The Captain and the Best Man

by Catherine Curzon

  Josh arched his back against Guy’s mouth, moaning as a tremble of pleasure rippled through him. He wove his fingers through Guy’s hair to hold him close against him. “I want my captain to enjoy his birthday.”

  There was a certain casual artistry in the manner in which Guy drew the tip of his tongue from Josh’s nipple down to his navel and at the same time stripped his trousers and boxers from him. It was like a magician performing a very saucy trick. Only then did he kiss his way back up to Josh’s mouth, and together they lay beneath the softly turning fan as they embraced, their legs entwined and their lips lost in kisses.

  Their kisses were heated and passionate, but underneath, Josh sensed an alluring tenderness. They’d only just met, and there was no way that Guy would spare him a thought once Josh had gone back to being a very ordinary office worker, but Josh didn’t care.

  Not tonight. Tonight he was Guy’s poet and pearl diver. Tonight he was in paradise.

  And Guy’s kisses were as leisurely and confident as everything else about him seemed to be. One elegant hand rested on Josh’s bottom again, the other softly tangled in his hair, and with every touch, it seemed as though they had all the time in the world. If this was an experienced man, Josh certainly approved.

  Josh broke from their kiss. Still stroking Guy’s erection, he whispered, “How would you like your pearl-diver poet?”

  “Right here.” With one movement Guy turned onto his back, pulling Josh on top of him. He winked and said with a touch of mischief, “I want to see you enjoying the ride.”

  Unexpected. But Josh wasn’t about to complain. Guy looked ridiculously louche and attractive, his tousled hair so dark against the pillow.

  “And I’ve got a fantastic view from up here, Captain.” Josh swept back his fringe, then winked toward the bedside table. “I’m a careful traveler. Everything we need is in there…when the moment comes.”

  “The moment?” Guy’s words were more mischievous than ever, and he reached one hand out to playfully tease Josh’s nipple. “I hope I’m not quite as old as that!”

  “You’re gorgeous,” Josh murmured. “And maybe we’ll have several moments!”

  “I’m sure of it.” As Guy spoke, he finally took Josh’s erection in his hand and began to caress him. There was that confidence again, the firm, gentle strokes not faltering when he drew Josh down for more kisses, just a little more urgently than before.

  Josh sighed into their kiss, his hips moving of their own volition against Guy’s thrusts. Guy was so assured in everything, just as Josh had hoped. He felt Guy’s free hand come to rest on his buttock and heard that glorious voice murmur, “Let me know when you feel like the moment has come, darling.”

  “I wanted you the moment I saw you,” Josh said, “the moment I heard your voice.”

  He propped himself up, his hand beside Guy’s face, and gazed down at him. In the soft light, Guy was the most desirable man on the planet at that moment, and a tremble of heat ran through Josh’s body that Guy couldn’t have mistaken.

  “So what,” Guy asked softly, “did my careful traveler pack?”

  Only slightly disentangling their bodies, Josh reached across to the bedside table and took out a box of condoms and a tube. He laid them on the bed, blushing even though he knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about. But there was something so frank about those items. So practical.

  Josh grinned. “I like to be prepared. That’s the thing with travel—you never know who you might meet.”

  “Very true,” was Guy’s sage reply. “They let all sorts of rogues fly triple sevens these days.”

  Rogue. Josh grinned even more. He pushed himself up to sit across Guy’s legs and gazed at him appreciatively as he lay there. “I can’t resist a terrible pun,” Josh admitted. “Can I prepare you for take-off?”

  “I love a bad pun,” Guy assured him with a nod. “It must be a pilot thing.”

  Josh prepared Guy with deftness. He linked his fingers with Guy’s and brought them to his lips to kiss them. “Ready for take-off, Captain Guy.”

  “I won’t welcome you aboard.” He grinned, running one fingertip over Josh’s lips. “Unless you really want me to.”

  With another of those louche winks Guy closed his hand over Josh’s hip and lifted him just a little, the tip of his erection teasing against Josh’s body. An unexpected and rather loud groan escaped Josh’s lips at that moment, and he tried not to giggle. This was perfect, so perfect that as their bodies joined, Josh allowed himself to daydream that this wasn’t just a holiday fling.

