The Boyfriend Cruise

by Deanna Wadsworth

  Nathan looked at Josh, and his heart melted when he saw Josh brush away tears at the tender scene.

  If this could touch him, perhaps he could accept Nathan.

  Darrius clapped his hands twice. “Come, Captain, Raoul, Brian. Let’s go visit the Wong family, posthaste.”

  “All of you may go,” the captain said from his perch behind his desk. “I need to have a talk with Nathan and his friend.”

  Darrius looked at Josh and Nathan holding hands, and gave Nathan a fatherly pat on the cheek. “Yes, yes, my boy. It’ll be okay for you too,” he promised, and with one magical pop, they all disappeared, leaving Nathan and Josh alone with the captain.

  Chapter Thirteen

  JOSH GAPED at the empty space in the room where six people once stood.

  They can teleport….

  “Josh?” Nathan whispered.

  Nathan stood beside Josh, still holding his hand. He glanced at Nathan’s hands again. Nice, normal human hands. Hands that had touched his body, made him feel rebellious with adventure, passionate.

  But hands that grew demon claws.

  The captain stood, drawing their attention. He picked up two things from the table and walked over. “I believe these belong to your family.”

  Mom’s earring and the necklace.

  Things began to click into place. Winslow and Sarah arguing after Mom lost her earring… Sarah admiring the necklace Luke bought… then Josh’s missing room key… he’d been napping while his key card sat on the table right next to Sarah….

  “What will you say when you return these items?” the captain asked.

  Josh looked at him and then at the jewelry, recognizing the question for what it was.

  A test.

  The captain and his husband had mentioned a mind wipe, and Nathan had been against it. And Josh was totally against it! “I can pretend I found Mom’s earring, or someone from the ship could return it like it came from the lost and found. And Luke doesn’t even need to know,” Josh said. Then he sniffed a laugh. “Of course, there’ll be questions when they see the hole in my door.”

  “That’s already been fixed,” Captain Leonides assured him.

  “Of course it has.”

  The captain nodded. “I’ll have Raoul return this to your mother, and I’ll have one of the fairies return the necklace to the safe in your room.” He looked at Nathan. “Perhaps the two of you should take a walk. You have much to discuss.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Nathan said, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He tugged gently on Josh’s hand until he stood too. “Thank you, Captain.”

  “You’re welcome, Nathan.”

  Then without another word, Nathan hurried them out of the cabin.

  The ship was almost completely vacant of passengers as they headed up to the promenade deck. Nathan had not let go of Josh’s hand.

  “So what is Penelope?” Josh asked.

  “A water sprite with a penchant for older men.”

  Josh laughed. “I knew something wasn’t quite human about her. And Darrius and the cruise director?”

  “Wizards, but Darrius is far more powerful.”

  “And Roxy? Is she something?”

  “A witch and an empath.”

  “I could see that. She’s quite intuitive. And Kelly the snorkeling instructor?”

  “Dolphin shifter.”

  “Of course he is.”

  A couple walked by them with wineglasses full of something purple, laughing. More of the people who were fairy costuming. Josh studied their wings, and for the first time noticed there were no straps at all. “Those are real wings, aren’t they?”

  Nathan nodded. “Hiding in plain sight.”

  “Real life fairies.”

  “Those two are meadow sprites, technically. Not all Fae have wings.”

  Josh couldn’t believe his ears.

  Or his eyes, for that matter.

  If he hadn’t seen Nathan’s claws and glowing eyes for himself, he’d think this was all a bad joke.

  It’s all so nuts!

  As they walked, Josh studied the ship, as if seeing it for the first time. He examined the Christmas tree in the lobby as they walked by, pausing to study the ornaments that seemed to move on their own. He stopped, staring closer, and then he gasped. “There are tiny people in there!”

  “Shh,” Nathan cautioned, hefting one in his hand. “They’re not real pixies, just spells.”

  Tentatively Josh took the ornament from his hand and felt warmth. “It’s warm.”

  Nathan’s brows shot up. “You can feel it?”

  “Am I not supposed to?”

  “You’re human, so no. But maybe you have a little magic. It’s not unusual. Maybe you had a witch in your family tree.”

