It was after ten, and he should’ve been exhausted, but he couldn’t get his brain to shut down. Having spent sixteen hours in the office, watching his engineers scramble to fix another issue found by some of their beta testers, he hadn’t had much time to decompress.
The only thing he could think about now was Cam and how he wished he were there with him, sleeping beside him, keeping his mind from working overtime to fix something that was already being handled.
He’d texted Cam earlier, just to check on him, and had received a quick response, letting him know that Cam was having dinner with his dad. Not for the first time, Gannon had wondered what Cam’s father was like. If he accepted Cam for who he was, whether or not they had a good relationship. He assumed that was the case since Cam’s father had fronted the money for the marina, and from what Gannon could tell, Cam was openly gay.
That didn’t mean Cam didn’t hide it from his father.
Gannon squeezed his eyes shut, forcing out the thoughts that pummeled him regarding his own family and how they’d disowned him years ago, kicked him out on his ass because he was gay. He didn’t want to think about them.
His phone rang, the ringtone he’d set for Cam’s number. He lunged for it, snagging it off the nightstand.
“Hey,” he said softly.
“Did I wake you?” Cam’s deep voice sounded through the phone, calming Gannon almost instantly.
“Nope. Just lying here, thinking about you.”
“Are you now?” Cam’s chuckle made Gannon smile.
“Yep. How was dinner?”
“Good. Pizza and baseball. Can’t beat that.”
There was a rustling sound on the other end of the phone.
“What are you doing?” Gannon asked.
“Takin’ off my shirt. Now, I’m climbin’ into bed.”
Gannon’s body hardened, his cock twitching to life beneath the thin sheet. “Are you naked?”
Another chuckle from Cam. “Do you want me to be?”
“Yeah. I do.” And he wanted Cam to be there with him, but he didn’t say as much.
“Hold on.”
More rustling, then Cam returned to the phone, his voice softer as he said, “Happy now?”
As happy as he could be without being in the same room with Cam. “Very.”
“How was work?” Cam asked.
Gannon reached between his legs, gently caressing his dick, just enough to send a tingling sensation down his spine. “Busy.”
“You get the problem fixed?”
“Not yet. Hopefully tomorrow.”
“Can I do anything to help?” Cam offered.
Gannon’s hand tightened on his dick. “Yeah.”
“Tell me.”
Damn. The rough, sensual cadence of Cam’s voice was the most erotic thing he’d experienced in a long time. Lying in his bed, the room completely dark, with only the sound of Cam breathing through the phone … Gannon wished he were there.
“Talk to me, Gannon. Tell me what I can do.” This time, Cam’s tone was suggestive.
“Are you covered up?” Gannon asked him.
“Nope.”
“Good. I want you to touch yourself.”
“How?”
It was clear that Cam wanted Gannon to specify, so he decided to go all in. He’d never had phone sex before, but with Cam, he was damn sure willing to give it a shot.
“Reach down between your legs and massage your balls,” Gannon instructed.
Cam’s soft groan made every hair on Gannon’s body stand on end.
“I wish your mouth was on me,” Cam whispered. “I want to feel your lips wrapped around my dick, your hot tongue on my balls.”
Fuck. Gannon wanted that, too. “Wrap your hand around your dick and stroke it for me. Slowly.”
“Mmm.”
“I wish I was there with you,” Gannon told him. “Between your legs, my lips and tongue working your cock, teasing you while you watch me.”
“Then what would you do?” Cam rasped.
“I’d push your legs up, slide my tongue in your asshole, fucking you. Slowly at first, then faster.”
“Fuck,” Cam sighed.
“Then, I’d slide my thumb inside you, working your ass open, preparing you to take my cock.”
Gannon was stroking his dick insistently now, eyes closed, listening to Cam’s rapid breaths through the phone. He could picture himself there with Cam, doing those things to him.
“I want that,” Cam said. “So fucking bad.”
“I know,” Gannon told him. “Are you masturbating for me?”
“Yeah.” Cam’s breathless moan told Gannon he was close.
