Connor gazed at Adonis.
He had done it. Connor had no idea how, but whatever Adonis had done to Connor to turn his body slack had made all of his aches and pains disappear. It extended beyond the realm of what Connor had been considering possible for Adonis. All of his thoughts and theories about Adonis had been rooted in logic. Mermen were inherently illogical, of course, but if Connor looked at Adonis, he was clearly a mammal. Aside from the wonder of it, there was nothing about his body that actually defied belief.
But what he’d just done? That had been something that no animal or human could do. That was somethingother.
Adonis came closer while thoughts consumed Connor. His glare lessened, and he chirped out a quizzical note.
“My elbow doesn’t hurt anymore,” Connor said. He pushed up his sleeve and showed Adonis, bending it and touching it.
Adonis watched him.
“You did that,” Connor said.
Adonis gazed up at him. He didn’t say anything, but there was a definite knowing in his eyes. Connor took in that knowing look. He wished he had a way of asking Adonis to explain it to him. Who he was, where he came from. It was very clear to Connor that Adonis understood him, and Connor could largely understand him back. But he wanted more than just simple communication.
Connor let his frustrations go with a sigh. “Shall we head out?”
Chapter Seventeen
Between the morning’s excitement and the sun beating down on him, Connor only read a few chapters of his book before he drifted off to sleep. It was Adonis’s fault. He held the paddleboard steady while Connor slept so no errant wave jolted him awake.
It was dusk when he opened his eyes, waking up chilled. Connor felt Adonis’s presence next to him before even turning his head to see him. Adonis’s cheek was on the board next to Connor, and he made a soft sound in his throat, blinking lazily.
“Do you have nothing better to do all day?” Connor asked. Inside, he was thrilled that Adonis had spent the day with him. Pleasure curled in his gut at the thought that Adonis would willingly spend time with Connor, even when Connor wasn’t being all that entertaining.
Connor sat up and stretched his arms over his head, letting out a groan. Adonis’s gaze jumped to his exposed mid-rift. Connor snorted. “Pervert.”
Although between the two of them… Connor was clearly the one with perversions. He peeked at Adonis’s face, admiring his high cheekbones and those lovely, sculpted lips. The image of those lips around his cock flashed in his mind, and he dragged his gaze away before he could think of anything else dirty. His cock stirred in his shorts, and he ignored it.
“I’d better head back,” Connor said. He checked the time and groaned again. It was just gone half… which meant Trevor was about to arrive home and find that Connor wasn’t back yet, and he was possibly going to have a heart attack about it.
Adonis touched Connor’s thigh. He startled, looking at the water. Adonis had snuck over and was gazing up at Connor with a question in his eyes. His gaze darted between Connor’s crotch and his face, and he hummed a questioning note.
“No, no,” Connor said, his face warming. “That’s not why I was groaning. This time.” He patted Adonis’s hand but hesitated as he went to lift it off his thigh. A darker, selfish part of him whispered,why not?But as alluring and dirty as the prospect of getting another blow job was, Connor didn’t know if… well, he didn’t know how exactly Adonis thought about this. He would hate if he was taking advantage of him and didn’t realise.
But… Adonis seemed to have a concrete grasp on consent. He’d stopped earlier when he’d noticed that Connor couldn’t move, waitinguntilConnor could tell him no if he wanted, andthenproceeded. And—not that Connor could say much, given that his experience was limited to intimacy with Austin, which had included the occasional blow job—that hadn’t felt like Adonis’s first time.
Adonis must have misunderstood his hesitation for permission, because he moved his hand up Connor’s thigh, probing fingers brushing against his cock. Connor took in a sharp breath, immediately stiffening.
“Okay, no, wait,” Connor said, taking Adonis’s hand off him. “I can’t. Trevor will worry… if I leave him worrying longer so that I can get my dick sucked, I will feel like the worst person in the world.”
Adonis put his hand back on the board and looked at Connor through his half-lidded eyes. His hair had dried completely, and rather than the dirty blonde it was when wet, it had dried to a shade of blonde so light it was almost white. It was quite the sight against his pale skin. Connor turned over Adonis’s hand, studying the blue veins he could see running beneath his pale skin. Adonis shivered under Connor’s touch.
“I have to head back,” Connor said reluctantly. “Do you want to come with me?”
Connor moved onto his knees and reached for the oar, only to find an empty space. Connor was sure he had clipped the oar into place, but not only was it gone, the spare was also absent.
“Adonis.”
Adonis pushed off from the board, protesting loudly. He swam to the back of the board and grabbed on, giving it a violent shake.
Connor had already grasped the sides, so he wasn’t dislodged. “How many times do we have to have this argument?”
Adonis smacked the water with his hands, gesturing so enthusiastically between himself and the board that he made waves.
“Yes, Iknowyou are powerful and fast, but I need the oars for when you’re not here, don’t I?”
Adonis lifted his tail and pointed to it, slapping his tail fin hard into the water and propelling himself forward powerfully through the sea.
