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  Jordan’s shoulders tensed as he stabbed a piece of fish with his fork like a man out for vengeance. “Who the hell are you to make assumptions about my life?”

  “I’m someone who was in your shoes five years ago. I had power, money, suits. Life isn’t worth that stress.”

  Jordan’s eyes narrowed as he chewed then swallowed. He set his fork down. “So you live here like a beach bum and ride horses all day.”

  “Yep. Don’t try to make me ashamed of my life. I love it. There’s nothing you can say or do to make me want something different.” The only thing that would make his life totally complete would be someone to share it with, but he knew the odds of that. Slim. He’d found love once. He didn’t expect it again and had made his peace with that.

  Jordan took a moment, sipping his wine, studying Ryan over his glass as if he were a science experiment gone wild. “All right. I’ll rise to the bait. Blake wanted me to relax, and it seems you’ve got a good handle on that. Teach me how. Prove to me your life is better than mine.”

  Ryan, shocked, stared at Jordan as he sat back in his chair. It couldn’t be too much wine, since they’d only had half a glass so far. Maybe the guy bumped his head on a tree during the ride. “You want me to teach you how to relax.”

  Jordan nodded. “I think that’s exactly why Blake wanted me to meet you. You have a weekend. Change my mind.”

  Wow. He couldn’t have asked for a harder challenge if he were Sisyphus, rolling that fucking rock up the hill. Or a more desirable challenge, teaching uptight Jordan to live.

  Ryan studied Jordan, the outline of his jaw in the flickering torch light, the lean lines of his torso as he stretched his legs out to rest his feet on another chair, hands folded on his tight stomach. Ryan’s cock stirred for the zillionth time that day, and he willed the thing to stay down. Oh, the things he wanted to teach Jordan. Hot, dirty, nasty things. Instead of voicing those, he asked, “What did you do this afternoon?”

  “Researched.”

  “You didn’t go swim? Walk on the beach?”

  “No. I did research and hauled my ass down to the shop in the hotel to purchase casual clothing.”

  Which meant Jordan knew his hands were tied. “When was the last time you swam in the ocean?”

  “Uh, never? Have you been to the Atlantic? Iceberg cold.”

  “There are other oceans.”

  “Yeah, and I’ve flown over all of them.” Jordan shook his head with a small smile. “I went to college in Syracuse, smack in the snow belt, on a lacrosse scholarship. No ocean. No money at that point to get to one.”

  “You made your first million at twenty-one.”

  “Yeah, and I didn’t have the time or the desire to go to an ocean after that.” How could a man make a shrug look sexy? But Jordan did, and Ryan tried hard to remember this man was not for him.

  “You’re thirty-something.”

  “Twenty-nine. Two years younger than Blake.”

  Ryan nodded. How sad to be twenty-nine and to have never swum in an ocean. Thank God, he had background information or he’d really dislike Jordan right now. But Blake had told him tons about Jordan, enough for Ryan to see through the smoke and mirrors to the real man beneath the facade. His dad’s accident had been hard on him, growing up the eldest a test of early manhood, and when Jordan should have been enjoying life, his childhood had ended.

  Jordan needed to live, desperately.

  “You need a challenge,” Ryan informed him.

  “My life is filled with challenges, the most recent one finding a blue, Hawaiian shirt.”

  “And you succeeded.” Ryan swallowed his misgivings and decided to leap into the challenge pool with both feet. Hopefully, the challenge pool was filled with water or something, or he was failing miserably.

  Ryan stood and yanked his shirt off over his head. He glanced at Jordan, sitting a little taller in his chair, his chest rising a little quicker. Ryan unbuttoned his shorts, slid down the zipper, and let them fall. He’d gone commando, so he was naked in the moonlight, semi-erect, and he hoped to hell he didn’t scare the shit out of Jordan. “Let’s go, Hill.”

  “Where?” Jordan’s entire frame had gone rigid in his chair, eyes wide. His Adam’s apple bobbed, once, twice.

  “We’re going to swim in an ocean. Naked, because I bet you’ve never done that, either. Knock off two bucket list items in one stone’s throw.”

  “Ryan—”

  “Chicken?” Ryan crossed his arms over his chest. He could see Jordan fighting the urge to cast his gaze down Ryan’s naked body. His lips curved into a slow smile. “Last one in buys beer tomorrow.”

