“It’s okay!” I yelled. “The coast is clear!”
I glanced back every few seconds and watched as Brent emerged from the storage area. He looked around like he didn’t believe me, and when he saw that we were nowhere near the shore he stood up and walked up to where I was standing at the helm.
“Man, it was getting hot in there,” Brent said as he pulled his crisp, white linen shirt away from his chest repeatedly to fan his sweaty skin. “What is it, almost 90° today?”
“It’s barely over eighty, and it wouldn’t be so hot if you stayed out here with me in the cool breeze. I don’t know why you feel like you have to hide, unless you’re embarrassed to be seen with me.”
“You know that’s not true. I told you, it’s my dad. There are always photographers and reporters trying to get some kind of scoop on him … or his family. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been walking around minding my own business when someone jumps out and takes my picture.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. You’d think no one would care about the governor’s son, but …” Brent shrugged and rolled his eyes. “So where are we headed?”
“Well, today’s been kind of crazy. I’m almost out of everything, so I’m headed to Sophie’s Island to pick up some supplies.”
“What’s there? Some kind of store? I thought Sophie’s Island was all farmland and farmer’s markets.”
“It is. My family has a small plot of land not far from Collins Park. I put up a sort of shed there where I keep stuff throughout the summer so I don’t have to go to the store all the time. I can buy in bulk online, and get things shipped right to the office. I save a lot of money that way.”
“You have an office? Wow, you really are quite the entrepreneur, like my dad said.”
“It’s not really an office. I just call it that. There’s no one inside. No desk or anything. It’s really just a warehouse structure I put up super quick for storage. It’s nothing fancy, you’ll see.”
“Hmmmm,” Brent said with a smile. “Not only a businessman, but handy too.” He put his hand around my right bicep and gave it a squeeze. “And strong.”
I looked over at him and he was still smiling, but he had that look in his eyes like the other night. A sparkle that made his entire face light up.
“You better believe it.” I kept one hand on the wheel and wrapped the other around Brent’s waist, then pulled him against me. I felt my cock tingle as he let out a gasp, then his body melted against mine as my lips devoured his.
Chapter 9
Brent
It wasn’t until I felt a spray of water against my skin that I opened my eyes. I honestly hadn’t even realized they were closed. I had been standing there for who knows how long in Holden’s arms, in a complete daze, with my head resting on his shoulder. There was something about the way he kissed me that just about knocked me off my feet.
“We’re almost there.”
“Huh?” I asked, staring into his dark eyes.
“We’re almost at the dock. I gotta park the boat,” he said, moving his arm around me and back onto the wheel. I was already insanely horny and lightheaded from that kiss, but watching Holden maneuver the boat up against the dock, then jump off and tie it to a post just about made me lose it. He was so fucking sexy I could barely stand it.
“I just have to make a few trips,” he said, gesturing over his shoulder with one of his thumbs. “It’ll take me about ten minutes.”
“You need some help?” I asked.
“Yeah, sure, if you don’t mind, that would be awesome.”
“No problem.”
Holden held out his hand and I grabbed it, then he pulled me up onto the dock. We made our way to the shore, then along a path that was lined with blackberry bushes. It had been manicured recently, so there were no prickly branches crossing our path, but there were lots of clusters of green berries on either side.
“Wow, do you ever pick these?”
“Yeah, pretty much every year, and they’re all organic. My family’s never used any chemicals on this land.”
“How long have they had it?”
“I don’t know. There was some feud between different sides of the family decades ago and somehow my dad wound up with the deed. I guess it belonged to his great grandfather. It’s prime farming land, and apparently worth a lot of money. At least it is to the family members who really wanted it. They were pissed that my dad wound up with it, and they haven’t spoken to him, or anyone on this side of the family, since then. He’s never really done anything with it, and that apparently pissed them off even more. My dad thought it was hilarious so he’s made it a rule. No one in our family is ever going to farm this land. It’s more of a joke than anything, though. He just likes to tell the story at all the holidays and make it sound like those other family members are crazy.”
“If they’re anything like my family they probably are.”
“Do you have problems with your brother?”
Holden’s question totally knocked the breath out of me. I hadn’t been expecting it at all.
“Um … no. My brother … Bradly … he passed away a few years ago.”
“Oh, man. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“No, it’s okay. You had no way of knowing. I mean, I mentioned him, so it’s totally normal you would ask. It’s just kind of hard sometimes. The feelings hit me out of the blue.”
“You really miss him, don’t you?” Holden asked. His face was so sincere and kind, and I felt better just looking at him.
“Yeah, I really looked up to him. So … anyway, no, it’s not my brother I was talking about. I’ve just seen a lot of greed on both sides of my family. People get really weird about money and land and possessions. I hate all that shit. I think I’d be perfectly happy being a total minimalist and having hardly anything.”
“Well, that’s easy to say when your dad owns a yacht in a mansion.”
I was quiet for a long moment. I hated that Holden thought I was a spoiled rich kid. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know what it’s like for people who don’t have much money, but those people don’t know what it’s like for me either.”
