Page 45 of Perfect Storm (Toronto Thunder #1)

Wes shrugged a shoulder in Levi’s direction. “That,” he said. “I’m not stupid. You’ve got something going on, and it’s Levi. Don’t fuck with him.”

The last thing he’d expected was a shovel talk about Levi from Wes.

“What about if I want him to fuck with me?” Aidan said, before he could overthink it.

Wes’ mouth opened and then snapped shut again.

“That’s what I thought,” Aidan said, unable to stop the smugness from leaking into his voice.

“Well,” Wes said, sounding gratifyingly flustered, “that’s a visual.”

“Sure is.” And Aidan was going to have that visual spread out across his bed tonight. Naked. Could anyone blame him for being smug when that was waiting for him at home? Staring at him like Levi could barely wait for it?

“Congrats?” Wes squeaked.

Aidan surprised himself by taking pity on the guy. Slid onto the bench next to him. “How did you know?” he asked.

“I’m heartbroken, not dead,” Wes retorted without much heat.

“Dude, I don’t mean how did you know you were into guys. I mean, how did you know you weren’t ready to move on?”

Wes’ eyebrows shot up. “Is that what you’re doing with Levi? Moving on?”

“Sort of.”

“You never met my ex,” Wes said wistfully. “Marcus was . . .Marcus is . . .unbelievable. The most amazing guy I’ve ever met. Hot and funny and so fucking smart he makes me look like the Cro-Magnon man. I always knew I’d lucked out with him, that he’d even be willing to look my direction.”

“Dude—you’re in the NFL,” Aidan said. And though his tastes were running to enormous, built offensive linemen these days, even he could acknowledge Wes wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes.

“So?” Wes’ voice was defensive now. Not mad, but sharp. “Marcus is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“And you fucked it up?” At least he’d had Marcus. Though Aidan could acknowledge that might make it worse. Knowing you’d loved and then lost . . .

Well, at least he’d never had a shred of real hope when it came to Mo. He’d always, in the back of his mind, known that score, and it wasn’t in his favor.

“No, life fucked it up, and then I fucked it up worse,” Wes said, resigned.

“Anyway, the way I know I’m not ready—no matter how many times Ramsey tries to cajole me into moving on—is that he’s still the only guy I can think about.

Your visual? A fun way to pass a few seconds.

Then I’m back on the Marcus shit. Like always. ”

There’d been a time when Aidan had thought he’d end up like this. Never feeling for anyone the way he’d felt for Mo. But that hadn’t been true at all.

“That . . .that helps, actually.” Aidan rose to his feet. This time it was him who pulled Wes into a real hug. “I’m sorry about it, though. Sucks.”

“Yeah,” Wes agreed. “You know how else I know I’m not ready? I actually like missing him, because it means I have an excuse to think about him, still. To have him in my head.”

“Shit, man,” Aidan said. Suddenly feeling horrible for his backup. He hadn’t realized Wes was this bad off.

Wes shrugged. Like he hadn’t expected to hear any different. “Don’t tell me I’m pathetic; I get that enough from Ramsey.”

“I won’t, then,” Aidan said.

The sadness didn’t really fade from Wes’ eyes, but it took a backseat to his smile when he said, “Enjoy your visual, then, tonight.”

“Oh, I’m gonna,” Aidan said.

By the time he made it over to Levi, the guy was already on his feet.

“How’s it going?” Aidan asked casually as they walked out of the locker room. Like this was every trip home they’d had since Levi had shown up in Toronto.

Levi shot him a look. “Seriously, bro?” he asked, aggrieved. “You can’t act like—I’m going out of my fucking mind here.”

“Oh?” Aidan had never pretended he didn’t have an ego, and it was being stroked, nicely, by all of Levi’s eager anticipation.

Did that make him a bad person?

Maybe only if he rubbed it in.

Levi shoved an elbow into Aidan’s side and laughed. “God, you’re such a dick. You kept looking, too.”

“I can’t stop,” Aidan admitted. Even with Mo hanging out in the locker room, the man his eyes had returned to, over and over again, was Levi.

Sure he’d passingly imagined asking Mo to fuck him. But he’d never been possessed by the thought of it, not the way he was with Levi, like they were already together on his bed, Levi pulling pleasure he’d never experienced before out of his body.

“Good,” Levi said, and it was apparently his turn to be smug.

“Thank God the stadium’s closer than the practice facility,” Aidan muttered as they reached his car.

Levi shot him a knowing glance as he climbed into the passenger seat. “Eager much?”

“Hell yeah,” Aidan said. He’d wanted it two nights ago, before Mo had shown up, and he’d spent the last two days not being able to dislodge the thought of it from his brain.

