Reckless (Pier 70, 1)

by Nicole Edwards

  Gannon smiled around the lip of his beer bottle. “Actually, no. But”—he took a sip—“this is the first time I’ve tried it. How’s it workin’?”

  “It’s a little stalkerish, if you ask me,” Cam said, a teasing note in his voice and a sexy smirk forming on his lips.

  He liked that Cam was trying to hide his interest.

  Slightly disappointed that Cam had turned back around, Gannon pondered the stalker reference for a moment. “I can see that.”

  Both of them sat in silence for several minutes. The gentle lapping of the water against the wooden beams that descended below was the only sound other than their breathing. Gannon really had no idea what he’d intended to accomplish by showing up unannounced. He didn’t know what to say, what to do, what he even wanted from Cam, but he knew that he wanted to be there.

  “Was it worth it?” Cam asked.

  “What?” Gannon was confused.

  “The trip down here?”

  “Perhaps,” Gannon stated honestly. “I had no expectations.”

  “Surprising.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Most guys don’t bother to show up unannounced without expectations. At least in my experience.”

  “I don’t know you,” Gannon conceded. “Maybe if I did, I’d know what to expect.”

  And that was the problem. Gannon wanted to get to know Cam. He’d thought of little else since he’d walked out of the marina office two days ago. Anyone who knew him would say that was way out of character for him. Gannon’s entire life revolved around his work. He could spend endless hours working with developers, tossing around ideas, trying to come up with a newer, more advanced game that the gamers would go crazy for.

  He definitely didn’t sit around thinking about a guy he’d spent a few minutes in the same room with.

  At least not until Cam.

  “Are you at least flattered?”

  From his profile, Gannon could see Cam smiling.

  “I’m not sure that’s the word I’d go with.”

  Gannon chuckled, remembering the argument he’d had with himself about coming here. At one point, Gannon had been so taken aback by thoughts of Cam he’d pulled up the marina’s website just to see if there were pictures of him. And there had been. A lot of pictures. He’d learned some interesting things during the half hour he’d spent cruising the site, educating himself on the marina, its inception, who the men were who ran the place. And he had to admit, he’d been intrigued to learn that Cam was one of the owners.

  After that, he’d managed to find Cam’s social media pages, and he’d spent nearly an hour going through previous posts and pictures, soaking it all in.

  Okay, fine. Maybe he’d been stalking the guy. A little.

  Even after all that, though, it hadn’t helped to alleviate any of Gannon’s curiosity. So, he’d done the only thing he could do in this instance. Drive.

  All the way here to see Cam.

  Yes, Gannon could see the crazy in that.

  Cam didn’t say anything, and Gannon took that as his cue to keep quiet. There was a strange vibe coming from Cam, something that Gannon couldn’t translate. He wasn’t sure if Cam was pissed or happy. Maybe neither.

  It didn’t change the fact that he had done what he’d wanted to do and he refused to be ashamed of that fact.

  Seven

  Possibly for the first time in his life, Cam was at a loss for words. He didn’t know what to say to Gannon, didn’t really understand why the guy was there. Gannon had said it was to see him, but Cam wasn’t sure what that even meant.

  Yes, maybe Cam was being a little cynical, but he couldn’t help it. This wasn’t the first time he’d met a man who lived a good distance from the small town Cam called home. From his experience, relationships—sexual or otherwise—didn’t work with long distances between them. An hour, in Cam’s opinion, was a long distance. And that made Cam wary.

  Probably not fair to Gannon, but it had been the first thing that had popped into his head.

  So, what was Gannon really after? Did he want to ask him out? Was he hoping for a quick hookup? Did he simply want to talk?

  He would’ve started pelting Gannon with those very questions, but silence had descended, and it wasn’t as uncomfortable as he’d expected it to be. So rather than dig in to the man’s reasons for showing up, Cam sat there, staring out at the water, sipping his beer, inhaling the sexy-as-fuck cologne Gannon wore, and listening to Gannon breathe.

  All in all, not a bad way to spend a Sunday evening.

