Fearless (Pier 70 #2) (10 page)

“Your loss.”

It most definitely was.

Nine

Monday, May 30
th

Cruise, day two

Dare woke up the following morning with a hard-on that wouldn’t quit. The first thing he noticed was the gentle rocking of the ship, along with the eerie silence in the small cabin. Forcing his eyes open, he blinked until he cleared the sleep from them, listening for the sound of Noah snoring—which, yes, he still did, thank you very much.

Looked as though Noah was already gone.

Hmm.

Glancing over at the other bed, Dare found it empty, which only disappointed him a little. Lifting his head from the pillow, he peered around the cabin. Nope. No Noah. He was definitely alone, save for his cock, which had taken on a life of its own.

Sliding his hand beneath the sheet and into his boxers, Dare took his aching dick in hand, stroking slowly as he relaxed once again, staring up at the ceiling. What would Noah say if he could see him now? Would he think Dare was imagining Noah’s hand on his dick? Noah’s warm, callused hand stroking up and down, slow and easy…

Fuck.

He was not thinking about Noah.

Or Noah’s hand.

Or Noah’s mouth.

Or…

Dare had to push his boxers down over his hips to give his dick some breathing room. He kept a steady pace, trying to slow his breathing, wanting to savor the moment. These few minutes alone might be all he had for the entire day. If he was expected to deal with Noah for the duration, he had to do something to relieve some of the tension. It didn’t seem to matter that his heart was keeping its guard up; Dare’s body had other ideas where Noah was concerned.

Closing his eyes, he continued to jack his dick, trying not to think about Noah sleeping in that bed beside him. It hadn’t been easy falling asleep last night, but at some point, he must have. Thankfully he hadn’t dreamed about setting his apartment on fire simply so he could see a hunky fireman come put it out. In fact, he hadn’t dreamed about anything, or if he had, he couldn’t remember.

Turning his head, he opened his eyes and stared at Noah’s pillow, noticed the slight indent, the way the blankets were neatly turned down. His thoughts drifted back to seeing Noah yesterday, for the first time after fifteen long years. The man looked as good as ever. Same sparkling brown eyes, same thick, dark hair, angled jaw, slightly crooked nose. And the muscles… And his lips… Dare tightened his grip and quickened his pace, allowing the sheet to fall to his thighs.

He fought the urge to groan as he thought about Noah’s mouth … how it would feel on his, or better yet, wrapped around his dick.

He groaned.

Unable to stop, Dare closed his eyes and imagined Noah sucking him, taking him deep into his beautiful mouth, using his wicked tongue, swallowing him greedily the way he used to. It didn’t take long before he was gritting his teeth, the intense sensations pooling low, a subtle electrical charge starting at the base of his spine.

Fuck.

“Noah,” he whispered, swallowing hard. “Fuck.”

The next thing Dare knew, he was coming hard and fast, splattering his belly and chest, his breath rushing out of his lungs.

Before his muscles relaxed, he heard the door to the bathroom slide open. He reached for the sheet, yanking it over his naked body as he peered down past his feet to see Noah coming out of the bathroom.

Maybe the ship should think about putting one of those occupied signs up. A big, bright, red one. That flashed. And played music. Yep. Music would’ve been good. So, you know, he would’ve had a heads-up. And
this
wouldn’t have happened.

“Thinking about me this mornin’, huh?” Noah asked casually, his gaze slowly traveling over Dare.

Dare frowned. “You? Why would I be thinking about you?”

“You never were a quiet lover,” Noah remarked. “Not even when it came to self-love.”

Dare smirked. “I’m surprised you didn’t watch. You never were one to look away.”

Noah matched his grin, then glanced at the clock. “Oh, did I mention? It’s eight fifty-five. You’ve got five minutes to get to breakfast.” Noah nodded toward Dare. “And I’m thinkin’ you might need a shower.”

