Fearless (Pier 70 #2) (29 page)

Thirty-Nine

“So, tell me this, Mr. Pearson.” Dare dragged his lips over Noah’s sun-warmed skin, inhaling him. “Would you like me to drop to my knees right here and suck you off? My mouth wrapped around your dick while you fuck my lips? Out here in the open where anyone could see?”

Noah groaned, his fingers digging deeper into Dare’s back.

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Although Noah had told him he wasn’t the one in charge, Dare wasn’t so sure that was the case. It didn’t really matter to him who was in charge, just as long as someone was.

“I would,” Noah confirmed. “I’d love to see my dick tunneling in and out of your mouth.”

Dare remembered last night and the way he had fucked Noah’s mouth. So damn hot.

Without waiting for Noah to provide instructions, Dare dropped down to his knees, kissing Noah’s stomach while he held his shirt up. He had never done this before. On a boat. In the open. For some reason, he had never seduced a man while out on the water. Perhaps because this was his sacred place. He didn’t care to tarnish it with one-night memories.

But Noah wasn’t a one-night memory for Dare. He never had been and he never would be.

Tucking his fingers beneath the waistband of Noah’s shorts, Dare eased them down enough to free Noah’s cock. He was iron-hard and silky-smooth. And beautiful. Noah had a cock that Dare wanted to worship from sunup to sundown, every day of the week, every week of the year.

Noah pulled Dare’s hat from his head—a move that Dare really, really liked—and twined his fingers into his hair, pulling him down so that Dare’s lips were a breath away from the thick, swollen head.

Dare licked the tip, looking up at Noah, who was watching him, one hand holding up his shirt, the other in Dare’s hair. To his surprise, Noah didn’t get bossy, he didn’t tell Dare what to do, and that was perfectly fine because he wanted to get intimately acquainted with Noah’s dick. He wanted to explore him with only his tongue.

So he did.

Trying his best not to rush things, Dare took Noah in his mouth, slowly working his lips down the shaft, taking all of him, stretching wide to accommodate him.

“Oh, yes.” Noah’s fingers tugged Dare’s hair as he held him in place. “Dare… Your mouth… It’s so fucking hot.”

Dare met Noah’s gaze while he slowly bobbed up and down on Noah’s dick, hollowing out his cheeks to apply more suction. He wasn’t trying to send Noah over. In fact, he wanted to relish this for as long as he could, wanted to give Noah as much pleasure as he could stand.

Noah held Dare’s stare, his hips rocking as he began acquiring the control, taking what he wanted from Dare, and shifting the momentum so that Dare became the outlet. Watching as it happened was sexy as fuck. Dare wasn’t even sure that Noah knew he was doing it, taking control, becoming the aggressor. It made him want to give in to Noah, to do whatever he wanted, however he wanted it.

“Use your hand,” Noah commanded, his fingers tugging on Dare’s hair, pulling his mouth away from Noah’s cock. “Jack me off. Make me come.”

Dare sat back on his haunches, wrapped his fist around Noah’s cock, and did as Noah instructed. He tightened his grip, jerking Noah slowly at first, then faster. He watched Noah’s ab muscles contract as the pleasure swamped him. He was magnificent.

“Put me in your mouth,” Noah rasped, his voice tight. “Want to come in your mouth.”

Dare put the head of Noah’s cock in his mouth and continued to fist fuck him until the grip Noah had on his hair became almost unbearable. Noah’s hips jerked forward, a long, deep growl escaping as he came, his come splashing against Dare’s tongue.

While Noah caught his breath, Dare cleaned him with his mouth, then adjusted Noah’s shorts and got to his feet.

“That was my first blow job on a boat,” Noah told him, cupping Dare’s face in his hands as he pulled him in for a kiss.

Dare smiled against Noah’s lips. “My first time
giving
a blow job on a boat.”

Noah’s kiss was sweet and gentle but too short as he pulled back and stared at Dare, confusion marring his features. Dare knew Noah wasn’t sure whether or not to believe him.

“It’s true,” Dare explained. Nodding his chin toward the water, he added, “This has always been my place. I knew one day I’d bring someone here and be able to share it with them. Turns out that person is you.”

Noah pulled Dare’s face back toward him and pressed a kiss to his lips. Even in the sweet gesture, he could sense Noah’s approval and that … that was what made this moment worth all the years of waiting.

Noah wasn’t ready for this to be over. After Dare had given him the most erotic blow job of his life right there out in the open, they had relaxed on the deck, lying back and watching the sun move lower in the sky. Neither of them had said much, but that was probably the best part. Noah had spent that time reflecting on what had happened between them last night.

