These men are sort of like me...
With that life-changing thought rocking through his mind, Silas felt his brain fritz out.His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he lost his perch on the wall.
Chapter Two
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ASOFT THUDDING NOISEdrew Craeg’s attention.Continuing to float on his back, he peered around the cavern, but all he saw in the dim light were rocks and boulders.If one of them had fallen, it would have made a much sharper sound.
So what made the noise?
While Craeg had never considered himself a particularly curious person, for some reason, he really wanted to discover the source of the noise.He suddenly worried that someone was watching them.With the need to be certain they weren’t being spied on by some unknowing human driving him, Craeg started swimming toward the shore.
It only took a few strokes.The pool wasn’t all that big.
“Hey,” Seri called softly.“Where’re you going?”The orca shifter snorted, clearly amused, before asking, “Are you really going to explore the cave barefoot and nude?”
While most shifters didn’t give a rip about nudity, even Craeg didn’t care for rocks digging into his feet.
“I’m not goin’ far,” Craeg claimed, easing out of the water.“I just...I thought I heard somethin’.”
Seri’s brows furrowed as a worried expression crossed his face.“You think someone’s in here with us?”
“Probably not, but—” Craeg paused as the air current brought an interesting scent to his attention.Inhaling deeply, he took in the sort of musty, dirty, yet masculine aroma.“There’s somethin’...”
Craeg allowed his voice to trail away as he felt his body respond to another whiff of the unfamiliar scent.His stomach tightened, and blood rushed south.His prick began to plump, shocking the hell out of him.
“What the hell?”Craeg whispered, glancing over his shoulder at Seri.“Uh.”
Seri remained in the water.His eyebrows had shot up nearly to his blond hairline as he noticed Craeg’s bourgeoning problem.The orca shifter opened his mouth, then snapped it shut just as quickly, tearing his attention up to meet Craeg’s eyes.
Clearing his throat, Craeg turned his ass to his fellow shifter.He rubbed the back of his neck, unease filling him, and he fought down his embarrassment.Just because most shifters didn’t care about nudity due to needing it to shift, that didn’t extend to arousal.
“Uh, sorry,” Craeg muttered, glancing around absently.
“You said you smelled something,” Seri pointed out softly.“Better figure out what it was if it has that effect on you.”
Craeg snapped his attention back to Seri as what the other shifter was insinuating hit him.“Ya doona think?”
Seri shrugged, easing closer.“Couldn’t tell you, but all I smell is dirt and maybe animal musk, so—” He shrugged as he rested his forearms on a rocky ledge.
Animal musk?
Turning away from Seri, Craeg peered around, trying to figure out where the slight air current was coming from.He spotted a possible crack halfway up the rock wall to his left and headed in that direction.As Craeg drew closer, more of the oddly pleasant musky aroma teased his senses.
Craeg lost any semblance of embarrassment as hope flooded him.Could his mate be nearby?Was he hiding in the caverns somewhere?
Squinting into the dark recesses of the crack in the wall, Craeg searched for any hint of a way through.He hated the idea of needing to go get clothes.Unfortunately, the thought of scraping his bare willie sure didn’t appeal either.
Just as Craeg felt the first rise of frustration, a small lump at the bottom of the narrow tunnel caught his attention.He eased his head partway into the widest section of the crack.It took him a few seconds to figure out what he was looking at.
Huh.It’s a bat.
Carefully, Craeg reached in, watching the steady rise and fall of the critter’s chest.He gently slipped his fingers under the prone body.As Craeg drew the creature out, it filled his palm, and he realized it was actually a pretty decent-sized bat.
“What do you have there?”Seri called from behind him.
“A bat,” Craeg replied absently.
