“But that’s the thing. I’m uncomfortable with doing anything that hurts you.”
“How about we stop worrying about the future for now and save this conversation for Xylo and his crew?” Odelm coaxed. “Let me give you what I’ve wanted to since our time on the Destiny.”
Selena turned in his arms to face him, her lips almost touching his. “What do you mean?” she breathed, her blue-green eyes searching his.
“I prepared a song for you, to describe how you make me feel, and to thank the Stars for sending you to me.”
“Yes, I would enjoy that,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
Her lips covered his.
Shock ran through his body at the contact, and his eyes closed at the flood of emotions and sensations. Selena’s lips were soft against his.
She leaned into his body and slid her arms around his shoulders. Odelm opened his eyes and raised shaky hands to caress her cheeks as his tentacles instinctively wrapped tightly around her, holding her body to him.
Reluctantly, he pulled his lips away, not wanting to get distracted by her temptations. He had a plan that he needed to see through. Later tonight, he could take her to their backyard pool and kiss her under the stars.
“I love you, Selena.”
“I love you too, Odelm.”
Slowly, he untangled his untamed tentacles from around her, wrapping them around his torso in their default state. Stepping away, he gestured to the seating around them. “Pick a seat. Any will do.”
Smiling wide, she ran over to a spot in the first row, to the side and slightly behind him. He watched her sit down, giving him her undivided attention.
Nervousness crept up in the back of his mind, though he didn’t know why. This was Selena, his nestqueen, not a room full of strangers. There was no reason for him to feel this way, yet something kept nagging at him.
Pulling the stool back, he sat down behind his Ulepo, flexing his fingers. He unwound his tentacles, stretching them to prepare for the personal concert he had planned for his nestqueen.
Glancing over his shoulder, he shot Selena a gentle smile as he drank in her beauty. Her radiance inspired him. “I dedicate this premiere performance in the concert hall you've given me, to you. Every time you hear music radiate from this auditorium, may you remember this night.”
“I will, as long as you remember that you are mine, forever and always.”
“I promise,” he swore.
Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes and wiggled his fingers before placing them on the keys.
He knew what he had to do.
A Master Musician was well-versed in many styles of music, capable of playing a multitude of songs from memory, with a natural talent for improvisation. Odelm was going to lose himself in the music, and through it, express to her all the feelings he was incapable of putting into words.
He allowed his fingers and tentacles to walk along with the keys of the Ulepo. He knew where every key, knob, and paddle were located by muscle memory. This instrument had been one of his first, a favorite of his even before he met Selena. Since this instrument had called her to him, he would never stop playing it.
As he drifted with the music, he marveled over Selena’s unconditional acceptance and everything else she had granted him. Deep in his mind, he still wondered how he deserved her. She had never judged him for his past, for his faults, or for his need to have offspring of his own.
No, she had accepted him fully and given him her future blessing to sire offspring. Oh, how it made him feel!
His hearts soared, and he longed to tell the universe that the Fates had gifted him the perfect nestqueen, beautiful despite her faults.
He reached over to her through their golden bond thread and was overwhelmed by the emotions he brought to her—through his music.
Awe. Dreaminess. Joy. Serenity.
This was why he played music: to feel what others felt and manipulate them into feeling better. But he wasn’t controlling Selena’s emotions; he was showing her his own. Having her echo them back to him, however, overwhelmed him.
It was addicting.
Beyond sex with her, he’d never felt like this before. This was almost as good as feeling her bliss echoed to him when he and Xylo had pleasured her in the shower on the space station.
She could be the key to his success.
Her presence in the crowd, feeding him her emotions, could inspire him as he performed in front of others. This could be his legacy in the universe: the Ulax Master Musician who created music that could bring others to tears—of happiness or despair.
Could he do it? Yes.
Would he do it? He didn’t know.
His instincts told him that this moment should remain private, shared only between his nestqueen and their clan. If he performed with her publicly, he wouldn’t only be exposing his own emotions to the crowd, but Selena’s as well, and that didn’t feel right to him.
He would have to figure out another plan to bring customers to this performance hall because he didn’t want to squander Selena’s gift by allowing this masterpiece to remain empty.
No, it needed to be shared with as many customers as he could find. Building a client base would take time, especially since art was a dying industry.
Reeling himself in, he transitioned into the piece he’d created for her. No matter how much he wanted to experience her reaction fully,
