by Ally Blue
“Yeah, see you.” Austin waved to Chen as she left, then turned to Jordan with a smile. “I think I’ll do the same, actually. Are we done for the day?”
Jordan nodded. “Yes, you’ve got the evening free. Meet me at the classroom at oh-six-hundred tomorrow morning for your assignment.”
“Yes, ma’am. See y’all at dinner.”
Jordan went over to sit beside Vonovich. Austin removed his drysuit, then took his equipment to the crewman waiting to rinse and store it. Pulling his clothes out of his locker, he dressed as fast as he could and hurried to the nearest hatch. The wind has risen while they’d been at depth, and the winter air was cold and knife-keen.
Inside, Austin wandered through the hallways toward the crew quarters, thinking of his first dive with Carson Cordova’s team. Though definitely a taciturn bunch, they were also experienced and professional, and worked well together. Even Collins functioned smoothly as a part of the team at depth. His temper and surliness only came out when the dive equipment came off.
Under different circumstances, Austin would’ve enjoyed working with them. The shipwreck they’d explored on this dive was a sight to behold, her shattered hull sinister and compelling in the glow of their lights. As it was, the strain of keeping his true mission a secret spoiled any enjoyment he might have gotten from the dive. At least the necessity of keeping his attention focused during the dive made it easier to keep thoughts of Luke at bay.
“He must be taken care of.”
Austin stopped walking so suddenly he almost stumbled and fell. The sound of Carson Cordova’s cold tones was jarring, to say the least.
Austin looked around him, and cursed silently. He’d evidently taken the wrong turn somewhere and was now in an unfamiliar corridor. He glanced behind him at the stretch of blue-gray carpeted corridor. The hallway was relatively short, with a wide stair in the middle. It T’d into other hallways at both ends, and Austin guessed it must be one of the corridors connecting the two main ones that ran the length of the ship from bow to stern. He bit his lip, trying to remember how far he’d walked and which end of the ship he was closest to.
He started to creep away, not wanting to get caught here by Cordova. And stopped, frozen, when Dr. Perez’s voice floated from a nearby recessed doorway. The door was cracked open just slightly, as if someone had carelessly swung it closed and it hadn’t quite latched.
“Carson, you cannot simply kill the boy. As much as you like to believe otherwise, you are not above the law, and not everyone on this ship will help you cover up such a crime.”
“When I find the idol, I will be above all laws, both God’s and man’s.” Carson sounded dangerously certain, and Austin frowned. What the fuck? Is he crazy? “Luke is merely a tool, a means to an end. And he has become unstable lately. Defiant. I cannot allow it. As soon as the idol is in my hands, he must be eliminated.”
Austin leaned against the wall, feeling like he’d been punched in the gut. I have to stop him, Austin’s mind screamed. Fighting down the urge to run, Austin edged closer to the door. He had to find out more if he hoped to save Luke.
“I will be sure he is confined while you retrieve the idol,” Dr. Perez said, her voice distinctly chilly. “But I will not kill him for you. And my price for becoming an accomplice to murder will be an extra quarter million, and a one-way flight to Brazil.”
“Done. I will take care of Luke myself, Doctor. Only a coward would ask another to do such a thing.” Carson’s voice dropped to a silky growl. “It will be my honor, and my pleasure, to destroy the boy. He is an abomination, and has served his God-given purpose. Now come. We are about to acquire wealth and power beyond imagining, my dear. Let us retire to the lounge, and toast our imminent success.”
The sound of muffled footsteps from beyond the door broke Austin’s horrified paralysis. He sprinted to the nearby stair and ducked around the corner, crouching against the wall a few steps down. Seconds later, Carson Cordova and Dr. Perez came into view. They crossed the opening of the stairwell without glancing down.
Austin waited until he could no longer hear their footsteps, then bounded down the stair to the deck below. Turning into the portside passageway, he got his bearings and raced down the corridor toward his cabin. The temptation to run directly to Luke’s quarters and take him away from the ship right then was almost overwhelming. However, he knew that running through the ship with bare feet and wet hair, wild-eyed and desperate as he was, would arouse dangerous suspicion. He had to keep his head, or he and Luke would both die sooner rather than later.
