When his self didn’t answer, Justice rolled his eyes and shut off the water. Sitting down on the covered toilet, he rested his elbows on his thighs and put his face in his hands.
Justice felt equal parts aroused and terrified. He’d never been as attracted to anyone as he was to Nic. Just thinking about the man’s clear blue eyes and scruffy surfer boy hair got him riled up all over again. Nic was ripped for sure, not like a gym-bunny, but like someone who spent a lot of time tightening rigging and shit like that. He was solid but not bulky. He set Justice’s blood on fire.
How the hell was he supposed to be around Nic while cloistered on a boat with a bunch of straight guys who thought he was straight too? What a nightmare. As much as Justice wanted to see the guy, the best he could hope for was that Nic would stay on the bridge most of the time. That was the only way to guarantee that Justice didn’t embarrass himself, maybe by saying ‘fuck the closet’, and mauling the man.
Justice jumped a foot when someone knocked on the door. He heard Samara’s muffled but clearly worried voice through the thin wood.
“You okay in there, Justice? We’re about to serve dinner.”
Jesus, fuck, how long had he been in there? He’d lost track of how much time it took for his erection to go down, and for him to worry himself into a stupor. Clearing his throat, Justice got up off the toilet and opened the door.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thought I was getting seasick there for a minute, but I’m okay now.”
Samara raised a manicured black brow at him because, clearly, she wasn’t buying it. But she let it go. Instead, she linked arms with him and led him into the posh dining room.
“I hope you’re feeling good enough to eat dinner. We have a blackened tilapia and wasabi mash that is to
die
for.” She pulled out a seat for him, one of the only three left. “Sit here.”
Samara took the seat to his left, at the head of the table. Looking around, Justice realized he was the last one to come to the dining room.
“Thought we’d lost you,” Rory said, with an indulgently affectionate look. “Better now?”
Rory was mistakenly assuming that he’d had one of his panic attacks. Justice wasn’t about to correct him. He wasn’t exactly going to admit he’d had to calm himself down in the bathroom because he was lusting after the very male captain.
At that moment, Nic entered the dining room from what Justice had been told was the galley. Speak of the devil. What the hell was he doing down there? Didn’t he have to, like, drive the boat.
All heads turned towards Justice, and from the openmouthed stares, he guessed that he’d said that last bit out loud.
Nice going, Rain Man
, he thought. He hazarded a glance at Nic, and he was just looking back at Justice with that crooked grin.
Gah!
Those crows-feet got him every time.
“I’ve anchored and killed the engine, so you guys can eat dinner. After dinner, I’ll pull the anchor and we’ll drift a bit while you all have some drinks. That all right?” he asked with a chuckle.
Justice could feel himself turning red. He ducked his head and nodded. “Sounds good,” he barely whispered.
Nic crossed the room to take his seat right about when Justice realized that the only empty chair was the one right beside him. He glared at Samara, who merely blew him a kiss. He was
so
done for.
When the food was served, Justice found himself facing a whole new distraction. He’d never realized how erotic it was to watch someone eat. Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was just Nic. It seemed as though everything he did was erotic to Justice.
As Nic’s strong, tanned hands cut up his food, Justice couldn’t help imagining those hands on him. They would probably be calloused, work-roughened. He was unable to suppress the shiver of need that rippled through him.
Justice watched Nic take a bite, sliding the juicy morsel in past those full lips, closing his eyes briefly at the flavor. His chiseled jaw clenched while he chewed. His throat worked as he swallowed, and Justice barely resisted the urge to follow the path with his tongue.
“So, Mr. Crawford. Where do you come from?”
Samara’s voice startled Justice out of his imaginings, again, and his gaze flew to Nic’s. Nic gave him a cheeky grin and winked. Busted. Oh well, it wasn’t like it was a secret that he was attracted to the guy, at least from Nic, he just couldn’t show it in front of anyone —something that was becoming harder by the minute…along with other things.
