Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

goodnight, Damian returned to his bed and his husband. He held the man close, their heartbeats synchronizing into the age-old rhythm of sleep, and Damian prayed this wouldn't be the last time.
    ****
    Damian woke to the feeling of Kyle's body stretching beside him. The smooth skin of his chest against his own, the scrape of rough leg hair, and the clench and retract of Kyle's strong, blunt fingers on his shoulders had a smile curving his slowly waking lips. All these were things he'd never get enough of, and Damian knew it.
    "Good morning, my love," he rumbled, his voice still thick with sleep.
    Kyle grunted, but opened one eye to peer up at him. A smirk caressed the man's lips and for a moment, they just stared at each other. Damian knew the exact second that the previous day's events resurfaced in Kyle's mind. Kyle's brows creased as a frown marred his open expression.
    "It wasn't a dream, was it?"
    He shook his head. "No, Kyle. It wasn't a dream."
    Kyle's gaze dropped to Damian's chest, and he wondered what the man was thinking. He heard his man let out a slow deep breath, then he nodded once, as if making a great decision. "Okay, then. We need to get up. The bathrooms need to be cleaned before your father comes." He lifted his head and gave him a trembling smile. "What time do you expect him?"
    A surge of emotions roiled inside him, pride, lust, contentment, love. It was all there as he brushed his knuckles across Kyle's cheekbone. "I'm not sure," he whispered. "Let's get dressed, eat, and then I'll be your willing slave to help you clean however you want."
    He liked the wicked grin that flashed across Kyle's face, telling him some of his husband's feisty personality was resurfacing. Damian laughed. Kyle threw a pillow at him. In retaliation, he grabbed his human mate and rolled until he lay on top of him. "I love you, Kyle. Never forget that."
    Kyle smiled up at him, warmth filling his brown eyes. "I know. You should have told me all this long ago, but I still love you. Nothing will ever change that," he assured as he smoothed the pad of his thumb over Damian's bottom lip. He leaned up for a quick kiss, then stated, "Now get up, big guy. My bladder can't handle that kind of pressure right now."
    Barking out a laugh, he rolled off the man and to his feet. Damian watched his Adelfi Psychi's naked backside as Kyle strode into the bathroom, and he fought the urge to join him. Instead, he headed for the kitchen and the coffee, knowing Kyle would need a strong pot after yesterday's excitement.
    He made a cup of tea for himself and Darius, somehow not surprised to see his brother strolling into the room right as it was ready. After his brother took a sip of the English Breakfast blend, Damian told him, "Since you were the bearer of bad news last night, you get to help us with a few chores to get ready."
    Damian grinned as he listened to his brother's groan.
    ****
    Kyle curled his hands into fists, trying to hide their trembling. It had been foolish to expect Damian's father to arrive in a car. After all the talks, all the things his husband had explained, he should have known better, really. It still didn't prepare him for this.
    He'd just finished mopping the bathroom floor when Damian had instructed him to get cleaned up. His father would arrive within twenty minutes, his husband had said. Kyle hurried through a shower and shave, then pulled on a pair of nice jeans and the polo shirt Damian had laid out on the bed for him. He'd shouted a question through the house about the wisdom of such casual clothes, but Damian had been insistent.
    Once dressed, he'd headed for the foyer, but Damian had intercepted him. Now, Kyle stood on the back deck, watching how the spring sun danced across the rippling, dark bayou waters, like glittering gems flashing in the water as the waves crested and broke. Waves that shouldn't be there, since no breeze ruffled the boughs of the cypress trees.
    Then two dark-haired heads broke the surface of the water, followed by tanned torsos, thickly muscled arms, and – holy shit! – the beginnings of a fish's tail. The aqua and silver scales caught and refracted the light, making it difficult to really make out much detail as the two men swam forward.
    As the creatures, mermen, closed the twenty feet between the waves where they'd surfaced and the end of the dock attached to the deck, Kyle studied them. High cheekbones, long dark hair, dark eyes, bronzed skin, heavily muscled arms, and serious,