Reckless (Pier 70, 1)

by Nicole Edwards

  And still there was Gannon’s revelation that they would see where this thing between them went. Despite everything, Cam wanted that. He wanted that with Gannon. The man was different than any man Cam had ever been with. The complete opposite of Cam’s type. Hell, Gannon was scared of water. That in itself should’ve been a red flag, but Cam had convinced himself he could deal with it because Gannon seemed eager to want to fit into Cam’s world.

  But the traveling… He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to come to terms with that. Or if he even could.

  “Talk to me,” Gannon urged softly, still leaning on one arm and staring back at him.

  Cam turned his head and focused on Gannon’s face, taking in every detail, his dark eyes, long, thick eyelashes that brushed the lenses of his glasses every so often, full lips, the arch of his brows when he was concerned. He was classically handsome.

  Turning back to look at the darkening sky, Cam took a deep breath. “I don’t have an issue with exclusive,” he told Gannon. It was the truth. That wasn’t what he had a problem with at all.

  Gannon didn’t speak.

  Cam’s gaze slid back to Gannon’s face once again. He couldn’t help himself. “I want exclusive with you,” he admitted softly, the words coming out against his better judgment. “And the long distance … we can deal with that.”

  Gannon’s smooth fingers trailed along Cam’s jaw, a gentle, reverent touch that made it difficult for Cam to think. And when Gannon’s long fingers slid behind Cam’s head, his thumb pressing against Cam’s chin, resisting became futile.

  Warm lips came down to meet his, a soft sigh escaping him as he kept his hands folded against his chest. He wanted to reach for Gannon but forced himself not to. This would have to be enough for now, until he could sort through the myriad emotions that seemed to have bombarded him unexpectedly.

  It was after ten when Cam docked the boat, then headed back to the marina with Gannon beside him. For nearly two hours, after Gannon had shocked him by his affirmation that they would see where this thing between them was going—exclusively—Cam had tried to relax.

  It wasn’t easy. Even now, as he held Gannon’s hand, making his way up the pier toward the office. His heart was doing a strange skipping thing in his chest. The most difficult thing for him to wrap his mind around was how effortlessly Gannon managed to maintain control when Cam could so easily allow things to get out of control.

  Without saying too much, they’d managed to settle things between them and had enjoyed a couple of hours on the water. Cam had forced his more pressing thoughts out, refusing to deal with them until later, until he wasn’t with Gannon. Gannon’s presence overwhelmed him, made his brain fuzzy, and he wasn’t sure that was a good thing. Not always.

  So they’d enjoyed an evening with little conversation. And it had been nice.

  Sure, there’d been some heated making out, but it hadn’t made it past that. And because of that, Cam was pretty sure his self-control was all tapped out.

  “Hey, Cam!”

  Cam’s head snapped over when he heard Dare’s voice calling from the darkness. He scanned his surroundings, trying to see where it was coming from.

  “Cam, get over here. Now!” There was a vibrating tension in Dare’s tone, one that told him this wasn’t a casual invite. Something was wrong.

  With Gannon close on his heels, Cam jogged up the pier. When he rounded the office, taking in the scene before him, he came to a stop in the parking lot, feet skidding on the gravel.

  “Fuck,” he grumbled when he saw the group of guys facing off roughly twenty feet from the office doors.

  “What’s goin’ on?” Gannon asked when Cam released his hand.

  “Who fucking knows.”

  In front of him, backlit by the bright headlights from someone’s truck, Teague was facing off against three guys, all of whom were bigger than him. Not that Teague couldn’t handle himself. The guy might’ve been smaller—measuring in at roughly five nine, probably somewhere in the one sixty range—but he was fast. Cam knew firsthand that Teague could hand out a beating as well as any guy twice his size.

  What he didn’t know was what the fuck had started this confrontation.

  “What’s up?” Cam kept his tone firm as he approached the men. “There a problem?”

  Dare was standing a couple of feet behind Teague, while two guys stood behind the one Cam assumed was the instigator. He’d never seen the guy before, but that didn’t mean anything. When it came to the lake, people came and went as they pleased. And it wasn’t uncommon for things to get out of hand once people started drinking and having a good time.

