13. Noah

Noah

Chapter thirteen

The next several days pass in a blur of island tours, swimming in the ocean, and bonfires on the beach. Dylan and I are inseparable. We only have more run in with Max, but I swear the guy is keeping an eye out for me.

I'm so thankful Dylan is on the trip with me; I don't know what I'd do without him. If I thought he was the perfect Daddy before, it's like after that night we made love—because let's be honest, no matter how dirty, rough, or mind blowing it was, it was still making love—he's upped his game. Dylan said he wanted me to feel cherished. Well, I feel cherished enough for a lifetime.

I'm lounging by the pool with Jules, Ash, and Eli. The three of us are all reading books and tanning in the sun. It's nice to spend our free day at sea just relaxing. Dylan and I have jam-packed our days with so many events that it feels like I've been on vacation for almost a month. Sometimes the days feel like they're three days long rather than just one. And yet, time speeds by at a pace so fast that I'm nervous about our cruise coming to an end. What will that mean for me and Dylan?

"So, what's really going on with you and my brother?" Jules waves a hand at Dylan, who's laughing at the bar on the other side of the deck with Juniper, Alec, and Kingston.

It's as if Jules tapped into my thoughts. But then again, we've always been pretty good at reading each other. I don't bother lying, because I trust Jules, and I could really use some advice. "I'm not sure," I reply, wondering how to approach my next question. Would he be okay with me dating his brother outside of the cruise? Assuming Dylan would even want that.

"Really? Because he's smiling at you. No matter what you do, he can't take his eyes off you."

I peek up to see Jules is right. Dylan peers over at me with an intense look. As soon as he notices me staring, a wide smile splits his face and my stomach flips with excitement.

"It's been kind of nice," Ash chimes in. "I have a whole cabin to myself, but didn't have to pay for one."

My eyes widen, and I nudge Ash. Okay, I might not lie to Jules, but I don't think he wants those details.

Jules laughs.

"Oh hush, you," I say to Ash. "And what's going on with you and Daddy John?" I ask.

Ash smiles. "He's so sweet! We're just friends, though. It looks like we have a lot in common. He's in love with his best friend, like I'm in love with Drake." Ash sighs.

I glance over at Ash. He's so cute in his red shorts and his black hair sitting in a messy mop on his head. "Is he your temporary Daddy in Paradise, too?"

Ash shakes his head. "No, it's more like he's my Daddy guide."

Jules chuckles. "Your what?"

"My Daddy guide. When we both admitted our feelings about our besties, he took me under his wing, and has sort of guided me into what to expect from an ideal Daddy based on my little needs."

"Oh my gosh," Jules replies. "That's kind of cool."

I nod. "I wish I had a Daddy guide before getting into a relationship with Max. If I did, maybe he could have seen all the red flags."

Ash elbows me. "Oh hush. You have something better now. You have something real."

Startled, my head whips back toward Dylan. He glances up at me and smiles. I smile back and wave, but I feel my heart pick up speed.

"It's true," Jules says with a reassuring smile. He leans over and squeezes my hand. "Nothing looks temporary from here."

I guess that answers my unasked question. I smile back at Jules before my gaze returns to Dylan. I know he said he didn't want to fake anything, but does that mean we can turn our temporary agreement into something permanent?

The boys and I read for about fifteen more minutes before Dylan makes his way back toward me.

"Hey, darlin'. Did you put some more sunscreen on?"

I have to admit, Dylan acting all caregiver Daddy in front of everyone is kind of hot. Shifting my body, I wince when heat licks at my shoulders. Oh fuck. I totally forgot to reapply my sunscreen.

"Shit, Noah. Your arms and shoulders are getting really red."

I shift my shoulder again and glance at my arms. They don't look too bad, but any longer and I would have fried. Literally.

"Come here, baby." Dylan sits on an empty lounge chair next to me.

Ash and Jules make sweet little cooing voices. I hush them and sit up. Instead of scooting over next to Dylan like I think he expects, I plop down in his lap. Dylan laughs with a ‘harumph' and I wiggle around on top of him.

Dylan doesn't take the bait. Instead, he holds my hips steady in his palms before going back to analyzing my burn. "We should get you out of the sun immediately. I have some aloe back in my room. Let's cool this skin off in a quick shower and apply aloe after."

I grin at him and place a kiss on his cheek. "Okay, Daddy."

Back on our floor, I realize this will be the first time I'm seeing Dylan's cabin. Will it be like a person's bedroom and somehow disclose some hidden secrets to me? Somehow I doubt it, but I giggle at the thought.

