The Captain and the Best Man

by Catherine Curzon

  Josh tweaked Guy’s nipple, toying with it as Guy prepared himself. Was there nothing he could do without seeming so easy and assured? Evidently not.

  Although last night had been so heated, tonight Josh felt something else, a distant thrumming of something that sensible Josh wouldn’t recognize. He was drawn to Guy in a way he couldn’t explain and didn’t want to.

  “I need you, Captain Collingwood,” Josh murmured as he kissed Guy’s neck. He heard his lover’s answering sigh as Guy’s free hand closed over his hip, lifting him just a little from the bed before Josh felt the tip of his erection teasing against him. Josh tightened his legs around him and moaned against Guy’s neck as their bodies were united.

  “I could fall in love with you,” Josh admitted. But those were the words of sensible Josh, and he didn’t belong here on St Seb’s. “I mean… I think I already am falling in love with you.”

  “The island where magic happens,” Guy breathed, catching Josh’s earlobe lightly between his teeth for a second. “Let’s bring some of it home to England?”

  Josh was fairly sure that St Seb’s magic followed Guy wherever he went, but Josh would bottle it somehow and stow it in his suitcase when he went home. His answer was to move his hips against Guy’s, a soft moan in his throat at the sensation of being so close to the man who had, without asking, made Josh chuck his staid, prudent self aside. And where better to chuck it all aside than in this vast bed, the ocean stretched out before them and Guy Collingwood in his embrace? If a man was going to discover his romantic side, this seemed like this best place to do it.

  Josh’s body moved with Guy’s as if they were already part of each other. Pleasure traveled through Josh, building and building, but so gently, unlike the passion of the night before. Josh gazed up at Guy, drawn to the sparkle of his blue eyes, to the desire and…was it love that Josh saw there? Affection, at least.

  Are you falling for me too?

  Guy’s hand grew tighter around Josh’s erection and as his hips moved harder, his kisses grew deeper too. The seashell around Guy’s neck brushed against Josh’s throat, as cool as their embraces were heated, and as Guy brushed a trail of kisses over Josh’s jaw toward his ear, he heard that smooth, wonderful voice whisper, “We don’t have to leave what we’ve got here on the island. We can take the magic home.”

  “I’d like that,” Josh replied, his voice thick with pleasure. He stroked Guy’s strong back in circles, thrilling at the pull and thrust of the muscles as Guy moved above him. What he would have expected from a man who had just celebrated his forty-ninth birthday Josh wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t this irresistible mixture of strength and romance, topped off with the sort of eyes that seemed to shine just for him. They could take this home, and they could make the English winter as hot as St Sebastian.

  Josh pictured Guy at the wheel of his car, with a scarf wrapped around his neck, the branches of the bare wintry trees laced overhead as he drove through the country lanes. Guy would look just as handsome as he did in his loose cotton shirt—just as handsome as he did now, wearing only a necklace and a subtle sheen of sweat.

  Josh slid his hands down to Guy’s buttocks, cupping them as he thrust against him, wanting to feel Guy as deep inside him as he could be. His head tipped back on the pillow, his heart pounding, Josh panted Guy’s name. He heard his own name gasped in reply, then Guy’s mouth was on his neck, kissing and nuzzling, his hand moving harder and faster around Josh’s erection. He was falling in love, and it felt glorious.

  And it’d had never happened before. Not to Josh. His blood seemed to fizz inside him, a strange blend of excitement and comfort washing through him.

  This wasn’t sensible at all.

  The tensing of Guy’s muscles as his orgasm began to overtake him sent a fresh thrill through his body, a wonderful pull of desire for the man who shared his pleasure. Guy slipped his arm around Josh’s shoulders, holding their bodies close together as they approached the edge.

  Josh moaned, his whole body trembling as his climax took him. He’d never felt anything so intense before, and he held on to Guy as tightly as he could, as if all their desire and love could’ve washed them both away. Guy sank down onto him, his orgasm playing out in smaller thrusts, his breath hoarse against Josh’s skin when he gasped, “You really are something.”

