“Then young fools will die formally,” Aylth responds calmly. “This one has held territory forty seasons. Defended hundreds of challenges. Young Reef thinks his pretty scales make him strong?”
“I think your age makes you weak.”
Aylth laughs, a sound like distant thunder. “Female, hold breath.”
I barely get air before he drags us both under. The speed is incredible, tentacles propelling us through the water faster than anything should move. The world blurs into streams of blue and green. We surface behind Reef in seconds, and Aylth's tentacle wraps around his throat.
“This one could kill young fool now,” Aylth says conversationally. “One squeeze. But death teaches nothing.” He releases Reef, who gasps and coughs, more blue blood dripping from his mouth. “Go. Tell others what happened. Tell them female chose Ancient One over pretty young hunter. Tell them their challenge is welcome.”
Reef disappears beneath the surface, fleeing. The water where he was churns with the speed of his retreat. Aylth turns to me, still held against his chest.
“Female ran,” he says.
“Yes.”
“Female suffered consequences.”
“Yes.”
“Female learned?”
“That I need you. Not just any hunter. You.” I press closer to him, feeling his heartbeat against mine. “Reef's touch made me sick. Made the withdrawal worse, not better.”
“Because female is matched to this one completely.” His hand tangles in my hair, not pulling, just holding. “But running must have consequences. Three more days before breeding.”
“Three days?” My voice cracks.
“Female broke trust. Must rebuild it.” He starts swimming us back toward his territory, slower than the attack speed, letting me breathe normally. “But this one will provide relief. Will ease withdrawal. Just no breeding until trust returns.”
Part of me wants to protest, but most of me is grateful he's not angrier. That he watched over me even while letting me suffer. That he let me choose rather than just dragging me back.
“Reef will really challenge you?”
“Yes. With others. Young hunters think this one grows weak.” His laugh rumbles through his chest. “They will learn otherwise.”
The swim back takes time. He doesn't use the breathing kiss, instead keeping me at the surface, letting me swim some of it myself. Testing my strength. My body moves easier near him, like his presence alone eases the worst symptoms.
We surface in the familiar cave with its bioluminescent walls. The moss on the ledge still glows faintly where my pheromones soaked in days ago. He lifts me onto it, then pulls himself up beside me. His tentacles spread around us, creating a living barrier between me and the cave entrance.
“Now,” he says, tentacles glistening in the organic light. “Female receives relief. And learns what happens when she runs.”
His hands frame my face first, thumbs brushing my cheekbones. “Female's suffering was extensive. This one will be thorough.”
A tentacle rises beside us, one of the smaller, more flexible ones I remember from the cave. When it touches my arm, the relief is immediate. Not just pleasure but the easing of pain. My skin stops feeling too tight. The burning under the surface cools.
“This one's secretions,” he explains as the tentacle moves up my arm, leaving a trail of tingling relief. “Female's body recognizes what it needs.”
A second tentacle echoed the caress on my other arm. Then one slides along my collar bone. Another traces my ribs. Each touch eases withdrawal while building different need. By the time a tentacle reaches my breast, I'm shaking.
The suckers close over my nipple, and I cry out. Not pain. Pleasure so intense it borders on transcendent. Days of suffering released in a single point of contact. The suction is perfect, pulling exactly right, while secretions make every nerve ending sing.
“So responsive,” Aylth murmurs. “Withdrawal makes female desperate.”
“Please,” I gasp as the other nipple receives the same treatment. “Need more.”
“Female will receive everything except breeding.” His hand slid down my stomach. A shiver traced the path of his fingers, every nerve ending waking under his touch. “This one will make female cum until she cannot think. Until body understands who it belongs to.”
A tentacle slides between my legs, and I spread them eagerly. Shame is a luxury I can't afford. The first touch to my clit sent ashockwave of sensation through me. The orgasm is immediate, violent, days of denial crashing over me in waves. My back arches off the moss as my inner walls clench on nothing.
