The ill-shaped oars that left callouses on Connor’s hands were still a point of constant dispute.
“Adonis… you’re ignoring me,” Connor said, reproachful. “That’s twice today. What are you thinking now? It’s not sex. If it was, you’d be paying attention to the person you’re about to get into bed with.”
Adonis touched his hip self-consciously as if he were still presenting dirty scales. He wasn’t aware of the gesture until Connor tilted his head, gaze darting down to the movement. His chin tickled Adonis’s shoulder as he set the weight there, a smile curving his lips as his gaze travelled up to Adonis’s face. He wrapped both hands around Adonis. One hand joined Adonis’s at his hip, turning the self-conscious stroke into a sensual caress. The other hand languidly stroked his length.
“Are you thinking of when we first met?” Connor asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you know what I thought?” Connor asked. Adonis swallowed, cursing himself for his dulled scales that day. “I thought you were gorgeous. The most beautiful person I’d ever laid eyes on. Your scales, especially, were dazzling. I could hardly take my eyes off them.”
Adonis trembled in delight.
“So when thinking about that day, don’t fret about a little mud. You could be covered in dirt, and I would still find you breathtaking.”
“I also found you beautiful,” Adonis said, his voice filled with a mixture of pride, delight, and affection. There was also a tremor of breathlessness as Connor’s hand formed a fist to pump his cock-head with. Connor tipped his own hips forward, pushing Adonis to thrust into his hand.
Connor did all this and still had the self-control to smile at Adonis, amused. “Is that so?”
Adonis groaned. “Yes.” Connor’s beauty was a wild kind. An untamed quality that was part of his personality as much as it was his looks. Adonis’s mind threw up an image of Connor slack in his arms, blood pouring out of him as he struggled to keep Connor’s head above water as waves beat relentlessly down on them.
His terror in that moment that he could lose Connor had been all-encompassing. He’d never felt anything like it and knew there would never be anything as frightful. To lose his mate so soon after finding him… Adonis shuddered in horror at the thought.
He sucked in a sharp breath at the sudden pressure on his balls. He whined, casting a questioning look at Connor at the sudden firm grip. “You went away from me again. Are you not in the mood?” He released Adonis, suddenly stepping away and severing all contact between them. Adonis’s legs felt shaky. His knees had been close to buckling from Connor’s attentions.
He turned to face the displeasure in Connor’s expression.
“I am in the mood,” Adonis told him, reaching for him. He cupped Connor’s cheeks, rubbing his cheek ardently against Connor’s before reaching for his cock. It was hard in Connor’s shorts, but when he tried to get to it, Connor’s hands slipped to his wrists, stopping his efforts.
There was proud annoyance in Connor’s eyes. “Clearly not, when your mind keeps wondering so far from here.”
“I am in the mood,” Adonis repeated, desperate to appease Connor.
Connor’s body remained tense and unyielding, and he watched Adonis with cool detachment. “And what were you thinking of this time that turned you soft while I was touching you?” Despite his controlled expression, his voice had an unmistakable note of hurt.
Adonis groaned. He had hurt Connor’s pride.
“I recalled your injury. I remembered my fear of losing you.”
Connor’s expression softened. “I—” he paused, letting out a breath. “I’m sorry. I was mean just now.” He released Adonis’s wrist in favour of his cheeks and leaned in to press a soft, appeasing kiss to Adonis’s lips. Adonis was appeased by the fact that he’d managed to cool Connor’s mood, but the kiss was a welcome invitation to get his chance to touch Connor. He was always slower to put an end to Adonis’s touch when their tongues were touching, and it meant Adonis got to have Connor inside of him quicker.
“Connor?” a voice called.
No.
No.
No!
Connor turned from Adonis, panting. “Just a minute, Laurence!”
Adonis caught Connor’s shoulders, wrapping him in an embrace as desperation seized him. “Please,” he cried. Connor would never bed him when his little one was close. Adonis would care and love all those that Connor held close—but there were days that he wished to drown Laurence and his constant interruptions.
“Adonis, I can’t while he’s…” Connor sighed. Adonis whined in distress. As frequently as they mated, a deep-seated part of him was always horribly upset when they stopped mating mid-way.
“I’ll set him surfing,” Connor said. “You get on that bed, get yourself ready the way I usually do, and the second I come down here, I’ll put my cock in. How does that sound?”
Adonis nodded quickly. “Good,” he said, shivering in relief. They would get to mate.
