Page 96 of Goldilocks
Roan roused during the cleaning and rolled onto his back. His tail fin flicked up, and he blinked. “Come.” Roan tugged on Sam’s hand, urging him toward the blankets.
Sam resisted that tug. “I need to eat. Do you want to come out or sleep in for a bit?”
Roan rose onto his elbows. The blanket covered only part of his tail, a large portion hanging out over the edge and trailing on the carpeted floor. Sam followed Roan’s gaze to the fin which twitched but remained a tail. Sam turned his attention back to Roan’s face and studied that concentrated look. “Can you not shift back?”
Roan frowned. “No.”
Sam thought of Roan’s remarks about how things were easier with Connor around. And while he might not understand why or what that meant, he could accept that it was a thing. “I’ll go get Connor,” Sam said. “I don’t like you being stuck so far inland.”
Roan grunted. “It is uncomfortable.” And it seemed that the discomfort was in more than just his tail, as he rubbed his arm, his very skin seeming to itch.
Sam sat on the bed, wincing at his own personal discomfort, and focused wholly on Roan. “Thanks for coming anyway. I know that leaving the ocean isn’t the easiest thing to do.”
Roan leaned in, rubbing his face against Sam’s neck. “I am mated to a human. I will compromise.”
“How about I compromise next and get you to the ocean?” Sam suggested. “I have to sort some things with my college, book some time off and all…Decide whether or not I’m going back.” Which Sam didn’t know if he would. He’d have to play catch-up and study and take exams and all these things that he just didn’t have any interest in.
Sam’s gaze trailed to the neat bite mark on Roan’s neck. A mark which, according to Roan, meant they were mates. At the very least, they were boyfriends. They’d had sex. Roan didn’t seem like he was about to ghost Sam and shatter his heart, and Sam was too far in now to even try at any semblance of emotional detachment.
“You may pursue studies you are actually interested in,” Roan said, speaking in a measured tone, “without affecting your independence. Or you may pursue your artistic talents at leisure.” This time his tone had a very purposefully implied‘Like I think you should’.
Sam’s lips twitched as he repressed a smile. “I haven’t painted you in a while. Maybe I could spend the day doing that?”
“Yes,” Roan said. “I will model for you.”
Sam didn’t stifle the smile this time. He gave in to it. “Maybe you could do some nude modelling for me, since we’re mates now?” He ran his hand over the stretch of tail Roan’s cock had disappeared into and groaned in delight as the scales shifted and a cockhead prodded at his palm.
“I will do as you wish.” Roan leaned in, rubbing his forehead against Sam’s as he shut his eyes. Curious, Sam pressed as hard as he could, keeping his hand flat on Roan’s tail to trap his cock inside. Sam grinned as Roan snarled, jutting his hips to try and get past Sam’s hand.
“I have to push so hard to keep it inside,” Sam said.
Roan growled.
The head of Roan’s cock prodded at Sam’s palm, demanding it be let free. Slick escaped where the cock couldn’t, and once Sam’s hand was lubed up and Roan was shaking in agitation, Sam turned his hand, letting the cock escape only by pushing up through his lubed grip.
“I’m too sore for sex, but if you’re up for a hand job…?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Large oaks and hawthorns dominated the land around Connor’s house, and the air smelled as much of forest as ocean. A sleep-weary Trevor opened the front door, lodging a considerable measure of guilt into Sam’s gut. Sam could have waited an hour or two, but he didn’t want Eric or Ivan to be lingering at Sam’s door, wondering why Roan wouldn’t come out. And he felt bad for Roan being trapped too. He could tell his skin was bothering him. He needed the ocean more than Sam needed to be polite. It was early morning still, half six, and clearly Trevor had just rolled out of bed. His hair was a bed-head mess, his shorts and T-shirt rumbled and creased. Sam had wanted to call Connor, but he didn’t know where his phone was, and then he’d wanted to knock on Connor’s window, but he didn’t know which window was his.
“Morning, Sam.” His large body filled the doorway, but despite his hulking build, Trevor never used his size to intimidate. His body in a doorway never meant a barrier.
“Sorry for dropping by so early,” Sam said. He’d considered waking Eric or Ivan for one of their phones, but he didn’t know anyone’s number by heart.
“Come in. How are you feeling?” Trevor stepped aside, making room for Sam to enter the house. Light diffused through pale green curtains, illuminating a large living room in an early morning glow. “The boys told me what happened yesterday.”
“I’m feeling better, thanks to Adonis. I was just hoping to grab Connor for a bit,” Sam explained. “Roan needs help getting back to the ocean. Is he here?”
Trevor nodded. “Why don’t you make tea for yourself? I’ll wake him.”
Sam went to the kitchen. It overlooked the ocean, and the wooden dock that jutted into the sea. It was a dock that hadn’t gotten planning permission before being built, but with Connor’s new windfall of cash, he didn’t seem to care what anyone had to say about anything. At the end of the dock in the deepest water was Connor’s yacht, halfway down was his biological dad Ben’s old work boat, and opposite that was Sam’s small fishing boat.
Someone approached from behind so quietly it was only the disturbed air that alerted Sam to their presence.
Sam turned to see Jasper stepping into the kitchen. He inclined his head toward Sam in acknowledgement.
“Good morning,” Sam said. Jasper wore the clothes he’d left the other world in. A white shirt with sleeves of cinched ties, brown leather trousers and shining back boots, a black sword belt with the golden-studded hilt of the weapon sticking up. Jasper’s hair was tied in a brown band, the ponytail resting on his shoulder while his hands were clasped at his back. His tail swished lazily through the air.