As soon as David crossed the blue line, he pulled up and passed to Kieran, who was streaking down the far wall. Michaela winced when the puck landed on Kieran’s stick and was gone again within a second.
Fortunately, the Squares’ goalie had been paying more attention to Kieran than the rest of the defense had and he was in position to make the stop.
Reese, Mati, and Michaela cheered. The puck went the other way, and David fell back, skating backward and ruining the Squares’ forward’s play with his stick.
Reese fell into the rhythm of the game, the cut of skate blades on the ice, the quick but graceful movement of the play from one end of the ice to the other soothing and familiar. He’d watched a lot of hockey in his lifetime, but he’d never been so focused on one particular player. He held Mati’s hand and kept his eyes pinned to David.
David stomped down the tunnel to the locker room, jostling the guys around him and making a racket. They’d won the game, thanks to an amazing shot by Kieran in the last three minutes. David had gotten the secondary assist on that goal, and he was still glowing with satisfaction.
Good hockey always made him feel better. Lighter. Sometimes it even let him sleep for a few more hours than he would be able to otherwise. His ribs and hips hurt from a couple hits—both received and given—that were probably ill-advised for a man his age. Or any man, for that matter. But he was never going to admit to that. His legs were tired, his arms sore, his head quiet and happy.
Most nights after a game, he’d go to a bar with the guys, have a beer or two, and eat something deep-fried and disgusting. Tonight, he was racing toward the showers for entirely different reasons.
Nothing in the world sounded better than getting home and climbing into bed with Mati and Reese. Maybe they’d fool around. Maybe they wouldn’t. Either way, he’d pull them close and sleep.
He was charging back out of the shower room, one hand holding his shampoo, the other clenching the towel around his waist, when Kieran hip-checked him into the wall.
Ouch.
“What’s your big hurry?” Kieran asked with a sly grin.
“I have people to look after,” David said loftily.
Kieran wasn’t buying it. “Oh, yeah? I heard you took a vacation.”
“I did. I’m really enjoying this leisure time. You were right, I needed a break.”
“You’re full of shit. Don’t give me that. Tell me what’s really going on.”
David looked at the rest of the team—most of whom were doing a poor job of pretending disinterest—and pulled Kieran down a couple rows of lockers. Not that it would make a big difference in an echoing room full of nosey motherfuckers.
“I didn’t want to be paid for this one,” he said quietly. “It didn’t feel right.”
“And what exactly have you been feeling this week?” Kieran asked with a ridiculous leer.
David rolled his eyes. “It’s not—”
“Don’t lie to me, David Zapetti.”
“I’m not lying. But I’m also not going to kiss and tell,” he hissed back.
“Ha! I knew you had a thing for Mati the moment I saw you two on that couch.”
“No. Well, yes. But…fuck. Not just Mati, okay? It’s both.”
Kieran’s eyes widened. For once, he appeared to be speechless.
David rubbed his arm over his face to clear the drops streaming from his wet hair and to give Kieran a moment to absorb that. “Jesus Christ, I feel like I’m in junior high,” he muttered under his breath.
Chance came around the corner. “You should try being married to him.”
“Hi, honey!” Kieran said, a smile lighting up his face. He tilted his lips up for a kiss with the absolute confidence of one who knows their partner finds their ridiculousness endearing. “David was telling me all about what is going on with him and Matilda and Reese.”
“And you,” Chance said, somehow sounding both affectionate and exasperated, “were about to give him the shovel talk.”
“I was not,” Kieran said with an almost believable innocence.
David and Chance gave him a skeptical look.
“Okay, I was. But it’s a modified shovel talk. It’s more of a, there’s shit you might not know, and you may unwittingly hurt Reese, and then I’d have to get out the shovel and dig a hole where they will never find your body kind of talk.”
“A modified shovel talk,” David said dryly. “How charming.”
Kieran stared at him.
“Holy shit, you’re serious.” David felt a prickle of unease. “Who’s going to give them the shovel talk for me?”
“You can take care of yourself. I’m more worried about Reese, to be honest,” Kieran said. “I know you would never hurt anyone on purpose, but I always suspected he had big feelings for Mati, and you didn’t know him a few years ago. He was…different.”
“How so?” David asked warily.
“It’s not really my place to get into the details, particularly since I have most of them second and third hand, but I can tell you he didn’t go out a lot.”
“So, he’s not into dating?” Why did Kieran even care? Lots of people were like that, and lots of people change.
“No, I mean, he didn’t leave his house. Almost ever.”
David pictured the handsome, smart, and funny man waiting for him in the lobby. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. And I know he’s much better, but I thought you should know. Of course, since this is actually about you three, I guess things are going along fine,” Kieran said with a pointed once-over for David. “However, one does worry their judgment is impaired in the face of all this,” he said with a wave at David’s still-damp, mostly naked body.
“I can’t decide if I should be flattered or insulted.”
Kieran laughed brightly, as if he hadn’t just been giving a stern lecture, and hugged David.
David couldn’t hug back without dropping his shampoo or his towel, neither of which seemed like a good option. Kieran bounced away back to his locker as soon as he’d released David, leaving him with Chance.
