Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone (26 page)

“Wow. Okay, I could get used to that,”
he said, squinting. “How long were we gone?”

The mers glanced at each other. “What do
you mean, gone?” Aidan asked cautiously.

“You didn’t go anywhere,” Ian said, then
paused. “Did you?”

“I took Nick to Olympus and showed him
some things he needed to know,” Poseidon said smoothly. “To your eyes, it would
have happened instantaneously.”

“
Wait, that
was
Olympus
? Nick said, whirling on the
sea god.
“The actual Mount Olympus?”

“One and the
same.
Mortals don’t do well there, even with a god as their companion, so we couldn’t
stay long.” Poseidon brushed at invisible lint on his shirt, far more composed
than he had been a few minutes ago. “And now that we’ve concluded our business,
Bearer, I should be off.”

“Do you want me to tell
By
and Aph anything?” Ian asked.

A spot of color appeared high on
Poseidon’s cheekbones, but he shook his head easily enough. “I’ll speak to them
soon enough. Bearer,” he nodded at Nick, “good luck with your studies.”

The god disappeared in a sparkling
splash of blue light. “Gotta admit, the man knows how to make an exit,” Ian said.

“Are you all right?” Aidan asked, putting
an arm around Nick’s shoulders. Liam stayed where he’d been standing, but
watched them both worriedly. “What did Lord Poseidon tell you?”

Nick licked his lips, tasting a last
hint of the god’s seed. “It’s more what he did to me,” he
hedged,
worried that one or both of the mers would get upset. “He kissed me. He said it
would let me live in water like it was air.”

Aidan’s eyes went wide. “You received
Poseidon’s Kiss?” he said. “Baby, that’s an incredible honor!”

“And extremely useful, especially for a
human,” Liam agreed. “It means you can breathe underwater, and be able to move
between depths without suffering the bends. You’ll also be able to see the way
we can in the ocean.”

Aidan grabbed his hand, pulling him
towards the kitchen door. “Come on, we’ll show you,” he said eagerly.

“Hold up there, tadpole,” a voice
barked. “I’ve got a bone to pick with your boyfriend.”

Nick winced. He’d completely forgotten
Chiron was in the room. The centaur had his arms folded across his brawny
chest, glaring at him. “What did I do?”

“Apart from almost get yourself
kidnapped by your crazy ex?” the centaur snapped. “I almost had a damn heart
attack when I found out where you went. And considering that I don’t have a
heart
anymore, that
took some doing.”

Underneath the centaur’s anger, Nick
heard a genuine kernel of concern. “I honestly didn’t think Barnard would do
something like this,” he said. “I mean, I knew he was obsessive, but I didn’t
think he’d try to kidnap me.”

“Well, he did, so you, O great Bearer,
need protection. I’m appointing these two,” Chiron pointed at Aidan and Liam,
“as your official bodyguards. You go anywhere, they’re on your ass like dumb on
the Tea Party. I’ll clear it with their grotto later.”

Nick had his mouth open to object, but
Liam spoke first. “I don’t know if Nick wants me around him, Lord Chiron,” the
tall mer said. “It might be better if you assigned a ranger to be his other
guard.”

“No.” Nick was surprised at the force in
his voice. “I need to get to know you, remember? And you need to earn my trust.
You can’t do that if you’re not here.”

He knew he’d said the right thing when Liam’s
expression lightened with relief. The mer gave Nick a little bow, hand over his
chest. “If you’ll have me,
chuisle
, I
won’t leave your side.”

“Neither will
I
,”
Aidan chimed in, green eyes sparkling.

So much for objecting.
“Fine.
You two are my bodyguards. So what’s next?”

“Next, we get back to work,” Chiron
said. “Let’s blow this place and go to your cottage. The decor is giving me
hives.”

Nick smothered a laugh as a genial Ian
shot Chiron the bird.

