“WilderNation’s been under him?” Dylan asked.
“Yes. It’s the only other time he went against my directive and look how things turned out. We’ll transition them out from under him. There’ll be crossover, but he’s basically a good guy. He’ll work with you in time. I promise.” Tristan actually hoped Landry would come around. He’d been pretty pissed off today in the legal department. They’d had a heated exchange, one his legal team felt compelled to document.
“Where are we going?” Dylan asked, watching as he weaved easily through the crowded lanes of traffic.
“I thought I’d take us down the Pacific Coast Highway. It’s beautiful there. I grew up in the desert of California. As soon as I hit it big, I moved out here and haven’t left. No other part of the world’s quite as appealing.” Tristan moved steadily down the highway even though the traffic was terrible. “You’ll see what I’m talking about.”
“It’s completely different than the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” Dylan replied, watching the scenery as they drove. “Everything feels a little freer here.”
“I bet. In every possible way. I met your governor once. How did he keep getting elected?” Tristan asked, focusing on the road.
“He’s the tip of the iceberg. I gotta get my kids out of there. I’m working on it. None of them are going to college in state.” Dylan looked over at him seriously.
“Sounds like you’re doing that, then.” Children were foreign ground for him. He didn’t really even know people that had kids and certainly none of them were as dedicated as Dylan and his wife were at raising them. Remembering Dylan had a wife added another layer of complication to them. He’d never been in any sort of relationship with a man who had a wife. How could she not complicate this more than it already was? Instead of letting that become another obstacle, Tristan immediately pushed those thoughts out of his mind. If he continued thinking that way, he’d say something, and Dylan always grew more serious and withdrew inside himself when they talked about his life.
“I packed a dinner. I know a good spot that overlooks the ocean. I hope you’re okay with that.”
Dylan just looked at him.
“What? Okay, I didn’t pack it. Maria did, but I get kudos for the thought.” Tristan kept his gaze going back and forth between the road and Dylan.
“What? You don’t like eating outside?” Tristan asked when Dylan just kept staring at him. He had no idea what that look meant.
“No, it’s fine. I prefer to be outside,” Dylan admitted, his focus still trained on him. Tristan kept his confusion to himself. He didn’t question Dylan’s look or silence as he pulled to the side of the road.
“Wanna drive?” he asked once he’d stopped safely on the shoulder. He shoved the gear shift into neutral and set the emergency brake as he looked out the side window and opened the door.
“Really?” Dylan’s whole expression changed. He’d have to get better at reading this man.
“I thought that’s why we were doing this, so you could drive her.” Tristan was already halfway out of the car.
“No, I mean, yeah, I’m good driving!” Dylan said, hopping out of the car, meeting Tristan halfway. “Anything I need to know?”
“Can you drive a standard?” Tristan asked, just to make sure.
“No, but I’ll figure it out.” Dylan started to move around him toward the driver’s side of the car. Tristan stepped back in front of him, stopping him with both hands on his chest. It was already taking quite a bit to let someone else drive his baby, but to grind the gears… That might be asking too much.
“Maybe we should teach you to drive a standard on another car,” Tristan said carefully.
“I’m kidding. I’ve got a standard. Get in the passenger seat. Stop worrying!” Dylan motioned for Tristan to get moving while giving him his real smile. Tristan stood staring. Dylan had played a joke on him, and it would be so easy to lean in and kiss him right now. He wouldn’t do that though. He didn’t want to freak him out, because he liked this teasing, laughing Dylan.
“You aren’t funny.” Tristan jokingly pointed a finger at Dylan’s smug-looking face. “I lost a few years off my life trying to figure out how to tell you no.” Tristan moved away, denying himself the kiss as he walked around to the passenger side. Dylan was already inside, adjusting the seat and caressing the steering wheel.
“It’s not your first time?” Tristan asked, watching as Dylan easily aligned everything for his driving comfort.
