Page 6 of Dangle

“What? Kink, the club, our friendship, life? What are you over?”

“The last two are a definite no.”

“And the first two?”

I sucked in so much air that my lungs burned. “I dunno. Maybe? Probably.”

Like air from a balloon, his body deflated and fell back into the cushions behind him. “Wow. How…umm… How long have you felt like this?”

“It smacked me in the face earlier at the bar. I looked out at the dancing bodies and the flashing lights and thought, ‘I hate this,’ and that spun into ‘I loathe it,’ and I wasn’t the least bit shocked. Guilty, yes, definitely.”

“Guilty? Why would?—”

“Because,” I yelled. “This is our place. We built EDGE: Manchester. Yes, we helped Priest and Cam build EDGE: Nashville, and yeah, we owned pieces of it, but this club here in Manchester is ours, or it was supposed to be. I don’t know. Something’s missing, and I can’t put my finger on what it is.”

Ewen looked gobsmacked. I couldn’t say I didn’t get it. I did. Gobsmacked described the way I felt about it as well.

Ewen scrubbed his hands over his face with a deep sigh that huffed a little when he exhaled.

“Well, sounds like a mission to me,” he said with a sigh.

“We aren’t Recon Marines anymore, Grigor. There is no mission.”

His neck twisted to the one-way glass that overlooked our club, a club we’d been proud of, thatI’dbeen proud of. My gaze followed, and what used to bring me joy and pride and satisfaction—professionally and sexually—no longer provided any of those things.

Rarely could you describe anything about Ewen as soft, but his voice as he continued speaking held none of the sharp edges it usually did. “EDGE is a haven for kinksters. The same haven no matter the city—Nashville or Manchester—they found themselves in. EDGE is supposed to be a place to be as unfiltered and filthy kink-wise as you want, but…”

I nodded at how his thoughts seemed to align with mine. So I picked up where he trailed off. “This is where we live. Where we work. We fuck here. There’s the gym, the bar, the dance club, the restaurant…” Mirroring Ewen’s actions from a moment ago, I scrubbed my hand over my face before shoving my fingersthrough my hair. “And suddenly, one day, you realize it’s a prison without the razor wire and bars.” My eyes caught his wide gaze, and I clarified, “I mean…”

Ewen sat up, his elbows landing on his knees. “No. I get it.” He covered his mouth with his fingers, dragging them across his lips. “Yeah. I can see…” he huffed, “I can see what you’re saying. I mean, hell, it’s why Priest and Cam moved their family out of the lofts above the club in Nashville.”

That was new info. “Really?” I asked, not sure if Ewen was trying to spare my feelings or…shit. Yeah, never mind. Ewen’s motto fell in the realm of truth first, feelings after.

He confirmed the last bit with a raised brow and a cocked head, but he still answered. “Yes, really. Priest told me they wanted to build on their life outside kink.”

I nodded. That landed nearly perfectly.

Never would I ever be able to leave kink behind completely. No matter the label someone stuck on me—soft Dom, caretaker Dom, Daddy Dom—they were me. I was them. They all fit.

Just not perfectly.

TWO

TREY

“Welcome your Manchester University Maulers.”

I let the announcer’s voices fade away as I slowly followed my boys out of the locker room. We sounded like a herd of elephants as we lined up to make our way onto the rink, walking like penguins on guarded blades.

“Your starting lineup: At center is the young phenom, Aiden Mercer. Aiden tore up the ice before going out with a severe concussion following a car accident over Thanksgiving.”

“Everyone in Mauler country is happy to see the kid healthy and back on the ice.”

A-fucking-men! Zane Tyler was a damn good wing, and I was a fucking amazing center, but if we were gonna make it to the Frozen Four, damn good and fucking amazing were okay, but a fucking amazing wing with a phenom of a center gave us a much better shot.

“At right wing is Manchester University’s captain, Trey Malachek. Trey has played every forward position on the ice, and if needed, he could make a decent showing as a defender. He’s just that good of a two-way player. He’s a number one draft pick and an Olympic gold medalist, but can he lead this team to the Frozen Four?”

Hell yeah, I can.