Page 20 of Adonis (Salt and Starlight #1)

Connor let out a sigh of relief. He pushed Adonis’s hand away from him. “Not in front of Laurence, okay?”

he said. He touched Adonis’s cheek to show he wasn’t angry, despite the rejection.

Adonis’s gaze slipped to Laurence. He swam toward him, his tail sparkling in blues and greens as light reflected off his shiny scales. Adonis reached Laurence as the wave caught him, and he grabbed the back of the board. Adonis held it steady as Laurence got to his feet for the first time.

Adonis guided Laurence almost all the way to the beach, where Laurence hopped off the board. He looked at Adonis, a wide grin on his face. Adonis shoved hard, and the foam board rocketed onto shore, clearing the waterline by several metres. Laurence stood, looking at his board in confusion, and when he turned back, Adonis had already vanished beneath the waves.

A second later, Adonis popped up next to Connor. He wrapped an arm around his waist and buried his face between Connor’s legs, kissing his wetsuit.

“Jesus, Adonis,”

Connor startled. He got to experience a bolt of pleasure through his cock at the contact before he got a hold of Adonis’s shoulder and pushed him back. Adonis looked up at him in confusion. He pointed to where Laurence stood in ankle-deep water and made a keening sound.

“He can still very much see us,”

Connor said.

Laurence cupped his hands around his mouth. “I’ll get some snacks? Does he not want me in the water anymore?”

he called.

“Sorry. I’ll come in to you.”

“No, no.”

Laurence waved him off. “Hang out with him. I’ll dig around and see if I have a sketchbook left in the car.”

Laurence retrieved the car keys from their pile of things and then walked toward the parking lot. As he disappeared into the car, Adonis keened loudly, pointing.

“He’s coming back,”

Connor said.

Adonis snorted in irritation. He pushed away from Connor, waded away, and slapped his tail against the water. Connor bit his lip, trying not to smile at the little temper tantrum.

Connor followed, and Adonis dipped under the water. He tried to keep sight of him, but his shadow quickly vanished. It was a splash further out that caught Connor’s attention. He spotted Adonis several metres into the deeper water, calling to Connor.

“Sorry, Adonis. I can’t just abandon Laurence on the beach,”

Connor said. He slipped down, lying on the board, and paddled to catch a wave. As he stood, he saw Adonis cutting through the water next to him. Connor returned to deeper waters. On the beach, Laurence was sitting cross-legged on a beach towel with a sketch pad balanced on his lap.

Adonis’s tail brushed against Connor’s leg as he swam past, and Connor admired the way his tail waved in the water. He couldn’t believe that only a few weeks ago he didn’t know that Adonis existed, and now all he wanted was to spend every moment he could with him.

Connor slipped into the water, holding onto the surfboard. He’d gone out past his depth, so Adonis should have more room to move around. Big as he was, Connor imagined that shallow water was hard to navigate. Especially since his tail moved up and down like a dolphin rather than side to side like a shark.

A moment later, Adonis popped up next to him.

Connor grinned.

Adonis’s eyes darted to his mouth, and he made a pleased sound. He drifted in and pressed his cheek to Connor’s. He let out that sweet thrill, and Connor shut his eyes, enjoying the soft vibration against his skin. He reached up, running his fingers through Adonis’s hair, remembering that he’d been showing that off to Laurence.

Adonis’s throat hummed a pleased grumble, and he pushed his face harder against Connor’s. Seawater splattered over his face, but the heat from Adonis swallowed up all of the chill. Adonis’s tail drifted in, touching against the inside of Connor’s legs.

Connor opened his eyes, glancing down at the water. He recalled the slit from before. His mind burned as he tried to figure out was that the equivalent it would be to a person? Could it feel good in the same way? Connor wanted to touch Adonis, to make him feel good the same way he had for Connor—not reciprocating felt downright rude—but he just didn’t know if the anatomy worked the same way. If Adonis even could feel good.

But the way he’d known immediately what it meant when Connor got hard hinted he was aware of how that type of anatomy functioned.

Connor scanned Adonis’s relaxed body language. Slowly, he reached out, touching Adonis’s human-like abs—though inhumanly built up—and slid his hand downwards. Adonis responded with a pleased grunt, and he reached for Connor’s wrist, encouraging his palm to drag across his scales.

Connor let Adonis guide his movement for a moment before he shook off his grip and touched where he had found the slit a few days ago. He didn’t want to hurt Adonis like before, suddenly pushing his fingers in—he hadn’t done it on purpose—he’d found the slit by accident. But he knew about it now, so he could be gentle.

Connor massaged the area, keeping a close eye on Adonis for any signs of pain or discomfort.

His breath caught as the scales parted under his touch; he watched closely as Adonis’s body shook, but he didn’t see any pain in his expression. And he’d been quick to pull away from Connor when he’d hurt him a few days ago. “Tell me if I’m hurting you, okay?”

