Deep Water (23 page)

“Right. And when
you say ‘taking in’—”

“I mean sex, yes,”
Poseidon said patiently.

Griffin stared at the
muscled god sitting next to him and wondered when his life had turned into a
porn movie. “You do know I’m straight, right? I mean, yeah, I think you’re fucking
gorgeous and I do want to jump you but—”

Poseidon held up a
hand, and Griffin shut up. “I understand that you’ve never been penetrated by a
man before, beloved,” the god said in a soothing tone. “But allow me to point
out that many men, no matter what their orientation, quite enjoy being on the
receiving end of anal intercourse. And I would, of course, take my time and
make sure that you were ready at every stage before going further. Let me also
point out that you do appear to find me physically attractive and have enjoyed
my caresses. I would do my utmost to make sure that you enjoyed making love
with me, as well. And it would all be in the service of keeping you alive.”

Despite the
flapping panic coming from his sense of masculinity, Griffin had to admit that
Poseidon had a point. It wasn't as if he hadn’t already endured numerous procedures,
a number of them extremely unpleasant, in the name of surviving his cancer. Looking
at it that way, getting buggered by a tall, handsome man whom he was already
falling in love with was a huge improvement over getting irradiated or vomiting
from drugs.

Another memory
from the previous night zinged across his awareness. Poseidon was a tall,
handsome,
large
man. Griffin suspected
his mouth would have gone dry if he hadn’t been breathing water. This wouldn’t be
the mild unpleasantness of a greased finger for a prostate exam. This would be
a large, hard cock going up his
arse
. And it wasn’t as
if he’d be getting off in the process, not with his floppy dick.

“How many times
would we have to do it?” he asked.

“It depends on how
well you take to my seed,” Poseidon admitted. “Obviously at least once, and
then once you acclimatized to the act we would have to see what worked best. I
suppose once a day is out of the question?”

“Not if I want to
be able to sit down,” Griffin retorted. “Wait. I just thought—would blowjobs work?”

Poseidon looked
startled. “Well, yes. It doesn’t matter how you take in my seed, just that you
take it in.”

“Right.” Sucking
cock had never been on his bucket list, but it sounded easier than letting the
god ream out his rectum on a daily basis. “So, we have to have sex to keep me
alive until Chiron can find Apollo. Okay, I can do that.”

Poseidon's
expression cracked just a bit. “Does it really seem so horrible to you?” he
said, sounding a bit hurt.

Griffin hesitated,
then sighed. “No. It’s all just ... a bit much to take in, you know?”

The god’s brow
furrowed. “I understand. And I wish there was some other way to do this.” He
reached out and took Griffin’s hand. “I would prefer to wait until you truly
came to desire me. But we don't have the time.”

For a moment
Griffin saw the situation from Poseidon’s point of view. Faced with a
reincarnated lover that he’d, to be blunt, raped, the god was now required to
have not exactly enthusiastic sex with that lover in male form in order to keep
him alive.
I’m not the only one who’s uncomfortable
here, am I?

He laughed briefly.
“This is like the plot of a bad fanfic. Fuck or die.”

“I don't know what
fanfic is, good or bad, but it’s a fair assessment.” Poseidon lifted Griffin's
hand and turned it over, rubbing his thumb over the palm. The simple caress sent
tingles up Griffin’s arm. "For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I wanted you to
come to me willingly. Not like this, not compelled. I swore I would never do
that again to you.”

Poseidon's sorrow
was palpable. And suddenly his earlier confession made even more sense. The god
had wanted to start again with a clean slate, with no compounding of his
earlier mistake.

“No, it’s all
right,” Griffin said, closing his fingers over Poseidon’s. “You’re damned
good-looking, after all. And I really liked the kissing part.”

To his relief
Poseidon took the hint and closed the distance, brushing his lips over Griffin’s.
He let himself sink into the kiss as the god’s muscled arms slid around him,
pulling him closer.
Christ almighty. Whatever
else he is, he’s also one hell of a good kisser.

When they finally
parted, both of them were more than slightly breathless. “So, doctor, when do
my treatments start?” Griffin said.

The god’s eyes
darkened in amused passion. “Right now, if you like.”

No point in avoiding it.
“Well, then. Let’s get started.”

“All right.”

Minutes later Griffin
stretched out on the huge bed where the god had deposited him, staring at the
cream ceiling overhead as his nerves returned. Yes, Dunn—
Poseidon,
he corrected,
his
name is Poseidon
—was well fit and handsome as hell, and he’d promised to go
slow, and damn if there wasn’t a thrum of desire low in his belly at the
thought of being skin to skin with the god.

But Poseidon was
still a bloke.
And
uni
was a long time ago, and that was just a drunken make-out session at a party
anyway, and Jesus, he's big. How much is it going to hurt?

Griffin forced
himself to take in a breath, feeling the water judder a bit in his lungs.
You can do this. Just relax, and for fuck’s sake
use a lot of lube. Wait. Can we use lube underwater? Oh, shit—

Poseidon picked
that moment to come back into the bedroom, carrying two refilled bulbs of wine.
He was still dressed, and settled tentatively on the edge of the bed. “I
thought you might appreciate this,” he said, handing over one of the bulbs.

Griffin grabbed it
and took a somewhat inelegant gulp. “Anything to calm me down. God—sorry. I’ve got
to stop doing that, don’t I?”

“It’s fine. I know
you’re not addressing me.”

“Good. It’s just—yeah,
I’m nervous.”

