not angry.”

  He’s coming down from his heat and the effect of the gas. I can tell. I am too. Where does this leave us? Does he plan to let me give birth to his spawn, and then pretend this never happened? He called me beautiful. Did he really mean that, or was it just something I thought in the moment?

  “What now?” I ask. “What… are we?”

  This is it. After five months. After sex or whatever the hell we just did. After falling in love with him.

  If he doesn’t have feelings for me, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

  “What do you mean?” he asks.

  “Well, we just had sex, right? What does that mean to you? What are we? Lovers? Boyfriends? Friends with benefits?”

  There’s a long pause. My heart races. If he was sure about his feelings for me, wouldn’t he just answer? I let him impregnate me with his alien eggs. I don’t think there’s a commitment I could make to him bigger than that.

  Alphie crawls around the bed, and sits at the edge. Before, I was so caught up in his tentacles, I didn’t get a chance to really see him naked. He has a smattering of freckles on his pale shoulders that extends down his back. I’m nothing but bones and angles. Alphie’s long limbs are softer—proportionate. He’s beautiful. The kind of guy who might end up in an artist’s sketchbook.

  He rolls back his freckled shoulders, and looks me directly in the eye. His fingers aren’t even fidgeting. This is more like spawning heat Alphie, and less like my best friend. The fact that they both exist in the same body is something I need to get used to.

  He reaches out and takes my hand. Even though we just had sex, we’ve never held hands before. Not really. It gives me this warm, floaty feeling in my stomach. “I don’t know what I am to you. But I can tell you what you are to me. I am all alone here, Garrett. Just me and these eggs. And you are… well, you’re my everything.”

  I’ve known that Alphie was alone for a while now. I just didn’t understand how alone. I have so many questions. How did he get here? What happened to the Fibropods? But I can’t focus on all of that just yet.

  I’m still so uncomfortably full.

  For now, I squeeze his hand. “You aren’t alone. Not anymore.”

  He smiles and reaches out to tuck my hair behind my ear. The sweetness of the gesture fills me with hope. I don’t just want sex with Alphie. I want these little touches too.

  After this is over, I hope that we can have it all.

  4

  Alphie

  My father once told me that there was no greater joy in this world than finding the perfect host—one who will give your eggs exactly what they need. I didn’t understand what he meant back then. Before I released my eggs, they didn’t seem real. Or maybe I simply didn’t want them to be real because I didn’t have a safe place to lay them.

  Up until now, I didn’t think they’d ever get the DNA they needed to survive.

  Sitting here next to Garrett, while he is full with my eggs, puts me at peace in a way I’ve never felt before. I should be nervous to tell him my feelings, but I’m not. There simply isn’t time for that anymore.

  “Will you let me be with you?” I ask. It’s a q
uestion I wouldn’t have dared ask just a few hours ago. My father warned me that hosts rarely want a relationship with someone outside their species. He told me not to get attached to anyone.

  But Garrett smiles at me and nods.

  “You don’t mind that I have tentacles?” It seems like an impossible thing for him to overlook.

  He shakes his head. “Is this your real body? Or are you… something else?”

  “I can take human form because the host who gave birth to me was human. That’s how it works. The eggs will absorb some of your attributes.” I hope they absorb his kindness. I’m not sure that’s a thing you can inherit, but I hope it is.

  He brings my hand to his lips, and presses a gentle kiss to my knuckles. “Will you hold me? I’m very uncomfortable.”

  I lie down in front of him, so I can stare into his eyes. We lie in silence, just looking at each other. When my father dropped me off on Earth, I never dreamed I’d get to have a connection like this with someone.

  “So… you hatched out of an egg?”

  “Yeah. Fibropods are different than humans. We stay in our eggs for about three months, and then we have an extended infancy. We’re basically little balls of cuddly fluff for the first ten years. Sort of like hamsters, with fuzzy tentacles.”

  Or that’s what my siblings looked like before they were found by the government.

  Garrett touches his lower belly. “So, like baby yoda.”

  I chuckle. “Yeah.”

  “Then… you’re older than me. How much older?”

  I look away from him. “Not really. It takes us longer to mature. The human brain grows at a rapid rate during childhood. Our brains grow slower. In terms of development, I’m the same age as you. It just took me longer to get there.”

  Garrett closes his eyes. “Is it okay if I go to sleep?”

  “Yes.”

  He scoots closer to me, burrowing his nose into my chest. “Just for a few minutes.”

  “Okay.” I run a hand down his back, and up again. He can sleep all he wants now.

  I wish my dad could see this. I wish he could meet Garrett. Maybe it would give him hope.