It was easy to watch Ty"s masterful performance for the rest of lunch, and Zane let himself enjoy it.
Chapter 4
TY LAY on one of the teak deck chairs, stretched out with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed against the bright winter sun filtering through the protective glass that housed the indoor pool. Just after lunch he and Zane had decided to show their faces and actually try to enjoy themselves before they got deeper into the case. Ty had opted for the pool before remembering the piece of synthetic skin covering his tattoo. He wasn"t sure if it could be submerged, and he wanted to test that in private before he dove in.
He"d been lying still for far too long, though. He kept telling himself it was part of the cover. This was the only thing anyone expected him to do. They figured being in plain sight the first afternoon would be a good plan, and the pool area under the dome meant it was plenty warm, especially with the sun shining through the glass.
Ty wasn"t sure where Zane had gotten off to. He knew he couldn"t dog his partner"s steps for fear of looking too suspicious, but it made him nervous nonetheless, letting Zane out of his sight. He knew there were agents on the ship somewhere, no doubt looking out for them. But he had yet to make any of them, and that alone disturbed him.
No one was so good that they could consistently hide when a trained eye knew to look for them. Ty told himself they were probably keeping a low profile and not to worry about it.
Finally, he couldn"t take the relaxation any longer, and he raised his head, squinting as he looked around to see if Zane was anywhere near, searching for a dark head somewhere. He passed over the first three almost immediately. Then he caught sight of a man surfacing in the pool amidst a gathering of women in various amounts of swimsuit.
Ty cocked his head, allowing himself to examine the tightening of his chest in reaction to spotting his partner. It had been happening more frequently lately. Ty didn"t know if it was because he just had more opportunities to spot Zane in a crowd now, or if it was due to the more obvious possibilities. He had stopped trying to deny the fact that he was in love some weeks ago. The fact that they were not only able to show each other some attention here on the cruise ship, but that they were encouraged to do so, was only adding to the weight of the feelings he"d realized in the mountains of West Virginia.
He still had his doubts, of course, and the thought still unnerved him, but he had pretty much come to terms with it. It was almost amusing. If he"d been a betting man, he would never have picked himself from the two of them to be the sap who fell in love.
Ty sighed slightly and shielded his eyes, watching Zane idly.
It was clear that several of the women were flirting with him, and it was crystal clear that Zane—Corbin—was vastly amused. Zane slicked his wet hair back with one hand as he spoke with a couple of them before the group laughed and Zane gave that full-of-it smile Ty had quickly come to associate with Corbin. The real Corbin Porter was obviously a dick, if Zane"s impression of him was anything to go by.
But Zane, with the self-assured addition to his attitude, was hitting buttons Ty hadn"t even known he possessed. He sighed, looking down at the silver ring on his finger. It was still odd to see it there. And it was unnerving that he still couldn"t seem to get it off. He tugged at it like he had been all morning. It was just a little too tight, and it didn"t budge over the still-swollen, scarred knuckle. Tonight he intended to take some soap to it. Or if that failed, Astroglide.
He looked back up, sighing as he continued trying to spin it around on his finger. It took a long moment for it to register that Zane was wading toward him, a couple of the women trailing along, still talking as they entered into shallower water.
Ty watched him appreciatively, not worried that anyone could see like he normally did. Hell, it would be odd if people saw him not watching now, right? He stretched back out on his deck chair, crossing one ankle over the other and putting his hands behind his head again.
It gave him a comfortable vantage point to see the water stream over Zane"s skin as he climbed the shallow steps out of the pool. Ty"s eyebrow climbed as he took in the bright red European swim shorts that stuck to Zane"s skin like crepe paper, well below the navel, a streak of scarlet across his lean hips and muscled abdomen.
Ty crossed his ankles the other way and looked up at the sky briefly, fighting his natural reaction to the view. His own swim trunks were similar, but in black. He hoped he pulled the look off as well as his partner did.
