Cort walked into the room and shut the door behind him with no small amount of unease. Cam had heard enough from Drew to suspect Cort was still keeping secrets, and Cort expected an angry tirade the moment the door closed, complete with yelling and demands. Instead, he found Cam kneeling beside his suitcase, pulling out a pair of swim trunks and sandals.

Cort licked his lips. “Cam—”

“Let’s go to the beach. Grab your suit,” Cam said, dropping his shorts quickly. “And I’ve got some sunblock and stuff in my kit. I can already feel myself burning.”

Cort frowned. “Yeah, fine. In a minute. First…”

“No. Now,” Cam insisted, yanking on his trunks. “While there’s still light.” He wouldn’t meet Cort’s eyes, and Cort would be damned if he’d accept that.

He grabbed Cam around the waist and pushed him against one of the tall mahogany bedposts. He saw his own uncertainty reflected in Cam’s stunning blue eyes, and it slayed him.

He needed to reassure Cam.

Hell, he needed to reassure himself.

“You calling all the shots today, badass?” he whispered, trailing his free hand over Cam’s cheek and down his jaw to cup his neck.

Cam shivered and swallowed hard, but didn’t reply.

“Listen to me first, for just a second. Out there, beyond the door, there are a million things happening, Cam. Things to test us. Things wanting to destroy us. Things that make the idea of us being together seem impossible,” Cort said, staring into Cam’s eyes. “But here, in this room? That shit is background noise. There’s only you and me. Are you with me?”

Cort leaned closer, hand digging into Cam’s hip, and opened his mouth over the spot on Cam’s neck where his pulse beat a rapid tattoo. He sucked gently, not hard enough to leave a mark, though every instinct told him to.

“Okay,” Cam said softly. “Okay.”

Cort’s eyes shut, and he leaned his forehead against Cam’s shoulder for a second, as wild, heady relief swamped him.

“Okay,” Cort repeated.

Then he lifted his head and laid claim to Cam’s mouth.

Cort took full advantage of the height difference between them, towering over Cam and forcing his head back against the post. Cort’s hands found Cam’s hips, holding him in place, while Cort’s tongue licked against the seam of his lips. Cam moaned, his lips parting slightly, and Cort accepted the invitation, delving his tongue inside to tangle alongside Cam’s own with a measured thoroughness. He wanted Cam to remember this, no matter what happened between them later, wanted to ruin Cam for any other kisses.

Then Cam’s arms came up to wrap around Cort’s neck, pulling him them even more tightly together. The surprise of it, of knowing Cam was feeling even a fraction of what Cort felt, made Cort’s heart lurch painfully.

Cam writhed against his hold, returning every bite and moan, measure for measure, until Cort knew he’d been claimed every bit as thoroughly as he had Cam.

He was Cam’s.

Cam was his.

He smiled ruefully as he pulled back, pressing one more chaste kiss to Cam’s forehead. The problem with acknowledging someone was yours was that you had to find a way to keep them.

“Now we go to the beach, badass,” Cort said gently. He stepped away to find his own trunks, adjusting himself to somewhat conceal his burgeoning erection. He smiled slightly when Cam continued to lean against the bedpost in a daze.

Cort slipped the burner phone into his pocket, grabbed Cam’s toiletry bag and a couple of towels, then held out his hand to Cam, who deliberately slid his palm against Cort’s, twining their fingers together.

They stepped into the hall, and Cam locked the door behind them, pocketing the small key that had been left in the lock. He ushered Cort down a flight of stairs next to their room, and out through a side door. A hedgerow screened them from the view of the revelers still out on the patio as they cut across the side lawn and took a well-worn path over the rocky ledge and down a set of stone steps leading to the beach below.

The water was calm in this small cove, though they could hear the surf breaking on the rocks just beyond. The setting sun was sinking from the sky. Cort remembered reading somewhere this was the golden hour, and he truly understood it for the first time. The wet rocks and placid water seemed to burn with liquid fire, and even the air shimmered around them.

Cam still held on to his hand as they crossed the stony beach and ducked through a stone archway to a more secluded sandy stretch of seashore beyond.