  “Doubt Ancestry dot com would tell me that.”

  Nathan chuckled. “No, but Darrius could, if you wanted to know.”

  Josh let go of the ornament and Nathan’s hand. He took a few steps away, pacing. When he turned around, Nathan was watching him, fidgeting nervously. His jitters were kind of funny because he was part demon.

  A sex demon.

  Just the idea sent an illicit thrill through Josh, and his face heated. He’d watched Lost Girl, the show with the bisexual succubus, but that was years ago… and fiction.

  This was real.

  “If you’re a”—he lowered his voice—“sex demon, is that why….” His face flamed. “Why I’ve been so…?”

  “No,” Nathan assured him, grabbing his hand, then letting go when Josh flinched. “Not once did I use magic on you. Well, I fed off your orgasms, but I can’t help that. It’s what I am, what I need to live. But I never pushed my power on you to make you want me. I’m not like that anymore.”

  “Anymore?”

  Nathan lowered his head in shame. “Can we walk while we talk?”

  Josh nodded but kept his hands at the small of his back. They made it outside to the promenade, and Nathan still hadn’t said anything, making Josh antsy. “So you’re an incubus?”

  “One-quarter,” he corrected. “Which means I’m three-quarters human.”

  “How’d that happen?”

  Nathan took a deep inhale, then let it out slowly. “My grandfather was obviously a full incubus, but I never knew him. Never knew my half-incubus father either. He was killed by demon hunters before I was born. My mom didn’t even know what he was. It was just a brief affair when she was in college that left her with a baby—me.”

  Josh studied him, curious. “Did you know what you were?”

  “No,” he said, sounding sad.

  “So just like Sarah, you never knew.”

  “But unlike Sarah, I didn’t find out until I was an adult. I was just a regular kid until my seventeenth birthday. I played guitar, soccer, had a mom and a half sister. We had just moved to Florida after my mom and stepdad divorced, and I was thinking of taking up surfing. I was saving for a car, studying for the ACTs, and planning spring break. You know? I was a regular human.”

  The longing in Nathan’s voice tugged at Josh’s heart.

  “But on my seventeenth birthday, a switch flipped on inside me. Suddenly, nothing else mattered anymore, just sex. I became a predator, on the hunt. And it wasn’t hard to find prey, because everyone around me—except my mom and little sister because we’re blood relatives—wanted to have sex with me. Even the soccer coach at my new high school. I thought he was hot, and, well….” Nathan cleared his throat, face reddening. “Well, the third time we, um… had sex, my mom found out, and she filed charges. He lost his job and served some prison time. I’ve thought about writing him, explaining, but Captain Leonides says it’s too dangerous to reveal ourselves, and I can’t undo the damage anyways. My mother and sister don’t even know what I am. They just assume, like all the therapists said, that I’m a sex addict because I was”—he did air quotes—“taken advantage of by a sexual predator.”

  Nathan leaned on the railing, wind blowing in the breeze. Josh joined him, nervous about
the drop but keeping his eyes on the Aruba coastline to keep himself from being queasy.

  Though Nathan’s story wasn’t helping that feeling.

  “My coach wasn’t the sexual predator, I was. And that wasn’t the last time I ruined a man’s life either. I even seduced men my mother and sister dated. I know that’s fucked-up on so many levels, but I couldn’t help myself. My mom put me in therapy, of course. Just like Sarah’s parents did to her. But it didn’t stop me. Medications never worked either because of my demon metabolism. My mom tried to help me, honest she did, but in the end, I don’t think she knew what to do. I wasn’t her son Nathan anymore. I was a stranger, even to myself. A monster. I left home the day I turned eighteen.”

  After seeing Sarah and her parents, all of them confused as to why their daughter stole and burned things, Josh thought about how awful it must’ve been for Nathan and his family. Josh couldn’t imagine how confused Nathan was back then, not being human and not understanding his demon nature. Josh had imagined Nathan’s family rejected him for being gay, but this?

  He felt pity for everyone involved.

  “You must’ve been really scared,” Josh finally said.