  But this looked personal. Teague’s hands were balled into fists at his sides, his chest rising and falling evenly, his eyes narrowed on the guy with the beer gut who was practically in his face. The other two behind him didn’t seem to be worried about what was going on around them. They were also focused on Teague.

  Awesome.

  Three against one. How Teague managed to get himself into predicaments like this, Cam didn’t know.

  “What’s up?” Cam repeated when it was clear no one was paying any attention to him.

  “This little fucktard was flirtin’ with my fiancée,” the big guy grumbled.

  “Bro, trust me, I’m not the least bit interested in your fiancée,” Teague countered hotly.

  “Oh, yeah? That’s not what she fuckin’ said.”

  Fucking fantastic.

  While the verbal brawl ensued, Cam came to a stop a foot away, close enough he could insert himself between the two men if necessary. Not that he planned to, because he wasn’t looking to get laid out in the parking lot tonight. But he damn sure wasn’t going to let a fight go down, either. The last thing he wanted was the police to come out or for Teague to go to jail. They’d been down that road before and it wasn’t pretty.

  “So what can we do for you?” Cam questioned, letting his irritation reflect in his tone.

  “Who’re you?” the big guy asked, hands on his hips as he came to face off with Cam.

  Great.

  “I’m just a concerned citizen,” he retorted.

  “Well, you can go fuck yourself.”

  Cam rolled his eyes. This was not going to end well.

  “Seriously, man,” Teague said, “I’m not interested in your girl. Hell, I’m not interested in anyone’s girl.”

  Shit.

  As much as Cam respected the fact that they all lived openly gay, that they were lucky enough to live in a community that mostly supported them, he knew when not to flaunt that shit.

  Now was a good example.

  It wasn’t going to help matters by taunting the big, burly guy who was itching for a fight.

  “Dude, he’s fuckin’ gay,” the genius in the group announced merrily.

  Had to love smart rednecks.

  “So you’re tellin’ me you’re a queer?” Beer Gut questioned, eyebrows forming a V on his sweaty forehead.

  “Fuck you, dumbass,” Teague bit out.

  “Teague,” Cam reprimanded.

  “No, fuck him. The fat fucker thinks he can come down here and start spoutin’ bullshit. I don’t have to take that shit.”

  No, he didn’t. But making the situation worse by provoking him wasn’t helping.

  The big guy took a step toward Teague, and instinct had Cam stepping between them, coming face-to-face with the snarling asshole.

  The guy was big, but Cam was bigger. Maybe not in height, but overall, Cam knew it wouldn’t take much to take him down.

  “Get outta the way,” the guy spat.

  Cam’s nostrils flared as the smell of beer combined with the guy’s foul breath blasted him in the face.

  “Not gonna do it,” Cam said calmly, trying to breathe through his mouth. “And I’m only gonna ask you once to leave. What happens after that is all on you.”

  The guy laughed, twisting around to look at his friends. “You hear that? The girly boys are threatenin’ us.” The man snapp
ed back around, his face hard, his eyes narrowed on Cam’s face.

  “Trust me,” Cam stated firmly, keeping his voice low. “You really don’t want to do this.”

  “Oh, I do, ass-fucker,” the man hissed. “I definitely do.”

  “Never heard that one before,” Cam muttered.

  The guy growled.

  Damn it.

  Cam fucking hated this part.

  He knew he had to take the first punch—he had no intention of spending the night in jail, period—and that always hurt like a motherfucker. So, he stood right where he was as the guy reared back. He watched as the fist came directly toward his face, but before it made impact, the big guy was being rammed from the side, a pained sound escaping him as he went to the ground.

  Lulu, who was at Dare’s side, started to bark furiously, moving forward, then back.

  Cam looked over to see Teague tumbling down on top of the guy, practically sitting on him as he wailed on him with both fists. Cam only had a second to stop one of the other two from interfering while Dare grabbed the third guy. He looked up to see Gannon watching them, his eyes scanning the area. It looked as though he was making sure no one else interfered while Teague laid into the guy, pummeling him.

