“I always wanted to take a walk along the beach at night.” Sam stopped by the steps leading down to the sand and shoreline. “Want to come with me?”
He extended his hand and without hesitation Zach took it, their palms sliding, fingers naturally lacing together. There was neither the desire nor inclination to speak as they advanced to the edge where the tide rushed in and pulled back.
Zach let go of Sam’s hand, took off his shoes and rolled up his pant legs. Sam did the same; then once again they held hands, still silent, and walked along the coastline, letting the cold water lap at their ankles and toes. A few other people had the same idea as them; Zach spotted several couples entwined on the sand, but he barely paid them any attention. How could he, when every nerve ending in his body was zeroed in on the touch of his fingers with Sam’s?
Always the romantic, Zach held firm to the belief it was possible to find that true love and happy ending, though life made it more elusive for some than others. It wasn’t the Lifetime movies Marcus teased him about watching that he could point to for proof—he knew the real thing when he saw it happening before his eyes. Julian and Nick reunited after all these years, finally able to show the world how much they loved each other, was like a fantasy turned to life, and he was thrilled for his friends.
Not to say he didn’t have his own fantasies—he may not be the wildest guy, but he wasn’t dead yet either. This right here was at the top of his list: to walk along a moonlit beach with a handsome man and be kissed. Zach had the moonlight, the beach, and the handsome man. Now he needed that kiss.
Sam stopped and stared out to sea, his strong profile unreadable in the black of the night sky. Zach could smell the salty tang and fishy scent wafting up from the tumble of rocks jutting out from the coast, the spray of the waves pounding up hard against them. He imagined the tiny crabs and other sea dwellers scuttling about, blindly searching for a hiding place, a safe harbor to seek shelter in.
Zach identified with those little creatures—hiding, shy, afraid of exposure for fear of hurt and capture. But where had it gotten him? Nowhere. And though he knew his friends loved him and would never abandon him, Zach didn’t want to be that friend, the third wheel, the one everyone felt sorry for because he was alone. He wanted to make his mark, not with his work but with his heart. For without love, was the journey even worth it?
A day of firsts and a night of chance. Zach was taking control, figuring out who he could be without his friends—his crutches—by his side. Wasn’t that what he came here to find? He’d sworn not to succumb to his cautious nature, not to let shyness and uncertainty defeat his goal. Zach would have the night he planned, and it would be with Sam Stein.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sam murmured. “I’ve always been in awe of the power of the sea.”
“One of my favorite memories is of my father taking me to the beach in the summer,” said Zach thoughtfully. “We’d play in the waves and eat our sandwiches and grapes; then I’d bury him in the sand until only his head showed.” He huffed out a self-conscious laugh. “I haven’t thought of those times in years.”
His father had died suddenly when Zach was eleven, leaving his mother broken and incapable of dealing with her solitude and widowhood. Overnight he’d become the man of the house without ever having the chance to grow up or mourn the loss of his father. He sighed and kicked a line in the sand.
Sam turned away from his study of the ocean and placed a hand on Zach’s shoulder. “I hope I didn’t bring up unpleasant thoughts for you.”
“No, you didn’t. I like thinking of him; it makes his memory more alive. I should do it more often in fact.”
To Zach’s surprise, Sam pulled him close, resting an arm across his shoulders. “How about you think of me right now instead, and how much I want to kiss you?”
His heart beating madly, Zach pressed his lips to Sam’s and sank into his arms, heedless to the water pooling around their feet, soaking the hem of his pants.
Chapter Four
Zach’smouthtasted warm and darkly rich from both the wine and the steak. The softness of Zach’s lips, the lush and tranquil shushing sound of the waves, all coalesced, providing unexpected, yet perfect pleasure. Then Zach’s tongue slid inside his mouth, robbing Sam of his breath and ability to think straight at all.
When he decided to join Henry this weekend, Sam had no expectation he’d find anyone to pique his interest. He’d figured it would be a boring conference filled with computer people spouting off gibberish. Finding Zach by accident at the bar was pure luck on his part.
Standing here now, kissing Zach, his body humming with need, skin hot despite the coolness of the night air, for the first time in months, Sam wanted someone. Deeply, viscerally, so much so that he hoped they could make it back upstairs before he lost control.
“My room or yours?” He spoke against the corner of Zach’s mouth, the silk of Zach’s shirt sliding up underneath his hands, so Sam could touch the warm, smooth skin of his back.
“Let’s do mine,” whispered Zach.
Did he imagine a hesitation? He must be wrong, Sam thought, feeling the press of Zach’s unmistakable erection against his thigh.
They walked none too slowly, and Sam had to commend the both of them for not sprinting full speed into the hotel. He managed to keep his cool through the elevator ride and even when Zach fumbled the card out of his wallet.
When the door shut behind him, Sam grabbed Zach, slamming their bodies together. “I’m so fucking hard for you I don’t have time to be sweet and pretty.”
“Let’s go to the bedroom.” Zach pulled him through a dark room to the back of the small suite, where a king-size bed, already turned down for the evening, awaited them.
Through narrowed eyes, Sam watched Zach undress, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of Zach’s body when he was finally naked. Though he gave a slight appearance while dressed, Zach’s body was beautiful, with lean sinewy muscle under his long limbs. His chest had a nice covering of dark hair, and his cock, thick and long, stood up flushed and gleaming at the tip.
“Your turn.” Zach pointed at him. “It works much better if both of us are naked.” He grinned. “At least for me.”
“Wise-ass,” growled Sam, but pulled off his clothes until he too stood naked. For a moment he was unsure about his body. Zach was younger and more fit; his body didn’t bear the scars of knife attacks Sam’s had, nor did it show the inevitable creep of age. Suddenly self-conscious, Sam turned away, only to have Zach, naked, hot, and smooth-skinned, press flush up against his back. Sam’s cock jerked against his stomach.
“Don’t.” Zach’s lips were buried in his hair. “I want to see you.”
“I’m nothing special,” said Sam, laughing a bit to hide his discomfort. He hadn’t experienced this awkwardness with a lover before, but Zach wasn’t an ordinary hook-up, though for the life of him Sam couldn’t say why.