Dare fought the urge to look at the clock. Instead, he opted for taunting Noah. “I’m sure I could make it if you wanna lick me clean.”

The heat in Noah’s gaze was unmistakable, but much to Dare’s dismay, he didn’t have a comeback. Not sexual, anyway.

“I’ll save you a seat,” Noah noted, glancing back at Dare over his shoulder as he reached for the knob on the door. “But you better hurry.”

The instant the door closed, Dare flew out of the bed. He scrambled to find clothes still packed in his suitcase, then glanced at the clock.

“Fucker,” he mumbled to himself, taking a deep breath.

It was only eight fifteen.

Noah s
tepped into the hall, then took a moment to lean against the door, trying to calm himself down. The last thing he needed was to run into Milly when he was half out of his mind with lust.

When he closed his eyes, he could still see Dare lying on that bed, stroking himself to completion.

Damn.

Turned out that Dare was right about one thing. Noah had been known to watch. Which explained why he hadn’t been able to look away when he’d unknowingly opened the bathroom door to witness Dare jacking off on the twin bed, the crisp white sheet pooled over his thighs. Noah had been stunned motionless, unable to swallow or to look away from the impressive sight. He’d been transfixed, watching as Dare’s thick cock tunneled in and out of his fist…

For those few minutes, he’d even allowed himself to remember all those times when Dare had jacked off for him, allowing him to watch. And the times when Dare had fucked his ass so perfectly Noah could hardly breathe afterwards.

Noah shifted, trying to readjust his dick, which was straining against the zipper of his cargo shorts and making them uncomfortably tight.

He’d barely managed to close the bathroom door after watching Dare come, Noah’s name on his lips. It’d been the most beautiful sight he’d seen in probably fifteen fucking years. More than anything, Noah had wanted to walk right across that room, ignore all those years and the bad memories that separated them, take Dare in hand, and get him hard again just so he could suck him off.

Noah feared this was starting to become a problem.

He was supposed to be here as a favor to Milly.

He was supposed to be here to keep an eye on his stepsister.

He was supposed to be here because her friends were getting hitched.

He was
not
supposed to be lusting after Dare Davis.

Or thinking about how he tasted, how he would feel when Noah slid deep into his body.

But he was.

He so was.

And he didn’t know how he was going to make it through the next seven days without jumping Dare. That was the deal. He couldn’t. He’d made a pact, agreed he wouldn’t, but with temptation like that…

He was only human.

Taking another soothing breath, Noah pushed away from the door and started down the hall. He thrust his hands into his pockets and focused on the thick carpet lining the corridor.

“Morning.”

Stopping mid-step, Noah turned to see Milly coming up behind him.

“Morning.” He wondered briefly if she’d seen him a minute ago during his attempt to pull himself together.

Her smile was sweet and mischievous, which meant it could go either way. “You look … like a man who did
not
get laid last night.”

Noah shook his head in disbelief.

“So you didn’t?” She moved closer. “Or you did? You don’t have to give me details. It’s still early. You can save those for later. Over drinks.”

Noah frowned.

“What?” Milly asked innocently.

“Have you ever heard of this thing called minding your own business?”

Her eyes widened slightly. “No,” she said deadpan. “What is it? Should I know about it? Was it a public school thing? It was, wasn’t it?”

Noah chuckled, then started walking again, Milly falling into step beside him. Before they made it to the end of the hall, Cam was running toward them from the opposite end, panic etched on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Milly asked, all humor in her tone gone.

“Gannon’s … well, he’s sick.” Cam took a breath, his eyes wild. “He’s been up most of the night, puking his guts up.”

Noah watched the two of them.

“What’s wrong with him?” Milly questioned, her hand resting gently on Cam’s arm, an obvious attempt to calm him down. “Is it the flu?”

Cam shrugged.

“I’m guessing it’s motion sickness,” Noah offered.

“Shit. Why didn’t I think of that?” Cam asked.

