Treasure of Love by Scotty Cade Page B

his tracks, and all thoughts of the Dark Side melted away. Dax was casually leaning on the wall opposite his cabin door, smiling broadly. His legs were crossed at the ankle, and his muscular arms were folded across his firm swimmer’s chest. Jack felt a flurry of nerves well up inside him, and he was suddenly flushed with embarrassment.
    “Anyone ever tell you how hot you are when you’re nervous?” Dax asked.
    “Not that I can remember,” Jack said as he fidgeted like a ten-year-old that had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
    “Are you going to stand there and fidget all night or are you going to ask me in?” Dax asked with a smirk.
    “I haven’t decided yet,” Jack said as he stepped past Dax and opened the cabin door.
    Dax held his ground. “Okay, you can come in,” Jack said. “Sorry the place is such a mess, but obviously I didn’t know I was going to have a gentlemen caller.”
    “No problem,” Dax said.
    Jack watched in silence as Dax kicked off his shoes, and as his tall frame gracefully crawled across the bed. Then Dax flipped over and sat with his back resting against the wall. He smiled and patted the spot next to him.
    “What part of ‘taking it slow’ did you not get?” Jack asked through a smile.
    “Look,” Dax said, pointing down to the bed. “I’m totally dressed and on top of the covers.”
    Jack sighed in defeat as he toed off his shoes and hesitantly climbed into the queen-sized berth and sat, shoulder to shoulder, next to Dax.
    Jack nervously looked straight ahead and noticed that Dax’s legs were at least six inches longer than his own and hung off the end of the berth. His feet were at least two sizes larger too. This man is big all over , he thought, and he blushed again when he thought about the implications of that statement.
    “That’s better,” Dax said as he grabbed Jack’s hand. “I agreed to take things slowly, but that doesn’t mean we can’t court,” he said with a smile and a wink. Dax was an impatient man, and figured if he didn’t push Jack’s limits a little every time they were together, he would get nowhere.
    Jack glanced down at his hand entwined in another man’s hand and swallowed the lump in his throat. He looked back up, and they both sat there, staring ahead and holding hands like a couple of high school kids.
    “So, when did you know you were gay?” Dax asked.
    “I don’t know that I am gay,” Jack responded.
    “Okay, let’s work through this,” Dax continued. “You’re sitting in bed with a gay man who’s holding your hand and about to kiss you, and you don’t think you’re gay?”
    Jack opened his mouth to protest, but before he could answer, Dax leaned in and gently kissed him on his full, beautiful lips, then leaned back to his side of the bed.
    Stunned, Jack didn’t move.
    “Were you about to say something?” Dax asked through a smile.
    Jack was silent. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember what he was going to say. But besides his inability to speak, he hated the fact that Dax knew he’d kissed the words right out of him.
    “Let’s try another route,” Dax suggested. “When did you know you were attracted to me?”
    Jack turned his head to face Dax. “I don’t know the answer to that, either,” he said shyly. “One minute I was loathing you and the next you were kissing me. That kind of emotional juxtaposition takes a little getting used to, if you know what I mean.”
    “So, just to make sure I got this right and I’m not barking up the wrong tree,” Dax said. “Does Captain Cameron like being kissed by men?”
    “I haven’t kissed any men,” Jack said nervously. “Just you.”
    “Thanks a lot,” Dax responded, his bruised ego very evident in his tone.
    “No, that didn’t come out right,” Jack confessed. “I mean I’ve never been kissed by any other man except you.”
    “That’s better, I think,” Dax said as he turned to face Jack.
    Jack held up his index finger