“Please,” he asked, closing his eyes.
“Look at me,” Dan said.
Robin shook his head. He couldn’t, because Dan would see the violent need written in his eyes and it would scare him off for good.
“Look at me.”
The power in Dan’s voice startled Robin, and his eyes sprang open.
But Dan was smiling, looking at Robin with unconcealed desire. Then Dan rolled onto his back. “Climb on. I want to watch you while I’m fucking you.”
Robin scrambled on, straddling Dan’s hips and trying to push his jeans farther down.
“Uh-uh, too cold.”
“Wimp.”
“Hard case.”
But Dan wouldn’t let Robin push his jeans back any farther. Fine, well, if he had to have an arse full of rivets and buttons, he’d just have to try and enjoy it. Robin lined himself up, the press of Dan’s cock against his arsehole making him quiver. He was going to be sore, but fucking hell, he needed this. As he sank down, filling himself with Dan, all the other cares of the day were pushed aside. There was only room for the simple fact of Dan inside him, stretching him wide and filling the void. Taking the space inside him for his own.
Robin paused, but it was too late for pulling back. It was already done, and with a groan he took in that last inch, grinding himself ferociously against Dan. Dan gasped, bucked his hips, and it was just what Robin needed to goad him on. He took control of the pace, lifting slowly but dropping hard and fast. He looked down in amazement at Dan’s body still clothed, and his own naked, his cock aching to be touched by more than the night air.
“Looks so good,” Dan said, his voice hoarse.
Robin felt Dan buck again and picked up his pace, leaning forward to hold himself over Dan. Dan’s hands slid up his sides, reaching behind to pull him down.
Robin felt himself falling. Falling into Dan’s eyes, so dark and round and perfect. He fell into the kiss, letting Dan fuck him with his tongue just as he was claiming him with his dick. Heedless, reckless, grunting; Robin moved faster and harder. And just when he thought he couldn’t bear it for a moment longer, Dan’s hand found him and squeezed.
Robin’s orgasm exploded, the spasms racking him as he spurted into Dan’s grasp and sobbed into his mouth. The aftershocks were still resounding as Dan gave a cry, and Robin felt the pulse of his cock deep inside as Dan heaved and thrust.
The balance had shifted. Robin felt it, inside him. More than simply the physical invasion—he’d opened up to Dan fully, body and soul.
It was fucking terrifying.
He shook, and then Dan was lavishing him with kisses, his arms wrapping around him and pulling him tight.
“Come on, let’s get you inside.”
Robin nodded, gathered his clothes and followed Dan back to the dark boat.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dan was uploading his recent photographs onto his laptop when Robin’s phone rang. He stared at it for a moment, then picked it up to check the caller.
Mum.
Dan listened to the chug of the engine as Robin steered them back towards the canal. He wondered whether Robin would go apeshit if he answered. He could make up all sorts of plausible excuses for doing so, but truth be told he was fascinated by the formidable woman Robin had described. Would the reality live up to Robin’s account?
Bugger it. He’d have to risk Robin’s anger.
“Hello, Mrs. Hamilton. This is Dan Taylor, friend of Robin’s. He can’t get to the phone right now, I’m afraid.” That was good. He’d managed to erase most of his South London accent. All those years of hanging out with Tris had given him an insider’s knowledge of posh folk’s talk.
“Oh! Good afternoon. Oh goodness! Dan Taylor, did you say? I don’t believe we’ve met, have we?”
Dan smiled to himself. “I haven’t had the pleasure yet. How can I help you, Mrs. Hamilton?” At least Robin wouldn’t be able to fault him on his phone manners.
“I was hoping to speak to that absentee son of mine. I’ve been trying to contact him for the last couple of days. Doesn’t he realise how much I worry when I can’t get hold of him?”
“I do apologise. We’ve been moored up out in the middle of nowhere and there was no mobile reception. I’ll make sure he stops somewhere where he can talk to you.”