  Guy responded with a fairly spirited groan too, but unlike Josh, he couldn’t hold back the slight hint of laughter that followed it. “Sorry.” He beamed, his blue eyes shining in the dim light. “But you’re wonderful.”

  Josh opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn’t speak—pleasure robbed him of words and he moaned at the sensation as he moved against Guy. He held Guy at the waist, feeling the strength in his lover and wishing, greedily, that they could have more than just this one night.

  Guy’s hand returned to Josh’s erection, his rhythm matching the pace of his hips. He gazed up at Josh, the expression on his handsome face nothing short of smoldering. Captain Collingwood—his Captain Collingwood, for tonight at least—was the most marvelous thing he’d ever seen, his eyes glittering, his full lips slightly parted and a faint sheen of perspiration on the toned planes of his body.

  And he definitely knew what he was doing. Every move was confident, accomplished, drawing out their intense pleasure. It was no mad dash to the finishing line but a smooth ride.

  Josh tossed his head to sweep his hair from his eyes and gave voice to the moans that were building in his throat, not caring if anyone overheard.

  Guy’s fingertips found Josh’s nipple again, gently rolling the stiff peak between finger and thumb. Each thrust was a little harder too, in answer to Josh’s moans of pleasure.

  “Flip me over,” Josh sighed. “I want to feel you from behind.”

  And Guy even managed to make the unexpected change in their position seem like choreography, withdrawing for just as long as it took to settle Josh on the cool sheets. As their bodies joined again, Josh could feel Guy’s chest against his back and the heat of his breath a moment before his lips pressed a hungry kiss to Josh’s neck. He really was in Guy’s arms now, safe in the warmth of his embrace.

  They were more deeply joined than ever, their coupling carnal yet tender. Elegant, even. Josh felt so free, so unfettered, but he didn’t know and couldn’t work out whether it was his lover or the warm tropical night that made him feel that way.

  Then Guy whispered his name and somehow, it seemed like the most decadent sound in the world. Or at least, it did until he took a gentle nip of Josh’s earlobe and breathed, “Darling…”

  That gorgeous voice vibrated through Josh—he felt its timbre in every limb. Josh turned his head, seeking out Guy’s lips with his own. “Captain…”

  The kiss they shared seemed to go on and on, filled with the same breathless need that surged through Josh’s veins. And Guy must have sensed it too, he was sure, because he could feel it in every powerful thrust of his hips and jerk of his wrist.

  Josh trembled as his orgasm began to rush through him.

  “Captain Collingwood!” he moaned. “You gorgeous rogue!”

  “Your gorgeous rogue,” Guy corrected, his voice low and breathless. “You feel wonderful like this…”

  Do I?

  Josh tried to reply but could only manage another moan as his orgasm finally broke. Only then did Guy let himself go, his glorious voice caught in a gasp of exertion as pleasure claimed him. Josh drank in the tensing of Guy’s muscles against him, and allowed himself to drop against the bed. He reached behind him to caress Guy’s side.

  “That was…bloody hell…” Josh turned his head again, smiling. Guy’s answering smile was nothing short of dreamy and he took Josh’s hand as he kissed him.

  “This is turning out to be
one hell of a birthday,” he said. “Thanks to this pearl-diving poet I know.”

  Josh chuckled. “While I’m here, I’m a pearl-diving poet! Happy birthday, Captain.”

  “It’s the best one I can remember.” Guy beamed and added playfully, “You gorgeous thing.”

  “Can we hug?” Josh asked. “Just for a little while.”

  “You read my mind.” Guy turned Josh in his arms and drew him close.

  Josh murmured happily as he wrapped his arms around Guy. They were a hot, sweaty mess, and it was fantastic. “Do you want to stay the night? You can, if you want to. The bed’s big enough.”

  “I’d love to,” he sighed, snuggling Josh against his chest. “And if you have time—if you want to—I’d still like to take you to dinner one night. Wedding duties permitting, of course.”

  “I’m sure I can sneak off!” Josh tangled a strand of Guy’s hair around his finger. The few silver hairs caught the light. “It might be a bit boring for you, seeing as you won’t know anyone, but…if I can convince my mate to let you squeeze onto the top table as my plus one at the reception, would you like to?”

