6. Dylan

Dylan

Chapter six

I'm at the hostess stand paying the bill, and secretly booking a dinner reservation. The moment Noah showed an interest in returning to the White Bar, I knew I had to make it happen. This restaurant is the perfect place for a romantic date while stuck at sea. Jazz music plays softly in the background and there is a line of people starting to form, waiting to get in. Apparently, there was a cancelation, so I was able to book the only reservation they had left, though the restaurant does leave a few tables open specifically for walk-ins. Unfortunately, it's on a first-come, first-served basis, so I didn't want to chance it.

My gaze drifts back to Noah sitting in the same spot, but I notice someone chatting with him. The man is handsome with bleach-blond hair, and a tight, nautical themed shirt that shows off his toned arms. Something about the man seems flashy, a little too over-the-top. And maybe it's just because he's standing too close to my boy, but the man reeks of cockiness.

My boy. Fuck. Where did that thought come from? Just because I confessed to being a Daddy, and happen to want to spoil Noah, doesn't mean he's mine.

Noah tenses, and the blond gets even closer. I've never seen Noah with this expression on his face. He's been pissed with me from time to time, but there's something different about this interaction. Noah's head turns to the left then tries to peer around the man, as if looking for an escape route.

I peer around me, too. Where the hell is the hostess with my credit card? The urge to get back to Noah as soon as possible is strong. A wave of protectiveness pushes me forward. Screw it. I can get my card after I make sure Noah is okay.

I walk toward Noah, just in time to hear him say that the guy is a cheating bastard. Noah's voice is a little shaky. My jaw clenches, and I take in a deep breath, trying to ease my anger.

"Baby, don't be like this. It's like fate put us together on this cruise."

"Fate, my ass. You just never canceled your ticket, Max. We've been done for a while now. I've moved on."

Noah's words cause me to pause, hovering just behind the partition, and neither of them has seen me yet. Is Noah taken?

"Yeah, well, this guy must be imaginary. Or have you been slutting it up already, only hours into our cruise?"

"His name is Dylan," Noah snaps. "He'll be back any moment. I suggest you leave before he sees you."

Warmth and pride rush through me. My inner caveman rejoices in the fact that Noah is using me to protect himself. I always thought it was tacky whenever I narrated a book where one main character claims the other character with a simple word, but as I stand here just out of sight, one word keeps circulating in my brain as I stare at this fool trying to put the moves on Noah.

Mine. Noah is mine.

I step forward. "Hey, love." I place an innocent kiss on Noah's pastel hair, inhaling his sweet pomegranate scent. "Ready to go? We're running late." I casually check the time on my phone, and it's not a lie.

Noah's jaw drops. He looks up at me with wide, pleading ocean eyes, and for a moment I forget all about the prick next to us until he clears his throat.

"And who the hell is this? Some rando you met during the Sail Away Party?" Max sneers my way. He gives me a once-over, and he must like what he sees because I can see the change come across his face.

"I'm so sorry. That was rude of me," he says, tone turning sugary sweet. "Noah and I have been dating for several months, and since he's failed to mention you, I figured you must be someone he just met. Sorry about that. Possessive Daddy at your service." He chuckles, holding out his hand.

Noah shakes his head. "I haven't seen you in weeks, Max. And you aren't my anything anymore."

I give Max a calculating smile. "Hi, Max. Name's Dylan." I clasp Max's hand in mine, squeezing hard just to make a fucking point. He winces, but doesn't pull away from my challenge.

"You see, Max," I continue, keeping my tone light, mocking him. "You're right. That was rude. Real fucking rude, because I've known Noah for years, and he's failed to mention you. So, that just shows me you're his ex, an obviously poor choice, and a blip on the radar. A mistake not worth mentioning."

Max sneers, trying to pull his hand back and failing. I see his glamor muscles are just for show.

"Sorry about that," I mock. "Nice to meet you. Protective Daddy at your service." I toss his hand away.

Max's gaze bounces between Noah and me, eyes narrowed. "Right. We'll talk soon, Noah."

I pull him in closer to me as Max brushes past us.

"Doubt it," Noah quips, hugging me tightly as he sinks further into my embrace.

Max gives us one last look, and for good measure, I place another kiss on the top of Noah's head. If this is all I can get of my boy, I'll savor it.

"Excuse me, sir?"

