Page 44 of Adonis
“Where does the satellite phone go?” Trevor asked.
“Here. There’s a bag clipped in, and it goes inside the bag.” Connor showed him just to ease those jittering nerves. Laurence stood next to Trevor—blond hair a total mess that Connor gave a second look—chewing on a slice of toast. His dark eyes drank everything in, glancing between the shed, where a second paddle board was, and his dad.
“You know,” Laurence said. “If I go with Connor, I can text you updates.”
“You have school,” Connor pointed out before Trevor considered it. It wasn’t that he was against spending time with Laurence, but puttinghimselfat the mercy of a creature he didn’t understand wasn’t the same as putting someoneelsein the same danger. And Connor suspected that if he ventured out on the water, alone or otherwise, Adonis would find him. And while he didn’t think Adonis was dangerous, it wasn’t exactly a tried and tested theory.
Plus, if Laurence came with him, Connor might not get to see Adonis at all.
Laurence frowned at Connor, hurt crossing his expression, cutting through Connor like a dagger in his gut. He tensed, resolve sinking to his feet. “If you’re coming, we’ll have to go somewhere else,” Connor said. “Further down the coast, where it’s easier for beginners to navigate.”
“Dad could drive us,” Laurence said exuberantly, the hurt vanishing.
Trevor put his hand on Laurence’s shoulder. “You are not missing school. And I won’t hear anything else about it. You’ll have all summer to spend time on the water.”
Laurence studied his dad’s expression before he shrugged. “Fine.” He looked back at Connor. “You can borrow my phone, though, if you want? Dad said you don’t want to bring your new one out there.”
“I don’t want to risk dropping yours into the ocean either,” Connor said. “I’ll make do today and pick one up this weekend.” He could ask his dad for the money.
Connor finally set out into the ocean after fending off Laurence’s looks of longing and Trevor’s unhappiness. He had to row hard to get past the breaking waves, but the choppiness of the water eased up once he cleared them. His shoulders were sore as he worked the muscles, and they quivered in protest for the first few minutes as they warmed up.
Laurence waved at him as he reached the bend of the coast that blocked their view of one another. Connor waved back. As he disappeared behind a tall hill, Connor’s board rocked beneath his feet. He yelped, falling back on the board, his shoulder colliding with the cooler as his elbow landed on the metal clip holding the spare oar in place. His arm went dead, and the oar fell from his grasp.
Connor whimpered, clutching his elbow as pain radiated up his arm.
There was a splash next to his head; he peeled open his eyes as he sucked in sharp breaths through his teeth. Adonis appeared from the water next to him, and he pressed his face into Connor’s hair, making a desperate keening sound. Water droplets fell from his hair onto Connor’s face, and Adonis put his arm over Connor’s chest, his body shaking in agitation.
“Adonis, you asshole,” Connor hissed once he could breathe.
A desperate sound emanated from Adonis’s throat.
Connor grunted, rubbing his elbow as the numbness slowly transformed into pain. The constant keening sound from Adonis sounded suspiciously like crying. Connor petted the merman’s hair. “Be careful next time, okay?”
Adonis lifted his face up, and Connor saw the distress in his widened eyes. Connor sighed. “I know it wasn’t on purpose. You don’t need to feel bad.” He paused, his elbow throbbing in dull pain. “Actually, you can feel a little bad, and remember not to do that again.”
Adonis’s gaze darted from Connor’s face to his elbow. He sank back, no longer covering Connor, and reached out, his hand hovering just above Connor’s aching joint. Connor narrowed his eyes at that hand. “I’ll be glad if youdidn’ttouch it, thank you.”
A mournful sound left Adonis’s throat. He buried his face back into Connor’s hair, keening at him.
“Yes, yes. You’re sorry, I get it.” Connor pet his hair again, hoping that would convey that he was forgiven. Connor would have to keep this in mind for next time. He’d expected to see him again, Adonis seemed to be able to find him whenever he was out on the water, but he hadn’t expected Adonis to be hanging around outside his house.
Connor was damp from Adonis leaning over him. His face, pressed against Connor’s hair, radiated warmth. Connor stayed still, feeling Adonis’s hand creeping up the board beside his thigh.
“Adonis…” Connor warned as that hand brushed his arm.
Adonis started to coo and keen, digging his face against Connor’s scalp. Connor shivered, feeling both the vibration from his throat and his warm breaths against his neck. At the same time, Adonis snuck his hand onto Connor’s forearm. Very gently, he pushed up the sleeve of the hoodie.
Connor didn’t object this time, keeping silent as Adonis slipped his hand under the hoodie sleeve and ran his hand up Connor’s arm. Hot fingers wrapped around Connor’s elbow and moved in a slow circle, massaging the aching joint. Adonis hummed gently against Connor’s ear as he did, and a cascade of heat prickled over Connor’s skin.
Connor blinked, his eyelids suddenly impossibly heavy. His breaths left him in laboured, slow exhales. His body and his head felt weighted like he was waking from sleep and his body was still immobile. Heat from Adonis’s skin engulfed the pain in his elbow, drowning it out until there was no discomfort at all. Adonis released his elbow, and his hand slid around Connor’s body. He cupped around Connor’s ribs and pulled Connor over, rolling him onto his side.
Connor took in a panicked breath; if he fell overboard now with his limbs slack and unresponsive, he would drown.
At the sound of his distress, Adonis started his keening again. His face pressed against Connor’s cheek rather than his hair, and his nose touched against Connor’s. Adonis fumbled with the hem of Connor’s hoodie and his shirt, humming at Connor all the while before his hand got under the fabric and his burning hand slipped up the slope of Connor’s back.
Connor dragged in a sharp breath, feeling the heat from Adonis’s hand and also the heat throbbing in his thighs. Adonis settled his hand over the sore spot on Connor’s shoulder that had impacted the cooler. He rubbed circles over the spot, and another wave of heaviness washed over Connor as heat prickled through his shoulder.
Connor’s dick perked up in his shorts; he was unable to stop himself from reacting to the warm breaths falling against his mouth—the sweet sounds of reassurance humming from Adonis’s throat—nor the heated touch at his back, no matter how ridiculous that was.