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Beneath the Current Page 8


  "I'm sorry, your uncle did mention that you weren't used to being around other people," Shawn said. "But it's pretty lonely out here sometimes."

  He was rewarded with a flicker of gray as Casey glanced over at him, a small hint of a smile gracing those soft pink lips.

  "Don't get me wrong," Shawn pressed quickly while he still managed to hold the beautiful man's attention. "It's nice and serene, and the view is absolutely stunning," he said with a wide grin as he pinned Casey with his blue eyes. He knew maybe he'd gone a bit too far, when Casey's golden skin flushed with a hint of pink and the man crossed his arms timidly over his chest, hugging himself almost as if he were suddenly cold.

  "But you have to admit, even with the quiet and the view, sometimes it's nice to be able to hang out with someone," Shawn hinted, tilting his head.

  "Yeah, um, maybe," Casey said shyly, glancing back up at his house. He seemed not just a little shy but also a bit scared. "I have to go. My uncle will probably be looking for me."

  "Okay," Shawn conceded the moment. "Maybe I'll catch you later. I know Mr. Jorss said he wasn't interested in hanging out, but if you want some company sometimes, just let me know. I'm ... just right over there." He grinned broadly.

  Those gray eyes followed his sweeping hand briefly before turning back up to the house. Shawn was sure for a few moments that Casey was going to shut him out just like the uncle did, but the young man drew a deep breath as if making a resolve.

  "Yeah, maybe."

  Well, that was better than a no, Shawn thought. He smiled back and waved as Casey started up the path to his uncle's home. He watched those strong calf muscles tightening as the guy climbed the rocky path. His mind strayed over the thought of those well worn khakis shifting over the bare ass underneath and had to turn away before he found himself following the guy.

  Shit, he grumbled to himself, I really need to stop perving on the guy before I totally freak him out and scare him away. Maybe I do need to head into town and do some bar hopping tonight.

  As he headed back across the sand toward his own property, he risked a glance back to see Casey reaching the top of the path. He reached the steps to the deck, and Shawn grinned when the guy turned to look down at him. He waved again, hoping that had been a good sign that Casey might be interested, and was rewarded with a small wave back before the guy disappeared inside the house.

  Damn, Shawn thought with a grin, I'll take that.

  ****

  Casey focused on not running up the path. He didn't want the guy to think he was afraid or anything, but hell, he was terrified that Uncle Martin would wake up and come out on the deck looking for him. And if he'd found him talking with their handsome neighbor, Casey knew that his leash would suddenly become much shorter. His hand fluttered to the chain at his neck, knowing Martin could reset the parameters of his confinement, and the small battery in the locking mechanism would assail his nervous system with a painful jolt.

  He jumped up the two steps to the side of the deck and quietly slipped inside. He took a moment to listen, but didn't hear any sounds yet. Thank goodness. He knew it wouldn't be long before Martin was up though, so he set about making coffee and some toast and eggs for breakfast.

  He resisted the urge to go back out on the deck and peek over the rail at Shawn again. It was obvious the man hadn't been up long, as his black—or was it brown?—hair was tousled and unstyled. Of course, maybe being on the island he just didn't care much anymore. Although, Casey was glad that Shawn kept his jaw closely shaven and hadn't just stopped shaving because he was out in the middle of nowhere. It would remind him too much of Uncle Martin if he didn't, and he certainly didn't need that image popping in with the other lustful thoughts he'd recently been having of Shawn.

  His uncle didn't make things any easier either by planting ideas that anyone who found out about his 'uniqueness' would most certainly exploit him to their advantage. And Casey had seen enough news to know that it was human nature to do so. So many people from what he saw on the news clips on his tablet were selfishly looking out only for themselves. And he knew, given the opportunity, anyone—even Shawn Brockton—would take advantage of divulging his secret for fame or fortune, or both. He was certain that Roshan would have, which made the heartbreak their short affair even easier to dismiss. Martin was probably the only one he could ever trust not to betray his secret.

