“I’m okay, beautiful boy.” She scratched his ears and hit the spot that always got his leg going. One touch, and he always kicked out.
Travis doubled over and groaned. “That’s it, Zeus. You’re done. Upstairs,” he wheezed and skated over to the boards. He put Zeus down and pointed to the double doors. “Out.”
Carina covered her mouth, and I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from laughing.
“Trav, you okay there, hon?” she asked from behind her hand.
“Don’t all rush to my aid,” Trav gasped. “Fuck me, that hurt. Jesus, he nutted me.”
I couldn’t help the laughter bubbling up my chest. As soon as she felt it, Carina lost the battle to stop herself from giggling. I chanced a look at Rusty, and he was faring no better than us.
We all skated over to the boards, and Carina clambered off the ice.
“Take your skates off, then come here, beautiful,” I gently ordered.
She did and then eyed me warily when I held my hands out to her.
“Stand on my feet.”
“No way!”
“Fine, I’ll carry you then.” I stepped off the ice and lifted her into my arms so she was wrapped around me like Zeus had been Travis.
“Why do you get the pretty, nice-smelling one who won’t kick you in the nuts?” Travis groused as I stepped back onto the ice and pushed off.
“I’ll kiss them better later,” Carina promised with a laugh as I sped up.
We weren’t going fast, but Carina reveled in it, her fear gone. She held out one of her hands, and her weight shifted as she stretched her leg out. I spun us around, and she whooped happily.
Abba’s “Dancing Queen”started playing, and Travis and Rusty swept in beside us. We skated around the rink, Carina joining in with something we’d done countless times just as seamlessly as she did everything else.
Carina sang—badly—and Travis mimicked John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever.” Rusty matched his moves with something equally ridiculous, and I spun us around so Carina could watch them. She giggled and cheered, and I held her tight. This was happiness. This was perfection. Right here, the four of us.
I slid my hand up her back under her coat, and she shivered in my arms. Her skin was warm and soft, her curves supple as I found her bra strap. Her legs tightened around my waist, and I licked her throat, flicking my tongue over her jaw.
Her breath caught, and I sucked a mark onto her skin at her pulse point. I kissed my way to her mouth keeping one eye on where we were going, and she shifted her hands to cup my cheeks and take over our kiss. She thrust her tongue in alongside mine and we parried, touching and retreating before taking another taste. Our lips never parted as we glided to a stop on the ice, and she tangled her hands in my hair, deepening our kiss and grinding against me.
We broke apart, breathless, and I rasped, “Upstairs.”
“We’re a step ahead, Jacques,” Travis called out. “Get your ass here.” He held open the gate to the ice, and I didn’t waste any time skating there.
Carina slid down my body, and I deposited her gently on the rubber mats before I unlaced my skates and tossed them aside. It was a race up the stairs, all of us in socks as we dashed up them while trying not to slip on the polished timber.
I kicked the door to our bedroom closed. Seeing the four of us in that room was still strange. We weren’t often all in here at once. We still slept in separate rooms, Travis and I taking turns between the two. I wanted us to be one unit even if Rusty and Carina weren’t sexual with each other. Fuck, there was nothing else I wanted more—not a contract renewal, not the captaincy, not even the NHL.
Carina stood between Travis and Rusty, her chest heaving. Rusty nudged off her toque, and Travis lowered the zipper on her coat. I stepped forward and eased it off her shoulders, then tossed it aside.
Her floral shirt was soft to the touch and was trimmed with lace. It was so feminine and soft, perfect for how Carina felt under my hands. I hooked my finger on the top button and used it to tug her forward into my arms. I kissed her and flicked open one button after another.
She broke our kiss and licked her lip, then bit down on it. “I need you,” she whispered.
Travis tangled his hand in her hair and turned her face to him. He kissed her like a summer storm, all lightning and thunder. She arched into his touch and wrapped her arms around his waist, moaning as he explored her mouth.
I stripped off my training shirt and reached for Rusty. I eased his Henley up and over his head, then tugged off his sweats so he was left in nothing but the dark boxer briefs that just did it for me. They cupped his package and framed his ass spectacularly. He peeled his socks off and tossed them sideways while I shamelessly watched him. Then we turned to strip Carina and Travis out of their clothes.
But I wasn’t fast enough to reach Carina. Rusty shocked me, and not because he interacted with her—their friendship was strengthening every time I saw them together—but it was the way he did it.
It was intimate and gentle.
