Pool. A float in the pool.
He knew Emery wouldn’t be too far behind him anyway. They could shower together.
Mmm. And maybe a lot more than that before he has to leave again for the search. He was coming to love Louise and even Joseph, but he wasn’t comfortable doing more than fooling around in the shower under their roof with a houseful of others, including his own parents.
Especially after the family smackdown and revelations that happened.
At least I know I can let go of my jealousy over Denby.
He opened the sliders, groaning at the sight of three of the pool cage’s screen roof panels hanging down. “Dammit.” They’d have to call a company to repair those. He could reach and replace the four side ones the storm had also damaged.
He didn’t bother turning on the pool lights. It was nearly dark, and all he wanted to do was chill out for a little while. He stripped, dropping his clothes to the concrete deck. Then he dove into the deep end and swam underwater halfway down the pool before surfacing. He flipped onto his back and lazily backstroked the rest of the way to the shallow end. There he stood and pushed his hair out of his face. He had the creepy feeling he was being watched, but he didn’t see anyone inside their fenced backyard.
He took another slow lap down and back, noticing a large accumulation of dark gunk in the bottom of the deep end. Weird how it’s all clumped together like that. Storm must have blown it in. I’ll have to clean it in the morning. He was too tired to do it then. He swam back to the shallow end where he stopped again to rest.
He closed his eyes and lounged against the wall at the shallow end when he heard an odd sound, like water being disturbed.
Accompanied by a strange, chuffing noise.
He opened his eyes, swallowing back his scream.
At the deep end of the pool, an alligator’s head had breached the surface.
Fuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuck!
His bladder let loose, which, fortunately, happened in the pool. As the alligator stared at him with large, preternaturally amber eyes and a snaggletoothed grin, Sean understood what the phrase “frozen in terror” truly meant.
When he could finally suck a breath into his lungs, he turned, boosted himself out of the pool, and ran for the house. He didn’t realize he was shaking until he slammed the sliders shut behind him. They weren’t the world’s best protection against a huge alligator if it decided it wanted in, but it was a start.
Phone. Phone. Phone! Where’s my fucking phone?
He grabbed his cell and, before dialing 911, realized he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Technically, he wasn’t in immediate danger now that he was safely inside the house. And no doubt 911 had its hands full with the aftermath of the storm.
He returned to the sliders and reached over to the wall switch to flip on the pool lights.
“Fuck!” The gator had to be nearly seven feet long. Its dark bulk, silhouetted by the pool lights, slowly turned toward the sliders, blinking as it stared at him from the pool. He’d seen plenty of gators in the wild while fishing in the mangroves around Placida.
He just didn’t want one in his pool. And he damn sure didn’t want to be in his pool with one in there. As he stared at the gator, he noticed rhythmic ripples in the water.
He’d swear the damn thing was laughing at him
“Fuck you, Wally Gator,” he muttered at the reptile. “Your ass is out of here.” He dialed Emery’s number, swearing when his voice mail picked up. He turned his back to the sliders and the pool. “Hey, you ain’t gonna believe this shit. There’s a frickin’ gator in our pool. I guess I need to call Fish and Wildlife about it. See you shortly.”
When he turned back, he let out a shriek. “Fuck!”
The gator now sat on his pool deck, his snout a few feet from the sliding glass doors. How the hell he’d managed to get himself out of the pool that fast amazed Sean.
As he stared at it, in shock and fright, the gator blinked. Again Sean would swear, from the rhythmic movement of its ribs, that it was laughing at him. The snaggletoothed grin didn’t detract from that assessment, although Sean knew most gators always looked like that.
He heard the front door open and started speaking at the same time Emery did. “Dude, take a fucking look at—”
“Sorry I missed your call—”
“This fucking thing—”
“Forgot to tell you Wyatt might still be—”
“It’s fucking huge!”
“Here from the storm.”
They looked at each other, and at the same time said, “What?”
Sean pointed at the sliders, turning to look as he did. “There’s a fucking gator in our—aah!”
A large, naked, handsome black dude now stood outside their sliders, sop-soaking wet and dripping water all over the concrete.
Smiling at them and laughing.
“What the fuck! Who the fuck is that? Where the fuck is the gator!” He was torn between wanting to get the guy away from the gator and afraid to let a naked stranger into their house.
Emery started laughing as he walked over to the slider and opened it. “Wyatt, let me guess. You got him?”
The man laughed. “Sorry, Em, but you know me. Couldn’t resist. When I heard the car I was going to get out and introduce myself, but then he came and jumped into the pool before I could shift back. I wasn’t sure if he was yours or not. Didn’t want to out myself to a civie, so to speak.”
Sean stared, jaw agape, as Emery shook hands with the naked guy. As his pounding heart slowly stopped trying to burst its way out of his ribcage, he finally noticed the man’s eyes were the same amber color as the gator’s.
And there was no longer a gator anywhere on their lanai.
“What?” Sean asked.
The guy, apparently totally unconcerned about his naked state, stepped inside and extended his hand to Sean. “Wyatt Belaforte. Gator shifter.”
