Treasure of Love (13 page)

Jack guided the boat into his normal slip, and after the boat was secured, everyone met in the galley to decide on a plan. Dona suggested that Mac could fly her and Dax to Juneau at first light and the rest could stay behind and provision the boat for the next trip. But Mac assured her that they had plenty of provisions on board and they could shop during the waiting period while they awaited salvage permit approval. He also suggested that since he was trained to fly on instruments, they could all go to Juneau together that night, find a hotel room, have nice, long, hot showers, a late celebratory dinner, and be at the State Building first thing in the morning.

Dax voted for that idea because, secretly, he wanted the opportunity to be with Jack in a nice hotel room. Everyone else seemed excited about the long, hot shower and dinner in a restaurant. So in the end, they all agreed that they would get going ASAP.

Dona and Dax packed all the charts, photos, video, daily logs, and anything else they thought they might need and took it with them to prove that they’d truly found the
Anna Wyoming
. Brad and Mac’s floatplane was secured nearby, and they all piled in and made the ninety-one mile flight to Juneau.

They safely touched down and took a cab downtown to find a hotel. It was nearing eleven o’clock when they located the State Building on West 9
th
Street and continued down the block until they came to the Juneau Hotel. They paid the driver, unloaded their bags, and walked toward the front desk. Brad and Mac were first to get there and stepped up to the counter. Jack, Dax, and Dona stood behind the velvet rope and formed a line to check in. Brad and Mac offered to let Jack bunk in with them, and he took them up on their offer. They reserved their room pretty quickly and headed straight for the hotel bistro, to see if they could get a table while Dax and Dona finished reserving their room. The restaurant was about to close, but allowed them in if they agreed to order quickly and not linger after their meal. Dona joined them shortly, but Dax was still standing at the front desk talking to the hotel clerk. They waited at the bar while the waiter set a large corner booth for them.

“So much for our celebratory meal,” Jack mumbled as he wondered what was keeping Dax.

He didn’t have to wonder long because when he turned around, Dax was standing right next to him. “There will be plenty of time for celebration,” Dax said as he winked at Jack and rubbed the outside of his fingers across Jack’s cheek.

Jack leaned into Dax’s touch and purred like a kitten. Then he suddenly remembered where they were. He froze and looked around to make sure no one had seen the public display of affection. He quickly felt his entire body tense as panic filled his brain, and his first instinct was to swat Dax’s hand away and bolt. But instead, remembering what he’d promised Dax earlier that day, he fought the fear, took a deep breath, and willed himself to calm down.

Dax had felt more than saw the moment Jack realized what was happening, and watched the panic as it overtook him. He also felt Jack fighting the urge to push his hand away. His heart skipped a beat in anticipation of the rejection surely to follow. But then Jack smiled that soft smile that always melted his heart, and he knew it was all okay. Brad, Mac, and Dona watched silently, as if taking bets in their heads on whether Jack would bolt or not, but he quickly relaxed and let it go when the moment had passed.

They enjoyed a quick dinner and a few glasses of wine, then all agreed that it had been a long, productive day and it was time to turn in. The State Building opened at eight-thirty, so they planned to meet for breakfast at seven o’clock. Dona was the first to give in to the exhaustion. She stood and said, “Good night. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

“Good night, sis,” Dax said.

“Have a good night, Dona,” Jack said.

Mac and Brad said, “Wait for us. We’ll ride up with you.”

They stood and turned to Jack. “Will we see you tonight, Jack?” Mac asked.

Jack was caught a little off guard by the question, but quickly bounced back and looked over at Dax.

“I don’t know. Dax, will I be seeing Mac and Brad later tonight?”

Dax felt like a deer caught in the headlights. He thought about the question for a second, turned beet red and said, “It’s up to you, Jack, but if it were my call, I would say no, you won’t see the guys tonight.”

Jack smiled and squeezed Dax’s thigh under the table. “Okay then, gentlemen, have a nice night, and I’ll see you at breakfast.”

Dona just smiled and turned toward the elevator.

Dax said, “Good night, guys.” And Jack smiled shyly as the three of them walked away from the table.