  Jordan hesitated a second, then stood and yanked his shirt over his head without unbuttoning it. The shorts hit the ground next, then his boxers. He was every bit as hot naked as Ryan had anticipated. All lean muscle, his cock semi-erect as well, his skin pale in the torch light mixing with moonbeams. They’d remedy the paleness this weekend, too. But first, a dip.

  “Ready?” Ryan challenged. “It’s a straight shot to the water from here, nothing in the way, nothing in the water. Just run and dive, or you’re buying beer.”

  The dim light danced off Jordan’s deep brown eyes and the conflict warring behind them as he glanced down the beach to the shimmering water. His gaze, unreadable, intense, snapped to Ryan’s. But Jordan nodded, drew in a breath, and nodded again. He took the step to the edge of the porch where the railing opened up down three, wide steps to snow-white sand. “Ready.”

  “Then go.”

  Chapter Three

  Jordan leaped off the porch, over the three steps, landing lightly in the sand, unable to believe he was doing this. He, Jordan Hill, was running naked down the beach, in the dark, to dive into an equally dark and hopefully warm ocean filled with sharks. Sprinting at break-neck speed next to a very attractive, naked man. The same man he had fantasized about during a hand job worth his fortune.

  So hard, this challenge. Impossible. Each stride ripped air from his lungs, torturing his muscles, his blood racing at Mach speed through his limbs.

  If he were naked in the boardroom, negotiating a multi-million dollar deal, he’d be way more comfortable. Slapping millions down on waterfront property, buying a baseball team, hell, giving all of his fortune to some squeaky clean charity that helped sick kids. All less scary than this run.

  But he was doing it and kicking Ryan’s ass. The sand here was a little deeper, spraying up under each kick of his feet. Then the sand turned damp, hard, and compact. He hit a shell on the ball of his foot. He ignored it, knowing the water was ahead.

  Ryan drew closer, breathing in rhythmic pants, limbs churning as he pulled even. Shit. Jordan turned up the speed a notch, calling forth the pent-up energy, the steam he’d held inside for so long. His feet hit sea foam and then water. He dove shallow, arms stretched out, sucking in a deep breath as he went under the warm waves.

  Jordan burst from the water, feeling like a sea god or something fantastical. He laughed, one of pure joy, something he hadn’t felt in so many years. Not since Blake had been well. He glanced around to find Ryan ten feet away, a little behind him, a cocky grin on his face.

  Jordan had won, and it felt better than any deal he’d ever sealed. He felt more alive. Invincible. “Well? Did I win?”

  “Yeah, but I let you.”

  “Fuck you. We’ll go again then. I want to win fair and square.”

  Ryan laughed and splashed in Jordan’s direction. “It’s only beer. I think I can suck up losing for that.”

  “I don’t want some mercy win. You’re going to be miserable when you fail teaching me Relaxation 101. I was a shitty student.”

  “Then it’s good that I’m very patient and a great teacher. Skilled enough to get you naked and into the water, natch.” Ryan kicked off and swam a bit in strong, flawless strokes.

  “Natch?”

  “Naturally. Or of course. Learn the cool lingo, dude,” Ryan called out as he kicked and dove, then surfaced a
few feet away in the moonlight.

  Dude, indeed. Jordan sank into the warm water and followed Ryan, swimming out a bit, relishing how the water felt on his naked body. So freeing, his cock and balls floating in the most delightful way. Then Ryan’s head disappeared under the waves. “Ryan?”

  Jordan touched his feet down into the sandy bottom, the water chest-high, and searched the moonlit waves for signs of Ryan. Jesus, he had to be okay, right? He spun, looking around, then back out at the horizon where he’d last seen his dark head.

  Something grabbed his calf.

  Jordan jumped and bit back a strangled something—not a scream. He wasn’t a girl. Images of great white sharks flashed before his eyes, right before he realized whatever had fingers.

  Ryan surfaced in a shower of salt water, laughing, droplets of water beading in his hair, on his chest, sparkling in the moonlight. “Let me guess. You were thinking shark, right?”

  “Hell, no.” Asshole, yes. Natch.

  “All tourists think shark the minute a piece of seaweed brushes them. It’s normal.”

  It didn’t make Jordan feel any less like a pussy. “What are the chances of being attacked by a shark?”