“Officially it’s my first time to actually drive a Ferrari, but I went to look at them a few weeks ago. I wanted it to be the car I was buying if I sold the company. I decided it’s just not a practical purchase with the kids still being home,” Dylan said, putting the stick in gear and slowly easing them into traffic. There was not one bit of grinding. Tristan’s worry eased, and he sat back and adjusted his seat belt.
“Straight down this highway?”
“Yep, just keep going. We got about a twenty minute drive.” Tristan angled his body to keep watch over Dylan. The ocean view was nice, but the driver was so much more impressive. He’d just keep his eyes right there.
“Turn right up here,” Tristan directed. Dusk came on strong, painting the ocean’s backdrop with a beautiful hue of colors. Dylan slowed and turned off the highway onto a small unpaved road.
“Just pull up as far as you can. It’s not designed for cars like this,” Tristan said, pointing Dylan over to the left. He carefully pulled the car in that direction, stopping after hitting a good rut.
“Sorry,” he glanced over at Tristan.
“Unavoidable. We’ll have to walk down there a bit. It looks like no one’s here. It’s still a little cold. I brought you a jacket,” Tristan said, getting out of the car and pulling a small cooler from the inside along with a blanket and two jackets. Dylan walked around to meet him, taking some of the load. He’d been reasonably comfortable, yet, now that the car wasn’t between them, his nerves grew much like his attraction had with every mile driven.
Tristan was easy to be around—accommodating and accepting, even polite. That was not the way he had expected the founder and global phenom of the world’s first true search engine to be. Definitely not the one he’d read about conducting the business of Wilder, Inc. If Dylan thought about it, most of the industry thought of Tristan as a jerk, a ruthless dick, but Dylan hadn’t seen any sign of that at all. Actually, that was more Landry than Tristan in Dylan’s opinion.
“Lead the way.” He followed as Tristan maneuvered down the small trail on the side of the cliff. It was getting darker outside, but he could still see the beauty surrounding him. The landscape was nothing like Texas. In California, the jagged, rocky cliffs dropped off into churning water. The sound of waves crashing against the rocky outcroppings in the distance somehow made this a perfect spot, almost surreal. The salty smell of the ocean drifted on a chilly breeze. He pulled the jacket tighter against his body and fought off a shiver.
“Julian’s supposed to meet us at my place at eight thirty. That gives us about an hour and a half here,” Tristan said, snaking around the brush and sandy rocks until they came to a small clearing right underneath the car. He laid out the blanket and put the cooler down, opening the lid. Tristan handed him a Heineken. “You drink beer, right?”
“Yeah,” he answered. There was really nothing he didn’t drink. He’d vowed to let last night be the only night he fell off the proverbial wagon, but with the possibility of a threesome looming in his near future, he twisted off the cap and took a long drink. “You should drive home.”
“No problem. I figured you’d need some liquid courage.” Tristan chuckled, dropping down to the blanket and toeing off his tennis shoes. He rolled up his pants legs and looked up at Dylan. “It’s cold this time of year, but you can’t come here and not put your feet in the water.”
Dylan sat, draining the bottle while Tristan laughed at him. “I told you, you call the shots tonight. As far as you want to go. You don’t need to
be so worried.”
“I’m just really not ready to…you know,” he said quietly, taking off his Sperrys. He tucked his socks inside and rolled up his pants legs. Tristan was already standing, waiting on him.
“No one’s gonna push you. I promise. It’s hot though—feels incredible. If you do it like you did last night, it’s more pleasurable than you can imagine. You were perfect,” Tristan said, extending a hand to help him up.
“I see myself as more of a top.” Dylan liked to control his world. He liked to be the one doing the work, moving things forward. He just saw himself as a top in all things.
“I did too, and I usually take the lead, but honestly, now I like sex both ways, all ways really.” Tristan winked as Dylan got to his feet. He reached out to link their hands together, holding on tight when Dylan tried to pull away. “Moonlight walks on the beach need to be done holding hands. It’s a law here in California.”
“You keep pushing at me, don’t you?” Dylan asked. He didn’t let go of Tristan’s tight grip, but he didn’t walk forward either. Tristan tugged at his arm.