Maybe because the guy had other things on his mind. Noah held Cam’s gaze. “Is he wearing a patch?”

Cam’s eyebrows furrowed. “No. What type of patch?”

“They make them for motion sickness,” Noah explained.

“Shit.” Cam shook his head.

“Does he have anything for it?”

“No,” Cam said on an exhale. “I didn’t even think about it. I can’t believe I didn’t think about it.”

“Relax.” Milly’s tone was soothing as she squeezed Cam’s arm, her eyes landing on Noah’s face. “What can we do about it?”

“Let me go down to the clinic,” Noah stated. “I’m sure they’ll have something he can take while on board the ship.”

Cam nodded. “It’s bad.”

“Well, the good news is that the ship’s docking soon. We’re at CocoCay for the day,” Milly explained. “Maybe if he gets off the boat for a while, he’ll feel better.”

Footsteps sounded from behind him, but Noah didn’t turn to see who it was. He didn’t need to when Cam and Milly glanced past him, both looking as though the newcomer would save the day.

“Hey.” The familiar voice came from over Noah’s left shoulder.

“I’ll be back in a few,” Noah told Cam just as Dare came to a stop beside him.

Now it was a regular old party in the hallway.

“What’s up?” Dare looked between the three of them as he effectively boxed Noah in and kept him from being able to leave.

Noah couldn’t help but inhale the delicious scent that accompanied Dare. If the guy expected Noah to keep his hands to himself, he was going to have to do something about that. He couldn’t walk around smelling like Armani and expect Noah to be a gentleman. It was too much.

“Gannon’s sick,” Cam told Dare.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Noah repeated, excusing himself.

“Where’re you goin’?” Dare asked, placing his hand on Noah’s arm.

“He’s gonna go get some medicine,” Milly explained. “Go with him. And y’all hurry.”

Great. Just what Noah needed.

An extra hit of sexy first thing in the damn morning.

Ten

Dare fell into step with Noah, sneaking a quick peek at the guy’s delectable ass encased in those shorts. Yum. He shouldn’t have been looking, but he couldn’t help himself. Admittedly, it had been a long time since Dare had felt any sort of attraction to a guy. At least on this level.

That all-consuming desire to jump on top of the guy, wrestle him right out of his clothes, and lodge himself deep inside his body…

Mmm.

Yeah. Damn long time since that had happened.

“You okay?” Noah asked when they made it down the stairs to the main level of the ship.

Dare looked up at Noah’s face, realizing he’d been busted ogling Noah’s ass.

Oh, well.

A group of people passed by as Noah leaned in close to Dare’s ear. “You’re picturing me naked, aren’t you?”

Dare choked out a laugh. “Not a chance.”

“I look good, don’t I?”

Dare frowned at Noah.

“Naked,” Noah explained. “I look damn good naked.”

A woman passing by watched them intently, her eyes wide as she cast a quick glance over Noah. The appreciative gleam in her gaze said she wasn’t going to argue with Noah’s assessment of himself.

Sorry, honey, he doesn’t swing that way.

Not that Dare cared which team Noah batted for. Dare wasn’t interested in Noah. Granted, that didn’t explain why he wanted to shoo the woman away.

“I’ve seen better,” Dare lied, smirking at Noah.

“Does it hurt?” Noah lifted one dark brow.

Dare glanced down at himself, not sure what Noah was referring to. He met Noah’s gaze with a questioning look.

Noah started down the hall, and Dare followed after him.

“Lying to yourself. Does it hurt?”

Dare shook his head just as they stepped into the clinic. This was the side of Noah he had honestly forgotten about. The guy who teased simply because it was fun. Yep. That guy wasn’t all that bad.

He stayed back while Noah went to the counter and talked to a slender woman, whose gaze only briefly left Noah to acknowledge Dare. She smiled at him, then her eyes slipped back to Noah, scanned him briefly as Noah explained to her what he needed. Within minutes, he received a small envelope with what Dare assumed were motion-sickness pills.

