STORY EXCERPT

“What should my choice for revenge be today?”

Being a senior in college was fun but turning twenty-one at the same time made things so much more entertaining. Chauncey “Chuckles” Sawyer had that privilege, as did his best friend and roommate Ryan Norton.

In short, Sawyer and Ryan clicked. They had bonded in their San Diego high school over a shared planned future college major—marine sciences. Sharing a double room at the San Diego School of Oceanic Research was a no-brainer. They were getting their undergraduate degrees this spring, so the prospect excited them with possibilities.

Sawyer was a morning person while Ryan wasn’t. Therefore, teasing Ryan was a pleasure Sawyer indulged himself with every day. Whether flaunting the scent of coffee under Ryan’s nose, slipping ice cubes made of chili under the covers, or tying streamers between Ryan’s hair and the bedpost, Sawyer used his incorrigible imagination to his best friend’s detriment.

“Ooh, I know.”

Smirking, Sawyer fished out a permanent red marker from his desk and crept up to Ryan’s bed. His plan was to draw penis shapes all over Ryan’s exposed body parts, including his face. That would teach the jerk to work too late into the night while listening to thumping music and twerking on the office chair that creaked with each move while Sawyer was trying to get some shut-eye.

As he got closer, though, Sawyer heard Ryan’s soft snuffles and couldn’t help but smile.

“Aww, you’re so cute. For now. But not for much longer.” Sawyer let out a quiet devilish laugh, careful not to rouse Ryan.

Brown in eye, hair, and skin color as a native Hawaiian, Ryan had robust muscles and a firm butt. Sawyer had noticed that fact mainly because chicks often mentioned Ryan’s anatomical goodies to him. Both men in their twenties were swimmers, divers, and surfers, so they were lean, lithe, fit, and strong.

Unlike Ryan, though, Sawyer had red hair, tan skin with freckles, and green eyes. Just to annoy him, Ryan sometimes said that Sawyer would make for a stunning Irish woman with his red hair and green eyes. That usually earned Ryan a punch in the gut.

Hence the revenge of the red pen. Inside, Sawyer cackled maniacally in the vein of a comic book villain, anticipation making his blood race.

Ryan shifted on the bed, a low moan emanating from his throat.

Sawyer stopped, his hand with the pen hovering over his best friend. But Ryan didn’t wake up. Should he continue? Sawyer wondered if he could even do this without startling Ryan. He had managed the whipped cream pie in the face prank, but that had been easy. This was not.

“Hush, babe. Sleep.” Sawyer hoped his soft crooning would be enough to keep Ryan under the spell of sleep. In addition to his briny cologne, Ryan’s covers held a tinge of chlorine from his stint in the swimming pool last night.

Another groan emerged from between Ryan’s lips. His body shivered and twisted as if in pain or caught in the throes of passion. His head threw back and murmured, “Sawyer…”

Sawyer grinned. His best friend was having a dream about him? How adorable.

Before Sawyer could proceed, however, Ryan inched from his side to lie on his back—and his blanket tented at the crotch.

Sawyer’s eyes flew open wide in shock. Was he really seeing what he thought? Ryan had uttered his name…that made no sense. Sawyer knew that Ryan was bisexual, but that didn’t mean Ryan was some lecher who couldn’t get enough of ogling straight boys. It was one aspect of Ryan’s character, not his most dominant feature.

His red pen forgotten, Sawyer stayed crouched, frozen, waiting to see what would happen next. And Ryan didn’t disappoint.

Writhing in the sheets, Ryan whimpered, his skin flushed and sweaty.

“Sawyer…” he whispered again, his voice hoarse and rough with sleep.

Sawyer gulped. This wasn’t happening. Maybe he was the one dreaming? He pinched his own arm in the hopes of jolting back to the real world where his best friend didn’t have sex dreams about him. Alas, he had no such luck.

Indistinct mumblings followed. Sawyer couldn’t utter a single syllable. Except for the fact that his name kept repeating every minute or so.

Then Ryan moaned again, arched his back off the mattress—and the curled sheets around him grew wet at his groin.

Sawyer suppressed a guttural gurgle at the sight.

His prank a thing of the past, he slinked out of the room with his tail between his legs.

* * * *

In the safety of their shared bathroom, Sawyer leaned against the door and worried.