Connor told Adonis.

He massaged around the slit, and it slowly widened with a quiver. Adonis ducked his head and buried his face against Connor’s shoulder.

Connor lightly dipped the tip of his finger into the slit. The flesh quivered, and Connor massaged in deeper, being as careful as he could. Something slick coated his finger, and it covered Adonis’s insides, too, making his finger slide in easily. Connor’s cock perked up as he slipped his finger in and out of Adonis.

Adonis groaned, thrusting his face against Connor’s neck.

Connor’s body alighted in excitement: Adonis did feel good.

Adonis fumbled with the zip of Connor’s wetsuit.

“No, no,”

Connor said, breathless. “Laurence is still on the beach.”

Adonis whined. He touched the front of Connor’s suit, brushing against his hard cock, and then he pressed his hand to where Connor’s fingers were thrusting into him. He did it again, whining harder into Connor’s ear.

Connor let out a heavy breath. “You want me to put it in?”

Adonis nodded feverishly against Connor’s neck.

Heat and arousal encompassed Connor’s mind. He wanted to. God, he wanted to. But he couldn’t suddenly start thrusting into Adonis with Laurence a few feet away. Nor did he want the first time he had sex to be done while trying not to look like he was having sex. Despite his apprehensions, when Adonis’s hand snuck around to tug at the zip again, he wanted to let him take the suit off.

“Adonis…”

Connor said, heated. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

Adonis trembled. He dropped his head, and Connor’s heart tugged.

“Can you meet me later?”

Connor asked him. “At my house? At the dock? And we can go somewhere it’s just two of us, and then we can…”

Adonis didn’t lift his head. He clutched at Connor’s back, his gills flaring wide as he panted.

Ah. Connor was still thrusting his finger in him, and Adonis seemed too distracted to have heard him. Connor pushed his aching cock to the back of his mind and focused on Adonis.

“I’m going to try putting in another finger, okay? Let me know if it hurts,”

Connor said to him. He took it slow, easing in a second finger. The warm flesh stretched to accommodate Connor’s fingers, immediately coating his skin with that slick substance.

Adonis groaned; his hips jerked forwards, burying Connor’s fingers deep inside. The flesh trembled, expanding around his knuckles.

“You want them deeper?”

Connor asked, repeating the motion that Adonis’s hip jerk caused, thrusting his fingers deep into Adonis. Adonis hissed. More of that slick substance leaked onto Connor’s hands; it clung to his skin despite the salt water.

Connor thrust his fingers fast into Adonis, the lubricant making them glide easily in and out, and Adonis let out a moan. He clutched at Connor tightly.

The pale expanse of Adonis’s nape caught his eye, his hair parting around the spot with his head tilted down. Connor thought about the bites covering his skin and swallowed hard. He bent his head, touching his lips to the hot skin. His skin tasted of salt and the ocean; Connor’s lips burned against Adonis’s heated skin

Connor pushed his tongue against his skin, and Adonis made a desperate sound in his throat.

Connor bit the back of his neck, simultaneously thrusting his fingers in deep.

Adonis cried out—sounding more human than he ever had—and grabbed Connor’s arm, holding him still as he jerked his hips forward over and over. The lubricant gushed out in thick globs, and Adonis’s gills flared wide as his body trembled.

His thrusting petered out slowly with a low groan. Adonis released Connor’s wrist to clutch his body instead, and he lifted his hand to touch the indent Connor’s teeth had left on the back of his neck. His body trembled as he massaged it.

Slowly, he slipped his fingers out of Adonis, who whimpered. Affection bloomed inside of Connor. He tilted his head down, kissing the tip of Adonis’s pointed ear.

A tired, satisfied sound rumbled from Adonis’s throat.

Connor lifted his hand out of the water to stroke the bite mark on the back of Adonis’s neck and accidentally smeared the milky-coloured substance stuck to his fingers across his skin. “Sorry, Adonis. I’m making a mess,”

Connor apologised. He shook off his hand in the water. When he was finished, he noticed Adonis’s tired gaze on his face.

“What is it?”

Adonis lightly touched the wetsuit being pushed out by Connor’s cock, making a light questioning sound in his throat.

Connor had been trying to forget about his throbbing balls. Adonis touching him didn’t help him with that. “Later, if you want, okay?”

If he stripped down to get his cock out, that would be visible to Laurence. Connor cast a look over his shoulder at the beach. Laurence was busy sketching.

Adonis followed his gaze to Laurence, his top lip curling back into a sneer.

“Don’t be mean to him,”

Connor warned him immediately. He didn’t want Adonis to see Laurence as a nuisance or a threat in any way. Laurence could be very soft, and Connor didn’t want his feelings to get hurt.

