Inside the hut, Sawyer pulled on some trackpants and stoked the fire while Ciaran set the fish on the small counter.
He was quiet and uncertain, and Sawyer couldn’t stand it. Physically. It was a fucking physical thing.
“Okay, stop,” Sawyer said.
Ciaran turned to face him. He saw how Sawyer had his hand pressed to his gut and was immediately alarmed. “What’s wrong?”
“I feel...” He let out a slow breath. “Uneasy. Nervous and.... Is it because of you? Is that what you’re feeling right now? I can feel that, and I don’t like it. What aren’t you telling me?”
Ciaran went to him and took his hand. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t realise.... I was just...”
“You can tell me anything,” Sawyer said again. “If I haven’t freaked out yet, I think we can safely assume I won’t.”
Ciaran sighed, and when his eyes met Sawyer’s, he smiled. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m so used to keeping things secret.”
“I know.” Sawyer kissed Ciaran’s palm and put it to his cheek. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”
Ciaran swallowed hard, the flash of uncertainty on his face giving way to resignation. “You asked how I killed the fish,” he began.
Sawyer nodded slowly. He had no clue where this was going, and he couldn’t have predicted what Ciaran was about to say next.
Ciaran swallowed hard, his body completely still. “When I’m in freeform, I have the ability to burn.”
Sawyer froze, eyes wide. Of all the things he might have expected Ciaran to say, that was not on the list. “Burn?” He couldn’t quite get his head around it. “But you’re... you’re underwater, right? Like a fire? How does that...”
Ciaran gave the smallest shake of his head. “Not fire, as such. It’s a neurotoxin, like a defence mechanism,” he said quietly. “It feels like a third-degree burn along the entire nervous system for weeks. It incapacitates, and...” He frowned. “All of my kind are afraid of it.”
The only thing Sawyer could do was blink. “Oh.”
Ciaran’s face went blank, as if he’d put on a mask of indifference to conceal his hurt, his fear of rejection. “Does that bother you?”
“What? No, of course not.” There was nothing Ciaran could reveal that would change the way he felt.
“I won’t ever use it on you,” Ciaran said quickly, urgently, eyes wide. “I swear. I promise to you. I would die before I did that.”
“I never for one second thought you would,” Sawyer said quietly.
Ciaran’s eyes searched his as if he was hunting for a hint of fear.
Sawyer needed him to know he would never find it. He slid his hands up to cup Ciaran’s jaw. “You can’t change who you are. It’s a part of you, and I know you could never hurt me.”
Ciaran leaned his face into Sawyer’s palm and closed his eyes. “How are you not weirded out by all of this?”
“Weirded out?” Sawyer scoffed. “I feel like Lois Lane finding out Clark Kent is Superman. It’s not awesome enough that you’re a shapeshifter, but you have hidden superpowers as well?”
Ciaran’s smile was slow to form, and then he chuckled. “Superpowers? I don’t know about that....”
“Hey,” Sawyer said sternly. “No disparaging remarks about my boyfriend, thank you. I won’t be having any of that.”
Ciaran’s gaze darted to his. “Boyfriend?”
“Well, yeah.” Sawyer shrugged. “I don’t know what to call us. Partners? Mated? Bonded? They all sound so.... I dunno. Contrived?” He rolled his eyes. “I’m just gonna call you mine.”
Ciaran made a guttural noise, low and rumbling, and his copper eyes caught fire. He took Sawyer’s face in his hands, and the next thing Sawyer knew, he was on his back on the mattress on the floor.
“And you are mine,” Ciaran said, voice rough. He spread Sawyer’s thighs with his knees and pressed him hard into the mattress. “Mine, and only mine.” He kissed Sawyer then, hard and demanding, plunging his tongue in deep.
Sawyer moaned without shame, rolling his hips, grinding, pleading. He’d already hadsomuch but was still desperate for more. He gasped for air as Ciaran kissed down his neck. “Fucking prove it to me, Ciaran. Make me yours, and make sure I never forget it.”
