A bottle of rum. [Will]

[Nathaniel Blacktide]

The worst kind of Nal'lyeo was the sort that was effective almost immediately. Of course, that was the purpose, but still. The Svefra had a way of making anything and everything into a celebration, an enormous party where many pods could come together in revelry and fun. When their methods were too successful in accomplishing their goals from the party upon whom they had swarmed, well. That kind of left the celebration just hanging. Such was the case in this instance. Moving away from the port, they had found a deserted stretch of sand where a handful of the pods had chosen to linger together. They were all celebrating the birthday of a Lia, and when one got to be that old it was certainly cause for an uproar. Nearly a hundred people were present, with over a dozen ships bobbing about in the waters off the shore. The party was a strange hybrid of land and sea - most of the time the beach was crowded, large fires providing dancing and singing, games and foolishness to entertain any age. Late at night some, mostly the older among them, would venture back to their own crafts for a good nights sleep. The young ones, the lovers, the adventurous would linger on the sands until Syna again appeared in the sky. It was great fun. "You've had too much," he murmured, reaching to take the bottle from Will's hand. Instead of doing something annoyingly responsible, like spilling the contents upon the sand, Nate took a long drink himself. He had been distracted for much of the night and so he hadn't kept up with Will, but that wasn't so unusual. Will had a better head for alcohol than he did, and besides. He had been busy. For the better part of the night Nate had been watching a certain dark head weave in and out of the throng on the sands, and his attention had not gone unnoticed. She had bewitching eyes that he couldn't resist and, having shed every unnecessary piece of clothing she had, Nate had long since started to covet her. She egged him on with well-timed smiles and coquettish expressions. When the entire lot of the Svefras had been swept up into dance, he'd even found her in his arms, once. She had writhed her slim frame into his own, and then left him with the taste of the wine from her lips. Every time he began to approach her again, he'd be distracted by someone or something and when he glanced back to where she had stood, she was gone. This was normally the sort of thing Nate would tell Will about immediately, but his friend was ahead of him in the alcohol game and hard to keep up with. Nate had no idea that the very same girl was Will's distraction, too. He had no idea that his cousin and best friend was receiving those same sultry glances, those same stolen kisses. "Listen," Nate said, his speech barely slurred. So much drink. "Remember the ginger? And you made me go off chasing that... I can't remember. But it was your fault, yeah? Tonight I found one I want. So, if you see something, go ahead. But I'm not coming with this time, no." With an affectionate pat to his cousin's shoulder, Nate dropped the bottle haphazardly to the sand. He turned and, bare feet splashing in the edges of the water, began to walk away from the fire. Away from the crowd of people. In the general direction he had last seen her go.

[Will Blacktide]

Will grinned, a bit lopsidedly granted, but really, he was fine. He had hit that mellow phase, where all inclination towards energetic pursuits and aggression had melted away to a benign feeling of glowing contentment. Everything seemed right. Everything seemed . . . perfect. Despite the half bottle of wine he had consumed over the past couple of hours or so, it was much more the smoke that had him smiling at the world. He had no desire to tackle it – merely to smother himself in its friendly bosom and loll there, content to watch his mates, his cousins and aunties and uncles dance and sing and eat and drink – and occasionally fall to the sand in a passionate embrace. The Svefra were a bold, passionate lot, with little modesty and a great lust for life – and each other. As Nate toddled off through the shallow surf that lapped at the wet sand, Will took up the abandoned bottle by its neck and raised it to his lips. It wasn’t so unusual for his cousin to go run after something on his own – though to hear Nate tell it, Will was a maniac for trying to drag him into trysts involving his own preferred target. In the heat of the moment, Will couldn’t recall Nate having complained too bitterly about that ginger haired wanton. So he took his cousin’s words of a moment ago with a grain of salt, making little of them, and rested back against the log behind him. One knee up, his arm resting lazily on it, he took another drink, letting his head drop back a bit, and closed his eyes. It was good to be alive – good to be a Svefra, good to be here on this isolated beach surrounded by people he knew, for the most part – people who knew how to throw a party and have a good time. Two slightly chilly hands slipped over his closed eyes. “A copper for your thoughts,” came the teasing voice. He had heard few enough words fall from those gorgeous, full lips this night, but enough to know who it was now leaning over the log to capture him, her breath warm against his neck. Without touching her, though he longed to jump up and catch her in his arms and pull her into his lap, Will made a hmmm . . . sound, as if he was thinking. Then he said softly, “I’m thinking about my casinor, and it’s lovely, big, soft bed I’ve made in it, takes up most of the cabin, it does. Plenty of room in it, and lots of rum to drink. I’m thinking what a pity it would be for all that to go to waste, on a beautiful night like this.” Those slim hands stayed exactly where they were, but he felt her, heard her, moving closer, her breath now on his ear, and then her lips there. One gentle kiss, a nibble, and then a sharp bite, which made him sit upright, grabbing at his earlobe. “Damn girl . . . “ He was saying, but she had already leapt up and was scooting away backwards from him, grinning like a demon. “That’s for being so cheeky.” She called, as she turned and lightly skipped away. But no more than a few paces had she gone before she looked saucily back over her shoulder at him, where he now stood, scowling slightly. One arched eyebrow, and she was gone again, her hips swaying like the most profound blessing of Laviku as she waltzed off into the shadows, Will already moving to follow.

