Page 4 of Aries (PAHL #1)

Aries

Bored.

He threw the red rubber ball at the wall before catching it.

Bored.

Aries aimed for the exact same place. It was the first road trip with his team, and they had arrived after an early morning flight for that night’s game. Everyone had been sent to their rooms to rest and prepare. Aries didn’t need rest. He wanted to go out and explore the city, but knowing his luck, he would get distracted and end up missing the bus to the arena.

Which meant he was stuck in his room.

It was a nice room. He had a king-size bed that Aries could practically swim in. The bathroom was huge, with a tub and separate standing glass-enclosed shower. The giant television didn’t hold any interest for him. Luckily, Aries had found a ball in his suitcase. He couldn’t even remember where it came from. Or why he had it.

He tossed the ball again.

Aries screeched and fell off the bed at the banging on his door.

Uh-oh! What had he done now? He just knew who was at the door.

Straightening his shirt from his tumble, Aries glanced around. There was nothing out of place. He’d barely even touched anything. The knock came again. This time a little softer.

Maybe it was one of his teammates that wanted to hang out and he was wrong and it wasn’t Vin come to scowl at him! Aries rushed to the door. He was too short to see out of the peephole. This hotel catered to the paranormal. Most of them much taller than Aries. Probably why the bed and furniture were so big and sturdy.

He quickly unlatched the security chain and dead bolt before pulling the door open.

Aries nearly fainted.

Those sweatpants!

“Eyes up here, boy!” Fingers snapped in front of his face.

Crap! He’d been caught staring again. Aries lifted his gaze. “There’s no music!” He held up his hands, forgetting about the ball.

Vin caught the ball on the bounce then held it up. “Really?”

What was the problem now? Aries shrugged. He hadn’t had the television loud. He’d just been bouncing a ball.

Vin sighed as he pushed Aries back into his room, following him in.

Aries scrambled away until he was next to the bed. No! Not the bed! He quickly crossed the room. The dresser under the television was better. Safer. Why did Vin have to be wearing those sweatpants?

“Why?” Vin demanded.

That is what he was asking! Vin was a tall, attractive man. Dark and mysterious. Aries didn’t really have a type, but the few men he’d been with had all been much bigger than him.

“Why, Aries?” Vin repeated.

“Why what?” Aries whined. He couldn’t help it. He was bored and had still been very good.

“Who do you think is on the other side of the wall that you’re bouncing a ball against?”

No! Aries dropped his shoulders. “You?”

“Yes, me!” Vin threw up his hands. “What are you even doing in here?”

“I’m bored!” Aries exploded. It wasn’t his fault! He’d thought road trips would be more fun. He was in the freaking PAHL! The top league alongside the NHL. There had to be better things to do than just sit in a hotel room. Aries expected to be hanging out with his teammates, exploring new cities, something!

“We have a game tonight,” Vin reminded him. Like Aries didn’t know that!

Aries dug his toe into the thick gray carpet. “Sorry.”

“I’m not mad,” Vin told him.

“You're not? Even after I woke you up again?” Aries met Vin’s gaze, making very certain not to catch the front of those wicked sweatpants.

“I figured you’d be tired after the early flight. Or that you would be playing a game or something. Isn’t that what you told me you used to do with Phoenix?”

“I broke my console. And lost my handheld. I can’t play.” His brothers were going to be mad once they figured out why Aries hadn’t been logging on. Aries hadn’t called either of his brothers to pass the time, since he knew they would ask him about not playing. He did not want to have that conversation. Again.

Vin hummed. “I’ll be right back.”

Aries didn’t dare move. He was drowning in adult responsibilities and being on his own for the first time. When Vin was around, even though the vampire was bossy, Aries was steadier. Aries didn’t want to let down his mama, his brothers, or himself. He needed to figure out how to get his shit together. Aries knew there was more to life than hockey—he just didn’t want to do anything else.

Vin returned just as quickly as he had gone. Aries hadn’t even noticed that Vin had propped his door open to allow himself access again.

“Are you okay?” Vin asked, pausing next to Aries with a notebook and pen in his hand.

“Yep!” Aries gave him a thumbs-up. Do not look down! Do not look down! Crap! He knew he’d been busted when Vin snorted.

“Come over here.” Vin guided Aries over to the desk against the window.

