Soul of a Merman by Ankh Alana

Author:Ankh, Alana [Ankh, Alana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2014-06-23T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Day Four

STEFAN SAT at his desk, pretending to look over his notes but not really able to focus on them. He was too busy focusing on the man curled on his couch.

Caspian scribbled furiously in a notebook, his tongue peeking out from between his lips, his hair sometimes falling over his face, only to be pushed back by slender white fingers. It was really criminal for someone to be so beautiful, and for Stefan to be so drawn to him. But he couldn’t help it, damn it. In some ways Caspian seemed impossibly innocent, like a child taking his first steps through life. In others he appeared far older than he looked. His blue eyes held wisdom that went beyond anything Stefan could teach him. And he was definitely a fast learner—in more ways than one.

As if to prove Stefan’s point, Caspian set down his pen and looked up, smiling. He practically glowed with accomplishment. He slid off the couch and made his way to Stefan’s side, supporting himself on the edge of Stefan’s desk. He offered Stefan the notebook where he’d been jotting down his so-called homework.

Stefan scanned Caspian’s work in more than a little awe. There, in somewhat awkward but clear letters, lay an entire elaborate composition on the structure of a conch shell. “You did great,” he praised Caspian.

Caspian beamed brightly. “I had a great teacher,” he said—or rather, mouthed—as he passed his hand through Stefan’s hair and over the rim of his glasses.

Stefan chuckled. He could take very little responsibility for Caspian’s incredible progress. Once he’d figured out that the way to get Caspian reading and writing was through the ocean he loved so much, it had been easy. Schoolchildren might have learned the alphabet through apples and pears, but the phrases Caspian jotted down always held algae and phytoplankton.

“I wish I could say it was my merit,” he told Caspian, “but in truth, I just have a very capable student.”

Still grinning, Caspian noted something else down. “I have inventive,” the paper said. Even as Stefan looked at it, Caspian crossed out the latter word and replaced it with “incentive.”

He brushed his fingers over Stefan’s forehead, frowning. “You seem thoughtful.”

“Maybe I am, just a little,” Stefan admitted, not bothering to deny it. He could barely wrap his mind around the most recent developments in his life. He’d always been a man who treasured his privacy and personal time, and yet, in the past few days, Caspian had become an integral part of his life. Their relationship status remained ambiguous, but that didn’t prevent Stefan from including Caspian in everything he did.

Previous boyfriends had always hated his love for research, but Caspian didn’t seem to mind. He fit in Stefan’s life—in some ways, better than Robert ever had. That stirred a guilt inside Stefan that he wasn’t ready for.

Caspian knelt in front of Stefan and rested his head on Stefan’s knee. After a small moment of hesitation, he took his notebook and wrote something. When he showed Stefan the message, dread pooled in Stefan’s stomach.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.