Hat Trick (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (11 page)

“Ow,” Jeremy squawked, pushing at his chest to get Nathan to move. “Damn it, Nathan, that’s going to leave a mark.”

Nathan smiled widely, taking in the other man’s ruffled state. If anyone had ever looked like he’d had the orgasm of his life, it was Jeremy. “It will match the bruises on my ass perfectly, thank you very much,” Nathan retorted as he straightened up and pulled off his sodden jock.

The move seemed to set Jeremy off all over again, and the other man convulsed in laughter.

“Care to share what you think is so funny?” he said, arching his eyebrow. He wasn’t really angry with Jeremy for laughing though. The man was gorgeous normally, but with a genuine smile, he was stunning. Falling in love with Jeremy had been so easy, so right…so natural. It made him want to jump and shout and dance around the room naked just for the joy of it.

Jeremy finally stifled his laughter and stripped off his wet underwear, holding it up so Nathan could see it clearly. “We couldn’t even wait to get our underwear off,” he explained, his eyes still sparkling. “I bet Rachel will never let us live this down. She’s going to love teasing us about this.”

The joy racing through Nathan abruptly turned to almost crippling guilt. Rachel. He had promised to love only Rachel, and here he was, ruminating about how much in love he was with Jeremy. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his wife because he did, passionately and completely. But somehow this man had eased into his heart right alongside her.

Jeremy was busy talking, chattering away about something or other and seemed to have no idea about Nathan’s sudden change of mood, for which Nathan was glad. It wasn’t Jeremy’s fault that Nathan had just broken the most sacred vow he had ever given. God, how could he have fallen in love with someone else? And how sick was it that he didn’t feel guilty about sleeping with someone else? Mind you, Jeremy had been sharing their bed for quite some time before he’d left.

Letting the younger man lead him to the bedroom, Nathan sat on the edge of the bed while Jeremy went into the bathroom and emerged with a couple of wet, warm cloths to clean up with. He scrubbed himself roughly, leaving his skin red and almost raw. It didn’t scrub away the guilt he felt though.

Sighing, he flopped down on the mattress and placed his hands behind his head. He flinched a little when Jeremy crawled in beside him, drawing the covers over them both before cuddling up to his side. Those long fingers stroked absently over Nathan’s stomach for a few minutes before Jeremy finally said something.

“Is everything okay, Nathan?”

Jeremy’s voice was so hesitant Nathan almost cried. He’d totally screwed everything up. And even though he’d have to figure out what to do now, he couldn’t let Jeremy think he’d done something wrong. He moved one arm so it curled around Jeremy and pulled him closer so the rookie’s head was resting on his chest. “Just tired,” he muttered.

“Okay. I’m glad things worked out,” Jeremy replied, still sounding a little unsure. “It feels good to be back home. It feels even better to be in your arms.”

Nathan bit back another sigh, inclining his neck so he could kiss the top of Jeremy’s dark head. “Feels good to have you here, too.”

He could feel Jeremy’s body become more relaxed as his breathing evened out and he eventually fell asleep. Nathan glanced to his other side, to Rachel’s side of the bed, and a fresh stab of guilt ate at his gut.

The front door opened quietly, and a sliver of light shone under the closed bedroom door. Man, he so wasn’t ready for this. He closed his eyes and pretended to sleep as Rachel eased open the bedroom door. He felt her stop at the side of the bed and risked opening his eyes just a crack, hoping she wouldn’t catch the slight movement. He found her smiling down at the two of them tenderly. He didn’t think she’d be smiling quite so fondly if she realized that he’d gone and fallen in love.

Rachel winced as Nathan let out another loud string of curse words. She couldn’t figure out what had put Nathan in such a foul mood these last few days. When she’d walked into the bedroom two weeks ago and found Jeremy curled up against her husband, she had been thrilled. It seemed her fantasy of seeing two men, specifically Nathan and Jeremy, make love was about to happen. While the two men had yet to actually have sex, they had done everything else with enthusiasm. Watching them grind against each other, their two leaking cocks rubbing together was possibly the hottest thing she had ever seen.

