Chapter 5
Rowe kicked his bare feet out onto the small table and stretched his arms over his head and basked in the bright sun shining directly overhead. He and Noah had snuck out before sunrise for a little fishing. They were back for lunch and swimming before jumping into the shower…separate ones. Their group was burning through their water supply too fast with their joint showers so they’d decided that they all now had to be solo. It sucked, but he’d tackle Noah when he got out.
After spending the day playing out on the lake, they’d all fallen into the habit of an afternoon nap. Rowe smirked. Well, some people did more sleeping than others if the moans and shouts of pleasure were anything to go by. It was like being stuck on a floating bordello.
Footsteps on the stairs drew Rowe’s attention and he smiled to see Lucas coming up to the deck with a silver case tucked under his arm. Andrei was on his heels, carrying two bottles of water. His COO gave him the evil eye as he and Lucas walked over to the long table under the awning. Andrei was still salty over Rowe’s latest prank, even though Rowe hadn’t been aiming for the poor man. While they were making lunch, Rowe had snuck a habanero pepper onto a sandwich he thought Lucas was making for himself. But when Rowe realized it was Andrei, he didn’t open his mouth to warn him.
Andrei had not been amused, and Rowe might have been dumped back into the lake by Lucas. But it had been worth it.
“Plotting more pranks?” Lucas said as he pulled out one of the chairs. Before sitting, he pulled off his shirt and draped it over the seat next to him. His eyes naturally skimmed across the broad expanse of Lucas’s back. Despite the fact that he spent the majority of his time behind a desk or on the phone, Lucas was still fucking built like a mean motherfucker with hard, thick muscles.
But his favorite was the ink on Lucas’s back. He’d been there when Lucas got the tattoos—the same tattoo artist had added a bit of work to his own shoulder design that day. He’d teased Lucas mercilessly for days, taunting him that the Japanese kanji actually meant “Eat at Joe’s” or “Exit to the Left” or “Call Me Daddy.” Lucas never blinked an eye at it or wavered an inch, and Rowe fucking loved him for it. There were more than a few drunk nights, sprawled in a bed with Lucas and Snow after the Army but before he found Mel—when his hand would drift to that tattoo. Brother. Warrior. Heart. Those symbols meant that he was a part of something, that he always had a home and a safe place that he belonged.
“Hey!” Rowe dropped his feet to the deck and sat up straight, his eyes narrowing on Lucas’s back. “You added a new symbol!”
Lucas stopped in the process of sitting down and looked over his shoulder at Rowe. “Popped into a shop a few weeks ago and had it done.”
Crossing the deck, he bent closer to look at the single new kanji that was just above the middle of his back. Any redness was gone and the black ink was slightly darker than the other older tattoos. “What’s it mean?”
“Happiness.” Rowe looked up to find Lucas staring across the table at Andrei. “Andrei is my happiness.”
Yeah, Rowe couldn’t argue with that. In all the years that he’d known Lucas, he’d never seen the man happier than when Andrei was simply in the same room as him. Rowe placed his forearms against the table and watched as Lucas opened the silver case to reveal two decks of cards and a set of poker chips. They were planning to play a bit later after the sun went down, but Lucas had mentioned brushing up with Andrei.
“You going to get Lucas tattooed on you?” he asked, looking at the former fighter.
Andrei shook his head. “Nope. No tattoos.”
“Seriously?”
“Hate needles.”
Rowe shook his head and chuckled. “Badass MMA fighter and you don’t like needles?”
Andrei finally cracked a grin as he looked over at Rowe. “I’ve never liked needles. The doctor used to have to call in three other nurses and my mom to hold me down when I had to get a shot. I love Lucas, but no tattoos.”
“What about you, badass Ranger?” Lucas demanded. He picked up one of the bottles of water Andrei carried up and cracked the seal on the cap. “Are you going to get something related to Noah tattooed on you?”
Snow called across the deck from where he was coming up the stairs. “He’s going to get ‘Property of Noah’ tattooed across his ass.”
“Hey! That’s not a bad idea,” Rowe said with a smirk.
The doc settled into a chair next to Andrei, a tall glass of iced tea in his hand. “Speaking of, I heard the water shut off as I was coming up the stairs. You two are up for dinner tonight and he promised ribs.”
“There’s plenty of time, Doc. Let me just go round him up.” Rowe headed for the stairs, flipping his friends off over his shoulder as they pelted him with crude taunts and catcalls. They were right, though. He was going to do far more than remind Noah of their cooking assignment for the night. It was their last day on the houseboat and on vacation. He was thinking more along the lines of a nice slow fuck that left them sticky, sweaty, and a useless pool of rubbery muscles in the center of the bed. They were going to head back to Cincinnati the next day with these damn goofy grins stuck on their faces for at least a month.
