Fearless (Pier 70 Book 2) Read online

  “You need a drink.” Taking her hand, Dare tugged her toward the bar.

  “Or you mean you need a drink?”

  “That, too.” He needed more than a drink if he was going to have to dodge Milly’s stepbrother this trip. The only thing he could picture was a pimply-faced, twenty-something with Coke-bottle glasses, a pocket protector, and greasy hair. Video game chic, he thought it was called.

  On top of that, Dare couldn’t help but wonder what in the hell she’d told the guy about him. That he was interested? That he couldn’t wait to get a controller in hand and duke it out with him?

  Fuck, he hoped not. He tried to keep his video game obsession on the down low, thank you very much.

  Somehow, when Milly had brought the subject up, Dare had always managed to deflect, not wanting to know anything about the guy. And to this day, he hadn’t so much as learned her stepbrother’s name. He had to admit, he was pretty good at avoidance when need be.

  But he hadn’t been lying when he’d said he wasn’t interested in a relationship. And dating—whether one or more times—could potentially lead to a relationship. Therefore, Dare was abstaining. Indefinitely. One-night stands were more his forte. And even those were few and far between.

  “Apple martini for the lady,” Dare told the bartender. “And I’ll take a Rolling Rock.”

  The bartender nodded, then turned away to retrieve their drinks.

  “You’re cute when you’re flustered.” Milly patted his arm.

  “Me? Flustered?” Dare snorted. “Not a chance.”

  “There’s my stepbrother now,” Milly announced, loud enough for half the room to hear.

  “Wait. What?” Dare spun around, looking in the direction she was facing, but he didn’t see anyone he didn’t recognize.

  “See? Told you. Cute when flustered.”

  Dare turned back to her, scowling as he did. “Not funny, Holcomb.”

  “On the contrary.” Milly’s grin widened and she looked incredibly pleased with herself.

  “What in the world am I gonna do with you?” Knowing she was teasing him allowed him to relax somewhat.

  Roan and Cam both had informed him that Milly was a female version of him. Only, he didn’t see it. The more he was around her, the more he had to wonder just how wrong they were. And if they weren’t wrong, then… Surely they were wrong. He wasn’t that obnoxious, was he?

  “There he is.” He heard the smile in Milly’s voice.

  “No way.” She couldn’t fool him twice. He kept his attention on the bartender. “Not falling for it again.”

  “Hey, Milly.”

  Dare’s entire body went rigid at the sound of that voice. It was deep, raspy, and … eerily familiar.

  A cold chill slowly trickled down his spine.

  There was no way.

  Milly’s hand landed on Dare’s forearm, tugging him around. He managed to keep his back straight as he slowly pivoted.

  “Dare, I’d like you to meet my stepbrother, Noah Pearson. Noah, this is Cam’s friend, one of the other owners of the marina, Dare Davis.”

  Son.

  Of.

  A.

  Motherfucking.

  Bitch.

  There was no possible way this man could be Milly’s stepbrother. Definitely no pimples, no pocket protector, no glasses. Doubtful he even owned a video game controller.

  Nope, this was a big, brooding, sexy man.

  With intense brown eyes.

  Eyes that Dare had once stared into when…

  A strange ghosting pain echoed in his chest, one he remembered all too well from his past.

  Fighting the urge to rub the ache away, Dare stood there, rooted in place. Doing his absolute fucking best not to let on that, at one time in his life, this man had single-handedly ripped Dare’s heart right out of his chest.

  And then drowned it.

  Well, there you have it.

  The world as Noah knew it ceased to exist, and suddenly he found himself stepping into a time warp. Only, he doubted there had been a disruption in the space-time continuum.

  At least not today.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to be dreaming, either.

  And this dark-haired, hazel-eyed, absurdly handsome man might look disconcertingly similar to the guy Noah had once been head-over-heels in love with, but he certainly wasn’t that guy. Sure, he looked the same, only older, rougher around the edges. He even had the same eyebrow twitch that Noah had always found oddly adorable, but there was something different about him.

  The fifteen years that had separated them was likely it.

