“I’m not gonna chase you,” Noa said quietly. I heard the anger simmering, not to mention the hurt and the rejection he’d faced before. “I can understand that your shit back then created the perfect storm that resulted in your leaving, but you crushed me. You said you needed time—you lied. You found out I visited you in the hospital, and you didn’t contact me then either. And now I’m here, telling you how fucking wrong you’ve been to believe that you groomed me… I literally ran after you just now. But I’m done. You know I want to have you in my life, KC. But you gotta man up and take the next step if you want the same.”
I exhaled shakily.
Next to me, Lucian nodded to himself. “Good boy. Make him work for it.”
Heh.
That actually brightened my mood. Lucian was on Noa’s side.
CHAPTER 4
Cameron Jacobson
An hour or so later, Noa and I were in the pool. We’d unpacked in our guest room upstairs, we’d napped and talked a little bit, and now he was slowly coming out of his shell. We sat on the steps, the water reaching my shoulders, and I had him on my lap. With the sun beaming down on us, lazy kinksters enjoying a day away from the city, a slow buzz of excitement for tonight’s party, it was kind of a perfect afternoon.
“You know he’ll come around, baby.” I kissed his shoulder and hugged him to me.
He nodded and rested his forehead against my neck.
It wasn’t the first time I’d told him that. But I believed it. KC would find the courage to leave old demons behind.
Noa yawned and played with the drawstrings of my boardshorts under the surface.
“I know he misses me,” he said softly. “I saw it in his eyes. He’s in pain.”
I squeezed him a little harder and glanced over at the Founders’ cabins. KC and Lucian had retreated to Lucian’s cabin right after the talk on the porch. And before Lucian and I had parted ways, I’d detected something in his expression that made me believe he wanted to talk to me. He’d hesitated, then smiled politely and said we’d see each other soon.
“I’m glad you brought me out here.” Noa lifted his head and rested our foreheads together instead. “I needed to see him.”
I brushed away a lock of hair from his eyes. “I have hope. I know you’ve been doubting it, but I think we can find our way—with those two dumbass Doms we’re obsessed with.”
Noa inched away and eyed me skeptically. “How?”
I shrugged. “KC kissed you back, remember? The attraction wasn’t one-sided. Maybe it’s still there, making his shame worse. Making him more confused.”
He scratched his shoulder and looked over toward the cabins. The sun gave every messy lock of dark hair a shine, and his freckles were out in full force. It was a picture-worthy sight, even when doubt clouded his features.
“You know what?” he said. “I’m tired of our bullshit right now. It’ll still be there tomorrow, but tonight we need kink. I’m gonna get stabbed in the dick, and you’re gonna seduce your future Master.”
I spluttered a laugh. “I can’t believe you volunteered for that shit. It hurts!”
“In a good way.” He scratched his nose, then jerked his chin at the cabins. “But back to your future Master. He’s coming over right now.”
Crap. I whipped my head to the left. Roughly a dozen members were in various states of undress on the patio, playing cards, grilling hot dogs and burgers, laughing, and listening to music. But Lucian was easy to see. He moved with grace, always dressed for business. The only change he made for the summer was that he tended not to wear black shirts. And sometimes, only sometimes, he donned a pair of dark-green swim shorts and joined his friends in the pool or one of the hot tubs.
“Seduce him, seduce him, seduce him,” Noa urged under his breath.
I snorted. “I thought I’d apologize for not seeing his side of things.”
“That’s good.” He nodded. “And then you seduce him and invite me for a threeway—you know, once you’ve gotten the ‘oh my God, I’ve wanted you for so long’ fuck out of the way in private.”
That…would be hot as fuck.
It forced me to wonder how Lucian would take that, though. If he and I entered a casual arrangement, would he be interested in including his best friend’s former stepson sometimes? Would KC be okay? So many questions.
So many fantasies. Let’s stick to reality.
“Noa,” I heard Lucian say. We both looked up at him as he came to a stop by the stairs. “I have a fretting friend stewing in his own drama in my cabin, disgruntled about the fact that you probably haven’t applied enough sunscreen.”
I grinned and watched my boyfriend. “He’s worried about you.”