Hat Trick (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (6 page)

He often had to pause and examine his feelings lately. He was still desperately in love with his wife, probably even more in love now than when they had first gotten married, but his deepening feelings for Jeremy confused and frightened him. While he had confessed to Rachel very early on that he was sexually attracted to both men and women, he had promised to love only her, and he had meant that vow. Falling in love with someone else felt like he was betraying her. And yet, he couldn’t seem to let Jeremy go.

“Earth to Vaughan. Nathan?” Nathan blinked out of his thoughts only to see the general manager’s hand waving in front of his face.

“Yeah, sorry. What did you say?” Nathan asked.

His boss shook his head but continued. “Did your agent talk to you about the latest interview request?”

Nathan sifted through the last conversation he’d had with his agent. He vaguely recalled him mentioning that some gossip columnist wanted to interview him. Apparently she had heard that Jeremy had been living with them for the last eight weeks and wanted to quiz him on their living situation. He’d flatly refused the request as soon as his agent had brought it up. He had a nasty feeling his refusal had somehow made the situation worse. At least if he had done the interview, he could have controlled the information. There was no telling what the article might say. “Yeah, some gossip monger. Why?”

“Our PR department got wind of her latest column due out tomorrow. Apparently it accuses your wife of cheating on you with Reiner. She’s got some pictures of the two of them out and about, and she’s somehow found out he’s been staying with you. She may or may not also allude to you sharing Rachel with him.”

Nathan’s heart raced at the thought of someone staking out his house. There were a lot of kids in his neighborhood, and most of the parents wouldn’t take kindly to strangers loitering about. He should probably tell the neighborhood association to be on the lookout for strange cars and such.

He didn’t really care about the content of the article though. The columnist couldn’t be further from the truth. Rachel was no more cheating on him than he was on her. The other accusation hit a little closer to home. He wasn’t sharing his wife, exactly. It wasn’t as if she had no say in the relationship. She wanted the ménage as much as he did. It was more of an equal partnership between all three of them. Each of them wanted what they had. He wasn’t about to worry about it too much. It wasn’t like the columnist could actually prove anything. Jeremy might have a problem with the article, however. He went out of his way not to be alone with Nathan in the locker room and usually scaled way back on his physically affectionate tendencies when he was around other guys. Nathan looked at Terry with a grimace. “Thanks for telling me, boss. I’ll make sure to warn Jeremy.”

The general manager nodded and paused to watch Jeremy as he stopped to talk to the head coach about something or other. “What is going on with you and the kid, Nathan?”

He almost choked at Terry’s question. Why the hell did he think something was going on? “I’m just offering him a room to crash in, Terry. What the hell else do you think is going on?”

Terry shrugged and swiveled his eyes to Nathan’s. “There’s just something about the way you guys look at each other, that’s all. I really don’t care what’s going on, if there’s anything going on, as long as you both perform. We are prepared to stand behind both of you, no matter what this b.s.-spouting lady says. But shit can hit the fan real quick with the media. You understand?”

Did he really look at Jeremy differently than he looked at his other teammates? More importantly, did Jer look at him differently than anyone else? That thought deserved to be chewed over. He pushed away from the boards when the coach called the team over to the bench. Practice was almost over anyway. “Thanks again for the heads-up, Terry.”

Nathan couldn’t seem to keep his body still as he listened to the coach debrief them on the practice. He never had been able to keep from fidgeting when he was nervous. Somehow, he thought the shit was about to hit the fan, as his boss had put it. He skated off the ice and clomped his way to the locker room with a feeling of dread welling in his gut.

He waited, taping one of his sticks, until the other guys had showered, dressed, and said their good-byes before looking up at Jeremy. There he was, in all his shaggy-haired, boy-next-door beauty.

“You ready to go, old man?” Jeremy asked with a smile.

God, that smile got to him every time. It made him want to kiss those plump lips, to nibble on them and lick them until they were swollen. He got a thrill out of watching Jeremy kiss Rachel but ached to be on the receiving end of one of those kisses. Shaking the image from his head, Nathan stood up and stowed the stick he’d been worrying in his locker. Grabbing his jacket, he followed Jeremy out the door.

