Undercurrent (Sand Dollar Shoal Book 1)

by Pandora Pine

  Charlie whined from her spot on the floor, stretching her legs and yawing.

  “There’s my girl.” Noble sat down on the floor next to the puppy, who eagerly climbed onto his lap and started licking his face. “Daddy missed you today,” Noble mumbled, raking his hands through the dog’s fur.

  Landon laughed at the reunion of man and dog. They hadn’t talked about Noble’s battle with alcoholism since the day he’d almost relapsed. He couldn’t figure out if that was a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand Noble seemed to be doing so well but on the other hand, was not talking about the situation hurting him?

  “What’s on your mind, Wordsmith? You look like you’re thinking about something serious.”

  Landon shrugged, dumping the second can of beans into the crock pot. “I was just wondering how you’re doing with everything?”

  Noble’s face scrunched into a frown. “You mean with my drinking?”

  “We haven’t talked much about it lately and with the storm coming, that’s a lot of extra stress for you.” Landon nibbled his bottom lip and busied himself with the chili. He hoped his lack of eye contact would help Noble open up.

  Noble buried his face against Charlie’s side. “I never told you why I started drinking after Vincent died.”

  If Landon thought that was a strange way for Noble to start the conversation, he didn’t let on. He was happy to let Noble tell the story in his own way. “No, you never told me.” Landon stirred the still browning meat in the skillet before turning his full attention to Noble.

  “I never drank to forget, Landon. I drank to remember.” Noble sounded serious.

  “I don’t understand.” Noble’s reasoning seemed backward to him.

  “Every time I thought about Vincent or remembered a scene from our marriage, I’d cry. It was never just a tear or two.” Noble paused to take a deep breath. “I was full-out bawling. There were some nights I’d cry myself to sleep clutching his pillow.”

  Landon’s heart broke for his lover. He’d never lost anyone in his life close enough to him to incite those kinds of feelings. He couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Noble after Vincent passed. “I wish I’d known you then, so I could have been there to help you.”

  Noble shook his head. “It wouldn’t have helped, Wordsmith. I would have just pushed you away too, like I did with my father and my friends. When I drank, I was able to put my emotions in check and remember Vincent without crying. I swear I must have watched our wedding video a million times.” Noble laughed. “When I was drunk, I could clearly remember the way he’d look first thing in the morning when he’d open his eyes and smile at me like he’d just won the lottery.”

  “Vincent had won the lottery. He got to wake up every morning lying next to you.” Landon couldn’t help but notice how happy Noble looked talking about his dead husband. There was no sign of sadness or of Noble looking jittery like he did the day he almost drank.

  Snorting, Noble looked up at Landon. “I guess he did. So, anyway, by the time I realized there was a problem with my drinking, it was too late. I was hooked and just so fucking sad and lonely that I didn’t want to stop drinking.”

  “I think the same thing happened with my mother after my father left her.”

  “She didn’t have any friends or family around to give her a kick in the ass and get her to go to rehab?” Noble’s tone was sad.

  Landon shook his head no. “I used to beg her to go to treatment all the time. I’d even spoken to Milt Cavenaugh’s mother and she told me if my mom agreed to go to rehab, I’d be more than welcome to stay at their house. I had a folder I’d keep under my mattress of the local rehab facilities and their phone numbers.”

  Noble chuckled. “Most teenage boys keep porno mags under their mattress and you had rehab listings. What a shit way to grow up, man.”

  “As many times as I asked her to go get help, she’d always say no, so after a while I stopped asking.” It had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done, to give up on his mother like that, but the way he figured it, she’d given up on him the day his father left them.

  “I am so grateful that my father and the guys didn’t give up on me.” Noble stood up and stalked over to Landon. “Look at me now. Thanks to rehab and the friend I’ve found in you, I can talk about Vincent without crying and I can think about a bright and happy future that doesn’t include Jack Daniels.”

  Landon pulled Noble into his arms, hugging him tight. Thanks to Noble, Landon had a bright and sunny future to think about as well, so long as they made it through the blizzard of the century.

