Reckless
Also by Nicole Edwards
The Alluring Indulgence Series
Kaleb
Zane
Travis
Holidays with the Walker Brothers
Ethan
Braydon
Sawyer
Brendon
The Club Destiny Series
Conviction
Temptation
Addicted
Seduction
Infatuation
Captivated
Devotion
Perception
Entrusted
Adored
The Dead Heat Ranch Series
Boots Optional
Betting on Grace
Overnight Love
The Devil’s Bend Series
Chasing Dreams
Vanishing Dreams
The Devil’s Playground Series
Without Regret
The Pier 70 Series
Reckless
The Sniper 1 Security Series
Wait for Morning
Never Say Never
The Southern Boy Mafia Series
Beautifully Brutal
Beautifully Loyal
Standalone Novels
A Million Tiny Pieces
Writing as Timberlyn Scott
Unhinged
Unraveling
Chaos
Reckless
Pier 70
Book 1
Nicole Edwards
Nicole Edwards Limited
PO Box 806
Hutto, Texas 78634
www.NicoleEdwardsLimited.com
www.slipublishing.com
Copyright © Nicole Edwards, 2015
All rights reserved.
This is a self-published title.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Reckless– A Pier 70 Novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Image: © Igor Chaikovskiy | 123rf.com (front cover image - 7338452); © Jasminko Ibrakovic | 123rf.com (back cover image - 36000609)
Ebook Image: © magenta10 | 123rf.com (formatting image - 14284060)
Cover Design: © Nicole Edwards Limited
Editing: Blue Otter Editing www.BlueOtterEditing.com
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-939786-54-8
ISBN (print): 978-1-939786-53-1
Gay Romance
M/M interactions
Mature Audience
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Epilogue
Prologue
Acknowledgments
One
“Damn it, Dare! Is it too fucking difficult to do what we ask?”
Cam Strickland choked out a laugh when he walked into the dark office of Pier 70 Marina shortly after six in the morning to find Roan grumbling to himself. Cam didn’t even need to look around because he already knew no one else was there.
Just Roan. And his pissy attitude. Happy Friday, y’all!
Smiling, Cam spared Roan a look. “Good mornin’ to you, too, sunshine. Talkin’ to yourself again?”
As though sensing he was overlooking her, Lulu—the two-year-old golden retriever who lived at the marina—came from behind the counter, tail wagging. “Mornin’ to you, too, Lu.” Cam dropped to his haunches to pet her while watching Roan.
Roan Gregory, Cam’s longtime friend and business partner, cast a sideways glance at Cam, one dark eyebrow cocking beneath the dark, shaggy bangs that covered his forehead before Roan returned his attention to the printer/copier (or office genius as Dare liked to refer to it) in front of him.
Looked like it was definitely going to be one of those days.
Cam gave Lulu one last pat, then got to his feet. Flipping on the lights and turning the sign around to show they were open, Cam watched while Roan took out his frustration on the fancy new machine that one of their other partners, Dare Davis—the man Roan was clearly irritated with—had insisted on purchasing last month.
“Dare’s not even here, so why’re you yellin’?”
“He should be here,” Roan muttered as he slammed the lid down and stabbed at one of the buttons repeatedly.
Well, the fancy machine had been new. At least until Roan had gotten hold of it.
Lulu barked once, clearly not happy with the loud noise. He felt her pain.
Cam didn’t try to hide his amusement with the situation, even pretended not to notice when Roan glowered at him, evidently not as entertained as Cam.
“So is it Dare or the printer you have a problem with?” Cam offered a smile, flashing all his teeth.
Roan faked a laugh, then rolled his eyes, eyebrows shooting downward. Too soon for jokes apparently. Still, Cam couldn’t help but laugh. He had to find entertainment somewhere. Might as well be here.
“Stupid printer,” Roan grumbled.
Cam was beginning to feel bad for that stupid printer, taking the brunt of Roan’s frustration and all.
Dare—always helpful, or so he claimed—had come up with the crazy suggestion for the ridiculously expensive machine after a huge falling-out with Roan on why they couldn’t just get rid of paper altogether.
“Who even uses paper anymore?” Dare had asked, dead serious.
Roan’s reply … well… “We do, dumb ass.”
Dare had even tossed out one of his statistics during his argument. Admittedly, Cam had been sort of impressed.
“Seriously, bro,” Dare had argued, “I saw a report. Somethin’ like eighty-four percent of businesses prefer Apple products. We don’t need paper and shit. Just get a coupla iPads like the rest of the technologically advanced civilization. Make people sign with their fingers… Easy peasy.”
Convincing Roan wasn’t easy peasy.
Dare wanted to save trees; Roan wanted simplicity. Cam, well, he didn’t give a fuck one way or the other.
Still, they’d ended up with the printer. Knowing Dare, he’d probably hoped Roan wouldn’t have wanted to spend that much money, but Roan had shown him.
Roan was nothing if not stubborn.
As was Dare.
When Roan stabbed the button again, Cam stopped walking, coming to a halt on the customer side of the long counter that split the marina office. While his flip-flops froze on the rough slate floor, his full attention was focused on his friend.
Just ask what his problem is.
Don’t have a death wish, Cam told the crazy voice in his head. Seriously. Cam saw what Roan was doing to that poor, unsuspecting printer.
It wasn’t like Roan to get quite so pissy first thing in the morning. By the end of the day, sure, Roan was known to be a little frazzled from time to time. Not this early, though.
Unlike the rest of them, Roan was a morning person. Usually. Cam, on the other hand, didn’t understand that concept whatsoever. Bright and chipper didn’t make an appearance this early in the day for Cam. Blurry-eyed, yes. Cheerful, no. Then again, no one else at the marina—other than possibly Dare—was a bowl of fucking sunshine, either, until they’d had a little caffeine in whatever form they opted to take it. Cam’s preference was coffee, and he could see the fresh pot sitting right there on the counter waiting for him.