Fearless (Pier 70 #2) (5 page)

The fifteen years that had separated them was likely it.

Noah swallowed as reality sank in.

It
was
him.

Dare Davis.

How the hell had this happened? How had they ended up here of all places?

It looked as though six degrees of separation wasn’t as absurd a theory as he’d once thought.

Noah hoped he didn’t look as off-balance as he felt, but he couldn’t be sure. The way Dare was staring back at him as though he were planning how he intended to toss him overboard told Noah that he was equally shocked. Not that he could blame the guy. Standing less than two feet away was the one man Noah had never thought he’d see again. Not after…

“Noah.” Dare’s greeting carried an icy chill.

“Dare.” Noah nodded, mocking his tone, refusing to look directly at Milly, though he knew his stepsister was already trying to figure this one out.

Good luck with that.

“You two know each other?” Milly questioned curiously.

Noah spared her a quick glance, noticing the way her gaze flipped from one to the other, her mouth hanging open. She looked as stunned as he felt. Thankfully, unlike her, he’d managed to keep his mouth closed. He hoped.

Regardless of how he looked, Noah didn’t know how to answer Milly’s question, so he returned his attention to Dare.

Yes, they knew each other, but it had been years since he’d seen Dare. Many, many years.

“Fine,” Milly huffed, her tone firmer this time, “it’s pretty obvious you do, so let me dumb it down a bit.
How
do you know each other?”

“It was a long time ago.” Dare narrowed his eyes at Noah before turning around to face the bar when the bartender appeared. “But not nearly long enough.”

For some reason, that spiteful remark pulled a smile from Noah. The fact that Dare was unhappy to see him didn’t surprise him one bit.

Noah glanced at the drinks being placed on the bar in front of Dare. The apple martini would be for Milly; he knew that much. When she wasn’t chugging wine like water, his stepsister was a huge fan of those fruity drinks. And the Rolling Rock … same old Dare. If he recalled correctly, Noah had been the one to introduce an underage Dare to that particular beer.

If Dare’s drink selection was any indication, some things hadn’t changed with the blast from Noah’s past.

He allowed his gaze to stray to Dare when the man turned back around and handed Milly her drink. Noah casually took him in from head to toe, doing his best not to let the heat that consumed him show. Just as it had been all those years ago, there was an instantaneous physical attraction that Noah couldn’t deny.

Dare was casually dressed in a forest-green polo that brought out the green in his hazel eyes, a pair of faded Levis that showcased his long legs, and a pair of brown leather Rockports that looked as though they’d never been worn.

No doubt about it, the guy still had it going on. Fiercely.

Those sexy, rugged features had been what had drawn him to Dare in the first place. Dare was the modern-day gay equivalent of a Greek god. Still. Long and lean, he oozed sex appeal with his crooked smile (which was noticeably absent at the moment) and bedroom eyes. And for the twenty-five months they’d been together, the sex had been … off the fucking charts.

Dropping his gaze to his feet, Noah took a deep breath. He certainly wasn’t going to think about that now. Definitely not with Milly likely scrutinizing his every facial muscle, still waiting for an explanation.

Milly cleared her throat.

Noah lifted his gaze to Dare’s, noticing the way he was clenching his teeth, the muscle in his jaw flexing, the tick in his eyebrow making his left eye twitch.

Yep, still fucking adorable.

Okay, so maybe some things had changed. He was still long and lean, but gone was the skinny guy Dare had once been, and in his place was a thicker, more muscular, damn sexy man with a determined glint in his eyes. Seemed as though the past fifteen years had been good to Dare. Very good. And he still had the same intriguing eyes, same short, brown hair—though it seemed lighter than before, probably from all the time he spent in the sun, since, according to Milly, the guy owned a marina.

“So which one of you is gonna fill me in?” Milly was still staring as she sipped her drink. “And you should both know right now, I’m quite adept at torture. So either spit it out or I will drag it out of you.”

Noah didn’t know how to explain their history together. Didn’t even know if he should.

“Hey, Mill.”

Milly and Dare both turned to face whomever the disembodied voice coming from over Noah’s left shoulder belonged to. Noah took a step forward, a tad closer to Dare, before he turned and faced the man who was responsible for saving the day. Though, now that he saw who it was, he was, ironically,
also
the man responsible for this—whatever this was—by association.

“Gannon,” Milly greeted, her eyes smiling along with the rest of her as she shifted so that she could include Noah in the conversation. “You remember my stepbrother, Noah.”

Gannon nodded, then held out his hand.

Noah returned the gesture. “Good to see you again, Gannon. And congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Gannon blushed, a move that was noticeable due to the unusual paleness of his skin. “I’m just ready for it to be over.”