It really was a nice view. Seattle seemed to be a nice city. Not that Aries would know! They had a game then had to be back on the plane. The very stupid plane.

Aries sat in the chair as directed.

“Here.” Vin handed him the pen.

“Okay?” Was he going to write a letter? Usually, he just called his mama, but it might be nice to send her a letter. An email would be faster though. Did people still send postcards? Maybe the hotel lobby had some. His mama would get a kick out of Aries sending her postcards. That was an awesome idea!

“Open the notebook, Aries,” Vin ordered.

“Sure.” Aries opened the notebook to the first page, finding it blank.

“Now write ‘I will not throw a ball at the hotel wall’,” Vin commanded.

“Hey, that rhymes!” Aries noted. He liked rhymes.

“Aries…” Vin’s voice held a warning.

Crap! This was like being in school. Still, he wrote his sentence.

I will not throw a ball at the hotel wall

He finished his sentence before beaming up at Vin.

“Great!” Vin praised. “Now do it ninety-nine more times.”

“Ninety-nine?” That was a lot of writing.

Vin raised a brow. “You woke me up, again.”

That was true. “I am very sorry.” This was like school. Aries hadn’t meant to be a problem student, but it had been hard to sit still. If it wasn’t for his hockey coach, Aries would have spent most of his time in detention. He’d annoyed his teachers.

“I appreciate that.” Vin patted his back before heading toward the adjoining door. Not the hotel main door.

“Where are you going?” Aries asked. He liked Vin being in the room with him. Vin had a nice voice. He smelled good too.

Vin unlocked the adjoining door to the room attached.

Oh!

“I’ll leave both doors cracked in case you need anything,” Vin said. “That should take about an hour. I’m going to finish resting then shower and after we’ll head down for food.”

Food! He could totally eat. There were a few more apples, but Aries sort of needed to save those.

“And, Aries?”

“Huh?” He hadn’t even moved yet!

“I want your sentences neat. I want to be able to read every line. Or you can redo them.”

He sighed.

“And,” Vin drawled.

“There’s more?” Aries whined.

“Drink some water,” Vin ordered.

“I have apple juice!” Aries countered. The plane had been stocked with apple juice and no one else had seemed to want any. Aries has stuffed several bottles in his backpack.

“Water,” Vin retorted.

“Fine.” Aries kicked his feet under the desk. Water was so boring. He’d still drink it because Vin was being bossy, and Aries liked it. At least this was better than doing nothing all afternoon.

He decided to break up his writing assignment. Vin had said he had an hour. It shouldn’t be too hard to complete his task before Vin came for him.

Aries wrote five sentences then got up and grabbed a bottle of water from his backpack. Once he had his water, Aries returned to the desk. He could use some music but with the door open to Vin’s room, that might bother the vampire.

Instead, Aries hummed as he wrote. Another five lines. He broke the seal on the water bottle and drank then wrote five more lines. Hey! This was pretty cool! And it would help pass the time.

He drank more water.

Normally his writing wasn’t the best, so Aries took his time. He wanted Vin to be proud of him. And no, Aries was not going to investigate the feeling inside him when it came to the vampire. Nope! He was pushing that way down where he didn’t have to think about it. That was the best plan ever.

After every five lines, Aries took a drink of water. It was going so well that he had to get up to grab a second.

Settling back down at the desk, Aries grinned down at his notebook. Vin’s notebook? Did it really matter? He was already halfway through the second page. It felt good to be doing something constructive.

He went back to the five sentences to a drink of water system.

A calmness that Aries had never felt before came over him.

Aries stopped kicking his feet as he continued to hum the song of his lines. Almost an out-of-body feeling. Like he could look down at his hand to see himself writing very neat and tidy lines. Whatever this feeling was, Aries wondered how to achieve it again.

* * * * *

Vin

It was quiet. Maybe a little too quiet but Vin just hoped that Aries was either completing the task that Vin had assigned him or had fallen asleep. The boy was full of so much energy that he made Vin tired just watching him.

Admittedly Vin might have not been thinking clearly when he’d gone into full Daddy mode with the boy. The early morning flight wasn’t a favorite of his. Vin already hated flying but, in the mornings, he was always more lethargic.

The myth of being in the sunlight for vampires was overly exaggerated but Vin did thrive at night. He hated mornings with a passion and had been thankful for an easy day before the game that night.

