The sound Zeph makes when I lean forward and lick the head of his cock is unlike anything I've ever heard, a deep, resonant moan that seems to come from his chest. The taste of him is even better than I expected, sweet and clean, with that slick natural lubrication coating my tongue. My own cock throbs in response, straining against my jeans.

"Jake," Zeph breathes, and I feel his hand settle carefully in my hair, fingers threading through the strands but not pushing. "You don't have to—"

"I want to," I tell him, looking up at his glowing face from my knees. "But you're going to have to be patient with me. You're... a lot."

I wrap my lips around just the head, working my tongue around the ridge while my hands stroke the rest of his length.Even just this much is stretching my mouth, and I can feel the way Zeph's whole body tenses as he fights not to thrust forward. The taste of him and the sounds he's making have me achingly hard, and I press the heel of my palm against my erection for some relief.

"Is this okay?" I ask, pulling back to catch my breath, a string of precum and saliva connecting my lips to his cock.

"More than okay," Zeph manages, his voice strained. "But Jake, you don't need to take all of me. Just... whatever feels comfortable."

"Comfortable is boring," I tell him with a grin, then take him deeper, relaxing my throat and using the slick coating he's producing to ease the way. I can only manage about half of him before I have to pull back, gasping, but the sound Zeph makes tells me it's more than enough.

His hand tightens slightly in my hair, not controlling, just holding on, and through that faint empathic connection, I can feel the edge of his pleasure mixing with my own desperate arousal.

"Fuck, Jake," he groans, and hearing him curse in that formal accent of his is unexpectedly hot. "Your mouth... you're so good at this. Such a good boy."

The words wash over me, and I moan around his cock, my hips jerking involuntarily. I've never been into praise before, at least, I didn't think I was, but something about the way Zeph says it, the genuine appreciation mixed with that hint of command, makes my cock throb almost painfully.

"You like that," Zeph observes, his voice rough with arousal and something that might be wonder. "You like being told how good you are."

I pull off him long enough to gasp, "I had no fucking idea," before taking him back into my mouth, deeper this time, desperate to earn more of those words.

"Take yourself out," Zeph commands softly, his hand tightening slightly in my hair. "I want to see how hard you are from pleasuring me."

I fumble with my jeans, never taking my mouth off him, and manage to free my cock. It springs out, already leaking and painfully hard, and Zeph makes a sound of pure appreciation.

"So beautiful," he murmurs, watching me work him with my mouth while my own cock throbs untouched. "So eager to be good for me."

The praise makes me moan around him again, and I hum around him, which makes his hips jerk involuntarily. I have to brace my hands on his thighs to keep steady. The natural lubrication is flowing more freely now, sweet and slick, making it easier each time I take him deeper. My own cock is throbbing and leaking where it juts out from my open jeans, and every moan from Zeph makes me harder. Through the empathic echo, I can feel how close he's getting, which just makes me want to push him over the edge.

His breathing becomes ragged, his grip in my hair tighter, and the golden glow spreads down his entire body.

"Jake," he warns, his voice strained, "I'm going to—"

I look up at him, making it clear I want this, want all of it, and that's what sends him over the edge. He comes with a shout that echoes through the quarters, his whole body lighting up like a star as he spills into my mouth. The taste of him is even sweeter than before, and through the empathic connection, I feel the waves of his climax crashing through both of us.

I swallow everything he gives me, working him through it until he's shaking and gently pulling me off with trembling hands.

We're definitely not in compatibility testing territory anymore.

We're in something much more intense and infinitely more rewarding.

Chapter Six

Zeph

I am experiencing what I can only describe as complete system failure.

The climax Jake just gave me has left my entire nervous system firing in chaotic patterns, the bioluminescence under my skin still pulsing in fading waves as I struggle to remember basic functions like breathing. My hands are trembling as I gently guide Jake's mouth away from my oversensitive flesh, and when I look down at him, still on his knees, lips swollen and glistening, looking thoroughly pleased with himself, something fundamental shifts in my chest.

"That was..." I begin, then realize that no Nereidan vocabulary exists for what just occurred.

Jake slowly gets to his feet, using my thighs for support, and I have to steady him when he sways slightly. "Incredible?" he suggests, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb in a gesture that makes my spent cock twitch with renewed interest. "Mind-blowing? Life-altering?"

"Unprecedented," I manage, reaching up to touch his face with hands that are still not entirely steady.

"Unprecedented, huh?" Jake grins as he stands, and I notice immediately that he is still aroused, his cock jutting out from his open jeans, flushed and leaking. "I'll take that as a compliment."