A Bluewater Bay Collection

by Witt, L. A.

  He glanced back, then shrugged. “Yeah. They should have a reprieve for a while, anyway.” Motioning after the migrating crowd, he added, “Everyone’s going to the preview of the season premiere. Which means the dining hall is probably deserted too.”

  “Perfect.”

  At the dining hall door, Jesse flashed his badge and tossed his hair. “Stand aside—I’m with the band.”

  The woman at the door rolled her eyes and waved us in. I chuckled, shrugging apologetically, and followed him as he strutted into the room.

  The dining hall was comprised of a couple of adjoining conference rooms converted to a cafeteria of sorts exclusively for employees and merchants, and it was indeed empty. Jesse had explained to me on the way up that this had been Hunter Easton’s doing. After the man behind Wolf’s Landing had caught wind of people working at the con being unable to go get food for various reasons, he’d demanded the organizers set up something so no one had to leave the building or fight the long lines. No wonder everyone adored the guy.

  “So when do I get to meet all the Wolf’s Landing people you keep mentioning?” I asked as we got into the modest buffet line.

  “Soon.” He picked up a plate and perused the row of chafing dishes. “Everyone’s been slammed because of the production schedule and getting ready for the con, but they’ll all be on lighter schedules after this week.” He glanced at me before scooping up some Spanish rice. “Come to the next Magic tournament at the shop, and I guarantee you’ll be starstruck as hell.”

  “Oh yeah?” I chuckled. “Sign me up.”

  He winked. “I already did.”

  “Did you now?” I laughed as he handed me the spoon so I could get some rice.

  “Yep. It was filling up fast, so . . .” He shrugged.

  “I’d call you presumptuous, but I think you just know me too well.”

  Jesse flashed me a devilish smile that made my knees weak. “If you consider knowing you in the Biblical sense to be knowing you too well, then . . .” Another shrug, this one much more flippant. “Guilty.”

  I chuckled as we continued down the buffet line, pointedly ignoring my idiot brain’s attempts to suggest how well I seemed to know him.

  He isn’t Sean. Stop it.

  We found a table near the gigantic floor-to-ceiling windows and dug in. The food wasn’t half bad—the pork was a touch dry, but otherwise, everything was seasoned nicely and not cooked within an inch of its life. They really did make sure their people were well taken care of.

  “So, what have you been doing all day?” Jesse asked as he speared a piece of chicken.

  “Browsing the merchandise, mostly. I did go to a couple of panels, but most of the good ones were full.”

  “Oh yeah?” He lifted his eyebrows. “Which ones did you go to?” He watched me intently as he took a bite.

  “There was one a little while ago with the artists working on the graphic novels.”

  Jesse sat up, nearly choking. After he’d washed down his food, he said, “Oh, how was that? Did they have any previews?” He was practically bouncing with excitement.

  I couldn’t help grinning as I nodded. “Yeah, they had a PowerPoint with some frames and some of the concept art. It’s going to be amazing.”

  Jesse sighed, damn near swooning. “I can’t wait until they release the next one. Did they say when it’s due out?”

  “January.”

  He groaned. “Fuck. They’re taking their sweet time, aren’t they?”

  I nodded.

  “Bastards.”

  “Right?”

  “So what other panel?”

  “The Q&A with the stuntmen.” I laughed, shaking my head. “That is a wild bunch.”

  “They kind of have to be,” he said. “Have you seen the shit they have to do?”

  “I saw a few clips during the panel, yeah.” I whistled. “It probably shouldn’t have been as funny as it was, but when they started rattling off all their injuries, they had everyone rolling.”

  Jesse snorted. “Little bit of schadenfreude?”

  “Just a bit.”

  “What kinds of stories did they have?”

  I thought for a moment. “Well, Levi Pritchard’s double said he knew it was going to be a bad day when he had to dangle upside down from the jaws of a mechanical dragon. As he put it, it started out bad and just kept going downhill until he wound up with three bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder.”

  Jesse grimaced, squirming in his seat. “Ouch!”