He was still debating on the best way to break the news of the gossip column to Jeremy when the kid spoke. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Well, no time like the present. “Terry Ferguson came down to talk to me today.”

Jeremy nodded. Okay, so he’d apparently noticed Nathan’s discussion with the general manager. “Yeah, I saw you talking to him,” he confirmed. “You didn’t look very happy. Please tell me you aren’t being traded.”

Nathan’s eyebrows shot up with his surprise. Jeremy was worried they would be separated. Maybe he actually felt the same connection that Nathan felt. “No, babe, I’m not being traded. They call you into the office for that stuff.”

Jeremy blushed at the endearment but didn’t comment on it, instead sticking to their original subject. “What’d Mr. Ferguson want then?”

If the idea of mentioning that stupid column hadn’t been eating a hole in his damn gut, Nathan would have laughed at Jeremy calling Terry Mr. Ferguson. Terry always insisted that Mr. Ferguson was his dad. The man was a little unorthodox with how he interacted with his players, but he was damn good at his job.

Nathan blew out a long breath, trying to quell his nerves. “There’s a gossip column going out tomorrow,” he blurted out.

Jeremy looked at him as if he’d just grown another head. “Okay?”

Obviously Jeremy had no idea what Nathan was getting at. It looked like he was going to have to spell it out. “About us and Rachel. I guess she took some pictures of you and Rach a few weeks ago when you took her shopping and again when you two went out for dinner. She also somehow found out that we live together. Apparently she’s going to accuse Rachel of cheating on me with you. Or that I’m sharing my wife.”

Jeremy’s expression changed from one of bemused confusion to completely blank. He stayed silent for the rest of the ride home. It wasn’t until they pulled into the driveway that he spoke. “What are we going to tell Rachel?”

Nathan sighed and dropped his head onto the steering wheel, suppressing the urge to slam his head into the dash. “Crap. She won’t care personally, but I didn’t think about Vaughan Events. I hope this doesn’t affect her business. She loves that company.”

Jeremy’s answering sigh echoed through the car. “Do you want me to leave? I can get hotel room until I find my own place.”

Nathan jerked his head up and swung around in his seat to face his almost-lover. “No! You will not leave because of some stupid column. We will not let some gossipy bitch run our lives. Besides, if you leave, it will look like we are doing just what she says and that we’re trying to deny it. That will make everything worse.”

Nodding, Jeremy chewed on his lower lip. Nathan’s dick stood up at full attention. It didn’t seem to matter what the situation was, Jeremy could make Nathan horny with the simplest of things. The only other person who had ever affected him that way was Rachel. Something in him would die a little if Jeremy left. He just hoped the other man agreed with him. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Nathan would have jumped for joy if it weren’t for the fact they still had to tell Rachel about the article. Well, and for the fact that he was still wearing his seatbelt. “Come on, Jer. Let’s go break the news to Rachel.”

Rachel snapped the paper closed and tossed it away from her. It separated, and the different pieces fell apart and fluttered to the floor. She wondered if it would be too childish if she stomped over to it and ground it under her foot. Not that it would really have done much damage since she was barefoot, but it probably would have made her feel better.

Nathan and Jeremy had told her about the column and their suspicions as to what it might reveal. The bitch had gone a lot further than that. Instead of accusing her of cheating on Nathan, she had accused Nathan of cheating on her with Jeremy.

It was so far from the truth it was laughable. She would have laughed at it if she weren’t so worried about Jeremy’s reaction. He was so attentive to her, making sure she had everything she needed and wanted in and out of bed. He spoiled her nearly as badly as Nathan did. He still obeyed Nathan’s commands when they were in bed together. He still slept with them every night. But apart from their first night together, when Nathan had held him up while she’d slowly jacked him off, Jeremy had not allowed any more sexual contact with Nathan.

Rachel had left them sleeping in the same bed. As soon as she’d crawled out from between the two of them, they had each moved to close the gap. By the time she’d left the room to get the coffee started, Jeremy had been cuddled up against Nathan’s side, his chin resting on Nathan’s shoulder and arm draped across Nathan’s waist. It had melted her heart to see the two men she loved snuggled up together.

