Page 51 of Stetson
He rolled his eyes. “Shut up and kiss me, you dick.”
Well, how could I refuse that?
I leaned in, tentatively sealing my mouth over his. Stetson sighed into the kiss. His arms wrapped tight around me. When his tongue licked over my lips, I happily granted him entry. I hummed, the taste of him washing over my tongue. Sickly sweet syrup from his pancakes nearly dominated the mint from his toothpaste, but neither taste hid the true flavor ofStetson, not from my eager tongue. I plunged it deep into his mouth, threading my fingers in his hair to hold him close. He whimpered and tugged, telling me without words that he wanted to take this elsewhere.
Reluctantly, I broke off the kiss. “Not right now,” I told him. My cock throbbed in protest, but it wasn’t the time. “You’re not in the right headspace. Finish your breakfast, and maybe you’ll have time for a nap before practice.”
He licked his lips, as if he were soaking up every taste of me he could. “Only if we can do that some more later.”
I tried not to let on how much my bodylovedthat idea. “Yes, we can do that some more later.”
As he reclaimed his seat, pushing fruit around his plate, he squirmed. “Does Levi know what you just told me?”
To have something to do with my hands, I grabbed his Gatorade and picked at the plastic label. “About me retiring? I told you he was the first to find out.”
Stetson laughed. “Wow, I thought you’d be better at deflecting than that.”
I crooked a brow, keeping the act up. Truthfully, I felt vulnerable, and I hated it. It had only been a couple of months. I hadn’t planned on falling in love with Stetson at all, definitely not so soon. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He leveled me with a glare.
“Okay, okay.” I slid his drink across the counter. “He does. I haven’t said it in so many words but I think he knew you were perfect for us before I did.”
Stetson blessed me with a rare sight then. He ducked into his plate, and a beautiful pink spread across his cheeks. He didn’t let that cocky demeanor fade very often. “You think I’m perfect?”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Stetson Holloway…” With a newfound confidence—and the reassurance that he didn’t hate me—I stepped into his space. My chest bumped his shoulder, his body heat seeping through my clothes and warming me from my sternum down my midsection. I watched, amused, as his breathing increased and his chest rose and fell in rapid succession. I placed my hand on his lower back, and he shuddered. “I know you’re perfect, Levi knows you’re perfect. Hell, you’re one of the cockiest brats I know:youknow you’re perfect. Anyone whodoesn’tsee your perfection is a fool.”
Stetson let out a shaky breath, and I took a step back. “You’re set on retiring then?”
I sighed. “I am. It’s not a decision I came to lightly, but most pro athletes retire by the age of thirty, and I passed that years ago. The pressure, the traveling, it’s all too much. I want to be home more. Especially since I’ve got two of you keeping me on my toes now.”
Stetson smirked. “So I only get one chance to kick your ass in the World Series?”
I returned the gesture, and his mouth widened into a full smile. “Better make it a good one.”
Once he finished his breakfast, I sent Stetson ahead of me to the car with the excuse of cleaning the kitchen. Of course it was an excuse. The moment I heard the clubhouse door shut, I called Britney. Being so early in the morning, I wasn’t sure she would answer, but I was relieved when she did. “I have a plan.”
26
LEVI
I stood in the doorway,watching my men sleep. By the time they walked through the door, they were both dead on their feet. I barely got Barrett in a shower of his own before the two collapsed into bed. They were cuddled close, Barrett curled against Stetson’s back with his arm over the boy’s waist. They’d been that way for a couple hours now, not having moved once. With a sigh, I finished off my fourth cup of coffee for the day and went to the kitchen to deposit the mug in the sink. I desperately wanted another, but I wanted my men more. Things had been tense in the house and I hated it, especially after that morning. When Barrett asked to be the one to deal with Stetson’s outburst, I didn’t think twice. I also thought I could trust Stetson to know his limits.
We all learned a lesson.
I returned to the bedroom, settling in the armchair. Barrett was awake now, one arm tight around Stetson while the other combed through his hair. He gave me a lazy grin, but the guilt in his eyes was evident. We didn’t need to speak; silent words hung in the air between us. I knew how he felt. I knew howIfelt the first time someone used their safeword with me, and the hurt was unimaginable.
Stetson stirred then, wiggling back into Barrett’s arms. Judging by the way Barrett’s eyes widened, Stetson had brushed his perfect little ass right across Barrett’s dick. I smiled, and Barrett waited on my guidance. Navigating sex following a safeword was tricky, but it wasn’t unheard of. Barrett had told me he’d drawn a line with Stetson in the clubhouse, which had been the right decision then. Now, though, Stetson seemed to know what he wanted. He needed to feel that connection with Barrett; he needed to know that he could trust him.
My boy shifted again, and this time Barrett sighed, holding him close. “He’s telling you what he needs, Bear,” I whispered. “He needsyou.”
“What he said,” Stetson whined sleepily. He clasped Barrett’s hand, pushing it beneath the blanket.
“Safewords, baby boy.”
“Yellow to slow down.” Stetson’s eyes opened, baby blues meeting my gaze. “Red to stop.”
“Good boy. Go ahead, Bear.”