Blinking as he tried to process this, Sean automatically shook with him. “Gator shifter?”
Emery chuckled. “I did tell you some friends had come out to help with the search.”
“Emery let me hang here during the storm. Sorry I scared you, man.”
“No you’re not,” Emery playfully teased. “You love scaring the crap out of people. My mom still hasn’t forgiven you for last New Year’s.”
As a human, Wyatt could easy scare the crap out of people. Taller than Emery, he had to be at least six ten, and well muscled. And very well…
Gulp.
Just because Sean was mated to Emery didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate a well-hung man.
Sean, realizing he was also still standing there naked and wet, felt less than adequate compared to Wyatt.
“Yeah,” Wyatt agreed. “I guess you’re right, Em. My momma always said I was a devil at heart.”
Sean realized Wyatt had a bit of an accent. Now feeling more than a little self-conscious, Sean walked out to the lanai and grabbed his shorts from where they’d landed and pulled them on before rejoining the men in the living room.
“You’re not a devil,” Emery countered with a grin while Sean did that. “You’re the whole damn lot of them.”
Wyatt shrugged. “If you’re gonna do something, do it right, I always say.”
“We’re going back out tonight at eleven. Can you come?”
“Naw, wish I could. I need to get to work in the morning. But I’ll come out after work and help again.”
“I’ve got your stuff in my trunk,” Emery said. “Let me go get it for you.” He went out the front door, leaving Sean standing there with Wyatt.
Sean wasn’t sure what the etiquette was for a situation like this. “Um, can I get you something to drink?”
“Naw, I’m okay, but thanks. I wouldn’t mind a warm shower, though.”
“Oh, sure. No problem. Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I know, the accent, right? I was born and raised in Morgan City, Louisiana. I been in Sarasota n
ow ’bout nine years. Went to New College and Ringling. Decided not to leave after I graduated. I love it here.”
Emery returned with a small sports backpack. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, man.” He pulled a cell phone out of the pack. “Shoot. Momma’s probably worried about me. Got eight missed calls from her. Let me call her real fast.”
“Oh, sure,” Sean said.
Wyatt stepped back out onto the lanai and closed the slider behind him.
Sean wheeled around on Emery. “A little warning next time would be nice!”
Emery snickered. “Sorry. I totally forgot to tell you. I offered to let him come to my parents’, but he said he was happy to ride it out down here. He kept searching long after everyone else gave up. He doesn’t mind the weather and he can get into shallow places along the shore that dolphins can’t normally reach.”
“Oh.” Yeah, the missing dolphin had briefly escaped Sean’s mind during his terror. “You’re right.”
Emery pulled him close and kissed him. “Forgive me?”
Sean didn’t miss the playful twinkle in his grey eyes. “Yeah, but I know you’re wanting to bust out laughing again, aren’t you?”
Emery did just that. “I’m sorry, it’s just you looked so terrified. And that scream when you turned and saw Wyatt standing there. Priceless.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll love that I peed myself in the pool, too.”
Emery tightly hugged him, kissing him again. “I’m sorry, babe. Really I am.”
“Fine,” grumped Sean, trying to pretend he was still aggravated even though Emery’s kisses could nearly make him forget his own name. “I’ll go put some stuff out for him in the guest bath. He asked if he could take a shower.”
“Thanks, babe. You’re the best.”
He’d laid out towels, soap, a spare razor and shaving cream, along with shampoo and body wash when Emery appeared in the doorway, Wyatt behind him. “There you go. Take as long as you want.”
“Thanks, y’all. I appreciate it.”
Sean started to leave the bathroom, then turned. “Why didn’t you just come into the house during the storm?”
Wyatt shrugged. “I kinda like the weather. Pool’s safe. No waves. Nice and warm. Emery did tell me where y’all keep the spare key in case I wanted to come inside, but the pool was just fine. I appreciate you letting me hang around.”
“No problem,” Emery said.
They left Wyatt alone and returned to the kitchen. “Dude, you’re lucky I don’t have a bad ticker,” Sean scolded. “Please don’t do that to me again. That was so not funny.”
“Yeah, it kinda was, babe.” He grinned. “At least Mom didn’t wet herself when Wyatt scared her. Of course, he was in her kitchen at the time.”
* * * *
After Wyatt finished his shower, Emery drove him back to where he’d left his car. Sean grabbed a shower, alone, knowing he wouldn’t get much time with Emery that night, at least. Emery returned after Sean stepped out of the shower.
“Just when are you planning on sleeping?” Sean asked.
Emery shrugged. “I’m okay. Working on adrenaline, and not sure how badly we’ll get slammed at the office tomorrow, but I’ll nap when I can.” He pulled Sean to him and kissed him. “You have your own stuff to worry about.”
“Don’t remind me. Dad’ll be wanting me to help him remove his storm shutters tomorrow after work.”
“We’ll probably go back out tomorrow night, too, and then again on Friday.” His expression darkened. “Unless we find anything tonight.”
“I think you and I are on the same wavelength.”
“What?”
“You won’t find him in good health.”