No, Ryan didn’t have a crush on Sawyer. No, he didn’t want to jump in the sack with him. That was impossible. So what else could be happening? Perhaps nothing more complicated than crossed wires within the subconscious. Yeah, unrelated little tidbits of the day getting jumbled.

Sawyer breathed out in relief. There was a simple explanation for everything. The mind was a curious thing. Mixed messages between one’s waking life and dream life.

Then he tensed. Of course, the other option could be true, too. Was Sawyer so irresistible that his animal magnetism and raw sex appeal had caused Ryan to surrender to temptation? Sawyer was hot, no question of that. A swimmer’s build, with broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs, he was a masculine dreamboat.

Yes, Ryan could have succumbed to Sawyer’s tantalizing honey trap.

No, that’s stupid. Sawyer shook his head, grimacing. That was the most egomaniacal and ridiculous thought to ever grace his mind. Ryan wasn’t a hormonal teenager anymore, and neither was Sawyer. They were men who could resist their primal urges—

Oh for fuck’s sake! Ryan didn’t have primitive cravings about Sawyer.

If anything, it was Sawyer who was clearly now obsessing over Ryan.

Someone banged on the door, startling Sawyer.

“Hey, you gonna be in there long? I gotta use the bathroom.” Ryan’s familiar voice eased Sawyer’s concerns. He sure sounded like his usual self.

Sawyer moved out of the way and opened the door. Ryan entered, clutching his sheet to his chest, his face drowsy with sleep as he yawned. Sawyer couldn’t see the damp spot anymore, but he knew it was there. The memory made him blush.

Ryan glared. “Move out of the way, dammit. Shove off.”

He stumbled into the bathroom and Sawyer ducked out at the same time. Thankfully Ryan hadn’t noticed Sawyer’s cheeks that had to look fire-red, for he was burning up. He wondered how long he could maintain a poker face around his best friend from now on?

ADULT EXCERPT

Then only two naked men stood in the pond. Ryan emerged from his merman state with a full-blown erection that sprung up close to the surface. He yearned to be touched by his mate.

Sawyer smirked. “That for me?”

“I’m all for you,” Ryan replied before he could stop himself. Too intense and obsessive, he chastised himself.

Sawyer just chuckled as if he’d heard nothing that troubled him. “I wonder if you’re cold like the sea…”

He fisted the base of Ryan’s cock and squeezed. Ryan moaned, pleasure coursing through his veins. Sawyer flinched and blinked but didn’t let go. Instead, he pumped up and down a couple of times, leisurely, his touch uncertain.

“No, you’re warm,” Sawyer whispered in awe. “Hot even.”

Ryan clenched his hands to keep a tight rein on his self-control. The urge to thrust his hips grew. But he didn’t want to scare Sawyer off. “That feels nice.”

Sawyer chuckled, more hesitantly this time. “Just ’cause you and I both have dicks doesn’t mean we like the same things. What do you like?”

“What you’re doing is great,” Ryan encouraged.

Sawyer frowned then, the corners of his mouth turning down. “But you aren’t moving at all. Clearly I’m not doing this right for you.”

“Oh man…” Ryan released an anxious breath. “I’m trying to be still, so you won’t feel too weirded out.” When Sawyer stopped and glared at him, Ryan blushed. “Okay.”

Letting go of his inhibitions and reservations, Ryan allowed himself to be swept away by the tide of pleasure. His hips pushed back and forth of their own volition, guided by delight. Soon he was lost in a sea of sensations.

Still, he retained a part of his faculties, so Ryan reached out and gripped Sawyer’s cock, too.

He gasped at the discovery. “You’re hard!”

Sawyer laughed, his cheeks pinkened, and his eyes twinkled. “Yeah, well, what’d you expect with everything that’s going on? I love water, I’m in a dream where I can do whatever I want, and I…I love you, too.”

Ryan knew better than to hope that Sawyer meant anything other than friendship, so with a graceful smile he accepted what he could get. “Thanks, pal.”

Sawyer’s eyes narrowed as if suspicious and vexed, but he said nothing. His gaze veered below the belt, and he seemed refocused on giving Ryan a handjob, so Ryan followed suit. They did not speak again for a while, their hands stroking each other’s cocks.

While Ryan couldn’t attest to Sawyer’s feelings, Ryan felt like bursting apart at the seams. Volcanic heat filled his heart and groin. His cock was so hot and hard it practically hurt. He longed to feel the wetness of a man’s mouth. His mate’s mouth. But he knew better than to ask for it from a man who was pretty damn straight.

