Page 17 of Saving Nessie
Wisely, the Redcap kept out of his way. Although by this point, Cam would have taken its snide, mocking voice over the unending watery silence.
Hell. I better be able to see Lachlan tonight,Cam thought while swimming in agitated circles. He needed to feel human again just for a few moments.
A glimmer of white moonlight from above told him it was nearly time. He waited restlessly near the surface, peeking his eyes over the low waves every so often to search for Lachlan’s shadow at the jetty. When he appeared, Cam had to curtail an enthusiastic bleat of happiness. He swam over eagerly when Lachlan beckoned.
Lachlan greeted him warmly as Cam’s head rose from the loch and peered over the wooden boards.
‘Hello, Cam. How have you been today?’ Lachlan sounded chipper, but Cam could see the sadness in his smile. He placed both hands on Cam’s snout, massaging them slowly over his narrow jaw and the top of his head.
Cam closed his eyes, savouring the blissful contact. It was so soothing, the way Lachlan touched him while he was Nessie. It eased away some of the loneliness and made him forget his anxiety over being unable to transform.
While he stroked, Lachlan recounted his day at the Teapot. He passed on tidbits of local small talk and spoke about a new recipe for drop scones he was trying. He chattered about the latest news on Donald’s shed, which flowers were starting to bloom in the pots outside the café, and how he’d had to prevent Meredith from cussing out a group of young Nessie hunters that day. Cam responded with small trills and purrs in the conversation, conveying as best he could how much he treasured the weird normality of being spoken to like a person.
Eventually, the well of gossip ran dry. Lachlan had talked for more than an hour to stretch out all the minutia he could think of. He looked tired. Cam surmised he wasn’t sleeping well, between staying up late to meet with him and probably worrying over the situation in general. Lachlan already struggled with insomnia—a fact he’d been unwilling to reveal to Cam at first. Having spent centuries with a routine of sleeping underwater and only needing a few hours’ rest at a time, Lachlan had found it incredibly difficult to adjust to sleeping for an entire night in a soft bed on land.
Still, Lachlan remained on the end of the pier, stroking Cam’s nose in silence as the minutes ticked by. Cam could have stayed there all night.
He nudged Lachlan gently with his snout.Go home. Sleep. Rest.
Lachlan sighed, instead burying his forehead against Cam’s.
‘I miss you,’ he said so quietly it was nearly a mumble.
Cam ached to hold him.I miss you, too.
‘You’d think I’d be used to this by now. Being on my own. Not that I’m alone, I know that. There’s everyone at the Teapot, and Meredith’s lovely in her own way.’ Lachlan sighed again, rubbing his face. ‘Sorry. I shouldn’t be complaining to you. I’m not the one currently trapped in the loch.’
He stared into Cam’s eyes, his blue irises dark with longing. ‘But, good god, I do miss you. I miss being held by you. I miss the way your arms feel around me. I want your scent in my nose and your lips on my neck. I… gosh, I’m going crazy without you, Cam.’
He resumed stroking Cam’s face, obviously reluctant to leave. Cam acquiesced, resting his snout in the middle of Lachlan’s lap. Lachlan stiffened. It took Cam a moment to register why.
‘Sorry,’ Lachlan mumbled. His cheeks flared as he tried to shift Cam off his burgeoning erection. ‘Guess I’ve been thinking about you too much.’
Cam chuckled, which came out as a deep rumbling in his throat. Lachlan’s embarrassment was as ridiculous as it was adorable. He nuzzled deeper into Lachlan’s lap, unable to resist a chance for mischief.
‘Cam!’ Lachlan squirmed as his squeal turned into a throaty groan. ‘Don’t tempt me.’
Cam pulled back to look at him curiously. Lachlan’s chest hitched delightfully with excited breaths. His pupils were wide and dark from more than just the low light.
Cam emitted another rumble, involuntary this time. He wanted to touch Lachlan so badly. Lachlan must have sensed his meaning, as his cheeks flushed an even darker shade in the moonlight.
‘Cam.’ His voice was hoarse with longing. ‘Would it be all right if… ?’ Keeping his left hand on Cam’s nose, his right crept down to palm the bulge in his trousers.
Cam’s nostrils flared, drawing in a deep breath of Lachlan’s arousal. He’d never smelled anything like it, yet it was wholly familiar and quintessentially Lachlan. Like a hot musk mixed with earth and cinnamon.
Cam didn’t like to think too much about his own monstrous nether regions, but found his attention inexorably fixed on them now. Desire pooled like liquid heat into the pocketed space that housed his now thickening appendage. He felt it slide free of its confines, emerging from a slit in his underbelly. The swirl of cold water around his suddenly throbbing cock sent a shock of pleasure up his spine and he groaned helplessly: a low keening sound that echoed across the loch.
‘Oh, Cam.’ Lachlan bowed his head, bumping noses with him. He repositioned onto his knees, hand dipping inside his trousers.
Cam buried his nose in Lachlan’s crotch again, puffing out a long, hot breath. Lachlan shuddered—for a moment Cam feared he was repulsed—followed by a thrilled gasp. He clutched Cam’s head tighter, wriggling the trousers down his hips until his cock was free.
God, Cam wanted to touch, to taste. It was such a turn-on to see Lachlan so needy for him.
Lachlan caught his eye; paused with a hint of shyness. Then, maintaining eye contact, began pumping his fist in slow, purposeful strokes up and down his shaft.
Hot. As. Fuck.
Cam hoped Lachlan knew just how sexy he was. He couldn’t look away, was desperate to join in, somehow. His own monstrous length lurched with need, teased by the soft motion of underwater currents. Likewise, Lachlan teased his cock, squeezing languorously over the tip until it was slippery and glistening with fluid.