“It’s like an entirely separate world,” Cort mused, leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on Cam’s cheek. He couldn’t hear any noise from the party, not a single airplane streaked across the sky. It felt as though they were completely cut off from everyone, and Cort took his first deep breath in hours.

“Mmm. I used to love it here,” Cam said. He braced a hand against Cort’s arm and closed his eyes, breathing in the saltwater scent that surrounded them. His brown hair was red-tinged in the sunlight, his skin was flushed and warm, and the sight of him made Cort’s chest ache. “When I was a kid, I’d bring a book and come here to read, but I never ended up reading. I’d sit and watch the water and make wishes.”

He could imagine that - Cam as a kid, needing to get away and find some peace. Cort had been much the same.

“What did you wish for?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

Cam shrugged. “All the usual things, I guess. To be successful - possibly as a superhero.” He chuckled. “To have whatever guy I had a crush on fall madly in love with me.” He grinned as he threw himself down on his butt in the sand, his eyes on the water, their towels and the case with the sunblock dropped haphazardly in a pile beside him.

Cort hesitated for a second, then threw himself down next to Cam. The sand was damp and chilly, and he fought the urge to squirm. The phone was a hard lump digging into his ass. “When I was a kid I wished for a family - a loud, boisterous family. And money. Lots of money.”

Cam glanced at him and nodded. “Makes sense, I guess. We always want what we don’t have.”

“Cam, you know I don’t give a shit about your money, right?” Cort blew out a breath. “Frankly, I think it would be easier if you didn’t have any.”

“What would?” Cam’s eyes were wide and Cort looked away, rubbing his palms on the legs of his shorts.

“This. Us.” He felt like an idiot. The words he wanted to use - relationship, future, together - were so incredibly silly. They’d known each other for days.

Cam also turned away to look at the water, but Cort could hear the change in his breathing – fast, short pants, as though he was doing something way more strenuous than sitting watching the surf. He could practically hear Cam’s mind whirring, too.

“Wanna play a game?” Cort asked.

Cam huffed out a laugh. “Why not? More ‘Never Have I Ever’?” He darted a quick glance at Cort. “Be careful, though. The more time I spend with you, the shorter the list of things I’ve never done seems to get.”

Cort chuckled. “No Jameson today, anyway. Let’s stick to the classic Truth or Dare.”

Cam was silent for a moment, rubbing his lips together in a way that was totally distracting. Then he nodded. “Alright. I’ll take the dare.”

Cort laughed again. “I thought you were supposed to hear the question first, badass! But whatever. I can work with this. I dare you to go back to the party and kiss this Arcadia person I keep hearing about.”

Cam gave him a look of such utter disdain, Cort laughed out loud. “So that’s a no?”

“That’s a hell no.”

“So, does that mean you now have to answer the question?” Cort wondered, grinning. “How do our games get so ass-backwards?”

“Now that is a good question,” Cam sighed, shaking his head. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

“If you could have anything right now, what would it be?”

Cam seemed startled. “Wow. You’re diving right in with the tough ones, huh?”

“Well, I don’t think we’ve really gone easy on each other this week, have we? It’s been high-stakes, from the very beginning.” Cort’s tone was light, but he knew the words he spoke were true.

“High-stakes, maybe,” Cam agreed. “But in some ways, it’s still been... easy.” He frowned, and Cort understood why. It was scary how easy this was, and part of him couldn’t help wondering when the other shoe would drop.

Cam snagged a folded towel from the pile and placed it behind him as a pillow. He lay back with his hands folded on his stomach, staring up at the blue sky for a minute, giving careful consideration to Cort’s question.

“Probably to be someone who wasn’t me? Someone who wasn’t a Seaver, I mean. I love my family, but…” He rolled on his side to face Cort and shrugged. “You probably figured money would solve all your problems. Sometimes I wish I could get rid of mine.”

Cort nodded. “You know, this time a week ago, I wouldn’t have believed it. Not about you, or anyone. I get it now. Sometimes money causes more problems than it solves. But Cam, I can’t begin to describe to you what it’s like growing up without any. How many people think you’re a lower life form because you can’t afford name-brand whatever, or assume the reason you’re poor is because you’re lazy or weak or stupid. It’s hard to fight back against that, when adults and their kids treat you that way. Rich kid doesn’t get the question, teacher explains again. Poor kid doesn’t get it, it’s because he’s slacking. Stupid stuff on its own, but it’s like water torture, picking away at you.”

