“Why would you get my mum involved?”

  “Because she’d be on my side.”

  His desire to punch Ceto battled with his desire to burst out laughing. “This is ridiculous,” he muttered.

  “Just give me two minutes.”

  Levrith huffed. “Fine.”

  “You’re an idiot.”

  Levrith pushed his chair back and stood. Ceto’s hand whipped out, grabbing his hand in an iron grip.

  “Two minutes,” Ceto said. “Then you can tell me to fuck off. And then, I promise, you will never see me again.”

  Levrith gingerly sat on the end of the chair, ready to tell Ceto to fuck off as soon as he was finished. But even as he thought it, the idea of never seeing Ceto again made his lungs constrict painfully.

  Ceto’s hand still held his, but he loosened his grip, his eyes still boring into him. “You’re an idiot. And I love you.”

  Levrith shook his head. “No. You love the captain.” His voice sounded accusing.

  Ceto swallowed. “I did. For many years. He took me out of a cage and gave me purpose, gave me a place on the Naiad’s Revenge. But I don’t love him. Not anymore. Perhaps not ever really. I think I just got love and gratitude mixed up. But how I felt for him is nothing like how I feel when I’m with you.”

  “I’ve seen you! The way you still look at him. The way you always come when he calls. And why shouldn’t you love him? He’s handsome and smart. A great leader. Someone who inspires love and devotion.” Levrith laughed, a bitter sound. “How can someone like me ever compare to him? For years, you’ve never noticed me. You’ve only ever had eyes for him.”

  Ceto’s hand on his squeezed, a pained expression on his face. Levrith wanted to pull his hand away, but he was so desperate for the touch. It was probably the last time Ceto would ever touch him.

  “You’re right; I was happy to see the captain again. He is my friend, and I was overjoyed to be back on the ship, to be useful and needed again. And I’m first mate. I have to spend time with him. It’s my job to come when he calls. But you know why I was particularly happy to see him the past few days?”

  Levrith didn’t respond; instead, he stared at a stain on the tabletop.

  “Because for once, him not loving me back didn’t bother me, didn’t hurt me at all.” He leaned forward. “Because I’m in love with someone else. With you, Levrith.”

  Levrith shut his eyes, shaking his head. He struggled to comprehend the words coming from Ceto’s mouth. They were words he’d wanted to hear, but the past few days, he had convinced himself he would never hear them.

  “You don’t believe me? That’s fine. I’m happy to tell you why I love you.” He rested his hands on Levrith’s knees. “I love you because I can be my true self with you. My moody, angry, annoying self. I love you because for some reason, you stick by me. I love you because even when I was sick and useless, you looked after me, cared for me.

  “I love you because you are kind and generous. Wonderful. And not to mention gorgeous. To be honest, you are far too good for me.” His hands on Levrith’s knees tightened. “I never had a family. But in you, I have found one. I love you, Levrith.”

  Levrith let out a breath, overwhelmed by each word falling from Ceto’s lips. And still Ceto kept speaking.

  “For the past few weeks, it’s been only you that my heart beats for. Only you it yearns for. I should have said something sooner. You’ve been my closest friend, and I should have recognised what was right in front of me years ago. What can I say? I’m an idiot.” He leaned forward. “But to be fair, you’re an idiot as well. Avoiding me. Angry at me. Thinking I didn’t love you.” He swallowed. “So can we be idiots in love, together? Please? I don’t want anyone else but you.”

  Levrith nodded. He was too light-headed to speak.

  Ceto let out a breath. “Thank you.” He leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together.

  Ceto cupped Levrith’s cheek, stroking his beard. “I want to kiss you. I want to do so much more than kiss you.” Ceto stood, pushing back his chair. “Let’s go back to the ship.”

  Levrith’s body tingled at the heated look Ceto gave him. He nodded, still silent and reeling as he followed Ceto out of the darkened pub. He spotted Rowena sitting on a bench outside the pub. She gave him a smile and a wink as they strode past.

  Levrith walked briskly to match Ceto’s pace. It was all a blur to him as they walked along the dock, over the gangplank, and across the deck of the ship. He noticed several of the crew around but paid no attention to them. All his focus remained on Ceto.

