Page 11 of The Tides of March (Moon Murder Mysteries)

Ten

F or a moment, Ronan didn’t know where he was. He wasn’t even certain if he knew who he was when he woke up in his own bed, naked and tender in places he didn’t know he had. Ronan had gotten used to nodding off in the chair by the fire and it wasn’t like him to sleep past sunrise. The smell of coffee and bacon had his stomach barking loud enough to rattle the roof but Ronan was hungry for something sweeter as he watched Tony cook without a stitch of clothing on.

“Are ye sure that’s safe?” Ronan asked as he sat up, scrubbing his beard and yawning. He was still tired, oddly enough, but was happy he hadn’t missed the show.

Tony grinned over his shoulder and gave his backside a playful wiggle. “I would have put on an apron but you don’t own one.”

“Aye, and it’s a shame, ain’t it?” Although, Ronan would probably have burned it if he had any idea that Tony liked to cook in the nude. “Need a hand over there?” he asked as he craned his neck, trying to see more of Tony’s front bits.

“Don’t even think about it!” Tony said as he turned and pointed the spatula at Ronan. “It’s my turn to serve you breakfast in bed.”

Ronan nodded slowly, a dreamy smile curving his lips as he appreciated the view. “Breakfast? There’s somethin’ I’d like to eat, but it’s not what ye had in mind.”

“Oh?” Tony’s brow shot up and he tossed the spatula over his shoulder before running at the bed. He crashed into Ronan, making them laugh as they fell back.

“What about breakfast?”

“I’m frying potatoes. I can let them go for about ten minutes,” Tony said as he shimmied off the bed between Ronan’s legs. “Ahoy, matey,” he purred as took Ronan’s shaft in both hands and stroked, lapping at the head.

“Ahoy…” Ronan parroted, unable to take his eyes off of Tony as he licked with loud, greedy abandon. If anyone had told Ronan he’d find himself at the mercy of a beautiful Roman, he would have said they were lying or were idiots, no one would ever want the likes of him.

But Tony certainly seemed to. “Vaseline, please,” he said and held out a hand, using the other to guide the head of Ronan’s shaft to his mouth as he opened wide. “Mmm! So good!” he said and sucked hard enough to make Ronan’s toes curl.

He swiped the tub off the nightstand and fumbled it as he passed it to Tony. “Easy, lad! You’ll give me a heart attack,” Ronan said shakily, brushing his fingers through Tony’s hair and gently cradling his head. “Tony, that’s…” But Ronan had no words and his eyes crossed at the heady pleasure swirling in his core and the pressure throbbing in his sac. He blinked and shook his head to refocus, then swore when he saw Tony fingering himself. The Vaseline was open next to his knee and Tony made lewd moaning sounds as his head bobbed up and down. “Come here!”

Tony laughed as he was hauled off the floor and up, onto Ronan’s lap. “Aye aye, captain!” Tony said, quickly adjusting and impaling himself on Ronan’s cock. They both gasped and shouted obscenities as Tony rode Ronan hard and fast. It was only a matter of minutes before they both came, sweating and breathless as their lips clung.

“I feel like I’m still dreamin’,” Ronan said as he nibbled and fondled Tony’s ass.

He smiled, making an overcast morning warm and bright. “I dreamed about you too,” he said, pressing a loud kiss to Ronan’s lips before easing off of his softening hard-on. “Although, it wasn’t a happy dream.” He paused on his way back to the stove, wincing at Ronan. “I’m a mess.”

“Come back and I’ll clean ye up,” Ronan offered, making Tony smirk.

“Let me flip the potatoes.”

“Turn them off. I’d rather eat yer backside fer breakfast.”

Tony waved over his shoulder as he worked, then took the skillet off the burner. “They’re just about done,” he said and returned to the bed. There was cum smeared on his stomach and Ronan used a finger to gather it.

“What was this dream?” Ronan asked as he sucked his finger clean, then made room for Tony, nodding in approval when he rolled onto his stomach.

Tony folded his arms and made a thoughtful sound as he rested his chin on them. “I’m not sure how to explain it. There were tentacles and they were wrapping around the sun.”

“From a flyin’ octopus?” Ronan guessed and Tony shrugged. “Where was I, if the dream was about me?”

“You were hurt. I don’t know how, but you were bloody and all beat up. You were on the beach and you were dying.”

Ronan frowned as he traced Tony’s spine and the cleft of his ass. Cum had leaked from his hole, hot and slick as it coated the inside of his cheeks. “From a flyin’ octopus attack?”

“I really hope not,” Tony murmured while Ronan coated his fingers and licked the cum from them.

They pondered Tony’s dream while Ronan cleaned him, then shared a delicious breakfast of fried potatoes, eggs, bacon, and toast. Afterwards, they took the dogs out for a long walk around the island, leaving Myrtle to guard the cottage. It was just as Ronan had imagined, with Tony and the dogs playing chase in the waves. But Tony made it even better when he surprised Ronan by taking his hand as they walked.

Ronan had made countless trips around Pooles Island throughout his many, many years there. But all those lonely days had been worth it as Tony slid his arm around Ronan’s, huddling closer when the wind picked up. It ruffled his hair and made his cheeks pink and Ronan wished he knew real magick and could stop time.