“You grew up mostly in Johnsville, right?” Cam sounded hesitant, as if knowing Cort would freak if he began asking more questions.

Cort rubbed a hand over his face. He didn’t want to hide from Cam anymore. “Is this my question?” he teased.

Cam flopped back down and put his forearm up to shade his eyes from the light as he looked at Cort. “Yeah.”

Cort didn’t hesitate. “Yep. In the not-so-nice part. It’s where my last and longest foster family, the Dempseys, lived. It was a one-story house with two bedrooms, so Damon and I shared.”

“Damon, your brother?” Cam ventured.

“Damon Fitzpatrick, my brother,” Cort confirmed, holding his breath as he waited for Cam to recognize the name, to ask more questions.

But Cam only nodded and looked back up at the sky. “Your turn.”

“Truth or Dare?” Cort asked.

Cam rolled his eyes. “I’m over the dares. Ask the question.”

Cort’s mind churned. He wanted to know everything. He wanted to know more about Cam’s family, about his plans for the future, about his feelings for Cort, whatever those might be. A voice in the back of his mind reminded him he should find out more about Sebastian, for Damon’s sake, but he rejected that almost immediately.

“What scares you most?” he asked, instead. “Besides flying.”

Cam pursed his lips, looking thoughtful, and Cort felt his heart squeeze almost painfully. He loved this about Cam - the way he made sure things were true before he said them, like he took Cort’s thoughts seriously and wanted to give him an honest answer.

“Drew says I get scared of emotions. Since the crash. I run from things when they get real.”

Cort’s lingering annoyance at Drew flared to life. “That’s what Drew thinks. What do you think?”

Cam shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s right, because I’ve thrown myself into work. I stopped doing things I used to want to do.”

“You’ve been grieving,” Cort pointed out. “And you’ve taken on a pretty huge responsibility at Seaver Tech.”

“Yeah. I also ended things between Drew and me pretty easily, though, and I haven’t dated anyone seriously since him.”

“Well, Drew’s kind of a douchebag, so I don’t know if it was fear so much as good judgment,” Cort drawled.

Cam laughed, and the sunlight played over the defined muscles of his abs, the freckles on the tops of his shoulders. Christ, the man was gorgeous. Cort had to look away again, pretending the water was fascinating.

“Fair point,” Cam allowed. “But, should I have tried harder? Was I running away because things got real?”

“Did you love him?” Cort’s chest was tight as he asked the question, but Cam’s answer was immediate and unequivocal.

“No. Never. Not like that. He was a friend. Another brother, almost. But I wonder if maybe I sensed he loved me. Maybe it scared me subconsciously.”

“He didn’t.”

Cam turned to look at him in surprise. “How do you know? I mean, you’ve seen him at his worst. He’s not always a jerk.”

“Nah.” Cort shook his head firmly, completely confident. “He didn’t love you. Not really. Not the all-in kind of love.”

“And you know this how?” Cam’s voice was amused.

“Because if he had, he wouldn’t have let you run.” He felt Cam’s eyes on his face and he took a deep breath before turning to meet them. Their gazes locked and the words were pulled from his belly. “I wouldn’t let you run.”

Cam’s nostrils flared, eyes wide, as parsed Cort’s words. He shook his head slowly. “I don’t want you to, either. I’m trying not to.”

“You’ve been thinking about it?” Cort clenched his hands into fists because he wanted to reach for Cam, right then and there, crush him against his chest, hold him in place.

Cam swallowed and glanced down. “I have some trust issues, I guess. Comes with the name. And then the thing with Sebastian…” He glanced up at Cort. “Anyway, I’m trying. I said I’d give you a second chance, and I am, but it’s a lot,” he whispered. “And I know you still have secrets. What’s the phone about, Cort? What’s this investigation about, if it’s not work? Does that mean it’s personal? Because it seems really personal. I know it’s not all classified FBI bullshit, either.” His voice took on a warning edge, cautioning Cort not to play that card again. “For one thing, the FBI has plenty of ways onto this island which don’t involve me.”

Cort huffed out a breath, opened his mouth to say something, but Cam cut him off.