  While his body hummed from their proximity, every cell aware of Gannon beside him, Cam told himself that this was definitely an interesting turn of events.

  Yeah, he had dated clients before, once or twice, but usually he’d been the one to make the first move once he got the green light. In fact, most of the men he’d dated, he’d been the one to ask them out, not the other way around.

  Not that Gannon had asked him out, but he got the feeling that was coming. Or maybe it wasn’t, and now his cynicism was masquerading as optimism. Then again, how could he not think that when the man he’d been fantasizing about nonstop for two days just showed up out of the blue and was now sitting on the dock drinking a beer with him because he’d wanted to see him?

  Cam still couldn’t believe it.

  “So, is this what you do on Sunday nights?” Gannon asked, that deep baritone sliding like warm water over Cam’s skin.

  “Sometimes,” he said, not bothering to look over at him. “What about you?”

  Gannon laughed, and again, the rough sound had a spark of awareness shooting through him.

  “You mean do I show up unannounced and ask an attractive man if he’d like to go out sometime?”

  Cam smiled, hiding it behind his beer bottle. “Is that what you’re doin’?”

  “Maybe. And if I was?”

  Cam peered over at Gannon, lifting an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. He damn sure wasn’t going to make it easy on the guy. Not because he didn’t like him. He did. More so because he was skeptical about anything that could possibly come from this.

  “What would you say?”

  Cam shrugged. “Depends on if it’s hypothetical or not. I don’t do hypothetical.”

  “What do you do?”

  Ah, hell. A frisson of awareness streaked through him, attacking every nerve ending, lighting him up like a football stadium on game night, and instructing his blood to make a quick detour south. Cam’s cock swelled, the obvious intent of that question making his blood heat.

  Was this cute guy really hitting on him?

  Then it occurred to him. Maybe Cam wasn’t actually sitting on the pier. Maybe he was in his bed, sleeping. And this was a dream and when his alarm went off he’d wake up.

  Reaching down, Cam pinched his hand. Ouch.

  Nope. Not a dream.

  He took another drink, trying to fight the smile.

  He had to admit, Gannon wasn’t what he’d expected. The man he remembered from the other day had been rather shy when he’d come into the marina with his assistant, but this guy … the one sitting beside him now was anything but shy.

  “I don’t do one-night stands,” Cam finally told him.

  “Good,” Gannon said, but he didn’t expand on it.

  For a few minutes, the two of them sat like that, no one talking. With each passing second, the awkwardness seemed to be intensifying; however, it was rather nice. Cam didn’t feel pressured to have to say anything, though there were plenty of questions running through his head. Yes, part of him was flattered that Gannon had come here looking for him. The other part was curious what the man had in mind. Based on his response to Cam’s statement about not doing one-night stands, he had to think that Gannon wasn’t looking for one, either, but he couldn’t be certain.

  Nor could he bring himself to ask.

  “It wasn’t hypothetical,” Gannon finally said, drawing Cam’s attention once more.

  “No?” Another
smile formed on his lips.

  “Well, maybe a little.”

  Cam laughed. While he was entirely too buttoned-up, and a definite ten on the nerd scale, Gannon came off as confident and self-assured, but for some reason, the slight hint of insecurity in his tone was endearing.

  Cam still wasn’t sure what to think about all of it. He was enjoying the flirting, but he wasn’t sure he wanted it to go further than that. Not yet, anyway. He’d met plenty of men, had a few relationships that had gone zero to sixty in three-point-five seconds, and that wasn’t what he was looking for, either. In those cases, the fiery crash had been imminent, something Cam had absolutely no interest in repeating.

  So rather than sit there and entertain the notion of jumping at the opportunity to go out with Gannon, he decided it was time to call it a night before things did get awkward.

  Finishing off his beer, he tossed the empty bottle into the cooler and then got to his feet. It was impossible not to look down at Gannon, who was staring up at him. Heat infused him as Gannon’s dark eyes slowly raked over him from head to toe, but he ignored it.

  Okay, he tried to ignore it.

