Chapter Four
Nix
Nix paced the arena hall as he waited for his brother. It had been a good hard game and even though they lost, Nix felt good about how he’d played. Now he only had a few minutes with Aries before his brother would be on a plane flying back to Vegas.
It wasn’t nearly enough time.
Between warmups and getting ready for the game, Nix hadn’t gotten to connect with Aries before.
“Nix!”
Nix turned as Aries ran at him. He opened his arms and not a second later had Aries clinging to him. Closing his eyes, Nix held Aries as tight as he could. It had been too long. Even though they were barely a month into the season, Nix missed his brothers. It was so hard being without them.
“I missed you!” Aries sobbed into his neck.
“I miss you too. So much.” Nix kissed the side of Aries’s head before hugging him harder.
Playing against Aries was exciting and educational.
Aries was good. Better than even a few months ago when they’d still been practicing together.
No wonder he’d been drafted as number one.
Some of Nix’s anxiety was relieved as he’d watched Vin go out of his way to protect Aries all night.
Pulling back, Nix cupped his little brother’s face. “You looked good out there.”
“You too. It was almost like old times.” Aries blinked but he was still tearing up.
“Except much bigger opponents,” Nix pointed out. “And I’m not there to protect you.”
“You shouldn’t be protecting anyone,” Aries told him. “You should be scoring goals.”
“I will always protect you.” Nix pulled Aries back into a hug. With a limited amount of time, he just wanted to hold his little bro.
Aries wrapped his arms around Nix’s waist. “I would protect you too. If you needed it.” He started to cry again.
“Just worry about yourself. I’m fine.” His heart broke with Aries trembling in his arms.
He heard a scuff on the tile and looked up, prepared to force whoever was invading on their time away. His gaze met Vin’s and Nix was surprised to see a soft look in the vampire’s eyes. Vin held up both hands, palms facing him, and Nix nodded.
Vin slowly backed away to disappear around the corner.
Once again Nix pulled back. “I love you, little brother.”
“I love you too.” Aries wiped his eyes. “Sorry I cried.”
“Don’t ever stop being you,” Nix ordered softly.
“There you are!” Vin announced loudly, like he hadn’t just seen the two of them.
Nix was impressed. It was pretty smooth of the vampire.
Aries turned and his smile was so bright as he looked at the vampire that Nix knew. Something huge was happening between Aries and Vin. Protectiveness coursed through him. How could he get a minute alone with Vin?
“Hey, Vin,” Aries said and waved back at him. “This is Nix.”
Vin nodded to him. “Nice to meet you. Aries talks about you all the time.”
Nix didn’t want to like the guy, but Vin was looking at Aries like he hung the moon. It was hard to hate someone who appeared smitten with his brother. Needing time to process, Nix fell back to joking and being a clown. “Of course he does.” Nix gave his cockiest grin. “I’m the best.”
“That’s not what the scoreboard said.” Aries poked him in the stomach.
Damn it, Nix knew his brother would get around to the smack talking. Still Aries had played a fantastic game. “I swear you got faster. Not even sure how that could be possible.”
“Good food,” Aries replied. “I've put on weight and gotten faster. More energy.”
Aries had filled out. Nix laughed. “You don't need more energy!”
“Do too,” Aries argued like the brat he was. “Vin said more balanced meals would help with my stamina on ice and it has!”
Oh, really? Nix narrowed his eyes at the vampire. Was Vin just concerned about Aries’s stamina on ice or was there already something more going on? “Vin said, did he?”
Vin closed the remaining distance before bending down to speak in Aries’s ear. “We need to get ready to leave.”
“I know.” The sadness returned to Aries’s face.
Damn it! Nix wanted more time with his brother! This wasn’t fair.
“Why don’t you go wash your face real quick,” Vin suggested to Aries. “There’s a bathroom right around the corner.”
And now Nix was back to respecting the vampire. He must really care about Aries.
Aries blushed but nodded. “Yeah.”
Nix urged his brother toward the bathroom. This was perfect. He just needed a few minutes to threaten, uh, talk to Vin. “I’ll wait here for you. Say goodbye one last time,” Nix promised Aries.
“Okay!” Aries bounced away.
Nix barely waited until Aries had turned the corner before rounding on Vin. “Vin, is it?”
Vin snorted. “You know perfectly well who I am.”
“I do,” Nix admitted. He didn’t have anything to hide here. “Because you’re all my little brother talks about whenever he’s on the phone with me or Gem. Even our mom has mentioned how taken Aries seems to be with you.”
Vin watched him for several minutes.
A lot passed in that look.
Nix knew men. Could read their interest. He understood what Vin wasn’t saying.
“I’ve been helping him,” Vin tried.
