Ciaran put his finger under Sawyer’s chin and lifted his face, copper eyes scanning his. “We are everything,” he said. “Are we not?”
“We are,” Sawyer agreed, smiling now. “I was getting all sappy in my head.”
“Wanna share?” Ciaran’s crooked smile made Sawyer’s body react, heart thumping, blood singing.
He nodded to the boat pulling up at the jetty. “Maybe later.”
The boat slowed to a stop, and Sawyer was surprised to see it was Fray driving and not Tobin. His grin was huge. “Your chariot awaits,” Fray said over the noise of the engine.
Ciaran threw the duffel bag aboard before holding his hand out for Sawyer and helping him onto the boat.
“Thanks,” Sawyer murmured to him, then said the same to Fraser. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” he replied, but his gaze went straight to Ciaran’s. “Everything okay? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you until tomorrow. Did you.... Are we...”
“Everything’s fine,” Ciaran said, clearly trying not to smile. He linked his fingers with Sawyer’s, and then he gave in and smiled like a newlywed. It was the sweetest thing. “Yes, we did, and yes, we are.”
“Oh yeah,” Sawyer agreed. “We absolutely did. Many times.”
Fray was clearly delighted by this, his grin blinding. “Love that for you guys.” He pulled the boat away carefully from the jetty. “I was concerned when you called, that’s all.”
“Sawyer wanted to go back,” Ciaran said.
“Wanna try a real bed? Shower sex, maybe?” Fray asked, still grinning.
“No,” Sawyer replied. “We’re going back to the Cove so he can tell me everything he knows about this threat that’s coming, which may or may not be the actual fucking kraken, and we’re going to figure out a way to stop it.” He shrugged. “Or something.”
Sawyer didn’t miss how Fray’s eyes went to Ciaran’s. He was clearly surprised. “Right, then. No secrets, huh?”
“None,” Sawyer replied.
Ciaran slid his arm around Sawyer’s waist and leaned against him, humming contentedly. “I thought Tobin was coming to get us,” Ciaran said.
Fray rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well...”
“Still being a moody prick, huh?”
That earned a long sigh from Fray. “Yep.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Ciaran offered.
Sawyer wasn’t quite sure what that was about, but he could feel the heaviness in Ciaran’s heart. Or hearts, as the case might be.
That was still something he had to get used to. Like everything he was still getting used to. Most of it, he took in stride. The fact that cephamorphs existed? Fine. Shapeshifting into actual octopus? Awesome. Superpowers? Even better. Fated mates? Fuck yes.
But knowing the kraken was real? Well, real, kind of, as Ciaran had said. That was a lot. Giant fucking sea monsters that were a possible threat to the man he was soul-bound to?
Sawyer couldn’t get his head around that.
He’d just met Ciaran. It felt as if his soul had wandered this earth for a thousand years and had finally found its other half in the last minute, and now there was some threat coming for him?
Absolutely fucking not.
“You okay?” Ciaran murmured, his hands now on Sawyer’s face, his eyes wide with concern.
Sawyer nodded, but given Ciaran could feel Sawyer’s emotions, there was no point in lying, so he shook his head instead. “I just found you.”
“We’ll be okay,” Ciaran said, trying to smile. “It might turn out to be nothing.”