“I want to know. I do. But tell me not because I’m asking, or giving you an ultimatum. I need you to tell me because you want to, when you want to. Does that make sense?”

It made a scary amount of sense. He wanted Cort to show him the same trust Cam had been showing since their very first meeting. But the truth about Damon, what they’d learned about the plane crash - weren’t entirely Cort’s secrets to share.

He ran a hand over his jaw, feeling the rough stubble against his palm, and mentally cursed his brother. Where the hell was Damon? Why hadn’t he made contact? The familiar anger was creeping back. Damon had disappeared from his life a year ago, and now Cort’s loyalty to his brother was fucking things up with Cam.

Cort himself was fucking things up with Cam.

He exhaled. “Cam,” he began. But once again, Cam stopped him from speaking.

“It can wait, is what I’m trying to tell you. I—” Cam sucked in a breath. “I’m going to trust you to tell me when you can. I won’t wait forever, not even for very long. But a little longer, perhaps long enough. Okay?” Cam’s eyes were huge as they burned up at Cort.

“Just like that?” Cort whispered.

“Ah…” Cam chuckled slightly. “No. There’s no just like that about this. It’s really, really hard for me. But I think you’re worth it. This – us, is worth it.”

Cort was suddenly overwhelmed by emotion. God, the strength in this man, his man, was humbling. It brought Cort to his knees.

It came to him like a burst of sunlight off the water. He needed to show Cam, to demonstrate in some small way how much he did trust him, and how Cam was worth everything to him, too.

Cort scrambled to his feet and held out a hand for Cam. “Come on.”

Cam looked from Cort to the water and back again. “But we haven’t even gone in the water yet.”

“We can do it later. Come on.” Cort hefted Cam to his feet, then dipped down to grab the toiletry bag and towels.

“Is everything okay?” Cam demanded, as Cort practically pulled him up the steps and along the path to the house. “Seriously, Cort, slow down and talk to me here. What’s the hurry?”

Cort spun Cam around when they reached the house and pushed him up against the cool surface of the building, caging him in with his body.

“The hurry is… I want to fuck you right now, and I want to get you up to our room as quickly as possible. That okay with you?”

Cam’s eyes widened and his gaze flicked to Cort’s mouth.

Oh, the temptation! But Cort knew if he started kissing Cam now, in five minutes they’d be fucking against the house in front of God and everyone. And honest to God, even that wouldn’t have deterred him if they had lube and a condom handy.

“Yeah,” Cam breathed. “That’s absolutely fine with me.”

Cort smiled, even though he was pretty sure it was more like a grimace. His cock was pressing uncomfortably against the fabric of his shorts in a way that was quickly becoming unbearable. “Get your butt upstairs, then,” he said, and when Cam turned to do just that, he couldn’t resist swatting the man right on his perfect ass.

He sprinted up the stairs after Cam, following the sound of his soft laughter.

Cam unlocked their room and threw open the door, tossing the key onto a small dresser, then turned to watch Cort.

“Now what?” he demanded breathlessly.

Cort carefully closed the door, locked it behind him, then stalked towards Cam, throwing the towels and bag to the floor. He backed Cam against the tall post at the foot of the bed again and wrapped his hands around Cam’s waist. “Now, I’m going to put my mouth on you.”

Cam sucked in a breath and lifted his hands to reach around Cort’s neck while Cort devoured his mouth. He loved the way Cam felt against him - smaller, slighter, but with a lean strength and force of will that shone through in the way he lifted himself onto his toes to kiss Cort back more fully. Cort shifted his hips, pushing his hardness against Cam’s stomach, and felt him shiver with excitement.

Cort grazed his mouth lower, hitting the spot between Cam’s neck and shoulder that he knew drove the man crazy. He licked and sucked right there, just over the faint mark remaining from what they’d done earlier, feeling something enormous bubbling up through his chest at the sight. Cam threw back his head and moaned, and Cort felt his dick twitching in his trunks. Like Pavlov’s dog, he’d already been conditioned to respond to that sound, and he loved it.

One of Cort’s hands roamed down to palm Cam through his shorts. Cam was already hard, and responded to the stroke with a needy gasp which made Cort sink to his knees and strip Cam’s shorts down lightning-fast. Then Cam was in his mouth, the salty taste of him on Cort’s tongue.

