August
August rolled his head to the side and grinned at the gorgeous man standing at the edge of the tub. “Coming in?”
Quinn chuckled low in his throat as he swung a leg over the side of the tub and joined him in the hot water, perching on August’s thighs like he was his own personal throne.
And August wasn’t opposed to the idea.
“Are you okay leaving the girls to come to the game?” he asked Quinn, settling his shaking hands onto Quinn’s hips. Everything from the chest up was stinging from rope burns and his own fingers, but he felt jittery in the best way.
Shibari was amazing. Quinn was amazing. He loved being tied up and told what to do if it always left him feeling this floaty afterward.
“Eren’s mom and dad offered to watch them and Eren for the night,” said Quinn. He paused and scowled, as if it offended him somehow. “Actually, they insisted. They want me to be there for your first game back, and refused to take no for an answer.”
August had a feeling it was more to give Quinn a break than to send him as support, but he was keeping those inside thoughts, inside.
“They’re right, of course.” Quinn took August’s wrist and touched his fingers to the red line of newly healed skin where the skate blade had cut him.
The wound was closed, and the only pain he felt was deeper inside if he twisted it a certain way, but August couldn’t bear to be off for any longer. His team needed him because Niko was bound to run out of gas, and he couldn’t be expected to carry their hopes and dreams indefinitely.
“I’m terrified,” said Quinn.
At first, August didn’t know what he meant, but he understood after watching Quinn’s staring contest with his healing arm.
“What happened to Eren was a horrible accident,” said August. “I can’t say why he froze like he did, and yeah, he got his bucket knocked off, but that rarely happens. And it won’t happen to me.”
What he said didn’t seem to help, so August kept going, hoping to talk himself out of the tension.
“I’m too tall for anyone to knock my helmet off, and my height makes it easier to track the puck. Guys don’t try to push me around because of my size, and I avoid scrums to keep others from getting hurt. If you want me to wear a neck guard, I will. The only reason my arm got cut is because my sleeve got yanked up, and someone clipped me in the frenzy. I’ll tape everything down if I have to, but I don’t want you to be sitting behind the bench, terrified for me. That would kill me.”
Quinn dropped his arm and cupped his face instead, thumbs tracing slowly over August’s cheekbones. They didn’t speak for a while. The silent communication through touch and sight alone was enough to convey the unspoken fear between them.
“Just…keep your fucking head up during the game,” Quinn said finally. “Or I will use my seductive power to convince you to find a new career. I swear to fuck, August.”
August leaned his head against the edge of the tub and smirked, letting a tiny glimpse of brattiness shine through as a distraction. “Seductive powers?”
He didn’t mean for his voice to go so low, but it occurred to him that he hadn’t seen Quinn come after their session, and now they were naked in the tub. August was doing everything he could to keep his dick from getting hard in case Quinn was too stressed to go another round, but even with his energy low and his head hurting, there was too much bare, slippery skin to ignore.
“Sorry. Ignore it, and it will go away.”
Quinn’s laugh caught in the back of his throat, and his gaze drifted slowly downward in a way that had August biting his lip. “I don’t know. I think the issue is too big to disappear on its own.”
If Quinn kept talking like that, it wouldn’t matter if he already came recently because August would end up coming like a teenager who had just caught their first glimpse of a willing and naked body.
“Quinn, we don’t have to if you’re tired and worried about other things. I’m good now after you took care of me, so cuddling is fine.”
Quinn raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying youdon’twant to come again? Really? I hear orgasms help with headaches.”
August closed his eyes and groaned. He didn’t know what he was going to do with himself if this was the future he had to look forward to. But then again, it was nice not having to take control, so long as Quinn didn’t mind handling him.
“If I leave the house coordinated enough to tie my skates later, I’ll be proud of myself,” said August. He slipped his hands under Quinn’s thighs and brought him closer so he could take both of their cocks in his hand, but Quinn shooed him away.
“Let me. You’re aching from the ropes, and you have to play hockey with a barely healed arm. Just relax and enjoy your reward.”
Reward? He was getting rewarded for mental breakdowns, hallucinations, and submitting now?
If that was the case, Quinn was going to have sore arms and jacked biceps by the end of the year.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking about that has you smiling like that,” said Quinn. “But I’m not going to ask because I’m sure it’s weird.”
