And now there was something huge that they had in common. Nix.
Nix had exceeded Evan’s expectations by embracing Eirwen with his whole heart.
Eirwen had shared his concern that Nix wouldn’t accept him, which led to the surprise that Eirwen had insisted on. The small ice rink in the backyard was perfect for a family hockey game. The one thing that everyone who would be at the cabin shared was hockey.
Nix mumbled in his sleep before dragging his cheek over Evan’s chest.
“Shh,” Evan whispered as he tightened his fingers in Nix’s hair, forcing his head still.
The boy let out a soft sigh.
Nix really did love being held down, tied, belonging to him.
Eirwen pushed forward again.
Belonging to them, Evan amended. Nix had even allowed Evan to tie his hands while being confronted by his dragon. Did the boy even realize how much trust he’d shown to Evan and his dragon?
Evan was amazed by Nix. He also couldn’t believe that no one had snatched Nix’s attention for their own. He considered himself extremely lucky that Nix had been single when they met. That it had been him that had drawn Nix’s eye.
It had only been a couple of months since Nix had come into his life, changing his entire life. Nix was such a breath of fresh air. Evan was in love with the boy. Totally, and utterly, adored Nix.
He started to scratch at Nix’s scalp since Nix always loved that.
Eirwen gave a deep rumble as he settled inside Evan.
Finally, Evan closed his eyes to give himself over to sleep. It would be a big day when he woke and needed to deal with Nix’s family. Maybe deal wasn’t the right word. Nix’s family loved the boy. They were all polite and kind to Evan when Nix spoke to them on the phone. Evan just hadn’t admitted how nervous he was being surrounded by Nix’s loved ones. At least he had Vin there to take some of the pressure off.
There was no way that Aries would be able to keep his little side hidden from everyone. The little one’s regression was too natural. Aries was born to be a little. Just like Nix was born to wear Evan’s ropes. Evan was curious about Gem though.
The triplets were the talk of the league before they had even arrived. Most current hockey players had paid attention to the fruit bat shifters that were certain to be headed for their league.
The draft had been interesting, not knowing which teams would end up with one of the upcoming sensations. Aries was the center that many teams had tried to claim. Nix was the most known of the triplets for his antics off the ice. Gem was the goalie of the future. Evan had ended up with Nix, like fate had been involved. Vin was the perfect protector for little Aries as the boy took their hockey games to the next level.
Gem was the first rookie goalie in their league to claim the top spot in their first year. Evan had heard Gem complaining about his season to Nix. Evan didn’t understand. With the Boston Beans in a rebuild year, Gem was the reason that they were so high in the standings. They needed some real defensemen but until that happened, Gem was carrying a lot of his shoulders.
As a fellow goalie, Evan could admire everything that Gem was doing. That was one of the reasons that Evan was nervous to spend some real time around Gem. Well that, and as the oldest triplet, Gem was protective over his brothers.
Nix had assured him that Gem would understand their unique dynamic and wouldn’t judge them. He refused to give Evan much detail on why Gem would be okay with it other than to say that Gem wasn’t a stranger to the club scene. Evan didn’t doubt his boy’s trust in his brother. But being a club kid wasdifferent than what they engaged in. Plus, it was simply weird to know that Nix had no intention of hiding his desire to be tied up from anyone.
Nothing that Evan could do about it now.
Nix’s family would be there in the morning.
Evan needed to get some sleep so he would be able to keep up with the triplets. From the stories of the triplets that had made the rounds, when the three of them were together, trouble usually followed.
Hopefully with Vin’s help, Evan could keep the chaos down to a minimum. Not that Evan really cared one way or another. For the past decade, Evan would come to this very cabin for the holidays and wouldn’t talk to another soul.
He’d even cut off communication with Lithis, the cousin that he’d always been closest to.
There were so few dragons alive. The coven was nonexistent. Even with the magic they had possessed they had been no match for human hunters and other paranormal.
Evan had guarded his secret more than anything else.
He had trusted very few and even those he’d held at arm’s length. When his name and species had been revealed against his will, Evan had retreated to this cabin. His sanctuary. The one place that he felt safe.
Eirwen had loved spending weeks up in the mountains even as Evan had been mourning the loss of his professional career and what friends he had made. If his friends hadn’t dragged Evan back into the world and as part of the PAHL, he wouldnever have met Nix. The young man that had changed so much in such a brief time.
Evan no longer wanted to hide away.
