“Among other
things, yes.
So what did you think about Aquaman’s injury?”
“It’s almost completely healed. There’s
no detritus in the puncture, and no sign of infection. I didn’t see any nerve
damage, but I think I’d have to take a closer look for that.”
Chiron nodded at the mer. “Judging from
the way he walked in here, I think he’s clear on nerve damage. Another shift
and he’ll be back to normal, so for all intents and purposes he’s healed.” He
waved dismissively. “You can go back to your nap, tadpole.”
Aidan hesitated. “I’d be happy to stay
if you need anything else.”
“Really?”
The centaur’s
smirk
was uncomfortably knowing
. “Well, if you’re
offering, it would be rude to say no. Maestro, let’s take it from the top.”
****
After a very thorough two hours, Nick’s
knowledge of mer anatomy had increased exponentially. While a legged mer looked
human on the outside at first glance, the pulmonary system was distinctly
different from human lungs, forming a hybrid lung/gill structure. Certain
internal structures in the abdomen and legs were also non-standard for humans,
and Aidan’s hands and feet remained slightly webbed even in land form. His skin
was extremely smooth and small-pored, making him mildly reflective.
“Could be worse,” he said when Nick
pointed this out. “At least I don’t sparkle.”
Chiron shuddered. “Never mention those
books in my presence, tadpole,” he said darkly. “The movies were even worse.”
Pythia turned to Nick.
A
cultural reference, I take it?
I’ll explain
later.
Nick
lowered the Rod, blinking hard as a sudden wave of tiredness washed over him. “Whoa.
I’m wiped.”
“Yeah, working with the Rod takes it out
of you,” Chiron agreed, stretching. “That’s enough for tonight. I’ll be back
tomorrow morning around nine. We’ll do three hours in the morning, break for
lunch, then another four hours in the afternoon.”
“For how long?”
Chiron rolled his eyes. “For as long as
it takes me to cram millennia of information into that tiny human brain of
yours. By rights you should be studying with me for the rest of your life, but
apparently that’s not an option.
So, nine?”
“Tomorrow at nine,” Nick agreed.
Nine, then,
Pythia echoed
and turned back into carved wood.
Chiron’s attention trailed over her
coils. Something wistful flickered in his expression.
“Lucky
bitch.
She has no idea how good she has it,” he muttered, then
disappeared.
Nick switched the Rod to his left hand,
shaking out his aching right. “Remind me to explain the concept of rest
breaks,” he muttered.
“Good idea,” Aidan agreed, just as a
soft, rolling growl sounded. “Was that you or me?”
Nick’s stomach picked that moment to
chime in. “Both. Let me put this away and I’ll get dinner started.”
****
After some discussion Nick decided to
make shrimp stir fry, checking with Aidan before he added ingredients to the
wok. The mer turned out to be a surprisingly serviceable sous
chef,
chopping vegetables while Nick sautéed the shrimp and
boiled rice.
They loaded plates and sat down at the
dinner table, digging in with gusto. “This is great,” Aidan said
enthusiastically, slurping a bean sprout into his mouth. “It’s got the same
kind of sauce that Aphros used with the sashimi, kind of salty and rich.”
“Soy sauce,” Nick said, crunching on a
snow pea pod. “It’s used a lot in Asian food. I’m guessing you don’t eat on
land a lot.”
“Meh, not
really.
I’ve had some stuff at bars and those little food huts on piers, but I’ve never
actually gone into a restaurant or anything.”
“How do you pay for stuff?”
Aidan waved his fork, chewing. “The pod
has caches of money all along the coast, just in case one of us gets stuck out
of the water and needs to buy human things. Plus there’s lots of stuff that
humans always want to buy for cash—pearls, coral, old coins from wrecks, that
sort of thing.”
Nick wondered how many of the
beachcombers he’d seen over the years actually had tails. “Sounds like you’re
pretty familiar with humans.”