Then Zane lifted the towel to wipe his face and turned his back to Ty. Ty did a double-take when he caught sight of the ink on the lowest part of Zane"s back, under the mishmash of thin white scars he knew were there. It looked like a twisted vine with small leaves and thorns—
a simple but striking set of black lines that wrapped and twisted around, reaching from hip to hip along Zane"s lower back before dipping down to a point just inside those very brief red shorts, forming an inverted triangle that stood out against Zane"s tanned skin.
How the hell had he missed that?
Ty slapped his hand over his mouth to muffle the laugh that threatened. Finally, Zane was getting a little of the same treatment Ty had been dealing with. Ty supposed being forced to wear white linen and platinum hair was better than a henna tramp stamp.
He snorted as he lay there alone, and he had to look away before he began laughing harder and made a scene. Once he"d regained control, he looked back as one of the women stepped closer to Zane, her face clear to Ty since she faced him, and she very deliberately placed a hand on the bare skin of Zane"s hip to brush her fingers near the tattoo. Ty whistled softly, hoping the henna or whatever they"d used to put the tattoo on wouldn"t rub off when it was wet.
He couldn"t have heard the proposition any clearer if he"d been standing right there next to them. He lowered his head, watching idly as he let his hand fall to his side. He"d never really seen Zane flirt, other than his playfully pitiful attempts at trying to seduce Ty into bed. And during their first week together in New York when they"d met with Serena Scott.
She was the type who ate her bedmates afterward. Zane had seemed to like it.
The woman"s mouth formed a surprised O before a slight frown crinkled her brow. Zane turned enough that Ty could see the smile curving his lips, tipping his head in Ty"s direction as he placed his hand on hers and removed it from his hip, though he kissed her fingers before releasing it to ease the rejection. The flustered woman stepped back and nodded, offering him an embarrassed smile, and Zane turned to walk toward Ty, Corbin"s smile still in place.
Ty didn"t move as he watched Zane approach. He merely kept his eyes on him, a smile quirking his lips as Zane got closer. Then Zane stopped at the foot of the lounger and openly looked him up and down.
“Enjoying yourself?” he asked before wiping at his face again with the towel he carried.
Ty couldn"t help but stretch under the frank appraisal. He gave Zane a content smile. “I am now,” he answered wryly, the accent coming easier to him. The accent, he"d found, actually made it easier to be Del Porter. When he stopped using it in private, it was much more difficult to find the headspace. He couldn"t commit himself to using it all the time, though. It sounded too damn silly.
Zane"s smile turned into a smirk. “Sit up, doll,” he said as he rubbed the towel over his chest and abs.
Ty raised an eyebrow. Zane really seemed to be enjoying his role.
He pushed himself up onto his elbows, gave Zane a crooked smile, and sat up as requested. Zane straddled the lounger, sat, and slid in behind him, then leaned back, Ty neatly between his sprawled legs. “Ah. Much better vantage point for tracking interesting people,” Zane murmured pleasantly, dropping Corbin"s oily drawl.
Ty reached over to the table beside the chair and retrieved his sunglasses. He rested an elbow on Zane"s knee, looking around as he let his fingers coast along the damp skin of Zane"s calf. The dark shades masked his perusal of the crowd. Several people were watching them, some deliberately, some surreptitiously. One man in particular observed them from across the deck and had been doing so ever since Ty had caught sight of him more than thirty minutes ago.“I think I"ve made one of our contacts,” Ty told Zane as he let his hand travel to the back of Zane"s knee and along his thigh. He resisted mentioning the tattoo. He didn"t think he could without laughing yet.
Zane grunted in acknowledgment. “Only one? Spot any of the team?” He laid his hand over Ty"s shoulder, stroking lightly with this thumb.
Ty"s lips twitched. “Not yet. You"re enjoying this, aren"t you?”
he declared in amusement, turning to glance back at Zane briefly. His fingertips just barely brushed Zane"s skin. It was a chaste, tantalizing gesture.
Zane"s look edged toward a leer. “Hell yes,” he said.
Ty smiled and turned his head to fully look at Zane, one eyebrow raised behind the designer sunglasses. It was rare to catch Zane in this mood. Ty wanted nothing more right then than to head back to the luxury stateroom, lock the door, and get on his knees. And he was okay with that.
