What a short memory.

  Chase snorts from the counter.

  Next to him, Ryker laughs. “Good luck with that. Your dog likes to eat undies and fuck. Chances are high he’ll embarrass you again.”

  I cover my face. “I can’t believe he did that,” I say as I return to the counter, shooting Nacho a steely glare before I join the guys.

  “Really? You can’t?” Ryker asks with a lift of his brow.

  Chase pours some wine. “I mean, after everything you’ve told us about him.”

  “Seems like this tracks for Nacho,” Ryker adds.

  “But hey, at least he didn’t…finish.”

  I sigh. “Yes, there is that small victory.”

  Chase pats the chair. “Eat. Drink. Then, you need to get some sleep.”

  “Yeah, you have to work tomorrow,” Ryker says, gruff but caring too. “You need your rest.”

  Wow. Is this aftercare? For my newly unlocked threesome kink? If so, sign me up. But, in all fairness, I’m pretty sure being told to eat yummy food and go to bed early is, in fact, one of my pre-existing kinks.

  It’s a life kink, if you will.

  I sit down and we eat. This should feel strange, a post-sex meal with two guys. I’ve only ever done post-sex fooding with one guy, of course.

  But the three of us seem to slide into these moments naturally, like we did this morning with the pancakes. Still, as I scoop up some hummus onto a pita, I’m brimming with curiosity I just can’t keep to myself. After I take a bite, I say, “So, I’m dying to know something, Chase.”

  “Hit me up,” he says, putting his fork down before he takes a bite of the herb chicken.

  “You’ve never done this before. This whole—” I flap a hand in the direction of the bedroom, suddenly shy again.

  After what I just did, how can I be shy? Maybe it’s because talking about sex is its own kind of intimacy. It’s one thing to strip naked physically. It’s entirely another to do it emotionally, with words.

  I try again, owning my awkward as much as I own my pleasure. “This whole…three-way.”

  “Devil’s three-way,” Ryker adds dryly.

  I sit primly. “I prefer manwich,” I say, then laugh with them.

  From my dog’s dirty deeds to nicknames for threesomes, I don’t miss my ex one bit.

  Wow.

  I really don’t.

  I sit up straighter on that realization. I don’t miss Jasper. Also, I can relax in bed. I can let go. I just needed to be with the right guy. Or, really, the right guys.

  “My ex was wrong,” I say, almost like I’ve come out of a trance.

  “About literally everything,” Ryker mutters. “Except liking hockey.”

  “Facts,” Chase says.

  I shake my head adamantly. “Yes, but he was wrong about me too. He said I couldn’t relax in bed. That I was all up in my head.”

  “That guy never deserved you for a single second,” Ryker bites out.

  Chase narrows his eyes, his tone turning dark and protective. “I swear if I ever see that guy…”

  I kinda want to see them run into Jasper, but only because I like the protective sides of Ryker and Chase. I take a deep breath, and it feels cleansing, like I’m letting go of the last remnants of Jasper, the last pieces of doubt. I don’t feel like Jasper has as much power over me even as he did last night. I haven’t even bothered to check my socials to see if he’s commented on any of the photos I put up.

  Maybe those revenge pics helped.

  But more likely, maybe a couple nights of great sex did the trick. It’s like I’m leaving behind the revenge era, and moving into the…well, the devil’s three-way era.

  Speaking of…

  I take another bite of my hummus-covered pita, and when I’ve got some food in me, I return to the topic that intrigues me most. “If you’ve never done this before, how are you so good at…the whole directing thing?” I ask Chase, eager to know.

  The golden guy leans back in his stool and wipes a napkin across the corner of his mouth, letting a slow smile spread.

  But he’s not the one who answers my question. Ryker clears his throat. “He’s not team captain for nothing.”

  I turn to Ryker, intrigued. “But you’re not on his team?”

  “Not now, but we played together when we were younger.”

  “So you know his leadership style?” I ask.

  “Yep. On the ice, off the ice, Chase always has a plan.”