Dylan lifts his wristband to the keypad, and the door unlocks. "What's got you giggling, boy?"

"Nothing. Just curious to see your room."

"You gonna rummage through my underwear drawer?"

"Oh my god, what? No. Of course not." I laugh. "I wanted to see what types of secrets your room might hold."

"Well, my side of the room is pretty boring, but Ash's side is definitely more colorful." He waves a hand to the right side where it looks like an explosion of rainbow clothing went off. I see a cute little stuffed animal on Ash's side, and the sight makes me smile. I really hope his best friend, Drake, opens his eyes and sees what's right in front of him.

Dylan's side of the room is almost spotless, as if no one is staying there, with the exception of a pile of books on his nightstand. Eager to spot anything, I walk over to the pile and pick up the first book. My jaw drops when I realize I'm holding an advanced copy of Eliott Monroe's upcoming book.

"How, how?" I sputter. Oh god, would it be okay to steal this book and ditch everyone to read it?

"Hey, brat. That's top secret." Dylan laughs and plucks the book out of my grasp. "I'm making notes for narration."

"But Daddy," I whine, totally joking… mostly.

"I'll text El later today and see if I can lend it to you when we get home." Dylan places a sweet kiss on my head and walks toward the bathroom.

My jaw drops open. When we get home. Oh shit, am I swooning?

He walks back into the room with a bottle of green aloe vera. He waves it in his hand. "Got the good stuff—" He cuts himself off as he looks at me. "Wait, what's wrong?"

My cheeks heating. There's no way I could confess my thoughts while looking like a tomato. So I mention the other thing that blew my mind. "You text Eliott Monroe? And freaking no him as ‘El'?"

Dylan grins and shakes his head as he sits on his bed. "Okay, brat. Did you get all your spying finished? Wanna look under the bed or through my drawers? Because you can."

I blush again. "Oh my gosh. Shut up! Stop trying to make me turn red."

"But why? It's such an adorable shade on you."

"You jerk," I laugh. I whip my wristband off and chuck it at him.

He catches it easily. "Hey, boy. We need this."

My brow arches. Technically, he has a key now too, but I don't correct him, liking this game.

"Well, we aren't staying in here. My room is boring compared to yours. You have the best view."

I saunter toward him, sashaying my hips. "And here I thought you said I was the best view," I say as I climb onto his lap.

We kiss passionately until we are both hard and ready. I snatch my key out of his grasp when he least expects it. "You'll have to catch me, Daddy." He smiles as he chases me out the door and into my cabin. We're immediately greeted by the sound of the ocean filtering through my open sliding door. "You're right, Daddy. My room is way better than yours."

Dylan and I rip each other's clothes off and the next thing I know, I'm experiencing my very first sixty-nining session, where we swallow every drop and fall asleep, happy and sated.

When I awaken, I glance at the time and shake Dylan's sleeping form.

"Dylan, wake up."

"Hmm?"

I nudge him again. "I thought you and all the other Daddies were doing an activity together or something?"

Dylan rewards me with a wide smile. My heart flips, thudding hard against my chest. Damn. I'd kill to have him flash me that smile every day.

Dylan slides out of my bed, but pauses and bends over to reach for something. "Well now. Don't these look familiar?" Dylan asks, voice husky.

I glance over to see a black-colored scrap of material dangling from his index finger.

Oh fuck. Heat floods my face. My panties from that first night together. I must have accidentally kicked them into the corner because they've been missing for days.

Gah. The one time I don't put my clothes straight into the hamper. Of course, I had to forget to put them away the next day.

I expect him to toss them toward me, or drop them, or… I don't know. But the last thing I expect him to do is hold them up higher, hazel eyes sparkling.

Dylan smirks. "These pretty little panties were absolute fire on you. Fuck." He palms his growing erection. "Such a good boy, always wearing silk for me."

I swallow. Damn. I think he's talking dirty to me on purpose. He knows how much his voice turns me on. "Daddy," I gasp. "We just fooled around. You gotta go, or people will start looking for you."

He nods. "I think I'll keep these as a little memento. Hide them in my pocket while I go out with the guys. What do you think, Noah?"

Holy shit. The idea of him holding something so intimate of mine while going about his day is hot as fuck. I nod, eager for him to do just that.

Mischief dances in his grin. He pockets the black scrap of material and walks over to me. He places a kiss on the shell of my ear, causing me to shiver. "Good boy."