by Austin Bates
Miller smiled. "Good." Both of them paused as Van's phone started ringing. "You better get home before they lock the doors on you," she said. "I'll get this."
"Thanks, Miller." Grabbing his pack, he jogged out the doors.
On the way through the lobby, Wilson snagged him, keeping pace. "Eli got his camera packed up, right?"
"Yes," Van said, laughing in exasperation. "You're all going to be complaining about the pictures in a couple weeks."
Peeling off as Van headed out the door, Wilson waved. "Have a good trip, man. Tell Eli we're all rooting for him."
The sun was high and hot, and Van burned his hand getting his seatbelt buckled. He was looking forward to going to the beach next week. Maybe Coney Island.
The gym was packed when he pulled into his reserved spot. One of the kids had changed the label again, and he couldn't help but laugh as he walked past the 'Husband of the Champ' sign. The inside was barely controlled chaos, the kids from the beginner class still being rounded up by parents while the youth intermediate class got started.
Propping his shoulder up against the doorway, he scanned the room, unable to help the big grin that creased his face.
"Elbows down," Eli said, leaning over to help a ten-year-old aim a soft punch at the padded wall in front of him. "And don't tuck your thumb. It'll hurt." He demonstrated on his hip; Riley mimicked him, his tiny hand slapping at the foam. "Good job, Riley. Just like that."
Van hid his laughter behind one hand, letting his eyes wander. Eli had been training for months and he was, if anything, more sculpted now than before he'd had Riley. He claimed it was because watching the baby was twice the cardio of any workout he'd ever done. His shirt had ridden up to show a strip of dark skin that Van could vividly remember nibbling the night before.
"Dada." Riley caught sight of him, reaching his pudgy arms out for Van, and Eli blinked at him.
"Is it that time already?" he asked, glancing at the clock. "Shit. I mean, shoot." The kids around him rolled their eyes as he corrected himself, giggling as they thwacked away enthusiastically at the wall.
"Are you ready to head out, Mr. Five Time Champion?" he asked, sauntering over to take Riley. His son smelled strongly of tomato sauce. Judging by the smears in his hair, Eli's campaign to encourage the food to go into his mouth and not on his face was going poorly. "We need to be at the airport in an hour if you don't want Natalie to yell at you."
Riley leaned in to give him a sticky kiss, patting his cheek and looking proud.
"She won't yell in front of Riley," Eli retorted, gathering up his stuff. All the kids whined and he frowned at them. "Keep punching, guys. Jeremiah and Miguel are going to keep an eye on you while I'm gone."
"Are you gonna win, Mr. Thompson?" one of the smallest kids asked, pounding at his portion of the wall with a single-minded ferocity.
"I'm going to do my best," Eli said with a somber nod. "I'm up against the best of the best this season, so it's going to be tough."
Van reached for his hand, pulling him close and letting Riley lean around to kiss his papa too. Eli smiled at them both, kissing Van on the cheek. Eli had been very clear that the 'no kissing' rule didn't apply to grown-ups at his gym.
"When are you coming back?" one of the other kids asked, running over and grabbing onto Eli's shorts. "You can't miss my birthday!"
Eli crouched down, catching the kid’s hands. "I promise we'll be back by your birthday. We're just going for this first fight and then we're coming back."
"Will you have to go away again?" The kids had given up on their workouts and were crowding around now.
Van grinned as they all reached out to grab a piece of Eli's clothes like they could keep him there if they all tried together. They probably could, now that he thought about it. "Well," he said, and all the kids looked up, "Eli's the Champ, right?" They all nodded seriously. "The Champ has to go to five matches every year, or they take away his ugly... I mean, his shiny belt." He winced as Eli elbowed him in the thigh.
"My dad says you fight," one of the kids said, "but fighting is bad."
"It's not a fight," Eli said immediately. It was one of the first things they'd decided on when starting the gym. "It's a match, like when you and Jose play sword fights. You're not trying to hurt anybody. You're trying to get better."
"And you're the best!"
"So I help other people get better." Eli pulled a couple of the kids into a hug and Van's heart melted. "Now, keep an eye on things while I'm gone, and no fighting."
"Yes, Mr. Thompson," they chorused.
Jeremiah nodded to them both as they stepped out of the room. He'd started working full time there just after they'd opened, and he was almost as good with the kids as Eli.
Stepping out into the blazing sun, Van stopped, pulling Eli close. "Hey," he said, stealing a kiss.
Eli grinned, ducking his head a little. "Hey."
"I was just thinking," Van said, wincing as Riley knocked into his cheekbone trying to get involved in the kiss. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
"Not in the last ten minutes."