“Good. Stroke your beautiful dick for me, Cam. Do you like it rough?”
Cam grunted. “Yeah. Fuck.”
“Imagine my lips on your nipples, sucking, biting, pulling them.”
“Gannon… Keep talkin’… Don’t stop.”
“Imagine me kneeling between your legs, holding you open while I ram my dick into your ass, filling you, stretching you.”
Another long, tortured moan escaped Cam. Gannon began fisting his cock harder, jerking himself as he thought about fucking Cam’s ass, plowing into him, making him scream his name, begging Gannon to let him come.
“While you jack yourself off, I’m fucking you, Cam. Driving my cock deep. Deeper still.”
“Goddamn,” Cam whispered harshly. “Gannon … gonna come. Fuck.”
“Come for me, Cam.” Gannon groaned, his dick pulsing in his hand. “Fuck. Come for me.” As he barked the words, his dick jerked, his release barreling down on him. He came in a rush, harder than he’d expected when Cam’s muted cry echoed in his ear.
It was the sweetest fucking thing he’d ever heard.
And now, sweating and sated, Gannon wished more than ever that Cam were there with him.
“You still there?” Gannon asked.
“Yeah,” Cam whispered. “Still here.”
“Have dinner with me and Milly tomorrow night.”
“Milly?”
“Yeah,” Gannon explained. “We have a standing date each week.”
“A date with your assistant?” Cam sounded skeptical.
“She’s my friend,” Gannon admitted. “And my assistant.”
“Sure she won’t mind me taggin’ along?” Cam inquired.
“She definitely won’t mind. But I’m warning you, she’ll probably interrogate you.”
“I think I can handle her.” Cam chuckled softly. “Where?”
“I’d say pizza, but…”
“I’m good with pizza,” Cam said quickly. “Always good with pizza.”
“Pizza it is.”
“Not at your place,” Cam added.
Gannon knew why Cam had said that. The same reason Gannon had insisted they go out last night. He knew that, given the chance, they would be taking this relationship to the next level. It was clear that Cam was still hesitant, and though Gannon longed to be inside him, to make Cam feel everything Gannon was feeling, he was going to be patient.
“No, not at my place,” Gannon agreed. “Meet us in downtown Austin.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Gannon hated to get off the phone, but tomorrow would be there before he knew it, and he needed to get a little sleep. Not to mention, tomorrow night, he’d get to see Cam, so that was incentive enough. “Good night, Cam.”
“Night.”
With that, Gannon hung up the phone, cleaned himself up, and drifted off.
Still thinking about Cam.
Seventeen
Cam tucked the check into the deposit bag and shoved it into the top drawer of his desk. He’d spent the last hour dealing with the hot-headed renter who’d insisted that he had paid his storage fee for the month. From the moment the guy had walked through the door, Cam had known he’d been itching for a fight, but Cam hadn’t given him one.
Finally, the guy had given up, writing a check though he insisted he’d already written on
e and Cam had probably just thrown it away—because that was something Cam would do. Right.
Glancing at his watch, he realized he didn’t have time to shower, but if he hurried, he would be able to change clothes. Grabbing his phone, Cam headed out, locking the door behind him and then double-timing it up the stairs to his apartment. He’d made it into the hall, was about to unlock his door when Roan stepped out.
“Where’re you goin’?” Roan asked, following Cam into his apartment.
“Date,” he said, heading to his dresser. He snagged a clean T-shirt, then shrugged out of the one he had been wearing.
“With Burgess?”
“Gannon, yes,” Cam said, pulling the clean shirt over his head before pulling open another drawer and locating a pair of cargo shorts.
He dropped his shorts, then tugged on the clean ones, looking up in time to see Roan watching him. For the first time in all the years he’d known Roan, Cam suddenly felt strangely uncomfortable changing clothes in front of him. Was he mistaken? Or was Roan watching him with interest?
Not that Cam had time to question his friend. And he damn sure didn’t want to put Roan on the spot if that hadn’t been the case.
