Adonis’s gaze snapped to him. He made a sound of protest in his throat and lifted his hand to gesture at Trevor. “He is—” He stopped mid-sentence to sneer at Trevor. “—nothing. I am stronger.”
Connor’s back was turned, so he didn’t see Trevor’s reaction to being sneered at. That was probably for the best. “Of course, you’re stronger. But you have to be nice to my family. If anyone tries to kidnap you, me, or any of them, then you can show off how strong you are.”
Adonis’s weight shifted, a dark look colouring his features as that sneer in Trevor’s direction turned into more of a glare. “I am stronger. You and Laurence stay with me. Not him.”
“You find Trevor threatening, do you?”
“He is no threat.” Adonis scoffed.
“Right.”
“Connor?” Trevor called.
Connor glanced over his shoulder, seeing Trevor’s unease. His eyes were on Adonis but slid to Connor as he turned. There was a question in his gaze. Worry. Adonis’s behaviour was undoubtedly setting off a million alarms.
“He finds you very intimidating,” Connor said. “Come on, Adonis. Let’s go inside and get you some trousers to wear. And,” he added quietly, “I’m serious. No hurting anyone.”
“Just him,” Adonis said, his eyes on Trevor.
“No one.” Connor stared at Adonis until he peeled his gaze off Trevor and looked at him.
“But—”
“No buts.”
Adonis let out an irritated huff but didn’t object further.
“Great.” Connor grabbed his hand and kept him close as he approached the house.
“Did he save you when the ship sank?” Laurence asked, staring at Adonis’s legs.
Connor stumbled. “It sank?”
Laurence’s eyes were glossy as he nodded. “We thought you were on board. They’re still looking for bodies in the wreckage.”
Connor’s mind jumped to locking Arthur and Ben below deck. Bolting the door from the outside. Locking that stupid billionaire into the bathroom. Abandoning that stupid unconscious guard as roiling seas broke over the deck.
“Have they found any?”
“It was only calm enough to search the wreckage last night,” Trevor said. “We knew you were on the ship. There was footage from the docks of you being taken there, and then we heard about the storm capsizing the ship…” He swallowed thickly.
They thought he was dead.
“I’m alright,” Connor said, stating the obvious for Trevor.
“You look seriously fucked up,” Nick said. There was no bite in his voice but the same relief that was in Trevor and Laurence.
“I bet,” Connor said.
“Okay, let’s go in,” Trevor said. “Adonis… I’ll… actually, Laurence, could you grab a pair of tracksuits from my room? And a t-shirt.”
Everyone stared at Adonis as he walked by them. At his gills, his eyes. And everyone got an eyeful of Adonis’s ass, too. Adonis didn’t seem to mind.
“We’ll change up in the room,” Connor said.
“It might be better to stay in the living room?” Trevor suggested.
“He saved me, Trevor,” Connor said over his shoulder. “You don’t need to be nervous about him being with me. He just doesn’t like you.”
