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  "What if it whips it's huge stinger around and it stabs us or something?" Shawn muttered as he kept turning to keep an eye on it.

  Casey laughed out loud now, nearly throwing them both off balance and under the water. "First of all, you're not Steve Irwin. Second, it's a manta, Shawn, not a stingray."

  As the oblivious creature swam back out to deeper waters, Shawn glared at him. "What the hell's the difference?"

  "Well, the big difference for you is that mantas don't have stingers. They're harmless, but they're usually much bigger than that. And honestly, stingrays won't bother you either unless you provoke them," Casey said calmly.

  ****

  Shawn was still frantically checking out the water around him as the younger man laughed at him. He was irritated by being so scared in front of the other man, but hell, that was freaking scary! How the hell was he supposed to know it was harmless.

  But it was worth it to see Casey laughing and smiling again. He'd gotten so morose there for a few minutes that Shawn thought Casey might retreat back to the house early. It was obvious that he really missed this Thomas guy. He'd gotten the same impression from Martin. Both of them must have been really hurt by Thomas's passing. And he got the impression that Casey didn't smile a lot because of it.

  He hoped he could remedy that a lot more.

  He glared playfully back at Casey laughing at him. Damn what a beautiful sight. All that bronzed skin, lean muscles, the sun making his sandy hair almost golden, the silver padlock at the guy's throat glinting in the sun.

  Shawn frowned again for a second as he thought about the chain around Casey's neck. He'd never seen Casey without it—not that he'd seen the guy that much up close and personal yet, but still, it seemed odd that he wore it all the time. It did make him wonder a bit more about what it meant. He was still afraid to ask about it though, especially this early in their friendship, since he didn't want to offend Casey by prying too early into something that probably was rather personal given that he always wore it.

  "Okay, fine, laugh it up," Shawn grumbled, though he wasn't really upset. "I think I'm done in the water for today."

  Casey grinned. "What? You don't want to hang around and meet Bruce too?"

  "Bruce?"

  Casey grinned slyly. "Yeah, you know, Bruce."

  It took a second, but Shawn finally figured out what he was talking about. "Oh, hell no," he grunted and took off for the shore.

  Casey dove after him, catching him around the waist. They sputtered in the surf, having moved inland enough to be caught in the breakers as they sprawled on the sand. Shawn wriggled free and crawled up the shore until he was in the tidal zone, and the water rushed over him at regular intervals. And there was no fucking chance of running into Mr. Ray or a goddamn Bruce.

  He rolled to see Casey strolling out of the water toward him—with a huge fucking grin on his face. Bastard. Casey dropped to his knees next to him, obviously trying to control his laughter.

  "You're an asshole," Shawn growled at the chuckling sandy-blond as he dropped his own body back on the sand, closing his eyes to the bright sun.

  "Sorry," Casey apologized but didn't sound all that sincere. "I just never expected such a big, strong, handsome man to be so scared."

  Handsome? Did Casey just call him handsome? He blinked and raised his head before coming up on his elbows with a smile. While Casey was still laughing his ass off, Shawn abruptly whipped up, grabbed Casey's shoulders, and flipped him over on his back.

  He grinned at the shocked look of the smaller man under him. "Then I guess your cute little ass is just going to have to protect me from all of Nemo's friends," he quipped, leaning forward boldly before Casey had a chance to panic, and kissed him chastely on the lips. He jumped up before the younger man could react and sauntered over to their chairs.

  He couldn't help the smug smile that spread across his face as he heard Casey's soft "Holy, shit" from behind his back.

  Chapter 13

  Casey still couldn't get Shawn's kiss out of his mind. He'd woken up before dawn today, desperately needing to shift, and he had spent a good hour gliding through the serene dark waters. A small pod of dolphins had joined him this morning. He'd been so euphorically happy for the first time in so long that he didn't realize how far he'd followed the dolphins until a sharp jolt at his neck caused him to gasp, swallowing water as he floundered in pain.