  I shift my gaze to Chase. “So, you’re naturally that way in bed too?”

  Chase scratches his jaw, then gives a quick nod, owning his bossy side, but his leadership side too. “I suppose so. And Ryker here just gets the job done. That’s his style. No fanfare. Just delivering one thousand percent.”

  I hardly know Ryker and yet I know that describes him perfectly. Makes me think I was wrong last night in my assessment that his personality style is the challenger. He’s more the loyalist, since he’s a defender, which is what he does on the ice.

  “When did you two play hockey together?” I ask, then snag an olive and pop it in my mouth.

  Chase watches the olive slide past my lips with avid interest before he says, “We were on the same team in high school and middle school.”

  “And grade school,” Ryker puts in, then adds with a cheeky grin, “Shocking, isn’t it, that we met on the ice.”

  Immediately, my brain supplies an image of an outgoing boy and a more reserved one connecting through sport. “I’m picturing the two of you at a rink skating awkwardly, passing a puck back and forth, then saying, Did we just become best friends?”

  Chase laughs. “Close, but not quite.”

  “Fine, what did I get wrong?”

  Ryker leans closer, brushes a strand of still damp hair from my forehead. “We didn’t skate awkwardly, sweetness. Not once.”

  They’re so cocky, and I love it.

  After dinner, I try to insist on cleaning up alone since Ryker bought dinner and Chase gave me a home, but they insist they won’t let me do chores solo. They help me, and once the kitchen is clean, we all head down the hall.

  Will we go to separate rooms?

  But as quickly as that thought arrives, it disappears since Chase nods to his big room—our sex room. “You’re sleeping with us, Trina.”

  Well, it is an order, so I follow them and slide into the big bed. Ryker’s right behind me. But even though I’m dead tired, and so damn worn out, there’s one thing we have to discuss.

  The ground rules going forward.

  My stomach swirls with nerves, but we’ve already vaulted past last night’s ground rules, just like we bypassed separate bedrooms. This will be awkward no matter what, so when Chase dims the lights, I dive in.

  “So, we’re doing this for…” I flash back to the start of the evening and to Chase’s words. “The next week while I’m here?”

  That came out a little strangled, but at least I said it. There.

  Ryker turns to me, his expression thoughtful. “That work for you?”

  For a brief moment, I picture nights with them beyond next week. But that won’t happen. That’s not on the table for them, and truly, it’d be foolish of me to imagine anything past the next week. Even if I’ve moved past my ex, that doesn’t mean I need to move to a couple new guys.

  I gulp, then nod.

  Chase slides in on the other side of the bed, kissing my shoulder. “I know you’re not looking for anything more. No pressure then from anyone.”

  “We’ll just have fun as we work through your list,” Ryker adds.

  That’ll take some time. We’re all busy, and I checked out their hockey schedules today. With them being on different teams, and with my shifts at the store—since sometimes I work nights—we won’t always be around at the same time.

  “We were very productive tonight. We crossed off one, two, and three,” I say with a sly grin.

  Chase lifts a brow, cycling back to the start of our sex seminar, I suspect. “One was double BJs,” he says, like he’s counting off.

  In no time, Ryker jumps in, “Two was pussy worship and dick devotion at the same time.”

  “And three was fucking and fellating,” Chase concludes, but then taps his chin. “But now I really need to know something—was rubbing our come all over your sweet tits while you played with your pussy on your list? Because that’s some very specific smut.”

  “And I am here for any sort of improv work in bed,” Ryker adds.

  I just smile. “I went off script for that one.”

  But speaking of my list, there is another ground rule that’d be good to establish. Only this is a tougher one to broach. It might cause jealousies, and I don’t want to divide them. I do want to be on the up and up. Still, I feel wobbly and uncertain as I say, “So, um, I hate to bring this up, but what happens if, well, if I’m say, in the shower with Ryker, and well—”

  Chase narrows his eyes, his voice like a hiss. “This your way of telling me you blew him in the shower?”

  “No! I didn’t. I didn’t even think about it.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Ryker deadpans.

