“Adonis—”
Adonis circled back and made a show of gesturing to Connor and then flapping his arms feebly in the water. Connor sat back on his heels, watching the display until Adonis calmed down and stopped.
“Pathetic, am I?” Connor asked, far from amused.
Adonis grunted.
“The oars, please.”
Adonis cast him a glare before disappearing underwater. He resurfaced with the two oars. He didn’t slap them on the board this time but placed the main one Connor used at his feet and then clipped the extra one back into its spot—Connor noticed that he had no issues working the clip. He then turned his chin away from Connor with a derisive snort and swam away from him, heading toward Connor’s home.
They hadn’t gone as far today, so it should only be thirty minutes of Connor rowing to get back. Although… Connor surveyed the choppy nature of the water. It might be a bit longer if he had to fight the tide part of the way.
As he set out, Connor was plagued by the sight of Adonis swimming ahead, flapping his hands in the water mockingly. Connor watched the display with a growing feeling of annoyance in his gut.
His shoulders were sore as he fought through the now very choppy waters, and he sank to his knees for balance, even though it meant slower progress. Adonis circled back to him, slapping his tail mockingly against the water as he passed, and lined up with the back of the board. The cold spray hit Connor’s face, stoking his temper.
Connor slapped the water with the oar, splashing Adonis as he reached for the back of the board. He twisted around and imitated Adonis’s hiss.
Adonis’s sardonic expression vanished. He retreated with a confused look, keeping a safe distance as Connor glared at him. When he hesitantly tried to approach the board, Connor hissed again. Adonis’s expression changed to alarm. He let out a desperate sound that tugged at Connor’s heart before he steeled himself against it.
“No,” Connor said. “If you want to be rude, you can hang out with yourself.”
Adonis called out, clearly upset, but Connor ignored him. He set his oar back into the water and continued on. Adonis swam alongside him, not getting any closer than the distance at which Connor hissed at him, and made mournful, keening sounds. It chipped at Connor’s heart, breaking his resolve to pieces, but unfortunately for Adonis, he had a proud streak that burned fiercer than either his sense or his heart when provoked. And while Adonis’s complaints were cute, mocking his physical capabilities so excessively had struck a nerve.
Adonis gave up on his entreaties when Connor didn’t respond and swam sullenly beside him. He cut through the water silently, hardly making a splash. Connor’s lungs were burning, but he was too proud to stop and rest after Adonis’s mocking. All Connor’s pride got him was a sore body and a bad mood. He reached the final bend in the coastline and his house came into view. He’d never been more relieved to see the dock.
Adonis was silent as the waves helped Connor with the last leg of his journey. He kept going through the point he knew Adonis couldn’t and stepped off the board, dragging it onto the sand. Adonis hugged the dock post, watching Connor with wide eyes. When Connor glanced at him, Adonis let out a hopeful chirp.
Guild prodded at Connor’s conscience. He caught his breath and walked down the dock toward Adonis. Adonis’s expression brightened, but he still looked wary, and retreated quickly as Connor got close.
Connor sat on the edge of the dock, staring at Adonis as he got his emotions under control. Eventually, he sighed, feeling silly for losing his temper. Adonis wouldn’t understand that mocking his ability to navigate the ocean—one of the only places that wassafefor him—struck a nerve. “You can come over if you want.”
Adonis approached slowly, keeping his eyes on Connor’s face as if he expected Connor to hiss and chase him off again. He reached Connor’s legs and carefully pressed his cheek to his knee. He made an apologetic sound.
The last of Connor’s anger dissolved. He reached out to pet Adonis’s head. “I’m sorry. I lost my temper.” He had treated Adonis the same way he did everyone else when he felt like he was being looked down on, and it didn’t leave him with a good feeling. “I don’t like being mocked. Okay? I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that, but it wasn’t very nice behaviour on your part, either.”
Adonis moved between Connor’s knees, rubbing his cheek against the inside of the other knee. He made soft keening sounds, like the ones he’d made after hurting Connor accidentally. His cheek rubbed against the edge of Connor’s shorts, and Adonis turned his face, pressing his nose against the fabric and pushing it up, dragging his cheek against the inside of Connor’s thigh. His other hand slipped over the back of Connor’s calf in a slow, hot drag.
Connor’s breath caught.
Wetness touched his skin, and he gazed down through his lashes as Adonis pressed a wet kiss to his inner thigh, still making that apologetic keening sound. Connor’s cock hardened.
His mouth dried, and he shivered at the zaps of heat shooting through his thighs. Adonis’s gaze flicked to his face as he moved in, pushing Connor’s knees apart. Connor reached for Adonis but lowered his hands shakily, setting his palms onto the dock on either side of him, watching as those wet kisses moved up and up.
“You’re turning me on on purpose, aren’t you?” Connor murmured.
Adonis sucked a mouthful of Connor’s skin into his mouth and nibbled on it. The feeling of teeth indenting his flesh was divine; Connor groaned.
Adonis’s apologetic keening morphed into a distracted hum. His free hand palmed the front of Connor’s shorts, and once he found the outline of Connor in his briefs, he squeezed.
Connor cursed.He has definitely done this before.
Adonis answered his curse with an excited groan of his own. He released Connor’s cock to slip his hand up the leg of his shorts to feel around; he tugged Connor’s cock from the briefs and guided his length out the bottom of his shorts. Only his pink head peeked out from the bottom.
Adonis moved toward him, dragging his tongue over the sensitive tip, squeezing his dick and lapping up the pre-come that he pushed out. Adonis reached, wrapped his free arm around Connor’s waist, and dragged him to the very edge of the dock as he swallowed Connor’s head into his mouth.
Connor groaned, reaching out to seize Adonis’s hair. Adonis answered with a grunt of approval as Connor flexed his hips, and the arm wrapped around his waist encouraged further movement. Adonis’s tongue tortured the soft underside of his dick, and Connor panted, his hips jerking.