  He launched up to the surface, sputtering as he darted back towards shore. A few seconds later, the pain stopped. He flipped onto his back, breathing heavily as he floated for a few minutes to get his heart rate under control. He fingered the collar with shaking hands. Shit, he'd let himself get careless. What the hell was he thinking?

  He was thinking about Shawn, that's what. And the kiss. And how he wanted more. Damn. He flipped over and darted back to the cove before he could let his thoughts get him into any further trouble.

  Of course as he hoisted his body effortlessly out of the water onto the dock, he noticed a silhouette at the top of the hill just barely visible in the pre-dawn light. Shit, Uncle Martin must have been alerted by the collar going off. It was too much to hope that he might have slept through his little mishap. The damn app on Martin's phone must have alerted him that Casey had set off the perimeter alarm. Too bad Martin hadn't left the damn thing in his study last night.

  He unconsciously rubbed at his neck as he swiped up the towel he'd left on the wooden dock.

  He debated walking slowly, just to put off the inevitable lecture, but that would just make the man even angrier. So he jogged up the slope as quickly as he could in his bare feet.

  As he crested to the top of the cliff, he stood under his uncle's irritated gaze feeling terribly exposed for some reason. It was odd since he'd been naked around his uncles for years that standing in front of him with a towel wrapped around his waist shouldn't bother him at all.

  Shawn.

  His liquid blue eyes popped into his mind, and he realized he only wanted Shawn seeing so much of him. Shawn's gaze made him feel confident and cherished. Martin's seemed to make him feel insignificant and worthless.

  He tucked his arms across his chest, shyly trying to hide from his uncle's scrutiny.

  "Where exactly did you think you were heading?" the man's deep voice finally broke the silence.

  "Nowhere, sir. I just needed to shift. It's been a while and the shifts in the tank just weren't enough," Casey admitted.

  Martin harrumphed and turned toward the house, obviously expecting Casey to follow without question. Casey breathed a sigh of relief that he'd gotten off so easily. Now maybe he could nap for a bit before meeting up with Shawn later.

  "It's the new moon. Your need shouldn't be overwhelming right now," Martin mused as Casey followed him into the house. "Especially not strong enough to make you breach your boundaries."

  Casey worried about where his train of thought might be going. "I just got caught up following some dolphins. They wanted me to—"

  "Losing your focus is dangerous," Martin snapped. "It's been years since you've been so careless, especially at this moon phase. We'll need to do a work up now. See what's going on, what must have changed."

  Casey froze mid-step. Oh, shit. He hadn't expected his uncle to demand that. All those needles, and samples, and stamina exercises...damn it.

  The older man strode directly for the study. Casey briefly thought about heading upstairs instead but defying his uncle would only make the man more upset. He had no illusions that Uncle Martin was doing this for his own welfare right now. The man knew how much he hated these full workups, and therefore he often demanded them when Casey was the least prepared, mentally and physically.

  "In here now, Casey," his uncle's baritone voice filtered from the study. "Don't bother thinking about getting dressed. You know that would be pointless."

  Casey sighed heavily, tightening his grip on his towel as he slowly trudged into the study. "Can I at least eat first?"

  Martin was rubbing his sh
ort blond beard apparently debating a moment where to start when Casey walked in. "No, you can eat when we're done. Get up on the table first. Let's get the samples first since you've just freshly shifted."

  Damn it, he thought as he edged up onto the cold lab table. He really needed to be more careful. He just hoped that this didn't keep Martin from going to work later.

  ****

  "Hey!" Shawn called as Casey made his way over to the lounge chairs that Shawn was dragging out. Casey walked a little slower today, having exhausted himself with his uncle's tests this morning. He also prayed that the marks on the inside of his elbow from the syringes weren't very noticeable. Sometimes they bruised pretty badly if Martin was in a hurry.

  He was still worried about what Shawn might be thinking after the kiss yesterday. He'd tried not to think about it while in the lab because he was pretty sure some of his readings would have been off, especially his heart rate and blood pressure. And he really didn't need to be sporting wood around his fucking uncle.