  Josh combed Guy’s messy hair, covering his face in small kisses. “You are. I’ve never…” Felt anything so intense before. Josh held back. He’d terrify the man if he wasn’t careful. “I’ve never made love with the curtains open.”

  “Is that some wonderfully filthy slang that I’m too old to understand?” Guy lifted his head a little and winked. “Or are you really that sensible?”

  “I’m…I’m really that sensible.” Or I was, at least.

  “Maybe some of it’ll rub off on me.” Guy rolled onto the bed beside him. “But I suspect it’s too late for that. You’ll have to be the sensible one for both us. Or maybe I’ll make you as silly as I am instead.”

  “Sounds like a good swap.” Josh kissed the tip of Guy’s nose, then rolled onto his side to admire him.

  That broad chest.

  “I want to know all about Josh.” Guy smiled, studying his face. “What makes you happiest?”

  Josh sighed. “If you’d asked me that a couple of months ago, I would’ve said a tidy desk and nice meal out. But seeing as you’re asking me now…” Josh grinned at Guy and tweaked his nipple. “I’d say lying in a huge bed on a tropical island with a handsome man called Guy.”

  “Oh well, that’s very fortunate.” He grinned, then gave a very contented sigh. “I don’t usually look forward to leaving St Seb’s, but this time, England’s going to seem a lot more appealing. Autumn leaves and my man waiting for me. Perfect.”

  My man. Josh smiled.

  “There’s a lovely pub I want to take you to.” Josh propped himself up on one arm and kissed Guy’s forehead. “You could always drive us in that car of yours. It’s really old, out in the countryside, and it’s got a huge old fireplace, and it’s lovely to go there on a cold day and feel all warm and… Sorry, I suppose I should say, there’s this club I go to with ear-splittingly loud music and I go there every weekend and dance till dawn. But I prefer the pub. There’s even a pub cat.”

  “I’d like a little cat.” Guy pouted. “But they won’t let them on the flight deck. Your pub sounds perfect, just the place for an old rogue to squire his glorious boyfriend, don’t you think?”

  “Oh yes, definitely.” A cat. Josh could picture one nestled on Guy’s knee. “Tell me…about this car of yours. Do you wear a cravat when you drive it? I dunno… maybe it’s the RAF thing, but…I reckon you’d suit a cravat.”

  “I’ve probably got one somewhere. It feels like something I would have.” He narrowed his eyes, as though trying to remember if there was a cravat somewhere in a drawer in Farnham just waiting to be rediscovered. “But the car I can bore you witless with. She’s stunning, Josh, perfect condition just as she was when she rolled off the line all those years back. You’re going to love her.” Guy fell silent then blinked and Josh saw the barest hit of a flush creeping over his cheeks. He grinned and admitted, “Car bore, darling, sorry.”

  Josh tickled Guy’s chest. “Oh, shush—you must know that everything you say in that sexy voice of yours sounds amazing.”

  “My voice?” He laughed, but the flush didn’t deepen. He knows. “I have no idea what you mean.”

  Josh tried to deepen his voice and murmured, in his best attempt at Guy’s buttery tones, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We’re not flying anywhere today because Josh won’t let me leave the bed. We’ll be having lots and lots of lovely sex.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking,” Guy purred, pressing his lips to Josh’s shoulder. “Can I interest you in a glass of champagne and the best bath on the island?”

  That voice. At those mellow tones, Josh’s body was already reviving. How embarrassin
g, to be so keen.

  “How can I say no to that? First class is getting ever more luxurious, Captain Collingwood!”

  “Give me two minutes and I’ll be with you.” Guy winked. “Why don’t you get the bath running?”

  Josh kissed him before getting up from the bed. Guy followed and, utterly confident in his nudity, strolled through into the en suite. Josh was left in the bedroom, bathed in moonlight.

  Josh went over to the bath by the bedroom window and sat on its edge. He lazily swirled his hand through the rising water. Paradise seemed to get better and better.

  “I’m going to make a naked champagne run,” Guy told him as he wandered back into the bedroom. “Wish me luck!”

  Guy, naked, with champagne? Josh chuckled to himself as he chose a bubble bath for them and poured in a generous splash. He breathed in the aroma, taking a deep breath of that exotic scent as Guy slipped back into the room.

