Adonis shook his head. “Not underwater.”
Connor thought about that. “Is it far?”
“Yes.”
“I need a boat, then.”
Adonis shook his head. “Board.”
“To be safe, I need a boat.” Connor leaned up, pressing a kiss to Adonis’s lips before he could get agitated at the refusal. Connor wanted to go—especially since Adonis seemed eager to show him. But he wasn’t going to be stupid about it. He’d need a boat for going out into deeper waters. It didn’t matter how good a swimmer Adonis was. If rough waters hit and all Connor had was a board, then even with Adonis doing his best to keep Connor above water, he’d drown.
“Let’s clean off in the water,” Connor said. “I don’t like seeing you vulnerable on the beach.”
Connor stood and groaned. The muscles in his thighs trembled, weakening his knees. And there was a throbbing pain in his ass. Totally worth it. Adonis caught him by the midsection and effortlessly knocked him down.
Connor fell weakly with a groan. “Not rough, Adonis.”
“Not rough,” Adonis agreed. His hand flattened on Connor’s behind and he massaged slow circles against Connor’s skin. Heat soaked into his skin from Adonis’s touch and Connor’s body went slack. The throbbing was swallowed up by Adonis’s touch, and by the time he’d massaged Connor’s thighs and ass, there was nothing more than a pleasant warmth in Connor’s body. Adonis rubbed his cheek against Connor’s as movement returned to his body.
“Better?” Adonis asked when he noticed Connor was able to move again.
“Better.” Connor moved his legs, and when he stood, there wasn’t more than pleasant satisfaction in his gut. He cast Adonis a grin. “I suppose it doesn’t matter if you’re rough with that healing ability of yours.”
“Careful,” Adonis objected.
Connor chuckled. “Come on, let’s get you back in the ocean. I can’t believe you beached yourself.”
Adonis let out an embarrassed noise. Connor bit his lip as he watched Adonis struggle to drag himself back into the water. The issue was that without his momentum carrying him out of the water, his tail was heavier than his arms were strong.
Adonis cast an unhappy look at Connor as he struggled. “Eyes closed,” he asked, his voice pitched in embarrassment.
“I won’t watch,” Connor promised. He shrugged off his filthy clothes and waded out thigh-deep into the water. He rinsed off his clothes with his back to Adonis, though he could still hear splashing water and struggling. It was both funny and tragic. Connor would need to take better care of himself so that Adonis didn’t end up this desperate again.
Connor could only imagine how it would have felt if he’d watched Adonis get sick, and then he was taken away deep into the ocean where Connor couldn’t follow.
The water shifted behind Connor, and Adonis brushed past him. Connor glanced to the side, watching him slink by. Connor tossed his wet, but clean, clothes onto the dock and swam out after Adonis. Relief filled him to see Adonis once again able to move freely. Connor dipped into the water, following Adonis to swim.
The moon was in the sky and Connor’s fingers were turning to prunes when Adonis’s head snapped to the path. He came in, pressing his cheek against Connor’s, before dipping under the water. Connor was floating in the water several metres from the end of the dock as Trevor came down the path.
He estimated that it was probably around midnight by this point.
“Connor,” Trevor said his name as a sigh.
Connor swam to the end of the dock as Trevor walked down it. He glanced at Connor’s discarded clothes and came to a stop at the end of the dock. His dark eyes regarded Connor with resignation. Connor set his arms on the dock and looked up at Trevor.
“You know, most teenage boys sneak out to go partying.”
“Who discovered me gone? You? Laurence?”
“I went to check on you. Make sure your fever wasn’t coming back.” Trevor crouched down. “At least I knew where to find you this time.”
They regarded each other a moment before Connor decided to have mercy on Trevor’s nerves. “I suppose you’ll want me to come in, then.”
Trevor reached down, pressing the back of his hand to Connor’s forehead. “You’re cold, so… yes. I would like that. How long have you been in the water?”
“I wasn’t timing myself.”
Trevor sighed. “See, you’re just saying that because it’s long enough to worry me and you don’t want to own up to it.”