He would never wish for Tony to stay. Ronan couldn’t risk enchanting Tony and imprisoning him on the island. Tony’s place was on the mainland, in the land of men, not as a merrow’s cursed companion.

“I think all my stuff will fit,” Tony said, yelling over the dogs and the waves.

“Yer stuff?” Ronan asked as he halted them. They were by the lighthouse and Tony pointed at a pair of seagulls that had perched on the steps.

“I took a peek upstairs while you were sleeping and I think there’s plenty of room on your shelves for my books. I might have to downsize my wardrobe, but we can make it all fit if we’re creative,” Tony said.

“Ye took a peek?” Ronan repeated, suddenly embarrassed.

“Yeah. You’re so talented, your work should be in a gallery. Could you make me a little desk so I could work while I watch you paint?” Tony asked and Ronan wasn’t sure what had made him dizzy: Tony’s compliment or the thought of a lifetime with Tony.

Ronan recalled that the rest of Tony’s lifetime could be a blink, compared to the life of a merrow. And after Tony was gone, Ronan would slowly waste away as he mourned him. “We’ll see. Ye might come to yer senses and miss yer old life.”

“What’s to miss, aside from my mom?”

A dubious snort huffed from Ronan and he shook his head. “I’m sure there are lots of people ye miss and I’m sure they miss ye too.”

“My dad left me, Aubrey left me, Nox left me here , and the university doesn’t care how much leave I take or if I ever come back, apparently.”

“Don’ think that’s exactly accurate,” Ronan said but Tony shrugged.

“I’m happy here. Happier than I’ve been in a long, long time. Why? You don’t want me to stay?” he countered suspiciously and Ronan held up a hand, shushing softly.

“Don’ ask a merrow that. Not if ye wanna have a say in the matter later,” he warned.

Tony’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Right! Sorry,” he said, then took stock around them. “What about the lighthouse? I’d love a tour!”

“No, ye wouldn’.” Ronan pulled Tony against his side and turned them toward the cottage. “Let’s go,” he called and whistled to get the pack’s attention.

“Why not?” Tony asked, his lip pushing out as he looked over his shoulder.

“It’s haunted.”

“Haunted?” Tony stopped them and gestured for Ronan to explain.

“Well…” he tugged at his beard, trying to recall all the details. “It was back in 1855… Two brothers were sailin’ and their ship went down in the bay, out there,” he said as he raised a hand and pointed past the lighthouse. “Fog was so thick ye wouldn’ have been able to see me finger. Not sure what possessed Elijah and James Williams to set out that day, but James’s body was never found. Elijah washed up just about there,” Ronan said, nodding at the shore. “I had no way of calling fer help and no place to store him until someone came to get him, so I buried him by the peach trees.”

“Elijah haunts the lighthouse?” Tony asked, earning a sad chuckle from Ronan.

“He’s waitin’ and lightin’ the way so his brother can find him.”

“Wow! A few months ago, I would have laughed and thought you were pulling my leg. Now, I’m really sad for Elijah and I’m kind of curious to see what a ghost looks like,” Tony said sadly.

“Just a bit of smoke,” Ronan said with a shrug. “He carries on somethin’ awful, though, as if it were someone else’s fault they were out in that fog.”

“What if it was?” Tony asked and Ronan cast him a curious look.

“Wanna call the police and see if they can do somethin’ about it? Ship went down in 1855. Nothin’ we can do fer him now so he might as well mind me tools and keep nosy anthropologists out of me lighthouse.”

“Wanna call the police?” Tony mimicked in a growling mumble and rolled his eyes. “Let’s go home. Your nosy anthropologist’s toes are starting to get numb.”

“We wouldn’ want that now, would we?” Ronan said before he bent and swung Tony over his shoulder.

He was as light as air and Tony was content to ramble about his books and his clothes as Ronan carried him back to the cottage. They pulled the tub in front of the fireplace so Tony could soak and read the Odyssey out loud while Ronan prepared their dinner. Dean Martin crooned from the record player, making the evening even cozier.

It was just a simple bean soup with some bits of soaked, salted pork, served with toasted slices of bread and fresh butter. But Tony made the evening magickal and romantic by insisting they share a bowl and cuddle under a blanket by the fire with the dogs. They fed each other chunks of bread, dunked in soup, and laughed because they got as much on each other’s faces as they did in their mouths.

Later, Tony pushed Ronan onto the bed and sat on his face, like a good lad. He ground his ass all over Ronan’s beard and came all over his chest. Tony licked him clean, then rode Ronan’s cock until they both shattered and collapsed in a sweaty tangle of limbs.

“Yer heaven, lad, but I’m wiped out,” Ronan said with a loud yawn.

There was a sated, drowsy chuckle from Tony as he burrowed into Ronan’s chest. “Me too. Today was perfect. I don’t know why I’d ever go back, except to visit my mom.”

“Yer talkin’ nonsense, Tony. There’s a life waitin’ for ye out there and ye’ll get bored or sick of me soon enough,” Ronan predicted, stopping Tony when he started to argue. “Why don’ ye read to me, if yer not tired yet. I could listen to ye forever.”

Ronan was lying. He was asleep before Tony finished the first paragraph.