  Ryan floated on his back, his cock bobbing to the surface, curving tantalizingly away from his firm body. “You have a better chance of winning lotto and dying the next day, as if you’d need the money from lotto.”

  “You’re no poor boy, McCale. I know what you make off this island.”

  “Makes my life look even better, doesn’t it? I swim naked every day, ride horses, and make a killing.” Ryan flashed a cocky grin as he backstroked around. Jordan guessed Ryan sunbathed nude, too, from the depth of the tan he had going. No white lines on his hard body, none that Jordan could have seen in the torch light up on the porch.

  Jordan never wanted to touch another person so badly, not male or female. Ryan was beautiful in the moonlight, if a guy could be considered as such. Jordan wanted to touch him, hold him, and discover what it felt like to have those arms wrapped round him.

  “You need another challenge.”

  Jordan waved the water around with his hands, liking the way the gentle waves lapped at his nipples. This whole swimming nude thing was erotic as hell, and knowing Ryan was right there, just as naked, sent a fresh batch of blood rushing to his cock. “I think I’m at the trifecta of challenged right now.”

  “Gotta push the limits.”

  “Then kiss me.”

  Holy shit. Where did that come from? Jordan swallowed, wanting those words back. His heart hammered like a drum, the little section of water where he stood heating up from the flush of his skin, his cock arching from his groin, working on raging hard. But as badly as he wanted those words back, he wanted to taste Ryan more.

  Ryan froze mid-stroke. Sank to his feet. He took one step, then two until he was in Jordan’s space, his face an inch away, his hair dripping water onto his hard shoulders and chest. Never had Jordan wanted to be kissed so badly, not even the first time he’d gotten a cheerleader to make out with him under the bleachers in high school. They stood eye to eye in the dim light, almost the same height, Ryan breathing just as hard.

  “I’d say that’s pushing the limits,” Ryan observed, his voice full of approval.

  Ryan’s large hand cupped Jordan’s jaw, his fingers rough yet gentle as he pulled him closer. Jordan’s heart couldn’t beat harder, faster, louder. Those firm lips drew near, and Jordan let his eyelids flutter closed and surrendered to another first of the day.

  So firm, Ryan’s lips were, slanting across his mouth, gentle in their exploration. Ryan drew away, hesitating a moment, and Jordan closed the distance this time, wanting more. Ryan kissed him harder, his tongue sliding over Jordan’s lips, separating them, diving in for a longer taste.

  Salt water and wine danced on his taste buds as Jordan touched his tongue to Ryan’s, twining and tangling. Tentatively, Jordan raised his hand and placed it palm-flat on Ryan’s pec, the muscles flexing under the contact. Shocks of pleasure raced from his fingertips straight to his cock. His hands skimmed the flesh, exploring the sensation of crisp, damp chest hair, that dip from ribs to abdomen, the tight muscles rippling. Incredible.

  Jordan stepped closer until his hips were flush with Ryan’s, Ryan’s cock hard, insistent, and pushing against Jordan’s stomach. Jordan slid his arm around Ryan’s waist and pulled him closer, in awe that this could feel so right. Natural.

  Jordan should have hated it, a man’s dick buried in his belly, a man’s hand on his ass, pulling him closer, the head of his own cock brushing against an abdomen of rippled steel. It shocked him that he liked it, all of it. It was just as freeing as the naked race on the beach, the dive into the waves.

  God, he wanted this, wanted Ryan’s touch. How could he not have known all these years? But maybe it was Ryan, commanding in a way that made him weak in the knees. Maybe it was the run down the beach, the fucking fresh air and moonlight, but whatever sparked it, he wanted it to go on.

  Jordan’s hand wove into the soaking strands of Ryan’s long hair, and he tugged, pulling that insistent mouth harder against his. Ryan moaned and Jordan answered, kissing him deeper, harder, letting lust guide his actions. Every muscle trembled, every cell tingled, every inch of him wanting more.

  Finally, Ryan broke the kiss, his mouth stealing to Jordan’s neck, sucking there. “Have you ever kissed a man before?”

  “No.” But Ryan’s mouth, hot on his neck, sent shivers of the best kind down his spine. “I like it.”

  “How adventuresome were you in bed?”