Adonis glanced at Connor’s face and stopped sneering. He grumbled unhappily and replaced his head on Connor’s shoulder, clinging to him with both arms now. Connor readjusted his grip on his surfing board and pet Adonis’s drying hair. Unlike Connor, whose hair dried into thick, salty clumps after swimming, Adonis’s hair dried into fluffy, silky strands as if he’d just conditioned it. It was enjoyable to run his fingers through, and Adonis also seemed to preen under the attention.

They floated lazily in the water as the beach filled with a scattering of people. Two girls with surfboards came onto the beach and stopped next to Laurence to chat. Connor watched them idly as he floated with Adonis.

“I can’t believe I almost didn’t come back here,”

Connor said. If he hadn’t been charged and shipped back home with no choice, he would never have met Adonis. And if everything hadn’t exploded the way it had and Connor had still been with Austin, none of this would have happened.

Connor smiled to himself. It seemed like a fair deal all of a sudden. The life he’d planned for all up in smoke, and the universe offered him Adonis in exchange. If he was faced with the choice of his world going to hell in exchange for meeting Adonis, he’d do it again.

The girls beside Laurence waved at Connor and headed toward him. Laurence hopped up in alarm, signalling to Connor.

“Adonis.”

Connor got his attention. Adonis opened his eyes, blinking at the girls heading their way. He tensed and made a noise of unhappy distress that cut right through Connor.

“I’ll see you later, I promise,”

Connor said. He felt like a monster pushing Adonis away from him. Especially when Adonis clung to him, making unhappy noises the entire time. “Later, I promise.”

Adonis reluctantly drifted away from him, his gaze mournful.

Connor considered abandoning dry land right then and there. He bit the inside of his cheek hard. “Later, okay?”

Adonis dipped under the waterline. Connor saw his dark shape lingering before eventually disappearing out to sea.

Connor was in a bad mood when he finally left the water. He wanted more time with Adonis. He didn’t want them to have to pull apart after being intimate like that. Especially since Adonis was clearly upset by it.

Laurence helped him carry everything back to the car. “I read something,”

Laurence said as they were tying the boards to the roof.

“Let me guess,”

Connor said, noticing the not-so-subtle way Laurence watched him. “Something from that conspiracy website of yours?”

“It’s a legit site, I’ve told you. And there’s another big breakthrough—about the police officers that arrested you.”

Laurence abandoned his rope to hover at Connor’s shoulder, his body buzzing with excitement. “They were bribed, Connor. Just like the judge was.”

Austin’s flaky behaviour swarmed Connor’s mind. There was something there. Something more that Connor didn’t know, but he hated even thinking that. He’d been betrayed and left to rot, and now he had to actively think about it more? Figure out who thought he was a gay basher and still went to so much effort to support him?

“Leave off, Laurence.”

Connor’s bad humour came through in his voice, but Laurence must not have noticed.

“Both of them have left the force and, most likely, the country. But there was evidence of large amounts of money being moved into their accounts first.”

“The police will figure it out.”

Connor tied the final knot, securing the boards to the roof. He sat in the driver’s seat, forcing Laurence to follow him into the car.

“Listen to this. Cessair even admitted that he’s bribed people in the past.”

“Of course, of course,”

Cessair’s energetic voice came through the speaker on Laurence’s phone. “An old flame wanted to get an abortion, so I paid her to have the baby—a lot of money, too, mind you. Had to pull quite a few strings to get everything sorted. Her family was a bit of a nuisance.”

He laughed. “I didn’t handle it with the most grace, I’ll admit. It’s why my friends always called me Orotund Bastard growing up. I prefer to brute force things rather than finesse my way out of situations.”

Connor went still.

The voices droned on, but nothing else about the interview registered.

My friends always called me Orotund Bastard.

Orotund Bastard.

Connor roughly turned the key in the ignition. It was an incredibly specific nickname. Way, way too specific for it to be a coincidence. Or was it a coincidence? This time, the rational part of his mind rebelled against the dismissal.

Austin never referred to his stepdad by name, and the only time he used anything but “him”

was when he got harsh, spitting out Orotund Bastard. All Connor knew about Austin’s dad was that he was a rich American and that Austin hated his guts. But if Cessair was Austin’s dad, what did that mean?

That it was Austin that asked Cessair to step in with bribes to get Connor off scot-free? But that didn’t make any sense. A simple testimony would have made the hate-crime aspect of what happened that night go away. Why go to this much trouble? And wouldn’t that mean his dad worked for Austin’s?

Laurence practically vibrated in the seat next to him.

Connor gripped the steering wheel hard. “Holland Corp funded judge Renald’s run for office. And Holland Corp is owned—”

“—by Cessair, yes.”

Laurence nodded emphatically.

“And his friends call him Orotund Bastard.”

“Um, yes,”

Laurence said, sounding lost. He didn’t get why that was what Connor focused on.

Connor’s mind worked furiously on piecing together this new bit of knowledge.