“It was all Duncan,” I admitted after the helicopter lifted off with a mighty roar.
“It was not.” He glared at me. “We were a team.”
“You were. You both did amazing.” My dad sounded as dazed as I felt, his earlier calmness replaced by wonder and disbelief. “Wait until I tell your mother.”
The awe in his voice made a shiver race up my spine. Nothing I’d done prior to that moment, my Grammy and other awards, going platinum, selling out a stadium, none of it mattered as much as saving Herb Wilson’s life. Everything else paled, and I wasn’t sure my pulse rate would ever return to normal.
“Hey, you’re Ezra Moon!” A course employee approached us, quickly followed by other curious faces. “Can I get a pic?”
“No pictures.” Dad was as stern as I’d ever heard him, stepping in front of Duncan and me. “No questions either. This is about Herb, making sure he’s okay.”
Slowly, everyone nodded, but my stomach sank. This incident would get out eventually. Kate would call it positive publicity, but I doubted Duncan would agree.
“We need showers.” I laughed uncomfortably as we walked back to our cart, wishing I could stop the coming media storm. Probably for the best if I say nothing for now. No need to alarm Duncan when he was undoubtedly already rattled. It didn’t matter how much SEAL experience he had. This had still been a damn ordeal, and his adrenaline had to be pounding like mine.
“You also need that ice cream.” Dad clapped me on the shoulder. “You certainly earned it. Any Dairy Den flavor you want.”
After Dad started the drive back to the clubhouse, I leaned over to whisper to Duncan, “Don’t worry. Ice cream won’t be your only reward.”
“We were a team.” His voice was firm as he gave me a fast pat where my dad couldn’t see.
“Then we both deserve a reward.” I winked at him.
He shook his head, but the way his mouth curved and eyes twinkled said I’d won that battle and was so getting lucky later. Now to hope that luck extended to reports of our good deed staying unnoticed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Duncan
The guest room was hot, and not hot in the burning up the sheets with Ezra sense, but hot and stuffy despite central air. I took a second shower before bed to cool off, and I was lying on top of the comforter on my stomach, scrolling the news, when a knock sounded at the door. I knew exactly who it was, even before Ezra whispered, “It’s me.”
“Come in, me,” I called softly, setting my phone aside. I’d left Ezra watching some British mystery thing with his mom, but I’d fully expected him at my door as soon as she went to bed. And sure enough, he slithered into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.
“Stay exactly like that.” He grinned slyly at me as he started stripping. I’d only bothered with briefs after my shower because despite all my we can’t fuck around in your parents’ house protests, I’d known perfectly well Ezra would have me naked soon enough.
“Stay exactly like what?” I started to roll over, but Ezra gave me a friendly slap on the ass to keep me in place.
“The most delicious midnight snack ever.” The look he gave me was downright pornographic, eyes hot and needy and mouth slack. Naked, he stalked to the bottom of the bed, bypassing the low footboard to kneel near my lower legs.
“What are you after?” My laugh had a little edge because I wasn’t sure what to make of this playfully feline version of Ezra. He made me feel like a mouse confronted by a tabby cat, and my stomach couldn’t decide how I felt about being captured.
“You.” Bending forward, he licked from my ankle up to my calf.
“You’re such a dork. And hey, I’m ticklish,” I protested as he continued the onslaught of kisses and little licks. And for all my objections, my cock was already hard and ready.
“You love my dorktitude.” His tone was so confident that I had to laugh again because I really did. There wasn’t much about him I didn’t love. Wait. Like. I liked everything about him. I couldn’t let that other word creep into my thoughts.
“Maybe,” I hedged. He responded by licking the back of my knees
“Eeep.” I gave a high-pitched yelp, feeling even more like a mouse. And strangely, I liked it. My nerves were all jangly after the adrenaline rush of the rescue at the golf course. Even hours later, I could still remember my terror, the way I’d had to shove it down and focus on my training. News that the victim would hopefully survive after emergency heart surgery hadn’t been enough to calm me, and the incident kept replaying in my head.
Being silly with Ezra was the perfect escape from my thoughts, and my rock-hard cock enjoyed being at his mercy way more than I would have expected.