****

The sun was dropping in the west by the
time Chiron finally let Nick take a break. The afternoon had been spent in
intensive anatomy drills on both
himself
and the mers,
and he was sure he could feel his brain whimpering despite Pythia’s
encouragement.

“I suppose that’s good enough for
today,” Chiron allowed, clopping near the hallway that led to the kitchen. “We
pick it up again tomorrow at nine. And I swear to Gaia if you’re not here I’m
sending the Wonder Twins after you.”

“I’ll be here,” Nick said tiredly.

Grunting at that, Chiron disappeared.

“Is he always this cranky?” Aidan asked
from the corner of the couch where he’d been banished after annoying the
centaur with his fidgeting.

“As far as I can
tell, yeah.”

Chiron’s just concerned
,
Pythia said.
You have a great deal to learn,
and none of us know what Thetis’s timeline is like.

Nick considered the golden snake wound
around the staff. “Did you ever meet her?”

Thetis?
Once or twice.
She struck me as very strong-minded but fair. It grieves me to learn what
happened to her. But if her plan is as dire as it sounds, then she must be
stopped.

“No shit.”

The snake’s head canted to the side.
We
can take this up tomorrow. Get some rest, Nicholas.
And with that she
was gold-painted wood again.

Hefting the Rod, he headed into the
master bedroom and put it away in the closet. The bed looked insanely soft and
comfortable, and he felt an intense urge to do a face-plant into the coverlet
and let sleep take him away.

Someone cleared their throat, and he
turned to see Aidan and Liam in the bedroom doorway. “Where should we sleep,
Nick?” Aidan asked.

That was a good question. He scrubbed at
his face, trying to think. “Do you need to go back into the water?”

“No, we’re good for a day or two at
least.”

“Okay. I guess
there’s
always the guest rooms
.”

A flicker of disappointment ran through
those green eyes, but Aidan nodded. “We’ll let you get some sleep.” He turned
to leave.

“No.”

Nick’s eyebrows went up. “Excuse me?”

“No,” Liam repeated, calm but unmovable.
“We’re supposed to be your bodyguards, according to Lord Chiron. That won’t be
easy if we’re sleeping in separate rooms. We need to sleep in here with you.”

Annoyance bubbled to the surface,
tempered by the allure of curling up between his mers. “Look, no offense, but I
don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, trying to sound firm. “I’m really tired,
and I don’t think I’m up for anything tonight.”

Liam stepped even closer. “We’re not
supposed to leave you alone,” he said, hazel blue eyes shadowed in the twilit
room. “Listen to me,
chuisle
. You’re
exhausted, and understandably so. You were threatened by your former lover, and
then you had to deal with one of the most powerful gods on the planet, followed
immediately by a long study session. You’ve done enough for the day. Let us
help you relax.”

That low voice, like a cello with its
rich intonation, was impossible to resist. “Just relax?”

Liam smiled.
“More if
you’re in the mood.
But it’s up to you.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but he was
already getting aroused at the thought of both of them touching him. “I … okay.
Yes.”

The tall mer took his hands, lifting
each one to his mouth in turn and kissing it. “Yes,
Maighstir
," he said with a smile.

It sounded like “master” with a Gaelic
lilt making it into “maister”. His last bit of resistance disappeared, and Nick
felt boneless with pleasure at the anticipation of what was to come.
“Yes,
Maighstir
.”

“Mm. Good boy.”

****

Liam let Nick’s hands go. They dropped
to the human’s sides, and Nick’s dark head tilted, exposing the long line of
muscle and tendon just waiting to be decorated with bite marks and sucking
kisses. Oh, their
chuisle
knew how to
lure attention.

But Liam knew how to wait. Instead of
putting his mouth to Nick’s offered throat, he whispered, “Now, we’re going to
take off your clothes.”

A shiver ran through Nick at that. Liam
paused, trying to judge if it had been caused by lust or fear. The reality of
the situation came back to him—the last time Nick had played with anyone, his
trust had been shattered and his body damaged. They were swimming through shark-infested
waters here, and one wrong move could drive their mate even further away from
them.

