Reckless (Pier 70, 1)

by Nicole Edwards

  “Me, too!” Holly called out. “I’ve got the retirement home outing today at the park. Keith’s helping Hudson on a repair.”

  Hudson Ballard was their lone boat mechanic. The guy was reliable and efficient, but there was only one problem. Well, technically it wasn’t really a problem, more of an obstacle they’d had to learn to work with. Hudson didn’t speak. At all. Not once had Cam ever heard a single sound come out of Hudson’s mouth.

  Though the guy had worked at the marina for the last year, Cam knew very little about Hudson, other than he was an ASE master technician, could identify a problem with an engine faster than anyone Cam knew, and he didn’t speak, having been born mute. Since Hudson hadn’t elaborated on the latter, Cam hadn’t asked.

  That hadn’t stopped them from hiring him on, either. Hudson was good at what he did. Not only could he repair an engine in half the time it’d taken their last full-time mechanic, he was also good with a paint gun, which had helped Hudson build a rather lucrative little side business painting boats. And because they’d gotten along so well with Hudson, it had been Dare’s idea for them to learn American Sign Language in order to communicate more effectively. The only person who’d been hesitant had been Teague, but Cam wasn’t sure why that was.

  “What about you?” Cam asked Roan, not bothering to look up from the appointment book.

  “I’ve got one at eleven and another at three. Takin’ some guys out this afternoon on the PWCs.”

  “PCWs,” Dare corrected.

  “There’s no such thing,” Roan argued. “It’s PWC. Personal water craft. You can’t just switch the letters around because you feel like it.”

  Dare lifted his eyebrows and smirked as Roan backed out the door. “I just did.”

  “Whatever, man,” Roan grumbled, smiling as he left.

  Ignoring them, Cam skimmed the book with his finger. That left… “Who’s takin’ the ten o’clock on the pontoon?”

  “Which one’s that?” Dare asked, darting into the room and then back out before Cam could answer.

  “Corporate thing,” he hollered. “Ten people.”

  “No can do, man,” Dare replied, yelling from the other room. “I’ve got a lunch thing today. Will be gone from eleven to two.”

  Great. That meant Cam was going to have to pitch in and take the group out. As it was, he hadn’t stopped thinking about Gannon Burgess since the moment he’d met the man, and especially not after the short time they’d spent together down on the pier. Spending a couple of hours in his presence didn’t seem like a good idea—not for Cam’s state of mind, anyway. But it looked as though he didn’t really have a choice.

  “Who’s the lucky winner?” Dare inquired when he came back. “Who gets to hang out with you today?” Dare didn’t wait for Cam to answer, he simply dragged the open appointment book away and peered down at it. “Holy shit. Is that the Gannon Burgess?”

  “No idea,” Cam answered. “Who is the Gannon Burgess?”

  “Seriously? You haven’t heard of Burgess Entertainment? The gaming conglomerate. Rise of Vengeance. Damn, dude, where you been? Hidin’ under a rock?”

  Apparently.

  “Hold up,” Cam said, glancing over at Dare. “Roan’s the gamer. How the hell do you know about this shit?”

  Dare shrugged, looking sheepish. “I might play. A little.”

  Until now, Cam had thought Roan was the only gamer in the group, spending a vast amount of his time with a keyboard. Not that anyone said anything about the man’s video game obsession considering he made a nice chunk of change off those things. Who would’ve thought that they’d actually pay people to beta test and beat video games?

  Dare smacked Cam on the back. “Looks like you’ll be spendin’ some time in the sun today, man. Good thing, too. You’re lookin’ kinda washed-out.”

  Cam laughed. If anyone looked washed-out, it certainly wasn’t him.

  Dare’s tone turned serious. “So, you got an issue with this Burgess guy?”

  “Not at all,” Cam lied, feeling his face heat.

  “Wait a minute.” Dare’s eyes narrowed, his mouth curling upward. “Was he the one who showed up on Sunday?”