Aidan took a sip of his wine, looking at
Nick over the rim. “Not as familiar as I’d like to be,” he said once he’d
swallowed. “You know, Chiron said I’m pretty much healed.”
“I know.”
“So I guess that means you’re not my doctor
anymore.”
Nick remembered his own words that
morning. If Chiron said Aidan was healed, that ended his responsibility as a
physician. “I guess I’m not,” he said, smiling.
“Okay.” Aidan licked his lips. “Remember,
I’m not pushing you. You can always say no. But after dinner, maybe we could go
in the living room and get comfortable?”
Nick glanced at his plate, suddenly tempted
to bolt his food.
“Yeah.
Yeah, we can do that.”
But not until
they
both finished their food at an annoyingly leisurely pace.
And
washed the dishes.
And tidied the kitchen, much to his
mounting frustration.
He glanced at the merman, who was wiping down the
counters while he scrubbed out the wok.
The bastard was whistling. That just
wasn’t fair. “You know, we can always do this later. Or tomorrow,” he
suggested.
“Mm, I don’t like leaving chores
undone.” Aidan’s smile was angelic. “It bugs me, you know?
Can’t
really focus on anything else until I get the stuff done.”
Nick growled at that, and was rewarded
with a raised eyebrow. “If I can be patient, so can you,” Aidan said, with mock
severity. “Good boys don’t get their reward until they get all their chores
done.”
“Yes, Sir.”
It just slipped out, and Nick bit his
tongue.
Stop that. He’s not your Dom.
He stole another look at the big,
muscular mer.
Although…
He doubted he
could actually scene with Aidan, not so soon after Barnard. But it wouldn’t
hurt to sound the mer out about it. At least he’d know how Aidan felt about the
concept.
“I need to tell you something,” he said,
rinsing off the wok.
“About me.”
Aidan paused, dishcloth in hand. “I’m
listening.”
He put the wok in the drainer and took a
deep breath. “I like certain things, sexual
things, that
may seem a little weird to you. If you don’t want to do them,
that’s
fine, but I wanted to sound you out about them
first.”
“Still
listening.”
“Okay.” Nick steeled himself. “I don’t
know if you’ve ever heard the term BDSM. It’s—”
“I’ve heard of it.”
“Oh. Good.” He swallowed,
then
launched into the explanation he’d given Ian. “A lot of
people would think I’m sick for wanting this sort of thing,” he said. “They
don’t understand why I would want someone to tie me up and take over. As a
doctor I have to make life and death decisions every day. Sometimes I just need
to get away from that, give up the responsibility for a little while. Does that
make any sense?”
Aidan put the dishrag down and leaned
against the counter. “Makes perfect sense to me,” he said. “I understand the
need to step back, let someone else be in charge.” He paused, his expression
shifting to a calm, self-possessed look that screamed Dom. “I can do that for
you, if you want.”
Nick swallowed hard. “I’d like that. But
there’s a problem.”
“I know.” Aidan nodded at the spot on
his chest where Barnard had carved his initial. “He hurt you, didn’t he?
Your ex-lover?”
“How did you—”
“Aphros told me you’d been hurt. He
didn’t tell me how,” Aidan added. “He said that was your story to tell.”
Nick willed down the shame and rage that
rose at the thought of Barnard. “His name is Barnard Whitfield. We met at a
club a few months ago. He likes edge play—knives, fire, that sort of thing. He’s
rich and extremely charming, and ... I was stupid. A couple of nights ago, he
tied me up and gagged me for a scene. Then he pulled out a scalpel. I thought
he was just going to drag it along my skin, make scratches. He’s done that
before.” He touched the gauze square under his shirt. “But he didn’t. He cut
his initial into my skin. I kept screaming my safeword, but he wouldn’t stop.”
Aidan’s eyes had gone molten with fury.
“He’s never going to touch you again. I promise you that.”
Nick’s mouth quirked humorlessly. “Get
in line. Ian already claimed dibs on him.”