That revelation, of her love for Jeremy, had kind of snuck up on her. She wondered a little at what Nathan would think, but she had a sneaking suspicion he was beginning to fall in love with Jeremy, too. There was just something in the way he looked at Jeremy, something in the way he confessed to be possessive over the younger man. She had been thrilled with the way things were going. It might have taken some time for Jeremy to fall in love with them, but Rachel had been confident it would have happened eventually. If the two of them naturally snuggling up in bed together was any indication, their bodies already knew they all belonged together. It was just their minds that needed to catch up. Hopefully that stupid column hadn’t changed anything.

“Hey, honey. Can I assume the reason the paper is scattered all over the floor is because you weren’t impressed with that column?” Nathan’s sleep-roughened voice flowed through her and warmed her from the inside out. She watched him as he crossed the kitchen and poured himself a cup of black coffee.

He sipped from his cup thoughtfully as he gazed down at the pages scattered all over the kitchen tile. “That bad?”

Rachel took a deep breath. “Well, on the bright side, no one will believe the gossip. On the other hand, Jeremy may back right off.”

A confused look crossed his face. “What are you talking about, honey?”

She opened the fridge and pulled out the bowl of fresh fruit she and Jeremy had cut the night before. She knew Nathan would laugh it off, but it didn’t make saying it any easier. “The columnist didn’t accuse me of cheating on you with Jer.”

One of Nathan’s blond brows shot up as he looked at her expectantly, clearly waiting for a further explanation. Great. She was tempted to tell him to read the article himself but then he’d have to sort through the entire Saturday paper. “She accused you of cheating on me. With Jeremy.”

Rachel could see the battle waging in her husband. On one hand, he was relieved no one would believe the gossip. Two macho athletes who were at the top of their game, one of who was married, sleeping together? Who the hell would believe that?

On the other hand, Jeremy had seemed rather freaked out about any physical contact he had with Nathan while having sex. This might be just the trigger that pushed him out of their lives. “Should we even tell him?”

If she’d thought it would help matters, Rachel would have spared Jeremy this whole situation. Unfortunately, while most people wouldn’t believe the gossip column, there was bound to be some teasing from the guys in the locker room.

A shuffling sound came from behind them and they turned around to find Jeremy slouching his way down the kitchen stairs. Oh, he was too adorable. He had dark stubble covering his chin and cheeks, bleary eyes, and his shaggy hair was sticking up at all angles. He looked sleepy, sexy, and utterly lovable, and her throat ached at the sheer amount of love she felt for him. He rubbed a hand over his naked chest, yawned hugely, and ambled his way to the coffee pot. Pouring himself a cup, he turned and kissed Rachel on the temple and smiled drowsily at Nathan.

“Woke up by myself,” he commented in a gravelly voice. He surveyed the kitchen and yawned again, so widely that his jaw cracked. “How bad is it?”

Rachel’s heart sank. She knew they couldn’t keep the information from Jeremy, but she dreaded telling him. Nathan obviously sensed her discomfort and answered. “Well, she didn’t accuse Rachel of cheating on me.”

Jeremy cocked his brow and rubbed at his chest again. After almost nine weeks together, Rachel knew the action was actually a nervous habit Jeremy had, almost like the way Nathan tended to card his fingers through his hair when he was frustrated. “She accuse you of sharing Rachel with me?” he asked.

He waited expectantly as he took a large gulp of coffee. Rachel winced on his behalf. The liquid was scalding hot, and she could only imagine what it felt like running down his throat.

Nathan cleared his throat and averted his eyes. “No. Actually, Jer, she accused me of cheating on Rachel.”

Rachel knew her husband was hoping the other man would catch on to his meaning without having to actually spell it out for him, but it was clear from Jeremy’s confused expression he just wasn’t getting it. Nathan sighed and ran his fingers through his blond hair, going as far as gripping it and tugging it a little in obvious agitation. Rachel’s own stomach was now roiling with nerves, and she wondered for a minute if she was going to be able to keep her coffee down. She hadn’t been so nervous since receiving her final grades of her last semester of university.