  Noah swallowed as reality sank in.

  It was him.

  Dare Davis.

  How the hell had this happened? How had they ended up here of all places?

  It looked as though six degrees of separation wasn’t as absurd a theory as he’d once thought.

  Noah hoped he didn’t look as off-balance as he felt, but he couldn’t be sure. The way Dare was staring back at him as though he were planning how he intended to toss him overboard told Noah that he was equally shocked. Not that he could blame the guy. Standing less than two feet away was the one man Noah had never thought he’d see again. Not after…

  “Noah.” Dare’s greeting carried an icy chill.

  “Dare.” Noah nodded, mocking his tone, refusing to look directly at Milly, though he knew his stepsister was already trying to figure this one out.

  Good luck with that.

  “You two know each other?” Milly questioned curiously.

  Noah spared her a quick glance, noticing the way her gaze flipped from one to the other, her mouth hanging open. She looked as stunned as he felt. Thankfully, unlike her, he’d managed to keep his mouth closed. He hoped.

  Regardless of how he looked, Noah didn’t know how to answer Milly’s question, so he returned his attention to Dare.

  Yes, they knew each other, but it had been years since he’d seen Dare. Many, many years.

  “Fine,” Milly huffed, her tone firmer this time, “it’s pretty obvious you do, so let me dumb it down a bit. How do you know each other?”

  “It was a long time ago.” Dare narrowed his eyes at Noah before turning around to face the bar when the bartender appeared. “But not nearly long enough.”

  For some reason, that spiteful remark pulled a smile from Noah. The fact that Dare was unhappy to see him didn’t surprise him one bit.

  Noah glanced at the drinks being placed on the bar in front of Dare. The apple martini would be for Milly; he knew that much. When she wasn’t chugging wine like water, his stepsister was a huge fan of those fruity drinks. And the Rolling Rock … same old Dare. If he recalled correctly, Noah had been the one to introduce an underage Dare to that particular beer.

  If Dare’s drink selection was any indication, some things hadn’t changed with the blast from Noah’s past.

  He allowed his gaze to stray to Dare when the man turned back around and handed Milly her drink. Noah casually took him in from head to toe, doing his best not to let the heat that consumed him show. Just as it had been all those years ago, there was an instantaneous physical attraction that Noah couldn’t deny.

  Dare was casually dressed in a forest-green polo that brought out the green in his hazel eyes, a pair of faded Levis that showcased his long legs, and a pair of brown leather Rockports that looked as though they’d never been worn.

  No doubt about it, the guy still had it going on. Fiercely.

  Those sexy, rugged features had been what had drawn him to Dare in the first place. Dare was the modern-day gay equivalent of a Greek god. Still. Long and lean, he oozed sex appeal with his crooked smile (which was noticeably absent at the moment) and bedroom eyes. And for the twenty-five months they’d been together, the sex had been … off the fucking charts.

  Dropping his gaze to his feet, Noah took a deep breath. He certainly wasn’t going to think about that now. Definitely not with Milly likely scrutinizing his every facial muscle, s
till waiting for an explanation.

  Milly cleared her throat.

  Noah lifted his gaze to Dare’s, noticing the way he was clenching his teeth, the muscle in his jaw flexing, the tick in his eyebrow making his left eye twitch.

  Yep, still fucking adorable.

  Okay, so maybe some things had changed. He was still long and lean, but gone was the skinny guy Dare had once been, and in his place was a thicker, more muscular, damn sexy man with a determined glint in his eyes. Seemed as though the past fifteen years had been good to Dare. Very good. And he still had the same intriguing eyes, same short, brown hair—though it seemed lighter than before, probably from all the time he spent in the sun, since, according to Milly, the guy owned a marina.

  “So which one of you is gonna fill me in?” Milly was still staring as she sipped her drink. “And you should both know right now, I’m quite adept at torture. So either spit it out or I will drag it out of you.”

  Noah didn’t know how to explain their history together. Didn’t even know if he should.

  “Hey, Mill.”