“Ehrm…Sorry, what did you say?” he had to ask.
“Where do you live?”
“Oh. Uh…Charleston. South Carolina. Originally from Leedsville, but I got out of there as soon as I could.”
“Oooh, Southern boy. Mama likes.”
“So that’s where that cute accent comes from,” Nic said.
Justice nearly choked on his fish. Clearing his throat, he looked around the table to see if anyone heard. No one seemed to be paying him any attention. Except for Rich, who was frowning in their direction, as per usual.
“I guess I do have an accent. I can’t really hear it.”
“Oh, it’s there. Trust me,” Nic said.
* * * *
The rest of dinner went much the same. Nic teased Justice and pushed his buttons whenever he could. It was never enough to out him, just enough to keep him on his toes. And lord, but he loved seeing the kid blush. He couldn’t help poking at him to see what he would do.
After dinner, the guests adjourned to the aft deck on the fantail for drinks. Nic decided to help Bobby and Samara clean up the dining room since the boat was understaffed. He and Sam stood side by side, silently washing and drying dishes.
He knew it was coming, knew she had something rattling around in that head of hers, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to squeeze it out of her. Hearing her sigh beside him, he braced himself for impact.
“Oh, Nicolas. You are so, so fucked.”
No shit. “Whatever do you mean, Samara?”
“I mean airplane boy, of course. He’s the most adorable, quirky, scared shitless little closet case I’ve ever seen in my life. What are you going to do with him?”
“Well…I thought I’d lure him down to the owner’s cabin and fuck him through the mattress.”
“Nic! I’m serious here.”
He snorted and flicked water at her. “Me too.” He wasn’t. Much.
“Hey, look, Colin really did a fucked up number on you, and that kid obviously has his own problems. I’m just asking you to be careful.”
“I will be careful, Sam, but being careful doesn’t mean holding back, for me. I want him…so I’m at least going to take a shot.”
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
Nic didn’t want to get hurt again either. Colin’s betrayal had brought him to his knees, and he wasn’t sure if he could go through something like that again. But he wasn’t going to live his life afraid of it either, and he told Samara as much.
“You know I’ll support you either way, just…you know, be careful.”
He chuckled and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. “I’m gonna go find my man.”
Nic checked the aft deck first. He saw Rory, Rich, and two other guys, deep in conversation. The remaining guys were crowded around Lara, vying for her attention. Nic was pretty sure they were barking up the wrong lesbian there, but he wasn’t going to be the one to burst their bubble. Lara looked like she was enjoying the attention, anyway.
He stepped back into the shadows of the passageway, not wanting to get caught up in a conversation. Instead, he made his way to the foredeck. Unsurprisingly, he found Justice leaning up against the bow railing, staring out over the water as the sun went down.
Nic made his approach as silent as possible. When he was only a few feet away from Justice, he let his footfalls be heard. “Beautiful, isn’t it.”
Justice didn’t startle. He seemed more relaxed than he ever had before. It was the water; it just had that kind of magic. “It is. I wish I could stay out on the water always. Maybe I wouldn’t be so anxious all the time. You’re so lucky you get to live on the boat.”
Nic’s heart ached for the kid. He knew Justice was a bit shy and quirky, but he could see now that anxiety was something that really seemed to impact Justice’s life. He wanted to make it better. The feeling was inexplicable, impulsive, but undeniable.
“Turn around, please,” he pleaded, ghosting fingertips down Justice’s spine. Nic’s voice was husky, almost unrecognizable as his own.
Justice obeyed, twisting his body until he was facing Nic. Slowly, cautious of spooking him, Nic slid a hand into those downy-soft curls and gripped, just a little. He leaned in, thinking he might kiss Justice but knowing it was probably too soon. Instead, he just rested his forehead against Justice’s and breathed him in.
“You can come out here on the water with me anytime. Consider me your personal ferry,” he said with a hoarse chuckle.