  Of course you won’t, but I wish you would.

  But Guy smiled and told him, “I’d love to! Just let me know when and where. And the dress code, so I know whether I need to iron a good shirt.”

  “It’s penguin outfits as far as the eye can see, I’m afraid.” Josh grinned. “You could rock up in your uniform—although I don’t suppose you’d want to get sand in it. And…I bet you’d look cute in a bow tie.”

  “I’ll have to call in some favors.” Guy quirked his eyebrow, the gesture filled with mischief. “I don’t generally travel with my dicky.”

  Whether Guy turned up in a tux or his uniform, he’d look stunning, Josh was certain. “Surprise me, darling.”

  “I might even swim back in the morning.” Guy nodded. “Pretend to be James Bond!”

  “You should!” Josh kissed Guy’s cheek. In the quiet, he heard the waves sweeping against the beach and washing around the stilts under his room. “Hey, I don’t suppose you’d like to go for a dip now?”

  “Shall we? Can I dive off the balcony too?”

  Josh loved Guy’s sense of adventure and fun. “Absolutely! And no swimming shorts required, either.”

  “I love it, let’s go!”

  Josh parted the mosquito net and climbed out of the bed. He held his hand out to Guy. Guy reached up and wrapped his fingers around Josh’s.

  “Lead me to it.”

  They crossed the room, stepping over their discarded clothes. Josh drew back the locks and they were out on the balcony. His spotty towel, which had drawn them to the room like a beacon, flapped in the sea breeze over the balcony rail. Josh slipped his arm around Guy’s waist and stared out across the gentle waves that were studded with the reflection of the stars.

  “It’s a fab view during the day, but this is magical,” Josh decided. “I suppose you sometimes see this from up there? You must see some really beautiful things.” He pointed upward, imagining Captain Collingwood at the controls of a plane.

  “The world looks very different from all the way up there,” Guy told him, wrapping his arm around Josh’s waist in turn. “We all have our favorite routes, but this one’s definitely mine. Looking down on the islands, it feels like coming home. This is the best place in the world.”

  “I’m definitely warming to it!” Josh said. “Okay, if we both stand on the top step we can dive in at the same time.”

  Guy’s answer was an utter smooch of a kiss, the sort of cinematic snog guaranteed to make the recipient’s heart skip at least one beat. Then he squeezed Josh’s hand and grinned, “Come on, there’s nothing like skinny-dipping in the Caribbean!”

  They went to the top step and Josh grinned at Guy before staring out at the waves again. “On the count of three?”

  “Count us in, then chocks away, as we used to say in the RAF!” Guy lifted Josh’s hand and kissed it.

  RAF. Josh’s mind conjured up a historically inaccurate yet no less pleasing image of Guy in a Second World War flight jacket, a jaunty silk scarf around his neck. Guy’s chiseled good looks were perfect for the part. But Josh decided not to let on about that particular thought, and instead counted them in.

  “One…two…” Josh wobbled forward slightly on the step and chuckled as he regained his balance. “Two and a half…three!”

  The dive was rather less accomplished than either might have hoped because, at the last, the two men didn’t let go of each other’s hands. Instead they hit the wonderfully warm water at the same moment and, as they surfaced, Guy pulled Josh into his arms and kissed him.

  Josh entwined his fingers in Guy’s hair as their kiss went on. The warm water lapping against their bodies made the moment even more sensual than Josh had expected it could be.

  This was like the most wonderful dream he could hope to imagine, but Captain Guy was very real indeed. Josh stroked his hands down from Guy’s head, down his back, finally resting them against his buttocks.

  “Not a bad way to spend an evening!” Josh grinned.

  “Just so you know, my bedroom’s the one on the veranda,” Guy informed him. So it had been Guy listening to jazz earlier, and Josh had blown a kiss in precisely the right direction. “In case you ever fancy dropping in?”

  “If you don’t mind a dripping wet pearl-diver poet with a floppy fringe paying you a visit.”

  “I don’t think I can imagine anything better than that.” Guy’s arms tightened just a little around Josh’s waist. “Any time you like, darling.”

  “How can I refuse?” Josh kissed him. Under the water, he circled his toes against Guy’s ankle and his elegant foot.