"I love you. I love how good you are with kids," Van said, handing Riley over so that he could unlock the car and get the air going. "The first time I ever saw you, outside the ring, I fell in love with you. Did I ever tell you that?"
Eli stared at him, his eyes a little wide. "No," he said, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat. "No, you never did."
Van smiled. "You were staring down at this little kid in a roller derby jacket and you didn't talk down to them at all. You crouched down and you treated them like the most important thing in the world."
"I remember her," Eli said.
"Was it a girl? I was never sure," Van said, snagging Riley and tucking him into his car seat. The two-year-old burbled happily to himself as he tried to help do up the straps.
Straightening back up, Van was surprised to find himself pressed against the side of the SUV and kissed within an inch of his life. Eli kissed him like he was trying to climb inside, big hands hot against his hips. Van groaned as Eli flicked his tongue along the sensitive spot on the roof of his mouth and nipped at that agile tongue.
"Not that I'm complaining," he panted a moment later, "but what was that all about?"
Eli tucked his head into the curve of his neck, making sweat spring up on both of their skins. "I love you," he said quietly.
"I love you too?" Van said, stroking a hand over Eli's back.
"Do you think," Eli said, his voice tentative in a way that was becoming less common these days, "that after this season, maybe you might want to... to trygettingpregnantagain?"
Blinking, Van carefully untangled the words, then thought them through again, just to be sure. "You want to have another baby?" he asked, careful to keep his voice even when his stomach was doing flips.
Eli swallowed, his ears flushing red. "I think so." He nodded against Van's neck. "If I can. I might not be able to again." Frowning, he picked at a loose thread on Van's collar. "If you want to, that is."
Whooping, Van spun Eli around, laughing like a crazy person. "I love you," he said, "and I will love as many babies as you want to give me."
Eli smiled that tiny smile and, in the car, Riley shrieked with laughter.
"I love you," Van said again, pulling Eli in for one more kiss, chasing the coffee and mint flavor of his mouth. "I am the luckiest man in the world," he said. "This is the best prize anyone has ever won in Vegas."
Turn the page to find out more about Skate With Me
Nolan worked his whole life to get there. Qualifying for the National Figure Skating Championships was the brass ring he had reached so desperately for - training incessantly, suffering agonizing injuries, heartbreaking losses, and eventually, his potentially life-altering qualification.
But the night before he is set to take to the ice, his long-time lover shatters his heart - along with his concentration. The rising star suffers a wrenching defeat - only to find out soon there
after that he's carrying the baby of his former paramour.
Enter Matthew, the devastatingly attractive up-and-coming alpha figure skater. Matthew rolls into town and begins training alongside Nolan, and the two quickly begin to hunger for one another. As their romance develops, Nolan makes a decision: he's keeping his baby, and quitting skating for good. But he neglects to tell Matthew about the baby until after they've slept together. When Matthew discovers the truth, the revelation proves too distracting; he leaves town to prepare alone for his upcoming regional competition. But for Matthew, the distance doesn't help - the beautiful omega is never far from his thoughts.
When heartbreak and disappointment lead to unexpected passion, two men begin to discover that sometimes one road's end can lead to the beautiful beginning of another.
Unbridled passion meets dogged determination in this 50,000 word gay mpreg alpha/omega romance novel. Gliding gracefully through choreographed scenes of uninhibited lust, “Skate With Me” is exclusively intended for adult audiences.
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Matt is the Man of Honor at his sister’s wedding. Jon is his best friend’s best man. They can’t deny the spark between them at the reception, and they don’t even try. When Matt’s homophobic father comes between them the morning after the wedding, they’re torn apart. Is this the end, or will love find a way?
Matt’s parents disowned him when he came out six years ago, but he’s always been close with his big sister Claudia. He thinks her wedding will be tense and unpleasant, but then he meets Jon. Jon just might be the man of his dreams, but their time together is cut short by a cruel stunt of Matt’s father. When he gets home to Boston, he finds himself pregnant. How will he move forward?
Jon is honored to be his best friend’s best man, even if his best friend does come from a homophobic family. He can put up with it for a few hours. When he meets the bride’s omega brother, Man of Honor Matt, he’s besotted. Circumstances tear them apart, but he can’t get Matt out of his head.
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Heavyweight Daddy
Austin Bates
© 2017
Disclaimer
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and events are all fictitious for the reader’s pleasure. Any similarities to real people, places, events, living or dead are all coincidental.
This book contains sexually explicit content that is intended for ADULTS ONLY (+18).