Page 31 of Technically Abducted
"Swimming instruction?"
"No," I say, meeting his eyes. "This. Whatever this is between us."
Tev'ra goes very still, his bioluminescence shifting to deeper, more complex patterns. "You mean intimate contact."
"I mean..." I struggle to find the words. "I've had sex before. I'm not a virgin or anything. But it was always... quick. Functional. I never really let anyone close enough for... whatever this is."
The admission hangs between us, and I'm suddenly hyperaware of how exposed I am—not just physically, but emotionally.
"Finn," Tev'ra says quietly, and he does step closer now, close enough that the water displaced by his movement laps against my chest. "There's no pressure. No expectations. We can simply focus on swimming instruction if you prefer."
But the way he's looking at me, the way his skin is literally glowing with want, suggests that swimming is the last thing on either of our minds right now.
"What if I don't want to just focus on swimming?" I ask.
His pupils dilate further, and his bioluminescence flares so bright I can see it reflected on the curved walls around us.
"Then," he says, voice low and careful, "we proceed at whatever pace feels comfortable for you."
The offer is gentle, patient, completely without pressure. Which somehow makes it even more appealing.
"I don't really know what I'm doing," I warn him.
"I do," he says simply, and something about the quiet confidence in his voice makes heat go straight to my cock.
"Is that a Nereidan thing? Being good at... this?"
"It's a physiological necessity thing," Tev'ra says, and there's a hint of amusement in his voice. "Physical release is considered essential for optimal health and function. Cultural attitudes toward intimate contact are considerably more... practical than human approaches."
"Practical how?"
"Less emotional complication. More focus on mutual satisfaction and stress relief." He pauses, studying my face. "Though I'm beginning to suspect that approach may be insufficient for current circumstances."
"Current circumstances?"
"You," he says simply, and the word sends heat racing through me. "You're far more complex than any protocol accounted for."
I don't know what to say to that, so I don't say anything. Instead, I find myself reaching out, touching the edge of one of the glowing patterns on his chest. His skin is warm and slick with water, and the moment my fingers make contact, the bioluminescence flares brighter, spreading outward from the point of contact in rippling waves.
"That's..." I breathe, watching the light respond to my touch.
"Bioelectric response to physical contact," Tev'ra says, though his voice sounds strained. "Enhanced in aquatic environments."
I trace the pattern with my fingertip, watching the way light follows my movement across his skin. It's beautiful and strange and completely hypnotic.
"Does it feel different than normal touch?" I ask.
"Everything feels different in the water," he says quietly. "More intense. More immediate."
I look up at him, noting the way his breathing has changed, the way he's holding very still despite the obvious effect my exploration is having on him.
"Good different?"
"Very good different," he confirms, and then his hand is covering mine, pressing my palm flat against his chest where I can feel his heart racing beneath the luminous skin.
The contact sends sensation shooting through me—not just the physical warmth and texture, but something else. Something that feels almost like an echo of what he's feeling, a whisper of shared sensation that makes me gasp.
"What was that?"