  Cam didn’t get a chance to answer. As though summoned, Gannon opened the front door and, he and Milly walked in, the ding of the alarm not going off until after the door was closed, which meant it was quite possible that they’d heard Dare’s question.

  If they had, they were pretending they hadn’t. And Cam was okay with that.

  “Mornin’,” Dare greeted the pair. “Y’all ready to get out on the water?”

  “We are,” Gannon confirmed, his gaze sliding over to Cam briefly before returning to Dare. “Will you be the one going out with us?”

  Dare grinned and slapped Cam on the back. Hard. “Not me. Cam’s your man today. You’re gettin’ the best of the best.”

  Cam’s your man today? Seriously? He couldn’t believe his friend had just said that.

  If Cam wasn’t mistaken, that was a slight blush that washed over Gannon’s youthful features. Obviously he’d heard the double entendre the same way Cam had.

  Hoping not to give away his own interest, Cam did a quick visual sweep of the man’s body. Gone was the starchy suit, and in its place were a pair of shorts, a white T-shirt that reflected his company’s logo, and yes, a pair of—wait for it—boat shoes. All of which looked as though they’d never been worn before, which amused Cam. The guy clearly spent too much time indoors.

  Regardless, Cam still found him sexy as hell. Even the boat shoes. And the glasses.

  Especially the glasses.

  “The rest of our team’ll be here in the next few minutes,” Milly informed them. “I figured I’d give you a heads-up first.”

  Cam’s eyebrows lifted as he waited for her to continue.

  “They’re a bit of a nerdy bunch,” she relayed with an affectionate smile.

  Dare nudged Cam’s elbow, causing him to look over.

  Milly continued, “Not that they’ll attempt to hide it. They’re gamers, and they don’t get out as much as they should. And yes, don’t worry, I advised them to bring a sufficient amount of sunscreen.”

  The corners of Dare’s mouth slowly turned up as Milly spoke, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Well, they’re in good hands,” Dare told them before turning his attention to Cam. “I’m headin’ over to help Holly set up. Then I’ll be out for a couple of hours. Holler if you need me.”

  Cam nodded to his friend, then said to Gannon and Milly, “The boat’s in slip fourteen. I’ll meet you there in a few, if that’s cool?”

  Gannon didn’t respond, simply turned and headed out the door. Cam watched as the couple walked outside, the door closing behind them.

  Instead of following them out, Dare took the opportunity to do what Dare did best. “Holy fuck, man. That guy’s a helluva lot younger than I thought he’d be. And hotter. Please tell me he’s single. And gay.”

  He was hot, all right. Cam couldn’t deny that. And gay, as far as Cam could tell. As for single, Cam honestly didn’t know, but based on their flirting, he assumed so. Still, he was also the polar opposite of Cam’s type.

  Then again, Cam didn’t necessarily have a type these days. He spent most of his time working, the rest hanging out on the lake. He’d come to the conclusion that he’d entered a phase of his life where he wasn’t interested in one night with a guy he’d likely never call again. He’d had more than enough of that shit when he was younger. Instead of serial dating, he’d become more isolated, although his friends had dubbed this new phase as his reckless phase. Instead of promiscuity, Cam spent his time testing his own limits, mostly taking on adventures that he’d added to his bucket list years ago.

  Sometimes it was still hard to believe he even had a bucket list, but at his age, he figured it was time to start checking those things off. He wasn’t getting any younger.

  And nailing a young, hot guy wasn’t on that list.

  “Have fun out the
re,” Dare said as he pressed his back into the glass door that led to the outside. “Don’t do anyone I wouldn’t do.”

  Cam barked out a laugh. It wouldn’t have been so funny if Dare hadn’t been as sexually inactive as they came. Seemed they’d all been going through a drought these days. All except Teague, but the guy was young and … well, Cam tended to think of him as the reckless one, although he’d never be the one to tell Teague that.

  “See ya,” Cam called to Dare as the door closed behind him.

