I wasn’t sure whether he blushed or whether the cold wind was making his cheeks redder. Either way, it was cute as hell. God, I wanted to eat him all up.
“I can make it to the car,” he muttered.
“Hey, true or false? Your mum is guaranteed to be watching through the net curtains to see that we set off okay and she’ll feel better knowing you’re going to be safe.”
He sighed. “True.”
I smiled, and felt the warmth of his hand as he slipped it through the crook of my arm and leaned on me just a little with each slow step.
“Besides,” I added, “I want to impress her. I don’t want anyone thinking that I don’t treat my men well when I’m taking them out for the evening.”
Declan gave a low chuckle and I felt as though I could bathe in it, floating on that sound the way my octopus twirled in water.
Once we were both in the car, with his crutches safely stowed on the back seat, I set off for the lake again. Theotherside of the lake. The populated side.
Maybe I wanted to torture myself with hearing all about the man Declan was in love with, the man he was going to take on a date, but I said, “So tell me about Sonny, then. You grew up together round here?”
“We always liked skating. Sonny’s much better at it than I am. He’s slender and graceful and he moves like he’s dancing on the ice. I can only skate in— I mean, Icouldonly skate in straight lines. Once I got going, I was faster but Sonny can change direction quicker and he can literally skate circles round me.”
Something in Declan’s tone softened as he spoke. Even when he hesitated and cut himself off, realising that he’d been talking in the present tense, there was still something in his tone I had never heard before. It was a kind of wonder at the sheer beauty he’d been privileged enough to witness, almost the same way I felt about the cool depths of the lake when I shifted and felt the waters lapping at my skin.
I really tried not to get jealous but it was impossible not to. I wanted Declan to talk about me in that way, even though I knew he never would.
That didn’t mean I had to make him uncomfortable by knowing my desires, though.
I did my absolute best to keep my tone neutral and friendly when I asked some more follow-up questions, trying not to touch on something that would make Declan retreat into himself.
Somehow, I managed it because when we pulled into the car park, he was still telling me about his favourite book series as a child, describing how he and Sonny had read them all together, swapping books back and forth, raiding the library and having sleepovers so they could stay up late and read by torchlight.
“Where do you want to start?” I asked.
“Sonny wants to go skating, even though he says he doesn’t. Can we start on the west side?”
“Sure,” I said, and noted that, even though it was painful for Declan to confront his limitations, he didn’t want Sonny to miss out.
We walked towards the lake, passing families on their way back from skating, and a few couples. Declan gave a nod and an, “Evening, Mr Parker,” to an older man who was corralling three children, presumably his grandchildren, back towards the carpark.
I wasn’t in any rush, and we took it slowly. After walking around the curve of the west side of the lake, I asked, “Do you want to go up the hill a little and look down on it?”
In the increasingly dim light, Declan looked dark and ethereal, a blend of shadows and light playing over his skin from the grotto lights on the edge of the lake. My octopus eyesight was designed for deep water, though, and I shifted ever so slightly, letting my senses become sharper without letting any of my extra limbs out.
Declan looked dubious.
“We can try it now so you know for sure whether you want to give it a go tomorrow or to stay on the flat.”
“Yeah, that sounds sensible. Thanks.”
We wound our way up the path which meandered up a gentle slope, the hill overlooking the lake. It was beautiful up there, even from a short way up, and I liked to go there and take in the whole lake. Also, I liked to double-check that nobody could see my cottage or me slipping naked into the water beyond the trees.
Our arms brushed against each other as we walked, and I wished I could feel his skin instead of our thick coats. I probably should have moved further away from him, but I didn’t want to. I wanted that contact.
After a while, Declan said, “You know, it’s really kind of you to do this. You didn’t have to.”
“It’s a pleasure. I’m enjoying our evening.”
Perhaps he might have responded to that, perhaps saying so much was a bad idea, but at that moment Declan’s shoe slipped on a slick patch on the path. It happened so suddenly and onlythe fact that I had been pressed almost against him and I had incredibly quick reflexes helped me to catch him.
Luckily, though, Ididcatch him. He wobbled and froze in place, afraid to move, and I made sure he was stable before adjusting my hold on him.
