Chapter Nine
Nine
Cyrus
“Hey, buddy!” Atlas greeted me with a smile as I shuffled through the doors of Leviathan. He leaned across the front desk and waved me over to him.
“Chai feeling sick again?” I asked.
Atlas frowned and nodded in confirmation.
Chai was one of the trainers at the gym, a young minotaur who had been missing a lot of time due to some mysterious illness.
Atlas had taken to covering the front desk in her absence, though a wolven greeting you with a sharp-toothed smile the moment you walked through the door had a bit of a different effect.
“Poor thing,” I said. “She can’t seem to catch a break.”
“Yeah, she’s going through it. I think Tegan and I are going to swing by her house and check on her later this week. Are you training Reece today?”
“Indeed, I am. He’s meeting me here at ten.” My tentacle unraveled from my arm and pulled on the bright red whistle hanging from my neck. “I even got this bad boy. Wanted to be professional, you know.”
Atlas chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, man. I’m sure Reece is going to love that. You better watch yourself with that one, Cy.”
My tentacles clenched tight to my forearms. Oh, I’d watch myself with Reece, all right.
It was an innocent enough comment, but the fact that he was my mate had my mind reeling with all sorts of possibilities.
“Cyrus? You all right?” Atlas leaned in closer, his head tilted and his bright yellow eyes searching my face.
Oh yeah, Atlas. Just having sexual fantasies about your soon-to-be brother-in-law. No biggie.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and shrugged my shoulders. “I’m fine. I’m, uh, just a little tired. Fallon got in late last night and woke me up.”
Not a huge stretch from the truth. Fallon did get in late last night after sampling his current flavor of the week. So much for cuffing season…
“Okay, well, you know I’m here for you if you ever need to talk, right?” he said, his ears drooping slightly.
My friends were the best, but this concern over my mental state working its way into every single conversation needed to end.
“Right. Right. I’m aware. And, uh, I meant to tell you, and Fallon, too, that I’ve been painting again. I rang Eduardo about a gallery show the other day.”
Atlas flashed me a wide grin, the pointed tips of his teeth peeking out from beneath his lip. “Right on, bud!” He reached across the counter and shook my shoulder. “I knew you’d kick that painter’s block. Do you have a theme for the show?”
“Not yet. It’s kind of a hodgepodge right now, but I think I’ll be able to tie it all together.”
Realization dawned on me.
What in the goddess’s name had I done?
I was going to exhibit a gallery full of paintings of Reece Rollins and hope that no one noticed?
I’d already sent Eduardo photos of my current pieces. There was no way he’d let me back out now.
Besides, the gallery wasn’t in Briar Glenn—the town was much too small for that. It was in the art district of the neighboring town, Rock Harbor, about a forty-minute drive away. And it wasn’t like my friends came to all of my shows anyway.
It would be fine.
Everything would be fine.
I was getting myself worked up over nothing.
I’d handle it when the time came. For now, I had more pressing matters. Like molding Reece Rollins into an Olympic swimmer.
“Well, I should probably head over to the pool. I want to do a few laps to recharge before Reece gets here. Say hello to the missus for me, will you?”
At that, Atlas smiled and his body swayed with the wagging of his tail. “Will do. And, Cy, good luck. You know where to find me if you need me.”
Why was he so bloody worried about me and Reece? I could handle him just fine.
I gave him a little wave with my tentacle and shuffled off down the corridor that led to the pool.
As usual, the pool room was empty. I could count on my tentacles the number of times I’d run into other swimmers here, but that’s what made it the ideal place to train Reece.
I’d also heard from Fallon that it was the ideal place for other things, too. Damn voyeur.
I fixed my wide eyes on the clock.
It was only nine thirty, so I had plenty of time for a swim before Reece arrived.
Even though I’d be in the water for some of his drills, I planned to spend the majority of the session on the pool deck to monitor his form.
From what I’d seen the last time we were in the pool together, we had a lot to work on.
I scuttled to the edge of the pool as fast as I could before diving in and barely making a splash, the water gliding over my body.
I propelled myself through the water like a torpedo, the lengths of my tentacles undulating, the thin skin that connected them opening like a parachute and then closing again.
As the salt water absorbed into my skin, my body hummed with pleasure.
The pool wasn’t the churning depths of the open ocean, but it was still a comfort, one I was thankful for each time my body needed a little pick-me-up.
I swam the length of the pool, twisting and twirling in the water until my three hearts were pounding. I drifted to the bottom, lying on my back and blinking up at where the sunlight filtered down through the water while my heart rates slowed.
My mind drifted back to my mate. All I could think about lately was Reece.
He had looked breathtaking emerging from the pool. Water trickled down his body and collected in the fluffy happy trail that disappeared beneath his swim trunks.
I wanted to run my tentacle along it before sliding it down his shorts, wrapping it around the stiff length of his cock, and giving it harsh strokes.
It had been so long since I’d been intimate with someone.