  As he made his way towards Shawn though, he could see the same easy smile and friendliness that the broad shouldered man had always had. Then Shawn dropped the chair into place and casually embraced Casey in a quick hug.

  "Hey, did you sleep well?"

  For a second, Casey didn't respond, stunned by Shawn's warm arms engulfing him. But just before those strong arms went to release him, Casey wrapped his free arm around Shawn.

  "Uh, yeah," he said automatically.

  "Really? 'Cause you look a little tired today?"

  "I just woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. So I, uh, exercised a bit this morning," he said truthfully.

  "Cool. I was up writing. So nothing quite as exhausting as you," he said as he playfully patted Casey on the stomach before turning back to setting up his chair.

  Shawn's easy smile as he laid his towel out on the chair had Casey grinning in relief. He'd been so nervous about the quick kiss and what it might mean, that he'd allowed himself to get so tense and worried about what might happen today. Would it be awkward? Would Shawn kiss him again? Would he pretend it never happened? Should I pretend it never happened?

  But with the simple hug, Shawn banished all those anxious thoughts, and Casey knew everything was good—better even—between them. They'd crossed the threshold of simple friendship to flirting interest.

  Casey dropped his towel on the chair and bravely draped an arm across Shawn's shoulders, leaning close to whisper. "So you ready to brave the waters again?"

  Shawn rolled his eyes, but Casey felt the man's body nudge closer to his. He could feel the man's breath on his cheek when he asked, "You really want to drag me back into those Nemo infested waters?"

  Casey chuckled as they each stepped away to pull off their t-shirts. "You know the ocean hasn't really changed since you got here. Nemo, Dory, Crush, Mr. Ray... they've been out there the whole time you've been swimming in it."

  Casey didn't bother to hide his blatant perusal of the taller man as the shirt came off over his head.

  "Yeah, I'm sure you'll tell me that Flotsam and Jetsam are running around out there too."

  Casey scrunched up his nose. "That's the Little Mermaid, idiot."

  Casey felt the Shawn's hand pat his stomach. "Now see, why can't fucking Ariel be swimming around out there? Or actually Eric would be better—didn't he become a merman after he kissed the red-headed fish?"

  Casey felt his throat go dry, but he quickly smiled and took off for the water to hide his discomfort. "No, she became human, dumbass," he called over his shoulder.

  "Oh, well that sucks." Casey could hear Shawn running up behind him. "Why the hell are we discussing Disney movies anyway?"

  "Because someone is afraid of cartoon sea creatures," Casey teased.

  "Cartoon, my ass. That fucking sting ray was freaking real."

  "Manta ray," Casey corrected.

  "Whatever," Shawn scoffed. "It was still fucking huge."

  "You didn't have a problem with the turtle, and he was more likely to bite you than Mr. Ray was."

  "What are you an encyclopedia of sea animals?" Shawn squinted at him.

  Casey turned as the tide washed over his feet, hands rising to his hips. "You live out here for fifteen years and see if you don't learn a few things."

  Shawn stepped up really close looking down at him, and Casey felt his breath sucked away wondering if Shawn might kiss him again.

  "So are you telling me you've met Bruce and Flotsam and Jetsam and whatever hell else is out there?" he waved toward the water.

  Casey debated telling him the truth. In all honesty, Shawn was unlikely to run into a shark or eels, but Casey had pretty much seen it all so....

  "Oh, fuck," Shawn growled, turning and rubbing his hand through is chocolate waves. Obviously, he'd taken Casey's hesitation for an affirmative.

  When Shawn looked like he might back out of going into the water altogether, Casey grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He looked up and took the man's face in his hands. "I promise, there's nothing to worry about. Sharks don't come close to shore around here. I swear."

  Shawn's bright blue eyes studied him and he dropped his forehead against Casey's in resignation. "God, I hope you're right."

  "It'll be fine," Casey said. Then quickly pecked a small kiss on Shawn's nose before forging into the waters.

  "I'm going to bring down that inflatable raft next time," Shawn grunted. "Then I can just float on top and not worry about what's swimming around under me."