When Noah headed for the door, Dare fell into step with him. “What makes you so sure it’s motion sickness?”

“Unless the guy is trying to get out of getting married…”

“Not a chance,” Dare stated instantly. “Hell, Gannon would’ve married Cam a million times over by now if Cam would’ve agreed.”

“Well, I figure it’s either motion sickness or food poisoning. Since we haven’t heard of anyone else getting sick from dinner, it’s probably safe to assume this is it.”

True. Dare had probably eaten more than anyone in the room last night and he felt fine. But he wasn’t done questioning Noah yet.

“And if you’re wrong?” Dare countered.

“I’m not.”

“How can you be so sure of yourself?”

Dare had to admit, that trait was fucking sexy as hell. He liked the cockiness in Noah’s tone when it came to his certainty. Still, he was having fun riling the guy.

Noah tossed a quick glance over his shoulder at Dare. “I’m just that good.”

Whatever. “Well, if you’re wrong…”

Noah stopped abruptly, causing Dare to slam into him before stumbling to the side. He reached for the wall so he could get his feet under him, at the same time Noah crowded him until he was up against the wall of the corridor leading to the stairs. The movement surprised him, and Dare wasn’t able to think when Noah was that close.

Damn, he smelled good. Not of cologne, though. It was a fresh scent. Soap and fabric softener or something. He briefly wondered if Noah still did a load of laundry every single day the way he had when they were younger.

“If I’m wrong”—Noah lowered his voice until the gravelly tone was barely above a whisper, his mouth dangerously close to Dare’s ear—“then I’ll suck your dick right here in this hallway. How’s that for confidence?”

“You’re gonna walk all the way back down here to—”

Noah cut him off with a hand over Dare’s mouth, their gazes locked. When Noah released him, it took almost more willpower than he had not to grab Noah and…

“If I’m wrong,” Noah repeated slowly, “I’ll bring you right back down to this hallway, drop to my knees, and take your cock in my mouth.”

“Is that a threat?” Dare managed to wheeze through the lump in his throat. Just the thought of Noah on his knees with Dare’s cock in his mouth made it damn difficult to breathe.

“It’s a promise. And I remember how much you enjoyed my mouth on your dick.”

Dare puffed up his chest, forcing Noah back a bit. “I don’t remember anything of the sort.” It was suddenly the only thing he remembered.

Noah took a step back and smiled. “That lying thing … that’s new.”

Yeah. It was.

And Dare didn’t have any intention of stopping.

Not if he was expected to make it through the next several days in one piece.

It took tremendous effort to back away from Dare, but Noah managed.

What he really wanted to do was drop to his knees, free Dare’s cock, and deep throat him right there in the hallway. He didn’t give a fuck who might see them. Seemed he hadn’t calmed down as much as he’d thought since that live porn show he’d witnessed earlier. And the longer he was around Dare, the worse it seemed to get.

He offered a quick wink, trying to play off this little scene as fun and games. Unfortunately, Noah’s dick didn’t understand the games part. It was ready for the fun, though. More than ready.

Oddly enough, Dare didn’t say anything more, so Noah turned back toward the stairs, then led the way up to their floor.

“What cabin are they in?” Noah asked, glancing down the hall.

Dare stepped in front of him, taking the lead. “Don’t look at my ass.”

Noah instantly glanced down at Dare’s ass, nearly slamming into Dare when he stopped. He took a quick step to the side and waited while Dare knocked on the door and was instructed to come in.

“Holy fuck,” Dare muttered when they stepped inside. “I end up in a shoe box with The Great Snore-dini and y’all get this? It’s bigger than my apartment.”

So Dare lived in an apartment. Good to know.

No. Wait. It didn’t matter where Dare lived.

Remembering why he was there, Noah sidestepped Dare, holding out the small brown envelope the nurse at the clinic had given him. “The instructions are on the packet. He needs to take one as soon as possible. If he thinks he can keep it down.”

