Deep Water (17 page)

“If you’re asking me if you’re giving me
blue balls, yeah, a little.” He swallowed again. “If you’re asking me if I want
to stop, the answer’s no. Just don’t expect me to be poking you back.”

He wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn he
saw Dunn smile. “All right.”

That kicked off the first long, leisurely
make-out session Griffin had experienced in years. He’d forgotten how fun teenage
behavior could be, all that lovely kissing and fondling without having to worry
about getting sex onto the agenda.

After a bit he let Dunn roll him onto his
back, still kissing. It gave him a chance to run his hands over the man’s
muscled back, dipping low enough to grab his
arse
and
squeeze it.

Dunn groaned into his mouth, grinding
harder against his hip. A flicker of guilt zinged through him. He pulled back,
breaking the kiss with a soft pop. “If you want me to use my hand, I will,” he said.
“To bring you off, I mean.”

Dunn rose up, staring at him for a long
moment. “That’s … very kind of you. But it’s not necessary.”

“You sure? I’d like it if one of us got
off tonight, at least.”

He took the opportunity and slid one hand
between their bodies, daring to cup the hot, lengthy bulge in Dunn’s slacks.
Any lingering worries about his heterosexuality were long gone, replaced by the
need to explore. “Jesus. You’re big,” he breathed, squeezing gently.

Dunn bit his lower lip, pressing harder
into Griffin’s grip. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to embarrass myself,”
he said raggedly.

“Easy fix, yeah?” Griffin felt for the zipper
pull, tugging it down before slipping his hand inside. His fingers met soft,
hot skin over a rigid shaft. “Ooh, nice.”

Dunn’s panting kicked up a notch and his
arms started trembling. “Griffin—”

“
Shh
. Let me.”
With some maneuvering he freed Dunn’s cock, stroking it experimentally. To his
surprise the other man was uncircumcised, just as he was. He slid the foreskin
back and forth over the plump head the way he liked it on his own cock. “Tell
me what you want.”

Dunn groaned again, lower this time. “You.
I want you.”

Griffin grinned. “You’ve got me.” He sped
up his stroking, massaging the sensitive spot under the head with his thumb.
“Let go, gorgeous. I’ve got you, too.”

The other man’s breathing turned harsh,
and the cock in his hand thickened suddenly. Dunn threw his head back, lower
lip clamped between his teeth as he keened. Warm wetness spurted over Griffin’s
fist, and the ache in his balls made him wish to God that he could join Dunn in
his orgasm.

The panting man finally sagged down onto
the blanket at Griffin’s side, a long shadow under the stars. “Thank you,” he
breathed. “Gaia, that was wonderful.”

“Good.” Griffin wiped the mess off on the
sand, then dislodged the grains now sticking to his hand by wiping the rest on
his shirt, rucking it up in the process. “
Gonna
need
to wash my hands, though. Kind of forgot how sticky cum gets.”

Unexpectedly Dunn took his sticky hand and
rubbed it over Griffin’s exposed stomach, smearing the last bit of semen there.

“What was that for?”

“To mark you,” Dunn said, sounding
satisfied. “Now you’re mine.”

The joy of the night disappeared. “Shit. Dunn,
don’t do this,” Griffin said softly.

“Do what?”

“Get too attached to me. I don’t want you
to get hurt.”

“Too late for that.” Still holding his
hand, Dunn folded the fingers down and kissed his knuckles. “I said it, and I
meant it. You’re generous, and wonderful, and mine, Griffin Moore.”

“No.” Tears prickled in his eyes, and he
blinked quickly. “Goddamn it, don’t do this. It’s bad enough that I’m going to
die. I don’t want to hurt you, too.”

Dunn went quiet, leaving Griffin hung on
the cusp of the moment. “I would rather care for you now and mourn for you
later, then never care for you at all,” the big man finally said. “I appreciate
your wish not to hurt me, but this is my choice, and I want to make the most of
it.”