Dax and Jack debated on another glass of wine, but in the end they decided not to indulge, as neither wanted a hangover to go with their six o’clock wake-up call.

Dax paid the check, and they got up to leave. Jack had left bars and restaurants many times in the past with his buddies and had never felt weird or self-conscious, but this time was different. He hadn’t planned on having sex with any of those guys. He blushed all the way out of the restaurant and took a breath when he thought he was home free. But then they had to pass the front desk, and although no one stared or paid them any mind, he felt like everyone knew he was going up to have his cock sucked by a man for the first time, and God only knew what else.

They stepped up to the elevator, and Dax glanced at the room number written on his key card—eight-twenty-two. He pressed the “call” button on the elevator panel and looked up at the display over the doors. A couple of seconds later, the elevator doors opened. Dax bent over and made a wide, sweeping motion into the elevator as he held the doors open. He whispered, “Your chariot has arrived, sir.”

Jack smiled, and they stepped into the brass and mirrored elevator and pressed the number eight on the panel.

The doors slowly closed. “Eight floors to go,” Dax said. “I think that’s enough time for one really good kiss.”

Dax dropped his bag and opened his arms as Jack did the same and nervously stepped into them. He tilted his head upward, and before he could say anything, Dax took his lips. Softly at first, then with a sense of urgency Jack had rarely experienced. They were still kissing as the bell dinged and the elevator slowly came to a stop. The doors opened and Dax mumbled through the kiss, “I do believe we’ve arrived.” They picked up their bags and smiled again as they stepped out of the elevator and went in search of their room. When they located their home for the night, Dax swiped the keycard and watched the light on the door handle go from red to green as the door latch released, and they entered the room.

Much to Jack’s surprise, the room was far from your typical hotel room.
Well
I’ll be damned,
he reserved a suite
. Dax flipped on the light, and Jack saw that they were standing in a marbled foyer. To the left was a powder room, and straight ahead was a parlor or sitting room. Jack dropped his bag and whistled as he walked into the next room. Much to his surprise, there was an ice bucket with a chilled bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne, along with two flutes sitting on the wet bar in the corner. He walked to the next door and stuck his head in as he checked out the bedroom.

Jack whistled. “Pretty sure of yourself,” he said with a teasing smile.

“You mean the Veuve?” Dax asked.

“Among other things,” Jack responded.

“The Veuve is a tradition that I’ve had for the last five years,” Dax explained. “I find a wreck, I have a bottle of Veuve. The other things, well, let’s just say I had my fingers crossed.”

Dax stepped up to Jack and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Besides, I had no idea what was going to happen tonight, but either way, I knew the champagne and a suite couldn’t hurt.”

Jack looked a little confused.

“I mean, on the one hand, if you said yes and spent the night with me, I thought the suite and the champagne would be nice, romantic touches. And on the other hand, if you turned me down, I’d have someplace nice to cry and something to dull the pain of rejection. So either way, I thought it was a good idea.”

Jack shook his head in amazement. “Dax Powers, you never cease to amaze me.”

“And I hope I never stop amazing you,” Dax said as he brushed his lips over Jack’s. “How about opening the bubbly while I pee?”

“Sure.”

When Dax came out of the bathroom, Jack handed him a tall, thin glass of champagne.

They touched their glasses together and Dax said, “To us and the
Anna Wyoming
.”

“Cheers,” Jack whispered.

“About us,” Dax said.

Jack tilted his head and looked up at Dax.

“Listen, Jack, before anything happens between us, I’ve got to tell you that I’m pretty certain that my feelings for you are the real deal.”

Jack opened his mouth to speak, and Dax placed his finger on Jack’s lips.

“Please let me get through this. I’ve been falling for you since the day I walked onto your boat. The day we met, you thought my inability to speak was just me being rude, but in truth, I was so stunned by everything about you that I really couldn’t speak.

“Jack, I’m no prude. I’ve had boyfriends before, but I’ve never felt like this. Not even close. I know it’s probably way too soon, but it doesn’t matter. I’m going with my gut feelings here and following my heart. This connection I’m feeling is something I’ve never had with anyone else, and it scares the hell out of me.”