“I see. And you’ve been staying with Robin, you say?”
“That’s right.” Dan grinned. The next question would be the one about how long they’d known each other. He hadn’t decided whether to evade that or not. He looked down at the candid photos of Robin currently being uploaded. They might not have known each other long, but they certainly knew each other well. Since that fireside confession, it felt like they were real friends, comfy as old socks but much more sexy.
“And what is it you do?” There was just that faintest hint of snobbery in her voice—a wariness rather than outright unfriendliness.
“I’m a freelance travel writer and photographer.”
“Oh! I see. And you live on the boats, do you?”
“No, I’m just visiting from London, working on a piece for the Observer magazine.”
“How fascinating.” There was definitely warmth creeping into her tones now. “It’s good to know that Robin’s making some better-connected friends. Maybe he’ll be persuaded to leave that death-trap boat one day.” She sighed. “And how is my darling son? He never really tells me anything these days.”
“He’s well. Very well. He’s been whistling all morning.” Well, most of it. There were the parts when his mouth had been otherwise occupied. After his outpouring of grief, Robin had decided he didn’t need to bother with the strawberry-flavour condoms anymore, much to Dan’s delight. And Robin’s too, judging by his contented moans as he lapped up every last drop of Dan’s come. “He seems really happy.”
“That’s marvellous! Oh, you don’t know how thrilled I am to hear you say that. I’ve been so worried about him. Now, I need you to pass a message on to him about tomorrow. We’re going to meet at Popjoy’s at one, and he’ll need to dress smarter than last time. Shirt and tie, no jeans. And if he could refrain from sticking his tongue out and scaring the waiting staff with that awful jewelry I’d certainly appreciate it.”
Dan chuckled. “He never told me about that.”
“Yes, well he was going through a particularly difficult stage at the time. It nearly gave his father a heart attack when he saw it. Especially when Robin explained what it was for. Really, I had no idea.” She sniffed.
Dan fought down the laughter. “Mrs. Hamilton, I’ll make sure I remind him to be on his best behaviour.”
“Oh please, call me Rosemary, darling. Actually, I’ve just had a marvellous idea. Are you free tomorrow afternoon? Why don’t you join us? It would be lovely to meet one of Robin’s friends.”
Dan shut his eyes. He knew exactly what he was going to say, and Robin was going to kill him. “Thank you, Rosemary. I’d love to. And I promise I won’t scare the waiting staff. I haven’t packed a suit with me, but I should have time to go and get one tomorrow morning. I’ll make sure Robin has something decent to wear too.”
Rosemary rang off after giving Dan a genuinely warm good-bye. He sat there, looking at the phone in his hand and wondering what he’d just agreed to. The idea of meeting Robin’s family was so appealing, but he’d never, ever wanted to meet the family of any of the guys he’d been with before. Still, it was just curiosity. Nothing wrong with that.
Just idle curiosity.
Yeah, right.
Morris interrupted his chain of thought by purring and leaping up onto his lap, obscuring the view of the laptop screen.
“Hey there, Morris. What am I getting myself into here, eh? I’m buggered if I know.”
It was easier not to think about it, so he petted Morris for a while, then went to look through Robin’s clothing and see if there was anything respectable enough for lunch with his parents.
Not a chance. They were going to have to hi
t the shops.
“You did what?” Robin glared at Dan from across the lock. Dan had waited until they were on opposite sides of the canal before broaching the subject. Good thing too, considering how Robin was reacting.
“I accepted your mum’s invitation to lunch. It seemed like the polite thing to do.”
“You answered my fucking phone! I didn’t give you permission to do that.”
Dan’s body wanted to flinch, but he stood his ground through sheer force of will. “I didn’t realise it would be such a big deal. I was just taking a message.”
“I’ve got voicemail for that. And anyway, you didn’t just take a message, did you? You invited yourself along to a family lunch.”
