Gannon joined him, taking a seat and soaking in the peace and quiet. “I can see why you like this.”

Cam leaned back on his elbows, his head cocked toward him. “It’s quiet. At least when you’re not talking.”

Gannon looked over to see a mischievous smirk on Cam’s lips.

“You know the easiest way to shut me up?” Gannon retorted.

Cam’s eyes blazed with heat, and Gannon realized exactly where Cam’s thoughts had drifted. Gannon had actually been thinking about kissing, but yeah … that would do it, too.

“Slow,” Gannon said, more to himself than to Cam.

“Slow is good.”

Gannon leaned back, placing his hands behind his head as he stared up at the stars beginning to appear through the wispy clouds overhead. Cam mirrored him, lowering himself beside him, their elbows touching. The breeze off the water was warm, and the gentle rocking of the boat nearly lulled him to sleep. Before he allowed himself to be pulled under, he turned his head to look at Cam.

“Does Roan have an issue with me?”

Cam’s head snapped toward him, forehead creased. “No. Why?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s not happy that we’re dating.”

“Is that what we’re doing?”

Gannon tried to see if Cam was teasing, but he didn’t see any humor in the firm expression that drew his mouth tight and creased his brow. “That’s what we’re doing.”

“Exclusively?”

Gannon rolled to his side, propping his head up with his hand as he stared down at Cam.

“Exclusively,” he confirmed, trailing his finger over the rock-hard muscle on the underside of Cam’s arm.

Cam’s attention strayed back to the sky. Curling a finger beneath Cam’s chin, Gannon forced him to meet his gaze again. “Is that not what you want?”

Cam shrugged. And for the first time since he’d met Cam, it seemed Cam didn’t have anything to say on the matter.

“I’m not seeing anyone else,” Gannon told him, sliding his palm over Cam’s cheek, his thumb rasping against the shadow of dark hair that lightly lined Cam’s square jaw. “And I don’t want you to, either.”

Again, Cam didn’t say anything.

“Do you have something against exclusive?”

“No,” he answered quickly, then sighed.

Gannon watched him closely, waiting for the extended version.

“Do you worry that we live too far apart?” Cam questioned.

“Not really, no.” Gannon hadn’t thought about it, actually. An hour drive seemed like nothing to him. At least not at this point. Sure, it meant he couldn’t see Cam every day, and some days that bothered him. “It hasn’t stopped us yet.”

Cam opened his mouth, then closed it. Then, accompanied with a heavy sigh, Cam said, “I don’t want to rush this.”

“I picked up on that.” Gannon had figured that out from the beginning, and he was okay with taking things slow. “But I plan to spend time with you when I can.”

“I work every day,” Cam stated, still facing him.

“I know. Usually I do, too. And a lot of the time, I’m not even here in Austin.”

Cam’s expression turned to one of question, but he didn’t ask whatever was on his mind.

“Next week I’ll be in California for a couple of days. And in two weeks, I’ll be off to Singapore for a week. I’m not always here, Cam.”

“You travel?” Cam pushed up on his elbows, watching him cautiously as though Gannon were going to pounce on him.

“Quite a bit, yeah,” he admitted, trying to read Cam’s face, to understand what he was really concerned with.

“To Singapore?”

“I’ve got a team of developers over there as well as IT support.”

“So you go … often?”

“Yeah.” Gannon was in the process of hiring someone he could put in place over there so he didn’t have to travel as much, but he’d yet to find anyone qualified to do what he needed. The couple of candidates he’d had from the US wanted more money than Gannon was willing to pay, and there was only one candidate in Singapore who had the experience.

“To Singapore?” Cam repeated, apparently wanting clarification.

“I’ve got seven offices, three in the US, including the one in Austin.”

“Where?”

“One here, two in California, one in Singapore, two in Europe, and we just opened one in Sydney.”

“Australia?” Cam voice was slightly higher-pitched than before.

Gannon nodded.

“Good to know.”

The way Cam said those words sounded almost final. As though the fact Gannon traveled was going to be a point of contention for them. “Does that bother you?”

“Nope,” Cam said brusquely, dropping back down, resting his head on his hands once again. The move was meant to be casual, but Gannon could tell Cam was tense.

Leaning over, Gannon placed his hand flat on the boat beside Cam’s head, staring down at him. “Just so you know, I’m not gonna let you push me away. I get that you’ve probably got valid reasons for wanting to go slow, and I respect that. So, we can either talk about it now or save it for another time. But I’m interested in understanding you better.”

Cam didn’t look at him.

“Last night, when I slept in your bed, holding you … I’ve never felt comfortable enough to do that. It’s not easy when sex isn’t on the table. It requires a certain amount of … effort. But with you, it’s easy. I like that.”

Before Cam could come back with a retort, Gannon lowered his head and pressed his lips gently to Cam’s. He didn’t take it further, just brushed his mouth over Cam’s.

“I’m serious, Cam,” he whispered. “We’re gonna see where this leads us.”

And that was a promise.

Fourteen

Cam reminded himself that he’d only known Gannon for a week. Exactly one week since Gannon and Milly had stepped foot in the marina, actually, but regardless, it wasn’t enough time for him to develop feelings for the man. So, the fact that Gannon traveled, something Cam had a serious issue with, shouldn’t have bothered him as much as it did. Yet his thoughts had drifted there, and he couldn’t seem to reel them back in.

There was no way he could explain his concerns to a man he’d just met. Gannon would think he’d lost his mind. But he hadn’t. He had very valid reasons for his concerns, for his fears. And knowing that Gannon traveled, well, that put things into perspective for him. Shit, the traveling thing made the one-hour distance between them nothing, at this point.

And still there was Gannon’s revelation that they would see where this thing between them went. Despite everything, Cam wanted that. He wanted that with Gannon. The man was different than any man Cam had ever been with. The complete opposite of Cam’s type. Hell, Gannon was scared of water. That in itself should’ve been a red flag, but Cam had convinced himself he could deal with it because Gannon seemed eager to want to fit into Cam’s world.

But the traveling… He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to come to terms with that. Or if he even could.

“Talk to me,” Gannon urged softly, still leaning on one arm and staring back at him.

Cam turned his head and focused on Gannon’s face, taking in every detail, his dark eyes, long, thick eyelashes that brushed the lenses of his glasses every so often, full lips, the arch of his brows when he was concerned. He was classically handsome.

Turning back to look at the darkening sky, Cam took a deep breath. “I don’t have an issue with exclusive,” he told Gannon. It was the truth. That wasn’t what he had a problem with at all.

Gannon didn’t speak.

Cam’s gaze slid back to Gannon’s face once again. He couldn’t help himself. “I want exclusive with you,” he admitted softly, the words coming out against his better judgment. “And the long distance … we can deal with that.”

Gannon’s smooth fingers trailed along Cam’s jaw, a gentle, reverent touch that made it difficult for Cam to think. And when Gannon’s long fingers slid behind Cam’s head, his thumb pressing against Cam’s chin, resisting became futile.