Sure, I’d had partners. Tentacles were actually quite popular amongst humans, but I’d never felt that connection.
If you had told me centuries ago that a handsome but prickly redheaded human would be my mate, I would have laughed.
But here we were.
I noticed a shadowy figure staring down at me from the edge of the pool.
Reece was here for our training session.
I shot toward the surface, giving him a wide smile the moment my head crested out of the water.
“Fuck, you’re impressive in the water.” He shook his head and the corners of his lips turned up in a slight smile.
To most people, it probably wouldn’t seem like that big of a compliment. I was a kraken, after all. But hearing it from Reece. Hearing it from my mate…you would have thought he’d hung the stars and named one after me.
“Thank you.” I let out a shy laugh and hauled myself out of the water with my tentacles. Reece stood next to where I sat on the edge of the pool, and I stared up at him. “I watched a bunch of videos about swimming techniques last night and I have some ideas on how we can improve your form.”
What I really meant was I was up until three a.m. watching swimming instructional videos for triathletes in preparation for this, but he didn’t need all the details.
Reece scrubbed a hand through his beard and looked down at me. “I, uh, I really do appreciate this, Cyrus.”
“It’s no problem. Truly. Why don’t you get changed and we’ll get started?”
He nodded, then walked off toward the locker room.
Again, I was hit with disbelief. Reece Rollins was my mate, and today we would be spending time together. Alone.
Gods, he looked so good, too. But not nearly as good as he did when he emerged from the locker room a few minutes later.
Reece walked over to me in his swim trunks, his well-toned abs tapering to that delicious happy trail.
“Do you have your swim cap and goggles this time?” I teased, sliding the whistle back and forth along my neck nervously.
“Yes, Coach,” he responded with a wry smile curling his lips.
Coach. I liked the sound of that.
He pulled the cap out of his pocket and slipped it onto his head before putting on his goggles. “Look okay?” he asked as he tucked a few stray strands of light orange hair into the cap.
I bit back a laugh. With his swim cap and goggles on, he looked a bit like me.
“You look great but, um, what’s with the trunks?” I asked, my gaze gliding down his body unapologetically. He didn’t seem to notice, though.
Reece looked down, tugging at the loose material of his trunks. His brows pinched together, an adorable furrow forming between them. “What about them?”
“Well, you already have a lot of drag because of your muscles. If we can eliminate any additional drag, you’ll swim faster. So, you know, wearing trunks that are a little more fitted is great for reducing drag.” It was basic fluid dynamics.
He put his hands on his hips and bit his lip. “So, like a banana hammock? I really don’t want my junk hanging out there.”
My laughter echoed across the empty room. While I’d enjoy seeing it, that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. “Goodness, no. They make something called jammers. They’re essentially compression shorts you can swim in.”
How was it that I’d figured this out in one night of research, but he was totally unaware of what jammers were?
I got the impression that Reece just automatically assumed he would be good at something. No research needed.
It made sense that someone like him would have unwavering self-confidence.
Must be nice.
Reece puffed out a relieved breath. “Fuck, thank goodness. I have a tri suit, but I can’t really use that for pool training.
I’ll order myself some jammers after we finish up.
” He shifted his weight from leg to leg, flexing his toned calves.
“Um, speaking of, when we’re done training, I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch together? You know, as a thank-you.”
Had my mate just asked me out?
I mean, technically, it was a platonic lunch date. But the fact that he asked and that we’d be spending time together outside of training was enough to make my hearts flutter.
I couldn’t help the wide smile that spread over my face. “That would be very nice, thank you. Did you have somewhere in mind?”
He pursed his lips, his mustache curling down over his mouth. It was adorable. Like a grumpy walrus. “My first thought was sushi because I’m on a meal plan right now, but I wasn’t sure if—”
My fins flapped as I laughed. “Reece. I’m a sea creature. Fish eat other fish all the time. Sushi is perfect.”
His face turned pink as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Sushi it is, then. What are we doing today?” Reece fixed his gaze on my whistle, the bright green of his irises intensified by his goggles.
“I was thinking I’d have you do a few laps back and forth, get a better sense of your form, then we’d work on corrections and move to a few drills. How long do we have before the triathlon?” I asked.
“Well, it’s July now, so that gives us about three months.” His expression dropped slightly.
It was obvious he was nervous about this part of the race and doubted his abilities, but I was determined to help.
“Hey,” I said, stepping closer to him. I had to remind myself not to touch him, even though my instincts as his mate were urging me to comfort him. “We have plenty of time. We’re going to get you where you need to be. You’ve got this.”
He nodded and I gave him a reassuring smile before moving toward the edge of the pool.
I brought the whistle up to my lips and gave it two harsh blows, the shrill sound bouncing off the walls of the open room.
“Fuck,” Reece whispered under his breath and clenched his jaw.
“What are you doing just standing there?” I asked. “Get your ass in the pool.”
Gods, I could already tell I was going to love this.