“No, I was invited, and your mum makes it very hard to say no. It took me by surprise. It was the first I’d heard about your plans.” And Dan didn’t mean that to come out sounding resentful, but somehow it did.
“I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t going to go.” Robin folded his arms over his chest. Dan could feel the anger boring into him even at this distance.
“Why not? They’re coming especially to see you.”
“They’re coming so my dad can go to a rugby match and my mum and sister can go shopping. It’s got nothing to do with me. I’m just expected to go along and be the dutiful son. And anyway, I’d rather…”
“You’d rather what?”
Robin was silent for a long moment; then he looked around. There was an old couple sitting on the nearby bench and taking an obvious interest in their argument. A woman walking her dog passed behind Dan. Dan watched Robin’s shoulders straighten as he lifted his head high and fixed Dan with his gaze.
“I’d rather spend the time with you,” Robin said, his voice low and intense.
Dan shivered. He’d been hoping for Robin to say that, but he didn’t know if it was for his sake or for Robin’s. It was great that he was coming out of the closet more, and if Dan could help him with that, then it would be a week well spent. But it didn’t explain the way his chest felt fit to burst when Robin admitted how much he wanted to be with him.
Dan stared down into the lock. The narrow channel was slowly filling up with water, raising Serendipity to the level of the canal above. It was the famous Bath Deep Lock and the nineteen foot drop was giving him vertigo. Before he could ask himself what he was doing he started off across the lock gate, his hand tightly clasped to the rail. He didn’t look down, just kept his eyes fixed on Robin. When he stepped onto solid ground, he realised he was shaking and his heart was ready to pound its way out of his chest.
Robin’s arms folded around him, keeping him steady. The weird thing was, Robin seemed to be trembling too. Not shaking like Dan was, but thrumming like a wire under tension.
“You shouldn’t have done it,” Robin said, his voice softer now as he gently released Dan.
“Hey, I’m okay. I didn’t fall in.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Robin’s brow was still furrowed, but bemused affection danced in his eyes.
Dan plastered on a smile and aimed for a light tone. “Look at it this way, your folks get to see you, and you can still spend time with me.” He thought he did a pretty good job of hiding his agitation.
Robin sighed. “Come on, then. You’d better fill me in on what you said to her.”
“Me? Nothing incriminating came out of these innocent lips. Picture of discretion, I was.”
Robin gave him an incredulous look.
Dan smirked. “It’s not me you should be worried about. What’s all this I hear about you scaring the waiters with your tongue stud?” The flush that spread over Robin’s cheeks made Dan chuckle. “I hear you gave them an explanation of what it’s for as well.”
“Um, I may have done. It was a while ago.”
“Care to give me a demo?” Dan cocked his hip and tilted his head. It was so much easier to steer clear of this bewildering intensity and stick to the flirting. Fortunately, Robin always responded well.
This time Robin reached out and pulled Dan close, arms tight around his waist. “I thought I’d already shown you this morning.”
“I think I’m in need of a refresher.”
For the first time, Robin initiated a kiss in public. A slow, deliberate and deep kiss. A kiss that made Dan’s knees weak. When Robin finally let him go, Dan had to turn away to hide his confusion. He didn’t want to feel like this. It wasn’t wise—not when he had to leave the day after tomorrow. He shouldn’t have let himself get so involved.
Yet when he looked at Robin—striding over the lock gate with supple grace before turning to grin back at him—he couldn’t bring himself to regret one moment of their time together.
Not one single sodding moment of it.
“We’re not mooring up here, are we?” Dan shouted, making his way down towards Robin. The engine cut out while he was speaking, his voice ringing out embarrassingly loud across Smiler’s car park.
“No, I just needed to stop for a pump out. The tank’s getting critical.”
Dan frowned, trying to figure out what tank would get filled rather than depleted. Oh yeah, the sewage tank. That would explain the ripe smell last time he flushed the toilet. Gross.
