“Okay,” Riordan said, not yet moving.
“Do you need help?” Wade asked.
“I can make it upstairs on my own.”
And he did, with Wade following right behind him rather than his siblings. Riordan was intensely aware of Wade’s presence as he joined Riordan in the bathroom he and his siblings had renovated years ago. They’d knocked out a wall and lost half the home office space at the time, but it’d been well worth it for times like this.
Wade whistled softly, taking in the tile stained in shades of blue to make it look like the ocean that covered the floor and walls all the way up to the ceiling. The extra-large, claw-foot bathtub taking up much of the space was presently half-filled with cool water, Riordan’s sealskin draped over the curled edge. With a sigh, he started stripping out of the rest of his clothes, prompting him to look over his shoulder at the sound Wade made. Wade was staring up at the ceiling, a flush darkening his cheeks.
“I’ll just be leaving,” he said.
Riordan kicked his jeans and underwear aside. “Or you could stay.”
“Yes, but—” Wade waved his hand in Riordan’s direction, still not looking at him. “You’re, uh, naked.”
Riordan laughed and then instantly regretted it as the wound pulled along his ribs. “You’re part of a god pack and surrounded by werecreatures. Aren’t they ever naked?”
“No! I mean, yes, but it’s not polite to look.”
“I don’t mind you looking.” Wade’s face turned an interesting shade of red that was really quite lovely. But Riordan wasn’t in the market of making the other man uncomfortable. He reached for his sealskin and wrapped it around his shoulders before stepping into the tub and sinking down into the water. “It’s all right. You can look now.”
Wade hesitated before dropping his gaze from the ceiling and meeting Riordan’s. “Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about.”
Riordan took a breath and leaned back into the water, his sealskin flowing over his limbs, sliding into his very being. The shift pulled at him, dragging forth the bones and body of a seal out of the human form he lived half his life in. With a twist, he shifted into a seal, the burn of the iron wound disappearing. He slapped his flippers against the side of the tub, sending water splashing over the sides.
“Oh, wow. You’re adorable.”
Riordan snorted at that, lifting his head and peering up at where Wade now knelt by the tub. He hefted himself up to be at eye level with the younger man, whiskers twitching, and pressed his sensitive nose against Wade’s, who laughed and reached out to carefully run his hand over Riordan’s head. He twisted his head into the touch and chuffed happily.
“How’s your wound?”
In answer, Riordan raised a flipper, showing off the area along his side where the wound had been. While the cut was now healed, there was some discoloration in his fur that spoke of bruising he’d have in human form once he shifted again.
Wade laid his hand gently over the discoloration, and Riordan pressed his nose to Wade’s cheek. Wade ducked his head, laughing quietly. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Riordan slid down into the tub and twisted, spinning through a shift and rising up as a human, sealskin draped over his lap and a deep bruise pressed over his ribs. He came nose to nose with Wade again, staring into warm brown eyes, wanting nothing more than to kiss him. “I never said thank you for stopping that fae.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“And if I want to?”
“Debts are shitty. I won’t give you one.”
“Then just give me you.”
Wade huffed out a breath that Riordan swallowed in a kiss, ignoring the pooling warmth in his gut.
“You’re lucky you’re cute as a human and as a seal,” Wade grumbled when they parted.
Riordan laughed and got to his feet, sealskin still wrapped around his waist like a towel. “Come on. I’m going to lie down for a bit. You can lie down with me.”
“Uh, just sleep, right?”
Riordan took Wade’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Just sleep.”
He led Wade out of the bathroom and down the hall toward his bedroom, the space mostly clean. He tugged on a pair of boxers and then pulled at his sealskin, letting it wrap around his arms and torso in a soft cardigan sweater.