  “I enjoy anal sex. I had my ass fucked once by a woman with a strap-on. It was hotter than hell.” Jordan sucked in a breath as Ryan nipped his throat, right above his Adam’s apple. Desire climbed a notch higher, making him as bold as if he’d drunk a fifth of tequila. “I want to try sex with you, though.”

  Ryan stilled in the progress of his lips, and they formed a smile against Jordan’s skin. “Do you, now. When did you come to this decision?”

  “Honestly?”

  “You know Blake didn’t put up with fake shit. I don’t either. Always be honest with me.”

  Blake liked everything on the line, out in the open. But being truthful, about this… Jordan swallowed his worry and put it all out there. Either he’d get his boys-gone-wild weekend, or he wouldn’t. “When I jacked off to images this afternoon of your hard ass riding that horse of yours.”

  “Jesus.” Ryan’s large hand stole between them and gripped Jordan’s cock at the base. Jordan hissed out a breath and fought wanting to jump away at the alien sensation of another man’s hand there, on his dick. But within two pumps, Jordan relaxed into Ryan’s skilled grip, stroking him in a way no woman had ever been able to replicate. No one knew a man’s body like a man.

  Jordan groaned when Ryan slid his other hand down to fondle his balls. Just the right amount of squeeze and pull. Jordan admitted, “I’ve never jacked off to images of a man before. Best orgasm of my life.”

  “Imagine how great that orgasm will be when I suck you dry.” Ryan kissed Jordan again, his mouth and tongue more demanding than before. Claiming. “You want me to suck you dry, don’t you, Jordan.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes,” Jordan whispered, and the thought of those firm lips encircling his dick made his balls tighter than ever.

  “Just ask, and I will.”

  Ask. Jordan had never asked for anything before in his adult life. “Suck me dry.”

  Ryan laughed and kissed Jordan’s neck, nibbling at the flesh just under his ear in a way that made his skin tingle. “That’s a demand. Big difference.”

  Jordan swallowed, trembling with excitement both at the idea of a blowjob from a hot guy and being told what to do. “Ryan, would you suck me dry?”

  Ryan pulled away and arched a brow. “Magic word?”

  “This isn’t a fucking preschool.”

  “But it doesn’t hurt to be polite.” Ryan kissed a path down Jordan’s
chest, each touch of his lips a jolt of electricity on Jordan’s damp skin. “I like my men polite.”

  Jordan felt a desperate tug of lust at the idea of being one of Ryan’s polite men. He tentatively reached beneath the waves and wrapped his fingers around Ryan’s shaft, thick and long, skin-covered steel nudging his palm. “Ryan, please suck me dry.”

  “Very polite, Jordan.” Ryan groaned as Jordan’s thumb swept over the head of his cock. His breathing was ragged. “Can you float?”

  “Yeah, it’s been awhile.”

  “Start floating.”

  Jordan tipped his head back and let his feet come up off the sandy floor, bobbing in the moonlight, unsure what Ryan was about. His cock popped above the gentle waves, and Ryan leaned forward to swallow the head.

  “Shit!” Jordan dropped beneath the surface, that sweet, gentle suction almost unmanning him. He’d never reached the near point of no return that quickly before, ever.

  Ryan laughed. “If you want me to blow you, stay up.”

  “I didn’t expect it to feel that good.” Jordan breathed deep, shaken. So turned on. “I don’t know if I can if you do that. It feels too fucking good.”

  “Think of the challenge. You floating, keeping from coming in my mouth too quickly, me giving you head…”

  “That’s a trifecta challenge all on its own.” Jordan shook a bit as he stretched out in the water again. He liked getting blowjobs, but Ryan’s mouth was sinful. Ryan swallowed in the tip again, running his tongue around the head, sweeping over his slit leaking pre-cum. A hand slipped to the small of Jordan’s back, pressing upward, helping him to stay afloat as Ryan drew his shaft in deep.

  “Oh, shit,” Jordan hissed, paddling his arms so he didn’t have to leave the heaven that was Ryan’s mouth. Awesome. Fucking awesome.

  Ryan’s laugh rumbled around the root. He pulled upward, the suction strong, his mouth wrapping around just the head, tongue twirling around the corona. In, out, shallow, deep, his mouth tight on the out stroke. Heaven. Jordan stiffened and almost sank, fighting the wave of orgasm from surging.