6. Luca
Luca
Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my hips, checking my phone to see how much time I had before room service arrived with my dinner. Seeing a text from my wife, I felt a pang in my chest. I missed her so damn much.
Normally, she would fly out to whatever city when I had an away game, but she was still recovering from her third C-section.
Some scar tissue from the previous two had made healing from this one take longer.
I hadn’t wanted to leave her, but I also had a responsibility to my team, which meant not missing the first game of the season.
Thankfully, Jagger was able to stay with her and our kids so I could focus on work.
Vi: I sent you an extra-sweet surprise to celebrate the first win of the year.
Me: Is it chocolate cake?
Vi: It’s ten times better than cake.
Vi: It should be there soon. You can thank me later. Enjoy. I love you.
I didn’t have time to text her back before the doorbell rang. All the rooms of this hotel were soundproof, so the staff had to use a doorbell instead of knocking. Making sure the towel was secure, I opened the door without checking to see if it was my room service or not.
Shaw stood there with a bag from my favorite deli in New York and a small overnight case. She gave me the wicked grin I had come to love. “Hi, stranger.”
That sexy fucking voice was going to kill me. It rolled over me like a caress, making the towel tent so fast, it would have fallen if I hadn’t grabbed it to hold it in place.
Biting my lip, I scanned her from head to toe.
Her hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders.
No makeup, but she knew that was how I liked her best. A simple T-shirt and a pair of jeans graced a body I’d become increasingly obsessed with over the last few months.
Mostly because I tried to limit myself on how much I allowed myself to give in.
But when she did dirty things to my wife, it was hard not to beg for a little taste.
We hadn’t had the chance for private playtime with our friends in over three months, though.
Jagger and Shaw had both been traveling a lot for work before and right after Aidan and Ciaran were born.
Sometimes together. Sometimes alone. Vi had been recovering, while I’d had football practice and the preseason to deal with.
Shaw had been so busy with her schedule that I wasn’t even sure what city she was in most of the time. I got a few texts from her, to let me know she was okay or to ask me something about Vi. Otherwise, we didn’t have a lot of contact. And I wasn’t sure I liked that.
Vi worried about her bestie when she wasn’t close. Which made me worry about her as well. It had nothing to do with the fact that I was a little in love with her too.
Shaw waved the bag of food, pulling my attention away from the little nugget of truth I didn’t want to acknowledge yet. “Can I come in? Vi canceled your room service when you told her you’d ordered dinner because she knew I was bringing you the grinder you love so much.”
Stepping back, I held the door, silently letting her enter. She dropped her small case on the floor and set the food on the TV stand before sitting on the end of the bed. Making sure the door was shut, I turned to watch her.
Silence stretched between us. We’d been alone all the time in the past. It had never been an issue for either of us. But that was before. Now…
Now, things were different.
Private fun time with Shaw and Jagger hadn’t been defined in detail, but it had changed a lot of things overall.
Vi experimented with Shaw while he and I watched.
I joined when I couldn’t hold back any longer.
And then Jagger fucked his wife like a beast possessed him.
He hadn’t joined in on the fun. Yet. But I could see that he was starting to break.
He couldn’t hold on to that control forever.
Vi needed to put the poor man out of his misery already.
Despite all the times Vi and I had shared moments with Shaw, Shaw and I had never been one-on-one. This aspect of our lives? That was all because of Vi. If she wanted it to stop, it would stop. What she wanted and needed were all that mattered to me.
My heart feeling things for Shaw? That was a circumstance that I couldn’t control, no matter how badly I wanted to. But it wouldn’t lead into its own relationship.
“Vi said you won your game.”
I nodded, glad to have something to talk about. “Yeah. Their defense needs some serious work if they hope to win at all this season.”
“Jagger mentioned they have a shitty defensive coordinator when he texted me earlier. He was watching the game with Vi and the kids.”
“So, he knows you’re here?”
Her brows lifted, but she grinned. “He’s the one who confirmed my flight plans with my agent. I have a photo shoot tomorrow.”
“I mean, he knows you’re here. With me.”
Understanding filled those baby blues. “Yes, Luca. Jags knows I’m with you.”