“What? The wedding?” Milly chuckled. “Or the boat ride?”

“It’s not so bad right now.” Gannon glanced between the three of them. “I’m not sure I’ll feel the same when this thing’s moving or when we’re miles away from land.”

“You’ll be fine,” Milly assured him. “Just think, Cam will keep you busy.”

Gannon nodded. “Speaking of…” Gannon’s gaze hopped between the three of them once more before landing back on Milly. “I’m gonna go find him.”

Noah wondered if Gannon felt the tension or if he simply wanted to go find his future husband.

“I’ll go with you.” Dare took a step forward, his shoulder bumping Noah harder than was necessary. On purpose, no doubt.

Milly instantly placed her hand on Dare’s chest. “Nope. Uh-uh. You stay here.
I’ll
go with him.”

Noah noticed Dare’s frown.

Before Milly left, she came to stand directly in front of them both. “You two better play nice.”

Noah had every intention of playing nice. How else would he play? It’d been fifteen years … which was the equivalent of ancient history as far as he was concerned.

“Oh, and do me a favor.” Fortitude replaced the amusement in her bright blue eyes.

Noah lifted an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

“Don’t let me stumble upon the two of you naked anywhere. If you’re gonna get naked, take it back to your cabin.”

Dare snorted.

Noah smiled.

Leave it to Milly to lighten the mood. Or try to, anyway.

The thought of Dare naked…

Definitely not what he needed to be thinking about.

A quick peek at Dare once more and Noah noticed he was still sulking. He didn’t need to wonder why the man wasn’t happy. Looked as though, for some, a decade and a half wasn’t long enough to forgive and forget. It was clear Dare didn’t want anything to do with him.

Not that Noah understood that exactly. From what he remembered, their breakup hadn’t been Noah’s fault. If his memory served him correctly, Dare had been the one who’d walked away.

In the middle of the night.

When Noah was asleep.

Once Milly left, Noah spared another quick peek at Dare to find him scowling, his eyes leveled on Noah’s face.

“Why are you here?” Dare hissed, his voice low.

Noah grimaced. “Because Milly invited me?”

“You’re tellin’ me it had nothing to do with me?”

For a brief moment, he felt like laughing, but then he realized Dare was serious. Noah’s face heated, his anger igniting. Lowering his voice, he took a step closer to Dare, getting right up in his face—ignoring how damn good Dare smelled. “How the fuck would I know you’d be here? I haven’t seen you in fifteen fucking years.”

Not that he’d kept track. Much.

Dare’s eyes narrowed, his mouth opened, then snapped closed.

“How do I know
you
didn’t have something to do with this?” Noah added, unable to refrain. “Maybe
you’re
the one who told Milly to invite
me
.”

Dare moved another step closer, and they were almost touching, chest to knee. “I had no fucking idea you were her stepbrother. Last I remembered, your parents were still married and you were an only child.”

True. He had been. But a lot of shit had happened since then. Shit Noah did not want to think about today or any day, for that matter.

“I was,” Noah confirmed. “Right up until the day Milly’s dad married my mother, three years ago.” What he didn’t say was that his dad had
died
, fucking Noah’s world up beyond repair.

And yes, maybe this was one hell of a coincidence.

Didn’t mean Noah had a fucking clue how to deal with it—or get away from it, for that matter. They were stuck on a boat for the next eight days.

The only positive … it was a big fucking boat.

Four

Dare knew he needed to get his shit together. Being an asshole certainly didn’t suit him.

Or maybe it was the clothes he was forced to wear.

Or both.

He took a deep breath, trying to fight off the overwhelming emotions that swamped him. It had been more than a decade and a half since he’d last seen Noah, but standing here now, it felt as though that devastating day he’d lost the only man he’d ever allowed himself to love had been yesterday.

But it hadn’t been.

And technically, he hadn’t
lost
Noah. A search party had never been issued because he’d known right where Noah was. Dare had simply walked away. And Noah … well, he hadn’t cared enough to come after him.

Swallowing hard, he stared back at the blast from his past who had somehow ended up on this ship. For a brief moment, he worried he wouldn’t be able to handle being in close contact with Noah for any length of time. Not after…

He needed to remember that he was fifteen years older now. Far wiser than the nineteen-year-old punk he’d been back then when he’d allowed Noah to break his heart.

He wasn’t that guy—or
kid
, as Noah had called him—anymore.

He was a grown-up.

A civilized adult.

Okay, maybe not civilized, but an adult, nonetheless.

Which meant he could
act
civilized if he had to.