  XX

  “Come upstairs with me, I have a surprise for you.” Noble held his hand out to Landon who was sitting at his makeshift desk.

  “Where are we going?” Landon’s mossy green eyes glowed with curiosity.

  “Come on, gorgeous, and I’ll show you.” Noble tugged him out of his seat and toward the stairs. Charlie scrambled up from her place in front of the fire. “Stay, Charlie.”

  Whining, the dog obeyed, sitting at the foot of the stairs.

  “We’ll be back soon, princess. I promise.” Noble rubbed the puppy’s silky ears and started up the stairs.

  Noble continued past the second and third floors, pulling Landon along with him to the fourth floor.

  “What are we doing up here?” Landon looked around at all of the closed doors in the hallway.

  “The fourth floor was set up to be luxury suites. These rooms will have better amenities and will, of course, be more expensive.”Noble pushed open the door of the last room on the right hand side. This room boasted an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean when it wasn’t boarded up against a blizzard.

  Landon gasped. Noble had set candles all around the empty room. “I don’t see a mattress. Are we gonna get busy on the floor?” Landon waggled his eyebrows at his lover.

  Shaking his head, Noble pointed toward the bathroom door. “I had something better in mind.”

  “What is it?”

  Pressing a kiss to Landon’s lips, Noble grinned, pointing a finger at the partially open bathroom door. “Why don’t you go have a look for yourself?”

  Landon kissed him back before pulling away and heading toward the bathroom door.

  Noble followed close behind him, wanting to see the look on Landon’s face when he saw the surprise Noble had planned for him.

  “Noble, wow!” Landon gasped when he walked into the bathroom.

  The entire room was lit by candlelight and the large two-person tub was filled with steaming water.

  “You did all of this for me?”

  “Yeah.” Noble grinned, rocking back on his heels. “You did so much to help me today, between doing the food shopping and helping me hang all of the plywood. I couldn’t have done it all without you and this is my way of saying thank you.”

  “You don’t have to thank me, Noble. I did it because I lo-” Landon stopped short, sucking in a deep breath.

  Noble didn’t have to be a wordsmith to know Landon was about to save he loved him, but he’d let Landon finish that sentence in his own time. “Let’s get you undressed and into the tub, hmm?” Without waiting for an answer, Noble grabbed the hem of Landon’s shirt and hauled it over his head before dropping to his knees to pull down his flannel sleep pants. Noble moaned when Landon’s erection bobbed free. He licked out at the drop of pre-come drooling from his slit.”Fucking delicious.”

  “Not half as delicious as you.” Landon kicked out of his pants and went for the button of Noble’s jeans, while Noble pulled his shirt over his head. Pushing the heavy material down, Landon quickly got him out of his pants.

  “Now for the fun part. Hop in.” Noble was all smiles, his hand running down his abs to cock, giving it a few slow tugs. Nothing beat the feeling of Landon’s hand on his dick, but this would do for now.

  Landon stepped into the tub. “Oh, the water’s so warm. This is gonna feel so good on my aching muscles.” He sat down, pushing forward in the tub. />
  “That was my plan exactly.” Noble climbed in behind his lover and pulled him to lie back against his chest.

  Landon sighed, relaxing against his lover. “This is amazing, Noble. Being here with you takes my breath away.”

  “Mine too.” As much as he loved Vincent, the way he felt for Landon was different, which came as a relief to him. He didn’t want this new relationship to mirror his marriage at all. All of the things he experienced with Landon were new and fresh.

  “The hot water feels so good. I don’t think I’ve ever worked this hard in my entire life.”

  “Bullshit!” Noble challenged.

  “What do you mean bullshit? I swear to God I’ve never worked like this before.”

  “One day last week, you sat and wrote for like twelve hours straight. We were only hanging plywood for about four hours.”

  Landon shrugged. “Yeah and then I hauled load after load of firewood after that.”

  “What can I say? You have a way with loads.” Noble snickered against the back of Landon’s neck.

