He didn’t think the thought consciously, but he felt happy and a little silly, so he purposefully pushed air out of his funnel, causing it to open up. Emory jerked his hand back and looked at Cameron in alarm.
Cameron laughed internally until Emory’s hand didn’t immediately return to stroking him. Two tentacles reached out and grabbed the coconut shells, pulling one underneath himself and tapping the other one against Emory’s hand.
“Hey!” Emory softly chided, retreating his hand even further.
Cameron used another tentacle to grab his wrist, and this time tapped him on the head with the coconut shell. When Emory gaped at him, Cameron yanked Emory’s hand until it came to rest on his body again.
Emory gave him a rather unimpressed look. “Your octopus…a bit of a brat.”
If Cameron’s octopus could giggle, he would have. Hewasa bit of a brat; his parents had called him that often when he would run around the house wearing only a coconut shell. The memory made him even happier, so he lifted two tentacles out of the water, not the ones holding Emory’s wrist or the coconut shell, and placed them on either side of Emory’s face. Emory’sexpression softened, and he tilted his head into one of the tentacles.
“I love you.”
Cameron tapped his face three times, mimicking the rhythm of Emory’s words. Emory’s eyes widened, and a sheen of water dulled their gray color.
His octopus wasn’t sure what to do with that, so he gently tapped him with the coconut shell again.
Emory laughed, the vibrations reverberating through Cameron’s body. He fanned out his tentacles and wiggled back and forth happily, showing off his pretty tentacle skirt the same way he’d shown off his new skirt in the boutique. Maybe someday he’d wear it out in public. He knew Ronan would appreciate it, and Christopher would support anything that made them both happy.
Emory placed a soft kiss between Cameron’s eyes. He went cross-eyed trying to follow the movement, which made Emory laugh again. He caught one of Cameron’s tentacles and brought it up to his lips for another kiss, his thumb absently rubbing against one of Cameron’s suction cups. It was strange; Cameron could actually taste Emory’s skin through the suction cup. When he was human, this sense was severely limited, but as an octopus, it was almost equivalent to licking him.
Cameron curled his tentacle around Emory’s fingers, drawing them back to his body. Emory shook his head fondly. “So needy…sweet octopus.”
Growing up, Cameron had never thought that needing someone was a bad thing. His pa had a lot of needs, and his ba did everything in his power to meet them. Thomas had spent most of their relationship whining about how needy Cameron was, tainting that just like he’d tainted so much else for Cameron. For years afterward, Shay had tried to coax Cameron into expressing his needs to someone who wasn’t her or theirparents. It wasn’t until he met—and subsequently fell for—Emory that he let himself need another person again.
He was allowed to have needs. He was allowed to ask for things he wanted and liked, and he could have preferences because…he was safe. He knew it, and his octopus knew it, and although his thoughts were still languid and flowing, like seaweed drifting in the current, he was able to hold onto that particular thought very clearly.
So clearly, he gently bonked Emory on the head again, loving the exasperated smile on his lips and his resounding laugh.
“Okay…enough of that…give it here.” Emory tried to grab the shell, but Cameron evaded, swimming backward in the tub. Emory glared playfully at him and moved forward.
They swam around the tub, flapping about until at least a quarter of the water ended up on the floor.
“Honey, how…want to be an octopus for? Getting cold…hot water?”
Cameron’s octopus wanted to stay like this forever, but his human side knew that wasn’t reasonable. He also hadn’t gotten to see Emory’s lion yet. He wiggled his tentacles one last time and swam back into Emory’s arms. Emory held him close, placing one more kiss on his head.
Cameron closed his eyes and felt his hair form first. It branched out from the top of his head as his torso elongated, and his tentacles withdrew into his body. A few seconds later, he was back in his human form, being held tightly against Emory’s chest.
“Hi—” Cameron tried to say, but Emory crashed their mouths together.
Cameron squirmed around until he could hover above Emory, cupping his face in his hands the same way he had with his tentacles.
“I love you so much,” Emory growled, his hands clutching the backs of Cameron's thighs.
Desire swirled in his belly for the first time in days. He finally felt good in his skin again, and all of his skin was currently pressed up against his amazing, sexy fated mate.
“Did you want to–”
“See your lion? Yes, absolutely. But could we maybe…”
Cameron channeled all the confidence he’d felt as an octopus, along with that feeling of safety, into his next kiss. It felt like ice water on a sweltering day, and he stretched out against Emory’s chest to rub their bodies together.
“Yes,” Emory growled and, with more grace than any land shifter should have, pulled them both up and out of the water. He kicked the plug out of the drain with his foot and helped Cameron out of the bath before practically dragging him towards the bed. Cameron laughed happily as he dove under the covers.
Emory growled, diving in after him. “Cameron…I want you so bad,” Emory said as he peered down at Cameron in their little den of sheets.
“I want you, too. I–... I’m sorry I haven’t been in the mood, it’s just–”