  Ceto, who loved him. A strange warmth spread through his body. Ceto had chosen him. Ceto loved him.

  He followed Ceto to his quarters. A porthole allowed a small bit of light into the tiny room. Ceto turned to face him. He reached behind Levrith, arm brushing against him, as he shut the door.

  Ceto looked up at him. “You look like you’re in shock.”

  Levrith blinked, swallowing. “I think I am.”

  A gentle smile spread across Ceto’s lips. “My beautiful Levrith,” he whispered, cupping Levrith’s cheek. “Is it so hard to believe I am in love with you?” He leaned up and pressed their lips softly together. A gentle, sweet kiss. “It’s all right if it takes a while for it to sink in.” He kissed Levrith again. “I’m more than happy to say the words as often as you need to hear them.

  “Now how about you get naked?” Ceto murmured against Levrith’s lips. “Then I can show you how much I love you. Prove it to you.”

  Levrith shivered at the promise in the words. “Will you fuck me?”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “Yes.”

  Ceto smiled. “Then I will fuck you.”

  Levrith pulled his shirt over his head, discarding it behind him.

  With nimble fingers, Ceto quickly unbuttoned Levrith’s breeches, pushing them and his drawers down. Levrith’s cock sprang free.

  “Now on the bed with you.”

  A minute later, Levrith lay on his back, legs spread, Ceto between them, also naked.

  “I brought this oil with the idea that you and I would be using it on this ship. That was before you started to get silly ideas in your mind and started avoiding me.” Ceto poured the oil on his fingers, then reached between Levrith’s legs, finding his entrance.

  Levrith’s breath caught at the feel of the cool oil against his sensitive skin, of Ceto massaging him. “I’m sorry.”

  “Shh.” Ceto’s fingers pressed more insistently against him. “That doesn’t matter now.” One finger pushed inside, just the tip, breaching him.

  Levrith’s body clenched at the intrusion.

  “Relax. Let me in.”

  Levrith let out a breath, trying to relax as the finger worked its way inside. A strange, slightly burning sensation.

  Ceto’s gaze was fixed on where his finger disappeared inside Levrith. “You have a beautiful arsehole. Have I told you?” He slid the finger out, then pushed back inside. A careful, gentle slide. In and out. In and out. “I’m going to play with it. Take my time. Get you nice and stretched. Then I’m going to stick my cock into it.”

  Levrith’s hole clenched at the words.

  Ceto sucked in a breath. “You’re going to be so tight around my cock.” Ceto’s voice was husky. “It will be the first cock you take.” His eyes gleamed possessively. “The last too. You’re mine. No one else’s.”

  Levrith nodded. “Yours.”

  Ceto leaned forward, their chests pressed together, his finger still buried inside Levrith. “And I’m yours. Only yours.” He kissed him. “I love you.” He leaned back and started moving his finger again.

  Ceto slid a second finger alongside the first. He scissored his fingers, stretching him. Then he pulled them out before sliding them deep inside. Levrith gasped, back arching as the fingers nudged something that made his vision blurry.

  “Do you like that? You’ll like it a lot more when it’s my cock.”

  The fingers pressed insistently at the bundle of nerves. Levrith groaned and writhed on the bed, lit up from within. At some point, Ceto added a third finger, working at that spot. Levrith floated in a sea of sensation and pleasure, with Ceto’s husky voice buzzing in his brain.

  “Look at you,” Ceto whispered. “So beautiful.”

  He pulled his fingers from Levrith’s body.

  “No,” he whispered hoarsely. He felt empty. He needed to be filled.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll be filled with my cock soon enough.”

  Ceto grasped the bottle of oil and poured a liberal amount into his hand. Levrith stared at Ceto’s cock, pre-cum glistening at the tip. He licked his lips at the sight of the dark-blue veins running beneath the skin. Soon that cock would be inside him. He spread his legs wider.

  Groaning, Ceto stroked his cock, getting himself slick and ready to fuck Levrith. Then he positioned himself between Levrith’s spread legs. He ran a hand up and down one of Levrith’s furry thighs before pushing the thigh back, holding Levrith open. The other hand held his member.