“I understand.”

“Do you? I don’t think
you get buggered all that often.”

“Not lately, but I’ve
indulged in the past.” Poseidon chuckled. “Oh, do close your mouth. You’ll catch
minnows that way.”

Griffin closed his
mouth with a click. “You’ve let someone bugger you?” he said incredulously.

“Yes. Granted, I
have to be in the mood for it, but I’ve quite enjoyed it from time to time.”

“Bloody hell.” He
took another swig of wine. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be swilling this, should I? It’s
probably some sort of rare godly vintage.”

Poseidon's mouth
twisted in thought. “I believe it’s from California. I can ask Bythos later if
you like.”

“Oh. Well, in that
case.” He squeezed the rest of the bulb into his mouth and swallowed, draining
it.

Poseidon plucked
the bulb from his hand and put it with the god’s own on the nightstand. “May I
lie beside you?”

“Please.” Griffin
shifted over a bit in silent invitation.

Poseidon swung his
feet onto the bed and stretched out, looking at him with that same faint smile.
“Shall we pick up where we left off last night?” he said. “I believe we were
making out like hormone-crazed teenagers?”

The god’s attempt
to lighten the mood worked. “Right. Come here, you gob.”

Poseidon did with
a will. As it turned out, underwater foreplay
sans
breathing gear lent some very interesting physical properties
to the process. Every time they turned or shifted it would lift them up a bit,
causing them to float just over the surface of the bed before settling back
down to it.

It was, in a word,
insanely fun, and Griffin found himself chortling when Poseidon deliberately
spun him along the long axis of his body to get access to the nape of his neck.
“That tickles!”

“It won’t in a
minute,” the god mumbled, nibbling at his skin with delicate little bites. One
arm slithered around Griffin’s waist, pulling him flush against Poseidon's
body.

His
arse
came in contact with something long and hard. Feeling
evil and remembering what Miranda used to do in the same position, he
deliberately wriggled against it.

Poseidon moaned
against his skin. “Wretch.”

“That’s me.” Griffin
ground back against Poseidon's groin again. It was more than a little weird to
feel another stiff cock prodding him, especially knowing where it would
eventually go, but he was surprised to find it was also turning him on. He’d always
enjoyed getting his partners excited. That hadn’t changed just because his
partner was now male.

And then a warm
hand came to rest over his groin, gently stroking covered flesh that was,
unfortunately, still flaccid.

Griffin sighed. “It’s
not you. It's the cancer.”

“I know. Does it
hurt when I touch you?”

“No. Feels nice. I
just can’t get hard.”

Poseidon hummed
against his neck. “May I try something?”

“If you mean oral,
that doesn’t work, either.” He winced at the memory of the escort he’d hired
once the docs had cleared him for sex, and her diligent attempts to wake up his
limp cock. She had been kind but relieved when he finally told her to stop,
which was almost worse than the impotence.

“I didn’t mean
that, although I do plan on kissing every part of you.” Poseidon's breath was a
warm caress against the back of his neck and Griffin shivered at it. “I have
something else in mind.”

“Like what?”

In response the god’s
hand went to the waistband of his bathing trunks and slid underneath. Griffin
groaned as Poseidon’s hand stroked his soft cock before closing around his
balls, cupping them gently.
Just once,
please, let me get hard again.

His body didn’t listen,
but he forgot about that as a gentle tingle began to play along the surface of
his skin. It spread out from Poseidon’s fingers, pouring down in a trickle over
Griffin’s balls. He tilted his head back against Poseidon's shoulder, squirming
in the warm, vibrating grip. “Oh, that’s good. Don’t stop,” he breathed.

“I won’t.” Poseidon
continued playing with him, coating his skin with that wonderful sensation. One
finger slipped behind his balls, pressing into the soft skin there. His hips
kept thrusting into the god’s hand as the tingle grew, trying to scratch an
itch that wasn’t an itch but a delicious hum.

Then Poseidon
started kissing his ear, licking along the upper shell before returning to the
lobe and sucking gently. Griffin’s eyes squeezed closed as a spark began to
build at the base of his spine. But he still wasn’t hard and it couldn’t work,
he knew it couldn’t. He tried to wriggle away to get breathing room.

Poseidon
immediately stopped. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just,
you’re getting me all worked up and I can’t come.” He heard the little whine in
his voice and hated it. “Sorry. Just give me a little space, yeah?”

The tingles slowed
down, but didn’t stop. “Do you trust me?”

Griffin groaned, pushing
back against him. “I’m trying to, I swear.”

“Then let me bring
you pleasure, beloved. Let go and trust me.”

God, he wanted to
come so badly. “Okay.”

Poseidon started
caressing him again and the tingling deepened. It turned into a throb that sank
through his flesh, centering where he assumed his prostate was. Waves of
pleasure started washing through him from that spot, each wave building on the
previous one until he felt like he was balanced on a knife-edge of pleasure and
pain. He cried out, twisting in the god’s arms as the throbbing rose, higher,
higher,
so
close—

“
Yes
!” Something deep inside clicked. His
balls convulsed as a blessedly wonderful orgasm swept over him, whiting out his
vision. Semen pulsed through his limp penis and he threw his head back,
shouting in relief.

After what felt
like an eternity the orgasm finally eased, leaving shivering aftershocks in its
wake. Griffin sagged in Poseidon’s arms as the god laid gentle kisses down the
side of his neck. “Jesus Christ,” he said once he’d gotten his breath back. “How
did you do that?”