  But maybe he could still see the guy occasionally, without Martin knowing. After all, it wasn't like Martin didn't leave practically every day to work a few hours in the village and head into town for groceries and supplies. And even though Casey knew he did it to get away from Casey's presence and the constant reminder of Thomas's death, Casey had hated feeling even more alone. At least with Martin still at the house, he wasn't really alone, even if he was ignored most of the time. There was at least the reminder of another person's presence in the click of shoes through the halls, the opening and closing of doors, the gurgle of the coffee maker.

  But now, Casey had another option to the oppressive silence that Martin's absence left. He could actually, well maybe he could, possibly... meet with Shawn sometimes (and probably his wife), while Martin was gone.

  Hell, it wasn't like Casey wasn't a regular guy. He could talk with the neighbors. Maybe even walk. Or swim...

  He just wouldn't shift unless he knew Shawn (well, and his wife, if she ever came out) wasn't around. It wasn't like he had to shift every day, he just enjoyed swimming more when he did. Other than nights of the full moon, he could decide when and where to shift, and if he absolutely felt the need, he could use the tank of course.

  Yes, he thought, I can do this. I can maybe spend a little time with someone other than Uncle Martin for a change. God knows, he desperately needed it. Martin hadn't spared him much time in the last few years. He didn't blame him, of course. Really, how could Martin even stand to look at him when he'd caused Uncle Thomas's death?

  Damn, I really need to stop thinking about that today, he thought as he grabbed a mug from the cupboard. Some days he just couldn't stop thinking about it, others he managed to numb himself to everything as he dove under the turquoise waters, submerging himself in another world where he was free from the pain of guilt and loss.

  "That for me?"

  Casey jolted, not having heard Martin come into the kitchen. The cup slipped and shattered on the floor.

  "Shit," he cursed as he immediately dropped to pick up the pieces. He managed to glance up at his uncle, noting the confused frown on the man's face.

  "You okay?"

  "Y-yeah," he stammered, as he reached for the small broom and dustpan to scoop up the rest of the shards. "You just startled me that's all."

  "Really? Were you that lost in thought?" Martin asked, as he stepped around Casey's kneeling figure to grab another mug.

  "Yeah, I guess I was."

  "Hmmm," Martin hummed as he poured some coffee, "what had you so lost in that little mind of yours?"

  While Martin sounded amused outwardly, Casey still sensed a bit of sarcasm in his tone. He took a moment to dump the remnants of the mug into the trash before turning to face his uncle.

  "I was thinking of Uncle Thomas," he said quietly.

  That caused Martin to tense momentarily before he turned and grabbed some sugar for his coffee. "I see. Were you thinking of anything in particular?"

  Casey knew if he mentioned one of his happier memories, Martin would find a way to ruin it. He'd done it before. Like when he'd shared the memory of his tenth birthday where Thomas had dressed up like Darth Vader and he had dressed up like Luke Skywalker and they'd had a light saber fight in the middle of the living room. It had been one of his favorite memories, and shortly after Thomas's death when he'd been grieving and scared, he'd shared it with Uncle Martin. Martin had told him Thomas hated the Star Wars movies and all their hype and had only put up with it all and pretended to like it for Casey; hell, he'd said, they didn't even really know what day Casey's real birthday was. June 4th was just
a day they'd picked.

  He hadn't celebrated a birthday since.

  So he decided to go with the truth, as much as it still hurt, it was something that was already painful and there wasn't much else Martin could say to make it worse.

  "I was thinking about the day he died," Casey stated as calmly as he could.

  He almost let out a smirk at the way his uncle paused with his coffee partway to his mouth. Guess he wasn't expecting that answer. Well, good, maybe it'd keep him from asking.

  Martin managed to blink away the look of anguish that crossed his face at the mention of his partner and love. "Ahh, so remembering how you killed him, huh? Yep, that is definitely a day I won't forget either."

  Casey bit his lip to keep from responding. He knew from past experience that letting his uncle see his guilt just made the man more likely to rub it in.

