Chapter 10
Because the cabin was small with both of their bodies taking up so much space, Dash backed up a step to give Emerson room.
He leaned against the doorway, trying to look unbothered and calm as he watched the man pull back the bedding on what looked to be too narrow of a bed for them both.
Hell, it looked too narrow for Emerson alone.
He’d spent nights on tiny cots or worse when in the field. That wasn’t his problem.
How were they both going to fit in a space barely made for one of them?
It wasn’t his first time on a boat, so Dash realized the rooms were all built within a limited space.
Emerson’s was bigger than any he’d ever been on, and it did seem spacious compared to those—but when the captain of said boat was a massive, seven-foot-tall alpha, it seemed incongruous, at best. At least neither of them was hitting their heads on the doorways or ceilings.
The last boat he’d been on, he’d almost knocked himself unconscious a couple of times.
The question of how they were going to fit extended past the bed, though. Dash eyed the heavy shaft throbbing between Emerson’s powerful thighs, second thoughts plaguing him. He’d played with toys, sure, but none of them had been as large.
What if Emerson was too much for him?
After situating a couple of towels on the bed, Emerson walked two steps to the nightstand and tugged the drawer open.
He fished out a bottle of lube and tossed it onto the middle of the bed, adding a visual punctuation point to what was about to happen.
Dash’s gaze lingered on it, his skin oddly feeling too tight for his body.
Even with the doubts, anticipation roared in his blood. His face felt feverish, and he tingled all over with an awareness he’d never sensed before. The scent of alpha pheromones was thick in the room. Dash drew in a deep breath, the heady aroma causing his cock to ache all the more.
Emerson slowly spun and faced Dash, his eyes hooded.
The world suddenly shrunk to that tiny cabin with them the only people inhabiting it.
Dash’s heart picked up more speed and battered against the inside of his ribs, harder than it had when they’d been running the streets, escaping their doom.
His gaze swept down Emerson’s incredible body, stopping midway to admire his thick, leaking cock again.
Lack of experience left him frozen, unsure what to do next.
Emerson had led the way so far but wasn’t moving nor giving him any signals.
Dash was a battle-hardened ex-Black Guardsman, not some innocent boy.
He didn’t enjoy appearing na?ve, especially at the age of thirty-five, yet in that scenario, he had few skills and no training to fall back on.
He wasn’t a virgin, either, but he could count the times he’d had sex on one hand.
Each of those had been bumbling, awkward experiences that had happened in near pitch dark.
In most, the betas had clumsily taken control after he’d avoided it.
They’d climbed astride him and did all the work while he closed his eyes and pretended they were alphas instead.
None had been as satisfying as he’d hoped.
“Are you just going to stand there and stare? Or are we doing this?” Emerson asked, stroking his cock as the words fell from his lips.
Lips that only moments ago had been wrapped around his cock and given him the most intense orgasm of his life. Emerson had already given him more pleasure than all his past partners combined.
Greedily, he’d asked for more.
“Unless you’ve changed your mind?” Emerson asked, his brows furrowing.
It was now or never.
A thought crossed his mind and gave Dash pause.
What if that weird reaction returned in the midst of everything?
He’d been so freaked out by the raid and then out of his mind with lust immediately after that he hadn’t considered the possibility earlier.
Dash had been completely out of control the first time they’d met.
He wasn’t sure he’d survive it if that sensation revisited them tonight.
On the other hand, could he survive not knowing how it felt to be fucked by Emerson Walker?
“Dash?” Emerson asked, concern in his stunning amber eyes. “We can stop now. It’s okay if you’re not ready.”
Once he climbed into Emerson’s bed, he wouldn’t be able to unring that bell. There was still time to back out. End things before it went too far.
He’d gotten blown. Maybe that was enough.
He scoffed inwardly. It wasn’t enough.
He wouldn’t spend months regretting another decision, left to fuck himself with a less than ample substitute for the gorgeous man in front of him. Not when he could have the real thing and finally know what it was like to be claimed by an alpha.
That reaction?
Maybe losing control wasn’t the worst thing.
Just this once.
“Dash?”
“I’m ready,” Dash spat more forcefully than he’d intended. He made himself take a step forward, re-entering the cabin.
Without taking his eyes off the beautiful man across from him, Dash shut the door behind him, closing them in together.
A slow, wicked smile spread across Emerson’s lips and he looked even sexier wearing it—and nothing else.