  Nathan gaped at him. “I was terrified. I felt like I was starving. All. The. Time. The only time that went away was during sex. But every time I had sex, I got in trouble or ruined someone’s life. When I was out on my own, sex became a way to get what I wanted. Clothing, food, a place to stay, travel. Men would do anything and everything for me because the sex was so intense. I didn’t know, but my incubus magic lured them in and bent them to my will.”

  Josh should’ve been nervous hearing that last part, but his treacherous cock decided to make itself known, hardening in his shorts. Just the notion of Nathan bending Josh to his will, overpowering him, made his pulse thump.

  “My story’s making you horny?” Nathan sounded confused.

  What’s wrong with me? His face flamed. “How did you—”

  “I’m incubus, Josh. I feed off desire. Arousal is like the smell of fresh-baked bread to me. I can smell it, taste it. It makes me want to consume every drop of it.”

  Josh hastily adjusted his erection but kept his eyes averted. “Oh.”

  “Right now my demon knows you’re horny, so it’s telling me to fuck you and make you come until you scream,” Nathan said softly.

  A surge of precum made Josh shudder.

  Nathan chuckled. “Nice to know that doesn’t turn you off.”

  “Well, what am I supposed to do when you say stuff like that?”

  “It’s okay. In a different time, I wouldn’t hesitate to drag you back to your room and fuck you. Maybe drop to my knees and suck you right here.”

  Josh’s blood pounded in his chest, and he half imagined, magic or not, public space or not, he’d let Nathan do just that.

  “But I’m more human than incubus. I don’t take what isn’t offered anymore. It wasn’t until I met a real incubus that I learned I was using magic to make men—gay and straight—have sex with me and give me things. That’s how Bartholomew found me. He traced my magic. Then he fed from me for almost a month. Nearly killed me. But he let me go because there are so few of us left. Apparently demon hunters decimated us over the centuries. He sent me here, to Captain Leonides. And Darrius helped me learn how to be normal again, as much as I can be.”

  They were quiet for a long time, and Josh gave Nathan his space. What could he say to any of this? It sounded like this Bartholomew raped Nathan, but he didn’t have the heart to ask for clarification.

  Heart breaking for Nathan, he placed a hand on his back and rubbed it gently. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that alone.”

  Nathan turned an anguished face toward him. “You’re not repulsed by me?”

  He shook his head. “No, why would I be? The whole thing sounds awful. And scary. And so… lonely.”

  With a sob, Nathan yanked Josh into a tight embrace. “I don’t deserve someone as good as you.”

  Josh held him tightly, not surprised to feel him shaking after such a horrific tale. Though Josh’s body responded to Nathan in his arms—his cock hardening to full mast—he had to know one thing.

  “So you’re one-quarter incubus. You feed off orgasms. And every week you get new meals?” Josh tasted bile, bitter in his throat. “Is that all I am?”

  “No! God, no,” Nathan assured him, all but in tears. He raised his hands, showing them to Josh. “I’ve never had claws. Th-the first time I saw you, I wanted you. You smelled better than anything I’ve ever smelled. After what you gave me when we were snorkeling, I… and then when I-I saw your sister-in-law introducing you to another man, I-I just lost my mind. You’re mine. I grew claws because I wanted to shred that man to pieces!”

  When Nathan’s eyes flashed red, Josh jerked his head back, heart skipping in fear.

  Closing his eyes, Nathan took a calming breath. When he opened them again, they were the normal green. “You don’t have to fear me. I could never hurt you. Darrius told me that my demon is going crazy. He wants to possess you, make you my sex slave.”

  “Whoa,” Josh declared, throwing up his hands and stepping away from Nathan. “I won’t be your slave—”

  Nathan waved to cut him off. “No, not like that. I’m explaining it all wrong.” He shook his head. “I’m mostly human, but my demon only thinks about feeding and sex. I’ve never had claws or felt my demon want someone so badly. But my human side is so in love with you that the demon wants to possess you. To own you.”

  “That sounds creepy.” Did he just say he loved me?

  “I’m sorry,” Nathan said, face earnest. “I don’t want you to be creeped out, and I’m sure this is a lot to take in. But what I feel for you is the strongest I’ve ever felt for anyone. Ever. I even turned down sex the other day for you.”

