The Boyfriend Cruise

by Deanna Wadsworth

  He liked so much, he was damn grateful his sister had left and that the club was dark and the dance floor too crowded for anyone to see the bulge in his pants. His cock throbbed, and he could feel a little wetness leaking. When Nathan placed a gentle kiss on his neck, Josh swore he might burst at any moment.

  Good Lord, Nathan had a powerful effect on Josh’s body, so fast, so intense.

  Josh pushed on Nathan’s chest a little bit. “You need to give me some air,” he said, laughing and breathless. He almost confessed he was seconds away from coming in his pants but didn’t want Nathan to think he had no stamina for foreplay, or worse, laugh at him.

  Josh couldn’t handle that rejection again, especially not from someone like Nathan—no, don’t think about that!

  Nathan grinned, and Josh saw the glint of arrogance in his gaze.

  He knew exactly what he did to Josh.

  “Too much too soon?”

  “Too public,” Josh corrected.

  Nathan threw back his head and laughed, yanking Josh closer and doing some sort of Dancing with the Stars twirl with their bodies.

  Mind spinning, Josh held on and enjoyed the ride.

  They danced through a blur of songs, and Nathan eased up on the grinding. Then they took a breather to grab a beer.

  Drinks in hand, they found a spot in the club where conversation could be managed.

  “I have something to ask you,” Josh said, recalling the poor girl and her aggressive father earlier.

  “Anything,” Nathan said, his smile warm and sultry.

  Josh chuckled. “Actually, I need to tell you about something I saw.”

  Nathan’s brows furrowed at the serious note in Josh’s voice. They furrowed deeper when Josh explained the incident. “That’s the couple that won’t let me take their pictures. The Timbers family.”

  “Really? Do you think something fishy is going on?”

  “On the Pride?” Nathan made a wry sniff. “Anything is possible. But if you told Roxy, I know she told Raoul or the captain already. Still, I can request an appointment with the captain tomorrow and follow up. See if she’s okay. If you see anything else, don’t interfere. Just come find me, or tell the nearest staff.”

  Josh nodded, glad Nathan would find out if the girl’s situation was safe.

  The conversation shifted to less serious topics, like Nathan’s travels. He’d been on all the continents except Antarctica. The benign conversation should’ve cooled Josh’s fiery erection.

  Not working.

  “Wow, you’re lucky to have traveled so much,” Josh said, trying to find a comfortable place to stand in his current state. “Right here is about as exotic as I’ve gotten.”

  Nathan twirled his beer bottle and picked at the label. “I love to travel. My grandpa used to always say, ‘Never be afraid to waste your money on an experience. Stuff is meaningless, but experiences keep you warm when you’re old.’”

  “That’s good advice,” Josh said. If he didn’t start following such advice, how cold and lonely would Josh’s life stay?

  “It is,” Nathan agreed, his face lost to a sad memory.

  “Do you see him often?”

  “He passed away when I was little.” Nathan gave him a tight-lipped smile, which did not travel to his big green eyes. “He was the only father I had.”

  Josh’s heart gave a pang. “I’m so sorry.”

  Forcing a bigger smile, Nathan said, “Anyways, do you like to travel?”

  Though saddened by what Nathan told him, he respected the man’s desire to change the subject and answered, “I love it. I just don’t have anybody to travel with.”

  “You have your family.”

  “Yeah, we usually do a vacation like this once a year, but it’s always in the continental United States. My dad refuses to fly.”

  “Then how did you get down to Miami?”

  Josh widened his eyes. “We drove.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, Aaron and I drove with Mom and Dad. Everybody else flew. I was being cheap because flights are expensive around the holidays. Let me tell you, by the time we hit Georgia, I was regretting it.”

  Nathan laughed. “Was it like National Lampoon’s Vacation?”

  “Something like that.”

  Nathan smiled, staring at Josh again.

  It unnerved Josh somewhat. Though they’d been more than intimate on the dance floor and Josh’s erection had gone down, the intense way Nathan stared at him made him a little uncomfortable. As if Nathan could see all the way into him, to the things Josh never let anyone know about.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, squirming.