Emery let out a sigh. “It wouldn’t be the first time a dolphin lost a fight with a shark. Not as common with the shifters, because we try to hunt in packs for that very reason, but there’s just something wrong about all this.”
Sean kissed him. “You’d better get going. I’ll call the marina in the morning and have them put my boat out for me.”
“You’re the best, babe.”
“Just keep saying it, you sweet-talkin’ thang, you.”
Emery left laughing, a sound that warmed Sean’s heart. As Sean listened to Emery’s Mustang fire up in the driveway before he pulled out, he headed back to the bedroom. Exhaustion was quickly setting in. Despite hating to sleep alone now, he knew he wouldn’t have any trouble finding slumber.
* * * *
The alarm blasted Sean out of sleep way too early for his liking Thursday morning. He rolled over and slapped at the alarm clock, moaning.
The other side of the bed was empty. Emery hadn’t returned yet.
He forced himself to sit up and swing his legs out of bed. Otherwise, it was just too tempting to fall back asleep.
And he didn’t want his father crawling up his ass for being lazy that morning.
After starting a pot of coffee, he headed for the shower. He was drying off when he heard what he thought was the front door shutting.
He called out. “Em?”
“Yeah.” A moment later, the man appeared, looking tired. He leaned in for a kiss before stripping and stepping into the shower.
“No luck?”
Emery leaned against the shower wall, eyes closed, and shook his head.
“Stay home and sleep.”
“I can’t. I have to go into the office today. I’ll be okay once I get some coffee in me.”
Sean walked out to the kitchen, fixed Emery a cup, and took it back to him. He set it on the bathroom counter. “Here you go.”
Emery peeked out of the shower. “Thanks, babe. You’re the best.”
Sean was dressed and ready to go by the time Emery emerged from the back of the house, naked and with his cup of coffee in hand.
Sean thought he still looked like crap. Handsome crap, but crap nonetheless.
“You want me to drive you up to the office?” he asked.
“No, I’ll be okay.” He gave Sean a smile that didn’t fool him in the least. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had to run my tank on empty. Fortunately, the other times it was due to too much fun. Not something like this.”
Sean worried about him all day as he dealt with things at work and coordinated restarting their project schedules with the construction companies, who had to check their own equipment for damage. He tried calling Emery, leaving a message for him after he left the office to head to his parents’ house.
His parents still deftly avoided any and all discussions about what had happened at the Nadels’ house. Sean knew how badly the incident had rattled his mom when after asking if he would stay for dinner and he said no, she didn’t try to change his mind.
Well after dark, he finally pulled into his own driveway and shut the truck off. Emery’s Mustang wasn’t in the drive.
Dammit.
Despite his exhaustion, he wished he could go out and help look. At least he’d be close to Emery and get to spend some time with him.
Then he yawned again and realized how tired he was.
He dragged himself into the house and headed for the sliders leading to the pool deck. Mid-stride, he did an about-face, found the light switch, and flipped on the pool lights.
Nothing except the accumulated debris he needed to get cleaned out.
No alligator, shifter or otherwise.
With a sigh of relief, he stripped and dove in, doing a few laps before flipping onto his back and floating in the warm water. He did feel bad that his parents found out Emery’s secret the way they did, his preference being they hadn’t found out at all. He didn’t like the uneasy tension he felt from his parents while taking down their shutters. How his mom made small talk about any- and everything not relating to Emery or his family, when she usually made a point of asking about Emery, his work, how he was doing.
I’m going to have to talk to them. Whether they liked it or not, Sean didn’t want the invisible bomb hanging over his relationship with
them like that. Yes, they drove him crazy. They were his parents, after all, and that was one of their jobs.
The sound of the front door opening and closing startled him from his thoughts. He stood up in the pool. “Em?” He hadn’t even heard his car drive up.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Out here.”
Emery walked out onto the lanai and sat at the edge of the pool. Sean swam over, saddened by the deep lines in his lover’s face.
“No sign of him?”
Emery shook his head.
“Did you eat?”
Another head shake.
“I thought you were going out to search for him again tonight?”
“Dad took one look at me and sent me home. We’re going out in the morning.”
Sean boosted himself out of the pool and grabbed his clothes before taking Emery by the hand. “Come on. Into the shower with you. I’ll fix you something to eat.”
“Thanks, babe.”
When Emery emerged from the shower, Sean immediately steered him back to their bed. He turned the TV on for him and handed him the plate of warmed-up leftovers. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He kissed him on the forehead, but before he could go, Emery reached out and touched his arm.
“Seriously, Sean,” he said, “you are the best. You have no idea how much I love you.”
Sean smiled, his heart aching for his mate. He knew Emery was worried about the missing shifter and doing everything he could to help find him. “Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me, babe.”
When Sean returned to their bedroom a few minutes later, Emery had cleaned his plate, but he’d also fallen asleep with it on his chest. With a smile, Sean carefully took it back to the kitchen before crawling into bed with him without waking him up.
They both needed a good, solid night’s sleep in their own bed. As he drifted, he couldn’t help but wonder what fate had befallen the missing shifter.
Chapter Eight