  “You’re such an infant.” Landon rolled his eyes.

  “True.” Noble sat up a bit higher and started rubbing Landon’s shoulders. “Don’t ever think for one moment that just because you do your work sitting down in front of a computer that you’re not working hard.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Landon relaxed back into Noble’s hands. “Are you gonna let me return the favor when you’re finished?”

  “No,” Noble whispered in Landon’s ear. “You’re gonna ride my cock until you’re screaming my name like you did out on the scaffolding this afternoon.

  Landon shivered in spite of the warm water. “Jesus Christ! You sure the hell know how to paint a man a picture.”

  “Damn straight. My cock’s so fucking hard right now it could cut glass.” Noble humped it against Landon’s smooth skin.

  Landon snorted. “I know. I can feel it digging into my ass.”

  Nipping at Landon’s neck, Noble snickered. “Don’t you think you should do something about that?”

  “Nope!” Landon said with a smirk. He moved forward, away from Noble and up onto his hands and knees. “Getting my ass ready for your monster cock is your job.” He winked at his shocked lover over his shoulder.

  Noble stared at Landon’s soaking wet ass. Tiny rivulets of water were trailing down his back and over his ample butt cheeks. “Dinner is fucking served.” Noble grinned before grabbing Landon’s ass and pulling his cheeks apart to reveal his most sensitive skin. Licking up his lover’s wrinkled sack, Noble dipped and swirled his tongue against Landon’s pucker.

  “Fuck, Noble!” Landon shoved his ass further back against Noble’s tongue.

  “Like that, do you?” Noble lashed his tongue against the tight skin, wanting to loosen up the muscle so he could taste Landon from the inside. He rubbed a finger against his hole, smiling when he felt Landon pushing back and opening himself up to Noble’s invasion. While his finger prodded and stretched, Landon went back to snacking on Landon’s flesh.

  “Jesus, fuck! I could come from that alone.” Landon was panting, his hands white-knuckling the rim of the bathtub.

  “Another time. I promise, but not today. I need you, Landon.”

  Landon grinned over his shoulder. “Not half as much as I need you.” He spun around in the tub until he was facing Noble. “Never done it in the water before.” He lined himself up with Noble’s cock.

  “Hope you know how to swim, Wordsmith.” Noble surged up into Landon’s body until he bottomed out. Both mean screamed the other’s name in pleasure.

  “Fuck, that was good! Just what I needed.” Landon ran his hands through Noble’s still-dry hair. “How do you always know what I need without me having to tell you?”

  “Maybe because what you need is exactly what I need too.” Noble surged deeper into Landon’s body. “Ride me, babe.”

  Landon grabbed onto Noble’s shoulders. Lifting himself up, he slammed his ass down on Noble’s cock so hard that a wave of water sloshed over the tub. “So fuckin’ good,” Landon panted.

  Noble reached out for Landon’s cock. With the bathwater serving as lube, Noble stroked his lover from root to tip. He wanted to see Landon explode in his arms and with the way he was slamming his body down on his own erection, he wasn’t going to be able to last much longer. “That’s it, Landon, keep fucking me.”

  “I’m close, so close. Don’t want this to end.”

  “This is never gonna end. You’re mine forever, understand?”

  Landon nodded before throwing his head back. “I’m gonna come. Gonna-” He bellowed Noble’s name, the sound echoed off the high ceiling.

  Wave after wave of cream burst from Landon’s slit. Noble had aimed his dick right at his face and each blast slapped against his skin. Opening his mouth he was able to catch some of it. Feeling Landon’s hot release on his tongue sent him over the edge. “LANDON!” Noble screamed, dropping his lover’s deflating cock and digging his hands into Landon’s hips. “Fucking yes!”

  Landon eased himself off Noble and sat back down between his legs, resting his face against Noble’s chest.

  Wrapping his arms around his lover, he couldn’t help but feel the words in his heart that Landon had been unable to say.

