Barging In (18 page)

Robin couldn’t help the laughter this time. It bubbled up inside him, escaping in a peal that surprised them both.

“Oi! That’s my humiliation you’re laughing at, bastard.”

Dan didn’t sound upset, and after a moment Robin felt him begin to shake with laughter as well.

“Sorry, sorry,” Robin said, recovering his equilibrium. “I was just trying to picture it.”

“Well, if it’s any help, I was wearing the skimpiest, tightest pair of Speedos I could find. They were bright red. Looked pretty sexy, I thought, but I don’t reckon the lifeguard agreed.” Dan sniffed dismissively. “Reckon he must have been straight after all.”

“Mmm…” Robin nuzzled into Dan’s neck, the thought of him in tight swimming trunks having an effect that made his own clothing suddenly feel about three sizes too small. “You do have a thing for skimpy undies, don’t you?”

“You got a problem with that, Mr. Thermal Long-Johns?” Dan wiggled his arse as he spoke, grinding back against Robin’s erection.

Robin groaned, acutely aware of Dan’s naked chest against his arms. The clean scent of cedar wood shower gel mingled with Dan’s underlying sweetness and wrapped itself around him. Funny thing was, he really didn’t find Dan’s taste in underwear as ridiculous as he had a couple of days ago. Somehow, those thongs were just right for Dan, and that made them all right for Robin too—so long as he didn’t have to wear them himself.

“Nope, no problem. Think you look better out of them, though.” As he spoke, his hands began wandering, one rising to pinch Dan’s nipple while the other reached down to find a tempting bulge. Dan moaned, arching back and pushing against his hand. He palmed Dan’s half-hard cock through the denim, then slipped his hand beneath the waistband. Dan was naked underneath.

“What happened to the thermals?”

“Took ’em off, didn’t I? I was bloody roasting in here with Morris on my lap. Besides, they’re not exactly sexy, are they?”

“Hey! I’m still wearing mine.” It was no wonder he was so hot and sweaty. He didn’t stand a chance of keeping cool between those and the gorgeous, half-naked man in his arms.

“Yeah, well, you could make an old sack look hot. Some of us aren’t so blessed.”

Robin blushed. “You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met,” he mumbled into Dan’s neck.

“Mmm, you’re just saying that ’cause you want to get into my pants.”

“I already am.”

Robin grasped Dan’s cock and used his other hand to pull Dan’s head around, devouring him with a messy, openmouthed kiss. Their breath was coming hard and fast when Dan broke away and tried to turn around properly.

“Bedroom, now,” Dan said.

“Uh-uh. I want you here.” Robin stripped off his own layers of T-shirts as one, keeping Dan pinned against the ladder.

Dan protested when Robin began to pull down those indecently tight jeans. “It’s cold. Someone might see us.” It didn’t sound like a serious objection, and Robin finished stripping Dan before dropping to his knees behind him.

“I’ll keep you warm,” Robin said, lifting one of Dan’s feet up onto the ladder so that his legs were spread. “And who cares if someone sees?” Dan’s buttocks were right in front of his face, and he was seized with the urge to mark them. He sucked hard on one smooth cheek, revelling in the way Dan gasped and quivered whenever Robin did this to him. He didn’t understand this craving to mark Dan as his, but the need was powerful. It wasn’t like he’d have him for long. The bites would fade. Like Robin, they’d soon be nothing more than a memory for Dan. The thought hurt, so he thrust it away.

Robin pulled back to examine his work. The mark burned livid against Dan’s skin. He licked over it, soothing the reddened flesh, then worked his tongue into the cleft between Dan’s cheeks.

“Oh fuck! Robin!” Dan’s voice trembled as Robin spread those cheeks wider and found what he was after, running his tongue over and around that sensitive flesh until Dan was panting and writhing, thrusting back against him eagerly. The effect he was having on Dan was such an aphrodisiac that Robin forgot all of his paranoia about infection, all of that safety advice he’d been given that was apparently out of date, and he decided to do something he hadn’t done in years. He delved his tongue into Dan’s twitching hole, relishing the earthy, musky flavour and the sensation of Dan fluttering around him, the whimpers and moans. Yeah, Robin could remember how good that felt, having Jamie rim him until he felt so fucking horny he thought he’d be able to come from that alone.

“Don’t stop,” Dan pleaded.