I’ll go to Luke’s cabin later, just as we planned. I can tell him then, and we’ll work out an escape plan. Austin knew it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do, if he wanted to keep Luke alive long enough to get away. He wasn’t thinking of the idol anymore. Carson Cordova could have it, as far as he was concerned. All he cared about was Luke’s safety.
Resolved, Austin jogged toward his cabin. He had planning to do.
* * * * *
Dinner that night lasted eons. Austin forced himself to eat, even though his stomach churned and the food tasted like ash. He knew it would mean disaster if any of the crew suspected something was off. Glancing at Carson Cordova from the corner of his eye, Austin fought back the urge to go right up to the man and rip his throat out.
Be cool, Austin, he ordered himself, letting loose an automatic laugh along with the rest of the dive team at one of Chen’s dirty jokes. Luke’s life might depend on you not fucking this up.
After dinner ended, Austin bid the rest of the dive team goodnight and parted ways with them at the crew’s common area. Glancing around to make sure the hallway was empty, he sprinted past his cabin and up the nearest stairway to the main deck, where Luke’s quarters were.
He tapped on Luke’s door. “Luke, it’s me! Open up!”
The door swung open. Luke stood in the doorway, looking pale and glassy-eyed. “Austin. Come in.”
Austin slipped inside. As soon as Luke shut the door, Austin gathered him into his arms and kissed him. Luke sighed softly, his mouth opening to twine their tongues together. It felt heavenly, soothing the tension from Austin’s body and the fear from his mind.
“God, I’ve missed you today,” Luke whispered as the kiss broke. He clutched Austin close, burying his face in Austin’s neck.
Austin held him, caressing his back in long, slow strokes. “I missed you too.”
“How was the dive today?”
“All right. The shipwreck was interesting. Collins passed out for a few seconds while we were at depth, and now he’s mad at me I think.”
Luke pulled back, giving Austin a surprised look. “Why would he be angry with you about that?”
“While I was teaching that class Smith wanted me to do, I found out that the team doesn’t do regular emergency drills, because they’ve worked together so long they don’t think they need to.” Austin shrugged. “I told Jordan they really needed to be doing regular drills, and I thought we should do one before we went down, especially since I’m new to the team. Turned out I was right. I think that pissed Collins off, since he was the main one who didn’t want to do it.”
Luke’s expression was solemn. “Watch your back, Austin. Collins doesn’t like to be shown up.”
“I’ll be careful, don’t worry.” Austin brushed his fingers over the bruise on Luke’s face. “Luke, this afternoon, I overheard your father and Dr. Perez talking. They’re planning t ...
He was still trying to think of the best way to say it when Luke said it for him. “They’re planning to kill me, aren’t they?” He gave a bitter laugh. “As soon as I find the idol for Father, he’s going to murder me like he murdered my family. I’ve suspected as much for a while now.”
Austin gaped at him, surprised. “Yes, that’s it exactly. But what do you mean, he murdered your family?”
Luke stared into Austin’s eyes, as if trying to come to some difficult decision. Austin waited. Finally, Luke took his hand and l
ed him to the bed. They sat down side by side, fingers laced together.
“I stole the ship’s logs from 1977 from my father’s private library,” Luke said, keeping his head down so that his hair hid his face. “I don’t know what made me take that year and no others. Something inside me just ... just told me to. Anyway. I read them. Father is always very meticulous about the ship’s logs, so it was all right there. He killed my family, and took me.”
Austin shook his head, feeling stunned and sick. “I don’t understand. Why did he do that?”
“My people lived on an island off the coast of Zanzibar. He…he was after the diamonds in the hold of a nearby shipwreck, and he thought they were trying to stop him from getting them.” Luke lifted his head and met Austin’s gaze. Tears spilled down his cheeks. “H ... e blew up the island, an ... nd they all died. He killed my family for diamonds, Austin. For fucking diamonds!”
Not knowing what else to do, Austin wound his free arm around Luke’s shoulders and pulled him close. Luke molded himself to Austin, resting his head on his shoulder.
“Why did he take you?” Austin asked, thumbing the tears from Luke’s face. “It couldn’t have been from any sense of guilt. Not with the way he treats you.”