He took his sunglasses off and met Zane"s eyes, knowing his partner would read him like a book.
That leer was firmly in place in Zane"s flashing eyes as Zane reached out, wrapped one hand around Ty"s neck to pull him close, and kissed him hard. Ty flailed slightly when he was yanked, having to contort a little and lean far backward to meet the kiss. But he relaxed into it quickly, letting the odd feeling settle over him.
It was an entirely new sensation for him, kissing another man in public. Something he had never done. Something he was really enjoying. He reached up to drag his fingers through Zane"s wet hair. He hummed along with the kiss, letting his body react and not trying to fight it. They had two weeks of this on their cake surveillance assignment. They might as well enjoy it. It seemed like forever before Zane pulled back, though it couldn"t possibly have been more than eight or ten seconds.
“Let"s go,” Zane rasped. “I"ve had enough sun for one afternoon, and I"m sure you"ve had your fill of people-watching.”
Ty smiled and turned his head to glance around the pool again.
His entire body buzzed after the kiss, another new thing for him, and he didn"t want to move and ruin it just yet. The man across the pool still watched them casually from behind his own sunglasses.
Ty cocked his head at him. He was tall and thin, his hair a deep black and his complexion what Ty might have called swarthy. They couldn"t approach him. He would come to them at the specified time, whenever the hell that was. Until then, all he and Zane had to do was…
be married.
Ty grinned and deliberately leaned his body back against Zane"s chest. He rested his head on the front of Zane"s shoulder and turned his face until his nose brushed under Zane"s chin. “I"d rather stay here a while longer,” he said in a low voice. His hand slid up Zane"s inner thigh, disappearing between their bodies.
The low rumble of an amused chuckle shook Ty slightly as Zane dropped his chin to steal a kiss, quicker this time, before curling his arm around Ty to rest his hand on Ty"s belly. He was now pretty much serving as the back of the deck chair, and Ty was lounging against him.
“If you want. You"ll make it up to me later,” Zane teased.
“Oh, I know it,” Ty responded as his fingers found what they"d been seeking. He smiled mischievously, lowering his voice as he let his fingers glide over the bulge in Zane"s swim trunks. “I look forward to being bent over the balcony railing,” he told Zane with certainty, his voice low.
That got a reaction that wasn"t smooth, cocky Corbin. Both Zane"s hands tightened as he sucked in a quick breath, and his cock jumped against Ty"s hand. When Zane spoke, his voice was thick and rough. “Whatever makes you happy, doll.”
Ty grinned triumphantly. His fingers continued to move teasingly, hidden behind his back. The exotic-looking man still watched them. Ty found it odd and slightly disconcerting. He laid his head against Zane"s chest again, brow furrowing as he fondled his lover, hidden in plain sight.
Zane slid his fingers through Ty"s hair, and Ty thought he just might have felt those fingers shaking. Then Zane tugged gently after a particularly firm caress. “You are skating on thin ice.”
Ty smiled and looked around again. He was being fairly discreet.
No one around them seemed any the wiser. He moved his other hand to glide idly along Zane"s thigh as he used it as an armrest. He could see how some enjoyed this game of passive seduction. The thrill was in Zane"s reaction. How far could he go before Zane lost his control?
“You plan to punish me somehow?” he asked in the most innocent voice he could muster. The accent actually helped with that.
“Oh, I think I can come up with something suitably chastising,”
Zane said darkly. His voice was dropping closer toward a growl.
“If it doesn"t involve me on my knees in some fashion I shall be wildly disappointed,” Ty drawled as he gave a squeeze of his hand in emphasis. He was pleased with himself for remembering the intricacies of the dialect.
Zane laughed aloud, and Ty could see clear interest on a few other faces. Zane was drawing a lot of attention, and well he should be.
Hell, probably half the people up here—women and men—would want Zane to bend them over a balcony railing.
Ty turned his head to nuzzle against Zane"s chin again. “You didn"t tell me about the tattoo.”
“I figured you"d noticed,” Zane murmured. “It"s not exactly subtle.”
Ty laughed and shook his head. “Haven"t had occasion to see that side of you lately.”