Of course, as soon as he had heard the thump thump of something against the adjoining wall, Vin had known it would be Aries.

Aries was a sweet kid, but he had no awareness of those around him. Vin believed that Aries had accidently woken him, for a second time, and had just wanted to get his bearings before he had to deal with the young shifter. Now that he’d napped a little more, Vin’s mind was filled with the little shifter.

The entire plane ride Vin had been watching the boy. Aries made his teammates laugh, offered snacks to everyone who passed him, and was honestly the happiest guy Vin had ever been around. Vin wanted to make sure Aries remained the lighthearted young man, but too often he’d caught glimpses of Aries struggling.

It couldn’t be easy to be away from his brothers when Vin knew how close the triplets were.

Aries was the youngest and Vin wondered how spoiled he’d been.

Vin wanted to spoil Aries. Make the boy smile and take all his worries away. Climbing from his bed, Vin ran his hand roughly over his face. He was too damn old to be so obsessed with the little fruit bat shifter. A teammate that had years of playing ahead of him while Vin had somehow lost the edge he was known for. Before the season, Vin had considered retiring. Moving on to something else.

Now, Vin couldn’t trust anyone else to watch over Aries on or off the ice.

This season Vin would make sure that Aries had the best rookie season possible then Vin would make a decision about his future.

If Aries wanted to explore the chemistry between them, Vin wouldn’t mind either. Vin had many partners over the years. Men and women, subs and not. It wasn’t until the last few decades that Vin had learned about Daddy kink and being a Daddy Dom. He only played in private clubs and with people who had signed an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement. Vin didn’t like his business being out in the open. He was a private guy, which would make claiming Aries that more complicated.

He strolled into the attached bathroom to turn the shower on before pulling his shirt over his head. He turned to the mirror. Vin was still in great shape. Even being several centuries old, Vin appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties. Older than Aries, but the little shifter didn’t seem to mind. Not with the way Aries’s gaze went to Vin’s crotch when he wore these thin gray sweatpants.

When Vin had packed his suitcase, he’d been thinking about Aries. Pure luck had his room being right next to the boy’s.

The boy was begging with the looks he threw Vin’s way to be grabbed and taken to bed. Vin respected Aries’s boundaries. Until he knew for certain that Aries wanted to move their relationship in a sexual direction, Vin would continue down the path they were going. Eventually he would bring up all the things he wanted to explore with the shifter.

Aries would be a wonderful little. Sweet and adorable.

Vin could already picture Aries with a sippy cup of apple juice in his hand as he played on the floor with toys. Vin wanted to watch over Aries with a pampered bottom and cute onesie as he crawled around. Fuck! Vin was now hard as a rock.

He slid his sweatpants off before stepping into the shower.

Vin appreciated hotels that catered to the paranormal patrons. Vin didn’t have to duck to get under the showerhead. He stood under the spray and rolled his shoulders then reached for his cock.

Just needed to take the edge off so Aries didn’t drive him crazy later. Vin could only handle so much of big innocent eyes watching him without losing control.

Vin closed his eyes, imagining his boy joining him in the shower. Thanks to the hotel setup there was plenty of room for Aries to be kneeling in front of him. Vin turned to face the wall, slapping his free hand to the tile.

“Open up for Daddy,” Vin murmured. The vision behind his closed eyes so realistic.

He stroked his cock slowly.

“Just the tip,” Vin ordered. “Suck me.”

Moving his hips, Vin fucked his own hand.

“Take more now.”

Vin slammed his hips forward as he tightened his fingers. Picturing Aries taking his cock down the back of his throat.

“Fuck, baby!” Vin pumped his hips faster.

Aries’s mouth was made for sucking cock. The plump red lips would cushion Vin’s shaft as he fucked Aries’s mouth.

That was all he needed.

Vin came hard. His seed covering his fingers and the tiled wall.

It didn’t take long for him to clean up once he’d caught his breath. Now that he was much more relaxed, Vin was anxious to go check on his boy. With the towel wrapped around his waist, Vin exited the bathroom.

His suit for the night was already hanging on the back of the door. Vin grabbed his clothes, taking them to the bed. Years and years of practice had Vin dressed and ready to go.

It was still very quiet in the adjoining room.

Aries had to have fallen asleep even if he insisted that he didn’t like naps.

