He was otherworldly; a creature from another planet.

At least that’s what Adrian thought when he first saw the man.

Tall. Not freakishly so, but enough to grant a double take. His hair was cut short and well-kempt. A dirty blond mess somehow tamed into a fresh-appearing shape and form. The outline of his muscular torso was discernible through the black t-shirt stretched tight against the skin of his chest by broad shoulders. His posture was striking, especially in a place like this. Working as the night clerk for a cheap motel, most customers Adrian encountered shuffled in grumpily through the door, slouching moodily and grunting vaguely in his direction.

This guy was pulled up to full height, his back held straight. His gait was brisk, but not hurried; a determined, purposeful walk. He was wearing a pair of old, tattered jeans and a long woolen trench coat draped comfortably over his t-shirt. His leather boots made a dull tapping noise with every step.

Adrian couldn’t help but stare. He knew instantaneously that this man was someone special, a force to be reckoned with. He drew in a sharp breath as he gazed into the mysterious stranger’s eyes. Deep and dark and brown. They were twin pools in which one could easily drown. The man himself looked no older than 30 (if that), yet those eyes betrayed years of experience. They were the eyes of a much older man. The eyes of an ancient entity.

But curiously, what drew Adrian’s eye was the man’s stomach. It jutted out about as far as his tight pectorals, an expansive plane of skin and muscle and fat that demanded to be noticed.

The man strode confidently up to the counter, never shying away from Adrian’s gaze. He gestured vaguely over his shoulder.

“I’m supposed to meet someone here,” he intoned politely. Adrian shivered involuntarily. The man’s voice was rich and velvety, but with an undertone of gravelly hardness. It was intoxicating.

“Oh,” was all Adrian managed to choke out. Shaking his head brusquely, he cleared his throat. “Uh...umm....someone here, sir? Here at the front desk?”

The man’s lips twitched upward briefly in amusement. “No, no.” Not taking his eyes off Adrian’s face, he reached into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a minuscule notepad. He spared it a cursory glance. “Joseph Bancroft. He’s staying here for the night. Should be in Room number...26.”

“Hold on a minute.” Adrian went over to the record shelf and flipped through the log-book, eyes scanning the pages. He nodded, tapping a spot near the bottom. “Yep, right here. Room 26.” He pointed out the window down the row to the left. “It’s towards the end of the line over that way.” He pointed at the phone on the desk and raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Want me to give him a ring and let him know you’re here?”

The man smiled again, but Adrian thought he noticed a steely glint those dark brown eyes. “No, thank you. I’ll just knock.” Nodding curtly, he turned on his heel and exited.

Adrian released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in and wiped a bead of sweat off of his brow. Unthinkingly, he moved over to the window to peer out, watching the man approach the door to Room 26.

Even from a distance, the black-cloaked figure was still imposing. Even from a distance, Adrian could make out the lock-pick in the man’s hand as he worked the door open and entered the pitch-black motel room, shutting the door behind him.

Adrian swallowed hard, feeling a bizarre rush of adrenaline and fear course through his veins. Nothing exciting ever happened in this place, and now something was about to. He was sure of it.

He knew he should call the cops. Or at the very least get the hell out of there. But some deeply rooted morbid fascination had taken hold of him, and he would be damned if he didn’t see this thing through. Whatever “this” was.

He flipped the switch to the big neon sign so it read “No Vacancy,” shut off the lights, and taped the “Back in 15” card up on the glass of the front door. Moving quickly, and glancing around anxiously to make sure he wasn’t seen, Adrian tip-toed down the row of rooms and let himself into the empty Room 25.

He turned on the lights and locked the door, heart hammering fast. One of the few perks of working at a shitty old motel was knowing the unwholesome habits of the building’s founders. Entering the bathroom and shutting the door behind him, Adrian removed the picture of the chicken on the wall to reveal a small peephole. After just a moment’s hesitation, he pressed his eye against it to survey Room 26.

Briefly, upon seeing the room apparently empty, Adrian felt a thrill of panic, but he relaxed after hearing the toilet flush on the other side of the wall. He saw the man enter from the periphery of his vision and sit quietly on the bed with his hands in his lap. He was alone, and the room was dim; lit only by a single lamp. Adrian felt his heart pounding in his chest. The man was so still. Just sitting there on the bed with a blank, calm expression.