I look up to see the hostess I spoke with earlier holding out my credit card and a receipt.

"Is everything okay?" She gives a worried glance toward Max's retreating form.

"Is everything okay, darlin'? Do you need something? Water?"

Noah is staring at me, his lips parted, then he offers me a bashful smile. Shy isn't something I've seen on Noah before, but holy shit. Between those big, pleading eyes earlier, and now this sweet smile, I'm fucking eating it up. My boy is gorgeous, always has been, but right now he's pushing all of my buttons. Hard. "Noah, sweetheart, did you need anything?"

He shakes his head. "No, I'm okay. We should get going." His smile returns. "Jules might start worrying that we killed each other."

I snort a laugh. Damn, how was it just a little while ago that Noah was avoiding me at every turn?

We get directions on the fastest way to the main dining hall. The hostess admits to witnessing part of the exchange between Max, Noah, and me, and wants to help. She feels bad and partially responsible that she took so long with my card—to which Noah and I reassured her it wasn't her fault. She still ushered us into a staff-only elevator, anyway. Which thankfully cut our travel time in half.

The whole time Noah and I weave through the throng of people, I make sure to hold his hand, and to my delight, he doesn't let go.

We are chatting in a private room off the main dining hall with Jules' and Cal's friends. Cal's best friend, Kingston, is sitting next to Cal with his gorgeous, model-looking boyfriend sitting on his lap. Across from me, two other couples are chatting together. I try to keep all their names straight, but it's a struggle. Ash is here, of course, and I remember the big burly blond's name is Juniper, since it's so unique. His boyfriend is gorgeous too, but for the life of me, I can't remember who he is.

I'm chatting with a man named Nate, and his boyfriend Elijah. I'm surprised when I recognize Elijah. We've been on some of the same video chats with Eliott Monroe. Elijah is close friends with the author and also happens to design all of Eliott's covers.

Jules clinks on his glass. "Come on, Daddy. Go up there with me." Jules bounces as he grins and makes his way to the front of the room, Cal being tugged along behind him.

"Attention, attention." Jules waves his arms with that joyful enthusiasm I love about him. He's a little tipsy, like Noah. But they are both adorably buzzed and happy. Their smiles warm my heart, and suddenly I know I made the right choice to move closer to my brother.

Either Jules realizes this crowd is all family and there's nothing to worry about, or the shots are doing their job, because Jules doesn't seem nervous at all.

"As you all know, Cal and I are getting married!" He pauses for dramatic effect and the crowd eats it up, laughing and cheering. "I wanted to thank you all for joining us on this trip to celebrate."

Whistles and hoots go up around the room, and Jules actually blushes.

Cal's lips break into a smile and he glances over at Jules with so much love on his face. A small pang hits my chest. I want that. Not Cal, of course, but a boyfriend, a boy to spoil, or hell, a lover to call my own. Jules continues to talk, but my gaze trails over to Noah. He's already staring at me with a searching gaze.

"Shots. Shots. Shots," the group calls out. We each take a celebratory shot, and I make a silent promise to keep an eye on Noah since I don't like the idea of his ex finding him like this. I wouldn't put it past the guy to be sleazy, especially when he couldn't take no for an answer.

"Cal and I are heading over to the Welcome Party now," Jules calls out. "I hope to see you all there. Oh! And make sure you have fun. Happy Pride everyone!"

"Happy Pride," we cheer.

The group files out of the restaurant and makes their way to the Lido deck, but Noah turns in a different direction.

The inky black sky is dotted with stars, and a light sea breeze ruffles Noah's wavy hair as he leans against the railing, looking out at the ocean. Music thumps in the background, while thousands of people dance. The Welcome Party is in full force, yet Noah is out here alone, and that insane need to protect him overcomes me.

"Hey, you," I say, joining him at the railing.

Noah gasps in shock, but composes himself quickly. "Hey there, handsome."

I grin. Noah has never called me anything other than my name, but tonight I've met ‘flirty Noah.' I like it, because it makes me feel like he's finally getting comfortable around me. A part of me gets the feeling that Noah is only calling me handsome because I called him gorgeous earlier. It threw him for a loop, but I didn't miss the way he lit up when I said it. Looks like Noah is into praise as well.

"Why are you out here instead of at the party?"

