Page 27 of Adonis (Salt and Starlight #1)

“How long has he been like this?”

Trevor’s worried voice cut through Connor’s daze.

“He’s just having a nap,”

Laurence said.

“He’s burning up.”

An icy hand touched Connor’s forehead. It wasn’t the hot one that had brought him peace. He ached in its absence. The gentle sway of the ocean stopped, and Connor heard the board being dragged over sand.

“I can help you bring him inside,”

Nick offered.

“Did he seriously go swimming?”

“He wasn’t feeling that bad, Dad.”

“Edith, could you get some extra blankets for his bed? And get him a hot water bottle.”

Trevor’s voice was tight in worry. “We might need to bring him to the hospital.”

Connor couldn’t object. His body didn’t listen.

“Connor, we’re lifting you now, okay?”

Trevor told him. Connor felt like he was getting jostled for only a few seconds before he was lying down, barraged by heat from every side. It still wasn’t coming from where he wanted. He drifted on the edge of consciousness, sometimes able to grunt out dazed answers to the questions, sometimes not bothering or not having the energy.

It felt like days had passed when he woke up coherent. Someone sat on the edge of the bed as he came back to awareness, and he gauged from the weight it was Nick or Trevor. Which meant it was Trevor.

Just as he was about to open his eyes, the door creaked open.

The person at the end of the bed shifted their weight.

“The lawyer is here,”

Edith’s flat voice came from the doorway.

“I’ll go talk to him,”

Trevor answered. “Can you wait with Connor while I do?”

he asked as he stood up.

Silence answered the request. Connor was surprised that Edith wasn’t putting on a show for Trevor.

“Edith,”

Trevor’s voice held a note of desperation. “He’s sick. Don’t you want to make sure he gets better? Or keep an eye on him or…”

he trailed off.

The answer must have been in Edith’s expression. Connor refused to let it hurt. Though from the way his jaw clenched, he knew he had failed. It had been too peaceful within the family for the past few weeks. Edith had been quiet and accepting during meals, even if she didn’t outright talk to him. Clearly, his notions about what that could mean were mistaken.

“I’ll send up Laurence.”

The anger in Trevor’s voice was unmistakable. And Connor knew his mom well enough to know her footsteps as she walked away from the room, quick and brisk, indicated that she was also angry, too.

Trevor lingered, releasing a long sigh. He came to the bedside and Connor feigned sleep. He didn’t want Trevor to realise he’d heard the scuffle: he knew Trevor would feel sorry for it. Trevor’s large hand touched Connor’s forehead gently and then lightly stroked his hair. He left without a word, and a few moments later, light and hurried footsteps entered the room.

Connor didn’t need to open his eyes to know who. Laurence crawled onto the bed and lay on top of Connor.

“Laurence, you’ll suffocate me. I’m sick, and you’re adding weight for my chest to lift to breathe in.”

Connor opened his eyes to level Laurence with an unimpressed stare.

Laurence jolted. “You’re awake!”

He lifted his weight from Connor. “Dad said your fever broke during the night. How do you feel?”

Connor’s mouth was dry, and his stomach quivered in hunger, but it was preferable to the fevered daze he’d been in. Connor couldn’t remember ever being so sick in his life. Better off, since before now, there was no Trevor to take care of him if he had been. “Squished,”

Connor said.

Laurence got off him and sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed. “Hungry? Thirsty? Dad said the medication wasn’t doing you any good.”

Connor snorted. “It probably didn’t.”

He was long since convinced that most pharmaceuticals relied on the placebo effect. The only thing that had ever dulled his pain was Adonis.

Connor got upright, and Laurence rushed to his side to offer him the water at his bedside table. Connor downed the entire glass, noting the light in the sky and the mist that hung low on the water. It was early morning with that sort of weather. “Have they been fighting the whole time?”

Connor asked, not skirting around what bothered him most.