Right?

Knowing better than to get lost in the past, Dare forced a smile. “Gotta go chat with some people. Have fun.”

“I plan to,” Noah replied as Dare walked away, but Dare managed not to turn around and ask him what that meant.

He didn’t want to know.

Dare found Hudson standing in the far corner, sipping what appeared to be something strong. Lucky bastard. Shaking off the past few minutes, Dare nodded toward him and asked, “Why do you look pissed?”

Hudson grinned, then signed back,
I was going to ask you the same thing.

Rolling his eyes, pretending he wasn’t pissy, Dare said, “Looks like my past caught up with me. What’s your excuse?”

Hudson shook his head and drained the rest of his drink.

That was when Dare followed Hudson’s line of sight, coming to rest on Teague, who was … yep, blatantly flirting it up with one of the waiters.

Not surprising.

Dare glanced at Hudson once more, then back to Teague, unable to contain his laugh.

Hudson waved a hand in front of Dare’s face, getting his attention.

Why are you laughing?

“Why are you pouting?”

Hudson’s green eyes narrowed, and he flipped Dare off, making Dare laugh louder.

“I thought you brought a plus one? Why’re you worried about Teague?”

Hudson’s grin was slow and wicked, causing Dare to watch him closely.

“Who’s the plus one?” Dare was far too curious not to ask.

My brother, AJ.
Hudson’s grin widened.
Just don’t tell Teague that. I’m pretty sure he already assumes otherwise.

Based on the way Teague was glaring in their direction, that was likely a safe assumption. Not to mention, it was just like Hudson to lead the kid on and make him think that way.

Those two were something else.

It would be quite easy for Hudson to snag Teague if he wanted to, Dare knew. The hostility between those two … it was tightly wrapped in a bubble of sexual tension, tied with a bow made solely of desperate, undeniable attraction. Only, it seemed that both Hudson and Teague weren’t aware of that. Or if they were, they were pretending otherwise. Which amused Dare.

Hudson nodded his chin in the direction behind Dare.
Who is the hot guy staring you down?

Dare shrugged. It was better than lying, at least.

Hudson smiled.
Right. At least you didn’t deny he’s hot.

“Whatever.” Dare lifted his beer to his lips.

Okay, so this hadn’t been the greatest idea in the world. Of all people, the man who couldn’t speak was the one giving him shit.

Needing some air, Dare turned to Hudson once more. “If anyone’s lookin’ for me, tell them I’ll be back.”

Hudson nodded, and Dare tossed back what was left of his beer, set the empty bottle on the table, and made a beeline out of the room. He didn’t stop until he’d made it to the deck, the sun beaming down on his head, the scent of saltwater filling his nostrils. Only then did he take a deep breath, stretching his arms out in front of him as he gripped the rail and bent over, dropping his head between his shoulders and staring at the ground.

Noah Pearson.

Of all the people in all the world, how was it that Noah was Milly’s stepbrother? And how was it that he’d never once heard Noah’s name mentioned?

Oh, yeah. Because Dare had changed the subject every damn time.

Stupid.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

“You okay?”

A firm hand landed on Dare’s back, causing him to bolt upright, turning to see Roan standing beside him.

“Never better, why?” Yep, he was fairly certain that was a squeak that had followed his response.

Roan smiled. “Yes, and you sound it, too.”

“Thanks.”

“Pre-wedding jitters?” Roan baited.

“Something like that.” More like he was tempted to jump off the side of the ship and take his chances in the water. Didn’t matter that the ship hadn’t left the port yet.

“Let me guess.” Roan leaned back against the rail and crossed his arms over his wide chest, giving Dare his full attention. “It has something to do with Milly’s stepbrother.”

Dare glanced over. “How’d you know?”

Roan smirked. “I didn’t. Not until now.”

Rolling his eyes, Dare couldn’t help but laugh. Leave it to Roan to turn the tables on him. It really was good to see his friend back to his normal self. For the longest time, Dare had thought they’d lost Roan’s sense of humor completely.

Didn’t look to be the case. Though it could use a little work.

“Spill.” Roan nodded, crossing one ankle over the other as though he was settling in for a long story. “How do you know him?”

“What makes you think I do?”

Roan cast him a sideways glance. “I’ve known you a long damn time, and never once have I seen you quite so shaken by a man.”

Yeah, well. Noah wasn’t just any man. He was only the man Dare had thought he would spend the rest of his life with.

Oh, how he’d been so wrong.

“Just a guy I dated.” Dare tried to sound nonchalant. At least he didn’t squeak.

