Page 21 of Free Wind (Lifeguards of Barking Beach #2)

“You up for grabbing a takeaway?” Damo asked, making Blake grin.

“Yeah. I’m starving. Want to drop off your board at home?”

Damo’s head was down, his voice muffled as he unstrapped his leash from his ankle. “Nah. Come on, I’ll show you the lifeguards’ secret spot. My stuff’s there.”

Blake grabbed the reusable Woolies bag holding his towel, uniform, and fresh clothes, unzipping his wetsuit as well and letting the saltwater dry on his skin.

Boards tucked under their arms, they crossed the hot sand, laughing at a girl bunny-hopping across it while complaining loudly to her mum, who ignored her.

Damo led the way into the garage under the lifeguard tower, and Blake leaned his board against the wall temporarily. Since the buggies and Jet Ski were in service, the bulk of the space was empty.

The metal trailer with racks where they’d stack the flags and warning signs at the end of the day sat waiting to be hooked up to one of the buggies. Various equipment lined the walls and was stacked in dank corners, and a hose hung on a hook.

In the back, Damo squeezed past a bike into a small storage room where a few sandy surfboards sat against the wall and another bike leaned on a kickstand.

He said, “Keep my board here sometimes, especially if I know I’m coming back early to catch a few sets before work. We can use the hose too.” He grabbed his phone from a little hidden nook and frowned at it. “Sorry, hold on a sec.”

“No worries.” Blake itched to check his email, but his phone was safely locked in his glovebox. He knew some people buried their valuables in the sand before going in the water, but there were far too many thieves about.

As much as he wanted to check for Tasha’s reply, his anxiety had calmed after talking to Damo. He waited while Damo tapped out a text, his brow furrowed deeply.

“Everything all right?” Blake asked after a few moments of Damo staring wordlessly at the screen.

“Yeah, ’course!” He tucked his phone in his bag.

Blake didn’t quite believe him but didn’t press. They were going slowly, after all.

He hadn’t figured out Damo’s family situation yet. Whatever it was, it stressed out Damo, although the text could have been about anything. Still, he wished he could help fix whatever it was that put the tension in Damo’s shoulders and dropped the smile from his face.

In the main garage area, the concrete was damp and sandy and refreshingly cool after the scorched sand. The shade was a relief and the reliable afternoon breeze locals called the Doctor coming in off the ocean was bliss.

Beyond the garage’s dimness, the sun and sand were blinding, the glare too strong to really even see the blue of the water. The noise of the beach—laughter and joyful shrieks, someone’s obnoxious music on a boombox, gulls fighting over crumbs—fell away.

Damo turned on the hose and playfully sprayed it at Blake. Blake opened his arms wide and tipped back his head. “Have at it.” He sighed contentedly as Damo cleaned him with the cool water, turning a full circle in the spray.

When Blake lifted his head, Damo was staring at his chest. Blake leered, and Damo blushed prettily before hosing himself down.

Damo’s boardies and T-shirt were crumpled on a shelf in the little back storage room, and they returned there to change. Wetsuit still hanging from around his waist, Blake watched as Damo got naked—and realized he had an audience. The blush traveled down Damo’s neck, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

“We can’t,” he whispered, craning his neck to peek into the garage. “Not here.”

“Of course not.” Still, Blake let his gaze travel slowly down and up Damo’s bare body.

He was still surprised he didn’t see any tattoos.

The tan line was just under Damo’s waist where his boardies would sit.

The upper half of his body and his feet and calves were bronzed and freckled, but his upper thighs and hips were pale as winter. His arse too.

Watching Damo’s cock swell before his eyes was absolutely glorious. Blake murmured, “I’d never drop to my knees here and suck you off. Even though I bet I could have you coming down my throat in less than a minute.”

“Mate!” Damo shout-whispered, sounding adorably scandalized, his eyes wide.

Blake could barely take his eyes off the pale, vulnerable skin of Damo’s slim thighs. There was something so beautiful about it, the contrast to his tanned skin making it even more enticing. Like a secret to uncover. “Or I could eat your arse. Anyone ever rimmed you? I think you’ll like it.”

Those blue eyes grew even wider. “You mean, like…”

“I mean spreading you open and licking your hole. If I do it now—which I won’t, of course since I wouldn’t dream of it—it’ll be salty, even a bit sandy. You’ll taste like the beach, and I’ll fuck you with my tongue and my fingers until you can barely stand.”

He smiled slowly, looking down pointedly at Damo’s flushed and straining cock, now fully hard. “Yeah, I think you’ll like it.” He rubbed his own hardening erection with the heel of his hand through his wetsuit. “We both will.”

Damo licked his lips, his chest rising and falling as he stood frozen.

“Anyway, we’d better get going. I’m dying for a taco.” Blake stripped off and changed into his boardies and white singlet as if they’d been talking about the weather. He kept his gaze anywhere but on Damo, who finally made a high-pitched sound of outrage.

“You’re—you’re…diabolical!”

“Now there’s a ten-dollar word.”

“You can’t just, just—” Damo waved a hand.

Struggling to keep from grinning, Blake said, “Hmm?” A moment later, he got a wetsuit in the face, and they laughed as Damo hurried to dress, muttering and trying to adjust himself.

They were almost out of the garage before Blake said, “Hold on. I just need to…” He hurried back to the storage area, hoping Damo would follow. He did, opening his mouth to likely ask what Blake had forgotten.

Blake took Damo’s face in his hands and kissed him. For a heartbeat, their chapped lips pressed together perfectly, and then Damo gasped. Blake chased the breathy little sound with his tongue, going deep as their tongues met. Damo swayed against him.

It was salty and sweet, the hint of an orange lolly lingering in Damo’s mouth. They were both hard, but Blake pulled back, still holding Damo’s flushed, stubbly face.

“Just needed to kiss you,” Blake whispered. “Couldn’t wait another second.”

And Damo beamed with that crooked grin, his fingers gripping at the cotton of Blake’s singlet. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“And that arse business?”

Blake shrugged, fighting to keep a straight face. “Something to think about until next time.”

“What? ‘Next time’?” Damo almost squeaked in outrage. “Diabolical.”

Blake kissed him until they were breathless. He nuzzled Damo’s cheek. “Will you let me do that?”

“Let you? Is that a trick question?”

“What are you doing later?” Blake had to be up in the middle of the night to head into work, but missing the sleep would be worth it.

Damo’s breathless smile faded. “Can’t tonight.”

“No worries.” Blake tamped down the disappointment and leaned close to Damo’s ear, skimming his fingers under his T-shirt. “Will you think about it until we can?”

Shivering, Damo nodded. “I want you to show me. I’ll let you do anything. Everything.”

Blake lifted Damo off his feet and kissed him fiercely. After he spoke to Tasha, he’d finalize a new plan, and there would definitely be a subsection on all the things—everything—he and Damo would do together.