  “Champagne,” he announced, holding up a bottle and two glasses. “For me and my glorious boyfriend.”

  “Now there’s a welcome sight!” Josh dipped his hand into the bath. “And the water’s just right.”

  “So, tell me…” Guy set the glasses down on the edge of the bath and tore the foil from the neck of the bottle. “Whose HR do you manage?”

  Josh held the stems of the glasses. “An IT services firm that I doubt you’ll have heard of. It’s…well, it’s a job.”

  “You sound terribly enthusiastic.” He took hold of the cork and, with a loud pop, opened the champagne. “No pre-wedding jitters, I hope?”

  “None for me, no. Can’t say I know how the others are coping!” Josh watched as Guy filled the glasses. “I suspect I’m having the most fun, though.”

  “God, the night before my wedding…” Guy grimaced and put the bottle down. It couldn’t have been much worse than the rehearsal Josh had just endured, but it didn’t feel like the moment to bring up missing garters and runaway bridesmaids. “I flew Tornados in the Balkans and even that didn’t worry me as much as getting married. It’s so different now, everyone’s a lot less hung up on who we want to sleep with, thank God.”

  Josh took Guy’s hand. “It was very brave of you—the Tornados and the wedding. I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea what to do if I found myself married to a woman! But you definitely know what to with a man.”

  “So I pass muster?” Guy climbed into the bath and helped Josh over the edge, a gentleman through and through. The water was wonderfully warm, the bubbles covering its surface. “I wasn’t brave for getting married. I was a coward. But I’m not the sort of chap who does angst. It takes far too much effort!”

  Josh sat down in front of Guy and leaned back against his chest. “Like you said, it was different then. You…you did what you had to do.” Josh kissed Guy’s hand, then picked up his champagne. “A toast to us—to the future?”

  “To our future?” Guy reached for his champagne. “Guy and Josh? Gosh?”

  “To Gosh!” Josh laughed and clinked his glass against Guy’s. “We have a portmanteau name? That’s awesome!”

  “It was too perfect not to use.” Guy reached his arm around Josh’s waist and let his hand rest against his thigh beneath the bubbles. “We see a lot of weddings on the island, but none of them have a best man as gorgeous as you. I hope they know how lucky they are.”

  “At least there’s no chance of me running off with the bride!” Josh brushed his hand over Guy’s where it lay against his leg. “I’m lucky, really. I’ve never traveled so far away from home. I almost turned Rey down when he asked me to be best man, but… I’d always wanted to travel. I never got round to it. Everyone else spent their gap year backpacking around Australia, and what did I do? Got a job on the tills in Tesco’s. Saved up for uni, you see. Very sensible. Then I was saving up for my flat, so although I kept Googling holidays in Thailand, I never went. So when Rey asked, I thought, Why not? What else are interest-free credit cards for? And now I’m here, I’m so bloody glad I told sensible Josh to shove off and let me have some fun!”

  “That’s the spirit,” Guy agreed. “So is Thailand your dream destination? Or was it just a case of anywhere that isn’t England?”

  “It had nice beaches when I looked!” Josh gestured outside to the beach, which had been rapidly consumed by the night. “Maybe I’ll go there one day. I don’t know. It just looked quite different from where I used to go on holiday when I was a child. And by the way… I didn’t mention the credit card thing to ask for a handout. I’ll have it paid off in a couple of months. Oh hell… Am I being awkward?”

  “Darling, I didn’t think you had, don’t worry.” Guy’s lips brushed another kiss to the nape of Josh’s neck. “If you fancy Thailand, we’ll go to Thailand. We’ll go anywhere you like. It’s a perk of being friendly with the flight deck.”

  “That would be so amazing. But you know, I’d go anywhere with you, Guy.” Josh sipped his champagne. “Even one of those Father Christmas reindeer rides in Lapland!”

  “Oh, I’d love to do that! A real sleigh ride?” He stroked Josh’s thigh. “If you’ve never seen the northern lights, we have to do that together. I remember the first time I saw them from the flight deck. It was one of those moments you never forget. I thought then, yeah, this job’s all right.”

