No one else was staying on the island but his dad’s small group of friends.
“Good choice.” Shep sent one last message, then tucked his phone into his pocket and plunked down beside Matthew. “Evie’s coming with some drinks. I asked if she’d bring you one, too.”
“Okay.” Matthew closed his mouth, overly aware of his lips and tongue. There had to be a mistake. Their group couldn’t be the only one on the island. It would mean—
“You doing okay, dude?” Shep asked cautiously. “You’re looking weird. Uh, it’s not like… heat related, is it? I can go get Jayne or Simon or whoever if you need help.”
“No.” Matthew shook his head. The concept he was struggling to wrap his mind around didn’t have one iota to do with his fertility. Not directly, at least.
In the distance, Damien cackled. Matthew lifted his chin in time to see him sprint across the beach near the surf, one stuffed duffel bag tucked beneath his arm, another swinging by its nylon handles from his clenched fist. Behind him, Matthew’s father was in hot pursuit. He held what appeared to be a water pistol.
While Matthew’s father fired off shot after shot, Damien ducked and dodged, then dropped the duffel bag under his arm, reached into his pocket, and threw something in the air. Matthew’s father cried out like he’d been wounded and fell back, dodging some unseen force.
“Get him, Gwynn!” Gage, who was Matthew’s father’s friend, laughed while running after them. The rest of the Single Dads followed at a more leisurely pace behind him. “Take him down!”
Damien stuck his middle finger high in the air. “You’ll never catch me alive, suckers! Eat my glittery dust!”
True to his word, he grabbed his bag and sprinted across the beach, kicking up a fan of white grit in his wake. Matthew’s father gave chase, but Damien was faster, and as soon as he reached the docks leading to the bungalows, there was no stopping him. Damien bolted down the walkway, took one of the forks leading out of sight, and disappeared.
“Matthew?” Shep poked Matthew’s arm, snapping Matthew out of his stupor. “Dude, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on? It’s not like dengue fever or anything, is it? I told Jayne that it was a stupid idea to bring us all onto an island with only one exit, but he rolled his eyes and told me to stop playing so many zombie FPS games.”
“I’m okay.” It was a lie—Matthew wasnotokay—but there wasn’t anything Shep could do to help him. Unless Shep knew how to stop wanting to bone your dad’s friend, Matthew was well and thoroughly fucked.
7
Matthew
“Dude, seriously. Are you sure you’re okay?” Shep eased himself up and came to stand in front of Matthew, frowning deeply. “There’s zero shame if things are bad for you right now. All you have to do is tell me. When my brother Simon went into heat for the first time—”
“I’m not going into heat for the first time.” Matthew bristled. It wasn’t like him to get prickly, but there was too much going on at once. “I’m okay. I promise. Just… just a little out of it, that’s all. I’m not about to succumb to my heat or go zombie or anything. All I need to do is get my head on straight and I’ll be fine.”
Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Matthew craned his neck, trying to look past Shep at the spot where Damien had last been, but was promptly shut down when Shep pivoted to look where Matthew was looking. His ass blocked Matthew’s view.
“Well… okay.” Shep shrugged, seeming to lose interest in what was going on by the bungalows. He settled in the sand with his back to the ocean, facing Matthew. “Just know if you wanna talk to someone about it, I’m here.”
Talking about it seemed like a very bad idea. All it would take was one slip of the tongue for word to get out, demonizing Damien in the eyes of his friends for something he wasn’t even guilty of. When he’d started flirting with Matthew, Damien hadn’t known who he was… but…
Matthew bit the inside of his lip and shifted his thighs.
After Damien had found out, he’d kept flirting. He’d looked at Matthew like it was their fun little secret to share, then walked away promising they’d meet again.
Blood rushed Matthew’s cheeks. His heart, which had already been startled by Shep’s arrival, thudded in a way that would have worried a cardiologist.
His dad’s hot friend wanted to fuck him.
Him.
Matthew swallowed to keep from making a pitched sound of pleasure. He was right—there was absolutely no way he could talk about this. The secret would die with him.
Eager for a distraction, Matthew looked at the small hill of sand he’d pinched into existence and discovered it had fallen over. He set about putting it right.
It wasn’t wrong to want someone, was it? It wasn’t like Damien had touched him. It wasn’t like he’d shoved Matthew against the bungalow door, seized him by the chin, and kissed him until Matthew’s lips were swollen and his cock had turned to steel.
God, that visual. Matthew pushed more sand into his little hill while the scene unfolded in his mind. He was a mess, wasn’t he? The idea of sleeping with someone like Damien should have repulsed him, but the more he thought about it, the more it turned him on.
“So,” Shep said after a long and awkward pause. “Uh, you come here often?”
Before Matthew could reply, a feminine voice joined the conversation, calling out to them from not so far away. “Hey, boys!”
