Page 42 of Bitter Heat
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Janus grabbed atowel from his bathroom, something he never failed to do after the embarrassment of Kerry seeing him in the nude that first night, and headed out of the quiet house into the sunshine. Zeke was in the garden, apparently finished with his cake, digging around and singing to himself. He had a decent voice, a tenor like Janus, but nothing like Kerry’s deep, rumbling tone that had, on occasion, vibrated through the floorboards from the attic. Janus had never dared go up and confront Kerry again, though. Kerry had made it clear that any singing he did wasn’t meant for Janus’s ears.
“Heading down to swim?” Zeke asked, sitting back on his heels in the dirt. His cheek had a swipe of mud on it, and his eyes glistened with early summer energy.
“Thought I’d take the opportunity.”
“Enjoy it!” He started to say something else, but then shook his head and waved Janus on. Zeke broke into song again, going back to his work.
Janus hesitated, wondering if he should offer to help, but decided that Zeke had it well in hand. He was used to working alone, and while Janus might make it all go a bit faster, Zeke seemed content to be in the fresh air and sunshine. It was healthy for him.
The path down to the water didn’t seem as long now that Janus had taken it enough times to be familiar with its curves and dips. The green leaves swayed above, and dappled light fell to the brown earth, lighting his way through until he came out the other side at the sandy beach by the lake. The sun was bright on the water, and he had to shade his eyes to look out onto it.
Not far out from the shallows, Kerry floated on his back. He wore nothing whatsoever as far as Janus could tell. From Janus’s position slightly above the water, he could see Kerry’s cock and balls, his thighs, and his strangely made chest, rising and falling in the water. His rounding stomach lifted above the water most of all, and his hair spilled out across and under the surface. His closed eyes fanned dark lashes on sun-golden cheekbones, and he drifted in a state of relaxation Janus had never witnessed on him before.
Janus scented the air. He couldn’t make it out clearly, but he believed that underneath the strong pine scent of the surrounding trees, and the scent of the lake water, he could just barely whiff that luscious berry and musk.
He hesitated on the sand, arousal stirring in him. Then he disrobed quickly and waded out toward where Kerry floated, splashing a lot as he went, in hopes of not frightening him.
It must have worked, because as Janus finally left the shallows, and started to swim out, Kerry righted himself from floating and began to tread water, wary eyes on Janus’s approach.
“The lake’s been nice lately. Not too warm and not too cold,” Janus said as he advanced. The strain of keeping afloat making him sound breathless. Kerry’s scent came stronger now, and he felt a stirring in his dick that he tried to ignore. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
Kerry cleared his throat and his voice, always so deep and rumbling, made Janus’s dick even harder. “The water relaxes me. It takes the pains away.”
“Pains?” Janus tilted his head, immediately concerned and any arousal flickering out. “New pain? Different from before?”
“No,” Kerry said. “Just the growth pains. The water lightens the weight on my hips. It helps.”
Janus could have suggested swimming would help had Kerry ever given him a chance to give his input on the pains, but he supposed all that mattered was Kerry had found out for himself. “Glad to hear it.” Janus flopped to float on his back, his breath coming a bit harder than he wanted, and he hoped his dick continued to behave. “I’ve been coming out here most evenings. I enjoy it. You know you don’t have to leave when I get here?”
“I know,” Kerry said, his voice sounding far away as the water lapped in and out of Janus’s ears.
“Then why do you go?”
Kerry shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. Besides, I’m hurting too much today to want to go back to the house just because you decided to swim, too.”
Janus righted himself again, shaking the water from his ears. Kerry held up his hands as a shield and then ducked under the surface, clearly preferring submersion over a shower. When he popped back up, he smoothed his long hair back from his face and wiped the water from his shining brown eyes.
Janus asked, “I’ve been meaning to ask: do I have more to apologize for?”
“I’m sorry?” Kerry asked, tilting his head in confusion. Water dripped from the end of his nose, and he wiped it away. “Apologize?”
“It’s just that you’ve been avoiding me. I must have done something else that warrants my apologies. If so, tell me what it is, and I’ll own up to it.” He raised a brow and grinned cockily. “I used to be terrible at apologies, but I find that, like most things in my life, I get better at it with regular practice.”
The water slapped and licked around them, keeping them bobbing up and down slightly as Janus waited for an answer. Finally, Kerry chuckled, rolling his eyes. “I think I’m probably the one who owes the apology.”
“You don’t owe me anything. Not an apology and not an explanation.” Janus lifted his chin, hoping his magnanimity was as great a gift to Kerry as Caleb’s had once been to him. All right, so maybe not “as great a gift,” but at least something worthy of admiration. He truly wanted Kerry to, at the very least, admire him. What alpha wouldn’t want that? “You did what you did, and I don’t need to understand why.”
Kerry’s face clouded slightly. “I meant I owe you an apology for when I was rude to you in the attic.”
“Oh. Well, of course. I mean, you don’t—” Janus stumbled. “I accept your apology. I want to be your friend, Kerry. I think you might need one.”
Kerry ducked under the water again, and when he resurfaced he wiped the water from his eyes and then pointed toward the shoreline. “Care to join me in the shallows?”
Janus hadn’t quite gotten his fill of swimming yet. He usually swam to the side of the lake where he’d found Kerry crawling from the forest, and then back to the beach again, but if Kerry wanted his company in the shallows, then exercise could wait.
He followed Kerry to where the water was only thigh-deep, and then they both sat down in a cross-legged style. The water came up to their chests, covering their nipples, but leaving their shoulders exposed. The clay beneath his ass was mushy, and fish darted between and around the men, but the lake water was clean and clear, and Janus could see straight to the brown, muddy bottom.