My pulse spiked. “And he’s okay with that… With… You. Me. Us. I mean, Vi obviously knows. She texted me right before you got here. But Jagger might not. And I’ve already pushed some boundaries.”
She just sat there, looking up at me for a moment while I floundered, not even attempting to make this easy on me. Her hard-ass personality was one of the things I liked about her. Loved. But not when it was directed at me.
“Let me ask you something, Luca. Have you and Jagger ever talked about any of this? Me and Vi. The ‘experimenting.’”
“No,” I answered with a shrug.
“Men are so dumb. And I’m not only blaming you for that, because Jags is kinda brain-dead at times.
I’m not going to get into his whole thing with Vi.
That’s their issue to sort out. But just so we are clear on that front, I’m one hundred percent okay with Vi and Jags being together however they decide. ”
Sucking in a breath at that, I gave a nod.
“Full transparency, I am too. I wasn’t sure in the beginning.
But I know Vi has feelings for him. Like she does for you.
Which is okay. She loved Remington too, and he became my best damn friend before he died.
I’ve grown up a lot since I was a stupid kid.
Vi loving other people scared me back then.
I needed to be her number one. Now, I’m just fucking happy she loves me at all. ”
“Oh, Luca,” she murmured. “You’re number one in her heart. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
“Good. Jagger is first with me too. But I’m not going to fight myself over being in love with Vi.
Which he knows and accepts. Fuck, he’s practically drowning in his own feelings for her.
It’s so ridiculous, but whatever. I’m not going to fix it for either one of them.
They can figure it out for themselves. Or not.
My point is, Jags also knows my heart is open to you.
It’s hard to love her without caring about you. ”
That confession hit me in a way I wasn’t expecting. I looked away from her. “Same.”
Her breathy laugh was sexy as fuck, drawing my gaze back to her without my permission.
She was beautiful, and my body ached so fucking bad.
I had to force myself to focus or I was going to pounce on her without clearing anything up.
Vi had sent her to me, knowing how weak my control was when it came to her bestie. “But is Jagger okay with this?”
“If he weren’t, I wouldn’t be here. That’s how this works, Luca.
Complete honesty, especially to ourselves.
Otherwise, that locks the others out and cheapens our entire relationship.
And I’m sure as fuck not cheap, Luca.” She stood.
“I appreciate you caring about Jagger enough to ask questions like this. I still think you are both idiots for not talking to each other, but I’ve learned to accept the stupidity of men. ”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“That’s sweet that you care about him.”
“He’s like a brother to me.”
A teasing light filled her eyes. “You ever watch your brother go down on Vi before?”
“He’s still breathing, isn’t he?”
She took a single step toward me, tilting her head to the side, her golden hair falling over her shoulder. “But you are fine with Jags eating up all that sweetness?”
“That’s different. She doesn’t love Lyric like that.”
“True.” She took another step closer. The air suddenly felt trapped in my chest, my vision narrowing to nothing except her. “Now comes the really hard question. You ready for that?”
I hesitated, then nodded.
“Do you want me here, Luca?”
Every muscle in my body felt zapped by that loaded question. I wanted to deny it, but she was right. Lying about anything at this point would ruin everything. “Yes. I didn’t know I wanted it, didn’t allow myself to think about it. But yes, I want you here, Shaw. I want you.”
Another step. She was so close, but so far away. “I’m going to tell you a secret. I was nervous coming here because I honestly didn’t know how you would react. But Vi was so excited about surprising you that I didn’t hesitate to give her what she wanted. She’s dangerous like that.”
She couldn’t hide a flicker of vulnerability. Realizing just how much she was putting herself out there for me, I took a step closer to her, leaving only a few inches separating us. I offered her my hand. “Do you want to be here, Shaw?”
“More than I ever thought possible.” She placed her hand in mine, giving it a squeeze before tracing a finger down my abs.
“I saw a few clips from the game earlier. You were a beast on the field. I never told you this before, but I like how rough you get out there. All that brutality for the offense, but then you touch Vi with such gentleness. That’s fucking hot, Luca. ”
Her fingers played with the towel I was surprised I was still holding in place. Releasing it, I let her see what she was doing to me. I was rock hard, ready to fuck her against the wall.
“You are massive,” she praised, awe in her voice. “Can I suck it?”