Page 18 of Hummingbird and Kraken

Declan didn’t seem to notice his agitation. He tossed the blanket on the couch and strode toward Geir wearing nothing but the silvery make-up that still shadowed his eyes. He was all lean lines and soft, subtle curves. Geir’s blood stirred and he met him halfway, wrapping him in his arms. The base of his spine tingled, and his tentacles wanted to make an appearance. Declan was his and no one else’s.

Declan tilted his head up for a kiss, which Geir was more than happy to grant. But once the kiss broke, Declan’s questions came spilling out again. “Hey, how come he called you grandfather? How old are you really? And did I get you into trouble?”

“I’m not in trouble,” he answered. Because the Chief did not have that power over him. He wasn’t ready to answer the other questions, though he was sure that Declan’s fertile imagination was already at work.

“Oh, good. Hey, I get to sleep in your bed now, right? Let me go move my things.” Declan disentangled himself, and Geir felt relief settle through his body. Declan was staying. Those words meant something.

He sat on the solid oak chair at the corner of his room, a piece that he had carved so long ago he couldn’t remember it. A hundred years? Two?

He wasn’t sure that all of this was real. Was this enchanting creature, who had only arrived mere hours ago, really taking over his room? The move was bold and exciting, nothing that Geir would have even considered.

He liked it, though.

He watched Declan flit around, humming, dancing, and singing to himself, as he discovered unused shelves and nestled himself into Geir’s private space. Colors flew through the air. “Like a hummingbird,” he murmured out loud.

“What was that?”

Geir hadn’t meant to speak out loud. He went months, sometimes, without saying a word.

Declan crawled up into his lap, looking inordinately pleased. “Did you just give me a nickname? I can be your hummingbird. I’ve seen pictures of them, but do they really hum? Like, so you can hear them?”

“They do.” Geir stroked down his hair. “They are small. And fast. Their wings move so quickly that they hover in the air. That’s what makes the hum. I’ve heard, though, that their hearts beats are so rapid that you cannot recognize the individual beats. Their throats are a beautiful blue-green color,” he touched Declan’s throat, “like jewels.”

Declan melted into him. “So I’m your hummingbird?”

Geir nodded. Declan felt like everything, as impossible as that seemed.

He liked the idea of Declan in his room, though. He couldn’t imagine anyone else who he would have let in, and he also couldn’t explain the sense of peace he felt in seeing Declan’s belongings mixed in with his own. This was going to be a lot of change. Especially if Declan kept talking with other people and bringing them around.

But he found himself maybe, just possibly, interested in change if Declan was at the heart of it.

Chapter 7

Declan

Declan slowly awoke feeling more relaxed and content than he had in a long time. It took him only an instant to realize why.

Geir.

He moved instinctively to stretch and found his legs trapped beneath Geir’s heavy calf and one muscular arm over his shoulders. His arms were trapped against Geir’s broad chest and he pressed a soft kiss to the closest skin.

He wiggled gently, finally managing to stretch out and roll over, only to have Geir capture him back up again.

Perfect.

Now he only had to hope that it stayed that way. Yesterday had been absolutely dreamy. They hadn’t had sex again, but Geir had stayed close by his side all day. They’d hiked through the woods—well, Declan had called it hiking and Geir had laughed at him. There were trees, though, and long paths, so that should count, he decided. Geir had taken him to see all his favorite places.

When it got hot, they’d gone swimming, splashing and laughing in the water. Declan convinced Geir to show off his kraken form again, which he still ranked as The Coolest Thing Ever in His Life.

Then, Declan had settled down to sketch while Geir sat beside him. He knew that watching someone sketch was about as exciting as watching paint dry, but Geir hadn’t seemed bored at all. He’d just watched Declan, and sometimes watched the trees or the water.

It had felt calm and safe. When he got tired of sketching, he hadn’t even thought twice about crawling into Geir’s lap. Geir had accepted him with open arms. If all of his days could be like that, he’d be the happiest boy on the planet.

Morning light filtered through the curtains and he shifted in Geir’s arms, kicking off some of the blankets. Now that he was a bit more awake, it was more apparent that every day couldn’t be like that. Claiming someone you just met sure sounded sexy in books, but it probably wasn’t a good idea in real life. Real life was shitty like that.

And Geir hadn’t said anything else about owning him, or even wanting him, after that first time.

He’d just moved all of his clothes in without even asking, and that felt a little better, but also a little awkward. Like, Geir had gone along with it, but had he actually wanted it? What the hell had Declan been thinking?