  After unlocking the box that housed the keys for the boats, Cam grabbed what he needed, relocked the box, snatched his sunglasses from the counter, and headed out. He flipped the sign on the door to show they’d be back later before locking it behind him.

  As he headed down the pier to the boat, Dare’s words replayed in his head.

  Don’t do anyone I wouldn’t do.

  He smiled to himself as his eyes scanned the group for Gannon. When he found him, he had only one thought: Houston, we might have a problem.

  While his group of geeky gamers—as Milly so lovingly referred to them—chatted about whatever it was that had sparked their interest this morning, Gannon kept his eyes trained on the pier, waiting for Cam to join them. He wasn’t disappointed when the man appeared, either.

  From the instant Gannon had stepped into the Pier 70 Marina office a short while ago, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Cam. For the third time in less than a week.

  Cam looked … just as he had last week. Only hotter. If that were possible.

  His short, dark hair—cut a little longer on top than the sides and back—had been mussed as though he’d run his hands through it a few times. Gannon had initially wondered if it was due to stress, but when their gazes had collided, Cam’s navy blue eyes had sparkled with mischief and curiosity. With his rugged good looks and massive physique, he was pretty damn irresistible, which was part of the problem.

  And the tattoos on his muscular arms…

  Yeah, those were sexy as fuck.

  The mostly black ink curled over his sun-bronzed skin in various designs. Gannon had never been quite so compelled by tattoos, but on Cam, they only drew his attention, made him wonder what other parts of his body were tattooed and whether or not he’d get the chance to find out one day.

  The hell of it was, Gannon couldn’t stop thinking about him. About what it would feel like to slide his tongue past those smooth lips, about how Cam would respond from beneath him, begging and pleading for Gannon to give him what he needed.

  As Cam came nearer to the group, Gannon did his best not to continue eyeing him. Not that Gannon had to worry much about anyone paying attention to him today. The people who worked for him tended to be centrally focused on one thing, and it definitely wasn’t him. Thank the video game gods for that, because Gannon was positive his interest was written all over his face. He’d thought about Cam nonstop for days, half tempted to do a little more digging, find his number, and call him up just to hear the sound of his voice.

  But he’d managed to avoid doing that for this reason. He’d wanted to feel—just to assure himself it hadn’t been his imagination—that same powerful, gut-clenching punch that he’d felt the first time he’d seen Cam.

  He hadn’t been disappointed.

  Today was going to be a test, though. As much as he wanted to draw out this stage, Gannon doubted he could keep his distance for too long.

  “Y’all ready?” Cam asked when he approached. “I stocked the boat this mornin’ with life jackets and supplies.”

  “Did you get my list?” Milly questioned.

  Cam smiled at her, and for an instant, Gannon wished that grin had been directed at him, but he shoved the notion away.

  “I did. The first-aid kit is all stocked up, and we’ve got nine Pier 70 hats waiting. We’re all set.”

  Gannon glared at Milly, but she didn’t look at him.

  Instead, she made them both laugh when she offered Cam a fist bump that he returned with ease and then turned toward the boat. She was always telling them they were too nerdy for their own good, something Gannon couldn’t dispute, but the trying to be cool part… Nah. He knew he couldn’t pull it off, even if he’d wanted to.

  Minutes later, they were all safely on board the large pontoon boat, filling the benches that lined the outer walls, pulling on the Pier 70 caps that were, indeed, waiting for them. Taking a seat in a chair near Cam, Gannon stared at the hat and pretended to relax while Cam masterfully steered the boat out of the dock, heading for open water.

  The day couldn’t have been nicer. Although there was a chance of storms in the forecast, you couldn’t tell it based on the cloudless blue skies overhead. If they were lucky, Mother Nature would hold off for a few hours. Despite the fear of falling in, Gannon actually found himself looking forward to a little time on the lake. It’d been months since he’d taken any time off. Not that he considered today a day off with the top video game designers at Burgess Entertainment sitting less than ten feet away, but still. It was something other than his regular fourteen-hour day in the office, which was a nice change.

