Overboard (4 page)

T
he project had hit
another roadblock. One of the subcontractors had not shown up and Duncan was staying late to wrap up that stage so that a different subcontractor could do his stage tomorrow.

Sebastian had no idea how Duncan kept track of it all. With all the pitfalls, the project would have been a month or even year behind if Sebastian were in charge. Although for all Sebastian knew about projects and management, the whole mess might have been Duncan’s fault. The big lug was wild and sexy but that didn’t mean he could manage a project.

Sebastian knew that was a lie, though. He had never been around anyone as hardworking and organized as Duncan. Watching Duncan move from problem to problem and always find a solution amazed Sebastian.

Sebastian’s dad would love Duncan. He would hire him on the spot and put him in charge of everything.

Duncan paused for long enough to take big chugs from the Gatorade bottle. Watching Duncan’s throat work to swallow the drink hypnotized Sebastian.

Sexy men shouldn’t get shit done so well.

Despite being grumbled at or ignored throughout the entire project, Sebastian’s infatuation had only grown for the giant beast. Watching him effortlessly haul piles of lumber that would have crippled Sebastian, and watching him confidently and easily working power tools was a big part of the appeal.

Who didn’t like a burly carpenter?

But Sebastian was just amazed at the ferocity with which Duncan went about his work and joy he seemed to get with the physical act of accomplishing something.

Duncan frequently grunted and growled and yelled, “Fuck, yeah,” when he fixed something that someone else had not done right.

He would have offered words of encouragement but that seemed to bring angrier grumblings from Duncan.

Duncan clearly recognized Sebastian for the asshole he really was. Sebastian would have paid anything to bring a friendly smile to Duncan’s face, but knew that his money was most of the problem. The fact that he was a lazy rich boy instead of a hardworking rich boy clearly soured Sebastian’s chances.

Not that Sebastian could commit to changing. That sounded like work and he already had everything he could possibly ever need. And trying to achieve something productive would just give his dad a chance to flaunt it when he failed. Still, Sebastian’s had considered trying to do something productive with his life since meeting Duncan. And fuck his dad if he said anything about it. He had contacted a lawyer to try and start some kind of real estate business like his dad’s, but dropped that idea when he learned about the licensing requirements.

Classrooms and Sebastian didn’t mix well.

Despite having been around wealth and powerful people his entire life, he had no idea how any of them actually did it. No one had ever stopped and taken the time to teach him.

In the quiet moments before falling asleep, Sebastian admitted that he had never pressed anyone to teach him either. But shouldn’t someone like his dad have taken him under his wing and shown him how the world worked?

The only work that Sebastian had actually volunteered for in years was helping Duncan, but Duncan had firmly pushed him aside each time he had offered, with the excuse of it taking more time to train Sebastian than just doing it himself.

“Go make some coffee, if you want to be useful,” was the frequent ending of those conversations.

If Sebastian ever pushed his dad, he expected a similar answer.

Sebastian had drunk so much coffee over the last few weeks that he practically bounced around the house. He needed to use that energy productively or he was going to explode.

“Hey, it’s late and you clearly have a lot left to do before you leave. The noise is going to keep me awake.”

That was a lie. Thinking about Duncan was what kept Sebastian awake at night. The noise might have helped block that out. “What can I do to help you wrap this up and get you the fuck out of my house?”

Sebastian cringed at his inability to even be nice properly. How sad was it that he needed help to be nice? He only really tried it with Duncan and his lack of practice killed any chance he might have had with Duncan each time he opened his mouth.

“Fuck,” Duncan growled. “Sorry. I’ll wrap up and just, I don’t know, I’ll figure something out tomorrow.”

Sebastian risked touching Duncan’s chest. Duncan didn’t flinch away. He wasn’t even paying attention to Sebastian. He seemed lost in his own thoughts.

“No. We’ll finish this up. I want to help you. You are working so hard every day and these subcontractors keep screwing you over. You clearly have a crazy desire to stay strictly on schedule no matter what, even though I don’t really give a shit. I like having you around the house. But, let me help tonight.”

Sebastian couldn’t believe the words that had come out of his mouth. He sounded almost human. He would definitely need to practice that more often.