“You know what you’re doing?” Chance asked curiously.
“Still don’t have a fucking clue.”
“You going to get hurt?”
David thought about brushing that off, but what was the point? “Yeah, probably.”
“They worth it?”
“Yes.”
Chance wrapped a strong hand around the back of David’s neck. “You tell me what I can do to help, and I will. I just want you to be happy, okay?”
David swallowed hard. “Thanks.”
He appreciated that Chance didn’t comment on how hoarse his voice had gotten.
“Now, go get your fucking clothes on, you fucking narcissist. The rest of us are tired of seeing your naked ass.”
David laughed, turning toward his locker and bumping his shoulder to Chance’s. “You mean you’re tired of me making you look bad, old man.”
Chance let out a long-suffering sigh. “Such a pain in the ass. Also, you’re two months older than me, asshole.”
Mati and Reese chatted with Michaela while they waited for David. When Lachlan, Kieran, and Chance joined them, Mati peeked down the hallway to see if David was coming.
“He’ll be here in a second, I promise,” Chance said. “He got caught up with something. He was rushing around trying to get out here faster until then.”
Mati smiled gratefully. “Thanks.”
“You feel safer when he’s with you?” Chance asked, though it sounded more like an observation.
“Yes.”
He nodded, his face passive, but a hint of a shadow passed through his eyes.
“It’s more than that,” she added, lowering her voice to not interrupt the conversation around them.
Chance’s gaze cut back to her. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I think you’ll understand what I mean when I say he’s got something that draws you in, you know?”
Chance smirked. “He had it at ag
e seven when I met him.”
“And it hasn’t changed, has it?”
“Oh, I don’t know, it might have gotten worse. Or is that better?”
Mati laughed. “You know exactly what I mean. He’s smart. And kind. And so fucking generous.”
“He likes to take care of people,” Chance said, casting a glance down the hallway as if to make sure he wasn’t caught giving away something that couldn’t be a secret to anyone who knew David.
“He does. He’s good at it. I’m not sure he’s as good at taking care of himself.”
Chance’s eyes locked with hers. “Caught that, did you?”
Mati shrugged self-consciously.
“He’s…” Chance trailed off, hesitating.
“Hey,” Mati said, nudging Chance gently. “You don’t have to say anything. I mean, at some point we have to go back to Nova Scotia, which I know means it’s unlikely to go anywhere.”
It made her sad, sadder than it should, to say that.
Chance was frowning, too. “So, a fling?”
“Ugh,” Mati muttered, though that word was exactly what should be used to describe what was happening.
Chance watched her.
“All I can promise is, if given half a chance, Reese and I will take as good care of David as he takes of us, for as long as it’s possible.”
Chance narrowed his eyes on her face. “You two going to get hurt?”
Mati sighed. “Yeah, probably.”
“Think he’s worth it?”
“Definitely.”
For the first time since they’d begun the conversation, Chance smiled.
Chapter Nineteen
David pulled the first tray of lasagna from the oven and set it on the stovetop to cool. He’d been up since dawn, having slept well all night only to have it end with the nightmare-induced echo of a gunshot banging around in his brain.
He’d hoped he’d sleep better, given he’d played hockey and they’d hardly made it through the door before the three of them had been a tangle of hands and mouths, clothes flying everywhere. David had ended up fucking Mati over the back of the couch, fast and hard and loud enough that he was sure the neighbors were going to complain. Then Reese had dragged her down onto the cushions and done such a spectacular and filthy job of eating David’s come back out of her, that David had rewarded him by blowing him to kingdom come.
He’d crashed hard after that and gotten some solid rest for the first few hours, at least. Then…
He’d tried to be quiet as he slipped from the bed and grabbed some clothes, but Mati had caught him in the hallway and pulled him into a hug.
“Do you want me to beg you to come back to bed, or would you rather spend time in your kitchen?”
“The kitchen,” he answered honestly and clung to her tighter.
“Okay,” she murmured, her face smashed to his chest and her eyes closed.
He’d pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, grateful she didn’t push, and guided her back toward the bedroom. “I’ll be fine. I have a lot I want to do today.”
Mati had staggered away, not to be heard from again until a few hours later when she came to drag him back to bed for reasons having nothing to do with sleep.
David was still smiling to himself, hours later, when there was a loud knock on the door.
Mati and Reese jumped at the breakfast bar.
David frowned and grabbed his phone, rolling his eyes at the text message from Marcus.
Your guests are here. They flashed their badges, so I figured I could let them up.
Drying his hand on the towel tucked in his belt, David opened the door and grinned at his three friends. “You all came! Welcome.”
Patrick slung his arms around Brandon and Destiny. “We thought you might like to see the whole family.”
“Awesome,” David said, his eyes glued to the pink bundle of fleece in Brandon’s arms.
Baby Avery took one look at him and burst into tears.
“Oh geez,” Destiny, Avery’s mother, said, laughing. “She’s not big on strangers right now.”
“Or ever,” Brandon added with a shrug.