  “So, Dare tells me you own a video game company,” Cam prompted, a clear attempt to make conversation once they were in open water.

  Gannon nodded, watching the way the wind blew Cam’s hair back, those mirrored sunglasses reflecting the brilliant blue of the sky. Gannon was grateful he’d thought to bring his sunglasses, because it allowed him to watch Cam without anyone noticing.

  “What’s that entail?”

  Gannon could tell Cam wasn’t at all interested, but unfortunately for him, he’d asked the question, which meant he was going to get an answer. Eight of them, to be exact.

  Listening with a smile, Gannon waited while his team gave Cam in-depth responses to the question, enlightening him on far more than the man obviously cared to know.

  “The simple answer,” Gannon said, motioning to the others when they’d finished talking.

  Cam smiled in return, a flash of white against his sun-bronzed face, and a blaze of heat seared Gannon from the inside out.

  “And you…?” Gannon prompted. “You and your friends own the marina?”

  “We do,” Cam said with a mischievous smile, likely realizing Gannon had done some digging of his own. “My dad fronted the money when I was twenty-four. Told me that he’d sign it all over to me if I graduated college. I started a little late, but I did.” Cam’s smile widened. “The rest is history.”

  “What’s your degree in?”

  “Sports management.”

  That definitely didn’t surprise Gannon. It seemed to fit Cam. It would’ve contributed to his business acumen and had probably proven to be beneficial since he owned his own company.

  The boat continued to cruise at a steady speed as they traveled farther out from the shore. Gannon watched Cam, impressed with how he moved with such ease. “So you spend most of your time on the water?”

  “In the water,” Cam corrected. “I’m not much for boats, unless one is draggin’ me behind it.”

  Gannon peered out at the wide expanse of dark water surrounding them. He could picture Cam out there, expertly maneuvering behind the boat on skis or whatever people used these days.

  “What about you? What do you do for fun?” Cam asked.

  Glancing over at the others, Gannon realized they were in a heated conversation about a glitch they’d identified in their latest development, or more simply, they were ignoring him completely. Milly had taken to sitting farther away from them all, holding her iPad in her hands while getting a little sun.

  No ears were paying any mind to their conversation.

  “Work,” Gannon replied.

  “Not fun, Gannon.”

  Once again thankful for his sunglasses, Gannon locked his eyes with Cam’s, wondering if the other man knew just how much Gannon liked the way he said his name. Cam looked away quickly as though reading Gannon’s mind, and for the first time, he was convinced that this che
mistry wasn’t only one-sided.

  Smiling to himself, Gannon once again glanced down at the hat he was holding.

  “Put it on,” Cam instructed.

  Gannon looked up, watching Cam, holding his gaze though they were both hiding behind their sunglasses.

  Fueled by the fact Cam probably didn’t think he’d do it, Gannon pulled on the cap, situating it on his head while Cam continued to watch him.

  “Nice,” Cam said before looking away quickly.

  His heart did an unexpected somersault, but somehow Gannon managed to keep his cool.

  At least he thought he did, anyway.

  The next two hours went by far faster than Gannon expected. After his initial conversation with Cam, he spent most of his time engaging his team in a more personal exchange. Asking about their families, what they did in their off time. Some of them, the few who’d been with him for a while, he knew well, others not so much.

  Somehow he managed to keep the dialogue open between them as the minutes ticked by. After all, the intention of the outing was to boost morale and get to know one another. By the time they reached the shore, Gannon had chalked the day up to a success. He gave his team the rest of the day off, and they soon went their separate ways. Including Milly, who’d come up with a crappy excuse and opted to ride with one of the others back to the office.

  Which left Gannon alone with Cam again, a situation that wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as he’d thought it would be. He helped Cam gather the extra life jackets and return them to a small wooden shed near the main building.

  “Thanks for today,” Gannon told Cam as they neared the main doors of the marina office after they’d finished unloading everything.