[Nathaniel Blacktide]

Unbeknownst to Nate, only moments before the little vixen had slipped off to coyly drag his cousin along, she had been doing the same thing with him. He'd caught her, without really realizing that was only because she'd allowed it, near the fire. There was a frantic sort of dance going on, and bodies jostled all about them. He didn't hesitate to slip his arms around her. Svefra had little concept of possession and, in moments like this, that extended to include her lovely body. One arm slipped around her slender waist, the other lifting so that his fingers could splay against the line of her jaw. He coaxed her chin upwards and dropped his lips to devour the line of her throat in hungry, open-mouthed kisses. Nate, apparently, intended to satisfy the obsession she'd created in him right then, right there, without introduction. She made a sound of pleasure that went straight to his core, her little fingers curling against his scalp. It was the sweetest gratification, for all that she'd driven him nuts most of the evening. All too soon she giggled, though, and wriggled out of his grasp. "I'm not that easy, serpent." Nate was a bit too far gone to think, immediately, of his intricate tattoo across chest and shoulder. He simply blinked at her in confusion and, by the time he thought to move, she had stepped away from him, still laughing. Nate made to follow, but soon lost the swirl of her skirt in the crowd. He made his way through the pulse of the party, in the general direction she had gone. Ultimately, with the center of the party behind him, he had little to go on except footsteps in the sand. There were more than one pair, sure, but he imagined that one of them could belong to her, and that was enough. Really wishing he hadn't dropped that bottle, Nate set off to follow the impressions. There was a small cove, tucked away and a bite private, up ahead. Perhaps his little vixen had gone there. It didn't occur to Nate that whoever he was tracking obviously hadn't gone alone.

[Will Blacktide]