  25

  With all of the hotel windows boarded up, Landon had no way of knowing if it had started to snow when he woke up the next morning. Noble was spooning him from behind while Charlie was curled up in front of him. Instead of feeling boxed in, Landon felt blessed. The man he loved was holding him close and the dog he never knew he needed had his front. He snorted.

  Charlie’s ears pricked up and her eyes popped open. She licked out at Landon’s arm.

  “Good morning, Charlie.” Landon smiled at the puppy and reached out to rub her ears. Warm lips pressed against the back of his neck. “Morning, gorgeous.”

  Noble pulled him closer. “Mornin’.”

  Landon could feel Noble’s morning wood pressing against the crack of his ass. After the way he’d ridden Noble last night, hard and fast, there was no way he was up for round two this morning. His sore ass aside, they had things to do. Someone needed to walk Charlie and the other needed to make breakfast.

  “I’ll take Charlie O-U-T if you make pancakes and bacon for us,” Noble said as if he had read Landon’s mind.

  “Why are you spelling?” Landon snuggled back against Noble’s naked skin.

  “Because I’m not quite ready to get out of bed yet.” Noble yawned loudly and stretched.

  “Oh really?” Landon rolled his eyes at Charlie who only offered a doggie grin in return.

  “Really. Don’t you remember when we were kids and we’d have a snow day off from school?” Noble’s voice sounded wistful.

  Rolling in Noble’s arms to face his lover, Landon laughed. Snow days had been some of the best days of his life. His mother still had to go to work even though school was cancelled, which meant he had the entire house to himself. He’d heat up some Eggo waffles and spend the day writing stories in his notebook or he’d watch tawdry daytime television. He’d always loved Sally Jesse Raphael’s show when she’d send wayward girls to boot camp so they could learn to straighten up and fly right. “I loved snow days.”

  “Me too. Dad would be off on those days too and we’d both sleep in and he’d make us a huge breakfast. Usually pancakes and bacon, but sometimes waffles.”

  “I always had waffles too. Why don’t I make those instead of pancakes? I saw a waffle iron on a back shelf in the pantry.”

  “You.” Noble pressed a kiss to Landon’s lips. “Read.” Noble kissed him again. “My.” He was in the process of moving forward for another kiss when he was ambushed from behind by Charlie who started licking him. “Mind.” Noble giggled when Charlie managed to wedge herself between him and Landon, her pink tongue licking anything she could reach.

  Landon got out of bed while Noble and Charlie played kissy-face. “I’ll leave you t
wo lovebirds to it,” Landon called over his shoulder.

  Grabbing his computer, Landon headed into the kitchen in near-darkness. The only light came from the fire. He flipped on the lights in the kitchen and set up the computer so he could watch the news.

  With all of the windows boarded up it really was like he and Noble were in their own little world. It was a bit unnerving not to be able to see outside, but better to be safe than sorry.

  From the dining room, Landon heard Charlie bark and knew Noble had just announced it was time for walkies. He headed toward her bowl and dumped a cup of kibble into it, leaving one less thing for Noble to do when they got back inside.

  Landon went to his favorite television station's website and clicked on the live cast. "...Snowing heavily over the Cape and the Islands for several hours now."

  "Several hours?" Landon shouted, his voice echoing in the empty kitchen. The original forecast had been for the snow to start around dinnertime.

  The head meteorologist was pulling double duty by being on in the morning. Landon could see the glee in his eyes as he described the snow and wind conditions to come. It would have ordinarily soothed Landon to see his favorite weatherman, but with his last forecast of the night predicting the snow to start twelve hours from now, it wasn't much comfort.

  "...so expect power outages statewide. We're already getting reports of sporadic outages on the Cape and Islands and the bad news, folks, is that the conditions are only going to worsen over the next twenty-four hours.”

  "Jesus Christ! It's snowing like a motherfucker!" Noble announced as he pushed into the kitchen. Charlie darted past him to her food bowl.

  Landon burst out laughing. He could see the puppy's fur was wet from the snow. "Do you really think you should talk like that in front of the baby?"

  Noble grinned, stalking toward Landon. He set his hands on Landon's face.