“Dunn—”

“Come here. Please.”

Swallowing, Griffin let himself be pulled
into the other man’s arms, resting his head in the nook between Dunn’s shoulder
and neck. It felt right, like he was made to lie in this man’s arms.
Goddamn it, Moore, stop martyring yourself
for one fucking moment. He’s an adult. If he wants to be with you, then take it
and be grateful.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Hush.”

Griffin closed his eyes. When he began to
cry, Dunn stayed silent and held him.

****

Out in the cove, three bottlenose dolphins
pretended to play in the water, jumping occasionally to get a better view of
what was happening on shore. Their night vision wasn’t very good, but like any
other sea creature they could sense the presence of Poseidon. And it was very
obvious that their god was on the beach.

“He’s with the human,” the one known as
Agata
said to her sisters.

Iole
poked her snout
above the water. “Are you sure?”

“Quite sure. They got off the boat and
went to the little building, but stayed outside.”

They listened to the vibrations coming
from the divine being on the beach.

“How odd,”
Melaina
said, slapping her flippers on the water. “Are they mating? Two males? It’s not
as if they can have calves.”

“Our Lord does as he wishes,”
Agata
said. “Perhaps he finds pleasure in the human male.”

“Perhaps,”
Melaina
allowed. “Nevertheless, we must report this to our ladies.”

“We must,”
Iole
agreed.

The three dolphins turned and swam for the
cove’s exit. Their Nereids would be waiting for news of their wayward
brother-in-law.

****

The soft pale glow of dawn lit the
bedroom, waking Griffin up. He looked at the other side of the bed but it was
empty.

After their rendezvous on the beach, Dunn
had helped him into the cottage, waiting patiently while he plodded through his
evening routine. When he stepped out of the bathroom in a t-shirt and baggy
boxer shorts, the redheaded man had been sitting on the bed, hands clasped in
his lap.

“Would you like me to stay?”

There was no question about it. Dunn had
nodded and stripped down to a pair of designer briefs that fit him like a
second skin. The first skin was flawlessly stretched over a body that looked
like it had stepped straight off the cover of a men’s fitness magazine. Once
again, Griffin had felt a combination of shocking lust and regret over his own
wasted body.

They’d gotten into bed, Dunn cuddling Griffin
like they’d been doing it for years. And he’d had the dreams again. The first
one about the moonlit lagoon was even better, now that he knew how Dunn kissed
and felt in his hand. But the second one, where he was chased by a monster that
was somehow Dunn, was much, much worse.

Shit. Was I
thrashing around or something?
He would have to apologize if the big man
had sloped off to finish the night on the couch.

But he didn’t want to do that right now.
It was easier to stay in bed and think about what was happening between them.

Gender orientation be damned, he’d enjoyed
the hand-job on the beach. Despite his own inability to get hard, it was deeply
satisfying to bring the big ginger off. And Dunn’s willingness to hold him
afterwards while he broke down had been a treasure beyond price.

But the last thing he wanted was to leave
a broken heart behind when he died. And now Dunn was effectively pledging to do
just that. Griffin knew the right thing would be to leave that day, find
another cottage somewhere,
finish
his time out by
himself as he’d planned. But he just didn’t have the energy to do it.

And he was scared. Having Dunn there
didn’t make the tumor go away, but it gave him someone to lean on, someone who
could mute that constant pulse point of fear to the point where it was
bearable.

Which is great for
you, but what about him? He’s left with nothing when you die. Oh, and he gets
to explain to his kids why he’s grieving over the bloke from the cottage down
the way. By and
Aph
may be gay, but that doesn’t mean
they’ll be able to handle their dad mourning for someone who isn’t their mum.

He wished he were still young enough to
pull the covers over his head and pretend he was still all right. But fifty
didn’t give that kind of luxury. With a sigh, he sat up and waited out the
inevitable dizzy spell, then got up.