Laurence scowled. “She hasn’t looked in on you even once! Even Nick checked on you a few times.”

Connor hadn’t heard Trevor angry like that before. He felt that more had happened than Edith not checking on him.

“Adonis is really upset,”

Laurence said after a pause of silence. He went to the window, looking out at sea. “I told him you’re okay, and I’ve been taking care of you, but he’s been staying under the dock waiting… he keeps making this whining sound.”

Connor grimaced. He knew the sound exactly.

“How long have I been out?”

“Two days now.”

Connor let out a hard breath. “I’ll go see him.”

He got out of bed and crinkled his nose at the smell of sweat that wafted up. Should he shower before or after? He thought of Adonis waiting for him while he slept on blissfully.

“We have to be quiet. Dad is talking to the lawyer, but if he sees you trying to go to the dock, he might lock you in the house,”

Laurence warned. He insisted Connor put on a thick sweater before they crept out the back door and followed the path to the sea. Connor was glad for the extra layers when the chill of the morning nipped at his cheeks.

“Are there any updates about the case?”

Connor asked. Two days had passed for the corruption charge to go through the system.

“Your ex-boyfriend did an interview with Alice and Harry.”

Connor looked at Laurence sharply. “Austin?”

“Sam.”

“Oh. What did he say?”

“That you were gay. He even had pictures to prove it.”

“Does that mean the investigation is public knowledge now?”

“You were on the front page,”

Laurence said. “Again. Everyone at school keeps asking me about you…”

He cast Connor a sideways look. “You didn’t tell me you used to date Sam. Or that you used to date Austin… and now you’re dating Adonis.”

“Laurence…”

“I’m not judging, honest. It’s just you seem to get around, so I’m not sure how it took this long for news about you being gay to circulate.”

There was a glint in Laurence’s eye.

“Let me guess, your blogger has a theory about it.”

“He says—”

“Connor!”

Adonis cried out, interrupting Laurence.

“Don’t beach yourself!”

Connor trotted to the dock, quickly making his way to the end before Adonis dragged himself onto the sand. He was in the shallows but turned back to follow Connor to deeper water. The idea of Adonis dragging himself out of the water in desperation perturbed Connor greatly.

“Don’t get him wet,”

Laurence said. “Dad will lock him up in his room if he finds out about this. I’ll keep watch.”

He turned and walked back to the sandy path.

Connor knelt at the end of the dock. Adonis set an elbow next to his knees and reached up to touch Connor’s cheek, stroking his skin affectionately. His dark eyes darted around as he looked Connor over, a low whine coming from his throat as he carried out his inspection. Connor covered Adonis’s hand with his own and bent down to kiss Adonis’s ocean-cooled cheek. “I’m feeling better.”

“Sick.”

“Not anymore,”

Connor reassured him. It took a few minutes of circling worry and reassurance before Adonis was placated.

“Board?”

Adonis questioned.

“Not today,”

Connor said. He sat back on his heels, letting his mind drift from Adonis’s immediate needs to the events in his life that crept up on him, demanding attention. Connor couldn’t bury his head in the sand forever. No matter how much he tried to ignore his case, it wasn’t going away, and he’d rather be prepared for what was coming next. No matter how the investigation ended, there was bound to be a retrial. “I have to take care of some things on land. I’ll visit you later, though, I promise.”

Connor thought Adonis would whine. Instead, he captured the hand in his hair and kissed Connor’s wrist. “Connor. Water. Forever.”

Adonis said it with a grumble.

Connor’s lips twitched. He leaned down, pressing a dozen small kisses to Adonis’s face, who made a pleased noise in his throat at the attention. “I’m working on it,”

Connor promised. He sat back on his heels, legs cramping from crouching for too long. “You get something to eat. Laurence said you’ve been staying here the whole time I’ve been sick.”

“Hungry. No.”

Adonis shook his head adamantly.

“Go for a swim, at least.”

“No.”

