Chapter 2
Rowe watched the moonlight reflect off the water. He loved this private cove with the woods surrounding them in three directions. Crickets and frogs kept up a steady backdrop to the laughter and murmured voices around him. He didn’t know how late it was—close to eleven, maybe. They hadn’t bothered to put on any lights beyond a few candles to keep the mosquitos away. They all wanted to enjoy the night, brightened by the full moon and the reflection of its light on the water. A pleasant tiredness filled him, his muscles feeling loose and relaxed from both the booze and the long day of swimming. With a full belly, a glass in his hand, and the view of his stunning boyfriend laughing in the hot tub, he couldn’t imagine a more perfect ending to the day.
Well, he could think of one, but that would come soon.
For now, he was just happy to bask in this break from his hectic business and enjoy the lake with his friends. His sigh was a long and contented sound. Noah splashed Andrei, making him smile. Noah had slid so smoothly into his family. Blue eyes met his, followed by a sexy wink. Damn, Noah was gorgeous wet. His hair, slicked back from his head, left his handsome face clear, showcasing those dimples Rowe couldn’t resist. His heart swelled and he leaned his head back, looked at the stars in the clear sky, and realized that he—who had found love like this twice—had been blessed in ways that so many weren’t. The warmth that filled his chest then was profound. A swell of thankfulness that this one person, in a world of many, found a place to belong. Twice. It no longer phased him that he’d fallen for a man the second time around—he’d long since figured out that for him, the person came first, and he’d loved Noah for a long, long time.
“This was a good idea,” Lucas murmured from beside him. They were both stretched out in lounge chairs not far from the tub where Andrei, Noah, Snow, and Jude relaxed. Their deep voices drifted through the night air, punctuated by the occasional chuckles. “The houseboat,” he said. “I like the setup and the lake is gorgeous. It’s private.”
Rowe nodded. “We should make this an annual thing. Try to take an entire week. I’ll pay next time. No arguments.”
Lucas merely smiled and Rowe knew exactly what he was thinking. They rarely won out when it came to paying for their trips. God, Lucas was such a control freak.
“I miss Ian,” Rowe added. “I think he’d like this sort of camping. Soft beds and bathrooms.”
“And a fully functioning kitchen.” Lucas sipped his whiskey. “But yeah, I miss him, too. These vacations aren’t the same when someone is missing.”
The corner of Rowe’s mouth turned up and he had to look away. Everything that he’d gone through—his loss of Mel, his realization that he had also been in love with his best friend, it had made him…different. He was quicker to get that mushy softness in his chest. Quicker to realize that he had something special with these men.
Lucas was a big fucking softy. He would never admit it, but it was there. All the time. He spoiled the rest of them, the men he considered family. Hell, he’d gone to a horrible party thrown by a crime boss years before and had taken a young man in the kitchen in as his own. He’d pulled Ian from that mess, given him a place to live and made him understand that not everyone who loved him wanted to use him.
As a rush of warmth filled his heart, Rowe realized he was not only mushy but drunk. He rolled his head on the back of the lounge chair to look at the man who remained the center of their world. He smiled. “Did you ever think you’d reign over a family like this one?”
Lucas was silent a long time before the corner of his mouth went up. “I don’t reign, Rowe. I just care. There is nothing in this world more powerful than the connection a person feels for another.” He aimed his sharp, green-gray gaze at him. “I am the lucky one in our relationship. And I will never forget that.”
Rowe’s heart skipped a beat. He stared at his friend, his heart frozen after that big hoorah. “I’m not sure what brought me into this sphere, but I thank the universe every single fucking day.”
Lucas smiled. “Me too, Rowe. Me too.”
Silence had him glancing over to find the guys all watching them.
Snow snorted and rolled his eyes. “The schmaltz, it burns!”
Jude lurched up and pushed Snow under the water, then he grunted in surprise and sank quickly, eyes flying open wide when Snow obviously did something to him under the water. Laughing, Noah and Andrei climbed out of the hot tub and grabbed towels.