Without unnecessary haste, Will followed the dark haired girl into the shadows, away from the light of the fire that danced right along with the merry-making seafarers who hopped and swayed in wild abandon. With each step in the deep sand, cool against his bare feet, the sound of the revelry grew less, and the wash of the water sliding back and forth across the wet, hard packed sand a few meters away grew louder in his ears. The girl never once looked back, after that first and only sultry glance. But neither did she run. With a steady, swaying gait, her entire body calling to Will with a siren songl, she slipped into the shadows. The mellowing affect of the smoke still bathed Will in an affable miasma of good humor. But it also had the familiar influence of heightening his levels of physical desire. His mind raced as already his body was gearing up in anticipation of what he assumed lay in store for him, just a few more meters into the darkness. The girl, for her part, was enjoying this little passion play every bit as much as the boy, but on a much more subtle level. She was young – only having just passed into adulthood, as far as her people viewed such things. Her body had come into its own, and she exulted in it. The curves of hips and bottom, the rounding out of her breasts, the slimming and lengthening of her thighs and calves, the prominence of high cheekbones as baby fat melted away and left a woman magically in its place. Tonight was her night. The young men, the boys – even many of the older guys who were in attendance - had fed the flames of her own self absorbed sense of the power that she now held in her grasp. It was invigorating. It was intoxicating. And she meant to have the time of her life wielding it, heedlessly – oblivious to the havoc she might wreak. Knowing the boy of the Blacktide pod was mere steps behind her, she walked on, a sly smile on those full, tempting lips. Once the raucous noise had fallen away, and the light of the moon provided more illumination to the sparkling white sands than the huge bonfire had, she veered off, leaving the surf behind and making her way to the top of the beach, where it ran upwards into dunes the height of three or four men. There too was the beachhead, a point around which the coastline dipped back inwards, creating a cove smaller than the one in which all the Svefra vessels were anchored. Around this natural barrier, she disappeared, but on the far side, she paused, waiting. It wasn’t a minute before Will too had come around the hidden side of the dunes. His eyes immediately took in her stationary figure. She stood, facing him, arms across her chest. He too came to a halt. “And why are you following me, Will Blacktide?” She asked, her voice pert, but with an underlying teasing quality. Will, the mellow edge dropping away from his mind as he drank in her body with his hungry eyes, replied simply, “Because you wanted me to.” His own voice was gruff with desire, and held the smallest challenge. She smiled, wickedly, uncrossing her arms and stepping closer to him. “Oh, is that right?” She asked, her voice carefully neutral. “And what makes you think I wanted you to follow me, hey?” She was walking towards him, her hands on her hips, her expression questioning, but with a twist of skepticism. Will stood where he was, letting her approach. The fact that she was now within arm’s length, but that he would not reach out to grab her, was as arousing as the thought of doing precisely that. Without moving, he replied huskily, “Because here I am – and here you are. Alone.” His eyes, dark in the dim moonlight, met hers as she gazed up at him, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder. “Ah,” she said after a moment of staring into each other’s eyes. Her eyes flickered for a moment, gazing beyond him, to the ocean, or so he thought. “I see. But . . . unfortunately for you, you’re mistaken.” She was smirking at him openly now. For a moment, Will was non-plussed at her words. Despite his resolve, he stepped closer, his chest only an inch or two away from hers. “What? Do you want me to believe that you did not wish me to follow you?” He smiled cheekily, his head already tilting down, his lips ready to capture hers, his hand moving to encircle her waist. With her face tilted up to his, a glint in her eyes, she whispered, “No. I mean we aren’t quite alone.” Her lips – her lovely, tempting, red lips – broke into a merry grin as she giggled, stepping backwards and peeking around Will. “Hello.” She said to the other boy who now stood a few feet behind Will. “I believe you two boys know one another?”

[Nathaniel Blacktide]