But he didn’t want Dan to come yet. He wanted to feel Dan’s body rippling around him as he pounded his arse. He licked up his spine and found Dan resting his head on his arms, hands clutching at the edges of the hatch. Dan half turned towards him, his face flushed and sweaty, eyes unfocused.

“Stay there,” Robin told him, licking Dan’s ear. “Be right back.”

Robin emerged from the bed cabin—sheathed and lubed—and took a moment to drink in the sight of Dan braced against the open hatch, legs spread wide and arse thrust out. And beyond him, the sunlit river glinting and casting shimmering reflections onto the inside of the boat. He didn’t think he’d ever seen anything more erotic. A lump formed in his throat and tears threatened, so he fucked Dan instead—pushing into that hot, tight channel with a steady slide he now knew Dan loved.

Robin gripped those hips firmly, right where he’d left bruise marks before. Dan gasped and thrust back. He watched his cock disappearing into Dan’s hole and admired the perfect mark he’d made on that smooth, smooth skin. He ached to ride Dan hard but held back for as long as possible, sliding in and out excruciatingly slowly. But it was impossible to resist picking up the pace and slamming into him, the slap of flesh on flesh and Dan’s incoherent cries all he could hear beyond the rushing blood in his ears. The tide rose high inside, his balls drawing up tight.

Not yet. He wanted to feel Dan’s orgasm first. He grabbed hold of Dan’s cock and pumped him again and again, heard his name chanted over and over in a broken voice. Dan pulsed in his hand, shuddering and bucking against Robin as his grip grew slippery. Robin came hard, swept away by the current, biting down on Dan’s shoulder to stifle the howl that wanted to escape as he spilt himself over and over again.

And then everything was quiet and still—everything except for their rasping breath and heaving chests and all those crazy things in Robin’s head that he wanted to say but never would. Never could. So he kissed Dan instead, drawing him close as the sweat on their bodies cooled in the river breeze.

Chapter Eighteen

“Arrgh!” Dan hopped off his bike and let it fall against the hedgerow as he doubled over. He sucked in air and tried to concentrate on getting enough to breathe rather than on the excruciating pain in his balls.

“Dan? What’s up?” Robin asked.

Dan felt Robin’s hand land on his shoulder. It was another few moments before he was able to reply.

“Landed on my nuts. Chain must have broke. Fucking kills.”

“Ouch.” Robin’s hand squeezed him before letting go.

When the pain had reduced from oh-my-God-kill-me-now to merely don’t-want-to-have-sex-ever-again, Dan straightened up to see Robin examining the broken chain.

“You’ve lost a link. Got a spare?”

Dan groaned. “I used it a couple of weeks ago. Bloody thing!” He kicked the back tyre. “After the amount of money I spent on you, you’d think you could hold it together for one sodding holiday!”

Robin looked like he was trying to hide a smile.

“It’s okay. You can afford to shorten the chain by one link. I’ll do it for you, if you like.”

“No, no. I can do it. Just because you’re Mr. Fix-It and I’m a city boy, doesn’t mean I can’t mend my own bike chain.”

“I never said you couldn’t.”

“I’ll prove it.”

“Go on, then.” Robin was definitely smirking now.

“Right.” Dan rummaged through his panniers. He had one of those handy little multi-tool thingies in there somewhere. “Ah, there you are!”

Robin watched him as he pushed out the broken link and joined up the two on either side.

“Good thing my dad taught me some useful stuff before he gave up on me, eh? I may not be able to strip a boat engine or build a kitchen, but I can mend a bike chain all by myself.”

“Must have been nice, having your dad teach you things.” Robin sounded wistful. He was staring off over the river, but Dan didn’t think his eyes were focused on the scenery. Especially as the scenery was the backs of some warehouses at the arse end of Bath.

“Yeah, well, depends how you look at it. He never missed a chance to let me know he was disappointed in how girly I’d turned out, but I think he thought he could put it right by teaching me bloke’s stuff. He always hated the fact I wasn’t into football and had my head stuck in a book all the time.”

Robin didn’t respond. Dan nudged him. “What about your dad? He must have taught you loads.”

Robin snorted. “Yeah, right. Do you know how much an eye-surgeon’s hands are worth?”

Dan stared. “Your dad’s a surgeon?” That explained a hell of a lot. The posh accent, the chip on his shoulder about the dyslexia, the rebellion.

“Yep. His hands are far too valuable to risk doing DIY. His time was too valuable to spend much of it on a loser like me, either.”

“That’s rough.”