“Where’re y’all goin’?” Roan inquired.
Cam headed for the bathroom, splashed water on his face, swiped more deodorant under his arms, and then returned to find Roan still standing in the doorway, leaning against the jamb. “Pizza.”
Roan nodded.
“Did you need somethin’?” Cam asked, grabbing his wallet and truck keys off the coffee table.
“Nah,” his friend said.
“I’ll catch you later, yeah?” Cam herded Roan out the door, then turned to face his friend.
“Sure.”
And as though that strange little encounter hadn’t happened, Roan disappeared back into his apartment while Cam ran out the door, down the stairs, and to his truck.
An hour later, Cam walked into a small pizza joint on South Congress in downtown Austin. As soon as he walked in the door, he was assaulted by the delicious scent of garlic and tomato. Scanning the somewhat crowded space, he found Gannon and Milly sitting at a table near the wall.
“Sorry I’m late,” he told Gannon, sliding into a chair beside him, across from Milly.
“Problems?” Gannon smiled at him, subtly touching Cam’s hand briefly.
“Had to deal with a renter,” he explained, glancing between Gannon and Milly. “Took longer than I thought.”
“No worries,” Milly said cheerfully. “Just means you get one less beer.”
Cam smiled, forcing himself to relax.
“I already ordered,” Gannon said. “Assume you like pepperoni.”
Cam nodded, noticing Milly was looking at them intently, her smile widening.
“Care to share with the class?” he prompted, looking over at Gannon briefly, then back to her.
“Nope. I’m good.” Milly’s blue eyes glittered and she giggled.
Cam looked at Gannon. Gannon shrugged.
“So...” Milly prompted, wrapping her fingers around her beer bottle. “Gannon tells me you’ve got your nipples pierced.”
Gannon choked on his beer, and Cam had to reach over and smack him on the back.
“Kidding,” she said, laughing. “I knew before he did.”
Cam stared at her, confused.
“I could see ’em through your shirt.”
“Ahh.”
“Wanna beer?” Gannon asked, his voice strained from his coughing spell.
“I can get it,” Cam told him.
“No, no. I’ll let Milly embarrass me while I’m not here for a change.”
Milly winked at Gannon.
When Gannon walked away from the table, Milly leaned forward, her expression morphing from carefree to serious. “What are your intentions with my friend?”
Cam sat up straight, trying to determine if he really needed to prepare an answer, but before he could, her smile returned.
“Gosh, you’re easy. Or so Gannon says.”
Cam laughed at that. He’d liked Milly from the beginning, but he liked her more now. It was obvious she cared about Gannon.
Leaning forward, Cam adopted a somber expression. When Milly leaned in close, clearly expecting him to lay something serious on her, he said, “Do you want to hear dirty details?”
Her laugh exploded from her, causing people to turn and look at them. Including Gannon, who was watching them from the counter.
“I like you,” Milly told him. “I think you’re good for him. Did you know he hadn’t taken a day off for years? Not until last weekend. That, my friend, tells me a lot about you.”
“Does it?” he asked, glancing over when Gannon returned to the table, three beers in his hand.
Cam took one and passed it to Milly, then took another.
“Yes, it does,” she answered, winking.
“It does what?” Gannon’s brow furrowed, as though he were trying to unravel a mystery.
“Oh, nothing. I was just telling him about your collection of sex toys. He wanted to know how one of them worked. I was just explaining.”
Cam peered over at Gannon, watching as his cheeks flushed and the tips of his ears reddened.
“Why did I think this was a good idea?” Gannon mumbled to himself.
“Because you love me,” Milly told him.
Gannon tilted his beer to his lips. “Or so you keep telling me.”
Yep, this was bound to get interesting.
Gannon spent nearly two hours listening to Milly regale Cam with stories. Luckily, after her initial teasing, she’d stopped trying to embarrass him too much.