  “No kidding. And then there was the time Carter Samuels’s double almost lost an eye . . .”

  * * *

  How Jesse maintained his boisterousness through a twelve-hour day, I would never know, but when I came back to the booth around closing time, he was still being . . . well, Jesse.

  Finally, his shift was over, and we headed up to the room to call it a night. The minute the elevator doors shut, the façade vanished. He sagged against the wall, closing his eyes and pushing out a heavy breath. It was like some unseen director had yelled, Cut!, and now Jesse didn’t have to be on anymore.

  I put a hand on his waist. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Just tired.” He wrapped his arms around me, resting his hands on the small of my back, and kissed me. “You weren’t bored today, were you?”

  “No, not at all.” Especially not when I got to watch you in your element. “I might’ve blown my budget already too.”

  “Already?” He laughed, sounding even more tired. “Do I need to confiscate your wallet?”

  “Yeah, probably.”

  Haven’t I had this conversation before? Yes. It means I need to restrain myself at cons, not that Jesse is channeling Sean.

  I let him lean on me as the elevator continued its ascent. Even as we headed down the hall, he stayed against me, and . . . I liked it. I didn’t care if anyone saw us. Hell, I was kind of disappointed there wasn’t anyone in the hallway to see us.

  Yeah, this gorgeous man is here with me. Or I’m here with him.

  Whatever. We’re here together, and I couldn’t be happier.

  I keyed us into the room. Jesse gently freed himself from my arms, shuffled across the floor to the bed, and collapsed facedown on the comforter. “Oh my God.”

  I lay beside him and rubbed a hand up and down his back. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. Just . . . peopled out.”

  “I can imagine.” I kept my voice soft. I’d have been shocked if he didn’t have a headache, and I didn’t want to contribute to it. “Anything I can do?”

  “Nah. You’re good.” He rolled partway onto his side and slid his hand over my thigh. “You’re an exception to the ‘I’m done with people’ thing.”

  I smiled. “I should hope so, because I don’t really have anywhere else to sleep.”

  He laughed, sounding even more tired.

  “We’ll just take it easy tonight.” I smoothed his hair. “You hungry? I could order room service.”

  That brought some light back to his eyes. “That sounds good. You mind if I grab a shower?”

  “Not at all. Let me know what you want to eat, and I’ll order it while you’re showering.”

  “Thank you.” He smiled, cupping my face gently. “I hope you don’t mind staying in tonight. I’m sure you didn’t come all the way down here to hang out in a hotel room.”

  “No, I came all the way down here to hang out with you. And even though I wasn’t working, I was at the con all day. I could stand to be away from people for a while myself.” I caressed his cheek with the backs of my fingers. “Present company excluded.”

  “I feel special.”

  “As well you should.”

  Jesse curved a hand behind my neck and drew me in for a long kiss. “Okay. I’m gonna go get that shower.”

  “Okay.”

  After I’d ordered food, I stripped out of my clothes and lounged in bed. I could easily throw on a pair of shorts when the room service showed up. In the meantime, I inte
nded to get as comfortable as possible.

  Physically, that was easy. Mentally, not so much. I was getting hung up on things that weren’t there. And even though I kept telling myself there was nothing to get hung up on, that didn’t stop me from circling back to that ridiculous train of thought.

  I was still wound up, but hopefully not letting it show, when Jesse was done showering. He did do a pretty good job of pulling my focus, though—it was hard to think about anything when he came strolling out of the bathroom in boxers and nothing else. The painted-on nose and whiskers were gone aside from a little smudge on one cheek, and his blond hair was finger-combed into some semblance of order instead of being meticulously styled. More like he needed it out of his face than he actually cared what it looked like. It was hard not to smile at that. There was something endearing about reaching a point in our relationship where he didn’t feel like he needed to be flawlessly put together when he was around me. Some people thought that meant you didn’t care anymore. I preferred to think we were just that comfortable with each other.