Robin shrugged and kept his eyes fixed on that distant point. “I managed. Learnt a few things at school and found other boaters to teach me what I’ve wanted to know since then. I picked up enough.”

Robin hugged his arms around himself and chewed on his lower lip. He looked so young, so vulnerable like that. Why did some parents have to fuck up their children’s lives so comprehensively?

Dan wanted to hug Robin tight, but his hands were covered in grease from the chain. He wiped them off as best he could on his jeans. They were already ruined from the mud, soot and general canal dirt. He didn’t even want to think about the state of his trainers. If he were going to spend much more time here, he’d need to get a pair of boots like Robin’s: big, sexy, lace-up leather boots Robin tucked his trousers into. But he wasn’t going to be here for longer than a few days, was he?

“Finished?” Robin said. He turned to look at Dan for the first time since their conversation had started. The inscrutable expression was back. The one that Dan now realised meant he had his barriers up again. “I’m dying for that pint. Can you manage to get back on the saddle?”

Dan winced at the idea. Between yesterday’s shafting at the open hatch and the abuse his balls had just suffered, it wasn’t the most appealing prospect.

“Can we walk for a bit? That way I might just be up for a ride again later.” Dan let his voice drop low and waggled his eyebrows.

That earned him a smile.

“Come on, then,” Robin said. “Better get a move on if we want to get there while they’re still serving lunch.”

They walked side by side, pushing their bikes along. Robin was quiet for a long while, and Dan was content to watch the scenery change as they journeyed through the industrial hinterland at the edge of the city. There was a narrow strip of steep bank between them and the fast-flowing water, with scrubby bushes and trees clinging there insistently. Dan was grateful for the steel railings along the side of the path that lent the illusion of safety. Buildings separated them from the main road, but traffic murmured in the background. On the other side of the river, some thirty yards away, the backs of the warehouses butted straight up to the water as if daring it to do its worst. Beyond them the twin gas towers added their defiant protest against the picturesque Bath skyline.

“Look, witches’ knickers,” Robin said, pointing to the bushes festooned with ragged carrier bags.

Dan couldn’t help a chuckle, despite his irritation at the way the litter spoilt the view.

“Fucking arseholes, chucking their rubbish into the river and blaming us boaters.” Robin pointed at a large, floating object making its way downstream towards them. It was caught in the slower water at the edge, snagging on low-hanging branches as it spun its lazy way towards the ocean. “It’s not like they don’t have enough bins around to use.”

Dan squinted at the humped object Robin had indicated. It looked like a floating bin bag from a distance, but as they drew nearer, he realised that the black plastic was in fact black fabric, shining because it was one of those puffy, nylon bomber jackets. Humped because it had something underneath it. Floating because that something was buoyant with air…

Dan’s guts plummeted as cold fear slid down his spine. He froze.

“Robin! Wait!”

All his attention was focused on the floating object. His arm shook as he pointed to it. Now it was closer, he could see a second hump, barely visible, covered in dark, sopping wet hair.

“It’s a body,” Dan said, his voice coming out in a croak.

“What the—”

The next thing Dan saw was Robin running to the water’s edge, vaulting over the railings and throwing off his jacket. Then time slowed, Robin’s body arcing gracefully through the air. Powerful, muscular, yet so fragile compared to the river’s relentless surge. Dan’s stomach tied itself in agonising knots as he watched Robin disappear into the dark water.

The water still flowed, the birds still sang and the breeze still blew soft on his skin, but Dan was frozen to the spot. He couldn’t breathe, staring at the river’s darkly glittering surface, willing it to give up its hold on Robin. Promising anything just to have him back on dry land and safe in his arms.

Robin’s head broke the surface near the body. Dan exhaled, taking ragged breaths as he stumbled to the river’s edge and clung on to the railings with white knuckles. Robin’s jacket lay on the ground before him. He picked it up, barely aware of what he was doing. He wanted to call out, bring Robin back to him by the power of his voice, but nothing would come out. Robin struggled with the misshapen lump, hauling it around so that the head broke the surface. It looked like a young man, waxy white, with a vicious gash on his temple.

Now that the body was a person rather than a thing, adrenaline coursed through Dan’s system. Galvanised into action, he drew out his phone and thumbed in 999. Holding it to his ear, he ducked under the railings, his legs spread wide and knees bent low as he edged towards the riverbank. In the water below, all that was visible were the two heads moving slowly closer to the bank even as the current swept them downstream. Dan cursed. He’d have to move farther along if he was to be of any help hauling them onto the bank.