  Casey managed to hold back his chuckle when Shawn slowly picked his way into the water. After yesterday's 'scare' with the baby manta, Casey could understand why Shawn would be a little more hesitant about traipsing back into the water. He probably shouldn't have joked about running into a shark.

  They kept close to shore today, more or less just bobbing around in the waves. After the quick kiss Shawn had given him yesterday and their briefly intimate moments today, Casey couldn't help but feel a little more on edge. He felt jittery and anxious as he watched Shawn carefully for reactions to their touches and teasing.

  The glitter in Shawn's eyes told him that he had nothing to be worried about.

  Chapter 14

  "So you really have never been anywhere but here?" Shawn asked the next afternoon as they toweled off from their swim. True to his word, Shawn had dragged down some inflatable raft today and spent half the time being dunked off of it as Casey swam under him and flipped him off of it.

  At one point, they'd drifted out farther than they expected because of the riptide pulling them from shore. Casey had carefully guided them parallel to shore instead of allowing Shawn to attempt to fight the tide back in. It didn't take long, and Casey wasn't even sure if Shawn realized what he'd been doing. Riptides didn't occur often along the island, but they did form occasionally, and Casey had long since learned not to fight them, even though he could power through them in his shifted form.

  Casey settled into the chair next to Shawn as the man tucked the bright orange floatie in between some rocks to keep it from blowing around in the breeze.

  "No. Well, I briefly worked at the clinic where Uncle Martin works, but..." Casey trailed off, not sure he wanted to talk about his one escapade off the island which would inevitably lead to talking about Roshan.

  "But...?" Shawn prodded as he dropped his towel on the chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him on the lounge chair next to the one he'd dragged down for Casey.

  "It was a long time ago. It's nothing," Casey mumbled, as he shook his head, shifting to settle back on his own chair.

  But Shawn obviously had sensed the tension in his voice, and he abruptly swung his legs back over the side of the chair and faced him intently. "Doesn't sound like nothing."

  Casey's gray eyes darted to Shawn's blue ones almost hidden in the thick fall of his dark chocolate bangs. So far conversations had been rather tame, this threatened to take things farther, and Casey wasn't sure if he was ready to share that much
. He instantly wondered if he was on the verge of repeating history. If he let Shawn in, if he opened up to the man, would Shawn stomp on his friendship, his heart, like Roshan had?

  He didn't think so, but he'd had so little experience interacting with others that he just didn't know if he could trust anyone. The one person besides his uncles that he had let in had crushed him.

  "There was just an incident at the clinic that made me not want to go back, that's all," he finally said flippantly, trying to come across as casual as possible.

  "So, what, did you see someone die or something?" Shawn continued to coax the truth out of him. "I know that would keep me from ever going back."

  Casey laughed, "No, nothing like that. Just..." he broke off, floundering. "There was just some guy..."

  Shawn's grin broadened. The last few days, Shawn's benign teasing and playfulness alleviated Casey's nerves about getting to know him. The first couple times that Shawn had tried to joke around, Casey hadn't known what to make of it. But now he recognized it as just Shawn's amiable nature. Casey was sure he must have tons of friends back home.

  "Oh, I see, you had a crush on someone!" Shawn baited. "Damn, I know how that feels. Seeing them every day and not being able to do anything about it. It sucks—"

  "No, it wasn't like that," Casey snapped, annoyed that Shawn had drawn the wrong conclusion. Of course, Casey hadn't really given him any information to draw a different one.

  Shawn, of course, frowned back at him now confused. "So you didn't have some secret crush on a guy?"

  "No. Well, sort of," Casey floundered, sighing in frustration. "God, you're an asshole, you know that."

  "Me? What did I do?" Shawn looked affronted but not really upset by the teasing accusation.

  "You really want me to tell you all the gory details?"

  "Well, yeah, now I do," Shawn said as if it should be obvious. "You're being deliberately vague, so it must be pretty good, or er, bad, depending on how you look at it."