Tucked away as they were, it hadn't really been until Nate turned the corner and the siren herself spoke that he realized anyone else was present at all. He was afforded no clear sight of the scene he would walk upon, given no greater preparation for the shock than his cousin had received. Less, perhaps, if her whisper were to count. He was merely strolling along with the focus of desire leading him. He'd find her. He'd taste her ruby lips and bury his fingers in her hair like night. He'd lose himself in her heat, even if it meant pushing her pretty little back into one of those dunes. The sight of Will had not been a part of the fantasies that had driven him here. Not that he typically would have minded. More often than not they did share lovers, if only because they were always together in nearly everything. The fact that they enjoyed one another as much as others made it simpler, less messy. They could hardly compete over the affections of an outsider if they had gotten distracted with the familiarity of their own love making, after all. They had a certain comfortable rhythm to that short of thing, and it almost always worked out brilliantly. There were rare moments when Nate, almost always under the influence of one mind altering substance or another, wanted something all to himself. Tonight was one of those nights. The dark headed tease had woven a spell around him, and he was completely in her thrall. "Will, for Laviku's sake. I told you..." he began, but the force of his complaint died when she giggled. She was quite pleased with herself, with the scenario she'd created. If he had been completely sober, Nate would have realized it and walked away from her. He was neither sober, nor thinking with that head. He furrowed his brow in something like frustration, his eyes fixed beyond Will to the apparent mastermind of this entire thing. Fearing that she might lose one of her playthings, the raven-haired Svefra stepped around Will to approach his cousin. Every gesture, every motion was exaggerated sensuality. Nate almost forgot he was mad, and she'd only walked to him. When she pressed one hand to his bare chest and stretched on tip toe, offering him the very first taste of her, he forgot entirely. Nate was often the more cautious, controlled one of the two cousins. He thought everything through and tried to be logical. There were exceptions to his level-headed nature, though, and passionate emotion was one of them. He just sort of lost himself; in anger, in passion, in whatever the moment called for. This moment, of course, called for the second. Her lips were parted, and Nate quickly accepted the open invitation. One hand went to her hair, holding her in place while his mouth devoured hers. He could feel those curves, the ones he had coveted for the entire night, pressed so pleasantly against his body. He could be an attentive lover, and sometimes he could be a needy taker. With one hand on her thigh, pushing the scanty cloth there upwards without hesitation, it seemed that tonight wouldn't be the first. Just when he had a handful of her pert bottom, he felt her slipping away. He only managed to grasp her wrist before she made it out of his reach, which she promptly twisted free. She gave him that smile, the one that had brought him to this place, and then she turned to Will. "Your cousin tastes like pleasure, Will. What do you taste like?" It was difficult to stand in place and watch Will kiss her, watch him reach down to explore the length of one of her thighs, to hitch it up over his hip and grind heated core to heated core. In fact, it was impossible. He stepped forward and, as he had done so many times before with Will, insinuated himself into the embrace. He swept dark hair away from her shoulder and dipped his head, tasting of her smooth skin .

[Will Blacktide]

Will turned about quick as a cat, not wishing to feel the prick of another man’s blade in his back. The sight of Nate, though, had him relaxed in almost the same instant that he had coiled his arm, ready to throw a punch or grab for the dagger at his belt. His face split in a grin, and even as Nate spoke, his head was shaking in high good humor at his cousin’s irritation. Already, the girl was stepping around him, smooth as silk, giggling as she sashayed over to Nate, stopping up his gob with her delicious lips. Will hooted in merriment. “What’s that you were saying?” Will teased, as the two entwined and locked lips, Nate’s hand already running down the girl’s leg. “Uh, I didn’t quite hear you, mate.” Though it was lost on the other two, he raised his hand to cup it behind his ear, like an old, deaf fart. “Speak up, I – oh, I see how it is! Maybe I best come back later – when you don’t have such a mouthful.” Of course, he had no intention whatsoever of leaving the sultry dark haired wench all for Nate. Unlike his cousin, Will rarely ever objected to anyone joining in with whatever he could get up to – especially not Nate. Lord, no! Nate could do things that . . . well, he could make Will’s toes curl, his eyes roll back in his head and his head almost pop off like a cork from a bottle – and that was just when he was warming up. No, Will fully intended to be a part of whatever it was this girl had in mind, for even to his rum soaked brain he was pretty sure that somehow she had set this all up – for her enjoyment, no doubt. But, he’d do his damnedest to get his fair share of the pleasure, by Laviku’s balls. To that end, as Nate began fondling one of the girl’s most attractive assets, Will stepped closer, with no certain plan in mind, just happy to watch them making out in such a heated way. But, whether prompted by his mocking words, or, more probably, just because she was enjoying this tease way too much, she suddenly had slipped from Nate’s grasp and turned back to Will, her small hands running over his chest, to his neck, pulling his more than eager mouth down to hers. He didn’t even bother to answer her question – assuming it really needed none, and his tongue shot past her lips, which tasted of wine. Wasting no time, Will’s hands began a rapid and kneading exploration of her body, just as Nate’s had a moment before. Within a short moment, he realized that Nate had stepped closer, those hands joining Will’s as they ran rapidly up and down. Where Will was pressed against her front, Nate clasped her from behind, one hand fumbling against the thigh that lifted aginst Will’s hip, the other pulling her long, thick hair from her neck and shoulders. Nate's lips went to that warm, sweet smelling skin and laid down a trail of kisses, inwards and upwards, his fingers going to her jaw to gently tilt her face back, until his mouth and hers and Will’s all met for one long, intense moment. Will, with two sets of lips against his, two tongues struggling with his for supremacy, felt a familiar, consuming heat that would soon enough have him writhing for release. His hand on the girl’s thigh slid around until it found Will’s and together, they touched her. With a quick jerk backwards, she had stepped away, and for anyone who might have caught a glimpse of the scene, it would have been comical. Will, not quite realizing that she was ‘gone’, thinking only that she was shifting about, brought his hand to Nate’s jaw, cupping it and pulling him closer for a real, deep kiss. His other hand, once the girl was no longer under it, grabbed at his cousin, finding his belt and yanking him forward. Nate, perhaps a bit more wary, and already a bit annoyed, was more aware that the girl had jerked away in earnest. His hands went to his cousin’s chest and he shoved him back, as he glared at the girl, vexed. Was she going to play this game all night? The girl, in fact, looked a bit put out. Her arms crossed over her slightly heaving chest again, and she said in a petulant tone, “What do you take me for? Some sort of tart? I don’t do two boys at once.” Perhaps she was beginning to realize that it might be just a bit harder to control this power trip than she had thought. Perhaps she had thought herself ready for such games, but was experiencing a little hesitancy. Perhaps she just really was a huge tease and wanted to drag things out for as long as possible. With women, it was always anyone’s guess what their motivations were. Whatever her goal, she gave them both a chilly look, for a moment. But then – it was gone. Back came that wicked smile, and one arched eyebrow as she looked at both of them, head to toe and back again. Hands on hips. A toss of her hair, flipping it back over her shoulder. “But I’ll do one. The problem is – you’re both so adorable. I just can’t pick.” She tilted her head a bit, as if considering each one in turn. Shaking her head slightly, she reaffirmed. “Nope, I just don’t know which one I fancy more.” Biting on her lower lip, even as she grinned, she said, “You two pick. Then let me know, alright?” Laughing, she turned about and began walking once more, in the same direction, not hurrying, not looking back.