Roan laughed again, and once more, Dare weighed the dangers of launching himself off the side of the ship. Since he doubted he would survive without breaking a few bones—or even his neck—he decided he had no choice but to suck it up.

Especially when the horn sounded, announcing their departure for sea.

Great.

Just. Great.

“I think I’m gonna go get unpacked,” Dare told Roan. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

Roan nodded. “If you need to talk…”

“I know.” Dare appreciated that his friend offered, but he wasn’t planning to do anything of the sort.

He was here to have fun.

That—along with pretending Noah didn’t exist—was the only thing he planned to do.

Afte
r watching Dare disappear, Noah had been tempted to follow him, though his common sense told him that wasn’t a wise idea. So, rather than make a fool of himself, he had remained right where he was.

At the bar.

With a drink.

Now he was on his second.

While he’d attempted to drink away the last half hour, he’d kept an eye on the people in the room, listened to them talk amongst themselves, everyone seemingly ecstatic about the upcoming wedding, but more so about the fact that Cam and Gannon had insisted on taking a cruise.

Yep, eight wonderful days on the open water, forced to be with the same people, unable to get away…

Suck it up, Pearson.

While everyone else was having a good time, the only thing Noah wanted to do was find Dare and confront him. About what, he didn’t know yet, but he was almost certain that by his third or fourth drink he would have a good idea.

So yes, two drinks in and he was feeling a little looser than before. His mind wandering to things better left alone. For example, the day—or rather, night—Dare had disappeared from his life without so much as a note. And okay, maybe Noah hadn’t been completely caught off guard because of the falling-out they’d had when Dare had suggested they take their relationship to the next level. But surely he had deserved some warning.

A good-bye would’ve been nice, too.

Seemed Noah had come full circle, right back in the presence of the man who had flipped his world on its axis, making him fear his future. Which was ironic in itself. At the time, Noah had been twenty-three and fearless, ready to conquer the world. Only, one man had proven him wrong.

His fear of a future with Dare hadn’t been because of any problems they’d been having. And not because he hadn’t thought that he and Dare would’ve had a good life, either. There had been a possibility. Their relationship had been solid, or so Noah had thought. But at the time, Dare had been nineteen. In Noah’s mind, that was far too young to be settling down.

Never had it occurred to him how serious Dare was at the time. The guy hadn’t exactly been known for his maturity. The Dare he knew wasn’t the responsible one, he was the jokester, the life of the party, the guy who was always pulling one prank after another. It’d been charming, but not something that had Noah thinking long-term thoughts.

And still, he’d thought about Dare frequently over the years, wondering what he was doing, where he’d gone. But not once had he set out to find him. After the initial anger had worn off and he’d stopped hating Dare for leaving him and for the subsequent events that had followed, Noah had hoped that Dare had done something with himself, found someone to settle down with, fall in love with…

Who said he hadn’t?

Okay, so that thought took Noah by surprise. Just because Dare had been shocked to see him certainly didn’t mean he was single and ripe for the picking.

The mere notion of Dare belonging to someone else did not sit well with Noah.

Great. Now it seemed the sea air was making him crazy.

He glared down at the empty glass in front of him. Yes, he would blame it on the drinks.

“So, Milly tells me you’re a firefighter.”

Noah turned to see Cam Strickland, the man he recognized from the wedding invitation picture as Gannon’s muscular, tattooed other half.

Smiling, he held out his hand to Cam. “Nice to officially meet you.”

“Same goes.” Cam shook Noah’s hand and grinned. “Can’t tell you how happy I was to hear Milly would have a chaperone on this trip.”

Noah chuckled. He could only imagine. “And yes, Austin Fire Department,” Noah explained.

Cam nodded. “Rumor has it you know Dare.”

“Rumor has it?” Noah chuckled. “Or Milly said?”

“Is there a difference?”

Cam had a point. “No, I guess there’s not.”

“Well, I’m glad you could make it, regardless.”

“You might be the only one.” Noah thought about his interaction with Dare.

“Who? Dare?” The lack of concern in Cam’s tone made Noah feel marginally better.

Cam leaned against the bar, his elbows on the scarred wood as he faced the room.

Noah turned to see what Cam was looking at. “If I had to guess, Dare’s currently plotting a way to shove me overboard. And make it look like an accident.”

“I wouldn’t doubt that.” Cam laughed. At least someone could. “But he’ll get over it. He doesn’t hold a grudge for long.”

Fifteen years is a long damn time.
And clearly Dare was still holding one, or so it seemed.

The subtle shift beneath his feet told Noah that the boat was moving, which meant there was no turning back now. Unless he was planning to take a long swim or hijack a life raft, he was in it for the long haul.