  “Oh, gee, how nice of you,” Josh drawled.

  “No, you don’t understand. I’ve never turned sex down. Not once. Not ever. For incubi, that’s like saying no to oxygen. But when one of the fairies wanted to have sex, my demon side was actually grossed out. All it wants is you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, I’m trying to tell you… I love you. You don’t have to say it back, but I do love you, Josh.”

  Josh closed his eyes tight, his heart aching. He wanted to tell Nathan that he loved him too. Instead he leaned on the rail and let out a weary sigh. In light of everything he’d just learned, the height wasn’t as scary as it had been a moment ago. “This is a lot to take in.”

  Nathan did not move to touch him, but Josh could feel his stare like a physical weight. Nathan cleared his throat. “I know. I’m not entirely human, and I need orgasms to live. Kind of a big secret to unload on you, I’m sure.”

  Josh burst out a laugh. “I might have one of those too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Josh fiddled with his fingers and studied them for a moment. You’re dating a sex demon, and you’re a virgin. He took a deep breath. “How many men have you been with?”

  Nathan squirmed and looked at his feet. “Honestly? I don’t know. But I do need to feed. Now that Darrius taught me control, I can go a couple weeks. It was a month before you. That’s a long time for me.”

  Josh chuckled again.

  “Why is that funny?”

  “Wanna guess know how many men I’ve been with, counting you?”

  “I don’t know, four or five?”

  Just tell him….

  “One.”

  “You mean….” Nathan gasped, and Josh couldn’t look at him. “You’re a virgin?”

  “Are you upset that I didn’t tell you?” Josh whispered, his stomach hurting all of a sudden.

  Nathan stepped closer, and Josh forced himself to face him. Nathan’s brow creased. “When you say virgin, do you just mean anal, or do you mean everything?”

  Josh had always exaggerated to Aaron, never allowing his best friend to know the full extent of his inexperience.


  But he owed Nathan the truth.

  “I’ve kissed guys, gone on dates. And there was a guy in college. We were making out, and you know? Dry humping and stuff,” he said quickly, feeling like an awkward teenager as he admitted, “I came in my pants. And he laughed at me. I was so mortified, I just left the dorm room and never talked to him again. Fast-forward to you sucking my dick in the shower, and you know the rest.”

  “So no man has ever touched your penis except me? Like skin to skin?”

  Josh squirmed at the specificness of his question. “No, I guess not.”

  “Only me,” Nathan said, his voice deep, as if he were speaking to himself.

  “I understand if it’s a turnoff—”

  “No!” Nathan’s voice raised a few octaves. “Not a turnoff. Not at all.” He shook his head a few times. “But how did this happen?”

  Josh bristled, irritated and embarrassed. “It just did. Or rather it didn’t. I tried hooking up with guys and going online to find a boyfriend, but it didn’t work for me. I’m just no good at any of it.”

  “No,” Nathan said, putting his hand on Josh’s chest, his face a mix of emotions Josh could not read. “I meant how did I not notice? I mean, you’ve been so… assertive.”

  “I told you that you make me….” Josh shook his head, fighting tears of humiliation. He crossed his arms and faced the ocean again, the breeze cooling the fire in his cheeks. “Assertive,” he finally said, using Nathan’s word.

  “No wonder you tasted so sweet.”

  Josh flinched. “Meaning?”

  “To incubi, a virgin is a great delicacy. Some feed exclusively on them. I thought….”

  When Nathan stopped talking, concern itched at Josh’s mind. “You thought what?”

  “Nothing,” Nathan assured him. “I’m glad you told me. That way I can make things more special for you. If you still want me, that is?”

  The hitch in Nathan’s voice washed away Josh’s embarrassment. He placed his hand on Nathan’s chest. Despite everything he’d just discovered, his answer was effortless. “I do.”

  “I can be gentle,” he promised.

  Josh shook his head. “I don’t want you to be gentle. I mean, I don’t want you to hurt me, but I’m not some fragile thing. I’m a grown man. Granted, I may not be experienced, but you won’t hurt me.” You won’t hurt my body, but my heart might be another matter.