  Shoot. I’ve made this worse. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way—”

  “I’m kidding.” Chase grins and sets a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “It’s all good. I swear.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. “You had me going.”

  He kisses my cheek. “If you’d have asked me a couple hours ago, I wouldn’t have known what to say. I was trying to figure out what I wanted, but Ryker and I talked beforehand,” Chase continues earnestly, just putting himself out there for me. “We like sharing you, but it’d be selfish as fuck if I said you two can’t touch if I’m not home or in the same room, know what I mean? Or vice versa to be honest. Now, do I want to shower with the two of you? Like, get up in the morning and shower?” He shrugs, but it’s a that’d be a no shrug. “I probably don’t. But if I’m sound asleep and you feel like sucking the chrome off his bumper, have at it.”

  “Or if you need an O for the road before work, I’ll take care of it,” Ryker offers.

  I snuggle into the pillows. I want to wrap myself up in these fantastic ground rules. “I guess that makes you orgasm makers,” I say.

  “Better than orgasm matchmakers,” Chase says, and the guys knock fists across me.

  “Way more fun,” Ryker seconds.

  This has been fun. Wildly fun.

  But it’s also been intense. Incredible. Surprising. Eye-opening. And also, just…good.

  These guys make me feel so good about myself.

  I didn’t feel that way at the end with Jasper. I definitely didn’t feel good when I found my darling puking up panty parts. And I’ve felt like a loser the last few weeks, ditched by a guy who took me for granted and only cared about his precious hockey tickets.

  But looking back, I don’t think I felt so great when I was with Jasper either. I stayed with him because he was good enough, or so I thought. But mostly I stayed because my family liked him.

  I stayed longer than I should have.

  This time, I won’t overstay my welcome.

  But I do want them to enjoy my company when I’m not naked as much as they do when I’m dressed for D. So I home in on the thing they like best. “Why do you like hockey so much? Since it’s so fast-paced? I noticed that last night. It’s wild to watch. There’s always something going on, even though I had no clue what was happening. But the whole time, I was thinking they’re flying.”

  Chase rolls to his side and props his head in his hand, eyes twinkling. “That’s why it’s the best. It’s relentless. You’re always moving. Always going,” he says, pure enthusiasm in his voice.

  “But…what the hell is going on? I just…never liked it because,” I say, a little guilty for disliking their livelihood, then it hits me. I never liked hockey because I never understood it. “Because everything was happening all at once and I couldn’t figure it out.”

  “Want to know the basics?” Ryker asks, his voice brighter than I’ve ever heard it sound, a sort of youthful wonder to it.

  If Jasper had asked, I’d have rolled my eyes and said no way. I never wanted to understand hockey when I was with him, since he operated on a hockey before you level. But these guys live and breathe the sport for a living, for their families, for the pure love of the game, and I want to understand them.

  “Sure, but I’m a total newbie.”

  My two guys give me a lesson, showing me videos on their phones, explaining the basics from face-off to goal, blue lines to red lines, and penalties to power plays.

  Ryker finishes with, “So that’s hockey.”

  “Basically, it’s exhilarating,” I say, summing it up.

  “You got it,” Ryker says.

  “And you have to be fearless.”

  “Exactly,” Chase adds.

  I let out a contemplative sigh, connecting all the dots of what they just told me. “You play on ice, but you need to be fueled by fire. That’s the hockey vibe.”

  Chase laughs, then it turns into a yawn. “That’s all you need to know, Trina. Hockey is a vibe.”

  “Hockey is life,” Ryker adds.

  Wait. Wait. I think I understand hockey now. I park my hands behind my head, letting a smile take over. “I’m pretty sure I had a hat trick tonight,” I say, pausing as they both lock eyes, waiting for me. “Of Os.”

  They both look stupidly happy as they say yes, yes you did.

  I settle deeper under the covers, my eyes fluttering closed when I hear a whine.

  A sad, plaintive cry.

  “My darling,” I say, sitting up at the sound of Nacho. He’s stretching up on the side of the bed, pawing at the cover.