Justice stared at Nic’s mouth and licked his own lips, probably unconsciously. His pupils were blown, so much so that the brilliant green could barely be seen. To Nic, he was perfect, a walking wet dream. Just being so close, being allowed to touch him, had Nic achingly hard. If he hadn’t already been, Justice’s next actions would have gotten him there quick.
Justice grabbed hold of Nic’s hips and pulled him forward until their lower bodies were flush. Nic groaned as he felt Justice’s erection rub up against his own. He couldn’t help it, he rocked against that delicious hardness, just a little.
Biting his lower lip, Justice placed his palms on Nic’s cheeks, closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. “I’m not…I don’t…Nobody knows about me,” he finally said, and the news didn’t come as a surprise to Nic. “Nobody who’s still around anyway.”
There was a story there, Nic thought. A story for another day. Dislodging Justice’s grip, he leaned forward and braced his hands on the railing on either side of Justice’s body, hemming him in. Then he licked a trail up the side of Justice’s neck, ending at his earlobe, to which he gave a gentle nip. “We’ll work around it.” Nic hoped like hell that wasn’t a lie.
Justice’s breath hitched and Nic felt his dick jump through the thin material of his chinos. So his boy liked a little bite. Nic could roll with that. He was just about to dive in when Justice gave his chest a gentle push.
“I don’t usually do things like this…I…God, I want you.” Before Nic could even think of responding, Justice brushed his lips against Nic’s, such a fleeting touch that he wasn’t sure it was even real.
Once he’d gotten a taste, Justice seemed to come alive with a hidden fire, a spark of which Nic had seen on the plane. He tunneled his hands into Nic’s wind-tumbled hair and held on, crushing their lips together.
It was much more aggressive of a kiss than Nic would have expected from the shy guy from this afternoon. Justice nipped at Nic’s lips until he opened for him, and then he licked his way inside. It was a mess of tongues dueling, teeth clicking, lip biting. It was heaven.
After a particularly rough tug of his hair, Nic couldn’t help bucking his hips. Justice grunted in appreciation. Taking that as a sign, Nic slipped his hands around to grab Justice’s ass, the cheeks perfect handfuls.
As he grabbed, he lifted, and Justice took the hint. He wrapped his legs around Nic’s waist, and Nic set him on the ledge where the railing sprung from. They continued their dueling kiss while Nic started up a rocking rhythm that had them both panting in seconds.
Kissing Justice was one of the more erotic experiences of his life, and Nic had definitely not been a saint. Justice’s skin was smooth and warm, and his fresh scent permeated the air around them, mingling with the crisp smell of the sea. Perfection.
Nic knew he should slow down, that he was pushing the kid for more than he was probably ready to give. He heard a noise behind them and his head cleared a bit from the haze of lust. He remembered that they weren’t alone on the boat. The others would come find them eventually.
Reluctantly, Nic broke the kiss, leaning back slightly to look at Justice. His face was flushed, this time from arousal rather than embarrassment, and his lips were red and swollen from their energetic kissing. To Nic, he was stunning. And hot as fuck.
He watched with more than a little regret as Justice slowly came back to himself. Dropping his legs, he slid down Nic’s body, but then his posture tensed and he looked around the deck, checking for unseen observers.
Of course, there were none. Nic sighed and ran a shaky hand through his hair. He’d never understand why someone would choose to live their life in hiding. Normally, it pissed him off when he thought of stubborn closet cases. Didn’t it basically set the whole movement back? But after being around Justice, he just felt sad for the guy, rather than angry.
And it didn’t change how he felt about Justice himself. He was still incredibly attracted to him. He still wanted to take him out. He was so fucked.
Grabbing the pen that he’d hooked onto the collar of his shirt, Nic took Justice’s hand and stretched his arm out. In large print, he wrote his number on the guy’s forearm, something he probably hadn’t done since high school.
“I still want to take you for that sail. I’d like to show you my other boat. I think you’d really enjoy it. And I definitely want to give you a tour of my cabin. Call me when you can and we’ll set it up.”