Luke went rigid in Austin’s embrace. Austin held on, kissing Luke’s hair and caressing the satin-soft skin of his neck. “Luke, whatever it is, you can tell me. You can trust me. Please trust me. I want to help you.”
Luke’s fingers tightened around Austin’s. “I’m afraid,” he whispered.
“Afraid of what?” Letting go of Luke’s hand, Austin lifted his chin and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “I won’t let him hurt you anymore.”
“No, not that.” Luke sniffed and wiped his eyes on the cuff of his shirt. “I’m afraid if I tell you, you won’t want me anymore.”
The idea was so preposterous Austin almost laughed. The mingled fear and need on Luke’s face stopped him. He laid a hand on Luke’s cheek and stared straight into his eyes.
“I won’t leave you,” he promised. “No matter what. Please tell me, Luke. Why did Carson Cordova take you? From what Dr. Martin told me, you were only a little kid. What could he possibly have wanted from you?”
Luke sat silent for a long time, fine tremors shaking his body. A horrible idea began to grow in Austin’s mind as he watched Luke struggle with himself, growing paler by the second.
“Luke,” Austin said finally. “He didn’t ... I mean, he never ... Christ, please tell me he never touched you.”
Luke’s eyes went even wider. “No. Never like that.”
Relieved, Austin let out a whooshing breath. “Thank God for that. But, why did he take you? What did he think he needed you for?”
Luke disengaged himself from Austin’s embrace, stood and started to unbutton his shirt. “He needed me,” Luke said, his voice shaking, “because of this.”
Shrugging his shirt to the floor, Luke drew a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. A strange undulation ran down his left arm, and Austin cried out in shock. It should’ve been impossible, but there it was.
Luke’s arm was gone, and in its place was a sinuous blue-gray tentacle.
Chapter Nine
I will not cry, Luke swore to himself as Austin yelped and flinched backward, eyes huge and face blanched. I am not a child, and I will not cry.
His body, predictably, didn’t listen. He hung his head to hide the tears that refused to stop and shifted his arm back to normal. Needing something to keep him from meeting Austin’s stunned ‑‑ and, he imagined, disgusted ‑‑ gaze, Luke picked his shirt up off the floor and went to the closet to hang it up.
He lifted a blue plastic hanger, slid the shirt onto it and hung it on the metal rod, then set about fastening all the buttons. He worked slowly, deliberately, concentrating on slipping each button through its matching buttonhole. Keeping the despair at bay one button at a time.
Three more buttons, he thought numbly, wondering what he’d do when there were no more. Two buttons ... on ...
“Luke?”
Luke’s fingers faltered. He went still. His throat felt dry and tight, and he couldn’t speak. Austin’s footsteps sounded behind him, coming closer. And closer. Then Austin’s arms were around him, Austin’s body was pressed to his back, and oh God it felt good. He leaned into Austin’s solid strength, his relief so huge he thought he would burst with it.
“I was afraid you’d be disgusted, or scared. But I had to tell you. It wasn’t fair to keep it from you any longer.” Luke’s voice was a hoarse whisper, still quavering with an excess of emotion. He laid his hands over Austin’s and stared at their intertwined fingers. “Are you? Disgusted, I mean. I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”
Austin’s lips brushed the back of his neck. “It was surprising. I had no idea such things were possible.” He nuzzled Luke’s hair, sending goosebumps racing along his arms. “But I’m not disgusted. Can you change completely into an octopus?”
“Yes. But it’s hard to do out of the water.” Turning in Austin’s arms, Luke stared hard into his eyes. “You’re really okay with this?”
Austin slid a hand into Luke’s hair and kissed him. “You could never disgust me, Luke. You’re beautiful.”
An unfamiliar feeling swelled in Luke’s chest. He thought he’d known something similar, when he was very small. But the memory was tattered and vague, and what he felt now was vivid and hot and immediate, and demanded expression.
“I love you,” Luke murmured, letting the words come before he could second-guess himself. “It’s crazy, I know, but I do.”
Austin smiled, erasing the last of Luke’s fear. “If you’re crazy, then we both are, because I love you too.”