[Nathaniel Blacktide]

The taste and warmth of Will was a familiar one, and did not detract at all from the passion and pleasure of the moment. Nate's disgruntlement was always short lived, his selfishness flaring and fading in the face of Will's touch, his general presence in rendezvous like these. And so the Svefra had essentially cooled and adapted. Three was hardly a bad number, especially when the kiss became a group one. Heat like that went straight through Nate, who held the kittenish girl tighter. Pinned betwixt he and Will was exactly the right place for her. When she stepped away, Nate could hardly understand why. He noticed it immediately, though, the absence of her soft curves. Will was all muscle and masculinity, so he could never mistake that wonderful body for the supple curves she had brought to the table. His gaze immediately swiveled to follow her, though his focused cousin seemed to have miss her departure. His hands grappled at Nate's belt, his lips seeking more. Nate nudged him, but Will missed it, and so in an annoyed sense of frustration, Nate lifted his hands to Will's chest and shoved him hard. That, at least, was startling enough to rouse Will from the moment he had lost himself in. They both stood blinking in utter disbelief at her departure. Nate called out after her, then cursed her when she was out of earshot. His mood was all bravado, though, because he was entirely disappointed. Did that make her the names he called out to the sea? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, his mood was determinedly sour when he wheeled back around on Will. "Laviku's sake, Will. Can you not keep it in your pants once? I told you already. To find your own! Not chase after mine." Nate growled and turned his scowl away, back in the direction of her retreat. He had a few words for Will, too, mumbled in frustration - colorful curses only the Svefra could manage. He had drank too much, smoked too much, and now his entire body was straining towards a release he couldn't have. And it was all Will's bloody fault.

