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Glancing quickly at his mate while driving to the hotel from Silverwood Lake, Sawyer smiled whenever Alex gave an occasional snuffle. Exhaustion was clearly written on his mate’s face; he’d fallen asleep as soon as they left the lake. The hours spent learning how to swim clearly had taken their toll on Alex, but Sawyer couldn’t remember the last time he had so much fun. Chuckling softly at the memory, he turned onto the highway, merging in with the long line of traffic heading back to the city.
He’d remember this afternoon forever, beginning with Alex standing in waist deep water while slowly wiping the water from his face after unexpectedly sinking whileattempting to do a dead man’s float. After demonstrating it to Alex, Sawyer was sure his mate would catch onto it quickly. Instead, once he removed his hands supporting Alex from underneath, his mate slowly sank until he was resting on the bottom of the lake. It took several seconds for Sawyer to realize what was happening, before quickly reaching into the water, grabbing Alex’s swimsuit and hauling up his sputtering mate. “Baby, are you okay?”
Staring at Sawyer through wet spiky lashes, Alex tried to catch his breath after swallowing, what he was sure, was half the lake. “I nearly drowned…and you nearly let me!”
“No, baby, no…I’m sorry. You were supposed to float. I didn’t know you were going to sink…did you take a big breath? You were supposed to hold it…did you forget to do that?”
Fire burned in his eyes; Alex’s dragon was not happy with this turn of events. “I did exactly what you told me to do. You must have forgotten something. Have you ever done this before…I mean…taught someone to swim?”
“I have…I swear. Maybe we should start with the back float.”
“Do I have to put my face in the water?”
“Uh-uh. You just lie on your back…easy-peasy.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” muttered Alex.
“No really…watch me.” Giving his mate a running commentary on how to do the back float, Sawyer slowly fell back on the water until his body was partially submerged, showing to Alex where his legs should be along with the need to arch his back. After he was satisfied his mate understood completely, Sawyer stood back up. “Now, fall back onto my arms…don’t worry about sinking because I’m not gonna remove my hands until you tell me to.”
It was the turning point. Mastering the back float infused his mate with confidence and Sawyer was surprised at how quickly Alex progressed until he was finally swimming. The rest of the afternoon was filled with laughter, games, and fun. Finally, when the sun was low in the sky, Sawyer called it a day after catching Alex yawning a lot.
As the mile markers flew by, Sawyer placed a hand on Alex’s thigh, squeezing it gently, chuckling to himself as he listened to his mate’s breathless moan. Relishing Alex’s responses to his touch, Sawyer squirmed in his seat, his cock growing hard as the image of them naked in bed together firmly planted itself in his mind. Impatient about waiting any longer than necessary, Sawyer pressed down on the accelerator.
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Turning into the hotel’s driveway, Sawyer drove up to the front entrance, putting the car in park before killing the engine. Looking over at Alex who was still asleep, Sawyer smiled, shaking his mate’s shoulder gently. “C’mon babe, we’re here…Alex…sweetheart, wake up.”
“Mmghff…”
That sound along with his mate curling up in a tighter ball was the only reaction Sawyer got from his attempt to wake Alex. After several more unsuccessful tries, he gave up. The only choice left was to heft Alex over his shoulder and carry him into the hotel. Frowning, he didn’t think his mate would be very happy about finding himself in that position and might unexpectedly shift ifhe awoke, so it only left him one other choice. Picking up his phone, he typed out an email before sending it. Several minutes later his phone dinged, signaling an incoming message.
Receiving confirmation from the hotel about his request to change the date of his reservation, Sawyer started the car, giving his mate one last look. Pulling onto the street, he headed the car back to the campground, hoping his mate wouldn’t be too upset. But after realizing how exhausted Alex was, he felt it would be far safer for both of them to be some place where, if his mate did shift, they’d be concealed. But that was only part of Sawyer’s worry about his mate.
Sawyer kept glancing at Alex, trying to figure out if the swimming lessons had exhausted his mate. Shaking his head, he rejected that idea, concluding something else caused it. The trouble was there wasn’t anything else that could explain it. And that was the root of his concern. As a shifter, Alex was inherently stronger, possessing more energy, than someone who wasn’t. And, Sawyer had spent more than a day trying to surf and that was far more strenuous than their activities that afternoon.
Slowing down, Sawyer entered the campgrounds, taking the road leading to his motorhome. Once he got Alex settled in one of the beds, he planned to call Mac and pick his brains about what could be the matter with him. It would mean telling his brother about finding his mate, but if it meant finding out the cause of Alex’s exhaustion, it was worth dealing with the hurt feelings his brother might have.
Parking at his campsite, Sawyer killed the engine and climbed out of the car. Once inside the motorhome, he turned the light on over the sink before heading to thebedroom in the back. He had decided to give Alex his own bedroom because he wasn’t going to sleep with his mate without his consent. Quickly making the bed, he checked the room, before turning off the light and clicking on the small night lamp over the built-in desk. Then he headed back outside.
Carefully opening the passenger car door, he caught Alex before he could fall and then, scooping him into his arms, slowly headed into the motorhome’s bedroom, gently lowering his mate onto the bed before undressing him. Once finished, he tucked Alex under the covers before kissing him on the forehead. Quietly shutting the door behind him, he headed outside to call his brother.
Flopping into a camp chair, Sawyer looked up at the full moon shining through the gently swaying tree branches, bathing him in its soft glow. Finally, gathering up his nerve, he hit Mac’s number but after several rings, no one answered. Just when he was about to give up, he heard his brother’s voice.
“Sawyer, I’ve been waiting for your call.”
“Yeah…sorry about that. By the way, thanks again for your wolf.”
“Anytime. Now, you want to tell me why you needed my wolf’s strength to help you control yours? Does it have anything to do with your mate?”
Sawyer’s jaw dropped. “How do you know about Alex?”
“Jackson. Hunter called him after you asked him for help protecting your mate.”
“Oh shit. Jackson knows? Who else does?”
“I didn’t ask, since I was trying to figure out why you didn’t want to tell me.”