  Grunts drifted on the breeze as both men rolled a few times. When Teague was back on top, the sickening thud of fist against flesh sounding in the night, the guy behind Cam made another attempt to interfere. Cam stopped him with a shoulder, holding him back. Cam stood his ground while Teague let out some of his anger, but he knew he couldn’t let it go on. He wouldn’t put it past these assholes to call the cops and press charges.

  Just as he was about to step in, he saw a blur out of the corner of his eye. Expecting to be blindsided by someone else, Cam prepared for impact, but it never came.

  The next thing he knew, Hudson’s big arms wrapped around Teague, yanking him off the redneck asshole, wrestling the smaller man back with ease. Teague tried to pull away, but Hudson held him in place.

  “The fuck?” Teague hissed at Hudson.

  Yeah. What he said.

  In the thirteen months he’d known Hudson, never had he known him to get involved in anything like this. He kept his head down and his nose clean. Clearly, he’d had enough tonight.

  Cam watched as Hudson stared off with Teague, his disapproval clear on his face.

  Teague jerked away, spinning back to face the big guy, who was stumbling to his feet, but the guy wasn’t a threat anymore. His nose was busted, blood pouring down his chin.

  “It’s time to go,” Cam told the three of them. “Don’t make me call the cops. Seriously.”

  Hoping his buddies could be more reasonable, Cam kept his eye on them as they helped their friend to the truck.

  To his surprise, the guys climbed in, revved the engine a couple of times, then tore out of the parking lot, immersing them in darkness as the headlights moved in the opposite direction. Cam watched the truck leave, praying like hell they didn’t come back.

  “Why the fuck did you do that?” Teague snapped at Hudson.

  Cam turned to watch as Hudson walked away, giving Teague his back. Lulu ran over to his side, trotting beside him faithfully.

  Something was going on between Teague and Hudson, he just didn’t know what.

  Not that he had plans to stick around tonight to find out, either. He was suddenly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go up to his apartment and spend a little more quality time with Gannon.

  “Does that happen often?” Gannon asked when he followed Cam up to his apartment a few minutes later. His head was still spinning from how quickly things had gotten out of control. And the way Cam had attempted to keep things calm… Gannon had found that hotter than hell.

  That commanding tone, the take-no-shit attitude.

  Yep, hot as fuck.

  “Fortunately, no,” Cam said, punching in the code to unlock the door. “But it has happened before.”

  “With Teague?”

  “With all of us, but yeah, mainly Teague.”

  Gannon had to admit, he’d been pretty damned impressed with how Cam had handled the situation. When the asshole had started dishing out hate comments, Gannon had been ready to punch the bastard himself. But it hadn’t been necessary.

  Granted, if it hadn’t been for Teague launching himself at the guy, Gannon was pretty sure Cam would’ve taken a blow to the face. The thought of anyone putting their hands on Cam made him see red. It wasn’t that he didn’t think Cam could take care of himself, because it was clear he could, but that primal, possessive side of him made it impossible to accept.

  As the adrenaline rush waned, Gannon followed Cam into the apartment, but he didn’t sit down. He needed to go home. As much as he wanted to spend another night in Cam’s bed, he knew they were taking a risk. If they weren’t careful, they would push this too fast, and the last thing Gannon wanted was to put Cam on the defensive any more than he already was.

  He’d managed to deflect one potential disagreement earlier on the boat. He didn’t want to take a chance on another. It was obvious something had happened in Cam’s past to make him wary of relationships, but Gannon wasn’t ready to press him on the issue yet. They had all the time in the world.

  “Beer?” Cam asked, turning to face him.

  Gannon didn’t need to answer, because Cam clearly realized he was about to leave.

  “I could’ve just walked you to your car,” Cam said, his tone lacking the casual confidence it usually had.

  He was leaving because he wanted to give Cam some space, not because he wanted to. However, he didn’t figure telling Cam that would do much good.

  “I’ve overstayed already,” Gannon said, moving toward Cam.

