The Boyfriend Cruise Read online

  Wearing shades and a smile on his face, with a piña colada in hand, Josh laughed with his friend—Aaron, maybe?—and a little brunette who had to be Josh’s sister, with their similar curves, dark hair, and soft fair skin.

  Considering all incubi were beautiful, Nathan was confident Josh found him attractive. He’d developed quite the tan on the Pride too, and his hair had been highlighted blonder by the sun. Acting casual and reminding himself he was technically at work, Nathan snapped pics of families and couples as he made his way toward Josh.

  Nathan paused just before he offered to take a snapshot of the couple with the daughter, who didn’t want their picture taken. He met the eyes of the one dad, Winslow, and then he lowered his camera. Smiling, he nodded at Winslow in acknowledgment of his request, and the guy let out a breath.

  Curious.

  Those dads seemed nervous, if not a little paranoid.

  Not my business, Nathan reminded himself.

  He snapped a few pics of Josh, and rather than look at his display, he studied the man for a moment. Cute, for sure, and maybe a little soft in the middle for how gay men usually strived to look. But Nathan liked that. He hated guys who were constantly on a diet or at the gym. Life was about living. Experiencing everything it had to offer. Especially if it offered chocolate cake, rich Belgian ale, cheese, or a good margarita.

  Or hot steamy sex.

  His blood stirred again.

  Damn, Nathan wanted him.

  “Staking out your conquest for the week?” Brian whispered in his ear.

  Nathan flinched, then blushed when Brian smirked at the close-up of Josh on his camera display. He quickly pressed the screen to his chest. “No,” he said, then changed his mind. “Yeah, I am.”

  He didn’t want the notorious player to poach Josh. His demon growled inside him, and somehow Nathan managed to stop his eyes from flashing red and kept himself from snapping “Stay away from him.”

  Brian jerked his head back. “Whew, I can sense your possessiveness from across the ship, demon. Chill.”

  Nathan shot him a look, hoping no one heard him say demon and a little concerned that Brian could sense how much his demon wanted Josh. He hadn’t been feeding as often as he should, and the sexual dry spell obviously made his inner demon a little cranky.

  An incubus with blue balls was not a good thing.

  “Don’t worry. He’s not my type,” Brian went on with a flip of his wrist. The guy’s flamboyance managed to score him so many unsuspecting single ladies on the cruise. He’d confided in Nathan once that he would lure them in by playing the gay BFF. Then, when ready to pounce, he’d tell the girl sometimes he swung both ways. “Chicks dig it. They like to claim they turned a gay man.”

  Nathan had been appalled. “Why would you let them think that?”

  Brian shrugged—a truly selfish beast like most High Order wizards—and said, “Who cares. They’re off the ship by Sunday, and a new batch is on board by lunchtime. This job is a regular smorgasbord of people ready to be fucked. Who am I to deny them their whirlwind vacation romance?”

  While Nathan wouldn’t deny he’d had more than his fair share of hookups since taking this job—and quite a few couples seeking to spice up their humdrum married life—he didn’t use people as sexual playthings anymore. He’d been on the receiving end of sexual manipulation by magic once, and he’d never use his powers for selfish gain again.

  He shuddered as ghosts of memories assaulted him. The pain, the agony—

  “I want cock this cruise,” Brian said, snapping Nathan out of a dark past. “Like, big fat cock. Maybe an older bear. They’re so generous.”

  “Saw a werewolf in the pool,” Nathan told him, grateful to be out of his own memories.

  “Oh no,” Brian declared. “They scratch too much.”

  Nathan laughed.

  Brian was a lot older than he appeared, but all the Botox, creams, and magic potions kept him a preserved thirty-three, and he seemed to be living his dream.

  Well, Nathan had always wanted more out of life than just sex, even when he believed it was all he’d ever have. As if drawn to hope, he glanced back at Josh, and his heart sank when he was gone. He scanned the deck, turning in a circle.

  Dammit, where did he run off to?

  “Raoul wants more pics of the spa than last week,” Brian told him. “Wants them on the screens—”

  “By seven tonight,” Nathan said, knowing his boss. The more spa pics passengers saw on the first day, the more passengers would book spa services for the cruise.