“Hey, I’m sorry.” Holden turned and put his hands on my waist. “That was an asshole thing to say. No one really knows what it’s like for anyone else.” He kissed me on the lips, then turned and walked around a bend. “Well, we’re here.”
I looked up and laughed. “This is a shed?” It was almost the size of a house and looked really sturdy.
“Yeah, well, that’s what I call it, my storage shed, or my office, or whatever. It’s a pole building. They make them to be used as all kinds of outbuildings.”
“And you built this all yourself?”
“Yep. I had a friend help with the framing, but other than that I did it all.”
Holden unlocked the door and we walked in. A small pile of boxes was sitting in the center of the room, but other than that it was empty.
“I might’ve gone a little crazy on the square footage,” he said as his footsteps echoed off the walls. “But you never know, at least I’ve got room to grow my business.”
“Yeah, there’s lots of room in here. Where’s the office?”
Holden picked up a box of chips. “I guess you’re standing in it. I just call the whole thing my office, to sound more … official, I guess.” He handed me the box, which couldn’t have weighed more than five pounds.
“What, do I look like a total weenie?” I asked. “I can handle more than chips.”
“Okay, then you can take the case of soda bottles.”
I watched as Holden lifted a heavy crate up and handed it to me.
“Nah,” I said, laughing and wrapping my arms around the box. “I’m good with the chips.”
Holden and I went back and forth between the storage shed on the boat a few times, and when it was loaded up again we took off. He made a few stops at Collins Park, and of course, I hid in the little storage cupboard, especially
when he talked to his friends at the nude beach.
I didn’t care that they were naked, I just didn’t want anyone to see me. I was still freaked out about everything. Holden and I still hadn’t really talked about the baby, and I had no idea how he felt. He didn’t say anything when I told him I wanted him. He smiled but then changed the subject. As the night wore on I was getting more and more nervous about talking to him about it. To be honest, I kind of felt like hiding in that cupboard for the rest of the night.
Holden made a few more stops as the boat cruised up the river toward my dad’s yacht, and by the time he docked, the sun was setting.
“Well, I’m all out of food again. I’m going to have to head back and pick up another load.”
“Now?” I asked. I was simultaneously relieved and disappointed at the thought of Holden leaving me alone. But I had to admit, I was more disappointed than anything.
“Well, I don’t have to do it right now. I think I can get away with putting the delivery sign up and leaving The Treat Boat here for a while.”
“So, do you want to come up?” I asked, my eyes quickly darting up to his.
“I do.” Holden wrapped his arms around me and kissed me, then pulled back. “Do you think it’s safe?” he asked, gesturing with his chin toward my dad’s yacht. “Up there?”
“I hope so. They have to have cleaned everything up by now.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Wow, You weren’t kidding when you said they’d cleaned this place up.” Holden shut the fridge, which was completely empty, just as I closed some empty cupboards. “There’s no food at all.”
“I’ll just order something,” I said, taking my phone out of my pocket. “What do you feel like?”
“I don’t think there’s anything decent down here.”
“We can get food from anywhere in the city and have it delivered.”
Holden didn’t say anything for a moment. I could tell he was uncomfortable. “Look,” he said finally. “I can’t really afford to eat out much. I need to save any extra money I make for the winter months.”
“Yeah, I hear ya. I could use my dad’s credit card, but then he might figure out where I was. You know what?” I said. “There might be some olives and nuts and stuff behind the bar. You wanna check?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Holden and I found a big, Costco-sized jar of olives, and one of maraschino cherries. We also found a bag of nuts, some party snacks, and some sodas, and we took everything to my bedroom. Then we proceeded to devour almost all of it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated maraschino cherries as much as I do in this moment,” I said, taking a big gulp of the sweet, syrupy juice.
“Yeah, the salty olives complement the sweet cherries really well, and round out this gourmet meal.” Holden shoved a handful of nuts into his mouth and stared at me for a long moment. “I’ll go back to my house and bring some decent food over here tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. I want to take care of you. And the baby.”
“Yeah,” I said, staring at the almost empty jar of cherries in my hand. “We haven’t really talked about that.”
“No, we haven’t.”
Holden took a drink of soda. The room was so quiet I swore I could hear the waves lapping at the side of the yacht. I was still so scared, and I just wanted Holden to tell me what he was thinking. What I really wanted was for him to tell me he wanted this baby as much as I did.
“I want to take care of both of you. I’m really sorry I ran away yesterday. I should’ve stayed and talked to your dad, but I was scared. I’m embarrassed about the way I reacted, but now I want to make it right. I want to take care of you.” Holden looked down for a moment, then back up in my eyes. “That didn’t come out right. It’s not that I feel obligated. I want to take care of you and the baby because I can’t imagine anything else that’s more important in this entire world. I want to be with you, Brent. I don’t have much money, but I’ll do everything I can to provide for the two of you. I promise.”