Now that he had the luxury of staring without the hinderance of social etiquette, Adrian could really take in how handsome this guy was. He felt a stirring in his groin, but willed it away for the time being. That could wait.

After a few minutes of total silence, Adrian was beginning to reconsider his decision to spy. But then, suddenly, the man sat up a little straighter and cocked his ear towards the door. Adrian pushed his eye a little closer to the peephole, straining to see better. The man nodded to himself and stood up with a soft grunt, brushing something off his coat. He moved around to face the door, turning his back to Adrian.

There was a sound of fumbling in the lock, then the door clicked open and a young man, whom Adrian recognized as Joseph Bancroft, walked in.

He gasped in surprise and froze, staring in fear at the intruder in his room. Adrian felt a perverse mixture of excitement and horror. Whatever was about to happen would most likely not be pleasant. At least, not for Joseph.

For a second or two, Joseph looked as though he was considering running, but then his shoulders lost a little of their tension and his face took on an expression of cautious resignation. Slowly, he stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.

“Yer the guy, aren’t you?” he piped up nervously, his Kentucky accent coming through strongly even as his voice wavered. Adrian saw his prominent Adam’s apple bob in his throat.“ I saw ya back in Jacksonville. Thought I’d lost ya.”

“No,” the man in the black coat replied, voice smooth. “I’m afraid not.” After a brief, uncomfortable pause, he gestured to the bed. “Care to sit down?”

Joseph looked around hesitantly, as if he were hoping to spot some sort of miraculous escape route. Reluctantly, he took a seat. Now that he was in the light, Adrian could get a better look at him. Joseph was pretty cute himself: about average height and weight with tight, lean muscles displayed by his tank top (in winter? Really?). He looked about Adrian’s age - probably 20 or 21 - with his slightly sunburned face (again, in winter?) and thin lips and mess of dark black hair with strands hanging down in front of his eyes. His chest was moving up and down as he breathed heavily, looking up at the man in the trench coat fearfully.

“What do ya want?” he asked. “Who are you?”

The man clucked his tongue disapprovingly. “My name is Nicolas.” He jabbed a finger firmly into Joseph’s chest. “And I think you know exactly what I want.”

Joseph looked at the floor, eyes watering slightly. “Alright,” he muttered, reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out an envelope and held it up with a quivering hand. “Here ya go...”

Nicolas took the envelope and glanced inside, flipping through it’s contents. Satisfied, he pocketed it and crossed his arms. “You shouldn’t steal money from your boss, Joseph,” he reprimanded sternly. “You shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to you.”

Joseph nodded slowly, keeping his gaze fixed on a spot on the floor. Adrian breathed heavily, watching all of this unfold through the peephole in the bathroom wall.

Nicolas chuckled gently. “Your boss was really pissed off. I had to hold the phone a foot away from my ear for the whole conversation. He’s got quite a set of lungs on him, that one.”

Joseph whimpered, looking up. “Please don’t turn me in to the police, mister,” he pleaded. “I gave back the money. I’m sorry and I promise I’ll never do it again.”

Nicolas turned away and shrugged off his trench coat. He nodded, as he folded it up and placed it on top of the TV. “I’m not going to turn you in to anyone, Joseph,” he said matter-of-factly, kicking off his boots and peeling back his socks. “And I know you’ll never do it again.” He placed the socks and boots on top of the coat, patting out the wrinkles in the fabric. After a brief pause, he crossed his arms by his sides and peeled his shirt over his head.

Adrian gasped, his breath catching in his throat. The man was stunning. His skin was creamy and tanned, his veins bulged in the perfect muscles of his arms. Soft, dark hair coated his chest, trailing down his mesmerizing stomach and pooling around his navel. He was fit as can be, but in such a way that he still looked like a real person, rather than an obsessive body builder.

Joseph just gaped in alarm. “Wh-what are ya doing?” he choked out, leaning back with wide eyes.

Nicolas looked over his shoulder and gazed down at him calmly, quirking an eyebrow. “Undressing,” he replied, as though it were obvious. He folded up the shirt and set it with the rest of his clothes, then unbuttoned his jeans and did the same with them.

“W-well, w-what the fuck for?” Joseph stammered.

Nicolas turned around to face Joseph head on. He was now wearing nothing except a pair of black boxer shorts. “To get comfortable.” He moved in closer, towering over the frightened boy. “Also, I don’t want to stretch out anything. That’s a nice t-shirt, and I don’t want to replace it.”