They’d admitted their love for one another. And that had changed everything.

“You ready to head back in?” Dare mumbled from beside him.

“Not yet.” Noah wanted to take advantage of this moment one more time before they had to return to shore.

Dare turned his head to the side, concern etched on his face.

Noah smiled. He loved that look.

“Something wrong?” Dare questioned.

Noah shook his head as he got to his feet. He then held out his hand to help Dare up. He led Dare to one of the seats. Before he allowed Dare to sit, he pushed Dare’s shorts down his hips, letting them pool on the floor. Only then did he force him to sit.

Dare smiled up at him. “I like where your mind wanders when you have time to chill.”

“Me, too.”

Noah dropped to his knees between Dare’s splayed thighs, watching him closely while he worked Dare’s dick until he was hard. He used his hand at first, then his tongue, even gently scraping his teeth along the sensitive shaft, relishing all the grunts and groans rumbling in Dare’s chest.

When Dare was good and hard, Noah stood, retrieving a small packet of lube he’d stolen from Dare’s bathroom.

“You little sneaky bastard,” Dare teased, reaching forward and yanking Noah’s shorts down before pulling him forward.

Noah laughed as he stumbled, managing to straddle Dare’s legs and not fall.

Dare cradled the back of Noah’s head and pulled him forward, crushing their mouths together while Noah lubed Dare’s dick between their bodies. He teased him until Dare was panting, begging him for more. Only then did Noah lift himself up and readjust his position so that Dare could work his dick into Noah’s ass. He impaled himself on Dare’s cock, taking him inside inch by inch.

“That’s it, baby.” Dare groaned. “Ride me.”

Noah held on to Dare’s shoulders while Dare fucked his ass so superbly. He never hurried, chuckling when Dare would grunt, begging for more.

When Dare gripped his hips and stilled him, Noah prepared himself for the fucking of a lifetime.

And he wasn’t disappointed.

When Dare Davis took control, the only thing Noah could do was sit back and enjoy the ride.

An hour later, as Noah was heading home from the marina, having left Dare a short time ago, he couldn’t stop thinking about the man. Years’ worth of memories and heartache consumed him, but they seemed trivial compared to the feelings he had right this minute.

He loved Dare. That was all there was to it.

He loved his smile, he loved his positive outlook…

He loved the way he wore his ball cap backward and refused to wear shoes…

He loved the sexy rumble of his voice, he loved the reverberation of his laugh…

He loved his delicious body, he loved the strength he felt when Dare held him…

He loved the fact that all these years later, Dare had been put in his path, and though their past was riddled with the obstacles of being too young and too naïve to know what was good for them, and the oversight of thinking that they had all the time in the world, Noah was right where he was meant to be.

Noah felt lighter, more in control of his destiny. There was only one thing he wanted in this world, and that was to spend the rest of his days with the man he loved.

As of last night, he had accepted that this second chance was more than a blessing. They still had to figure out a way to move forward, but Noah had no doubt that was possible.

With Dare, anything was possible.

Forty

Saturday, July 2
nd

Two and a half weeks later

Dare was awoken by the sound of a knock on his front door, combined with Lulu’s disgruntled bark. He rolled over, noticing the sun was up. For the first time since he’d gotten back from the cruise, he had taken the day off, hoping to sleep in a little. Apparently, that wasn’t going to happen today.

Lulu barked again, the sound the equivalent of an air horn in the small space.

“Lulu… Chill.”

He managed to roll out of bed and saunter to the front door. Without looking through the security hole, he pulled it open, rubbing his eyes.

“Morning.”

Dare came awake almost immediately. “What’re you doing here?”

Noah stepped into the apartment and gave Lulu a pat on the head. “Couldn’t stay away.”

“Did you come right from work?”

“I did.”

Dare closed the door and locked it, not wanting to risk another neighbor visit. It had already happened once in the last two weeks. Luckily he and Noah had been watching TV and not getting their freak on at the time. He still remembered the shocked look on Noah’s face when the old man had come waltzing in as though he owned the place.

“I brought donuts,” Noah announced, effectively defogging his brain.

“Have I mentioned how much I love you?” That made up for Noah waking him up during the dream he’d been having. The kinky dream. The dream that had involved Noah strapped to the bed while Dare did devious sexual things to him.

“Not today, no.” Noah placed the box of donuts on the table.

It took a minute for Dare to remember what he’d said. Oh, right. Love. Yes. “Well, I do. More than…” Dare didn’t waste any time, flipping the lid open and grabbing a donut for each hand. “I’m pretty sure I love you more than donuts, but I’ll have to eat a couple to be sure.”

