by Ally Blue
Austin finished dressing Luke’s wound in silence. Luke held perfectly still, but Austin saw his pain in the set of his shoulders. He could tell Luke had his guard up, and it bothered him. Something about Luke made Austin want to gain his trust. Austin had a feeling Luke trusted very few people.
“Okay, done.” Austin smiled. “How’s it feel?”
Luke flexed his thigh. “Better, actually.” He returned Austin’s smile. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Austin knelt there on the floor between Luke’s legs, staring into Luke’s bottomless eyes, knowing he should get up but unable to make himself move. His hand, he realized with a shock, still rested on Luke’s thigh.
Luke licked his lips. “Austi ...
To his own surprise, Austin found himself moving his hand further up Luke’s thigh. Luke let out a barely audible sigh. His eyes burned into Austin’s. Those plush pink lips called to Austin like a siren song. Without considering what he was doing or why, Austin rose to rest one knee on the edge of the couch, leaned forward, and pressed a tentative kiss to Luke’s mouth.
The second their lips touched, sparks jumped between them, and something inside Austin shifted. He felt as if his entire life had been leading up to this one moment, to this kiss that suffused his soul with a hot, fierce joy. Austin didn’t understand it, but he knew that having tasted this, nothing else could ever replace it.
A small, needy sound escaped Luke’s throat. His hands came up to clutch Austin’s shoulders, his tongue flicking at Austin’s lips. Fire shot up Austin’s spine. Sliding closer without breaking the kiss, he tangled his free hand into Luke’s baby soft hair. The other hand gently kneaded Luke’s thigh, careful to avoid the newly bandaged wound.
“Oh God,” Luke gasped. “Austin. Touch me.”
“Are you sure?” Austin asked, even as his fingers brushed Luke’s balls. “You’re hurt.”
“Yes.” Luke sucked Austin’s bottom lip into his mouth and let it go with a pop. “It’s been so lon ...
“For me too.” Watching Luke’s face, Austin wrapped his hand around Luke’s rapidly hardening prick. The way Luke moaned at the touch sent a spike of lust through his body. “God, you’re gorgeous.”
Luke stared at him from inches away, black eyes wide and hot. “I want you. Is that wrong?”
It was an odd question, Austin thought. Or, at least, it was odd for Luke to be the one asking it. After all, Austin was the one taking advantage of an injured man, not the other way around. Although the hungry look in Luke’s eyes argued that Luke, at least, didn’t think he was being taken advantage of.
“Wrong? Christ, I hope not,” Austin said with feeling.
Luke let out a breathless little laugh, pulled Austin close and kissed him. Austin opened wide to Luke’s questing tongue. In the morning, he might regret it, but right now, pure sensation had him in its grip. The taste of Luke’s mouth, the feel of Luke’s cock, hard and hot in his hand, the musky-sweet smell of Luke’s skin, all conspired to erase rational thought and replace it with unadulterated need.
When Luke’s fingers slipped into the opening in the front of Austin’s boxers, he straddled Luke’s lap to give him better access. The feel of Luke’s long, graceful hand on his cock tore a groan from Austin’s throat. His own hand tightened around Luke’s shaft, stroking harder, encouraged by Luke’s soft whimpers and the lusty roll of his hips.
The position was awkward as hell, and Austin’s wrist began to cramp within minutes, but he didn’t care. It had been months since his last sexual encounter, trading blowjobs with one of the Blackjack dealers from The Acadian. Consequently, it was only a few minutes before Austin felt the orgasm building low in his belly.
Luke seemed to be as close as Austin, judging by the way he thrust into Austin’s fist, heedless of his injured thigh. Pulling Luke’s foreskin back, Austin slipped an experimental finger just under the edge. He was startled but pleased when Luke keened, arched his back, and came in a warm slippery rush. His fingers spasmed around Austin’s prick and Austin came too, his mouth still locked to Luke’s in a deep kiss.
Luke seemed to be in no hurry to let Austin go. Not that Austin minded. He was happy to sit astride Luke’s hips all night, cramped wrist and semen-splotched boxers and all. Luke’s kiss had turned slow and soft in the aftermath of his orgasm, and Austin felt that he could gladly drown in it. The magic he’d felt flowing between them before was still there, its heat peaceful and comforting now.