Vin stalked over to the door and peered through. He was surprised to see Aries still at the desk. The boy should have finished his lines half an hour ago. He pushed through the door, irritated that his boy had failed his first real test.

“Are you not done?” he asked.

Instead of answering, Aries continued to hum and write.

Wait, the pages turned in the notebook were much more than the few to write the required one hundred lines. With thirty lines per page, it should have only taken four total.

Leaning over the desk, Vin could see at least ten pages filled completely. “Aries.”

The boy still didn’t respond.

Shit! Had Vin broken him or something? He knelt beside the desk. “Baby?” He gently touched Aries’s chin, forcing the boy to look at him.

Aries’s soft smile and glazed eyes had Vin nearly falling onto his ass. Was…how…Aries looked…had he reached sub space? But that was impossible!

“Aries?” Vin said again.

The boy’s smile grew. “Hey.”

He sounded drunk. Vin glanced at the desk. Two empty bottles of water but nothing else. “I think you’re all done,” Vin told him.

Aries pushed the notebook toward Vin. “Did I do good?”

Looking down, Vin was shocked. He flipped through the notebook. Nearly ten pages of neatly written script. The sentence repeating over and over.

“You did very well. I’m proud of you,” Vin said sincerely.

Aries beamed. “I feel kind of funny.”

“I can see that. Come here.” Vin helped Aries stand from the chair then guided him over to the bed. He snagged a bottle of water on the way and sat to pull Aries into his arms.

“Snuggles?” Aries questioned, leaning into him.

“You deserve snuggles,” Vin told him. “Such a good boy.” He opened the bottle of water before placing the top to Aries’s lips. “Can you drink for me?”

Aries whined. “More water?”

“Just a few sips. We’ll get you juice with dinner,” Vin promised. The boy could have whatever he wanted. Vin hadn’t even considered that the task he’d given to Aries would push him into sub space. The boy calm and cuddly.

Aries accepted a few sips of water. He pulled his face away blinking sadly at Vin. “I miss snuggles. Nix is the best at them.”

Vin tightened one arm around Aries’s waist while he brushed the hair off Aries’s forehead. “I’m sorry that you miss your brothers.”

Aries nodded. His nose brushing over Vin’s tie. “It sucks.”

“You have friends here,” Vin pointed out. “The team loves you.”

“I have a good team,” Aries agreed. He curled his little fingers around Vin’s tie, holding on tight.

“You do.” Vin held Aries until the boy started to fidget. Little movements at first until he pushing up up. He blinked those big blue eyes at Vin.

“I feel better,” he said.

“Good.”

“I don’t know what happened.”

Vin needed to explain things, but they were running late. “We’ll talk later. Let’s get you dressed so we can get dinner.”

“Okay!” Aries bounced out of his arms and off the mattress.

And the boy was back! Vin chuckled as Aries rushed over to his garment bag.

“I’m starving, for some reason!”

Vin knew why. “We’ll get you a good meal. Big game tonight.”

Aries nodded. “I need to stop in the lobby store to see if they have postcards.” He pulled his T-shirt over his head.

Vin had to avert his gaze. He didn’t have permission to look. Not yet. “Postcards.”

“I had an idea!” Aries said. He was wiggling his hips as he pushed down his jeans.

Vin might be catching just a glimpse from the corner of his eye. He wasn’t considering that cheating. Aries had no issue changing in front of him obviously. “What?” He cleared his throat. “What is your idea?”

“Oh!” Aries laughed cheerfully. “I want to send my mama a postcard from every city we go to! Isn’t that fun! I think she’ll get a kick out of it.”

Vin grinned. He had no connection with any family of blood or made of blood. Aries love for his mom and brothers made Vin ache for what he’d lost. “I think that’s a great idea.”

“Cool! I hope I can find something. I don’t even know where to get postcards. Do they still make them?”

Vin would make certain Aries had all the postcards he needed. “We’ll find them.”

“Thanks! They must be from the city that we play in,” Aries explained. “Like Pittsburg. Who even knows where Pittsburg is?”

“I’m pretty sure the people who live there do,” Vin pointed out.

“Well sure.” Aries shrugged. “But does anyone else?”

“I…” Vin shook his head. How was this a conversation?

“I’m ready!”

Vin turned his face back to see that Aries had on his pants, shirt, tie, and jacket. “Shoes. Then we’ll go.”

“Foooood!”