  “It was good talkin’ to you,” Cam said, lifting the cooler. “But I better go.”

  “Me, too,” Gannon said, getting to his feet.

  Rather than walk away, Cam found himself nearly face-to-face with the taller man. At five eleven, Cam wasn’t short, but Gannon still had a couple of inches on him. And though Cam probably outweighed Gannon by twenty, maybe thirty pounds of muscle, he found he liked that for some reason.

  “I guess I’ll see you on Tuesday?” Gannon sounded uncertain.

  “You’ll see someone on Tuesday,” Cam clarified with a small smile. He didn’t plan to be the one to take Gannon and his crew out on the water, but he wasn’t going to say as much.

  He’d been tossing around the idea since Gannon had showed up at the marina on Friday, but now, with this strange attraction, he knew he needed to put some distance between them. He’d learned the hard way that rushing things didn’t usually work in his favor. Add to that the distance thing…

  Reckless or not, Cam wasn’t interested in gambling with that area of his life. Not at this point.

  Gannon’s dark gaze searched his face and Cam felt a tightening in his groin.

  “Well, I hope it’s you I see,” Gannon said softly.

  Cam didn’t know what to say to that, so he offered a smile and a casual tilt of his chin before forcing himself to walk away.

  “Can I get your number?” Gannon called out after him.

  “Maybe next time,” Cam said, not looking back.

  “So there will be a next time?” Gannon hollered, his deep voice following Cam on the breeze.

  Cam shrugged and kept walking.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see the look on Gannon’s face; it was that he didn’t want Gannon to see the smile he couldn’t seem to wipe off his own.

  Unable to stop grinning like a fucking school boy, Gannon finally made his way to his car after standing on the pier and looking out over the water, replaying the strange turn of events over and over in his head. Once settled inside, relaxing against the cool leather with the air conditioner on high, he took several deep breaths to calm himself. His body was humming from the brief interaction with Cam.

  There was no doubt about it, the man fascinated him to no end.

  The attractive, tattooed bad boy had snagged Gannon’s attention for sure. It had been a long damn time since he’d had to play the cat-and-mouse game, and he had to admit, it was better than he’d remembered. Especially with Cam.

  Maybe it was the fact that Gannon could tell Cam was interested that made it worthwhile. Even though he seemed hesitant, Cam couldn’t completely hide his reaction. And Gannon liked that. Or possibly he simply liked that Cam was making him work for what he wanted, something he was very familiar with. As far as Gannon was concerned, the best things in life didn’t come free. And he’d learned that lesson well over the years.

  When he pulled out onto the main road that would lead him back to Austin, Gannon’s cell phone rang. He answered the call with the Bluetooth.

  “Where are you at?” Milly asked. “I’m sitting in front of your house and you’re not here. I thought you said you couldn’t go out because it was a work night.”

  Ah, crap. “I’m driving.”

  “Where?”

  “Burnet.”

  “Burn— Wait, what?” The high-pitched shriek in Milly’s voice told him she’d put two and two together. “You went to the marina? Oh, my God.”

  Oh, my God was right, Gannon thought.

  “Did you see him?”

  “Yeah,” Gannon said with a sigh, his eyes focused on the road in front of him.

  “And?”

  “And what? I saw him. End of story.”

  “There’s never an abrupt ending to a story like that. Did you talk to him?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you ask him out?”

  “Kinda,” he admitted, still grinning.

  “What do you mean, kinda? Either you did or you didn’t.”

  “I mentioned it, but I didn’t come right out and say it.”

  “Gannon David Burgess, do not tell me you let that man get away without getting a date with him.”

  “I’m gonna see him on Tuesday,” Gannon told her. “Boat. Lake. Remember?”

  “I can’t believe you went out there,” Milly told him.

  He couldn’t, either, and now that he had, Gannon knew he wouldn’t have a minute of peace. Not from his own thoughts of Cam and not from Milly’s inquisition.

  “So, how’d he look?” she asked, her voice resounding through his speakers.

