Family Camp (Daddy Dearest, #1)(39)

Geo laughed. “Well, that’s always motivating, isn’t it?”

“Hey, Jayden!” Stryker yelled. He was on the other side of the dock where there was another ladder. “Wanna come jump with us?” Aiden jumped off the dock and swam up to the ladder, looking like a little otter.

Jayden looked at Geo then back at Stryker. “Maybe later!” he called. To Geo he said, “Do you want to jump?”

He sounded sort of shy. There was something different in the way Jayden was looking at him. He was meeting Geo’s gaze. Geo had no idea what had changed, but he felt a clot of gratitude in his chest.

“Dude, you haven’t lived ’til you’ve seen my belly flop,” Geo said seriously.

Jayden frowned. “Don’t that hurt?”

“Yeah, but it looks awesome.”

Geo and Jayden jumped off the dock and into the water. Then they climbed back up and jumped again. At first, Geo was nervous about Jayden’s nascent swimming skills, and his throat was dry each time until Jayden’s head surfaced. But the kid had more energy in his body than a thousand suns, and he seemed to be made of cork, popping back up like he couldn’t help it. And soon they were trying to outdo each other for silly poses as they jumped.

On about his tenth silly leap, Geo executed a perfect Haka wardance pose, grimace included. Midair, he glanced toward the beach. In the split second before he fell, he saw Travis up to his waist in the water, Lucy held securely on his hip, arm around Travis’s neck. They were both watching Geo and laughing. Lucy’s shoulders were up, and her face was bright with a giggle.

When Geo plunged deep into the cool water, it felt like a perfect metaphor.

In the instant it had taken him to fall, he’d… Well. He’d fallen. God, that man. How could he not want, not love a man like that? A man who made his pulse race. A man who loved Geo’s kids. A man who could be a true partner. And it shone, Goddamn, but it shone. Maybe it was an illusion, but it was so bright it took his breath away. It was too big to want, as deep and potentially dangerous as the lake.

But he wanted it all the same.





Chapter 19




Travis lingered around the campfire after everyone had left. Lucy and Geo had been there tonight, sitting across the fire, and Travis had done his best not to look at them.

But he didn’t have to, that was the thing. He was so aware of them, of Geo, that not looking at him was like trying to avoid seeing yourself in a mirror when it was right there, opposite you. That was how familiar he seemed.

Cindy had given him a warning at dinner, and she was right. He was being obvious in his preference for a certain single-dad camper and his two kids. His embarrassing, magnetic boy-crush was probably broadcast in every line of his body, in every goofy smile, and bursting like glitter from his eyes whenever Geo was around. Even his dad had given him a brow-creasing, curious stare at dinner.

Travis should put distance between them. He should make a point of it. But he wasn’t going to. It had been ages since anyone had gotten under his skin like this, if anyone ever had. He knew he could be a cold bastard. Hell, he was known as a loner on the team, rarely going to parties or events. He had one good friend, Lyon, among his teammates, but with most of the guys he held himself aloof. He just didn’t trust many people. He guarded his heart.

Now something new was happening to him. Geo made him feel a kind of joyful craving for another person he’d never felt before. And, fuck it, Travis wanted to see where it went, if it was a temporary flash of insanity or something more serious.

He lingered around the campfire until he could be certain Jayden and Lucy would be asleep. Then he headed up the hill back to camp, moving like a quiet shadow in the dark.

The cabin area was quiet. Geo was sitting on the steps of number 10. Inside his cabin, there was only the glow of a night light and peaceful silence.

Travis stood a few feet away and licked his lips. His body felt weird, too heavy and too light at the same time. His hands felt empty and his posture odd, like he’d forgotten how to stand. His groin ached.

Just looking at Geo, being this close to him, Travis felt raw. He wanted, and fuck it, he didn’t care how bad an idea it was.

Geo stood up, his face serious, and, without a word, followed Travis into the woods behind the cabin.

Travis led the way, deeper into the trees this time. He couldn’t go too far, in case Lucy or Jayden cried out. But he wanted cover. He wanted the arms of the trees to enclose them, hide them from the world.

When he turned, Geo was right there, not even two steps behind. He gripped the side of Travis’s neck to hold him still and attacked his mouth, kissing him deep and dirty. Travis kissed back with everything he had. Bodies locked, hands clutching, they backed up and there was miraculously a tree against Travis’s back. He welcomed the immovable solidity of it as the world tilted and his head spun. Everything vanished except Geo and his own body, the flood of pleasure taking over all his senses.

The hard press of Geo’s body, the taste and heat of his mouth, the feel of his gliding tongue—it all went straight to Travis’s groin.

Making out had never felt this good. He liked Geo as a person, found him funny and light, enjoyed hanging out with him. But he also felt this lust. Sexual Geo was assertive, passionate, and an incredible turn-on. To find both in one man was rare. And Travis knew it.

They ground against each other, stabilized by the presence of that blessed tree. Travis’s knit gym shorts were silky against his massive erection as Geo ground against him. And damn, it was sweet—hot and dirty in a way that could get him off fast.