Noah inhales deeply through the nose, holds it a few beats, then lets it out. He turns toward me so that he's facing me, his back to the ocean. There's a small smile on his face, and he gives me a noncommittal shrug. "I'll probably join them in a minute."

Noah looks so relaxed out here, eyes sparkling under the moonlight. I study him for a moment. "But you don't want to."

"Hmm?"

I flip around and mirror his pose, leaning my right shoulder against him. "Why don't you stay out here with me instead? If you don't feel like partying, we could just hang out. Look at the stars and chat. You can tell me how you're doing."

Noah cocks his head, confused. "And you'd do that for me? Miss a whole party of writhing bodies, people who would eat up your attention, just to stand outside and talk?"

"Why not?"

"Because there's an epic party going on inside," he replies, as if I've lost my mind.

I shrug, trying to keep my tone casual. "Yeah, and there's an amazing person standing right here, capturing my attention."

We stand there for a moment, leaning against each other as that music thrums on, becoming nothing more than background noise. Standing here with the sea breeze hitting our skin and the large expanse of water in front of us, it's peaceful.

He hesitates a moment longer, and I smile, hoping to ease his nerves. "I'm a little tired of the party scene. Back home, it's what people expect from me. ‘Noah, the little brother of two famous rock stars. The party boy. The guy who knows how to have a good time.'"

"And that isn't you anymore?" I press, desperate to learn more about Noah. When was the last time someone made me feel like this?

"Doesn't matter. It's what people see when they look at me. It's what they want." He waves a hand back toward the party. "It's why Max cheated on me. I stopped partying as much. I tried to change, and it didn't fit the fun guy he met."

"Hey." I nudge him with my shoulder. "Max is an asshole."

Noah barks out a laugh. "Yeah, he is. But what does it say about me when I already knew that and dated him, anyway?"

"Don't forget, Noah, I know you. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say you were willing to look past his assholery and give him a chance, because you deserve to be happy. You deserve a partner and romance."

He grins, a brilliant smile. "‘Assholery?'"

"Mmhmm. Assholery." Turning to him, I stare deep into his eyes. "Even in fear of you thinking I'm cheesy, I'm going to say it, anyway: You deserve to be cherished. You deserve to be seen." My eyes drop to his lips. If this was anyone else, I'd already be kissing him. But this is my little brother's best friend, and I have to tread carefully.

I trail my gaze back up to his eyes, and he's also studying my lips.

"You really aren't straight, are you?"

I bark out a laugh.

He groans. "Oh god, ignore me. I'm tipsy."

My lips twitch. "And here I thought the memory of last year would have clued you in."

"Nope, nope, nope." He slashes a hand through the air. "We do not talk about Throne Night."

Another bark of laughter escapes my throat. "Is that what we're calling it?"

"No." He grins, pointing a finger at me and waving it between us. "There is no ‘we' anything."

I capture his index finger with my hand, wrapping all my fingers around it. "Huh. Funny how you just told your ex that there is a we."

Noah whips his head back toward me. "Oh crap. I think the consequences of what I did are suddenly penetrating my tipsy brain."

"What consequences?"

"Hello! Maybe the fact that I told Max I was over him and implied that you were my Daddy?"

I can't fucking help the wide grin that covers my face. "And here I thought you insinuated we were dating. But a Daddy, huh?"

"Fuck." He nods. "We are on a kinky cruise. And, well, Max and I were in a Daddy/boy dynamic."

My blood boils. "Bullshit. That asshat doesn't deserve the title."

Noah turns back toward the ocean, and I find myself trying to stay calm and not go all caveman on him. Something about this boy has captured my attention. Noah has always been fascinating and intriguing, but ever since finding out he's into Daddy kink—hell, maybe ever since last year at Pride, and then again at the kink club—Noah has had me in a chokehold.

We can't see much of the rippling water in front of us. It's too dark, but the longer he just gazes out into the nothingness, I know my window with Noah is closing fast.

An idea slams into me. A tempting, wonderful idea. "We could do it, you know?"

"Do what?" he asks, distracted.

"We are bound to run into your ex throughout the trip, and I get the impression he's going to look for you. So, let's do it," I say with a wide grin, loving the idea the more it forms in my head. "Hopefully, with me by your side as your Daddy, Max will back the fuck off." I growl the last four words.

So much for not acting like a caveman.