  Milly and Dare both turned to face whomever the disembodied voice coming from over Noah’s left shoulder belonged to. Noah took a step forward, a tad closer to Dare, before he turned and faced the man who was responsible for saving the day. Though, now that he saw who it was, he was, ironically, also the man responsible for this—whatever this was—by association.

  “Gannon,” Milly greeted, her eyes smiling along with the rest of her as she shifted so that she could include Noah in the conversation. “You remember my stepbrother, Noah.”

  Gannon nodded, then held out his hand.

  Noah returned the gesture. “Good to see you again, Gannon. And congratulations.”

  “Thanks.” Gannon blushed, a move that was noticeable due to the unusual paleness of his skin. “I’m just ready for it to be over.”

  “What? The wedding?” Milly chuckled. “Or the boat ride?”

  “It’s not so bad right now.” Gannon glanced between the three of them. “I’m not sure I’ll feel the same when this thing’s moving or when we’re miles away from land.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Milly assured him. “Just think, Cam will keep you busy.”

  Gannon nodded. “Speaking of…” Gannon’s gaze hopped between the three of them once more before landing back on Milly. “I’m gonna go find him.”

  Noah wondered if Gannon felt the tension or if he simply wanted to go find his future husband.

  “I’ll go with you.” Dare took a step forward, his shoulder bumping Noah harder than was necessary. On purpose, no doubt.

  Milly instantly placed her hand on Dare’s chest. “Nope. Uh-uh. You stay here. I’ll go with him.”

  Noah noticed Dare’s frown.

  Before Milly left, she came to stand directly in front of them both. “You two better play nice.”

  Noah had every intention of playing nice. How else would he play? It’d been fifteen years … which was the equivalent of ancient history as far as he was concerned.

  “Oh, and do me a favor.” Fortitude replaced the amusement in her bright blue eyes.

  Noah lifted an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

  “Don’t let me stumble upon the two of you naked anywhere. If you’re gonna get naked, take it back to your cabin.”

  Dare snorted.

  Noah smiled.

  Leave it to Milly to lighten the mood. Or try to, anyway.

  The thought of Dare naked…

  Definitely not what he needed to be thinking about.

  A quick peek at Dare once more and Noah noticed he was still sulking. He didn’t need to wonder why the man wasn’t happy. Looked as though, for some, a decade and a half wasn’t long enough to forgive and forget. It was clear Dare didn’t want anything to do with him.

  Not that Noah understood that exactly. From what he remembered, their breakup hadn’t been Noah’s fault. If his memory served him correctly, Dare had been the one who’d walked away.

  In the middle of the night.

  When Noah was asleep.

  Once Milly left, Noah spared another quick peek at Dare to find him scowling, his eyes leveled on Noah’s face.

  “Why are you here?” Dare hissed, his voice low.

  Noah grimaced. “Because Milly invited me?”

  “You’re tellin’ me it had nothing to do with me?”

  For a brief moment, he felt like laughing, but then he realized Dare was serious. Noah’s face heated, his anger igniting. Lowering his voice, he took a step closer to Dare, getting right up in his face—ignoring how damn good Dare smelled. “How the fuck would I know you’d be here? I haven’t seen you in fifteen fucking years.”

  Not that he’d kept track. Much.

  Dare’s eyes narrowed, his mouth opened, then snapped closed.

  “How do I know you didn’t have something to do with this?” Noah added, unable to refrain. “Maybe you’re the one who told Milly to invite me.”

  Dare moved another step closer, and they were almost touching, chest to knee. “I had no fucking idea you were her stepbrother. Last I remembered, your parents were still married and you were an only child.”

  True. He had been. But a lot of shit had happened since then. Shit Noah did not want to think about today or any day, for that matter.

  “I was,” Noah confirmed. “Right up until the day Milly’s dad married my mother, three years ago.” What he didn’t say was that his dad had died, fucking Noah’s world up beyond repair.

  And yes, maybe this was one hell of a coincidence.

  Didn’t mean Noah had a fucking clue how to deal with it—or get away from it, for that matter. They were stuck on a boat for the next eight days.

  The only positive … it was a big fucking boat.