Austin broke the kiss when worry over Luke’s injury finally overcame the pleasure of Luke’s mouth on his. Moving off Luke’s lap, he flopped down beside him on the couch. “That was incredible.”
“Mm.” Luke smiled lazily. “It certainly was.”
Propping an elbow against the back of the sofa, Austin drank in the sight of post-orgasmic Luke. A delicate flush colored his pale cheeks. His lips were swollen and red, his fine blond hair wildly tangled. A faint sheen of sweat gave his bare skin an ethereal glow. Austin thought he looked like a creature out of one of those fantasy books Aunt Jess used to read all the time.
Something must have shown on his face, because Luke laid a hand over Austin’s, squeezing his fingers. “Austin? Are you all right?” He bit his lip, his expression guarded. “Do you wish we hadn’t done that?”
“What? God, no!” Shifting closer, Austin gave Luke a reassuring smile. “I was just thinking how hot you look right now.”
“So do you.” Luke leaned close and brushed his lips across Austin’s. “But you looked so sad just now. I know it’s none of my business, but you saved my life today. And you just made me feel like I’ve never felt before. I don’t want you to be unhappy.”
Austin stared, trying to read Luke’s face. Something in those black eyes made him want to tell Luke everything. To let Luke tell him everything would be okay, even if it was a lie.
What the hell. It’s not as if I have any deep dark secrets.
“I was just thinking that you looked like some kind of fantasy creature,” Austin explained. A strange look passed through Luke’s eyes and was gone before Austin could decide what to think of it. Austin took a deep breath and continued. “That made me think of my Aunt Jessamine, because she’s always reading those fantasy novels. Katrina completely destroyed her house, so she moved to Alabama to live with her sister. I miss her, is all. She and Uncle Ray raised me.”
Luke sat silent for a moment, studying Austin’s face. His thumb rubbed tiny circles on the back of Austin’s hand. “Jessamine. That’s the name of your boat.”
“Yeah. Uncle Ray named it after Aunt Jess. He left it to me when he died a couple of years ago.”
Austin was surprised but relieved that Luke hadn’t asked about his parents. He barely remembered them, but thinking of them still hurt. They’d abandoned him when he was seven, leaving him on Aunt Jess and Uncle Ray’s doorstep on their way to California to make their fortune. He hadn’t seen or heard from them since.
Some days he hated them. Other days he ached for the chance to have known them. Most days he didn’t think of them at all. His aunt and uncle had always loved and supported him, and he was grateful for that.
“How did he die?”
Austin blinked, jarred from his thoughts by Luke’s soft voice. “Uncle Ray? He was a diver on an oil rig in the Gulf. He had a heart attack at three hundred feet. They couldn’t get him to the surface in time.”
“I’m sorry.” Luke lifted Austin’s hand and kissed his palm.
Austin had to look away from Luke’s eyes. “So. Um. Are you hungry? I could fix some soup and sandwiches.”
“That would be wonderful.”
Letting go of Luke’s hand, Austin rose and headed into the kitchen. He washed his hands, then grabbed a dish cloth and dampened it with warm water.
“Here,” he said, walking over and handing the cloth to Luke. “To clean up with.”
Luke took the cloth with a smile. “Thanks.”
Back in the kitchen, Austin got out
two cans of tomato soup, a pack of bologna, and the last of the bread. He watched Luke out of the corner of his eye as he opened the soup and started making sandwiches. Luke yawned and stretched, and Austin’s cock twitched.
Stop it, he ordered himself. Just because you got each other off once, doesn’t mean he’s up to doing it again right away. He’s been through a horrible ordeal. Let him rest and eat something, for God’s sake.
The possibility of something more later on brought a smile to Austin’s face.
A few minutes later, Austin carried a huge steaming mug of soup and two bologna sandwiches around the counter separating the kitchen and miniscule living area. “Okay, here you go, sandwiches and some hot ... Oh.”