He definitely wasn’t going to offer to help with that one. But then again, he really didn’t want Robin thinking he was such a dyed-in-the-wool city boy he couldn’t cope with getting his hands dirty. God, he really hoped this wouldn’t involve getting his hands dirty.
“Want a hand?” Oh bugger, he’d gone and offered and couldn’t take it back now.
Robin’s mouth twitched. “You think you can handle it? You’ve gone green.”
“I have not.”
Robin just raised an eyebrow. “Okay then, I’ll sort out the hose and you can press the button. How does that sound?”
“Sounds fine.” Buttons he could cope with, no problem.
“We’ll have to go find Smiler first.”
They strode across the car park. It was populated with an odd assortment of cars, mainly old, a few downright vintage—although that term was a rather generous way to describe the mismatched bangers.
“Do many boaters have cars?”
“A few, why?”
“Just wondered. Seems odd to have a car when you’ve got to move around. Bit of a liability.”
Robin nodded.
“How come you don’t have one?”
Robin looked away. “Like you said. A liability. What about you?”
“Huh?”
Robin turned back to him. Dan couldn’t read his expression, yet again. “Do you have a car?”
“No. Not a lot of point in Balham. The parking’s a nightmare, and it’s much quicker to get around on the bike. Besides”—now it was his turn to look away—“I never took my test.”
“You can’t drive?”
“There’s no need to sound horrified. And anyway, I can drive. Dad taught me, but we fell out before I was ready for my test, and then I moved out soon after. Never really needed a car since then. Tris drives me places if I really need a lift.”
“Tris. That’s your best mate, isn’t it?” Robin sniffed and looked away again.
What was this? Surely Robin couldn’t be jealous of Tris! But then Dan remembered showing him the portfolio shots he’d taken for Tris. Robin had merely grunted, but then immediately afterwards, he’d set about giving Dan a brand-new set of love bites. He hadn’t connected the two things at the time.
“That’s right. I know him like the back of my hand.”
“Not your boyfriend, though?”
Oho, this really was jealousy. Dan grinned. It was too cute. He had an evil urge to bait Robin and see if it made him all growly and possessive again.
“I wouldn’t call him a boyfriend, exactly. I mean, we shag occasionally, a bit like you and Mel, but we don’t let it get in the way of being friends.”
But Robin didn’t take the bait. He just brooded silently and picked up his pace.
Bugger.
> Robin stayed surly all through the transaction with Smiler, turning down the offer of a few hours’ work in the chandlery point-blank. They walked back to Serendipity in an uncomfortable silence. Dan started to wonder how they were going to break it.
It was the pipe that did it, in the end. Of all the unlikely things, a clear plastic sewage pipe. Dan was aghast.
“You mean we’ve actually got to watch it all being pumped up the tube?”
Finally, Robin smiled. “I thought you said you could handle it. Go on, then, press the button.”
“Yeah, I…uh… That’s disgusting! Oh my God, it stinks!” He screwed his eyes shut and clapped his hand over his nose and mouth. He could still hear the squelchy sound of the pump, though. That and Robin pissing himself laughing.
“All right, all right, I admit it. I’m not man enough to deal with this. Just shoot me now!”
Robin strode over with that look in his eyes. The one that made Dan’s knees go weak. He reached out.
Dan jumped back. “Not until you wash your hands, Mister.”
Robin planted a wet kiss on his lips instead. Dan found himself shoved back against the pump-out wall. It was a good thing the air stank of sewage and the pipe was still making that nauseating sound. Even with those passion killers, he was half-hard and dazed by the time Robin pulled back.
“You’re man enough for me,” Robin said.
Dan’s head swam.
Best blame the smell. Any other explanation was plain disturbing.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Jesus, do we have to?” Robin asked, glaring at the front doors of the restaurant.
“They’re your family.” Dan gave his hand a quick squeeze before dropping it. “I think we probably do.”
Robin rolled his eyes. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He pushed open the heavy doors before Dan could make any smart comments.
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