  The man might be married to the richest demigod in the Caribbean, but that fairy was a real greedy bastard.

  “All right, I’ll see you later,” Nathan said. “Happy bear hunting.”

  Brian laughed.

  The Pride wasn’t a big ship, and while that made for rough travel to those with a propensity for seasickness, it boasted a nicer atmosphere than being an anonymous member of the masses, fighting in line at the buffet or rock climbing wall. The Pride didn’t have a rock climbing wall, but there were two pools—one adult-only with a swim-up bar—three other bars, a small casino, a nightclub, a ballroom, a coffee bar, a poolside buffet for breakfast and lunch, and an elaborate dining room that seated two hundred people and served three different dinner services. Sometimes a secret, fourth dinner service for paras with bizarre culinary needs, like blood or live prey.

  Nathan was soooo very grateful not to be on the cleaning staff.

  Vampires were such messy eaters.

  Nathan had noticed a lot of the luggage was Christmas presents, and he’d heard the maid staff complain all day about the mad dash to put Christmas trees in every stateroom. Palm tree cut-out cookies and a glass of milk for Santa would be in each suite on Christmas Eve too. Raoul’s idea, and though the kitchen staff had been annoyed, Nathan heard them singing carols as he walked past the kitchen now.

  The whole crew was in the Christmas spirit.

  Feeling peckish—if he didn’t have sex, his food requirements increased—Nathan went into the kitchens before hitting the spa. Out of habit, he searched the smiling faces but saw no sign of his teacher, the nocturnal Darrius.

  A wizard of uncommon power, Darrius had taught Nathan how to stop exuding his pheromones and how to separate his mind from his demon side and allow his human nature to stay in control. Once Darrius helped Nathan ascribe his demon urges to an entity, Nathan began to recognize when the demon made the decisions, not the human, and he understood his impulses and made better decisions. For example, he used to orgasm during every sexual encounter, sharing his magic and pleasure without knowledge of what it meant or how it affected others. These days he fed himself off his lovers’ orgasms and kept his own power to himself.

  It definitely kept life aboard the Pride more manageable for the witches and wizards who mind-wiped humans who saw things they shouldn’t. The spontaneous orgasms Nathan had caused several fairies before he learned control had been difficult to hide from the human passengers.

  Most of the kitchen staff consisted of witches and gnomes who loved to cook. A group of gnomes were making deli-style sandwiches in an assembly line and singing “O Holy Night.”

  Smiling, Nathan walked up to them. “Got a spare sandwich for a starving demon?” he asked one of the women he didn’t know well.

  She flinched at his question, and the whole group stopped singing.

  The woman he’d addressed smiled sheepishly. “Of course. Help yourself, incubus.”

  Taking one of the finished sandwiches, Nathan forced a smile in return. “Thanks.”

  She mumbled, “You’re welcome,” but wouldn’t meet his eye.

  As the only demon on board, everyone knew his name, but many still chose to call him by his paranormal identity, as if even a partial demon wasn’t worthy to have a human name.

  Grabbing a napkin, he took a gigantic bite and headed to the spa. Two steps into the hallway and the carol singing resumed.

  There were both pred
atory and nonpredatory paras, and demons were top of the food chain on the predator scale. Probably shouldn’t have said “starving demon” to a skittish gnome. While the Fae and the predators—shifters, vamps, etc.—wanted to fuck him, many of the other paras were still leery of him, despite his being a part of the crew for five years.

  Fuck me or fear me, story of my life.

  The salon and spa were on the lower forward deck, quiet and away from the engines. Nathan had finished his sandwich by the time he arrived. He greeted Jasmine, a half mermaid—her father had been the one with the tail. Her deep skin contrasted sharply with her blonde cornrows, and her scaly green legs looked like she wore sparkly printed leggings.

  “Hi, Jasmine.”

  “Hello, incubus,” she said, but with none of the fear the gnome woman had used. Jasmine was Serenity Spa’s receptionist-slash-massage-therapist-in-training. Her para job was reporting the weather, and any unexpected changes in it, to the bridge. Merfolk—unlike human meteorologists—could predict weather patterns at sea with undeniable accuracy.

  Nathan held up his camera. “Anyone getting services who I can photograph?”

