Page 12 of Misfit (Starshine)

A rlon’s arm was locked tight around Garrett’s neck, legs hooked around his thighs in an iron grip.

Every muscle screamed as Garrett fought against his hold, scooting them across the mat with the force of his struggles.

Then, Garrett tapped his arm, and Arlon released him with a ragged shout of triumph.

For a second, neither of them moved, and Arlon was too tired to care that his legs were still hooked around Garrett’s. Finally, the other man stirred, rolling flat onto his stomach as he sprawled out on the mat.

“Fuck me, but you’re strong for a human.”

Arlon took a second to gather his own breath before he said, “Might not be all human. Might be part Tariten, but hell if I know.”

Above him, Bridgette stepped into his field of view, her finger hooked around the handle of a water jug. Arlon groaned, his core muscles screaming at him as he sat up to take it with a word of thanks.

“You know, that was the first thing Dmitry asked me about you?” Bridgette said as she offered a second water jug to her husband. “He thought you might be Tariten due to your size.”

Arlon snorted but finished a few long gulps before he wiped his mouth. “He’s never met a full Tariten, then. Even the smallest have at least three heads on me.” He took another long drink before saying, “But you can tell Dmitry my cock is proportional to the rest of me. I know he’s wondering.”

Bridgette’s laugh was bright. “He will be thrilled to hear it. Though he’d like it more if you showed it to him.”

Arlon grinned over the mouth of the jug. “I’ll bet he would.”

Ever since his conversation with Magda on the road into town, Arlon felt like he had a better understanding of the other wizards of the Crux.

Sex was a casual sort of thing here, just like it had been among Vian’s Wolves.

But unlike the Wolves, the fact that sex was a part of the job felt like a safeguard against being stabbed in the back if he allowed himself to get close.

And since his relationship with Fawn had devolved into complicated, messy emotions, the idea of sex with no strings attached was growing more tempting by the day.

Arlon took another sip from the water jug only to catch Garrett’s eyes tracing him through the fabric of his shorts. Yet as Arlon lowered the jug, Garrett’s eyes snapped away before the man asked, “You up for another round?”

Arlon smirked, trying to ignore the heat that had crept up his neck. “Depends. You looking to get beat again?”

Garrett laughed even as that competitive glint lit in his eye. “It was a lucky maneuver. Caught me by surprise, is all.”

“I don’t know, love. I think you’ve created a monster by training him,” Bridgette said.

Garrett swallowed a mouthful of water before he met his wife’s eyes. “You know, wasn’t until you started coming down to watch that I started losing. ”

“Do I make you nervous?” she teased.

Garrett hummed, his gray eyes smoldering. “In all the best ways.”

Bridgette’s smile was bright. “Well, if I’m such a distraction, why don’t I just leave?”

“But then you’d miss out on me pinning Garrett again,” Arlon said as he nudged Garrett in the ribs.

Garrett groaned. “Gods, I have created a monster.”

Bridgette hummed, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she looked between the two of them. “Is that a promise, Arlon? Never thought I’d enjoy the sight of my husband getting pinned by another man quite so much.”

The sultry wink Bridgette aimed at Arlon made his heart forget its job for a hot second. He took another long drink to avoid trying to find a response.

“As often as you cuck me, it seems like you’re itching to be the one in the chair,” Garrett teased. He set the water jug aside and leaned back on his elbows, spreading his legs out on the mat to cool off.

Over the lip of the water jug, Arlon couldn’t help but sneak a look. Unlike him, Garrett always sparred without a shirt, and the airy shorts he wore left little to the imagination. From how close they got while sparring, Arlon knew that he wasn’t the only one with… good proportions.

Bridgette chuckled as she walked across the mat to her husband, her airy summer dress flowing as she planted one sandaled foot on his chest. With a stern shove, she pushed him flat, pinning him under her foot. Her voice adopted an edge of warning as she asked, “What’d you just say?”

Garrett bit his bottom lip, his gray eyes turned to thunderclouds. “You heard me.”

The energy seemed to crackle between the two of them, like a spell waiting to be cast. It made the hair on Arlon’s neck stand to attention, his mouth suddenly dry as he watched them out of the corner of his eye. Bridgette considered her husband before she finally lifted her foot.

“You know, Arlon,” Bridgette said, and something in her voice shot straight to his groin, “I wouldn’t mind watching one more round.” She looked at him with eyes that burned like coals. “And if you pin him again, you can fuck him if you want.”