  “Yeah. I’ve gotta work in the mornin’.” Cam was shutting him out already.

  Gannon closed the gap between them, forcing Cam back until he was up against the wall. Cupping the back of Cam’s neck, he leveled him with his gaze. “It’s not that I want to go,” he said smoothly. “But I’m not gonna push this any faster than you want it to go. So I’ll spend the night alone in my bed thinking about you.”

  There was a subtle vibration in Cam’s body. It was as though he had too much pent up energy. Checking to make sure he wasn’t imagining it, Gannon reached for Cam’s hand, linking their fingers together. Sure enough, Cam was shaking, a very subtle tremor.

  “You okay?” he asked Cam.

  “Fine.” Cam’s curt tone said otherwise.

  Unable to resist, Gannon captured Cam’s mouth, allowing his tongue to slide past his lips. Just when he thought Cam would resist and force him away, Gannon felt Cam’s big hands on his back, pulling him closer as his tongue met his stroke for stroke.

  Cam groaned into Gannon’s mouth, and the fire ignited, allowing them to pick up where they’d left off on the boat.

  Releasing Cam’s mouth, Gannon slid his lips over Cam’s jaw, his neck, then lower. Letting go of his neck and his hand, Gannon slid his palms beneath Cam’s shirt, sliding against warm skin. God, he felt so fucking good.

  Dropping to his knees, Gannon peered up at Cam, then pressed his mouth to Cam’s flat stomach, nipping the skin as he reached for the drawstring on Cam’s shorts.

  “Gannon.” Cam’s fingers dug into Gannon’s hair, pulling roughly. “Can’t.”

  “Can,” Gannon said, loosening Cam’s shorts before tugging them down.

  “Fuck,” Cam groaned, his head falling back against the wall with a thud as Gannon slowly eased Cam’s shorts down his legs, freeing his cock.

  Holy. Fuck.

  Running his hands over the coarse hair on Cam’s legs, Gannon found himself eye level with Cam’s enormous erection. But it wasn’t simply the length and the girth that stunned him, it was the ring that pierced through the head — a Prince Albert piercing, he thought it was called — as well as the row of barbells that pierced the skin. Three, to be exact.

  Pierced.

  Just as he’d suspected, Cam’s dick was pie
rced—he’d thought he had seen the glint of metal in the shower, but at the time, he’d been trying to keep from pushing things too far.

  His dick.

  Was fucking pierced.

  Not that he was hung up on that or anything.

  Not that he should’ve been surprised, either. This was Cam. It was just that Gannon had never seen that before—only in pictures—but holy shit … it was hot.

  Yanking his eyes away, he looked up in time to see Cam watching him intently, his hand palming Gannon’s head, gently urging him forward. Taking that as permission, Gannon leaned in and swiped his tongue over the engorged head, the metal ring, then down the shaft, over the ladder of piercings.

  “Goddamn,” Cam groaned, his hand fisting in Gannon’s hair. “Suck me. I need to feel your mouth on me.”

  Gannon laved Cam’s beautiful dick with his tongue, making sure to cover every inch before sucking the broad head into his mouth. His lips stretched wide. Cam’s dick was bigger than he’d expected, far more than Gannon could take in his mouth, but that wasn’t going to stop him.

  The feel of the metal piercings against his lips and tongue was awkward at first, but Gannon quickly got used to it, bobbing his head up and down Cam’s smooth shaft, taking him as deep as he could, even teasing the metal bars, loving the way Cam groaned when he did.

  Cam’s hands cupped Gannon’s face, one hand on his forehead, the other sliding down beneath his jaw to hold his face right where he wanted him as Cam’s hips began a slow thrust forward and back. Gannon allowed Cam to fuck his mouth, wanting to pleasure him any way that Cam would allow. And later, when Cam was ready, they’d kick things up a notch.

  But for tonight, this would be enough for both of them.

  “Gannon.” Cam’s strangled groan matched the tortured expression on his face.

  Gannon never took his eyes off Cam’s face as Cam used his mouth, fucking him slow and steady.