“Helping.” Nix wasn’t buying it. He wanted the whole truth. If he was going to trust this man with Aries then Nix wouldn’t put up with bullshit. “Is that what you call it?”
“Yes,” Vin hissed quietly. “You know damn well that Aries wasn’t doing well on his own. He thrived on the ice but off he was struggling.”
He swallowed hard as guilt ate at him. Nix should have refused to go to any team other than with Aries. Fuck! Now he felt like an asshole.
“He’s trying his hardest,” Vin told him. “Aries doesn't want to be a bother to anyone. And he’s a good guy. He cares about his teammates and they like him a lot, but that’s not the same as having his brothers with him.”
Nix was quite aware. He’d had no idea how hard this separation would be. “It’s not easy on any of us. I really thought it wouldn’t be a big deal. We’d be busy. I didn’t realize how much downtime we would have.” It sucked, plain and simple, but Nix didn’t know how to fix it.
Vin grasped his shoulder gently. “He’s doing good. These first away games have shown him what to expect. It’ll get easier.”
“I hope so,” he replied. And now he liked Vin. Vin obviously cared about Aries. He just needed Vin to understand that he couldn't fuck around with Aries like he could other men. “But your interest in my brother isn’t just as a mentor looking after the rookie.”
And Nix was going to ignore the similarities between Vin and Aries and Nix's friendship with Evan.
“It’s not,” Vin admitted. “Your brother is a sweetheart. I like spending time with him. I think he likes being around me too.”
Nix rolled his eyes. They were almost out of time. Aries would be back soon. Was Vin fucking Aries or not? “You’re hot,” Nix pushed. “That doesn’t mean that he’ll fall into bed with you. Don’t think you can fuck him and push him to the side. He isn’t like that.”
Vin grinned. “I know.”
Wait! What? “He told you?” Nix couldn’t believe it! His little brother was growing up. It made Nix’s heart happy.
“Yes, but that conversation is between me and your brother.”
Like that was going to happen. “He tells me everything.” He was more than a little smug about that. Aries couldn’t keep a secret to save his own life.
“Maybe.” Vin shrugged. “Maybe not. That’s his business.”
The vampire was giving Nix all the right answers. Apparently Evan had been right about him. Still, Nix was an older brother. “If you hurt him, I’ll come after you, vampire. I don’t care who you are or how old you are.”
Vin looked at him with respect. “I have no intention of hurting Aries. I want to take care of him. To make sure he stays the same happy and lighthearted bo…young man he is now.”
He did not miss the slip. Vin almost called Aries a boy.
And yeah, Nix could see it. He had experience with kink.
Vin gave off definite dominant vibes. Nix could work with this.
And be quite the pest. “Oh, this is going to be so good!” He rubbed his hands together, already forming a plan to push Aries hard in Vin’s direction.
It would just be in his own annoying way.
It was a dynamic that worked for them. “I’m going to give him so much shit. ” Fair warning and all.
Vin narrowed his eyes. “You won’t.”
Oh, didn’t the vampire know to never say that to him? “I totally will.”
He shut up as Aries returned, but he wasn’t alone. Evan walked with Nix’s little brother. That…was worrisome. Nix wasn’t really ready for his two worlds to collide. He was more comfortable with Evan than anyone else. Had let Evan see sides of him that Nix didn’t even share with his brothers.
“Mules!” He used Evan’s hockey nickname. “Stay away from the evil one! You’re my goalie!”
Aries rolled his eyes as Evan snorted.
“I’m not sure if I should be worried about that or not,” Evan said.
Worried? What would Evan have to be worried about?
Aries! His little twerp of a brother said something. Nix knew that expression that Aries wore. “What did you tell him?” Nix demanded.
Aries beamed. “Oh! Nothing much.”
Reaching out, Nix yanked his little bro forward. “What did you say?” he whispered.
“Nothing.” Aries tried to defend himself.
Nix never should have told Aries about his crush on Evan. In his defense Nix hadn’t known that Evan would be such an amazing person. The attraction had come first but now Nix generally liked Evan.
Keeping one eye on Evan, Nix wanted to shake his little bro.
“You better not say anything to embarrass me,” Nix threatened.
“Like you weren’t just giving Vin the third degree.”
“It’s my job to look out for you,” Nix reminded him.
“You are a whole six minutes older than me so don’t pull that big brother card.” Aries pushed him.
“I am your big brother.” He shoved Aries back.
Evan’s warm hand landed on the back of his neck and Nix froze. “Do you still want a ride home? Or would you rather walk?”
Nix gasped. How could Evan betray him like this? He ignored Aries sticking his tongue out but flipped him off when Vin whispered something into Aries’s ear.