[Will Blacktide]

Will, having now lost both sets of lips against his own, blinked a bit when Nate shoved him away. Finally registering what was going on, he too watched the girl’s retreat, heard her receding taunt, and then he turned back to his cousin. But unlike his cousin, Will wasn’t too bothered. Nate was still here, and that kiss had set him on fire. Taking one step closer to Nate, bringing them back chest to chest, his hands slipped about Nate’s waist, pulling their hips together. The irritation in Nate’s voice had flown right over Will’s head, and he was ready to laugh it all off. “Come on, Nate. We don’t need her to have a good time, now, do we?” He murmured huskily. His mouth, lips parted, was fast approaching Nate’s, already letting the taste of the girl pass from his mind. But, once again, Nate put his hands against Will’s chest, pushing him back. “Screw this, Will.” He said heatedly. “And screw you.” His eyes went back to the girl who walked steadily on. She was almost at the beachhead. In another minute she would be around it and headed back to the party – and all the other boys who would be happy to entertain her. Will could be thick at times. His hand went to Nate’s shoulder. “Well, O.K. That sounds like a fabulous idea to me. We . . . “ Nate shrugged in irritation, throwing his cousin a look of extreme annoyance. Will looked at him for a moment, then let his hand drop back to his side. “Well, O.K.” He repeated, but his voice was now as pissy as Nate’s had been. “That’s just petching fine.” He glared at his cousin, then his gaze went to the quickly receding dark headed tease. “You’re right. Rolling about with her for a few hours would be a great deal more fun than spending it listening to you whine.” The girl was just starting to round the low rocks that jutted out towards the water. “She’s right too.” He nodded in the girl’s direction. “She don’t need the both of us – just the one that can best put a smile on her face. And that’d be me.” He reached out and gave Nate a shove as he shouldered past him. “Catch you later, mate. Much later.”

[Nathaniel Blacktide]

Nate called curses after Will, perfectly content to express his utter outrage at the way his evening had gone from his current vantage point. Except that Will ignored his jabs, his bitter words, his fury. It was unable to extinguish itself, then, as was usual. Will made an excellent punching bag until his anger had passed, usually, but an unwilling and unreceptive target made poor sport. After a moment of kicking at the sand, Nate turned to follow his cousin. What began as a brisk walk quickly turned into an all out run, and whether or not Will heard him or chose to ignore the quiet footfall in the sand, Nate sprang and managed to attack from behind. With a loud 'oof' they hit the sand and Nate did not hesitate, rolling his cousin beneath him so that he could start swinging his fists in blind anger. He landed a good blow or three, before Will found the coherence to block him properly. The problem with fighting with someone you had spent a lifetime wrestling with, of course, was predictability. Even with the influence of drug and drink in their veins, both Svefra knew just how the other would follow this punch or that blow, and so their battle soon became one of continually blocking the other, so that they were exhausting themselves without managing to do much damage. Nate soon tired of this game, though, and so he allowed Will to land a solid punch to his gut. The air wooshed out of him painfully, but he reached out to tangle both fists in Will's hair. He pulled painfully tight, wrenching Will's head back until his long neck was exposed to the kiss of moonlight. "You ruin everything," Nate bit out bitterly. He didn't mean it. Silly drugs. "She's mine, Will Blacktide. Stay. Away." Nate spat, the saliva landing on the line of his cousin's throat. He stood, then, giving Will a final rough shove into the cool sand before he made to step over him, to walk away from the source he perceived to be the root of his problem. He was going after that damned wench, and he was going to have her, one way or another. Will, either a glutton for punishment or as angry as Nate felt, would have none of that. He grasped at Nate's ankle just before the slightly younger cousin made his escape, and brought him to his knees in the sand. Before he could retaliate Will was upon him, the tables turned. Another few moments of useless grappling, of fighting blindly against one another as if it would actually make a difference, and Nate found himself trapped, shoulders pressed into biting sand. With Will hovering just above him, Nate hissed and writhed as much as he could beneath that lean, hard body he knew so well. "Get off me!" Making a witty remark that twisted Nate's words in a most delicious way, Will silenced him with a bruising kiss. Nate fully intended to fight against it, to bite those pretty lips, to hurt until he was able to be free. He really did. But somehow, somewhere along the way, his resolve faded into something that was just as desperate as his fury had been. A twisted, demanding sort of desire that made the kiss he returned punishing, biting. Nate wasn't certain anymore, whether he was being held down or if he was clinging. He wasn't sure if he was fighting against Will with his tongue, his teeth, his lips - or if he was welcoming the aggressive, overpowering way Will was taking his mouth. It all blurred around the edges, and Nate could only feel.