“I’m not pushing. I’m just showing you what you’re missing and what’s waiting for you when you come out,” Tristan said, finally using enough force to get him moving.
“I don’t know if I can ever really come out,” Dylan admitted.
“Sure, you will. It’s too lonely a life otherwise,” Tristan replied, walking them to the water. “Besides, someone like you is gonna be picked up real quick.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Dylan said, laughing at the absurdity of that thought.
“I am. You’re hot, easy to be around, and about to be loaded.” Tristan waggled his eyebrows until they hit the edge of the surf. “Shit, the water’s cold.”
“You said that before.” Dylan shivered as the cold water washed over his feet.
“Too bad it’s not summer, we could play in the ocean,” Tristan said, kicking his feet around, probably trying to build some warmth. Dylan just stayed at the edge of the water. Tristan never released his hand.
“You surf?” Dylan asked. Tristan looked up and must have noticed Dylan wasn’t in the water with him, because he tugged him in a step. “We could just walk on the sand and say we did this.”
“Sometimes, just a little bit. I can manage to stay up most of the time,” Tristan said, ignoring the walk-in-the-sand suggestion. He seemed determined they were doing this. The more they walked, the more the chill of the water subsided.
“I go to the competitions though. Those are badass. You’ll have to come with me sometime.” He hadn’t let go of Dylan’s hand and walked them a little farther in, letting the water cover their ankles.
“You don’t have a boyfriend?” Why had he just now thought to ask that question? He realized right then, the whole time they’d been together, every thought had been about him, he never considered Tristan in any of this.
“No. I haven’t had a lot of long-term relationships. I’ve worked ungodly hours most of my life. I just never had time,” Tristan explained.
“I get that.” He’d worked hard to get where he was, too. If he hadn’t had Teri by his side, who knows how his life would have turned out. She had pushed him to go for his dreams and stood by his side each step of the way. “And you don’t pick up closeted gay men and school them regularly?”
“Most definitely not,” Tristan said and then cut his eyes over to Dylan. “No offense, but the virgin closet guy usually comes with too much drama.”
“No offense taken. I can see that.” He kicked at the water some, staying quiet a little longer. “Why me, then? I’ve been nothing but drama.”
“I’ve been asking myself that question. Last night, the goal was to show you guys a good time. I wanted your business. I took you to the dinner club because I didn’t think you were really serious about being so hidden. Again, no offense, but I don’t know anyone that’s sacrificed as much as you have for his family. After I spent time with you, I realized besides being attracted to you, I liked being around you. I mean, I really like everything about you. I wanted to be your first. It’s silly, but you always remember your first. I still do after all these years. I wanted you to remember me.” Dylan didn’t respond. Instead, he just looked down, kicking at the water. He liked some of what he heard. It made him feel good that Tristan was attracted to him. He’d never really known how he fared in other men’s minds. Besides, Tristan turned him on like he’d never experienced before. No, Tristan hadn’t used those words on him, but it would have sucked for that to be completely one-sided.
“I think what has Landry the most pissed off is that I planned something completely different in my offer to you. You managed to change all that, and he doesn’t get it. I don’t change my mind very often, yet I’m standing in the cold surf with a closeted man who was able to get me to buy his company for twenty percent more than he asked. You’re pretty remarkable.” They slowed their pace. Tristan now looked down at the water as though thinking through what he’d just admitted.
“I’m with Landry. I don’t get it either, but you have to know I wasn’t gonna sell if you didn’t secure my people.” They were stopped now, letting the water lap around their ankles. Dylan turned to Tristan as he spoke. He was dead serious. He didn’t understand anything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
“I figured that out. It doesn’t take much to see that you live by an honor code. It’s real old school. I think it’s also why you’re so successful. You’re genuine. We’ve lost that in Wilder, if we ever even had it,” Tristan said, changing their course, pulling him back toward their blanket on the beach by their still clasped hands. The moonlight guided their path.
“Honor doesn’t mean always doing the right thing. I just try to do the right thing,” Dylan said, thinking over Tristan’s words.