  “I’m going to fuck you now. You want that?”

  Levrith nodded.

  “I love you, Levrith.”

  The head of Ceto’s member kissed his hole, a slight pressure. Levrith tried to relax. He wanted Ceto inside him. Ceto pressed forward. Levrith groaned as the tip popped through.

  “Let me know if it’s too much,” Ceto panted. Steadily, Ceto pushed forward, stretching him, filling him inch by inch. Levrith felt like he was being split open. A slow, gentle burn.

  “Breathe. Push out,” Ceto said, pausing. “Still all right?”

  “Keep going. Please,” Levrith begged.

  Nodding, Ceto pressed forward. Filling him. Stretching him open. Levrith never wanted it to end.

  “That’s it. I’m buried completely inside you now.”

  Levrith groaned. His eyes fluttered shut.

  “No!” Ceto whispered.

  With effort, Levrith forced his eyes open. He stared wordlessly at Ceto’s flushed face.

  “Keep your eyes on me.” Ceto’s voice was breathy. “I want to look into your eyes the first time I take you.”

  Then Ceto moved, a slow, gradual withdrawal, before thrusting forward. “I love you.”

  Levrith groaned.

  “I love you,” Ceto repeated as he thrust again. Ceto withdrew slightly before rocking forward. “Still all right?”

  Mindlessly, Levrith nodded, gasping and moaning, his fingers tangling in the sheets. Ceto’s skin glistened with sweat as he picked up the pace, thrusting faster and deeper.

  Levrith’s mouth fell open as Ceto hit that bundle of nerves inside. “Oh,” Levrith gasped. It was too much. Too much sensation. And still Ceto kept fucking him. Kept filling him.

  “Ceto! Ceto! I’m going to come.”

  “Not yet.” Ceto shook his head. He thrust again, smashing the spot inside him with his dick.

  “Please, Ceto,” he whined. “I have to come.”

  Ceto wrapped his hand around Levrith’s cock, stroking him. Levrith had no chance of controlling the orgasm that barrelled through him. His cock pulsed, shooting between them.

  Above him, Ceto threw back his head, arms and chest tensing as he shoved his cock once more inside him. “Levrith!” he shouted. His body spasmed and twitched as he came, filling Levrith.

  He collapsed onto Levrith’s chest. They lay there, Ceto still buried inside him. Levrith lifted his hand, resting it on Ceto’s back.

  “I don’t think I mentioned it, but I love you too,” Levrith said.

  He felt Ceto smile against his skin.

  Epilogue

  One Week Later

  “Come away, away, away, away with me, And we’ll sail together across the sea.” Kythe sang on the deck of the Naiad’s Revenge, his voice sweet and strong.

  “And we’ll sail together across the sea,” the crew, along with Ceto and Levrith, sang back.

  They clapped hands, stamped feet, and slapped thighs, creating a steady beat for the shanty. The ship had dropped anchor along the coast of a small island, inhabited only by dryads. Tomorrow, they’d fill their barrels with fresh water from the rivers and stock up on coconuts, lychees, and other tropical fruit that grew wild on the island.

  But tonight, the crew would rest, drink, and sing.

  “Who knows the challenges we’ll face.” Kythe flung his arms wide as he sang, his faded grey jacket spreading wide, revealing his pale-green torso.

  Ceto had missed nights like these when they’d been on the island. Levrith and Ceto sat close to each other on a crate. Rowena sat beside them, stamping one booted foot against the deck whilst drinking heavily from her mug.

  Everett wandered up onto the deck but stayed back. He looked around but didn’t join in with the shanty. Ceto was surprised to see him, as the doctor often kept to himself at night.

  “And the storms may come, and the wind may blow.”

  Captain Silas Tivera stood by the rail, Raiya by his side. Raiya had his arms crossed, leaning against the rail, face twisted in his usual scowl. Captain Tivera looked at Raiya, gaze soft. He leaned towards Raiya and whispered something in his ear. Raiya’s lips twitched with a hint of a smile.