  “A group is getting mani-pedis right now. They’re a lively group but normal.” Jasmine widened her too-big eyes at the staff’s code for humans. “Bet they’d love their pictures taken.”

  Always happy to have willing subjects, Nathan made his way into the salon portion of the spa. A woman was getting her hair blow-dried by Geoff, a human married to Kelly, a dolphin shifter who worked as the ship’s diving instructor. Geoff had another customer under the dryer with rollers in his hair. Probably an elf—they were so vain about their hair.

  A boisterous brunette woman, all curves and smiles, picked out nail polish colors with a willowy and busty black woman.

  Nathan recognized them immediately.

  Heart skipping hopefully, he turned toward the three pedicure chairs and grinned when he saw Josh, his friend, and his sister, all with their feet soaking.

  “Hello again.” Nathan beamed. Inside, his incubus stirred, and it took him several deep breaths to keep it in check, because all he wanted to do was walk up to Josh and wrap him up with incubus magic, then carry him off to his room.

  Get ahold of yourself!

  He couldn’t recall the last time he’d experienced such an intense sexual pull. Maybe it had been too long since he’d fed his demon side with a good orgasm or ten, but his attraction to Josh stirred a hunger that needed to be quenched.

  Hoping to satisfy that hunger soon, Nathan smiled at Josh. “I see you guys are settling into the cruising lifestyle. Can I get some pics to show off the spa?”

  Josh mumbled, as if embarrassed to be getting a pedicure. “Um, yeah… well?”

  “Of course you can,” the mother chimed in. “Here, Ramona, let’s sit back down and pose.”

  “Okay, Mom,” Ramona said, and they both took their seats in the manicure chairs.

  Must be a close family if the daughter-in-law called her Mom.

  An unexpected pang of jealousy hit Nathan.

  He’d lost his family.

  Nathan’s father had been a half incubus, killed by a demon hunter before he had a chance to tell Mom the truth. Mom hadn’t even known about the pregnancy at the time of his death. No surprise, their romance had been brief and torrid. Despite his daughter getting knocked up by a stranger he’d never met, Nathan’s grandpa had been wonderful to him as a child. But he’d died long before Nathan’s demon nature surfaced and he’d ruined his relationships with Mom and his sister, Lauren, to the point of no return.

  Since boarding the Pride, however, everything in Nathan’s life had changed. Though some of the crew avoided him, he finally had friends, and he was happy for the first time since his incubus side surfaced.

  If only he had someone to share this newfound happiness with.

  Maybe I could pursue that with Josh….

  “I’m getting reindeers on my accent nail,” the mother said, holding out her hands.

  Head back on the job, Nathan snapped a pic of the nail art. Raoul would love that one.

  Mo’ money, mo’ money.

  “I’m getting rhinestone Christmas trees and Santas on my thumbs,” Ramona told him.

  “I’ll have to make sure to get a pic when it’s done.” Nathan glanced back at Josh, noting with a thrill Josh had been staring at him.

  Rather than the usual arrogant swell of pride, when he caught the scent of Josh’s attraction, his stomach fluttered with butterflies.

  “I want rhinestones,” Josh’s friend told Kokona, one of the nail techs and a Japanese kitsune. “Can I get rhinestones on my big toe?”

  “Good Lord.” Josh sighed, rolling his eyes.

  “Oh, don’t be such a fuddy-duddy,” the sister declared, swatting her brother on the arm.

  Josh scowled, his gaze darting to Nathan, then back to his sister. “Be quiet, Clare.”

  “You can have whatever you want,” Kokona said. “But rhinestones cost extra.”

  “Go ahead, Aaron,” the mom said. “We all want to be beautiful. Josh? Maybe you should get a snowflake or something on your toe.”

  Josh looked affronted. “I’m not getting nail art.”

  Nathan laughed but regretted it when Josh’s face turned bright red. “Okay,” he said, rescuing Josh from his family’s teasing. “Let’s all smile pretty for the camera.”

  Josh and Aaron leaned in toward Clare, and Nathan took the shot, noting how cute Josh was when embarrassed.

  Would he be so shy and innocent in bed?

  Nathan swallowed back a moan. He hoped to find out.

