Chapter Thirty
CHAPTER THIRTY
Devon
Having an orbital blowout fracture fucking sucked!
I wasn’t allowed to train, I wasn’t allowed to play, I wasn’t allowed to do anything except sit on my butt and twiddle my thumbs. I’d tried to see if I could at least come and do some gym sessions, but Clive and Tommy had sent me packing and Jonny had threatened to tie me to the bed to keep me there. And not in a fun way either.
I didn’t know how I was going to take another week or two of this. Two had been enough to drive me wild and make my skin itch with the need to do something!
The first few days had been okay, but that was mostly because I’d been in pain and happy to do nothing more than sit in bed or haul myself to the sofa while wrapped in blankets, put an ice pack on my eye, take my pills, and watch an endless stream of movies and old TV shows. The swelling had faded before the bruising, which even after two weeks was still giving my skin a sickly green and yellow tint with the odd hint of purple just to spice things up, and the pain had become more bearable. And then I’d started getting very bored.
I wasn’t used to sitting around and doing nothing, and I hated every second.
I’d watched more TV than ever, played endless hours of Call of Duty , gotten super into farming and trying to romance four different men in Stardew Valley , made, decorated, and eaten at least two dozen gingerbread dinosaurs, and come up with an extensive list of fun sex things I wanted to try with Jonny as soon as he’d fuck me again.
Because despite me insisting I was fine, he’d refused to do more than kiss me gently. It was like he was afraid I’d break if I had even one orgasm, which didn’t make any sense at all because it wasn’t like there was a problem with my dick. I’d been tempted to sneak in a quick wank in the shower, but Jonny kept promising that he’d make my first one post injury absolutely mind-blowing, and I was too intrigued to pass that up.
The only highlight of my convalescence had been at the end of the first week when Jonny, Mason, West, and I had all received call-ups for England for the next Six Nations campaign, with training camp starting at the end of December. It’d been such an amazing moment to realise we’d all be going together, and we’d celebrated with cake and champagne. Although I’d just had some sparkling elderflower because I wasn’t supposed to drink on the anti-inflammatories and painkillers I’d been given. I really hoped my eye would be healed enough for me to take part, even if I did have to miss a couple of days of training.
Jonny and I had stayed awake until the early hours, lying in bed talking about camp and the tournament and other things we wanted to achieve together. We had realised we’d need to tell the England coaching team about our relationship because we knew it wasn’t something we’d be able to keep a secret and it would be best to be honest, but we’d deal with that when we got there.
Like the Knights, we were pretty sure there wouldn’t be anything in the rules about players shagging each other.
“We’re home,” Jonny called, the sound of the door slamming and his and Mason’s voices in the kitchen. The only other good thing that had come from my injury was practically moving in with Jonny, who’d insisted I stay with him as much as possible so he could keep an eye on me. And I had to admit I’d enjoyed all the company.
“In here,” I said from my seat on the sofa where I was once again wrapped in a mountain of blankets because British winter was awful. The one thing making it vaguely bearable was the decorations we’d put up at the weekend, which made it look like a Christmas shop had thrown up all over the sitting room. Ryan had said Christmas was supposed to be tacky, and the rest of us had agreed that doing a theme was too boring and too much work, so now there were lights everywhere and the tree was more tinsel and ornament than anything else.
“How’re you feeling?” Jonny asked as he stuck his head around the door and smiled at me.
I paused my game of Stardew Valley and put the controller on my lap as I turned to look at him. “Bored out of my fucking skull. Can I please go back to training?”
“Not me you’ve got to ask, doll.”
“Can you ask Clive tomorrow? Please. I’m so fucking bored.” I knew I was whining like a petulant brat, but two weeks of being stuck inside was starting to get to me. Yes, I could have gone for a walk but it’d done nothing but piss it down for the past four days, and I was sick of it being cold and wet.
“No, but you can message him or Tommy. See if you can come to the gym,” Jonny said, sitting down on the sofa next to me and leaning over to kiss the side of my head. It was the first time he hadn’t shut me down and I sat bolt upright, eyes wide as excitement rose in my chest.
“Do you think they’ll let me?”
“I have no idea,” he said. “But it’s worth asking.”
I grinned. “Do you genuinely think I’ll be okay or are you just sick of me nagging you?”
He chuckled and pulled me against him. “Why would you think that? You’ve been utterly delightful and not a raging menace at all.”
“You know, there is one way to tire me out,” I said with a smirk, sliding my hand up his thigh and dipping my fingers between his legs, letting them casually graze over his crotch.
“Careful,” he said quietly, his hand on the back of my neck. “You shouldn’t push your luck.”
“How am I pushing my luck?” I asked as I fluttered my eyelashes. I could almost taste the tension in the air between us. Two weeks of me bratting around had been enough to push Jonny to breaking point, and I was desperate to see what he’d do to me. Being bored and horny was a terrible, wonderful combination.
His eyes glittered hungrily as he pulled me closer, holding me barely an inch away from him. “All your teasing and whining. It’s not a good look, angel. I know you’re bored but you need to behave.”
“Or what?”
“Or I won’t fuck you tonight.”
I gasped, a low moan pouring from my throat as I threw myself into his arms and tried to kiss him. “You wouldn’t make me wait any longer. I’m so fucking desperate.”
“I know,” he said, brushing his lips against mine. “And that’s why I’m going to spoil you. But only if you behave.”
“I’ll be perfect.”
“Good.” He kissed me again, deeper this time. “Are you ready for D&D tonight?”