  "Yes, sir," Casey said softly, and without looking back, he took his coffee out of the kitchen to his room upstairs, leaving the now cold eggs and toast on the counter.

  He dropped the mug heavily on his dresser before he felt a lone tear escape the corner of his eye. He brushed it away quickly. He moved to his large bathroom, turning on the water for the shower. As he waited a moment for it to warm up, he gazed out the large window.

  Shawn was walking in the surf, and Casey immediately let thoughts of the man's gentle blue eyes chase away the guilt threatening to consume him this morning. Maybe it would be worth the risk to see Shawn again. Maybe he just needed a distraction from his pain and the burden of guilt. Maybe he didn't have to be so lonely anymore.

  Chapter 11

  Of course, Martin didn't go into the village that afternoon or the next day either. He'd said something about having a headache. And even though he'd spent pretty much the whole day locked up in his study, Casey had known slipping out wasn't an option.

  But finally, Martin did leave, after Casey had spent the last two days fretting over his decision to meet up with Shawn again. He was beginning to think that Martin knew something, but he realized he was just being paranoid and needed to relax.

  Casey had purposefully kept himself ensconced in the library that morning so his uncle wouldn't see his anxiety. Martin had poked his head in the door to let Casey know he was leaving as he usually did, stating he'd be back around three and they could do an early dinner. He even hinted about going out on the boat and doing a little pearl diving, but Casey didn't get his hopes up. Martin often dangled that sweet tidbit in front of him only to change his mind later.

  Casey waited until he heard the front door close before he moved to the window, edging the curtain aside to watch his uncle climb into his SUV and turn around in front of the house before heading out over the mile long land bridge connecting them to the Sri Lankan mainland.

  Now for the hard part: waiting to make sure Martin was really gone. It was rare he came back, but there were those rare instances that he'd forget something and head back, usually within a half hour. It was eleven a.m. now. He rubbed his suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans.

  He headed upstairs to change into his swim trunks. He didn't need them often, as he usually just shed whatever clothes he had on before getting in the water, but that wasn't an option today.

  Shit, he suddenly straightened, realizing Shawn had probably already seen him naked. Martin had said Shawn had probably seen him that morning he'd come to visit. A flush crept over his skin as he glanced down, hoping his body wasn't too terrible. Compared to Shawn's creamy, muscular body, Casey felt rather scrawny.

  Well, there was nothing he could do about it now if he had. And the man had come over to meet him, so obviously his lanky body didn't matter. Well, fuck, Casey chastised himself, of course it didn't matter, he has his fucking wife or girlfriend or whatever waiting for him. He had to stop looking at the man like a piece of meat, damn it. The guy was just lonely for someone else to talk to.

  He quickly slipped into a pair of rather baggy swim trunks and a loose fitting t-shirt, figuring he could hide his rather dismal string-bean of a body behind the loose clothes. Slipping on his leather sandals, he grabbed a protein bar as he headed out the back door.

  Stepping down the stairs from the back deck, he couldn't help but take one more glance back towards the road connecting them to the rest of civilization. It was quiet, no sign of any vehicles. Good.

  Casey turned toward their neighbor's property, wondering if Shawn was even going to be out here today. He didn't see tall, dark, and handsome anywhere. Maybe he was with his wife. Shit, they could even have gone into town. He hadn't thought to pay attention to whether or not the jeep was missing.

  Squinting through the mini-forest separating the two properties, he couldn't make out if a vehicle was there. He could barely see that the cottage was there, let alone something much smaller like the jeep.

  Shrugging, he decided he might as well enjoy the fresh air while he could. Goodness knows Martin insisted on him staying inside except late at night now. Fortunately, Martin didn't know he'd slipped out a few times in the early morning too. But he was beginning to miss his daytime swims. They were a bit less stressful, as he didn't usually run into sharks or barracuda and such in the middle of the day. They tended to hunt in the early morning and late at night, so he'd had a couple of close encounters lately. Not that they usually bothered him, but one never knew either.