  It seemed strange to remember how such a simple exchange would have caused Ceto so much jealousy and pain before. Now nothing.

  “And the place we’re heading, no one knows.”

  Levrith lifted his mug to his lips, taking a deep gulp. Ceto hadn’t drunk since that night when he’d drunkenly kissed Levrith. Their first kiss. Levrith slapped his hand against his thigh, a good-natured smile on his face as he watched Kythe sing.

  “Why did you push me away?” Ceto asked. Originally, he’d assumed Levrith had done so because he hadn’t been interested. But he knew now that Levrith had loved him, even then.

  “What?” Levrith asked.

  “The night I got drunk. I kissed you. Why did you push me away?”

  Levrith gave him a look. “You were very drunk.” Then he shrugged. “And I knew you didn’t want me. I didn’t want you kissing me when you were thinking of someone else.” His gaze went to Silas.

  Ceto placed a hand on Levrith’s cheek, turning his face until he looked at Ceto. “I want you now. I want you very much.” Then he leaned forward and pressed their lips together.

  Rowena hollered at the two of them, and several others cheered.

  They broke the kiss, laughing. A faint blush darkened Levrith’s cheeks. Usually, Ceto avoided public expressions of affection, but sometimes Ceto felt an exception was needed. Ceto leaned his shoulder against Levrith, imagining what he’d do with Levrith once they got back to his room.

  “But we’ll remain together, you and me, sailing across the great blue sea,” Kythe sang.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Levrith said.

  “About?”

  “What you said before. About how you don’t have any family.”

  “You’re still thinking about that?” Ceto said.

  “Well, yeah. It’s just… It’s not true. Not at all.”

  Ceto frowned.

  Levrith nodded to the crew. “Look around you. This crew, they’d do anything for you. They love you. They’re your family. They have been for years.”

  Ceto looked around at the motley crew of the Naiad’s Revenge. It was amongst them where he’d first felt like he belonged. Where he’d first felt truly safe. Levrith was right: they were his family.

  “And you know what? This isn’t your only family. The island. My family. They’re yours too.” He reached over and squeezed Ceto’s thigh. “I know you were alone before. But you’ll never be alone again.”

  Ceto thought back to the night when he’d seen Raiya and Silas kissing on Naiad Island, the same night he had drunkenly tried to kiss Levrith. That night, he’d felt alone. Completely discarded and rejected. But right here, at this very moment, sitting beside Levrith and surrounded by his crew, Ceto had never felt such a sense of belonging. He’d never felt so loved.

  Ceto leaned against Levrith, basking in that feeling. “I love you, Levrith.”

  Levrith dropped a kiss on his head. “Love you too.”

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  Keep reading for an excerpt from A Winter Romance, novella 1 in my upcoming winter holiday series, A Nymph Solstice Romance.

  Excerpt from A Winter Romance

  A NYMPH SOLSTICE ROMANCE- BOOK 1

  The man screamed and fell backwards. Sero lifted his arms in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture.

  The man wore a too-thin green jacket, tight leggings, and ridiculous-looking boots. The leggings encased his slender legs almost obscenely and would provide no protection from the snow. The boots had a slight heel. Completely impractical clothing for this time of year!

  The man clearly didn’t belong here. And if Sero didn’t get him out of the snow, he’d probably freeze to death soon.

  Sero stepped forward. The man’s eyes widened in terror as he scrambled backwards through the snow. It probably didn’t help that Sero was almost naked at the moment, only wearing a small loincloth. But then, he hadn’t planned to come across some fool in the forest.

  “It’s all right. I won’t hurt you,” Sero called out, trying to be heard above the wind. “My name is Sero. We should get you to shelter before more snow comes.”

  The man’s mouth dropped open, and he looked around, eyes wide. “More snow?”

  Sero frowned. This was a light snowfall. This man was clearly out of his depth if he thought this was bad.

  “I have a cave. Will you come?”

  The man nodded. Any fear he had of Sero seemed not to outweigh his fear of freezing to death. The man’s blue lips trembled. In fact, his whole body trembled and shivered. Not a good sign. It was lucky Sero had found him when he had.