He collapsed onto Cameron but pulled out quickly enough that his knot didn’t inflate. Still, they lay there sated and slightly sticky for several minutes, almost like they were locked together anyway.
“We should probably rinse off. My lion might not come out if I’m a mess,” Emory said.
Cameron wasn’t sure that was true. Emory’s lion energy was practically suffocating him. It was flowing out of Emory in wave after wave, and his octopus was swimming in it. Deciding not to risk it, they snuggled for another minute or so before trooping into the shower to rinse off.
They ended up in the living room, and Emory moved the coffee table off to the side, next to the windows. Cameron had put on his discarded panties and nothing else, because the way his octopus was acting, he had a feeling he might be shifting again tonight.
While he waited, he curled his feet under him and snuggled into the throw blanket he’d brought over from his house. It livened up the room and was nice to snuggle in when Emory was on a late-night call. He’d also seen Emory, or probably his lion, sniffing the blanket when he thought Cameron wasn’t looking.
Cameron was looking now for sure. He stared in fascination as Emory walked in a tight circle on the carpet, presumably scoping out the perfect place to shift. Cameron had seen cats do this in their beds, and he found the sight of his six-foot alpha doing it absolutely adorable.
That is, until Emory’s mane lengthened, a tail formed right at the base of his spine, and his claws extended. There was nothing adorable about him as he turned to look at Cameron over his shoulder. His eyes glowed with an alpha dominance Cameron rarely got to see. His octopus wanted them to roll over and submit, but before he could move, Emory bent forward, his spine curving as his shoulders broadened and golden fur sprouted at his neck and ran down his back.
Cameron tried not to blink, but one second, he was watching Emory shift, and the next, he was staring at a lion.
“Emory,” Cameron breathed, and the lion made a huffing noise deep in his chest. Cameron stood up, moving slowly so as not to spook the large animal. In return, the lion moved evenslower, placing one paw deliberately next to the other one at a time until he was turned around, fully facing Cameron.
Cameron’s instincts were firing in every direction. There was no questioning the absolute power and strength of this majestic creature. Yet, there wasn’t an ounce of fear in Cameron. He took a step forward, and the lion flicked his tail. He took another step, and the lion licked his chops. Cameron quivered, but not enough to stop his advance. As he took another step, something glinted in the lion’s eyes, and Cameron swore he could see Emory’s face in the curve of the lion’s muzzle and the sparkle in his eyes.
He took one last step, and the lion–his lion–tackled him to the ground. He landed with a soft oof on the plush carpet, and the lion placed his huge paws on each of Cameron’s shoulders and bent his head to lick Cameron’s entire face.
“Emory!” Cameron shrieked, and the lion licked him again. And again. Then he began licking Cameron’s wet hair.
“Ewwwww,” Cameron whined, even though he was secretly loving every moment of the impromptu bath.
Emory settled down on top of him, not too dissimilarly from how he had laid on top of him earlier in bed. He continued to groom Cameron, alternating licking his face and hair with licking his own paws. Once he’d gotten his paws wet enough, he began to bathe Cameron’s shoulders, rubbing his wet fur up and down Cameron’s skin.
His fur wasn’t soft like a cat’s, but it wasn’t coarse like a horse’s pelt either. It was some sort of blissful in between that felt like a warm quilt.
Emory’s tail flicked absently, brushing across Cameron’s feet with every few swipes. Cameron wiggled a little until Emory shifted his paws to free Cameron’s arms. Having full use of his hands, he ran them back through Emory’s mane until he could grip the back of his head. He slowly pulled Emory’s huge facedown until they could press their foreheads together. Emory’s big, amber eyes blinked at him and then closed.
Even though he had an apex predator sitting on top of him, Cameron allowed his eyes to close as well, and the apartment fell peacefully still.
His octopus swam up to the surface, but there were no competing emotions or conflicting desires. There was nowhere else on earth they would rather be right now than here, surrounded by their fated mate.
Absently, Cameron thought that this was better than any meditation app or grounding technique he had ever tried. Who knew all he needed was a four-hundred-pound feline to lie on top of him?
The silence stretched, and every muscle in Cameron’s body relaxed until he was no better than a beached jellyfish.
Slowly, something began to shift around him, and the silence was interrupted by a low rumbling noise. It took Cameron a second to realize it was purring.
The vibrations were like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It wasn’t just the sound waves and the movement of muscles against Cameron's body. It was like Emory was transmitting his contentment straight into Cameron and his octopus.
This was a different kind of centered, somehow more active, as Cameron’s skin buzzed everywhere Emory was touching him. He felt alive and safe and?—
Emory’s purring ceased, and he flopped over onto his side like he was a house cat.
Shocked out of his reverie and unsure what this change meant, Cameron pushed himself up into a sitting position. Emory gazed up at him, lazily swishing his tail, and then he tilted his body, raising his top paw up against his chest and extending his hind legs, exposing his long, muscular belly. Itwasn’t a typical pose for an alpha. Cameron froze, not wanting to somehow squander or insult this clear display of openness and vulnerability.
They’d had moments over the past several weeks where Emory had opened up to him, showing him how taxing the past few years had been. Then he’d cried with Cameron in his closet, and it was like the final wall between them crumbled down. They’d had several vulnerable conversations the past few days, and it seemed like there would be more to come once Jonathon arrived.
Cameron didn’t take a single one for granted, and he didn’t want to take this moment for granted either. He just wasn’t sure what to do.
Emory watched him carefully, and then he let out a subdued roar. If he’d let loose a real roar, the entire building probably would have shaken. Even so, Cameron’s octopus rolled over, showing his own belly.
Figuring that probably wasn’t helpful for his human self to do, he followed his instincts and scrambled forward onto his knees. Ever so slowly, he reached out a hand and began stroking Emory’s long belly. He purred happily, shaking out his mane in pleasure.
Cameron would have happily continued petting him for the rest of the evening, getting lost in the musculature of his sides and the silkiness of his underbelly fur, except it dawned on him that he was doing all this in silence. Emory had talked to him the entire time he’d been an octopus, and he’d loved it.