An intense jolt of desire struck Dash in the gut, a shuddering breath coming from his lips as his abs clenched.
Emerson snagged Dash’s hand and pulled him within a few inches. While he laced his fingers with Dash’s, his gaze drifted down. He looked his fill, lifting his free hand to wrap around the base of Dash’s shaft.
Dash stared into those amber eyes, the gold shade in them stronger than he’d ever seen it. It was almost as if they glowed, the fire within illuminated. It matched the subtle golden highlights of his reddish-brown hair and beard that had rubbed Dash’s cheeks and chin raw when they’d kissed.
“You’re gorgeous,” Emerson said, slowly bringing his gaze up to meet Dash’s again. “Do you know that?”
Dash swallowed the lump in his throat. “I was thinking the same about you.”
Hesitant, he lifted his palm to Emerson’s chest. Dash tensed when skin met skin, an arc of electricity running through his body.
The mat of chest hair was as soft as a cloud under his touch and opposite the firm muscles they covered.
The scent of cinnamon and oak filled Dash’s lungs, causing another tremor.
Embarrassment filled him at his inexperience-born reactions, but he smiled when he noticed Emerson’s heart beating almost as fast as his under his palm.
For some reason, sensing that calmed his own. Recalibrated, his beat soon synched with Emerson’s.
Emerson slowly stroked his shaft before stealing a kiss.
Instead of deepening it, Emerson broke free, releasing him.
Dash was left cold, craving more. Emerson sat on the edge of the bed and patted his bare thigh.
A smile followed, and he cocked his head in the universal motion that said, ‘Come here.’
Dash wasn’t sitting on a grown man’s lap, so he aimed for the spot beside the man instead. Emerson wasn’t having it. He tugged Dash over on the way down. Scared he’d fall, Dash wrapped his arms around Emerson’s neck and held tight, his bare bottom landing on Emerson’s hard thigh.
He opened his mouth to complain, but their gazes met with their lips less than an inch apart. Dash licked his lips, starved for another kiss. Emerson let out a deep growl, the sound echoing through his entire body. He trembled at the sensation, forgetting his argument completely.
Emerson hooked one arm under Dash’s knees and drew him closer. His hard shaft pulsed against Dash’s bottom.
“I’m not some tiny omega.” Dash paused, inwardly wincing at the comment. “I’m too big to sit on your lap.”
“Seems like you fit just fine,” Emerson murmured, his smile just on this side of smug. It should’ve infuriated Dash, but he was an idiot. He found it charming.
“Can you reach the lube for me?”
“Maybe.” Dash looked over Emerson’s shoulder to locate it. He let go with one arm and leaned closer. Once he’d tugged it nearer, he lifted the bottle to show Emerson.
“Pour some in my hand,” Emerson said, lifting the arm hooked under Dash’s legs and offering an uplifted palm.
Dash struggled to get the cap open with only one free hand. He had to lift the tube beside Emerson’s neck and use his other hand, too. “This would’ve been easier if you’d let me sit beside you instead.”
“You belong right here,” Emerson said.
Once Dash had poured a handful of lube, he added, “Now, hold on tight.”
“Why?” Dash asked seconds before it became obvious.
Emerson’s lubed hand spread his cheeks wide, coating him between.
A fingertip pressed against his asshole but didn’t enter.
It teased him, running along the puckered flesh on the outside.
Dash stiffened, tossing the lube so he could hold on properly.
As Emerson cradled him in his lap, he leisurely coated Dash’s ass, all while watching him intently with every tender stroke.
Dash stifled a moan… and another. Those fingers were wicked, rolling around the rim without slipping inside. It was senseless torment, and a plea rose on his lips. A plea he held back, scared to appear too eager—or too inexperienced.
The second a single finger slid just inside, he whimpered, the sound foreign to his own ears.
He coughed, clearing his throat in an attempt to hide the next silly sound that bubbled up to his lips.
It was difficult to hold back, though. Emerson’s hands were massive and his fingers thick.
One stretched him wider than one of his own, and he gasped as it passed the thick band of muscle.
Emerson eyed him, his hand stilling. “Are you okay?”
Dash nodded. “Yeah.”
Emerson slid a little deeper before drawing all the way out. He ran his fingertip along the rim and glided in again, easier than the first time. He pressed his mouth against Emerson’s shoulder to quiet the moan that tore up his throat.