So, he’d spent most of his time listening to Milly and Cam talk about their ski trips. Apparently that was something Cam had done since he was a kid, and Milly’s family used to go every year. Instead of feeling like a third wheel, Gannon had been relaxed, enjoying the easiness between them, the way Cam was frequently looking his way, sometimes brushing against him on purpose just to get his attention.
“No lie,” Milly insisted, her eyes locked on Cam. “I was racing down the hill and ran smack into the tree.”
Gannon frowned. “That’s not the way you told the story to me.”
Milly glared at him in a way that told him to be quiet.
Gannon laughed; so did Cam.
“Fine,” Milly said with a huff. “I didn’t so much ski down the hill. I kind of walked. And I didn’t run into the tree. I hugged it to keep on my feet. But I was ten. Sue me.”
Cam roared with laughter, making Gannon smile and Milly blush.
Going into this, Gannon hadn’t known how it would go, but truth was, Gannon wanted Milly and Cam to get along. She was the closest thing to family he had, and over the past couple of weeks, Cam had become important to him, as well. Looked as though he wasn’t going to have to worry about the two of them getting along.
“Thanks for putting up with me tonight,” Milly told Cam as they walked down the sidewalk toward the parking lot behind the restaurant.
“Thanks for sharing all of Gannon’s deep dark secrets with me,” Cam replied, smiling down at her.
“Okay, I’m gonna hug you now,” Milly said right before she walked up to Cam and put her arms around him.
Gannon grinned, watching Cam’s surprise flitter across his face as he hesitantly embraced her.
“And now, I’m gonna go sit in the car”—Milly snagged the car keys from Gannon’s hand—“while the two of you say good night.”
With a small wave, she headed across the lot to Gannon’s Lexus while he stood with Cam beside his truck.
When he turned back to face Cam, those dark blue eyes were locked on him. Thankfully, it was dark out and the single light post was on the other side of the lot, the yellow glow not making it to their part, which left them in the shadows. It afforded them a small measure of privacy, so Gannon urged Cam between his truck and the one beside it, backing him up against the driver’s door.
&
nbsp; “I had fun tonight,” Gannon whispered. “But I can’t walk away without kissing you.”
Cam nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Is that gonna bother you? Me kissing you in public?”
“Will it bother you?” Cam countered.
Gannon answered that question by leaning in and pressing his mouth to Cam’s, placing his hand on the truck door on the side of Cam’s head. He licked Cam’s lips first, then urged him to open. A soft moan escaped Cam seconds before Gannon was crushing Cam’s body against the door, his hips pressing against Cam’s while their tongues explored.
Had they been anywhere else, Gannon would’ve pursued it further, but being in a public place, he knew he couldn’t let it get too far. As it was, his cock was rock hard by the time he pulled back, breaking the kiss and pressing his forehead to Cam’s.
“I want to see you again,” Gannon whispered.
“When?”
Pulling back, Gannon moved back enough so he could see Cam’s face fully. “I’m leaving for California in the morning.”
And just like that, it was as though Gannon had poured a bucket of ice water over Cam’s head rather than telling him that he had to go out of town for a couple of days. The heat he’d seen in Cam’s eyes turned glacial in an instant.
“What?” Gannon asked, taking a step back when Cam turned to open his truck door. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Cam declared, his tone icy.
Gannon watched as Cam climbed into his truck, confused.
“I need to get home,” Cam told him, turning his head toward Gannon but not meeting his eyes.
“Okay.” Gannon didn’t even know how to plead his case, because he had no clue what had just happened. One second Cam was melting in his arms, the next he was … Antarctica. “I’ll call you?”
Cam nodded, then waited for Gannon to move out of the way before closing the door and starting his engine. Still trying to figure out where things had gone wrong, Gannon didn’t move as Cam backed out of the parking space, then headed for the road.
When he finally made it back to the car, Milly was waiting for him, the radio turned up. Since he had no idea what had happened, or how he was supposed to explain it to her, he forced a smile as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“That was fun,” she told him, briefly looking at him before returning her attention to her cell phone.
Reckless (Pier 70, 1) Page 14
