I shrug. “Might as well, before I chicken out.”

“He said he was going out with someone for lunch and would be back later.”

“Who has he been seeing lately? Do you know?” I ask Otter. Ever since the da

y when Creed had told me about Jonah and Otter, he had been taking off at random times, saying he was going out or hanging out with friends or going to do something. He never elaborated, never explained himself. When asked, he would grin and change the subject. Creed had never been one to keep secrets, so it was a little disconcerting to me that it seemed that we were both doing it.

Otter shakes his head. “I don’t know. He never brings it up to me. I think he’s started dating someone here, but I’ve never seen anyone come around here or heard him talking to anyone on the phone.”

“This whole thing would be easier for me if he was seeing a guy,” I tell Otter, who laughs. “That way, he can’t get pissed off at me for keeping this from him.”

“I highly doubt my little brother is getting done in the ass by some dude,” Otter says, and we both shudder at the thought. That would just be… gross.

“Did he say what time he was going to be back?”

“He said sometime tonight. Do I need to make myself scarce or something?”

I batten down my resolve. It’s either now or never. “Could you?” I ask Otter. “If he gets back in time, maybe you can just go to my house and relieve Mrs. Paquinn of her Kid-watching duties for me. I told her I would be back by seven at the latest.”

“That’ll work. But you better call me if you need anything. I swear to God, Bear, if Creed starts being stupid, you better let me know.”

I bat my eyes at him. “Why, so you can come rescue me?”

He kisses me again. “Yeah, and so I can shove my foot up his ass.”

I laugh. “My hero,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him back down on top of me.

“Shower?” he says hopefully into my neck. Otter has this weird (and oh so hot) thing about doing it in the shower.

“Shower,” I say happily. I shout as he picks me up with one arm and throws me over his shoulder. It’s okay, though. I have a great view of his ass.

Maybe this whole Creed thing won’t be as bad as I think.

AN HOUR later, we hop back into his room, dripping wet and furiously spent. I want nothing more than to curl up under the covers with Otter, but the Kid is at home, and I need to find out where Creed is. I yell at Otter when he smacks my bare ass with his hand as I reach down to pull my phone out of my pants. He laughs and lies on his bed on his back, grinning at me and wiggling his eyebrows as he runs his hand slowly up and down his body. My mouth goes dry for a second as my cock tries to twitch into gear, but it’s a no-go. Six times in four hours is enough to make anybody exhausted, even if the object of their desires is splayed out in front of them, doing their best to get a rise. Otter smirks as I grumble and sit down on the bed next to him, trying to ignore his self-ministrations. I open my phone and am surprised to see five missed calls. No voice mails. I hadn’t been able to hear it ring from the shower. I frown as I go to the missed call list and see that the Kid has called me three times and Mrs. Paquinn the other two.

Trying to keep the low-level panic at bay, I show the phone to Otter. He stares at it thoughtfully and reaches over me to the nightstand and grabs his phone. “The Kid called me a few times too,” he says. “And another number I don’t recognize.” He reads it off, and it matches Mrs. Paquinn’s cell phone.

“Why wouldn’t they leave any voice mails?” I ask, my voice a little higher than it should be. My hands start to shake slightly, and Otter notices it and grabs them in his hands, rubbing softly.

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Bear,” Otter says gently. “If it was something big, they would have left a message, right?” He takes one of his hands away and reaches to his phone and presses a button and puts it to his ear.

“Who are you calling?” I ask, trying to calm myself down.

“The Kid,” he says, smiling reassuringly at me. “They probably just want to know what time you’re getting home.” His smile slides slowly from his voice as I hear Ty’s voice mail pick up. “Hmm,” he mutters. He ends the call, then dials another number. “Mrs. Paquinn?” he says after a moment. “It’s Otter Thompson. I’m fine. How are you?” I motion my hands in front of Otter’s face, telling him to get to the point. “Did you call my phone earlier? You did? Oh, he’s right here. Yes. Is the Kid okay? I’m sorry, I meant Ty. Is Tyson alright?” He covers the mouthpiece with his hand and says, “Ty’s fine, Bear.” I feel a surge of relief wash through me and flop back on the bed. Jesus Christ. Otter goes back to the phone. “I’m sorry? Now? Yes, I can tell him. Tell Ty that we’ll be there in a few minutes. Okay, bye.” He clips off the phone and stares down at it thoughtfully.

“What is it?” I ask nervously, a sinking feeling rising up in my stomach again.

“She said….” He pauses and then cocks his head to the side. “She said that you need to get home right away to ‘help resolve a situation’.”

“A situation? What the hell does that mean?” I ask, already shoving my legs into my shorts.

“I don’t know, Papa Bear. I guess we’ll see when we get there.”

I groan inwardly. It looks like I’m not going to be talking to Creed tonight.

TEN minutes later, we pull up into my apartment complex. Otter parks his Jeep next to mine, where it had been since he’d picked me up earlier today. He turns off the Jeep and turns to me and smiles crookedly. I want to smile back, but I can’t, but he seems to know this, and it’s okay with him. He leans over the center console and kisses me quickly, his stubble rough and wonderful against my face. Otter squeezes my hand, and we get out of the car and make our way up the steps and get to the door. I hesitate before sliding the key in the lock. I don’t know why, but I suddenly have a very bad feeling about what’s on the other side of this door. It seems Ty is okay and nothing appears to be wrong with Mrs. Paquinn, and for the life of me, I can’t think of what else this could possibly be about. Don’t ask me, it says. I’m just as confused on this as you are. I feel Otter put his hand on my back, and it gives me a weak burst of courage, and I unlock the door and walk inside.

As soon as we’re inside, the Kid runs into the hallway and launches himself into my arms. It catches me by surprise and knocks me back gently into Otter. I can feel the Kid trembling, and he puts his face into my chest and his heart beats rapidly against mine. I glance back at Otter, a look of concern marring his handsome face. He reaches from behind me and puts his arms around my waist and brings them up the Kid’s back and rubs him soothingly.

Tags: T.J. Klune The Seafare Chronicles Romance
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