To his disappointment, Dunn’s long form wasn’t
sprawled across the couch in the living room. There was no sign of the other
man anywhere in the cottage. Griffin tried to ignore the little twinge of hurt.
He never said he was going to stay. He
does have a business, you know.

That didn’t really help, though.

Weary, Griffin forced himself to make some
tea and toast. Unenthusiastically poking at a piece of browned bread with a
butter-laden knife, he heard a knock at the front door.

His hopes rose until he remembered Dunn
always came to the back door now.
Probably
some local kid looking to mow the lawn or wash my car.

Framing a polite refusal, he went to the
front door and opened it. Instead of the expected teenager with a bucket and
squeegee, three beautiful brunettes stood there beaming at him.

“Hello,” the tall one in gold purred. “My
name’s Lisa, these are my colleagues Jennifer and Patricia, and we’re from Divine
Events. We’ve just opened a branch in Olympic Beach, and we’re throwing a get to
know us party for people in the area.”

“You won’t be asked to make a purchase or
spend any money at all,” Jennifer, dressed in designer blue, added. “We simply
want to show off what we can do for the folks of Olympic Beach.”

“We’ll supply the transport, food, drink,
and entertainment,” Patricia, resplendent in a lovely red dress, cooed. “All
you have to do is show up. And we’re here to give you your own personal
invitation to our party.”

Griffin blinked at both the seamless sales
pitch and the sensory overload of having three stunning women on his doorstep.
“
Er
, well, that sounds great and all, but I’m not
really local—”

“Oh, that doesn’t matter,” Lisa said with
a bright smile. “We have branches in a wide variety of areas. I’m sure that one
of them could assist you with your event needs.”

Griffin became aware of a light, deliciously
floral scent in the air. He leaned against the door frame, breathing it in. The
world went a bit swimmy, but he felt good so it was all right.
“Thing is, I don’t plan on throwing a
party anytime soon,” he said apologetically.

“But if you see what we can do, you can
recommend us to friends, family, and coworkers,” Jennifer said with a
coquettish eyelash flutter.

Patricia closed in on him, casually
brushing his arm with one full breast. “We find that word of mouth is just as
important as actual sales. We’d love to show you what we can do, Mister…”

“Moore. Griffin Moore.” His tongue felt a
bit thick, which was strange because the rest of him felt really, really good.
The thought of spending some time with three beautiful party planners and
getting the full effect of their work sounded like a damned good idea, now that
he came to think about it.
I could call
Dunn, have him join us.
“When’s the party, anyway?”

“Oh, this morning,” Lisa cooed, slipping
an arm through his and getting in another subtle tit rub. “All you have to do
is come with us, Griffin. We’ll take care of everything.”

“We’d love to take care of you,” Jennifer
said, stepping right into his personal space and hitting him with the full
force of two large, crystal blue eyes fringed heavily with dark lashes. “You’ll
have so much fun.”

“Yes, you will. We’ll treat you right,”
Patricia said, taking his other arm. “Just come with us.”

“Come with us, Griffin,” Lisa said. Her
voice sounded so lovely, sweet and low like soft bells. “Come with us.”

A tiny part of his brain reminded him that
he was only wearing Y-fronts and a vest. But somehow that didn’t seem to
matter, not in the face of three gorgeous birds and their party invitation. Why
was he resisting, anyway?

He let them guide him off the porch into a
waiting BMW. Lisa and Jennifer sandwiched him between them in the back seat
while Patricia slid into the driver’s seat. “Why don’t you three enjoy some
champagne while I get us to the party?” she said gaily.

Griffin laughed when Lisa pulled a magnum
of Moët &
Chandon
from a waiting ice bucket.
“Christ. Haven’t had that stuff in years,” he said happily. “You ladies are
spoiling me.”

Lisa smiled at him. “That’s the plan,
Griffin,” she said, expertly undoing the wire seal and popping the cork. Golden
wine foamed over her hands, and they all laughed as she tried to get as much as
she could into the waiting glasses held by Jennifer.