“Hmm… well, those scales could do with a polish, couldn’t—”

Connor didn’t get to finish the sentence. Adonis cried out so furiously all words were lost. He departed from Connor, vanishing beneath the water.

“No! No, I didn’t mean it. Come back!”

Connor didn’t even think. He dropped into the water, reaching for Adonis. He had not gone far, and Connor got his hands on his cheeks and drew him back to the surface. Adonis caught Connor’s sides as the chill of the waves washed over him. Adonis came up growling, a sneer away from a hiss.

“Your scales are beautiful like they always are. I was only joking.”

Adonis was still too worked up for speech, but Connor got the gist of his complaints readily enough. Connor wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pressed his mouth over Adonis’s. The protests were replaced with a gratified rumble. Adonis kissed Connor like he always did; all in, hard, consuming.

Connor quivered in desire when his back hit the post of the dock, and Adonis’s hands strayed to cup his behind.

“Connor!”

Laurence called.

“Don’t tell me he—”

Trevor sounded outraged.

Connor tore his mouth from Adonis. “Go on; I’ll see you later.”

He, as gently as possible while still being quick, pushed Adonis under the water. He tried to get onto the dock before Trevor crossed the bend in the path. Instead, he was caught rotten rising out of the water.

“Connor!”

Trevor was aghast.

Connor tried not to look too guilty, but it was hard when he dripped everywhere as Trevor reached him. “I was covered in sweat,”

Connor spoke first to seize the opportunity to abate Trevor’s annoyance. “And I was all hot. I would have died if I didn’t get some refreshment.”

Trevor listened. And as Connor reached the end of his excuse, he saw there wasn’t a hint of annoyance in Trevor’s expression, only worry. As soon as he saw that, he felt guilty for thinking Trevor was annoying.

“I feel better,”

Connor added. “And I brought Laurence along.”

“You brought Laurence along to be your lookout,”

Trevor said without missing a beat. He stepped into Connor’s space, putting his arm around his shoulders. He guided Connor toward the sandy path. “Your fever broke last night, and I hoped you’d wake up with more energy today…I should have been prepared for what that entailed.”

“It was just a little dip,”

Connor said, embarrassed.

Trevor gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze as if he didn’t want Connor to feel bad about doing something he knew Trevor didn’t like. “I’m aware by now you’re half fish. But, for my sanity, please give the ocean a rest for a few days. A bad storm is coming in, and you’re not recovered enough to be out in the cold.”

“Laurence mentioned you were meeting with a lawyer,”

Connor said, intending to divert from the fact that he didn’t promise anything. On the porch ahead, Laurence paced, looking guilty and worried. “And he filled me in on the case…can I borrow the car?”

“We’ve discussed the details over the phone, but I’ll need to go into the office. There are documents he can’t email, and I have to see them in person. Why do you need the car? Not to go to the beach for surfing…”

“I want to go see Sam.”

“Sam, the boy who talked to the press?”

Trevor looked enquiringly at Connor.

“Yeah. I’ll go do that while you have your meetings. I’ll bring Laurence, and you can text him for updates.”

“At this point, I’m certain Laurence is only going to report whatever you tell him to… but I understand why you may want to talk to him. Shower first and eat some breakfast. And afterwards, you can see Sam if you’re not too tired. However, you also have to bring Nick with you.”

“Ugh.”

“He’ll be honest with me, at least.”

Connor could have made a remark about sneaking out, but he held his tongue. Trevor’s face had a grey cast to it, and though his expression was light, he was obviously sleep-deprived. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that Connor’s issues were the reason. “Fine, he can come along, too.”

It was well into midday before Trevor finally gave his approval for them to leave the house. Nick didn’t cast so much as a dirty look when Trevor asked could he drive them into town, and Connor worried more about that than he did his case for a solid five minutes, convinced that he was planning something.

“Where in town are we going?”

Nick asked as they all got into the car.

“The docks,”

Connor answered.