He bent close to Nick’s ear again. “If
something upsets you, you will tell us immediately, do you understand? We’ll
sit down tomorrow and have a long talk about what you can and cannot do, and I
swear to you that Aidan and I will respect your limits. But tonight is purely
for your pleasure and comfort.”

He heard Nick swallow, and the shivering
died down. “Good. Now, take a deep breath.”

Their mate’s ribcage expanded, filling
with the air all his kind needed. “Another.” Liam ran his hands over Nick’s
shoulders, enjoying the feel of the curved muscle there. “Good. I’m going to
take off your shirt.”

Moving with deliberation, he slid all
the buttons through their holes, tugging the smooth fabric off and tossing it
to the side. He took in a soft breath, admiring Nick’s body. His muscles
weren’t as pronounced as a mer’s, but his back and shoulders had beautifully
delineated hollows and rises that implied strength and agility. Liam’s mouth
watered with the sudden urge to bite into one firm shoulder.

Instead, he ran just the pads of his
fingertips across Nick’s skin, tracing the outline of his upper body. On the
other side Aidan had stepped closer, running his own fingers along Nick’s chest
and abs. Their mate made a soft, hungry noise deep in his throat, and Aidan
flashed that irresistible smile. “I think you like this,
chuisle
.”

“Mmm.”

Liam leaned close, nipping Nick’s
earlobe again. “Use your words,” he ordered gently.

“Yes, I like this,
Maighstir
.” The response was soft, almost dreamy.

Liam caught Aidan’s eye, then glanced
down meaningfully. At the same time he slid his hands down Nick’s arms, gently
ringing his wrists and drawing them behind his back. “You’re still wearing too
much.”

“Far too much,” Aidan agreed, sinking to
his knees. Liam watched over Nick’s shoulder as the other mer started undoing
Nick’s belt, teasingly drawing the leather through the loops, before easing
down his zipper. Nick made another noise, deeper this time.

He
likes being restrained and controlled.
Liam felt his own desire rise, and
firmly corralled it.
Tonight is for him,
to show him he belongs with us.

Nick gasped suddenly, twitching in his
grip. Glancing down, Liam saw his other mate planting an open-mouthed kiss at
the base of Nick’s hardening cock through his underwear.

“Did I say you could do that, boy?” he
asked Aidan, putting a growl into his voice.

The green-eyed mer leaned back, face
shadowed in the room’s dim light. “I’m sorry,
Maighstir
. I couldn’t resist a taste.”

Liam was tempted to correct him, but
their focus had to remain on Nick. “I’ll deal with you later,” he rumbled, and
saw goosebumps rise on Nick’s skin. The idea obviously appealed. “Hm.
Would
you like that,
chuisle
?
I could tie you to the headboard and make you watch me punish Aidan. I’d bend
him over the end of the bed and turn his ass a lovely red as you watched. Then
I’d put him on his hands and knees and fuck him while he looked at you.”

This time both his mates groaned at the
image he’d created. “I wouldn’t let him come for a long time,” Liam murmured,
enjoyed the sensation of his own cock plumping out and pressing against the
fabric of his shorts. “And every time I thrust into him, his mouth would come
closer and closer to your cock, almost close enough to suck it. But never quite
close enough. And all the time I was fucking
him,
all
you could do is sit there, hard and aching so badly, and watch us.”

Nick’s head dropped back onto his
shoulder. “Please,
Maighstir
,” he
whispered.

“Mm.
Such a good boy.”
He nodded at Aidan, and the other mer
finished taking Nick’s trousers down, then his briefs. “If you’re very good and
earn it, I may let you come tonight. No promises, though.”

Still holding Nick’s hands behind his
back, Liam instructed their
chuisle
to step out of his puddled clothing, guiding him to the bed. “Stretch out and
hold the headboard,” he said.