Cam nodded, then turned.

There, lying on the bed in the fetal position, was Gannon looking noticeably green.

Yep, definitely motion sickness.

It wasn’t necessarily that the ship moved all that much, but for people who were even the slightest bit queasy from movement, it could be a problem.

“He might feel better sitting outside,” Noah suggested. “The fresh air’ll help.”

“We tried that.” Cam was shaking his head as he glanced over at Gannon. “Actually made it worse.”

“Then keep him in bed until he feels better. Long enough for the pill to start working, at least,” Noah instructed.

Cam nodded. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Not wanting to overstay his welcome, Noah turned to leave.

“Y’all need anything else?” Dare questioned. “We can grab some foo—”

Noah placed his hand over Dare’s mouth once more, feeling his warm breath against his palm. Lowering his voice, he said, “Don’t mention food.”

Dare met Noah’s gaze and nodded.

“Come on. Let’s give ’em some space.”

Dare frowned, his voice low when he whispered, “How will I know if you were right or not?”

Noah leveled him with a look, then grabbed Dare’s thick shoulders and turned him toward the door. “I’m right.”

“But how will I know?”

“We’ll see y’all in a bit,” Noah called out, pushing Dare out into the hall.

Surprisingly, Milly didn’t say a word, but Noah had noticed the way she’d watched the two of them the entire time.

“You ready to eat?” Dare questioned once they were in the hall.

Not knowing whether or not that was an innuendo, Noah looked back at Dare.

“Food,” Dare clarified. “You know ... sausage.”

Noah shook his head, then turned back toward the stairs.

“Oh. We going back to that hallway already?” Dare questioned, his tone innocent, but Noah knew the man was still teasing him.

If Dare wasn’t careful, Noah would do what he’d been wanting to do since the minute he’d first seen him after all these years. Only, Noah knew if that happened, neither of them would walk off this ship in the same condition they’d boarded it in.

And he hadn’t yet figured out how to clear that little obstacle just yet.

So for now, they’d have to settle for food.

Milly sat in the upholstered chair in the corner of Cam and Gannon’s cabin, continuing to watch the empty space by the door after Noah and Dare had vacated. She had a million questions running through her head, but she wasn’t sure she should give voice to any of them. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that Dare and Noah knew each other.

Granted, from her perspective, they sure did make one hot couple.

“Do you know what their history is?” she asked, not directing the question at anyone in particular.

Cam stepped in front of her, blocking her view. She looked up at him, and he nodded toward the sliding doors that led out to their private deck.

Getting to her feet, she cast a quick glance at Gannon, who was still lying on the bed, curled up in a ball. She felt so bad for the guy. He’d been looking forward to this trip for so long and now … what a way to spend the first morning of your wedding vacation.

Once outside, Cam closed the door behind them, then stepped over to the railing and rested his forearms on the bar.

“Has Dare ever mentioned Noah?” Milly asked, clarifying what she meant by history.

“No.” Cam shook his head as he peered over at her.

“And you’ve known him the longest?”

Cam nodded. “I met him when I started working for a small marina back when I was in high school.”

“And you’ve never known him to date Noah?”

Cam shook his head.

“Well, they definitely have history.” She tried to imagine them together as teenagers as she stared out at the water. “Dare said they dated for a little over two years, but he wouldn’t give me any more details.”

Cam didn’t respond, but she hadn’t expected him to. He wasn’t the best person to gossip to. Roan was far better for that sort of thing.

“I think Dare’s the one who got away,” she told Cam.

“What makes you think that?” There was a hint of interest in Cam’s ocean-blue eyes.

“Have you seen the way they look at each other? It’s like they’re singeing the other’s clothes off with their eyes. Heat like that doesn’t just happen.”

Cam grinned. “I beg to differ. I’m pretty sure I managed to make Gannon’s suit smolder that first day y’all showed up at the marina.”