“That’s a good point, and I can agree with that. So we have even farther to go as a civilization to reach honor and ethics. That’s great. Humanity has no hope. Want another beer?” Tristan asked, finally releasing his hand and dropping down on the blanket. “Here’s a towel, your feet have to be freezing.”
“Sure,” he said, reaching for the towel. His feet were cold, so he covered them more than dried them, trying to build a little warmth. Tristan handed him a beer before digging through the contents of the basket to set out a few things. There was some sort of candle. Tristan lit the wick and set it in the sand before pulling out a few more containers.
“I’m not sure I thought this through very well. We could go to dinner somewhere.” Tristan paused, searching for a place to set the food.
“I’m good. I’m not very hungry. What’s in there?” Dylan asked, taking a container and lifting the lid. “This is a pasta vegetable dish.”
“Oh, that’s Maria’s specialty. I have fruit. And some cold cuts, cheeses, and some sort of dessert.” Tristan lifted the lid and ran a finger across the top to taste the dish. “It’s some kind of pudding and whipped cream concoction, I think.”
Tristan put all that out and reached for the silverware. “Are you good with eating from the containers? I have plates if you’d rather have those.”
“This is fine.” He speared a piece of melon and ate it down. “The fruit tastes so fresh here,” he said, wiping at his chin.
“I guess it’s probably pretty fresh. Taste the pasta salad.” Tristan held a spoonful for him to eat. He hesitated. It was dark, and feeding someone seemed intimate, but he opened and Tristan’s aim was good. He took the bite. “She uses sweetened milk and vinegar. It’s my favorite.”
“It’s very good.” Dylan swallowed the food. Tristan handed him the bowl as he went for the cold cuts.
“You aren’t going to drink?” Dylan asked, taking a swig.
“I’ve got precious cargo to get back,” Tristan said, dropping a couple of cheese cubes in his mouth.
“So how does it work tonight?” Dylan questioned, taking another big bite of the pasta.
“What do you mean
?” Tristan asked, leaning in, taking Dylan’s next bite. “Mmmm.” The smile the man gave went straight to his dick.
“I don’t know. Just how does it work?” Dylan asked.
“Well, I haven’t done anything like this myself in a while, but it’s all about the pleasure. It’s also amazing visual stimulation. You’ll like Julian. He’s a male model. You’ll set the pace for you. And you know, I’m up for just about anything,” Tristan said, opening a water bottle and drinking several gulps. “Here, try the cheese.”
Tristan placed a cube of cheese in his mouth and his fingers lingered. It took a second for Dylan to get the hint, and then he licked his way around them, sucking the digits before Tristan pulled them free. Dear god, was he seriously this lame that he couldn’t automatically pick up on little flirtatious hints?
As he rolled his eyes at his own inexperience, Tristan moved in, closing the distance between them and pressed soft lips against his. That startled Dylan more than the fingers in his mouth. Tristan held his head in place as he traced the seam of his lips with his tongue, licking and nipping sensuously at his mouth until he opened, allowing Tristan to deepen the kiss.
Tristan moved forward with only the food separating their bodies. Tristan’s strong hand slid around Dylan’s neck, angling his head as he drove his tongue deeper. The sound of the crashing waves in the distance were almost as loud as the pounding of his heart.
Tristan had intended the kiss to be small and encouraging. Yet one taste of those lips that had haunted him all day had Tristan delving deeper, fully exploring Dylan’s mouth, sampling and tasting, finding he needed more. Dylan kissed him like he had the right to be there. God, this guy turned him on. Knowing this wasn’t the right place or time, Tristan couldn’t help but bend in farther, pushing Dylan backward. Screw the food between them. He lowered them to the blanket, only breaking from the kiss long enough to better position himself. His hand skirted along Dylan’s rib cage and across his firm belly as he reached lower, wanting to feel the evidence of Dylan’s arousal. He rubbed Dylan’s jean-covered length wantonly, moaning into his mouth as the kiss turned frantic.
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