I was so swept off my feet by Holden’s earnest speech that tears flooded my eyes. I knew it. He really was perfect. Holden was everything I’d ever wanted. Every word that came out of his mouth, and every time he touched my skin, it was just … perfect. And now I knew … he wanted me too.
“Okay,” I finally blurted out.
Holden smiled and kissed me. “That’s all you have to say? Okay?”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again. “It’s more than okay, Holden. It’s amazing.”
Chapter 10
Holden
“I know we haven’t known each other very long—”
“It’s been a day,” I said, laughing and pushing my hand up into Brent’s hair.
“Right,” he said. “Last night was when you threw me into the river.”
“I didn’t throw you in the river!”
“That’s right, you were ‘saving my life,’” Brent said as he made quotes in the air with his fingers.
“Some hero I turned out to be.”
“I’m really glad you did what you did. If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here right now, and I’m really, really happy about right now.”
“Just right now?” I asked tentatively. “Or for longer?”
“Longer,” Brent said. “Much longer.”
“What about your dad? What are you going to tell him?”
“Okay, this may sound crazy, but we could totally live here. The two of us. Together. My dad won’t be back here for a long time. This yacht is just gonna sit here, empty.” Brent had been looking into my eyes, but suddenly he tilted his head toward the ground. “But you have a home to go to.”
“Well, yeah, I’m renting a room in a house. I’ve got three roommates. They’re good friends, but it’s nothing special,” I said with a shrug.
“Do you wanna?”
“Move in here?”
“Yeah.”
I smiled, but I didn’t say anything. I really did want to move in with Brent. But it felt like a temporary solution, and I had absolutely no idea how I would come up with the money for a permanent place for the two of us. I just hated the fact that I couldn’t support us on my own.
“I want you to stay here with me, Holden. I really want us to start a family. I know what you’re thinking, that you don’t make enough money, but I don’t care about that. I want you … here … with me. So what do you say?”
I sat there holding Brent in my arms. My head was swimming with reasons why this wouldn’t work, why I needed to make money first before I started a family. But the family was already started. There was no way to stop that part now. And if I moved in here that meant I could save the money I’d be paying for rent at the house. It really made sense for me to be here with him.
“I’d love to stay here with you. But in the meantime, I’m gonna figure something out for all three of us. I promise.”
“Whatever you say,” Brent said, his lips gently brushing against the sensitive skin of my neck, then moving up toward my jaw.
I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of making love to Brent in his bed. Everything had happened so fast the other night in the bathroom, and I really just wanted to hold him in my arms while I slowly moved in and out of him. But I also wanted to show him the kind of alpha I usually was in bed.
I reached behind my neck and grabbed both of his wrists, then forced them down at his sides.
“Stand up and take off your clothes.”
Brent’s eyes flared at me, like he couldn’t believe I’d just given him in order. But by the way he sucked in his breath it seemed like he really liked it. Brent immediately got up off the bed and removed his tailored shirt and pants, leaving them on a heap on the floor along with his socks and expensive leather loafers.
When he was completely naked I made him stand there for a long time while I stared at him. I could tell by his body language he was s
tarting to get very uncomfortable, which was what I wanted, so I let it go on a little longer. I liked watching a guy squirm, especially when he didn’t know what was coming next.
I motioned for Brent to spin around, then told him to stop when his back was to me. I wanted to touch that perfect ass of his, but I didn’t want him to know how much I was appreciating it. I wanted him to sweat a little, wondering what I was thinking.
When the words came out of my mouth, and Brent realized I was giving him an order, he got visibly agitated, but he did exactly what I told him to do. And when I instructed him to bend over so I could inspect him, he hesitated for a moment, but complied. I honestly didn’t know if Brent would be into this sort of thing, being ordered around and dominated, but he really seemed to like it. At least, that’s what his cock told me. It was as hard as a rock the minute I’d grabbed his wrists and forced them down.
I told him to stand up and turn back around, and by the time he was facing me I had my jeans unzipped. I didn’t even have to say a word. Almost instantaneously Brent was on his knees in front of me, ripping my pants and underwear down past my hips until my cock sprang out in front of his face. I hadn’t actually planned on telling him to suck my cock, not yet, anyway. But since he was down there, I let him do his thing.
I could tell Brent had been with a lot of other men. He knew exactly what he was doing, the way he looked at me, and touched me, and licked me, it was incredible, just like the other night. I had no idea what he was even doing most of the time, but if felt amazing. There was a brief moment, just as I watched Brent suck the entire length of my cock down his throat, when I felt a little … I don’t know … jealous maybe? Like I wished I could have been all those guys Brent had practiced with. But I knew we all had a past, and everything he did made him who he was today, so that feeling didn’t last.
I knew Brent was mine. All those other men from the past were just steppingstones leading to this moment. They were all nights of practice and experience that made Brent the hot little omega he was, with seriously amazing bj skills. But that wasn’t all he was to me. Not by a long shot.
Portville Summer Series: The Complete Collection Books 1-4: (MM Nonshifter Omegaverse) Page 34