It was like last week but better, because he knew Cam now, and knew he’d do everything possible to make sure they had tonight, tomorrow, and all the nights after that.

Cam’s hands were threading through the long strands of Cort’s hair, his fingertips strong on Cort’s head, and Cort loved that, too.

Tonight wasn’t about asserting his dominance. He had achieved that earlier, and it had been awesome. Cort loved knowing Cam didn’t submit because he was weak, but because he craved Cort’s control and was strong enough to yield to that want. Now he wanted to show Cam something different.

He gave one last enthusiastic pull, then broke off, ignoring Cam’s whimper.

“Shhh. I don’t want you to come like this,” Cort said against Cam’s ear. “I want something else, baby. Now be a good boy and stay right here while I get what we need from my bag, and then you’re going to give it to me.”

It hadn’t been a question, but Cam nodded anyway, panting. He wrapped his hands around the post behind him obediently. “If you need condoms and lube, they’re in the kit by the door,” he offered, as Cort went to kneel by his suitcase.

Cort glanced up at him in surprise and switched directions, grabbing the kit off the floor. “You brought condoms and lube to the beach?”

Cam shrugged. “I thought they might be necessary.” He frowned. “Wait, is that why you dragged me up here?”

“Maybe.” Cort gave him a smile as he threw the kit on the bed. “But that’s okay. Sex on sand is one of those things that sounds better than it really is.” He shuddered.

Cam huffed in frustration. “I wouldn’t have cared.”

Cort’s smile became a full-on grin. He shucked his trunks, throwing the stupid burner phone on the nightstand, and grabbed Cam’s hand pulling him around to the side of the bed. “But you won’t be the one on the bottom this time.” He threw himself down to lie on his back in the center of the bed.

Cam blinked, and then blinked again. “What?”

Cort unzipped the bag and found the lube and condoms right on top. Bonus points to Cam for efficiency. He threw the bag on the floor and pressed the supplies into Cam’s hand.

“I thought maybe this time you’d want to…” He tilted his head to the side and, as always, Cam understood him without words.

His eyes flew wide. “Me? You want me to…”

Cort nodded. “Yeah. Oh, yeah. But only if you want to.”

“No! I do! I mean, most guys assume I don’t. But I didn’t think you… I mean, we never really discussed it, but I got the impression you didn’t like to bottom?” Cam was alternately looking down at the lube in his hand as though it held the secrets of the universe, and staring at Cort’s face like he was trying to read Cort’s mind and make sure he was really okay with this. It was adorable.

“I must admit, I haven’t had the best experience with it,” Cort admitted, stacking his hands beneath his head on the bed. “I’m not sure I can do it without being bossy, and honestly? I wasn’t sure whether you’d actually want me this way.”

“But then, why?” Cam put his knee on the mattress and leaned over Cort, running one hand up from Cort’s stomach to his chest. “You don’t have to.”

Cort put his own hand over Cam’s where it rested against his heart. “I want to,” he said.

Cam seemed to receive the message, because his eyes turned liquid blue. He knelt beside Cort and ran his fingertips across Cort’s skin. Cort shivered. He reached up a hand to touch Cam’s spiky brown hair and then traced his fingertips around the shell of Cam’s ear.

“Come here and kiss me,” Cort said. Not a command or a demand, but an invitation, one Cam eagerly accepted. He braced his hands on either side of Cort’s chest and leaned down until their lips met. The same as every time he’d kissed Cam, Cort felt his core incinerate, with hot tongues of flame running up and down his back. But unlike the crazy, hurried wildfire that had engulfed them the previous week, this burn was slower- a controlled fire, heating, melting, forging them into something different, something brand new. He couldn’t stop looking at Cam, mapping the gorgeous freckles on his skin, the contours of his cheeks.

Cam lifted his knee to straddle Cort’s waist and sat back so he could run his hands along Cort’s skin - through the blond hair of his chest, down over his abs, and back - in increasingly long sweeps. On one pass, Cam let his hand roam up over Cort’s neck to tangle into his long, golden-brown hair. He braced the other hand against Cort’s chest, and their gazes collided.

“Have I ever told you I love your eyes?” Cam demanded.