Jack focused on the words coming out of Dax’s mouth. Although he couldn’t comprehend it, was Dax actually saying that he was in love with him? And was he in love with Dax? Jack didn’t think he’d ever really been in love. His marriage had been short-lived and, in the end, he’d known that he really hadn’t loved her. He’d had a few other relationships along the way, but nothing had ever felt quite like this. Somewhere in the back of his heart, he believed it
was
love he was feeling for Dax. Could he man up and say it? And what would happen when the expedition was over?

Then the fear set in. Would Dax just leave him?

As soon as Dax finished speaking, silence filled the room. Dax could see the storm brewing behind Jack’s beautiful blue eyes. But was the brewing storm caused by doubt, passion, or love?

“Jack, say something, anything.”

Unable to control his emotions, Jack started to tremble. Dax put his glass on the table and took Jack’s and did the same. He then took both of Jack’s hands and lifted them to his lips and kissed them. Jack closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down before he attempted to speak. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His heart just wouldn’t tell his brain to tell his mouth what to say.

Dax took the struggle he’d seen in his eyes and his inability to speak as Jack’s answer. Dax’s eyes were watering up pretty fast, and as a single tear slipped out of his left eye, he gently kissed Jack’s hands, released them, and looked at the floor.

“Never mind, Jack. On second thought, please don’t say anything. I understand, and I promise that you won’t have to worry about me for the rest of the expedition. When it’s over, we can just go back to our old lives and forget this ever happened.”

Words and sentences and feelings were all consuming Jack’s thoughts at once.
Say something, you idiot
, he told himself, and “I have feelings for you too,” rushed out of his mouth.

Dax didn’t believe his own ears. He smiled and used his fingers to wipe the tears away. “Can you repeat that?” he asked.

Jack took a deep breath and calmly whispered, “I have feelings for you too, Dax Powers. And although I haven’t had time to sort through them all, I’m pretty sure they’re real.”

Dax picked Jack up like he was a rag doll and spun him around the room until they both landed on the couch.

“Jack, I want you so badly.”

Jack moaned and planted kisses all over Dax’s face. He stopped suddenly. “But I’ve never done this before. What am I supposed to do?”

Dax smiled. “All you need to do is let me love you, and the rest will all come naturally.”

Dax stood and offered his hand to Jack, and he accepted it and stood. Jack grabbed his glass of champagne and downed it in one gulp. Dax gave his glass to Jack and took the bottle with them as he led Jack into the bedroom. He filled both of their glasses before he put the bottle down and attacked Jack’s waiting mouth. Dax had one hand around Jack’s neck and the other holding his champagne while he slowly maneuvered Jack until the back of Jack’s legs hit the bed. Dax gently urged him down onto the bed before he broke the kiss. Dax tried to take Jack’s glass from him, but Jack again downed the champagne before he surrendered the glass.

Jack looked so scared and cute at the same time, Dax could hardly control himself.

“What do I do?” Jack asked.

“We just do what feels right,” Dax said. “We don’t have to get off. To me, it’s more about making love than having sex, so no pressure.”

“My God, Dax, I’m already hard as a rock for you.”

Dax fluffed up the pillows at the head of the bed and whispered, “Scoot up and relax while I undress you.”

Jack did as he was told, and Dax got to work slowly undressing him. He started by untying Jack’s boat shoes and slipping them off, one by one. He slowly massaged Jack’s feet, trying to get him to relax. He removed his socks and gently kissed the tips of his toes, then moved up to his shirt. He unbuttoned the cuffs of Jack’s shirtsleeves and then the buttons. Jack sat up and Dax slid Jack’s shirt over his shoulders and down his back. He reached down and grabbed the hem of Jack’s white T-shirt and pulled it over his head. He’d seen Jack’s muscular chest when they were getting their dive suits on, but it had never looked better than it did right now. Dax gently brushed his lips over Jack’s as he slid his hand down to unbuckle Jack’s belt and pants. Jack lifted his hips, and Dax slid his khaki pants down his gorgeous legs and finally off. He stopped for a second to admire this sexy, handsome man lying in his bed.

Jack felt very exposed, lying there in nothing but his boxer briefs. He opened his eyes to see Dax looking at him with lust and desire, and it excited and scared him at the same time.