  Gannon thought about the way Cam had looked when he’d stood up to leave, that dark gray sleeveless T-shirt molded to his broad shoulders and wide chest, showing off the tattoos covering his muscular arms. The way the soft gray cotton had narrowed down over his slim waist. And the white and gray shorts that had hung down just past Cam’s knees, giving Gannon a view of his impressive calves.

  The man made Gannon’s mouth water.

  Not for the first time, he wondered what Cam looked like naked. Did he have more tattoos on other parts of his body?

  “Christ,” he mumbled to himself, ignoring his dick as it stirred to life.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. He looked … good.”

  “Liar. Did you check to see if his nipples are pierced?”

  The question made Gannon choke, and while he sputtered in an attempt to catch his breath, Milly laughed at him.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” she answered for him. “Okay, well, since it’s obvious you’re not gonna be back for a while, I’m going out. I was hoping, if I showed up, I could convince you to go with me, but I see you already had plans.”

  “Are you going out with Gary?”

  “I don’t know.” She sighed. “Maybe.”

  “Milly, be careful,” he said softly. “If you need anything, call me.”

  “I will, I promise. Bye for now,” she said in a singsong voice.

  “Later.” Gannon disconnected the call and focused on the drive.

  An hour later, once he’d parked in his garage and made his way into the house, Gannon didn’t bother turning on any lights as he went. There was no need. He was simply going to go to sleep. He had an early meeting tomorrow, and as far as he was concerned, the sooner he could get Monday over with, the faster Tuesday would arrive.

  And that was the day he looked forward to most. Although he dreaded the idea of going out on a boat, he would get to see Cam. Maybe. And that was incentive.

  Can I get your number?

  Maybe next time.

  So there will be a next time?

  There would definitely be a next time.

  Though Gannon had done something completely out of the norm by showing up at the marina tonight to see Cam, he knew he had to play it cool. He wasn’t going to chase a
fter the man. Putting himself in Cam’s line of sight, sure. He wasn’t above doing that. But he knew that desperation wasn’t an appealing quality. In anyone.

  “One day at a time,” he mumbled as he made his way to the bathroom.

  He thought back to those dark blue eyes and the heat he’d seen reflected there when Cam had been looking up at him, their bodies just a few centimeters apart. It had taken every ounce of control that Gannon possessed not to reach for Cam, to feel those muscles, to slide his lips over Cam’s and taste the sexy maleness mixed with the beer he’d had while they’d sat there as the sun had gone down.

  Tuesday was not going to get there fast enough.

  For years, Gannon had put work first, rarely entertaining the idea of dating someone. And never someone like Cam. Now, it seemed to be the only damn thing he could think about.

  Only he knew the key to getting Cam’s attention was by taking things slow, being patient.

  It would be worth the wait, he told himself.

  And it was a damn good thing Gannon was a patient man.

  Eight

  Two days later, Tuesday

  “I’m headin’ out,” Teague announced just seconds after he stuck his head in the door.

  Cam offered a two-finger wave but didn’t look up from the appointment book he was reviewing.

  Teague was one of the hardest-working men Cam knew. He never missed a day for any reason, and he didn’t bitch and moan about the chores that needed to be done. However, Teague did have one serious downfall when it came to the office. According to him, he was allergic to paperwork, so he preferred to come in about the time the first customer arrived, which—Cam glanced over at his watch—would be sometime in the very near future. Between spending his day on the lake and helping out in the boat repair shop, Teague was a busy guy, but he never seemed to run out of energy, just as long as he wasn’t asked to deal with paperwork. On the rare occasion that occurred, Teague was known to break out in hives.

  Not that any of them had ever been witness to it.

  But it explained why he opted to bolt rather than come inside.

  Cam was doing his best to review the list of activities going on that day while ignoring the frequent interruptions. They were booked solid for the entire week, and although it was Tuesday, it felt like Monday all over again. Things were chaotic, and it was only nine thirty in the morning. Two cups of coffee in and he wasn’t sure he was going to make it. Being that it was the first week of June, school was letting out, and more and more people were descending on the marina, hoping to get a few hours out in the sun. That would be the case for the next few months.