Cort shook his head, unable to form words.

“I do,” Cam whispered, lowering his head to bite at Cort’s stubbled chin.

Cort swallowed hard. He’d been seriously trying hard to keep his hands out of this, to give Cam the unbridled access and control Cam had given to him, but he had to abandon the effort. He lifted his hands to frame Cam’s face and brought him in for a fierce kiss.

Cam broke away a second later, pressing a kiss to the same spot he’d bitten on Cort’s chin. “You’re sure?” he whispered.

There were few things Cort had been more sure of in his life. “Yeah, baby. I’m positive.”

Cam nodded, his eyes serious, suddenly nervous. “I do want this, Cam,” Cort said again, more forcefully. “With you.”

Cort watched the flush climb up Cam’s face. So beautiful.

Cam pushed up on his hands and crawled backwards down Cort’s body, dropping tiny kisses over his chest as he went. “I love your chest. I love the way you’re so much bigger than I am.”

He moved lower, and his mouth traced the Cort’s hipbone. Cort exhaled in a shaky moan. “I love the sounds you make, too,” Cam whispered. “Like you really want me.”

“I do,” Cort responded, then he arched his back as Cam’s mouth moved lower again, his warm tongue licking up Cort’s shaft. “God, you make me so hard. All I have to do is see you, watch you smile.”

It was too much. The heat of Cam’s mouth and the needy sounds Cam made as he moved above him, drove Cort mad in a matter of moments. He dimly heard the snap of the lube container, then Cam’s fingers were stroking around his opening, probing gently, pushing inside him. The sensation was so much more intense than he remembered from the few times he’d tried this half a lifetime ago, but that made sense, didn’t it? After all, Cam wasn’t like anyone Cort had ever known before.

Cam’s fingers went away, and Cort was dimly aware of him opening a condom, adding more lube, preparing himself. Cort instinctively tensed when Cam’s guided his cock to Cort’s entrance, but he forced himself to relax. He welcomed the brief burn, the pressure, because he wanted Cam inside him more than he’d known he ever could. His moan mingled with Cam’s as he pushed himself home, and he welcomed that, too. That signs they were together in this.

And then Cam started to move, and Cort cried out. “Oh! Christ, Cam! More. Again!”

Cam’s hips moved faster, Cort gripped the bedspread in both hands, anchoring himself against Cam’s thrusts and the spiral of pleasure threatening to overload his mind. He’d had sex, he knew what pleasure felt like. It had never been like this. He felt special and cherished, things he’d never known to want before.

Cam hitched out a breath and said, “Cort? Baby, I can’t hold on,” his voice wrecked with passion. Cort brought his hands up to Cam’s cheeks, and pulled him down for a wet, thorough kiss. “Then come for me. Come for me, Cam.”

Cam thrust hard one last time, then his hips froze, his face contorted in pleasure. Cort nearly lost it right there. “You’re so beautiful,” Cort told him, still cradling Cam’s gorgeous face in his big hands. Cam, still breathless, leaned down to kiss him once, pressing his lips into Cort’s as though imprinting himself there, then he pulled back abruptly. A second later, he was swallowing Cort all the way down to the root. Cort was so primed, it was pretty much all he could take. The suction of that gorgeous mouth, the firm pressure of those lips around his dick, and Cort was coming, coming, coming down Cam’s throat.

Cam dealt with the condom, then climbed back up Cort’s body and stretched himself out against Cort’s side.

“That was amazing,” Cam offered, as though he wondered whether Cort would agree.

Cort wrapped his arms around Cam, who tucked his head under Cort’s jaw, and told him the absolute truth. “It was perfect. You are perfect.”

They lay without moving or speaking for long minutes while their breathing evened. The sun cast progressively longer orange swathes across the bed, the fan on the ceiling slowly rotated, and Cam sank more deeply against Cort, his eyelashes fluttering against Cort’s chest as he blinked.

“We should really clean up,” Cam said without moving. Cort chuckled.

“In a minute, baby. We’ve plenty of time.”

Cort was aware this was the calm before the storm - the silent phone on the nightstand was a constant presence in the back of his mind. He knew he and Cam had a lot they still needed to discuss, and soon, but he was hopeful in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. Maybe, never.