His knees went weak when Duncan’s chest rose and fell against his hand while thinking over the offer. Sebastian felt Duncan’s heart beating. He wanted to wrap his other hand in Duncan’s beard and pull him down for a kiss, but knew that Duncan was like a wild animal. One wrong move and Duncan would either bite or be gone forever.

Biting could be fun.

But not at the risk of losing Duncan.

Sebastian was being a fool. There was nothing to lose between them. Duncan only tolerated Sebastian because of the money he was being paid. He needed something that Sebastian could give him and that was the extent of their relationship no matter how much Sebastian wanted more.

“Fine. I could use the help if you’re serious.”

“Anything.” Sebastian swallowed, worrying that Duncan would misinterpret his word as yet more flirting. For once, he hadn’t meant it sexually. Unless that was what Duncan wanted.

“Okay. I need to finish taping the drywall. I have sanders coming in tomorrow and it needs to set over night. But all that shit on the floor needs picked up, organized and covered so it doesn’t get ruined with all the dust tomorrow. And all the trash needs to be bagged and taken to the garage.”

“I’m your man.” Happy to be put to use, Sebastian hurried to get started before Duncan changed his mind. “Hey, let’s turn that radio back on. I always work better with music.”

At least he assumed he would work better to music.

Sebastian found the Latin music station on Duncan’s crappy little radio. The antenna had snapped off and it was only able to tune in to three channels. Sebastian made plans to buy a replacement as a thank you gift when the project was finished. He danced to the music while starting to organize the tools.

Duncan didn’t growl at Sebastian’s frequent interruptions to ask where various things went. Unless Sebastian was imagining things, it seemed that Duncan even let his gaze linger each time Sebastian danced away.

Sebastian kept his mouth closed and kept working, hoping to make Duncan proud of his effort.

Sweat quickly covered his body as he carried scraps of wood and drywall up to the garage. It was better than any of the workouts he had done at the gym. With Duncan working near him, it was more fun too.

Each time he returned to the basement, Sebastian spent a second watching Duncan’s back muscles flex while he spread the putty onto the drywall. He wondered how a man that large and strong could be able to work with such a smooth and delicate touch. Thinking of how else a big, strong man could use a smooth, delicate touch made Sebastian blush and hurry back up the stairs with his next back of trash.

“Hey, I’m going to get a pop. Can I get you anything?”

“A water would be great,” Duncan said, still intently focused on his work.

Sebastian glanced at walls that still remained. He had no idea how Duncan would finish in time, but vowed that he would stay and help until it was done. Even if that just meant fetching water and finding good music on the radio. Whatever Duncan asked for, Sebastian would happily do.

S
ebastian hurried back
with two glasses. Duncan continued working for several minutes without making any sign that he knew Sebastian had returned.

Sebastian couldn’t remember the last time he had focused on anything as completely as Duncan focused on the wall. But Sebastian had so few things he cared for the way that Duncan cared about his work.

Sebastian had enjoyed working with Duncan. He wondered if Duncan could use an assistant. Sebastian would be willing to do it for free. He didn’t need money. He needed something to do with his life.

Duncan finally stopped for a water break.

Sebastian looked away from Duncan’s throat. The man had to know by now how much watching him drink was tormenting him.

Sebastian licked his own lips, wishing he were licking Duncan’s neck instead.

Duncan’s glass shattered on the ground followed by him shouting, “Damn it.”

“What? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Fine. I just dropped the fucking glass. My hands are so tired, it just slipped right through when I was drinking.”

Duncan’s t-shirt was soaked.

The shadow of Duncan’s chest hair showed through the wet fabric. He wanted to run his fingers through that hair and give it a gentle tug while sucking on his nipples. He needed to get this sexy man into his bed.

That’s what Sebastian wanted to do.

Instead, he could only think about how tired Duncan looked and how much more work there was still to do.

“Oh. Don’t worry about the glass. I’ll clean it up. Are you sure you don’t want to call it a night?”

“The schedule.”

Sebastian swallowed his reply when Duncan pulled the wet shirt over his head and tossed it to the ground.