“Maybe she’s just a good judge of character,” Patrick said, eying David.
David rolled his eyes. “At one month old? And I’ll have you know, Uncle David is the bomb. She’ll love me before you know it,” he promised as he ushered them into the apartment and shooed them toward the couches.
Mati and Reese stood waiting. “Hi, I’m Mati. And this is Reese,” Mati said with a smile, pitching her voice to be heard over the furious baby cries.
Patrick grinned. “I’m Patrick, and this is my husband, Brandon, and my wife, Destiny. And that little monster is Avery.”
Mati and Reese didn’t fucking blink.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Reese said, shaking hands with everyone. “She’s beautiful.”
Mati also shook hands and cooed over the baby, helping pile coats on the end of the couch.
David watched them, a smile hovering. He hadn’t worried they would judge, but most people were at least surprised when Patrick chose to introduce his partners that way.
Something dangerously like hope sparked to life in David’s chest. He quashed it mercilessly.
Mati held out her hand, pulling him to sit between her and Reese. Reese’s hand slid onto his knee when he was settled.
None of this escaped David’s friends, particularly since Patrick and Brandon were two of Boston PD’s finest. They looked absolutely delighted. He would be hearing about this for months.
He’d probably be hearing about it right now if Patrick weren’t distracted by Avery, who was still pissed. Destiny bounced her on her lap, but it wasn’t making much difference.
Reese smiled at them. “May I?”
“Are you sure? She’s been cranky all day and it may not stop.”
Reese waved that off. “Let me try. If nothing else, it’ll give you all a break.”
“Thank you,” Destiny said, heartfelt.
Reese stood, plucked the baby from her hands, and popped her onto his shoulder like it was nothing.
Avery was not amused, but Reese was undeterred. He went to the fireplace, turned it on, and stepped back a few feet so Avery could see the flickering lights over his shoulder. He rubbed circles on her back, his knees bouncing gently, all while he murmured to her quietly.
He didn’t seem to notice he held the undivided attention of every other adult in the room.
With a final hiccup, Avery went silent and curled a fist beneath her chin, her other hand crushing Reese’s collar in her grip. He smiled and pressed a kiss to her little knuckles.
Patrick took one look at David’s face and burst into laughter.
David glared at Patrick, hoping his friend wouldn’t embarrass him. Or assume this was more than it was.
Somehow, Patrick managed to resist for the hour they could stay to catch up on department gossip and mutual friends. Mati and Reese listened, asking questions here and there. Reese never sat, holding Avery for the entire visit and what ended up being a decent-length nap, much to the gratitude of her parents.
Mati helped David pack up the lasagna and containers of sauce he had prepared. Brandon protested that it was too much, but it was obvious he was thrilled. He turned away to put on his coat and David slipped in two more containers, just in case.
When it came time to say goodbye, Mati and Reese got hugs instead of handshakes, and Destiny begged Reese to consider babysitting. With a long look at David, Reese promised to let them know if he was ever in town for a while.
David felt that damn spark of hope again.
Mati stood on the bottom step in David’s lobby, waving goodbye to Avery’s beautiful family. She wanted to ask them to come back soon. To spend time with them and watch them together and pick their brains about how to make an unconventional relationship work.
She wanted what Destiny had.
Maybe they hadn’t known David long enough, maybe
she hadn’t been intimate with Reese long enough, but the seed was planted, and it would be easy for it to take root.
Her parents would keel over and die if they ever heard of a relationship like this, let alone witnessed one. And she knew what her brothers would think. What they’d call her.
But she’d given up on their opinions a long time ago. They didn’t matter. They couldn’t matter.
What did matter was the shock on David’s face when Reese gave him a little smack on his butt on the way past, and Reese’s laughter as David chased him up the stairs. Mati ran after them, breathless with laughter. Reese whooped victoriously when he reached the landing first, the sound cut off with an oof when David crashed into him and pinned him to the door.
Mati was fit, goddamn it, but by the time she gained the landing, Reese and David were making out against the door like a couple of teenagers, one of Reese’s thighs hooked over David’s hip as they ground against one another.
She would happily stand there and watch them for hours, but there was a better place to do this, and the boys looked dangerously close to losing their clothes.
David gasped when Mati slipped her hand into his pocket. She made a point to dig around, pressing her fingers against his hardening cock, and Reese’s, before fishing the keys out.
Reese broke the kiss. “Fuck, those keys stabbing into my leg were the only thing keeping me from coming,” he groused.
Mati laughed and turned the deadbolt. David grabbed Reese around the waist a second before they would have fallen through the open door.
“You got a thing for coming in your pants?” she teased.
“It seems I do—and I blame you. I’ll run out of clothes eventually.”
David ran a hand over Reese’s ass. “That’s okay. I have a different idea for tonight.”
Reese was obviously intrigued, his cheeks flushing darker. Fuck, she loved it when he was like this. So ready. So eager. She could see it in his eyes—he wanted to try everything.
And that was exactly what she wanted to give him. She met David’s eyes and knew he did, too.
Breaking Out Page 21