He loves me. Luke’s joy bubbled up and spilled over, and he started laughing. After a second of shocked silence, Austin’s laughter joined Luke’s. They clung to each other, and the sound of their mutual mirth sent Luke’s spirits soaring. He didn’t think he’d ever laughed from sheer uncontainable happiness before.
As the laughter died down, Luke tilted his head and captured Austin’s mouth in a heated kiss. Austin let out a soft, needy sound. His mouth opened, his tongue snaking out to tangle around Luke’s. The soft, slick touch set Luke’s skin on fire.
Fisting his fingers in Austin’s shirt, Luke dragged him across the room without breaking the kiss. They fell onto the bed, mouths still locked together. Luke rolled and pinned Austin’s body with his.
“God, I want you.” Austin kicked his shoes off and hooked a leg around Luke’s back. He reared up and bit Luke’s bottom lip. “Fuck me.”
Luke’s heart did a funny little flip. “I ... I’ve neve ...
“I know.” Austin clamped one hand onto the back of Luke’s neck and used the other to tug down Luke’s zipper. He caught the waist of Luke’s jeans with his toes and shoved the pants and underwear halfway down Luke’s thighs, baring his ass to the cool air. “Please. I need it. Need you inside me, Luke, pleas ...
Luke moaned as Austin’s toe traced up and down his crease. “Oh. Clothes. Off.”
Unwinding his arms from Luke, Austin stripped off his sweatshirt. Luke rolled to the side and helped Austin squirm out of his jeans, then started to tug his own off. He’d forgotten he still had his shoes on. By the time Luke kicked off the tangle of socks, sneakers and denim, Austin had two saliva-slicked fingers buried in his own ass. The sight made Luke’s cock twitch.
“Jesus, Austin,” Luke breathed, leaning down to kiss the leaking tip of Austin’s prick. “You’re so sexy.”
Austin groaned, his free hand coming up to stroke Luke’s hair. “God, I hope you have more lube.”
Lunging across Austin’s body, Luke yanked the bedside drawer open and fished out a packet of lubricant, congratulating himself on having taken a double handful. Austin pulled his fingers out of himself and stretched his arms above his head, watching Luke with glittering eyes.
Luke already had the bottle open and was coating his fingers wit
h slippery liquid when a sudden realization lanced through the fog of lust in his mind. “I don’t have any more condoms,” he blurted out, even as he slipped a finger into Austin’s hole. He sucked in a sharp breath, surprised by the hot, tight grip of Austin’s body. “Oh, wow. Wow.”
Austin’s grin was wicked and lusty. “It’s good, huh?”
“Yes.” Licking his lips, Luke put another finger in and started working them slowly in and out, twisting, feeling the living silk of Austin’s insides undulating under his touch. “God. Oh, God, I need ... I ... But we don’t have ... Austi ...
Austin laughed, the sound low and rough, ramping Luke’s excitement up unbearably. “In Aunt Jess’s werewolf books, the wolves ‑‑ fuck, yes, deeper ‑‑ God ... they couldn’t ... couldn’t get diseases.” He moaned, eyelids fluttering, as Luke pressed another finger into him. “You ... oh ... you’re a shifter. Can you? Get ... get diseases?”
Thinking seemed like far too much work. But if Austin was going where Luke thought he was ... “Don’t know for sure,” Luke said, his voice tight with the need spiraling out of control inside him. “But I’ve never been sick. S ...
He pressed his fingers deeper, and brushed a firm little spot that made Austin yelp and claw the sheets.
“Bare,” Austin gasped. “Now, Luke, now, fuck me!”
Unwilling to take his fingers out of Austin just yet, Luke grabbed the open packet of lube with one trembling hand and squeezed the rest onto his cock. He tossed the empty packet aside and scooted forward, spreading the lube over his prick with the hand not working Austin’s ass open.
Grabbing the backs of his thighs, Austin pulled his legs up and apart, spreading himself in a wanton display that sent an electric jolt through Luke’s body. “In me,” Austin growled. “Hurry.”
The raw lust in Austin’s voice was too much to resist. Pulling his fingers out of Austin’s hole, Luke took his cock in his hand and positioned the tip at Austin’s entrance. His gaze locked with Austin’s just as he pressed forward and slid inside, and a sweet, sharp ecstasy pierced him to the marrow.