“I knew better than to trust them in a hot tub after that time skiing,” Andrei muttered as he walked past them, stopping briefly to drop a kiss on Lucas’s forehead.
Lucas looked surprised and kind of bewildered—his expression so funny, Rowe busted into laughter just as Noah reached his chair. He stood up, patted his friend’s shoulder then grabbed Noah’s hand. “We’re off to bed.”
They made their way to their room and Rowe held up a hand outside the door. “Hold on while I check for booby traps.”
Noah snorted and crossed his arms. He hadn’t dried off completely and beads of water tempted Rowe toward his chest but he shook his head and cautiously opened the door. Surprised when he found nothing left in retaliation, he grabbed Noah and yanked him into the room. He had his mouth on his chest and his hands inside his swim trunks within moments.
Breaking away and panting, Noah let out a strangled noise. “I’ve been in the hot tub. I should shower.”
“There’s no time,” Rowe answered as he peppered kisses up Noah’s neck to suck on his earlobe.
“There isn’t?” Noah tilted his head to give Rowe better access, his hands coming out to grasp his sides.
“No. I want inside you now.”
“Fuck, Rowe,” Noah breathed.
Rowe came up and cradled the sides of Noah’s neck, rubbing his thumbs along the scruff on his jaw as he kissed him, growling low in his throat when Noah automatically opened for him. He tasted of bourbon and he smelled faintly like sunscreen and chlorine from the hot tub. Rowe tilted his head, sliding his tongue deeper into Noah’s mouth, loving the way Noah’s curled around his, the way he kissed him back as if nothing on Earth tasted better.
Strong hands gripped his hips harder as Noah tugged their groins together and rubbed his dick against Rowe.
“Wet shorts off,” Rowe bit out as he stepped back and dropped his mostly dry pair. He grabbed his cock and stroked it as he watched the muscles ripple in Noah’s abs as he worked off the soaked material. He’d been using the gym at their office a lot and the veins in his forearms had grown more prominent. “You’re so fucking hot.”
Dimples flashed in a quicksilver grin that faded fast as Noah came at him. Rowe fell onto the bed on his back, Noah coming down with him. He groaned at the feel of all that skin, some of it cool from the shorts. He ran his hands down Noah’s back and cupped his ass.
“Your hands are so warm.”
“That’s because your ass is frozen.” Rowe pulled Noah’s earlobe into his mouth and bit down. “I’ll warm it up fast. From the inside.”
Noah made the hottest damn strangled noise in his throat as he quickly crawled off Rowe and groped for the satchel they’d brought with all their supplies. He bent over the side of the bed, his gorgeous cheeks showing pink imprints of Rowe’s hands. Rowe sat up and ran his hands down the back of Noah’s thighs, relishing the hair, the taut muscles. He rubbed his palms back up the insides, grinning when Noah groaned and spread his legs farther apart. He was still rummaging inside the duffel bag.
“Damn it. I know I put lube in here,” he muttered half under his breath.
Rowe ran one finger over the underside of his balls.
Noah gasped, picked up the bag and turned it upside down, spilling all the contents over the floor. “It’s not here. Did you take it into the shower or something?”
“You were with me in the shower, remember?” Rowe frowned and got off the bed. They’d packed swim trunks, T-shirts and basic essentials like shampoo, toothpaste…and of course, lube. He’d seen the bottle himself.
“What about your bag?”
Rowe nodded and turned to the nightstand on his side of the bed. He’d packed a second tube in his bag and already stashed it in the bedroom. But the drawer was empty.
“Someone took it.” He frowned. “Had to be Snow, the asshole.” He stood, staring down at Noah’s gorgeous, naked body and growled. “I’m getting it back.” He snatched up his shorts, ready to dangle Snow off the side of the boat by his feet for the goddamn lube, but paused when Noah sat up and grabbed his arm.
“No,” he said, his hot blue eyes on Rowe’s cock. “There’s no time.”