  Nathan reached out and brushed the back of his fingers across Josh’s cheek. “Because you’re captivating.”

  Josh let out a laugh, which sounded like a snort. “That’s a new one. I’m not sure how I could be captivating.”

  “You are,” Nathan assured him. “Sort of like the songs you share to let people see inside you, every now and then something stands out to me from my camera lens. It speaks to me, and I have to photograph it. Capture it before it disappears. You drew me in from the moment I laid eyes on you. Even before your sister-in-law’s oh-so helpful announcement about your single status.”

  “I did?” His face heated with embarrassed pleasure.

  Nathan caressed Josh’s hand, his gaze dark with lust. “And I just had to capture you.”

  “Like a pirate capturing an innocent man?” he asked, mind conjuring the cover of that book Mom had been reading.

  Nathan chuckled and withdrew his hand. “I’m hardly a pirate, and you’re hardly an innocent man.”

  “You’re right,” Josh agreed. “I’m the ‘some people’ in that song, not the innocent man.”

  Could Nathan possibly understand how many risks Josh was taking, how far Nathan had dragged him from his comfort zone? And how significant it was that Josh wasn’t afraid?

  Damn, you’re falling hard for this guy…. Be careful!

  Studying him as he absorbed Josh’s statement, Nathan took a swallow of beer, and Josh tried not to drool at the sight of his Adam’s apple bobbing on his neck.

  Josh cleared his throat. “You like taking pictures of people?”

  Nathan nodded. “Sure, pays the bills. But my passion is capturing the stills, the moments that show real life. Like when I saw you.”

  “What kinda pictures…? Well, besides me,” Josh asked, uncomfortable with the compliments Nathan gave him. It wouldn’t be difficult to imagine falling head over heels for this man.

  Smiling, Nathan withdrew his cell phone. And after a few taps, he handed it over. “That’s my website.”

  “Oh, you have a website?”

  “A friend on board made it for me. Convinced me I should try to sell some. That’s my photography and travel blog.”

  Josh flipped through the gallery, startled by the beauty of some of the photos. “Are these all your work?”

  Nathan nodded. “Yeah, I sell quite a few.”

  “That’s awesome. You’re really talented,” he said, handing it back. “I’m not very artistic. My brother always makes fun of me because when it comes to clothing or decorating, I stick with red, blue, black, khaki, gray, or white. You can’t go wrong with any of those colors.”

  Nathan laughed.

  “How did you get started in photography?” Josh asked.

  “I’ve always loved art,” Nathan told him. “I first picked up a camera when I was hired on the ship. I guess the captain saw I was artistic and could be good at photography. From day one, it was like an extension of my hands, like the first time I picked up a guitar.”

  “You play guitar too?” Josh laughed. “He sings, he dances, he plays music, listens to the music, and is a globetrotting artist. You’re like something in a romance novel.”

  “You think?”

  Josh blushed. “That sounded stupid.”

  “No,” Nathan assured him. “It was sweet. Like you.
”

  Heaving a sigh, Josh rolled his eyes. “That’s what I am, all right. Sweet and ordinary.”

  “I never said you were ordinary,” Nathan insisted, looking perplexed.

  But that was exactly what Josh was—sweet, ordinary, and boring. Though Nathan made him fantasize about shipboard romances, passionate kisses, and making love all night long, he would end up being a giant disappointment to a guy like Nathan. Experienced, gorgeous. A real catch.

  Handpicked right off of Ramona and Aaron’s boyfriend menu, as a matter of fact, and served with a side of “out of Josh’s league.”

  Josh might love music and art, but he had no talent for it. He was just a doughy accountant without any experience in life or love.

  Josh sighed, deciding to be honest, and laid his cards on the table. “You should know something. I haven’t been with a lot of guys.”

  “How many?”

  He hadn’t expected Nathan to ask for a number. “I don’t want to tell you.”

  “There’s not a number you could give me that would shock or offend me,” Nathan said frankly. “Sex isn’t something I’m embarrassed about.”