Joseph opened his mouth to ask another question, but he never got the chance. Nicolas reached down with both hands and, in one fluid motion, ripped Joseph’s tank top in half. Joseph cried out in alarm, but Nicolas clapped a hand over his mouth and pushed him down on the bed. Pinning the boy down with his knee, he used his other hand to unbutton his victim’s pants. In mere seconds, Joseph was stark naked and Nicolas had him in a vice-like grip, gazing into his eyes.

There was silence for a second. And then Nicolas stretched his jaw wide and shoved Joseph’s entire head inside his mouth.

Adrian felt paralyzed. His heart felt fit to burst, it was beating so fast. He’s eating him, he thought. He’s actually eating him alive. Whole and alive.

Joseph was flailing about wildly, trying to break free, but Nicolas had an impossibly tight grip on his arms and seemed indifferent to the kicks being directed in his direction. The predator’s eyes were screwed shut in concentration, his powerful throat working furiously as he swallowed more and more of the boy. Within seconds, he had worked past the shoulders.

Adrian felt a twisted thrill run down his spine. He was rock-hard and panting heavily, his eye pressed tightly against the peephole. He didn’t want to miss a moment.

Nicolas’s tongue lapped at Joseph’s trim stomach as he took more and more into his dark gullet. His head tilted back to allow momentum and gravity to assist in the process. Joseph’s legs kicked madly and Nicolas used his now-free hands to hold them still, pushing them downwards, slowly. His throat was insanely swollen. His body was drenched in sweat from the gargantuan effort of swallowing another man whole.

Adrian could make out the outline of Joseph’s head squirming as it entered his killer’s cavernous belly. He reached up to wipe sweat off of his brow, breathing deeply.

Nicolas paused for just a moment as he pushed Adrian’s feet completely inside his mouth and closed his jaw tightly. He looked as though me might be sick. And then he opened hie eyes, and his shoulders relaxed. With a last almighty gulp, he swallowed audibly, sending Joseph slithering down his throat. With a sort of soft thump, Nicolas’s belly expanded to make room as Joseph’s entire body entered that final resting place.

“Oh, man,” Nicolas moaned, rubbing his belly. “Oh, what a meal.”

Adrian stood rigid, shaking. He could hear muffled noises from within the hairy stomach. He could see Joseph struggling; could see him moving around inside.

With a satisfied sigh, Nicolas lay down on the bed, propping up his neck with a couple of pillows. He grabbed the remote from the bedside table and flipped on the TV, all the while rubbing big circles on his belly. Adrian kept watching, utterly transfixed.

There was a gurgling, rumbling sound, and then Nicolas opened his mouth to let out a deafening, lengthy belch. His stomach contracted from the loss of air and the struggles from within stopped abruptly. Nicolas gave the belly an approving pat.

“Farewell, Joseph Bancroft,” he said absentmindedly.

And then he turned and looked directly at the peephole.

Directly into Adrian’s eye.

“Well?” he asked, raising his dark eyebrow. “Are you just going to stand there watching all night?”

Adrian felt his heart stop. He gasped audibly.

Nicolas chuckled, turning his attention back to the TV. “Come on over here,” he said genially, patting the empty spot beside him on the bed. “Come and join me.”

It was a horrible, stupid, idiotic idea. But Adrian couldn’t have said no if he’d wanted to. It was as though he no longer had any control over his body whatsoever. Numbly, he shuffled out of the bathroom, out of Room 25, and entered into the predator’s lair to meet his fate. Whatever that might be.

Nicolas smiled at him when he entered. He patted the bed again. “Come here.”

Shaking slightly, Adrian sat down beside him, unable to look away from the man’s belly. Nicolas wrapped his arm around Adrian’s shoulder and pulled him down to snuggle up against his body. Heartbeat starting to return to normal, Adrian placed his cheek against the man’s fuzzy chest. He smelled Joseph on Nicolas’s breath.

Overcome by the profound weirdness of it all, Adrian felt a broad smile stretch across his face. He reached out and rubbed the hairy belly, getting hard immediately as he heard the gurgling sounds of the stomach acids at work inside.

“That was incredible,” he whispered. “That was amazing.”

Nicolas chuckled, ruffling Adrian’s hair. “Well you’ll get to see a lot more of that, kid,” he said conspiratorially. “You’re going to see a lot more of that if you stick around with me.”

Adrian’s smile widened. He suspected that he’d found a new job.