Austin trailed off, smiling. Luke was sound asleep, his head resting at an awkward angle on the back of the sofa. His hands were curled on his lap, his lips slightly parted. There were faint bluish shadows under his eyes. He looked young and fragile and exhausted.
A strange, tight feeling pulled at Austin’s chest. He set the food on the counter and walked quietly over to the couch. Bending down, he put his arms around Luke and gently laid him down, tucking the pillow under his head and covering him with a clean blanket. He threw the musty, dirty blanket from the boat on the floor.
As Austin plucked the used washcloth off the floor where it had fallen, Luke stirred and mumbled something in what sounded like a different language. Austin leaned close, trying to make out the meaning of the strange words, but Luke sighed and fell silent, curling onto his side.
Austin knelt on the floor, studying Luke’s face. “Who are you?” he whispered, stroking Luke’s silky hair. “Where did you come from?”
And why do I already feel like you belong with me?
The question he hadn’t voiced was the one he most wanted answered, and the one least likely to have an answer. Planting a soft kiss on Luke’s forehead, Austin rose to his feet and went to wrap up Luke’s uneaten dinner.
* * * * *
Austin woke the next morning with one numb foot and a crick in his neck from sleeping in the chair. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep there. But the combination of the afternoon’s exertion, a mind-shattering orgasm, and a hot shower had conspired against him.
Yawning, he carefully uncurled himself, contemplating whether to risk waking Luke by making breakfast now. His stomach growled its opinion on the matter. He glanced at his watch. Almost ten o’clock. He’d slept for over twelve hours, meaning Luke had slept even longer.
“Okay,” he mumbled, standing up and stretching. “Food it is.”
It wasn’t until he’d gotten into the kitchen and started the coffee brewing that he noticed Luke was gone.
Somehow, it didn’t surprise him, but it did hurt a little. Crossing back into the living area, Austin picked up the old blanket he’d thrown in the corner. It had come stains on it, plus it was musty from being stuffed in Jessamine’s storage compartment for God only knew how long. The thing needed washing badly. Nevertheless, Austin buried his face in it for a moment, trying to catch a whiff of Luke’s scent. The rich tang of semen hit his nostrils, and he couldn’t help moaning.
“Stop being such an idiot,” he scolded himself, even as he closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against the place where Luke’s spunk had dried on the blanket. “You rescued him, he said thank you in his own way. Leave it.”
Still clutching the dirty blanket to his chest, Austin headed for the closet where he kept his laundry basket. He dropped the blanket in the basket. As he turned to go back to the kitchen and pour himself some coffee, he noticed a scrap of paper sitting on top of his small chest-of-drawers. He picked it up, and his heart flip-flopped when he realized it was a note from Luke.
Austin,
Sorry to leave like this, without even saying goodbye, but I had places to be. God, that sounds horribly cloak-and-dagger. I don’t mean it to. I borrowed some of your clothes, I hope you don’t mind. I’ll have them sent back to you as soon as I can, I promise.
“Thank you” sounds inadequate for all you’ve done for me. But thank you anyway, for everything. Especially for what we did together last night. I’ve never felt like that before. I wish we could do it again, and more.
Yours,
Luke
Austin frowned. Why couldn’t Luke bring the borrowed clothes back himself, instead of sending them with someone else? And what did he mean he wished they could do it again?
“Why can’t we?” Austin said softly, fingertips brushing the untidy scrawl of Luke’s signature. “What’s stopping you?”
The mystery was doubly frustrating because Luke obviously wanted to see him again, but didn’t believe he could, and Austin had no idea why.
It took him several more minutes to remember that he knew where Luke was staying. He grinned. Either they’d be together again, or he’d get Luke to tell him why they couldn’t. He preferred the first option, but he’d settle for the latter if he had to.
With a sense of hope, Austin thumbed through the phone book, found the number and dialed The Waterview.
* * * * *
Luke peered cautiously around the corner of the fourteenth floor hallway. No one was in sight, not even the bodyguard that usually stood outside Carson’s door. Luke breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been half afraid Carson would have someone waiting for him. Waiting to take him to face his punishment.