Noah chuckled.

After downing two, Dare grabbed a glass and the gallon of milk out of the refrigerator. “What brings you by so early?” Dare smiled. “Not that I don’t want to see you every minute of every day as it is.”

Noah’s grin widened. “You said we were having lunch with your grandmother today.”

“Oh, shit.” Dare downed his milk. “You’re right. We are. What time is it?”

Noah peered over at the alarm clock beside Dare’s bed. “Ten thirty.”

“Oh, thank God. We’ve still got time.”

And now that Dare realized that, he was coming up with ideas for how they could spend the next hour and a half. Allowing his gaze to slowly travel the length of Noah’s body, he came up with a damn good idea.

“Slow your roll, Romeo,” Noah said on a laugh. “You’re not getting me naked just yet.”

“What?” Dare frowned. “Why not?”

As it was, he hadn’t seen Noah in two days. They’d finally gotten into a routine, and because of their schedules, they were finding it was difficult to spend much time together at all. Between Noah working at the station, plus his side gig with the roofing business, Dare wasn’t getting to spend nearly enough time with him.

“I want to show you something first.”

Dare’s eyes dropped to Noah’s crotch.

Noah barked out a laugh. “Nope. That’s not the surprise.”

“Damn.”

“Get dressed.”

Pretending to pout, Dare headed for the bathroom. He didn’t bother shutting the door as he stripped naked, brushed his teeth, then took a quick shower. Because his apartment was so small, he knew Noah would get a peek of his naked body. If the guy could refuse him after that, then he clearly had more willpower than Dare did.

Fifteen minutes later, Dare was dressed and ready. He was pretending to pout as he searched for his phone. Unfortunately, Noah had been able to resist him, which only made Dare want to work harder to tease him.

“Where’re we going?” Dare grabbed his ball cap and pulled it on backward.

“Get in the truck and I’ll show you.”

“Do I need shoes?”

Noah chuckled. “Yes. You need shoes.”

After grabbing his flip-flops, Dare did as he was instructed, hopping into the passenger side of Noah’s truck. He did his best not to ask questions as Noah drove. Since Dare recognized the area, he couldn’t contain his questions.

“Are we going to Cam’s?”

Noah shook his head.

“Do you have friends who live over here?”

“Nope.”

Dare watched out the window as they drove down a tree-lined street dotted with houses that backed up to the lake. Unlike Noah, Dare did have friends who lived over here. Cam and Gannon had bought a house here recently. Cam’s dad also lived on the lake, as well as Cam’s sister and her husband.

Noah stopped in front of a decent-sized ranch-style home with huge windows on the front and a long, narrow yard. There was a car parked in the driveway in front of the two-car garage.

“Where are we?”

“Get out.”

Dare’s head snapped over at Noah’s firm yet playful tone. He sighed dramatically as he climbed out of the truck and stood on the curb. Noah came around to stand beside him, taking his hand.

“Trust me?”

“No. I don’t.” Somehow Dare managed to hide his smile. “If you’re planning to break into this place, you should know, I’ve got some money you can borrow.”

“Not breaking in.” Noah tugged on his hand and pulled him to the sidewalk, then led him to the front door.

The door was open. The only thing separating them from the interior of the house was the glass storm door. Rather than knock, Noah opened the door and stepped inside.

“What’re you doing?” Dare tried to pull him back out.

“Relax, babe. It’s all good.”

An older woman appeared, dressed in a pencil skirt and a silk blouse. Her smile was radiant as she greeted Noah. “Mr. Pearson. So good to see you again.”

Again?

What was going on here?

“Feel free to look around.”

“Thank you.”

Noah didn’t release Dare’s hand as he led him toward the back of the house and right out onto the back patio. The yard was beautiful, with tall trees and thick, green grass. Bushes and flowers lined the back of the house and the deck leading to a stone walkway that ran all the way down to the water.

“What is this place?”

Noah turned to face him, blocking his view of the lake.

“I know this might seem sudden,” Noah began, taking Dare’s hands in his. “But these past couple of weeks have been fantastic.” Noah smiled. “With the exception of us being apart so much, that is. I thought maybe we could solve the distance problem…” Noah swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “I thought we could solve the problem if we were to move in together.”

“Here?” Dare peered over Noah’s shoulder to check out the lake again.

