“Sorry?” She didn’t sound sorry.
“Here, sit.” He took the comb and guided her to sit on the ottoman with her back to the fire. Reese sat in the chair facing her and watched curiously as David started the painstaking task of picking out the countless snarls. “My mom kept my sister’s hair long when we were growing up. When my dad died, my mom had less time, but she didn’t want my sister to have to cut her hair on top of all the other changes. I learned how to do this kind of stuff to help her out.”
“Where’s your sister now? And your mom?” Mati asked.
“Mom’s in Florida with her sister. She misses the old neighborhood, but likes the warm weather more. And Mia is in Hong Kong, running the Asian division of her company. With a pixie cut, I should note.”
They asked him more about his family and his childhood for the half hour it took to get Mati’s hair combed out. They stayed by the fire to eat, turning on the hockey game as background noise, but mostly enjoying each other and the heat from the flames. He encouraged them to have seconds, the instinct to soothe Mati’s hurt feelings with food ingrained at a cellular level, thanks to his mother.
It did seem to help, though.
After dessert, David checked his phone for updates. There was aWTFtext from Chance about Mati’s brothers, and a note from his friend Patrick to say he’d pick up the food David made for them and bring the baby.
David sent an enthusiasticyesto Patrick and a heads up about the visitors to Chance and Marcus. Then he drew Mati and Reese back into his bedroom. They’d only been here a day and already it felt different. He had tried to create a restful space for himself, but he’d dreaded every night, stressed and anxious every time he’d stepped through the door.
But tonight his bed looked like the haven it was meant to be. Not because of the sex they would very likely have in it, but as an actual place torest.
He was still having nightmares, but they were shorter. Mati and Reese often woke him before the dreams could really sink their claws into him, soothing him with murmurs and soft touches. He should feel guilty that he was ruining their sleep, but they didn’t seem to mind. In fact, they’d never mentioned it once. Never looked at him with concern, never asked what he dreamed about.
It wasn’t a cure, but David hadn’t slept so well in years. His therapist would be amused when he told her how much more effective this was than anything they’d tried before. Maybe she should prescribe group sleeping—if not group sex—as a treatment.
His heart was light in a way he’d forgotten was possible. And it made him feel things for Mati and Reese that he didn’t understand. It went beyond gratitude for some good nights’ sleep. Beyond having found people who appreciated and understood his need to cook, without judgment.
It was…big. Big enough that he wasn’t ready to look at it straight on. Not yet.
Chapter Eighteen
They spent the evening making love, and a good portion of the next morning, too. The rest of the day they lounged around the house, talking and cuddling. Reese passed hours poking at the sore spots David and Mati had left all over his body and enjoying the way his jaw ached.
Turned out blow jobs were hard work,didtaste better without a condom, and could go on for a while, should the giver decide the recipient needed to be tortured, just a little.
They watched the Toronto game in a tangle on the couch, David and Mati laughing at Reese’s perfectly understandable reactions to bad calls. He was content to be the entertainment if it made them happy.
Dinner was early so they could leave in time for David’s hockey game. Reese wasn’tsurprisedto find Marcus in the lobby on their way out, but it reminded him he hadn’t given their situation a lot of thought for the last couple days. And he hadn’t felt confined once. If given a choice, he’d gladly spend countless days curled up with David and Mati.
David opened the car door for Mati, she smiled in return, and Reese wondered what it would be like to spend this kind of time with David without the specter of this mystery hanging over their heads.
It might be good. Hell, it might be great.
He needed to make that happen. To know.
Unfortunately, that might require leaving David and going back up north for a while. Reese wasn’t doing any good down here. He didn’t regret coming—how could he possibly?—but he’d been content to let others try to sort this out when he was the one at the center of the problem, and the one most likely to draw out whoever was responsible.
David gestured for Reese to get in the back seat with Mati.
Reese hesitated. “Can I sit in front with you? Is there a security reason I shouldn’t?”
“No, you can. You got in the back seat with Mati that first time we left the McCormick garage, so I figured it was what you’re used to.” David closed the back door and opened the front, holding it for Reese.
It was true that he and Mati often rode in the back of the car together when they traveled, but he sure as hell didn’t want David to think he was their driver, in any way, shape, or form.
“Thanks,” Reese said, kissing his cheek.
David ducked his head and smiled.
Marcus followed them to the game, and David vigilantly scanned their surroundings as he navigated the city streets and the narrow, breakneck highway that snaked along the river. Reese threaded their fingers together on the console between them and David gripped his hand, his scowl turning into a pleased smile.
David led the way into the arena, his massive hockey bag slung over his shoulder, his sticks poking out and making the navigation of doors entertaining to watch. Most guys carried them, but David kept his hands free.
