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Bryce puffed up his chest, pride for his cousin hitting him square on. Now he understood why Levi had chosen to give up his career instead of the alternative. There was no way he would walk away either, not when Ava and Cole were the most important people in his world.
Nineteen
Cole
C
ole was shaking. It was something way beyond fury. He didn’t even know how to label it. All he knew was that he needed to do something—anything—to… gah! Bryce. He needed to focus on Bryce. He had to pull his head out and focus on his boyfriend. His dreams had just been snatched away from him. Bryce had done nothing wrong, but he was the one copping the penalty. Shitty kind of justice.
Cole reached out, grasping Bryce’s hands. They were cold, but he held onto Cole like a life preserver. He leaned into Ava’s touch too, her brush of knuckles against his face a comfort for him.
“Bryce,” Cole choked out, his voice hitching. He didn’t know what to say; he had no idea what he needed.
His man looked at him, forlorn and lost, but as Cole looked closer, he spotted that steely determination underneath that drove Bryce. A fierce competitiveness that he thrived under. Cole’s muscles unclenched. Bryce would be okay. He’d make sure of it.
Bryce opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came. He would be okay, but it would take a bit of healing to get there. Cole’s heart broke. Bryce was a big puppy dog and usually full of energy. Cole was used to seeing him bound around with a smile from ear to ear, but he was far more subdued. Cole hated seeing him like that.
He squeezed Bryce’s hands, and his man lowered his gaze, focussing on where they were joined.
“How about a warm bath?” Ava suggested. “Or maybe a cup of tea?” She looked to Cole, her eyes wide and lips twisted, begging him to give her the answer, but he was just as clueless on what to do.
Bryce gave them a small smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes as he stood, before walking to the window. Ava’s gaze followed him, her lips turned down in a worried frown.
Cole squeezed her shoulder and went to Bryce, slipping his arms around his waist and kissing his nape. His man melted into his touch, leaning back against him and sighing softly. “Talk to us when you’re ready. We want to help.”
Bryce nodded but didn’t say anything for a long while. The whole time Cole kept up his soft touches. He caressed the sensitive spot near Bryce’s hip with his thumb, the beginning of that delicious V, and pressed lingering kisses to his throat, cheek, and temple.
He slid his hand up Bryce’s bare chest and clasped his throat with just enough pressure to make Bryce moan. Turning his chin toward him, Cole pressed their lips together and kissed him.
Their touch went from zero to one hundred in a matter of moments, both unleashing their frustration and passion on each other. Their tongues tangled and Cole swallowed Bryce’s moan as Ava stepped in front of him and ran her hands and lips over his chest. He hadn’t intended to distract Bryce with sex, but any reaction was better than seeing his sunshine, the man who was always so full of life and bubbly energy, so untethered and lost. So quiet.
Breathless, Bryce pulled back, his chest heaving as he sucked in oxygen. Cole shifted his hand, palming Bryce’s erection through his loose gym shorts. They were the summer equivalent of grey track pants and Cole loved the way they framed Bryce’s package so perfectly.
“Let me look after you, Bryce,” Cole pleaded. He loved bottoming for his man, had never expected to want to top him, but everything in Cole screamed at him to make love to Bryce. To take care of him and show him just how adored he was.
Everything Bryce had worked toward for most of his life had just been snatched away and Cole desperately needed to show him that there was still good left. He couldn’t lose hope or the fiery determination he’d seen in his gaze buried under the bitter pain. Cole needed to show him exactly what it was like when Bryce made love to him.
“Please,” Bryce whispered on a raspy moan.
“Come with us,” Ava encouraged, taking Bryce’s hand and leading him to their bedroom. Their king bed took up most of the space, but they wouldn’t need anywhere near that amount of room tonight.
“Strip,” Cole directed Ava. “Lie diagonally on the bed.”
Bryce hummed and closed his fist over his shaft, squeezing it through the soft material of his shorts. There was already a wet spot of pre-cum dotting the light cotton.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Cole asked rhetorically, gripping Bryce’s hips and grinding against his muscular bubble butt. “I know you want to spread her legs and taste how much she wants you, don’t you? But tonight, it’s all about you. Ava’s pretty mouth is gonna be wrapped around your cock and I’m gonna get another taste of your perfect hole. When I finally sink into you, you’re gonna be begging for it. Then you’ll know.”
Bryce gasped, pushing back against Cole’s cock as it slid between his firm cheeks. “Know what?” he asked.
“That even though you’ve hit a snag because of me, I can make you feel good.” Cole squeezed his eyes closed against the burning and swallowed past the lump in his throat. He’d thought they were being careful, but somebody had seen them. Somebody had been able to take those pictures. And it was his fault.
He remembered that day. He’d been teasing Bryce with brushes of his hand and talking dirty to him. He’d finally snapped and pinned Cole’s chest against the wall, shoved his shorts down, and as soon as he’d felt the lube Cole had preprepared himself with, thrust home in one deep slide.
Cole thought they’d been hidden, even with the blinds being open—they were in a darkened corner at the back of the house. How was he supposed to know that someone would break in? He never imagined it, but he should have.
Bryce stilled at his words, snapped his gaze to Ava’s, before he reared back and pinned Cole with his stare. His eyes were wide with surprise or shock, Cole wasn’t sure which. “No, this isn’t your fault.” He shook his head, his eyes blazing with that same determination. His fists were clenched, his nostrils flared, and his body vibrated with ferocity. He pointed between himself and Cole, adding passionately, “This isn’t either of our faults. This is Ellie’s fault for not understanding. This is that damn website’s fault for threatening to publish those pictures. This is the photographer’s fault for breaching our privacy, for coming onto our property and taking pictures of us in a private moment without our consent.” His chest heaved and his face was red from his outburst, but Bryce wasn’t finished. “This is a violation, and because of closed-minded arseholes, I need to prove myself again. And I will, dammit. When I get back on that field as a professional player, no matter how long it takes me to get there, I’ll be the best. I’ll prove every one of those bastards wrong. I’ll show them that it takes a real man to take a cock.”
Cole didn’t know what to say; words were a jumble in his head. He didn’t even realize he was frowning until Bryce gripped his chin in one hand and smoothed his forehead with his thumb. “I…”
