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 broken 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 short 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 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.