  Four

  Dare knew he needed to get his shit together. Being an asshole certainly didn’t suit him.

  Or maybe it was the clothes he was forced to wear.

  Or both.

  He took a deep breath, trying to fight off the overwhelming emotions that swamped him. It had been more than a decade and a half since he’d last seen Noah, but standing here now, it felt as though that devastating day he’d lost the only man he’d ever allowed himself to love had been yesterday.

  But it hadn’t been.

  And technically, he hadn’t lost Noah. A search party had never been issued because he’d known right where Noah was. Dare had simply walked away. And Noah … well, he hadn’t cared enough to come after him.

  Swallowing hard, he stared back at the blast from his past who had somehow ended up on this ship. For a brief moment, he worried he wouldn’t be able to handle being in close contact with Noah for any length of time. Not after…

  He needed to remember that he was fifteen years older now. Far wiser than the nineteen-year-old punk he’d been back then when he’d allowed Noah to break his heart.

  He wasn’t that guy—or kid, as Noah had called him—anymore.

  He was a grown-up.

  A civilized adult.

  Okay, maybe not civilized, but an adult, nonetheless.

  Which meant he could act civilized if he had to.

  Right?

  Knowing better than to get lost in the past, Dare forced a smile. “Gotta go chat with some people. Have fun.”

  “I plan to,” Noah replied as Dare walked away, but Dare managed not to turn around and ask him what that meant.

  He didn’t want to know.

  Dare found Hudson standing in the far corner, sipping what appeared to be something strong. Lucky bastard. Shaking off the past few minutes, Dare nodded toward him and asked, “Why do you look pissed?”

  Hudson grinned, then signed back, I was going to ask you the same thing.

  Rolling his eyes, pretending he wasn’t pissy, Dare said, “Looks like my past caught up with me. What’s your excuse?”

  Hudson shook his head and drained the rest of his drink.

  That was when Dare followed Hudson’s
line of sight, coming to rest on Teague, who was … yep, blatantly flirting it up with one of the waiters.

  Not surprising.

  Dare glanced at Hudson once more, then back to Teague, unable to contain his laugh.

  Hudson waved a hand in front of Dare’s face, getting his attention.

  Why are you laughing?

  “Why are you pouting?”

  Hudson’s green eyes narrowed, and he flipped Dare off, making Dare laugh louder.

  “I thought you brought a plus one? Why’re you worried about Teague?”

  Hudson’s grin was slow and wicked, causing Dare to watch him closely.

  “Who’s the plus one?” Dare was far too curious not to ask.

  My brother, AJ. Hudson’s grin widened. Just don’t tell Teague that. I’m pretty sure he already assumes otherwise.

  Based on the way Teague was glaring in their direction, that was likely a safe assumption. Not to mention, it was just like Hudson to lead the kid on and make him think that way.

  Those two were something else.

  It would be quite easy for Hudson to snag Teague if he wanted to, Dare knew. The hostility between those two … it was tightly wrapped in a bubble of sexual tension, tied with a bow made solely of desperate, undeniable attraction. Only, it seemed that both Hudson and Teague weren’t aware of that. Or if they were, they were pretending otherwise. Which amused Dare.

  Hudson nodded his chin in the direction behind Dare. Who is the hot guy staring you down?

  Dare shrugged. It was better than lying, at least.

  Hudson smiled. Right. At least you didn’t deny he’s hot.

  “Whatever.” Dare lifted his beer to his lips.

  Okay, so this hadn’t been the greatest idea in the world. Of all people, the man who couldn’t speak was the one giving him shit.

  Needing some air, Dare turned to Hudson once more. “If anyone’s lookin’ for me, tell them I’ll be back.”

  Hudson nodded, and Dare tossed back what was left of his beer, set the empty bottle on the table, and made a beeline out of the room. He didn’t stop until he’d made it to the deck, the sun beaming down on his head, the scent of saltwater filling his nostrils. Only then did he take a deep breath, stretching his arms out in front of him as he gripped the rail and bent over, dropping his head between his shoulders and staring at the ground.