  “What if I said you could count them on one hand?” Sorta the truth.

  “Then I would say you sound like a good, loyal guy. A guy who doesn’t break hearts.”

  “No, I’m usually the one who gets his heart broken.”

  “I don’t plan on breaking your heart,” Nathan said, reaching for his hand.

  Their gazes locked, and something deep in Nathan’s green eyes eased Josh nerves. It might be foolish, but Josh wanted to risk his heart on Nathan.

  He’d never wanted something so badly in all of his life.

  Even if he was setting himself up for the ultimate heartbreak.

  Smiling, Josh squeezed Nathan’s hand. “I’m okay with whatever happens between us.”

  Nathan cocked his head to the side. “What are you implying?”

  “I’m okay if this is a hookup for you. I’m not going into this with blinders on.”

  Nathan’s head jerked back as if Josh’s words had slapped him, and Josh couldn’t blame him. Josh was shocked he’d said them, and even more shocked he meant them.

  “That’s not what I’m looking for,” Nathan insisted. “Not anymore. Do you believe me?”

  “Sure.”

  But did he believe Nathan?

  Rather than continuing that vein of conversation, Josh asked, “How about we get out of here and go for a walk along the promenade?”

  Nathan gave him a huge grin. “I’d love to.”

  WHILE HAPPY to be out of the noisy club, Nathan had thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to show off his dance moves and maul Josh on the dance floor.

  Dancing was some of the best foreplay, and his incubus blood made him a master of the seductive arts.

  Josh’s desire was palpable, the heady aroma of an upcoming feast, but they wouldn’t get to the main act this evening. Nathan shared a room with two other guys, and Josh’s roommate currently convalesced in their suite with a terrible sunburn.

  More importantly, Nathan was concerned about the things Josh had told him. Josh hadn’t been with many men, so he obviously wasn’t the kind of man to just fool around for no reason, yet he’d made the dismissive comment, “I’m okay if this is a hookup for you.”

  Nathan lived off hookups, but the idea of hooking up with Josh, eating his fill of sexual magic, then waving goodbye as Josh disembarked Sunday, didn’t sit well with Nathan. Yes, he wanted to feed from every orgasm he’d pump out of him, but that wasn’t all he wanted.

  He wanted a chance to see what could happen between them outside of the bedroom.

  He glanced at Josh—the moonlight kissing his now freckled nose and the sea breeze fluttering his dark hair—and his worries faded. Holding hands and walking with Josh was such a delightfully normal thing to do, and Nathan savored every second of it.

  There were other lovers strolling the walkways, some quietly lingering in the little nooks and chairs placed here and there on the promenade deck. But everyone stayed to themselves at this hour. After one o’clock in the morning, most people had gone to bed for the night, but laughter bounced out from some of the stores and bars still open. The upper walkway, used as a running track, afforded the best views of the ocean, so Nathan led them there. At this time of night, the light was dimmed enough to be safe but still romantic, and the rush of the sea was like music serenading them.

  They paused at the railing.

  “Oh my.” Josh’s voice fluttered with nerves. “I’m glad it’s dark and I can’t see how far up we are.”

  “You’re completely safe with me,” Nathan said, slipping his arm around Josh’s waist. His lust magic swelled inside him, hungry for Josh’s innocent seductions.

  Josh looked up at him then. “What if I don’t want to be safe?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This. You and me. It’s kinda reckless, and I like it.”

  “Reckless? A moonlit walk on a cruise ship with a man is reckless?” If Josh only knew Nathan was one-quarter incubus demon, then he’d really understand living on the edge of danger.

  “A little for me, yeah,” Josh admitted. “I’m pretty cautious. I don’t play the lottery. I don’t gamble. I don’t take risks. That’s probably why my family booked this trip. To take the risk for me.”

  Nathan studied him. “And you think I’m a risk?”

  “I don’t know, yes? No, maybe? You’re so handsome, and you work on a cruise ship with dozens of eligible guys. Why would you pick me?” Josh whispered the last part, his words fading into the ocean breeze.