  I look at Chase hopefully. “Um…can he?”

  “He better,” Chase says, then scoops up my pup and hands him to me. Instantly, my dog settles under the covers, curling up right against my chest.

  “Wait,” Chase says. “He sleeps between your tits?”

  I glance down at my main squeeze. I’m so used to his sleeping preferences I hardly think about them. “Yeah, he claimed this spot a while ago.”

  “Fucking alpha dog,” Ryker grumbles then turns the other way with a huff.

  When I wake up briefly in the middle of the night, Ryker’s nose is buried in my hair, and Chase’s hand is on my thigh.

  A devil’s sleeping three-way and one dirty dog.

  19

  A GIFT FROM THE HOCKEY GUYS

  Trina

  In the morning, I get ready for work quietly so I don’t wake the sleeping athletes. It’s game day—well, night—for both of them, and I want them to have their rest. I tiptoe to the kitchen.

  I’m as fast as can be as I whip up pancakes and slice strawberries, then leave them on a plate, along with instructions for heating up the stack on a pink sheet of paper I ripped off from a notebook in my purse.

  Don’t fight over the pancakes, guys. I made enough for both of you. Now, go work out hard and play harder tonight. And don’t forget, strawberries make everything better.

  PS: I’m thinking #4 on the list sounds good. Maybe soon?

  Then, I tell them what number four is.

  I head to the door with Nacho leashed up and ready to rumble at doggie daycare, but before I reach it, a voice still gravelly with sleep calls out gruffly to me, “Where are you sneaking off to with that cutie?”

  My heart thumps from the affectionate term for my dog. I swivel around. Chase’s a snack and a half. His hair is beyond disheveled, all golden brown and messy in the morning light. His stubble’s a day thicker. He must not have shaved yesterday. He scratches his jaw as he strides across the hardwood floors, all backlit from the windows, looking like scrumptious morning sin as he comes up to me at the door, then bends and scratches Nacho’s head.

  “Well, I was leaving for work a little early so I could take him to doggy daycare,” I say. “I have an author coming in for a signing this morning, so I figured it’d be easier if Nacho went to Throw Me A Bone.”

  Slowly Chase rises, cocking his head, one brow arched. Clearly that doesn’t compute for him. “Um, no.”

  “No…what?”

  “No, you’re not taking him to doggy daycare.” He’s as commanding as he is in bed, and the tone is dangerous for me to hear first thing in the morning. I’ll be ordering new panties before sundown.

  But I focus on the conversation, not my reaction to his voice.

  “Why?” I ask, letting the word stretch out because I’m really not getting his meaning.

  He points his thumb at his bare chest. “I’m doggy daycare. I want to help with your dog. I’m free for the next several hours,” he says with a lopsided grin. “Coach stopped morning skate this season, so I don’t have to head to the arena until the early afternoon. So if that works out for you, I’d really like to spend the morning with Nacho. If you must know, we made plans already.”

  We.

  He’s talking about my dog the same way I do.

  Dear god. My heart is thundering stupidly fast. Yes, it’s just an offer to take care of my dog, but it’s also the way to my bruised heart. “Sure,” I say, with a smile. “I’d really appreciate that. But what are your plans?”

  He closes the remaining distance. “Don’t you worry about that,” he says, then curls a hand around my head and presses a stubbly kiss to my cheek.

  Mmm. That tone of voice is definitely doing its thing. “Since I don’t have to rush to doggy daycare now, I suppose I can say thank you properly,” I say, lifting my chin and meeting his naughty gaze.

  The man reads me instantly, since his eyes darken, and he erases his grin, replacing it with a stern expression. “Get down on your knees like a good girl.”

  I obey, then part my lips seductively, opening for him, waiting. He takes out his cock, then pushes my hair from my face and slides a thumb along my jawline. “I almost hate to mess up your lipstick. But I’m going to do it anyway.”

  Once I draw him into my mouth, he continues to lavish me with praise and dirty words. “That’s right. That’s a proper thank you.”