Rowe nodded to Jude as he passed through the kitchen to the narrow hall leading to the bedrooms and the bathrooms. Noah was just stepping out of the bathroom, a thin white towel wrapped around his narrow hips. Beads of water dripped from his hair to streak across his chest and Rowe was suddenly thirsty.
“Hey, sexy,” Rowe growled, leaning his shoulder across the wall next to the bathroom door. “Where you headed?”
Noah grinned at him, dimples digging into his cheeks and sending Rowe’s heart racing. “I was thinking about pulling on a pair of shorts. You got an idea that involves no clothes?”
“Snow was saying that I need a tattoo on my ass. I thought you could help me find the perfect spot.”
Noah snorted. “Tattoo? What? A little sign that says ‘Head storage space. Insert here’?”
Rowe was laughing silently even as he leaned in and took Noah’s lips in a slow kiss. Noah pressed in for something hungrier, harder, but Rowe immediately backed off, nipping at his lips before moving in for another slow, lingering kiss. They didn’t do this often enough. This was their last day away from the work, bills, neighbors, clients, and the rest of the world. He wanted to slow down, take his time building up the fire between them.
“Yes,” Noah panted, his voice barely a whisper of sound. “Whatever it is you want, the answer is yes. Just give me more.”
Rowe sucked on Noah’s bottom lip, worrying it between his teeth before releasing it. “Bedroom. Need to make you moan for me.”
Noah turned and took the necessary three steps to get to the bedroom, Rowe directly on his heels. He slammed the door shut, all the while telling himself to slow down. They had time. He’d pin Noah to the mattress and suck on every inch of flesh spread before him like he was a goddamn banquet.
Standing at the foot of the bed, Noah turned toward the door and pulled off the tiny towel covering him. His hard cock bobbed against Noah’s stomach. Rowe was tempted to just drop to his knees right there and suck Noah straight down his throat, but he had a better idea. Sadly, slow and lingering was going to have to wait.
Stepping toward Noah, he dipped down and grabbed Noah by the back of the thigh before lifting him off his feet and tossing him backward onto the bed. Rowe dropped onto the bed, following him down. He lifted his head to snag Noah’s parted lips when there was an ominous crash just before the foot of the bed slumped, the frame hitting the floor.
“What the—”
Noah didn’t even get the words out before the legs at the head of the bed cracked, sending the rest of bed to the floor.
“Shit! Did we do that?” Noah demanded.
Rowe sucked in a breath to answer when another loud cracking noise shot through the room before the mattress and box spring fell the remaining couple of inches to the floor as the mattress supports for the frame broke through.
“Fuckers!” Rowe shouted and was immediately met with loud laughter in the hallway. The door swung open and Rowe twisted around to see Lucas, Andrei, Snow, and Jude crowding the entrance, staring down at them.
“Trouble with your bed?” Jude asked.
“Asshole! It’s bad enough you steal a guy’s lube but you fuck with his bed too?”
“Not me!”
“You nearly killed me with that damn pepper!” Andrei said, wiping the tears from his eyes as he gasped for air.
“And you’re not changing rooms,” Lucas added. “You’ve caused enough damage already.”
Rowe felt Noah shift beneath him so he could see around Rowe to the gathering. “Redecorating is not damage. We were only thinking of Snow.”
“Jesus fucking Christ!” Rowe groaned. “Go away! All of you just go away! How’s a guy supposed to get laid in this floating sex palace?”
More laughter rang out but it was quickly muted by Snow shutting the door. He held still, listening as their footsteps and conversation receded as they returned to the deck for cards. He jerked back around when he felt Noah’s chest vibrating beneath him. Noah shook his head, shoulder lifting and falling with silent laughter.
“Man, those guys are insane. Andrei actually cut through the legs of our bed as a practical joke,” he murmured.
“Yeah, Lucas has definitely lost his deposit and then some on this one,” Rowe muttered, but he was still smiling at the amusement lighting Noah’s bright blue eyes. Sure, the moment had been ruined, but he was just as content to lay there with Noah as he laughed.
“You think he’s going to have to buy the houseboat?”
“I doubt it, but I honestly don’t think he’d mind if it meant us all coming down here a few times during the year.”
Noah reached up, slowly tracing his fingers along Rowe’s face, sliding down along his jaw. “Thanks.”
Rowe’s brow furrowed and he cocked his head slightly, tilting it further into Noah’s touch. “For what?”
“This weekend. Sharing your family with me. Loving me.”
Ignoring the lump that formed in his throat, Rowe winked at Noah. “You’re just so damn easy to love.”
“One thing though…”
“Name it.”
“We vacation once a year without them.” Rowe lifted one eyebrow and Noah continued before he could say anything. “Love them all, but seriously, they can be a major cockblock when they want to be.”
Growling, Rowe dropped down to cover Noah with his own body. “Let’s see what I can do about unblocking you.”