“I think so.” I settled myself in Jonny’s lap, trying not to show how nervous I was. Ryan had helped me build a character—a wood elf ranger from the fey realms—and had run a couple of solo sessions for me while the others were at training so I could get a feel for the game, but I was still anxious about joining the group. Despite Jonny’s repeated reassurances that everyone wanted me there—something Mason and Ryan had both reiterated—I was still worried about intruding. “Are you sure you don’t mind? I don’t want to take over something that’s yours.”
“I’m sure,” he said, letting go of my neck to rest his hands on my thighs. “And you won’t take over, I promise. I’m so excited for you to be there.” He smiled and squeezed my legs. “I’ve spent so many years without you, Dev, all I want is to spend as much time as possible with you. I’ll never think it’s too much and I’ll never get bored of having you around.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” He leant forward and kissed me. “In fact, you’ll have to tell me if I’m smothering you. Because if I had my way, I’d be with you every second of every day. But that’s probably not healthy.”
I chuckled. “Maybe not, but if it works for us…”
“Exactly.” His next kiss was deep and leisurely, his tongue pushing into my mouth. It made me melt into him, my hips grinding in little circles as I sought out more.
“Oi!” Mason’s voice was sharp and disgruntled as something soft smacked my arm, and I glanced down to see one of the cushions from the armchair sitting next to me. “What have I told you two about making out on the sofa?”
“Only do it when we’re home alone?” I said, shooting him my most charming smile. “And don’t tell you about it. Oh, and also wash the cushion covers if we get cum or lube on it.”
“Thank you,” Mason said with exasperation. He was still smiling, though. “Dinner’s nearly ready by the way.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Also, I have a question… is there a reason both the sofa cushions got washed on Sunday night? Because I’m pretty sure they were clean before Jonny and I went to bed.”
Mason’s face tinted and he grabbed another cushion off the sofa to throw at me before he stalked off to the kitchen, muttering under his breath.
“That doesn’t answer my question!”
“All right, so, the four of you are on the road on your way to Arrowholt, and you’re approaching the second night of your journey,” Ryan said as we sat around the table later that evening, listening as he captivated us with his words. “The sun is just starting to set over the mountains in the distance and there’s a chill in the air. The road is currently empty, but you remember what you were told about there being bandits in the woods you can see not too far to your left. Can you all roll me a perception check?”
I watched as the others rolled, Rory deliberating for a moment about which dice to use. He’d been kind enough to lend me one of his many, many sets for tonight—which were bright turquoise with golden threads running across the surface—because I hadn’t gotten around to buying some. Mostly because whenever I went on to various dice shops, I was overwhelmed with the amount of choice and spent hours looking at all the pictures and trying to decide which ones I’d like best instead of actually ordering any.
“Seventeen,” West said.
“Starting off strong this evening with a nine,” Rory said with a giggle.
“Fifteen,” Mason added as he looked at his sheet to check his modifier.
“Twenty-eight,” Jonny said, a wry smile on his face.
Ryan laughed. “And there’s the rogue.”
“Thank God we’ve got you,” Rory said. “Or we’d be fucked.”
“Hey, mine was pretty good,” West said, nudging his boyfriend with a teasing smile. “So was Mason’s.”
“Yeah, but there’s a difference between a seventeen and a twenty-eight. Besides, now we can spot whatever horrible thing Ryan is planning to throw at us.”
“Since when do I do that?”
“Er, might I remind you of the goblins?” Rory asked with disbelief, holding up his hand to start counting things off. “And the mimic in the bookcase. There was that weird bat creature too! And, you know, the vampires?”
“And don’t forget our worst enemy,” Mason said solemnly. “Locked doors.”
They all nodded and I bit back a laugh. I’d heard multiple stories about their problems with doors, even though rogues were supposed to be good at opening them. But apparently, Jonny’s dice didn’t believe in breaking and entering, no matter what the situation.
“Luckily for you there are no locked doors in sight,” Ryan said, drawing us back into the story. “But, Flint, you spot a tiny twisting bit of smoke coming from the edge of the forest. It’s not enough to be a forest fire or even a large campsite.”
“So probably a small party then?” Jonny asked as he gently hooked his foot around mine under the table. “Maybe one or two people at most?”
“Yeah, I think with a twenty-eight, you’d probably assume it’s not going to be a lot of people. More like something the four of you would set up.”
“I’ll point it out to the others,” Jonny said before adding a couple of lines as his character. He had a voice for Flint too, and I melted a little inside because I’d never realised he did a voice.
“I’m not sure,” Mason said. “Do we want to go and investigate? What if we scare them off? Or what if they try and rob us?”
“Please,” West said, waving his hand at all of them. “Who’s going to try and rob us?”
“Don’t say that!” Rory laughed as he tried to clap his hand across West’s mouth. “That’s just asking for trouble.”
“Yeah, don’t give them ideas,” Mason said, gesturing at Ryan with a playful grin.
“Well, I’m starving,” Rory said. “And I love meeting new friends, so I vote yes. In fact, I’m going to start walking towards the campfire.”
There was a little more debate, and West even considered going and scooping Rory’s character up and carrying him away, but they couldn’t ignore the plot hook forever. Eventually, they made their way over to the edge of the forest and the camp my character had set up. Excited nerves bubbled in my stomach as the moment of my introduction got ever closer, but Jonny’s foot was still hooked around mine and suddenly I felt his hand on my thigh under the table, gently soothing me.
“You get to the edge of the forest and you do indeed see a small campfire has been set up with stones around the outside, the fire burning merrily, and there’s even a metal tripod set up over it with a pot of something bubbling away, which smells delicious,” Ryan said. “And there’s also a figure sat beside the fire watching you—because let’s face it, none of you were trying to be stealthy.”
Mason vaguely tried to object but it was more for show than anything, and five warm faces turned to me as Ryan said, “Devon, would you like to describe what they see?”