For a few days everything had been blissful. She had even grown to believe that the three of them could have a long term, fulfilling, loving relationship.

She had very obviously missed something along the way, though. Nathan had been slamming around the house, growling at anything that pissed him off, which seemed to be everything these days. He picked fights constantly and went out of his way to say things he knew would set her off, almost as if he was deliberately trying to drive her away. If it hadn’t been for the desperate way he made love to both her and Jeremy every night they were home, she would have wondered if he was unhappy with their relationship.

A knock sounded at the door, and she smiled warmly as she opened it to the Maple Leaf’s publicist. “Hey, Anna,” she said, greeting the cool blonde woman. “How are you?”

Anna smiled back slightly and bustled in as if she had been there a thousand times. Her confident attitude was why she made such a damn good publicist. “I’m fine, thank you. Are Mr. Vaughan and Mr. Reiner ready for the reporter from
Now
?”

“They are. They’re right in the living room. Billy, the reporter, has signed a confidentiality agreement so they could conduct the interview here.”

Anna smiled absently, already lost in her job. She walked into the living room without giving any indication she’d even heard Rachel and immediately began lecturing the two men about what questions they could and couldn’t answer.

Rachel shook her head fondly and wandered back into her office. She had to finish up the payroll and then get her things ready for the employee reviews coming up. Her business was really picking up, and her last event had garnered so much praise and attention that Vaughan Events’ phones were ringing off the hook. Just this afternoon she had booked two society weddings. Tomorrow she was meeting with two more brides and a representative from the Children’s Wish Foundation. As busy as they got, though, she never wanted to lose sight of the smaller charitable foundations that needed events planned for little to no cost. Now that Vaughan Events was doing so well, Rachel was able to plan several smaller fundraisers for charities closest to her heart. Family and Children Services had just contacted her to help organize a small-scale fundraiser. She was planning on waiving her own fee and talking to her vendors about lowering their prices just a little. Then she could put every single cent of the FCS’s budget into a spectacular event that would raise them a ton of money.

By the time she got off the phone with her last vendor, she had talked four out of the five into lowering their prices, and she could hear the laughing and joking coming from the kitchen. Glancing at the clock, she decided she could use a celebratory drink, and Nathan made the absolute best martinis. She stood up and stretched out the kinks in her back.

Nathan, Jeremy, Anna, and someone she assumed was the reporter were standing in the kitchen. The four of them were gathered around the island, watching Nathan handle the martini shaker. “Ah,” she said, sidling up to him and standing on her toes to brush a kiss against his jaw. “You read my mind. Is there enough for me?”

“Of course,” Nathan said with a smile.

To everyone else, that smile would look genuine. It was only because she’d known him since they were teenagers that she saw how strained that smile really was. The little lines that fanned out from his eyes were so much more pronounced now than they had been even when Jeremy had moved out.

Accepting the glass from Nathan, she sat down on the stool beside him and resisted the urge to gulp back the entire glass in one swig. She’d seen Anna drink any number of the players under the table and knew the other woman wouldn’t blink an eye at her draining a glass in one go. The reporter, on the other hand, well, he was a different story.

She forced a smile and placed her glass on the counter, reaching across to offer her hand to the young man standing rather awkwardly on the other side of the island. “Rachel,” she said.

The young man shook her hand firmly and smiled nervously. “Billy. Nice to meet you.” He played with the label on his beer bottle, fiddling with the edge until it pulled loose. He kept up the nervous twitch until Jeremy sat down next to him and nudged his shoulder companionably.

Rachel’s heart eased a little at Jeremy’s display of lightness. He’d been the complete opposite of Nathan in the last few weeks. Where Nathan had been sullen and distant, Jeremy had blossomed. Whatever had transpired between the two men had been what Jeremy needed to feel completely comfortable in their relationship. He still made love to her sweetly but now treated Nathan with just as much passion. Now when he lost himself in his work, it wasn’t because he needed to distance himself from her and Nathan. He worked on his video games because he’d been inspired and couldn’t wait to work that inspiration into whatever game he was working on.