  He could’ve plied Josh with compliments, seduced him with sweet nothings, but that felt so disingenuous. Nathan released him and leaned on the railing, studying the vast expanse of nothing but sea. “I don’t know what draws me to photograph certain things, any more than I know what causes attraction. But the first time I saw you through my camera, my heart skipped.”

  “It did?”

  “Yeah, and in that instant, I knew I wanted to get to know you.”

  If he’d met Josh before he’d learned control, Nathan would’ve claimed him on the spot, bedded him within an hour. He would’ve kept Josh in his bed for days, sucking up every sweet orgasm he could drain from the man. Even now, his demon urged Nathan to do that.

  Maybe Josh was more at risk than either of them truly knew, because Josh woke his demon until it was all but clawing to get out.

  Fighting the pull for dominance of his will, Nathan closed his eyes and let the cool ocean breeze calm him. He took several breaths, concentrating on control.

  I am more human than demon, he repeated to himself.

  As badly as the demon wanted Josh, Nathan would not lose control.

  He would never do to another soul what Bartholomew had done to him.

  Before he could push it away, the memories assaulted him swiftly like a physical blow.

  The black-haired god of a man had walked up to Nathan in a bar in Amsterdam. Before Nathan thought to flirt and lure him in, Bartholomew had inhaled deep from Nathan’s neck. His eyes had flashed red, startling Nathan, and then he’d whispered one word. “Incubus.”

  And then Nathan had no control over his body.

  He’d gotten hard immediately, falling into Bartholomew’s arms. He’d carried Nathan away to a room and made Nathan come over and over. Being a partial incubus, Nathan’s orgasms were more powerful magic for Bartholomew, so the demon ate his fill, and he also drank Nathan’s blood.

  In between continuous orgasm feedings—whether by Bartholomew’s cruel but expert hand on Nathan’s cock or his steely, hard dick ramming Nathan’s prostate and milking more energy from him—Bartholomew told him that he’d heard an unknown incubus was in Amsterdam but hadn’t expected Nathan to be a mixed breed. He said Nathan’s sire must have been old and powerful.

  He told Nathan how incubi fed off orgasms and could control humans with their sexual allure.
Bartholomew was surprised Nathan had no blood-drinking desires. He’d also been surprised by Nathan’s “fragility.”

  Nathan had never once thought himself fragile, because he was easily ten times stronger than the average man. But after weeks of intense sex and blood loss, Nathan wished he never had to have sex again. He’d fallen close to death.

  After the last blood and sex feeding, Bartholomew had said, “If there weren’t so few of our kind left in the world, I would claim you as my slave. Bond you to me and fuck you, then drain your blood. But even the mixed breeds are needed. Now leave before I change my mind.”

  He’d slipped a piece of paper into Nathan’s pocket, then sent him, delirious, dehydrated, and in pain, into the night.

  When Nathan woke up days later—in a hostel he didn’t remember going to—he’d discovered the note.

  Nathan,

  Thank you for feeding me. I’m stronger now than I have been in many decades. You must find Captain Leonides on the Pride of the Caribbean cruise ship. He will help you harness your gifts and keep you safe from those like me.

  B

  So Nathan had found his way to the ship, with more discretion than he usually showed, using his magic only to pay for passage to the Caribbean.

  Guilt swamped him when he recalled what a monster he’d been before that. And remembering the pain Bartholomew put him through brought his demon fully under control now.

  No, Nathan would never compel another soul as long as he lived.

  “Earth to Nathan.”

  Nathan flinched and looked down at his date.

  Josh smiled. “You had your eyes closed and were a million miles away.”

  Nathan raised Josh’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. Just touching Josh pushed any last remnants of those painful memories away. “I’m right here. And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  He’d never spoken truer words.

  Josh gave him a shy smile. “Me neither.”

  Nathan released Josh’s hands, and they both wordlessly faced the water again, savoring the peaceful evening, the quiet between them not awkward at all.

  “I’m enjoying getting to know you,” Nathan said, raising his brows and smiling. “And I like your family.”