Not that he could avoid it at this point. Not when he’d been missing nearly twenty-four hours without reporting in. But maybe he could steal a few minutes alone before telling his father he’d returned.
He ran down the hall, bare feet silent on the plush carpet. His wounded thigh hurt with a deep, nauseating ache. He ignored it as best he could, though the long walk had him limping more than a little. The spear gun had nearly severed his tentacle. He’d had to shift to human and back on the spot to avoid losing it right then.
Keeping one eye on Carson’s closed door, Luke opened his own door using the extra key card he’d gotten at the desk. Safely inside his room, he stumbled to the bed and collapsed onto it. He lay still for a few moments, letting some of the tension run out of his neck and shoulders. Trying to get into the hotel without any of his father’s goons spotting him was never easy, but he’d gotten very good at it over the years. He wanted to finish healing the gash in his leg before he confronted Carson. His father was already going to be livid at the news Luke had for him. Luke didn’t want to make it worse for himself by letting Carson know he’d allowed himself to be wounded.
Lifting his hips, Luke slid out of Austin’s jeans and laid them on the bed beside him.
Austin.
Just thinking of the man was enough to start a tingling ache between Luke’s legs. He wished he hadn’t had to lie to Austin about where he was staying.
Closing his eyes, Luke conjured the memory of Austin’s face. The big brown eyes, the lusciously full lips, the tousled mahogany hair, the mocha skin that spoke of a Creole heritage. Luke found the contrast between Austin’s dark hand and his own pale cock unbelievably erotic.
Before Luke fully realized what he was doing, he spread his legs and cupped his balls in his hand. The sharp twinge in his injured thigh brought him out of his dangerous fantasy.
“Can’t think of that right now,” he whispered to the ceiling. “Can’t think of it ever. It can’t happen again.”
Doing his best to ignore the empty feeling that thought caused, Luke sat up and pulled Austin’s sweatshirt off. He needed to heal that leg, right now. And to heal, he needed to shift again. It was dangerous, since his octopus form couldn’t survive long out of the water. But it was the only way to finish the healing process. The shifts he’d already undergone since the injury had helped a great deal, and one more shift should heal it completely.
Taking a deep breath, Luke concentrated on making his body change. If he hadn’t lost so much blood yesterday, if he wasn’t already so damn tired, he could’ve just shifted the leg. But a partial shift took far more energy than a
full one, and he wasn’t sure he could do it right now. Forcing down the fear that always went along with changing outside the safety of the ocean, he shifted.
Within seconds, heat flashed through his thigh as the torn muscle and skin knitted together. Luke changed back to his human form immediately and lay gasping on the bed, heart racing from the exertion.
As soon as he felt strong enough to move again, Luke slid to the edge of the bed and stood up. His head whirled. It took several endless seconds before the dizziness passed.
“Dammit,” he muttered. “Why does that keep happening?”
Lately, every time he emerged from the ocean and became human again, he felt sick and exhausted. Sometimes he had trouble breathing for a while. It was frightening and disturbing, and it was getting worse. Carson’s doctors hadn’t been able to find a thing wrong with him. Though admittedly, a great deal of his physiology was a mystery to them, so Luke figured it was likely they wouldn’t be able to tell whether anything was wrong or not.
Once his head stopped whirling he did a few deep knee bends, testing his leg. It seemed good as new. Satisfied, he pulled a clean pair of jeans out of the drawer next to the bed and tugged them on.
He’d barely zipped up when his door flew open and hit the wall. Carson Cordova stormed into the room, dark eyes flashing. Luke gulped.
“Father,” he said, marveling that his voice didn’t shake. “I was just about to call you.”
Without breaking his stride, Carson grabbed Luke by the throat and slammed him against the wall. “Where have you been?” he growled through clenched teeth. “I have been waiting for your report, boy. If your incompetence has cost me that ido ...
“No, Father!” Luke gasped. “No, the idol’s there! They don’t know anything, they haven’t found it yet!”
Carson’s handsome face flushed, eyes narrowing, and Luke realized his mistake. Too late, of course.
“They?” Carson asked, his voice dangerously soft. “Who is ‘they’?”