“I’ll be fast.” Rowe started toward the door, shorts still in hand. He stopped, thought about stalking to Snow’s room naked, then bent to put his shorts on.
Noah groaned from behind him and in the next instant, Rowe was grabbed and hauled to the bed.
“Fuck the lube.” Noah pushed him down until he was flat on his back, then crawled onto the bed, turned around and backed over Rowe.
He knew exactly what his man wanted then as Noah’s beautiful, hard dick dangled over his face. As he grasped the base with his hand, his own was suddenly swallowed in the warm, hot cavern of Noah’s mouth and he sucked in a deep breath as the pleasure overwhelmed him. Fuck, Noah was good at this. And he loved to do it. He was always dropping to his knees in their home.
Come to think of it, so was Rowe. And not just at home either.
Noah upped the suction and Rowe’s hips came up off the bed as he covered his mouth to muffle the noises he couldn’t stop. A warm hand cupped his balls as he grabbed both the cheeks of Noah’s ass and pulled his hips down so he could suck Noah deep into his mouth. He tasted the chlorine, but it did nothing to take away from that hot slide of silky soft skin. He loved the feel of Noah in his mouth, loved that he could make him lose his cool fast like this and sure enough, the rhythm Noah had going faltered a bit as he gasped around Rowe’s dick.
He liked doing this hands-free. Liked seeing how deep he could take Noah and he used his hands on the man’s ass to pull him in. Soon, Noah was moaning and bracing his knees, obviously trying not to thrust hard into Rowe’s mouth. Being on the bottom in this position—well, it was easy to choke. He’d learned that the hard way once, but now they had this down pat. Still, to make it easier, Rowe urged Noah to move to his side so they could lie facing each other. Again, this was a position that came naturally for them as Noah automatically slid his bottom leg forward so Rowe could wrap one arm around Noah’s leg and rest his head on the thigh. He settled in to lick, dipping his tongue in the slit, relishing the salty taste on his tongue, then he drew Noah into his mouth and throat with deep, slow pulls. Noah groaned, the vibration on his dick making him see stars behind his closed eyelids as he settled into the same. Damn. Rhythm.
Rowe felt his balls drawing up, felt the orgasm building and he wanted Noah with him. He sucked one finger into his mouth next to Noah’s dick to get it really wet. Noah’s moans picked up because he knew what was coming and damned if he didn’t spread his top leg back farther. Rowe was about to lose it and he couldn’t stop his hips from moving faster in and out of Noah’s mouth, so he took his wet finger and slid it into Noah’s ass. He didn’t even have time to reach his goal as Noah bucked and gasped and sucked harder as he came.
Hot semen flooded his mouth and he swallowed and moved his hips faster and faster. Noah added a tight grip to the base of his cock, sucked harder and moments later, Rowe followed him over. The pleasure, so intense, so incredible…he gasped and moaned and quit giving a fuck if the guys heard him. Hell, they were probably all doing the same thing. He wrapped his arm around Noah’s hip and kissed the soft skin on his inner thigh, then just lay there, panting and trying to return his brain cells to normal.
“I was going to hurt whoever stole our lube, but I’ll give them a pass. For now.” Rowe tightened his arm, then let go when Noah moved away.
He turned until they were face-to-face, his still handsome despite the flush and the sweaty curls stuck to his forehead and cheeks. “I’ll steal some back for us in the morning. Three gay couples on a boat in the middle of the lake? There’s bound to be extras.”
“I don’t think gluing a few merpeople around a room is bad enough to cock block, so I’m going to have to come up with something else to get Snow back.”
“Maybe it wasn’t Snow,” Noah murmured as he nuzzled into Rowe’s neck. “Plus, having all those creepy things staring at you during sex? Yeah, Ward, it was a cockblock.”
“They just moved into a different room.”
Noah lifted his head and grinned. “That was the plan all along, wasn’t it? They were right next door to us and you didn’t want to have to listen to their gymnastics.”
“Maybe it was.” Rowe grinned. “Maybe it wasn’t.”