  And just like that, the uneasiness evaporated. That was it. It wasn’t Jesse that reminded me of Sean. It was our relationship. We were getting into a comfortable groove like Sean and I had. Okay, I could live with that. If our relationship was echoing my marriage, we were definitely doing something right.

  “You order food?” He eyed me as if to ask why I’d bother getting undressed.

  “Mm-hmm. It’ll be an hour or so. Guess we’re not the only ones with this idea.”

  “Damn. Well.” He grinned. “Nothing wrong with relaxing until then, right?” He kicked off his boxers and joined me in bed, and I pulled the sheets up over us. As soon as he was settled, he rested his head on my shoulder. “Ahh, this is what I needed.”

  “Yeah?” I wrapped my arm around him and played with his damp hair. “Getting off your feet?”

  “Mm-hmm. And this.”

  I smiled. “It’s fun watching you work, by the way.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You’re just so . . . sure.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Like when you’ve got fifty people clamoring for your attention.” I stroked his cheek as I spoke. “It’s like you never missed a beat. I would’ve been tearing my hair out, but I don’t think you even broke a sweat.”

  He laughed. “You want to know the secret?”

  “Sure.”

  In a stage whisper, he said, “Name-brand deodorant.”

  I snorted and gave his head a gentle pat. “Dork.”

  He smothered a laugh and cuddled closer to me. “Nah, I just take it one person at a time. I freaked out at my first con, but Lydia taught me how to roll with it. And then I realized that if people are getting impatient and I start dancing around or acting like an idiot, they laugh. Then they aren’t such dicks.”

  “I should keep that in mind at the bar.”

  “Well, you have the advantage of pouring alcohol down their throats.”

  “You’d be amazed how dickish people can be even when they’re buzzed.”

  “Eh, yeah, fair enough.”

  “You’re obviously good at what you do.” I kissed the top of his head. “And what can I say? I just enjoy watching you.”

  “Pervert.”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  He laughed again, then lifted his chin and dusted a kiss under my jaw, and I couldn’t help shivering. His lips curved into a grin against my neck. “Like that?”

  “You know I do.”

  He did it again, more deliberately this time. I tightened my arm around his shoulders and tilted my head back to offer up more of my throat. He pushed his knee between my thighs and slid halfway on top of me. My whole body tingled with need—I loved the warmth of his skin against mine almost as much as I loved the softness of his lips.

  His hand drifted downward, and as he trailed a finger alongside my erection, he singsonged, “Somebody’s getting turned on.”

  I sucked in a sharp hiss. “Of course I am. I’m naked in bed with you.”

  “Mmm, I like the sound of that.”

  Trailing my hands up his sides, I murmured, “Thought you were tired.”

  “I’m exhausted.” He lifted his head and met my gaze, his eyes filled with fatigue, but also something much stronger and hotter. “I think I can find the energy to fuck my man, don’t you?”

  I grinned. “If you’re tired, we can always—”

  He kissed me hard.

  Well, if you’re sure . . .

  I wrapped an arm around him and returned his kiss, holding his lean, hot body against mine. I slid my free hand between us and started stroking him as he did the same to me. Our breath mingled between our lips, our soft moans the only sounds besides us rhythmically pumping each other’s dicks.

  His barely audible moans drove me on more than his hand did. I loved how much he was trembling, gasping, cursing. All day, he’d been the very picture of unflappable poise, and now he was falling apart, and that was breathtakingly hot. Exhilarating. Knowing he could keep himself together when he was under pressure, but chose to let himself go in my arms.

  “You’re almost there, aren’t you, baby?” I whispered between kisses.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Good. Christ, you’re hot.”

  He thrust into my hand and whimpered. “I’m gonna come,” he murmured, thrusting into my fist and gripping my cock even tighter. “Jesus, Garrett, that’s perfect. I’m gonna . . .”

  “Oh God, me too. Fuck!”

  Hot semen coated my hand and hit my stomach, and we both moaned and cursed as we kept working each other’s dicks until we couldn’t take any more.

  We let go. Exhaled. Relaxed.