[Will Blacktide]

Focused as he was on catching up to the girl – and ignoring his cousin – Will, in fact, did not hear Nate’s approach in the muffling sand. Nate’s weight on his back took them both down, and Will immediately cursed, which was a mistake. All it got him was a mouthful of sand as his face hit the ground. Enraged, Will easily flipped over, having a good twenty pounds on his slender cousin. Nate, never the best of fighters, was flailing and landing some good thwacks, but within a brief moment, Will had blocked him – here . . . here . . . and then there. Will in turn aimed more than a few punches at Nate’s pretty face, his ears, his chest. But booze and smoke and a lack of real intent had Nate effectively blocking him. It was a fight that had been reenacted many, many, many times in their lives. They loved and fought and quarreled and made up and loved and fought over and over. They had the sort of friendship that mere black eyes and sore ribs could not impact. They were slightly crazy, extremely hot headed, and bound together by their souls and hearts. So, Will was almost surprised when one fist snuck under Nate’s supposed guard and contacted soundly with Nate’s mid-drift. The surprise cost him, for Nate suddenly grabbed him by the hair and was yanking, hard, flexing his neck upwards at an extremely uncomfortable angle. The spit really pissed him off. With Nate lurching away, instinct as much as outrage had Will grabbing for his cousin’s foot. Screw this! Nate Blacktide was not going to walk away from him – not with unfinished business! Not if he thought he was going to go lay that black haired witch without Will along for the ride. Will launched himself at his cousin and the two began to wrestle once more, sand flying everywhere. It didn’t take too long for Will to end up straddling Nate’s waist, hands grinding down on his cousin’s shoulders, pinning him down into the sand. Nate wriggled futilely under him, a movement that was so familiar, in several different contexts. Will, always much more prone then Nate was to a quick forgive, if pleasure could be had in its aftermath, ground downwards with his hips and thighs, bending forwards slightly, thinking the most lascivious thoughts as he looked into Nate’s smoldering eyes. Nate’s angry demand put Will much more in mind of some other goal he’d rather pursue than releasing his cousin. When he mentioned it, Nate didn’t seem to share his interest. Well – that could be fixed. Lowering his mouth over Nate’s, even as his younger cousin tried to skew his face away from the assault, Will bore down, his kiss filled with the arousal that resistance always seemed to engender deep, deep within him. He had been with a lot of people, male and female, but none could touch off the inferno inside like Nate could. And as his mouth moved crushingly over Nate’s, his tongue stabbing its way past those protesting lips, he felt the response – the one that always came – sooner or later. Because that’s how they were, together. That’s why, no matter what, they were together. Divisible, for a few hours, or days, weeks even – but always, always, they had to come back to each other, because that’s how it was. Like this. With his body subsiding down onto Nate’s. His hands relaxing, one leaving Nate’s shoulder to rub down his sides and to his hips, the other going to his sand filled hair, twining in those dark locks, pulling him close. Will moaned against Nate’s lips, his torso pressing Nate into the sand, his hips moving already, his hand trailing over Nate’s hip to his . . . Suddenly, unbelievably, Will found himself on his back once more, staring up at the stars above. This time, though, Nate was not heading for the beachhead. Will flipped over, a loud curse leaving his lips, as he heard the splash and then saw Nate lightly running into the waves. With the speed of a gazelle, Nate easily leapt through the surf and then dove, disappearing under the surface of the inky water. What the hell? For a moment, Will lay on his stomach, gazing at the spot where Nate had vanished into the sea. With a far softer curse, that consisted solely of his cousin’s name, he pushed himself to his feet and followed in Nate’s wake.