There it was. All on display. The chest hair. The muscles. The smaller-than-expected and firmer-than-ever-dreamed abs.

Sebastian swooned.

He wanted to trace each tattoo that covered Duncan’s chest and arms in a rainbow of colors.

Duncan was everything a bad boy needed to be.

Except he wasn’t an asshole. Sebastian had learned that over the weeks. Duncan was a hard worker and a kind soul with a body that made Sebastian dream of a roughness that he had yet to see out of him. Deciding that Duncan saved it for the bedroom had fueled many of Sebastian’s late night masturbation sessions.

“Here. Let me get that for you. I’ll throw it in the dryer. Good as new in no time. I’ll get you a towel too. Back in a sec.”

Sebastian jogged from the room, holding the wet shirt against his cheek. When he got to the laundry room, he inhaled the musky, man-smell on the shirt before dropping it into the dryer and adding a fabric softener.

Before pressing start, he ran to his bedroom and tore the sheets off of his bed and added them to the dryer. It would be the closest thing Sebastian could get to sleeping with Duncan. Rolling across the sheets would be like rolling around with Duncan for at least a couple of nights.

When he returned to the basement, Duncan was hard at work. He didn’t even stop to take the towel Sebastian offered.

Sebastian felt the slight burn of being ignored until he remembered that Duncan just wanted to finish his job. He turned on the heavy metal channel that Duncan preferred. Sebastian had no idea how someone could dance to the music, but while listening with Duncan, he quickly learned that he could imagine exactly what it would feel like to get fucked to heavy metal. In fact it had quickly become one of his favorites as he considered Duncan’s strong body using Sebastian’s to bang out some project frustrations. Sebastian bobbed his head to the beat.

Two hours later, Duncan dropped his taping tools.

“Fuck, I hate taping drywall. The goddamn sander better show up tomorrow or I’m going to find him and beat the shit out of him.”

Sebastian’s eyes went wide at the outburst. Was there a bad boy there after all? If so, he was definitely not a guy to piss off.

“If he doesn’t show, I’ll send so many lawyers after him that he’ll get his ass moving again. When they’re done with him, he’ll be hurting worse than anything you could do to him.”

Duncan laughed. “My hero.”

Sebastian couldn’t believe his ears. They were bonding over something. If they could do it once, they could do it again. The prospect of a relationship sprung back alive.

Duncan continued. “My knight coming to my aid. Well, sending some high-powered attorneys to my aid. But that’s more than most people are willing to do for me.”

Sebastian decided to seize the opening. He would only live once and he refused to live another day wondering what could be.

He stepped close to Duncan. A bead of sweat rolled down Duncan’s neck, right at Sebastian’s eye level.

“I’d do anything to help you. Anything at all.”

His heart raced too quickly. Duncan had to hear it beating and would be laughing at Sebastian’s pathetic nervousness.

Now or never.

Sebastian leaned in and licked up the bead of sweat and then firmly kissed that spot on his neck while flicking his tongue over the skin.

Even if Duncan tried to kill him, Sebastian would always have that moment. He had wanted Duncan and had been brave enough to try.

Duncan moaned and placed his hand against Sebastian’s hair.

That was the opening Sebastian needed. He knew exactly how to handle a man who moaned like that.

“Fuck,” Duncan growled.

“Yes, I’ll do that too. If you ask. Or if you beg. Or if you demand. Or if you say it in Spanish. However and wherever.”

Sebastian traced his hand down through the warm thick chest hair, down over Duncan’s solid abs, and into his pants. He tried to meet Duncan’s eyes, but they were closed. Sebastian would have given away all of his money to know what Duncan was thinking.

His lips attacked Duncan’s neck again while his hand wrapped around the hard, fat cock twitching against his palm.

“I’ve wanted you since I saw you at the speed date,” Sebastian breathed into Duncan’s ear

Sebastian rubbed the tip of his thumb of tip of Duncan’s cock and spread the precome over the shaft. His body tingled with anticipation. That dick was going to be in Sebastian’s ass that night, if Sebastian had say about it. “I don’t know why you made me wait so long. I might have to spank you for that but all’s forgiven now. I’ll even let you take me home to meet your parents, if you want.”