  “That was fun,” he murmured.

  “It was.” I grinned against his lips. “Do it again sometime?”

  He laughed softly. “Fuck yeah.”

  I chuckled, kissed him, and sat up. “We should get some sleep after we eat. You’ve got a long day tomorrow.”

  “Ugh.” He made a petulant noise but sat up too. “Fine.”

  “You’ll thank me when you’re not dead on your feet tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, probably.” He stole another quick kiss and got up. We made quick work of cleaning ourselves off, then got back into the rumpled bed. I molded myself to his back, and he practically purred as he pressed back against me.

  His voice was heavy and slurred with sleepiness as he said, “I’m really glad you came to the con.”

  “Me too. Especially since it means spending so much time with you.” I kissed the side of his neck. “I’m going to get dressed. Food should be here soon.”

  He didn’t answer. He was sound asleep.

  Chapter 21

  Jesse

  I forced my eyelids open and checked the time on my phone. A few minutes after seven. Definitely no hurry to be up, especially since I didn’t have to be at the booth until ten.

  And most especially because I was sprawled out in this giant rumpled bed with Garrett. I left my phone on the nightstand, rolled over, and took him in as the morning sun teased his features into view. He was so gorgeous. Not the type of guy I’d ever imagined myself with, but I wasn’t sure what I’d imagined. It just made sense that this beautiful man with white in his hair and years on his face was the one I didn’t want out of my mind or my bed.

  Salt-and-pepper stubble dusted his sharply angled jaw, and holy shit he had lashes for days. When he was asleep, the lines in his face relaxed. All the tension eased, and he looked peaceful. Of course, most people did while sleeping, but it was such a switch from when he was awake. Seeing him like this, all relaxed and soft, I wondered how the first few months after his husband’s death had been. Back when the grief had still been raw. Had he even been able to sleep?

  I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind. I didn’t want to think about how much pain he’d been in back then, or how much he was probably still in when he was awake.

  Propping myself up on my e
lbow, I had to fight the temptation to caress his stubbled jaw. It was almost impossible to keep my hands off him, especially when we were in bed.

  And the fact that we were here in this hotel bed made him that much harder to resist. Not just because hotel rooms invited all kinds of wild, inventive sex, but because he was here. He couldn’t possibly know how much it meant to me that he’d come to the con. Even after I’d warned him ahead of time that I couldn’t guarantee much in the bedroom—cons were fucking exhausting—he’d taken a few days off from the bar and tagged along to Portland. I’d be working, preoccupied, stressed, and tired, but he wanted to spend the time with me anyway.

  Finally, I had to—I slid the backs of my fingers down his cheek.

  He wrinkled his nose and grumbled. Then his eyelids fluttered. “Time is it?”

  “Early.”

  He groaned, but his lips pulled into a tired smile as he opened his eyes. “There better be coffee brewing.”

  “There is.” I traced the edge of his jaw with a fingertip. “Downstairs in the coffee shop.”

  He swore under his breath, but there wasn’t much heat behind it. “Come here, you.” He wrapped me in a bear hug, and I happily slid up against him. “What time do you have to work?”

  “Ten. We’ve got plenty of time.”

  “Good.” He kissed my forehead. “Maybe we can actually have a decent breakfast.”

  “Mm-hmm. And before we do that . . . you think that shower’s big enough to fuck in?”

  He chuckled sleepily. “You know, for someone who didn’t think he’d want to fool around much this weekend . . .”

  I nuzzled his neck. “I obviously underestimated how horny I’d be with you around.”

  His hand trailed down my side and under the covers. “You won’t hear me bitching.”

  I laughed, but choked on it when his fingertips brushed my cock.

  “So.” His chuckle turned wicked. “About that shower . . .”

  * * *

  The shower was definitely big enough. Despite getting out of bed at a little after seven, it was almost nine before we finally left the hotel room. Totally worth it, though. And worth the ache in my hip that would probably be following me around for the rest of the day. If Garrett could still walk without complaining, so could I.