The mer shook his head. “He can have
what’s left over. But I get first crack at him.”
Somehow he suspected that Aidan wasn’t
just being reassuring. “Look, Barnard is a total and unmitigated bastard, but
he’s also very rich and powerful, and he doesn’t like to be told no,” Nick
said. “There’s a very good chance he may come down here and start trouble. If
he does, I want you to let me handle it. He’d be more than happy to get you
thrown in jail—or worse, some government lab.”
“I don’t think Lord Bythos or Aphros
would let that happen,” Aidan said.
“I don’t want to risk it. If anything
happened to you...” His gut ached at the thought.
Aidan moved closer, taking his hands.
“Nothing’s going to happen to either of us, Nick. I promise. And I promise that
I will never, ever do anything you don’t want me to do.”
“Yeah, I can’t see you ignoring a
safeword,” Nick admitted.
Aidan’s brows came down. “What’s a
safeword?”
“It’s a special word that means no. It
stops all play.”
“Oh. That makes sense. What’s your
safeword?”
“Winter.”
“All right.
You say winter,
and I’ll stop immediately.” He pulled Nick closer. “You choose what we do
tonight.
Whatever you want.”
His entire body went hot at the promise
in the mer’s voice. He wanted,
needed
,
someone to erase Barnard’s poisonous touch, but he couldn’t trust anyone to tie
him up, not even Aidan.
Not yet, anyway. “Can you just … tell me
what to do?” he said in a whisper. “Take the lead?”
“I can do that.” Something in Aidan’s stance
changed, becoming more commanding.
“Strip.
I want you
naked.”
Something in his head shut down,
switching over to submissive mode. He obeyed with relief, unbuttoning his shirt
and pulling it off. Jeans and boxers followed, everything folded neatly and
placed on the counter. He held up his left wrist with its watch and thick black
leather band, silently questioning.
“That, too.”
The watch went on top of his clothes. He
stood there, naked skin tingling in the soft twilight warmth. His cock began to
thicken, already aching for Aidan’s touch. Neither of them looked at the gauze
pad on his chest, as if it didn’t exist.
“Kneel.”
He dropped to his knees, spreading his
thighs open and locking his hands behind his back as he’d been trained. “How
may I serve you, sir?” he murmured.
“Sir.
I like that.”
He could see Aidan was already hard, the thick shaft lying at an upward angle
in the mer’s shorts. His wish was granted when Aidan rested a hand on his head,
pulling him closer. “Kiss me.”
Nick did, laying an open-mouthed kiss on
Aidan’s cock. Savoring the heat of the mer’s body, he nuzzled his way up along
the shaft, using his lips and tongue to massage it. When he reached the head,
he mouthed it as best as he could through the shorts, and was rewarded with a
soft moan.
Feeling naughty, he hummed around the
sensitive flesh and heard Aidan gasp. A hand slid under his chin, tipping his
face up. “Someone’s asking for it,” Aidan said, chuckling.
“Yes, sir.”
Nick had missed
doing this with a Dom, the sheer fun of indulging his inner brat and being
taken in hand. Barnard had never allowed any playfulness in their scenes,
preferring high protocol at all times.
“Well, we can’t have that, can we?”
Aidan’s grin was wicked.
“In the living room, boy.
On your hands and knees.”
Nick dropped to all fours and crawled as
quickly as he could across the tiled floor and onto the hardwood floor of the
living room, wincing and grateful when he reached the large, soft area rug. He
could imagine the image he was presenting to Aidan; his ass in the air, ready
for a firm hand. His cock twitched at the thought.
“On the couch.”
Nick scrambled onto the soft blue
furniture, waiting for further instructions.
“Mm. Think I want you on your back for
now.”
Nick rolled over and stretched out,
feeling exposed and vulnerable with his rigid dick pulsing against his belly.
He licked his lips and tilted his head back, exposing his throat. “Like this,
sir?”