  “So we could swim…or we could”—Guy punctuated the sentence with another of those smoochy kisses—“just do this. I don’t want to let you go.”

  Josh still couldn’t quite believe that any of this was happening. Guy was still there—he wasn’t a mirage. Josh caressed the small of Guy’s back, circling his fingertips against his skin, as if convincing himself that Guy was real. A man as gorgeous as Guy, who wanted to have Josh in his arms.

  “We can swim another day,” Josh said. “Today, we can do this. Because this is very nice indeed.”

  And it was, because what could be better than this? An experienced man, just as Josh had wanted, with silver in his hair and laughter in his eyes and heat in his kisses. And far sexier than James Bond ever was.

  They went on kissing, the sea washing around them with its own warm caresses.

  “We’re going to need a shower before we get back into bed,” Josh said. “It’s not the biggest shower cubicle I’ve ever seen in my life, but I’m sure we can squeeze in.”

  “Just for future reference in case you ever fancy it, I have a rather roomy spa bath at my disposal,” Guy purred. “But I’d love to squeeze into a steamy shower with you.”

  “I am definitely going round yours. It sounds amazing!” Josh gripped Guy’s buttocks tightly. “By the way, you have such a great arse. I have to tell you that, even though I’m sure you know.”

  And of course Guy’s response to that was to tense the muscles in that gorgeous bottom beneath Josh’s hand.

  “I’m very modest, you know. We pilots always are.”

  “Absolutely!” Josh said. “Shall we head to the shower?”

  “If you were casually wondering, I do still have the RAF gear,” Guy teased, kissing him softly. “It’s at home in Farnham, but that’s not too much of a trek from Basingstoke.”

  “How have we not met before?” Josh shook his head. The thought of Guy in RAF uniform, even if it didn’t involve a cheeky silk scarf, was a very welcome image indeed. “Well, apart from the fact that most of the time you’re thousands of feet up in the air.”

  “But not all the time.” He felt Guy’s hands slide down his back, tender and assured. They came to rest on his bottom. “And even HR managers must get the odd day off?”

&nbs
p; “Yes, sometimes I’m allowed to escape the never-ending treadmill of performance management and resilience training.” Josh poked out his tongue. “Thrilling as that all is,” he deadpanned.

  “I’m trying, in my uncharacteristically clumsy way, to ask if you’d like to do something when we’re back in England,” Guy admitted. “And feel free to say no—we can still enjoy St Seb’s!”

  Josh grinned. If their holiday fling could continue at home, he wouldn’t mind at all. “Are you sure? Like a date? Because if you are sure, I’d love to!”

  “Fantastic!” Guy kissed his nose. “It’ll be a bit less sunny, but no less fun!”

  “I have a very tiny shower at home too,” Josh told him. “And a rubber duck on the bathroom windowsill. I’ll have to introduce you.”

  “I can’t wait.” He beamed.

  The sea breeze was growing more intense, the waves building. Josh grabbed his towel before it blew off the balcony railing. “Think we’d better go indoors now!”

  Together they climbed from the water and onto the beach, Guy still holding Josh’s hand. This felt so absurdly natural, as if they had known each other for years. They went back into the hut, and once in the compact bathroom, Josh drew Guy into the shower and let the cool water splash over them. He was in Guy’s arms again, held safe and close to that strong chest.

  Guy pressed his lips to Josh’s and kissed him, long and deep and filled with promise.

  Would they see each other again in England? As Josh explored the softness of Guy’s mouth, and felt the tenderness in his kiss, he hoped so. More than anything, he hoped so.

  “Tomorrow,” Guy murmured against his lips, “I’m buying you a charger for that bloody phone of yours.”

  “That’ll come in handy.” Josh brushed his hand over Guy’s body, trying to remember each freckle, each curve. “Would you like some soap?”

  “Would you like to apply it?” he teased. “Because if you would, the answer’s yes.”

  Josh popped open the shower gel and spread it onto his hands. Wonderful botanical scents rose up into the steamy air. Then he smoothed his palms over Guy’s chest. He was fairly sure that he detected Guy tensing his muscles under his touch, and Josh grinned at the thought of such a handsome man peacocking just for him.