“Can I, um, suck your cock?” Sawyer asked out of the blue.

Ryan stilled, frozen with confusion. Lust spiked inside him. But doubts plagued him. Did Sawyer really want to do this? He’d assumed a handjob was as far as Sawyer would dare to venture when it came to conquering new sexual horizons. Huh. Apparently not.

Slowly he nodded.

Sawyer gulped, dropped to his knees, grabbed Ryan’s hip, and drew him nearer till Ryan’s prick brushed against his lips. Ryan felt the touch all the way down to his toes and shivered.

“Cold?” Sawyer asked with concern, his warm breath fanning over Ryan’s sensitive organ.

Grinning, Ryan shook his head. “I never get cold in water. If I do, it’s pretense to appear a bit more human. I’m sorry I lied about that.”

To Ryan’s surprise, Sawyer shrugged. “I get it. If I hadn’t seen your eyes change, I would not have believed you being a merman. You seem so human. I understand that the effect could not have appeared out of thin air. One needs to practice in order to deliver a convincing performance.”

Ryan slumped, glum. “So either I’m a liar or a phony. Why do you even forgive me?”

“’Cause you’re my best friend. Duh.” Sawyer pursed his lips.

Without further ado, Sawyer opened his mouth and took Ryan’s cockhead into a hot, moist cavern of perfect, pure bliss that shook Ryan to the core. He’d had his dick sucked before, but with his mate, everything felt brand new, raw and passionate, fiery and earth-shattering. He moaned and shuddered, his fingers threading through Sawyer’s thick hair.

With a snicker, Sawyer pulled back. His grin was smug. “Oh my, babe, are you already unraveling? I just started.” Ryan scowled, inside pleased with Sawyer’s teasing humor. “Don’t fret. I won’t leave you in the blue waters…blue-balled.” Sawyer chuckled at his own jest.

Ryan chimed in. “Jerk.”

Sawyer continued to blow Ryan. Whenever he went deeper, he gagged. But he never once stopped trying. Ryan closed his eyes and swam in an ocean of gratification. Despite this being his best friend’s first time, Sawyer seemed to be a natural. He probed Ryan’s slit with the tip of his tongue, he swiped his tongue around the mushroom head, he stuck it against the sweet spot under the crown, and he sucked with heavenly delight. Ryan’s knees buckled.

Withdrawing, Sawyer steadied Ryan and helped him sit back on the rock. “Too much?”

Ryan couldn’t confess how the touch of his mate affected him. But neither could he lie. “A bit. Feels too good. It’s been a while.”

Sawyer sat back on his haunches and studied Ryan, palms resting on Ryan’s thighs. “How long have you known that I’m your mate? Since, like, teenage hormones kicked in, or way back in the day, since we met as kids?”

Ryan sighed. “Since the beginning. I knew the second I laid eyes on you. All day we swam and played on the beach. I wanted to tell you so badly but…though we were just kids, both just nine years old, at the end of the day I saw you steal glimpses at a neighbor girl I knew, Liliana.”

“So you chose to remain silent about how you felt for me?” Sawyer asked, though his tone of voice suggested he wasn’t really asking.

“I felt it was the best. Even back then I knew you were straight.” Ryan’s erection flagged but he didn’t mind. He’d never dreamed with his mate. He didn’t want to miss this. “Do you think a nine-year-old could have understood the intricacies of a mating bond?”

“Maybe.” But Sawyer’s voice spoke of uncertainty. “Probably not.” Then he cocked his head, a pensive expression gracing his handsome features. “Heck, I’m an adult, and I still don’t get the whole thing. But I do know one thing.” He looked up, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “You taste pretty damn good. I had no idea it’d taste so…sweet. Kind of delicious.”

Ryan beamed and blushed with heat. A smile brought back his enthusiasm. “Thanks.”

A tiny frown marred Sawyer’s forehead. “I’ve never flavored another dude’s cock, so how come I can taste you? I don’t have any memories of this.”

“My memories,” Ryan supplied.

An intense flash sparked in Sawyer’s eyes. His lips thinned. Was he jealous or envious? Ryan held his breath. Then Sawyer rubbed Ryan’s thighs, stirring his dick again. “So how do we do this?”

Ryan voiced his desires because he wasn’t sure he’d get another chance, be it in the dream or the waking world. “W-would you fuck me?”