Arlon’s heart leapt into his throat, cutting off his response.

She winked as she retreated to her seat along the wall, and Garrett chuckled as he sat up, rubbing his chest. Arlon fully expected him to laugh the suggestion off, yet when Garrett looked at him, desire was written plainly on his flushed face.

“I mean… I’m alright with that,” Garrett said, and the quiet hope in his voice rang in Arlon’s ears like a bell.

Suddenly, Arlon had to reassess every moment he’d spent with the other man. The times he caught Garrett looking when they were in the baths, the brush of a half-hard cock during a grapple that he had sworn he’d imagined. It all dawned on him like a slap to the face.

Garrett wanted him. And going off the look on Bridgette’s face, maybe she did, too.

Arlon froze like a mouse caught in a corner. He didn’t know what to say, what to do as his heart raced faster than it ever had during a spar. With the two of them looking at him, waiting for his answer, he felt like he was teetering on a knife’s edge of fear and desire.

Because he wanted them back. And being faced with the reality of that terrified him for reasons he couldn’t put his finger on.

“I’m sorry, that was a stupid suggestion,” Bridgette said, taking his silence for a refusal. Yet the disappointment in her voice jolted Arlon out of his own spiraling thoughts.

“No, no. It’s not,” he said before he cleared the nervous tremble from his throat. He looked at Garrett as he asked, “But what would happen if you win?”

Garrett seemed to read the fear on his face. “Whatever you want to happen.”

Arlon’s tongue darted out to wet his suddenly dry lips.

His mind raced as he tried to decide what he was alright with, but trying to process all of that at once overwhelmed him.

His thoughts spiraled into a panic that was only broken when a gentle finger tapped the underside of his chin.

It jolted him out of it so abruptly, he gasped as he lifted his head to meet Garrett’s kind smile.

“Hey, relax,” the other man said gently. “Let’s just spar, yeah? Then we can decide what we want to do after.”

Arlon grasped onto the familiar as he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that.”

Garrett smiled as he stood before offering Arlon a hand up. He took it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. All the while, he could feel Bridgette watching them, her gaze hot as a flame.

“Ready?” Garrett asked as he sank into a strong stance.

Arlon breathed a swear, shaking out his trembling hands before he lifted his fists. “Ready.”

“ Ekat !” Garrett barked before lunging forward. Arlon sidestepped the grab and countered with a punch to the ribs. It didn’t quite get through the other man’s guard, but Garrett grunted at the impact all the same. Arlon’s knee quickly followed, and Garrett took a staggering step back.

“Good job making that opening,” Garrett panted before he lunged again, going lower.

Arlon wasn’t quite able to step out of the way, but he widened his stance to just barely avoid being toppled.

Garrett’s head was tucked against his stomach, arms held strong around his waist, and Arlon locked his grip around Garrett’s torso .

No matter which way Garrett moved, Arlon countered, keeping his legs well out of tripping distance. When Garrett shoved, Arlon shoved back, doggedly keeping his balance even as his strength started to falter. He’d gone all out in the last match and sweat made his grip start to slip.

In the split second it took to readjust it, Garrett found his opening. The other man threw his weight forward with a roar, breaking Arlon’s grip as he tackled him around the middle. It sent them both to the ground, but Arlon wasn’t down and out yet.

He thrust his hips up with all of his might, trying to dislodge Garrett.

And for a second, he thought it worked. The other man’s weight lifted, yet when Arlon tried to scramble out from under him, regain his feet, Garrett tripped him onto his front.

Weight bore down on him, pinning his cheek and shoulders against the mat as a gray forearm snaked around his neck, choking off his air.

Arlon knew it was over, but he struggled until his vision started to darken at the edges before he finally tapped.

The arm around his neck loosened, and Arlon dragged in a grateful breath. Garrett lifted his weight a little, his arms moving to plant on either side of his head. Yet he didn’t get off of him like he usually did.

Instead, one knee settled between Arlon’s legs. Hot breath tickled at his ear. It made Arlon shiver as fear and desire collided in him.

“Is this alright?” Garrett asked, his voice a low, breathless rumble.

Even though Garrett had touched Arlon hundreds of times during their spars, it had never been like this. The energy between them had changed, shifted between breaths from sport to something else. Yet that part of him that wanted to flee quieted at the question. He could tap out at any time .

“Yes.”