  He munched on the protein bar as he trudged his way to the sandy part of the beach. Another glance told him he really was alone and Shawn Brockton was nowhere around. He kicked off his sandals and stepped into the tide, letting the warm water rush over his toes. He could feel the sand slipping and receding around his feet as the tide was pulled back out.

  He loved that feeling, the fluidity of the ground, how the beach was constantly in flux. He stared down at his bare feet slowly becoming buried in the sand as it shifted under and around them with each flow of the tide. He wriggled his toes as the sand slid between them.

  "Hey."

  He jumped, nearly falling on his ass because his feet were mucked down in the sand. "Shit," he cursed, as a strong hand caught him by the arm to steady him.

  "Sorry about that," Shawn apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you. Again."

  Casey glanced up in embarrassment at the other man. They were nearly the same height, with Shawn maybe a couple inches taller. "You didn't," he said quickly, but Shawn's quirked eyebrow told him the man didn't believe him. "Well, you did, but it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention."

  "I noticed," Shawn grinned, and Casey noted that Shawn had taken a step back, graciously giving Casey some space.

  And Casey was grateful for the slight distance because now he could take in the whole wonderful package Shawn presented. His face was clean shaven, like yesterday, as well as every other time he'd gotten a glimpse of him before. Today, he had on a rather tight fitting white tank, allowing Casey to see those bicep muscles he'd ogled from the deck up close and personal. The swim trunks were smaller than Casey's, but not so small they kept Casey from imagining what might be...

  "Is there something down there I should be aware of?" he joked, looking down at the sand around Casey's feet.

  Casey's head shot up from his perusal of his neighbor. He could feel a flush creeping up his neck but managed to refocus on the conversation. Casey smiled at the teasing. "No, just watching the sand swirling around."

  "Hmmm, sounds interesting," Shawn said seriously, and Casey started laughing a bit more.

  "If you haven't noticed," Casey said, waving his arm around. "There isn't a whole lot to do around here."

  "Very true," Shawn admitted. "After a while it does get rather boring sunning and swimming all day," he grinned.

  Casey loved how that grin was focused on him. It seemed like it had been so long since someone had smiled at him and actually was happy he was there.

  ****

  Shawn caught the way that the sandy blond glanced away from him, after focusing on his mouth for a moment. Shawn grinned even wider. He
shifted to bring Casey's attention back to him, then he pinned his gaze on Casey's. "So how long are you visiting for this time? Maybe we can—"

  "Visiting?" Casey echoed.

  Shawn caught the surprise in the other man's voice and frowned. "Yeah, your uncle said you come to visit sometimes."

  "Oh, yeah, I, uh, just got here a couple days ago," Casey mumbled, not sure what lie to tell to keep up his uncle's appearances.

  Okay, now Shawn knew the guy was lying, and it didn't make any sense. Why would he lie about how long he had been here? "But I just saw you on the deck the other afternoon."

  Casey froze.

  Damn, the guy was going to bolt, Shawn thought. "Hey, hey," he said softly, soothingly. "Look, I'm sorry, I just was confused—"

  "No," Casey exhaled heavily as if he'd been holding his breath for hours. He looked really upset and worried, and Shawn was afraid that Casey would refuse to talk with him anymore. The smaller man dragged his hand through those soft looking honey locks, looking both torn and resigned.

  "Can we...just sit for a minute?" Casey finally whispered.

  "Yeah, yeah, of course." Shawn jumped at the chance to continue the conversation wherever Casey wanted to. He was just glad that the guy hadn't run back up the hillside and disappeared back inside the house.

  Shawn took the initiative to quickly find a spot away from the tide that was relatively free of shells and rocks. He plopped down first, so he wouldn't appear to be looming over Casey. He looked up to see Casey hesitating, the guy was staring anxiously back up at his house biting his bottom lip between his teeth. It was such an adorable look if he hadn't looked so conflicted and worried about something.

  Finally, the lean body slowly eased down near him, angled slightly in his direction. With a last glance at his house, Casey let out a long breath.

  "The truth is... I live here. With my uncle," Casey finally admitted, as if it were some huge state secret and now the world might end because of it.