“Here.” Noah nodded toward the house behind Dare. “It’s three bedrooms, three baths, plus a study and—”

Dare placed his hand over Noah’s mouth and smiled. “You had me at ‘here.’” The relief Dare saw on Noah’s face made him laugh. “You want me to move in with you?”

Noah nodded.

“But what about the station? And the roofing jobs?”

“The station is only half an hour away. Since it’s not an everyday commute, that’s no problem at all. And the roofing business…” Noah looked slightly unsure of himself. “It’s something I did in order to occupy my time. It’s not a necessity for me. I make enough to support—”

Again, Dare cut him off. “We.”

“What?”

“
We
make enough.” Dare pulled Noah forward and kissed him. “I’d love to move in with you. Wake up to you every morning.” He lowered his voice. “Go to sleep every night after banging your brains out.”

Noah’s arms slid around his waist and he held him close, their lips brushing together. “Oh, thank God.”

“You like the idea of me banging your brains out, huh?”

Noah smiled against Dare’s lips.

Dare chuckled. “Did you think I’d say no?”

Noah pulled back and looked at him. “Actually, I thought you would tell me you found a better house somewhere.” His smile grew wider. “I know how competitive you are.”

It was true. Dare was competitive. And yes, Noah had beat him to the whole moving-in-together thing. But he knew there was one thing Noah hadn’t beat him to.

And now seemed like as good a time as any…

Noah hadn’t been sure how Dare would react to him bringing him here. It wasn’t as spur-of-the-moment as it seemed, though. They’d had a couple of conversations in recent days about moving in together. Because their schedules didn’t mesh, and the thirty-minute drive made it difficult to merely drop in, he and Dare had tossed around the idea of finding a place.

Since they hadn’t gotten into the logistics, Noah had simply been browsing for real estate when he’d stumbled upon this house for sale. As soon as he’d seen the pictures, he’d known he couldn’t pass it by. At least not without mentioning it to Dare. Last week he had scheduled an appointment with the realtor, snuck over, and checked it out. He’d fallen in love with it instantly, and something—maybe the lake view—had told him Dare would love it, too.

For the past two weeks, they had made as much time for one another as they could, but it was never enough. Noah had convinced Dare to have dinner at his mother’s house, which had been far less stressful than he’d expected it to be. Sure, it helped that he’d convinced Milly to come along to provide comic relief. Didn’t matter, Noah’s mother still loved Dare, the same as she’d loved him back then. They acted as though not a minute had passed since the last time they’d seen one another. Hell, even Larry had taken a liking to Dare.

Because Dare had to be at the marina every morning, they hadn’t stayed at Noah’s apartment at all. On the nights they did spend together, Noah made the trek out to Dare’s. And he wasn’t complaining about where they slept, merely that they didn’t get to sleep together enough. Noah hated being away from Dare most nights, even if they’d mastered the art of phone sex. That was great and all, but Noah knew he had to do something to bring them closer together.

As far as Noah was concerned, they’d spent the last fifteen years apart, and they had a lot of time to make up for. He didn’t want to wait any longer. He didn’t care about the whole dating thing. He and Dare had long ago done that whole song and dance. The only thing he wanted was to fall asleep with Dare in his bed every night and wake up with him every morning. Well, most nights and most mornings. He would still be working at the fire station, so there would be those to take into account.

Dare pulled back, and Noah searched his face to try and determine what he was thinking.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

There was a mischievous gleam in Dare’s eyes when he released Noah’s hands. Dare took a step back, peered around once more before meeting Noah’s gaze.

The next thing Noah knew, Dare was dropping down on one knee…

“What are you doing?” Noah rasped, reaching for Dare to pull him back to his feet.

“I’ve loved you my whole life,” Dare began, dodging Noah’s attempt to grab him. “Stop. Seriously. I have something to say.”

Dare was grinning from ear to ear while Noah’s heart was pounding like a bass drum inside his chest. He stopped reaching for Dare and stood up straight.

Dare continued. “The only regret in my life has been walking away from you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Noah Pearson. I want to be hyphenated.”

Noah laughed. That was Dare. “Hyphenated, huh?”

“Marry me?”

Before he could respond, Dare shocked him when he reached in his pocket and retrieved…

“You did not!” Noah couldn’t contain his laughter.

Dare pulled out a silver chain, which had a ring dangling from it. Noah’s high school class ring. The one that Dare had worn back when they’d been together the first time. High school had been far behind Noah at the time, but Dare had found the ring in Noah’s dresser and insisted on wearing it. Although Dare had done it as a joke, Noah had secretly enjoyed seeing it around Dare’s neck. For the two years they’d been together, Noah had never known Dare to take it off.