She had felt herself slowly falling in love with him, and now, he owned as much of her heart as Nathan did. It had been stupid of her to think she could be involved with another man in such a personal and intimate manner and not fall in love.

Everything would have been perfect except for two fears. Nathan’s attitude, for one. She could really live without the shitty attitude. Something was seriously off with him, and she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. It scared her that, for the first time since she’d known him, she couldn’t help him with whatever was bugging him. It was almost like her bond with him was breaking down.

The second fear was a little more abstract, although just as terrifying. She had long ago come to terms with the fact that, as a hockey wife, she might be forced to give her business up should her husband get traded. Sure, she could always sell it and start over wherever Nathan ended up, but it wouldn’t have been the same. She could have lived with that. But now they had Jeremy in their lives. There was absolutely no way she would be able to give Jeremy up if either he or Nathan ever got traded. The idea of choosing between them and leaving one of them behind was enough to make her queasy.

The publicist finally stood up and carried her martini glass over to the sink. “Well,” she said, “I’m going to have to insist we call this a night. Nathan and Jeremy have to leave for a string of away games tomorrow, and they need their rest. Billy, can I give you a ride home?”

Billy shook his head and held up a set of keys. “I borrowed my brother’s car.”

Their guests left, and Rachel shut the door behind them with a quiet click. She leaned her head on the cool wood, loathe to turn around and face the two men. The tension had been rising steadily, and it was so thick now she thought she could taste it. It left a sour, sticky note on her tongue that mixed poorly with the vodka taste still lingering in her mouth. Straightening her shoulders, Rachel turned around and took the bull by the horns. “Nathan, I don’t know what crawled up your ass, but it needs to end here. I can’t live like this.”

The dark look Nathan shot her told her what she’d said probably hadn’t been the best way to start, but Nathan rarely responded to pussyfooting around. He was blunt and to the point and usually appreciated that she spoke her mind.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at her. “I’m not allowed to have a bad day?” He dropped his eyes so he was staring at her breasts.

Her nipples immediately pebbled, and she inwardly cursed her body. After so many years of marriage and very passionate sex, her entire body had been conditioned to prime itself every time Nathan looked at her. And Nathan, damn him, knew it.

Crossing the space between them in just a couple of steps, Nathan gripped her wrists and yanked her against him, kissing her roughly as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She softened against him for just a second until her mind screamed at her that he was trying to distract her from the inevitable confrontation. She pulled away from him, and it was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do in her life. There was something so desperate in his manner, and she ached to make everything better. “No.” She pushed away from him forcefully when he wouldn’t let her go. “Sex can’t fix this, Nathan. Tell me what’s wrong, please.”

Nathan took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring, and she sensed he was fighting for control. “I’m just having a bad day, that’s all,” he muttered, lowering his eyes to the ground and refusing to meet her eyes.

“It’s been weeks,” Rachel countered. The exasperation she was feeling was leaking into her voice, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. “You’re grumpy, surly, and disinterested in everything I have to say. You barely touch me anymore unless we’re having sex.”

Jeremy edged his way over to stand next to Rachel, placing one big hand on her shoulder. She was grateful for the show of support, and she soaked up the touch. Nothing could prepare her for Nathan’s next words. “So because I don’t jump up and down every time you sign a contract for another society wedding, I’m surly? Did it ever occur to you that maybe I have other things on my mind?”

Rachel reeled from his words. He had always been so proud of her accomplishments before, and though the words weren’t too hurtful in themselves, the sneer with which he said them sent a shaft of pain slicing through her heart.

The hand on her shoulder squeezed gently, and Jeremy stepped slightly in front of her as if to block her from Nathan’s words. “Low blow, Nathan.”

Her husband finally looked her in the eye and seemed to deflate. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I think I need to get outta here for a little while.” He grabbed his keys and headed for the door. He paused and turned around, his face a mask of complete misery. “I love you, honey. I’ll see you when we get home from our away games. Jer, I’ll see you tomorrow on the plane.”