  While Clare and Aaron chatted as they studied the wheel of fingernails painted with Christmas art selections, Nathan approached Josh.

  “Are you having fun so far?” Nathan whispered so as not to include the rest of the family.

  Josh offered him a shy smile, hands flat on his thighs. “Yeah, so far so good.”

  “You know, there’s usually pretty good dancing at the Caribbean Club after eleven. You like to dance?”

  Josh glanced nervously at his family, but they were all engrossed with their nails. Then he looked back at Nathan, a bewildered smile on his face. “Yeah, sure. Don’t know if I’m any good at it, though.”

  Oh, the modesty is so cute. And it’s always the shy ones who are so hot in bed!

  Suddenly more excited about the Christmas cruise than he had been before—it was all he could do not to kiss Josh right on the spot—Nathan leaned in. “I can’t wait to find out. Save a dance for me tonight?”

  Josh blinked, then let out what could only be described as a giggle. “Yeah, sure. Okay.”

  Chapter Three

  THE THEME for the launch party was an Ugly Christmas Hawaiian Shirt Party and costume contest by the pool—the crew had strongly suggested no sweaters due to the heat. This cruise was known for costuming, some passengers wearing costumes all day long. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, Josh should’ve suspected a gay-friendly ship when Mom had told him about all the costume parties. Not too adventurous, Josh had packed khaki shorts and a red button-up with Christmas presents all over it for tonight.

  Themed, but not crazy.

  Unlike Aaron’s get-up.

  He had on a man-romper Santa suit, complete with a big black belt with a gold buckle. Flip-flops—to show off the rhinestone Christmas trees on his big toes—and a Santa hat completed the ensemble.

  “How do I look?” Aaron threw out his hands and did a whirl.

  Josh appraised him, then had to admit “You look really cute.”

  “I wish you would wear the elf one I brought for you,” Aaron said for what felt like the hundredth time since they’d returned to the room.

  “And I told you, I will never, ever wear a man-romper.”

  “But it’s a costume,” he insisted.

  “No, now put on your glitter lipstick, and let’s go.”

  Aaron applied a thick theater-style gold glitter to his lips, an
d then they were off.

  “We’re supposed to meet everybody down by the picture screens,” Josh said. After seeing Nathan again, Josh was excited about tonight. And he couldn’t wear a stupid man-romper, in case Nathan danced with him.

  “Hopefully your sexy photographer will be down there,” Aaron said.

  “Maybe,” he said, then linked his arm with Aaron’s as they headed for the elevator.

  As soon as the elevator opened, what seemed like an argument abruptly ended between two older men wearing matching Coca-Cola Santa Hawaiian shirts and a young girl in a sexy Mrs. Claus outfit. She had her arms crossed and looked on the verge of tears. Maybe her dads didn’t like her outfit? Mom would have beaten Clare if she’d tried to wear something so sexy at that age. The girl had to be what, all of twelve?

  Aaron and Josh exchanged awkward glances and offered polite smiles to the family as they stepped off the elevator.

  Somebody’s starting their vacation off with drama.

  Josh filed in behind his friend, and then they both turned around. Aaron pushed the lobby button.

  Out in the hallway, the skinnier of the two men had stopped in front of a cabin three doors down from the elevator. He glared at his partner and daughter as he unlocked the door. “I still don’t feel right about this, Winslow. What if Sarah—”

  And the doors closed on the argument back in action.

  Josh raised his brows and sang, “Dra-ma.”

  “Right?”

  “They were probably making her change that outfit,” Josh guessed as the elevator music version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” played above them.

  Aaron sniffed a laugh.

  In the lobby, a group of people mingled around a wall of twelve TV screens, scrolling through all the pictures Nathan had taken that day. Josh searched the crowd, hoping to see the man himself. His heart skipped when he spied Nathan handing out little slips of paper and tiny pencils. He still wore that sexy ship uniform—white pants, navy jacket, and red ascot.

  So hot!

  “Write down the number at the bottom of the screen of any of the pictures you want. Mark your size preference and your stateroom number. Hand them to Jessica, and they’ll be in your stateroom tomorrow,” Nathan was saying. Then he glanced up and caught Josh’s eye. His face broke into a huge grin, and he raised his camera. “You guys look great. May I?”