  “From the flight deck? That’s incredible! Wow, what a sight.” Josh shook his head. He really needed to see more of the world.

  “But this place…this is the best place I’ve ever been. I’ll always come back to St Seb’s.”

  “I would too, if I could!” Josh turned his head to look out of the window. Somewhere in the darkness was that clear, unsullied sea. He was quiet for a moment, before saying, “You know how people say they went traveling and found themselves?”

  “I’ve heard it once or twice,” Guy murmured between the kisses he was dotting along Josh’s shoulder.

  “I always thought that was a load of old hogwash. I mean, how can you find yourself? You know very well where you are! Most of the time. A couple of times at uni I got plastered and didn’t know where I was, but only for a short while!” Josh chuckled, then he went on. “But the strange thing is, since coming to St Seb’s, I sort of…know what that means now. I always thought I was sensible and didn’t take risks, and I thought I was happy like that. But…but I don’t think I really was. I’m happy now, though—very happy. And I’m not being particularly sensible at all.”

  “When I asked you out to dinner back in London, I didn’t expect any of this.” Guy’s voice was soft, as soft as the kiss he placed on Josh’s cheek. “I’m very happy too, darling, how could I be anything but?”

  “We’ve done a bit more than have dinner!” Josh put his glass aside and ran his hand over Guy’s thigh. “Although that big plate of food I had at the beach bar counts, doesn’t it?”

  “Sort of. I’m still going to treat you to somewhere special when we get home though.” Home. It sounded perfect in that smooth voice. “If you fancy it, of course!”

  “Of course!” Josh closed his eyes and pictured Guy in his cravat again, piloting his sports car with assurance and ease. “I don’t want a holiday fling, Guy. You’re too special for that.”

  Guy kissed Josh’s cheek again and whispered, “You’re wonderful, Josh, every sensible, floppy-fringed bit of you.”

  Josh drew his hand back through his hair. “Maybe the fringe isn’t sensible! Maybe you spotted the un-sensible me trying to get out!”

  “Maybe,” Guy murmured, stroking his fingertips over Josh’s thigh. He paused when he reached his reawakened erection and drew his finger along the length, then observed, “You’re very passionate too, though. That must be the poet in you.”

  Josh sighed with pleasure. He reached one arm up behind his head, resting it against Guy’s neck. “I’m glad you think so. I’ll have to have a go at writing a poem. For you.”

  Guy chuckled gently, tightening his fingers around his lover’s erection. When he began to stroke, his pace was laz
y, and all the time his lips were on Josh’s skin, roaming his jaw and neck, teasing at his earlobe.

  “Sorry for that coming up again…it’s just, you’re so…” I’m going to struggle with that poem. Josh thrust against Guy’s hand, trying not to laugh as the water splashed back and forth in the bath like waves. “I love the way you touch me.”

  “You’re lovely to touch,” Guy replied. He slipped his other arm around Josh’s waist and slid his hand over his chest until he could gently caress his nipple. “Every bit of you.”

  Josh half-closed his eyes, reveling in the strength of Guy’s body that surrounded him. Those wonderful arms around him, and the broad chest behind him, and those elegant, firm legs holding him between. “I’ve always liked an older sort of man. People think it’s silly, but you’re so attractive… I just melt.”

  “That’s probably a pilot thing,” was Guy’s playful response. “So you’ve got a fancy for a mature kind of fellow? You get better every minute, darling!”

  “All part of being sensible, you see!” Josh paused as a deep moan went through him. “Mature men know what they’re doing. And you definitely—oh, Guy—you definitely do.”

  Every sensation seemed so alive, from the exotic fragrance of the bath to the heat of the water and the lingering taste of champagne, but more than that was his lover’s touch. Guy was the experienced man he had always wanted and now, prudent or not, he was falling in love. And falling in love with Captain Collingwood felt marvelous.

  Josh gave himself over to Guy and to his climax, with hope in his heart that Guy was falling in love with him too.

  Josh didn’t have a thought of anything beyond Guy, beyond his kisses and their whispered words of passion and the wonderful moment when their bodies were united. As a breeze from the ocean stirred the curtains, their caresses were softer still and time ebbed away around them, here in paradise.