Maybe if he’d played today, if he’d actually had the distraction of football, he could have done it. But he hadn’t.

“You’ve never before?” Levi asked as Aidan pulled out of the players’ garage.

“You know I haven’t ever before,” Aidan reminded him.

“Well, obviously, but that? You can absolutely stick a finger or two up your ass,” Levi said. “Some girls are even into that.”

Aidan’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed in the month since you got here,” he said, “but traffic here in Toronto fucking blows. So like, let’s not try to distract me so much I crash us before you ever get inside me.”

Levi shot him a hot look, and a second later, his hand was on Aidan’s thigh, squeezing hard, and Aidan yelped.

“Seriously!” he said.

“I asked you a question,” Levi said, all perfect innocence. “It was only a question.”

“It wasn’t only a question.”

How could it be, when Aidan’s cock was already throbbing in his slacks, desperate for Levi to slide his hand up further?

“I’m still waiting for an answer,” Levi said, squeezing again.

Aidan realized he was literally holding his breath and let it out. “No,” he said. “Never. Not with anyone. Not even just myself.”

“But you want it.” Levi said it like a phrase, not a question, and Aidan gave him credit for that, at least. He hadn’t asked the damning version either. How do you even know you want it?

He wanted it.

Couldn’t explain it. But there was no question.

“Yeah,” Aidan said.

“If you don’t like it, it’s alright. I like it plenty,” Levi said, stroking his thigh now. Aidan was fully prepared to admit to his obsession with Levi’s thighs, but lately, it seemed that fixation went both ways.

“I know,” Aidan said, between clenched teeth, trying not to think of just how much Levi liked it. He was going to crash this car and destroy both their careers and the only explanation he was going to be able to give was that Levi was a master in sexual torment.

It was the longest ten-minute drive of Aidan’s life, and he’d never hated the Toronto traffic more than he did tonight.

Finally, he pulled into his tower’s garage, Aidan pulling both their bags out of the backseat, Levi grinning at him.

“Eager much?” he asked as they walked to the elevator. Levi’s hand ghosted across the small of his back. Not touching, but close enough Aidan could feel the heat of his touch through his clothes.

“Wanted this two nights ago,” Aidan admitted. “Been thinking about it longer than that.”

Levi groaned in the back of his throat. “You’re kind of killing me, here.”

“Me killing you?” Aidan questioned. They walked into the elevator. He knew there was a security feed—one of the reasons he’d moved into this building was how secure it was—and that was all that stopped him from leaning over and kissing Levi.

Just not telling him how much he wanted him, but showing him.

Levi fumbled with his keycard, pressing it against the sensor, and hit the button for their floor.

“You’re so hot,” Levi said, glancing over and licking his lips as the floors flashed past on the display.

Aidan knew that was objectively true; enough people had told him that over the course of his adult life, but he’d never felt it, so viscerally, as he did right now. Like his skin might melt right off his body just from the heat of the looks Levi kept sending from under his dark eyelashes.

The elevator doors dinged open, and once they were in the foyer, Levi pressed Aidan’s body against the door as he shoved his keycard against the reader—the last step before they were finally alone.

Aidan half expected when the door finally opened, both of them stumbling into the privacy of the condo, Levi might press him into the nearest wall. But Levi didn’t. He did shove their bags off Aidan’s shoulder, though, and take him by the hand, practically dragging him to the bedroom.

“Come on,” Levi panted breathlessly, even though he hadn’t done anything more strenuous than ride in an elevator and he’d played a quarter and a half of football earlier today without looking particularly winded.

Aidan sank down to the edge of the bed and yanked Levi in, their mouth sliding together into a fierce kiss.

Levi leaned harder into him, one hand on his shoulder and one on the side of his head, knocking his hat off, pushing him further onto the bed.

“Clothes off,” he said, barely breaking the kiss as he yanked Aidan’s polo off. “God, you looked so douchey in this, and I wanted to take it off with my teeth the whole fucking game.”

Incredulous laughter bubbled up from inside Aidan. He didn’t get it, but then he didn’t need to. He could only be grateful that whatever it was about him and his boring-ass clothes, they did it for Levi. Hopefully they would keep doing it for Levi.

Levi kissed him again, tongue slipping between his lips as he managed to undo his belt and the fastenings of his khakis.

“And these—” Levi broke off. “Jesus, do you know what your ass looks like in these?”

Aidan couldn’t help his giggle. “Obviously not.”

“Shit, bro, it’s so good.” Levi slid a hand underneath it, squeezing him through his briefs. “Need you bad. Been dreaming about it.”