Chapter Nine

Pierre moved through the crowd, feeling a great deal of distaste for the sweaty bodies in need of a shower. He didn’t understand why Hugo couldn’t stay in his little teleprompter booth or whatever it was. Pierre hated tracking the man down, much less in a disgusting locker room. Damn. He would never get the smell out of his suit.

If anyone eyed him strangely or wondered over his presence, Pierre wouldn’t have noticed. Unfettered confidence always served him well. As the solicitor for the most dangerous and prestigious family in the Ontario area, he was rich and untouchable. Pierre never forgot it. He finally spotted Hugo chatting with a player. The guy only wore a towel. Pierre curled his nose. Tavey shouldn’t let this career continue. There was too much temptation around every corner. Plus, it was simply distasteful for the husband of such an important man to work.

As Pierre reached Hugo, his conversation partner turned and walked straight into Pierre. If the guy hadn’t reached out to save him, Pierre would have bounced off his solid man boobs and hit the floor.

“Ope. Sorry about that.” The guy had light eyes the color of the Caribbean Sea.

Pierre straightened his jacket. “ Excusez-moi .” He tried to focus on Hugo, dismissing the stranger who took up too much space.

“ Bonjour, belle homme .”

Pierre unexpectedly fought a hot blush. It had been a long time since someone called him beautiful, especially a man so young. He knew it was meaningless words from an obvious philanderer. Still, his heart fluttered a little. His gaze lingered, holding the much younger man’s stare for longer than necessary. In fact, he had to force his eyes away to look at Hugo.

“We must go. There’s a meeting for your permanent residency. Pitter patter.”

Hugo checked his watch.

Against his will, Pierre’s gaze returned to the hard chest that had almost taken him off his feet.

“I’m Lennox.” The man held his hand out.

Pierre shook. He couldn’t be rude. “Pierre. ”

Lennox’s mouth lifted in one corner in a sexy smirk. Pierre’s heart did a little happy sigh. Oh, to be young. He missed those days.

It was dumb for Hugo to have not considered the amount of paperwork it would take to marry and move to another country. It was worth it. In every way, it was worth it. Every time he looked at Tavey, he understood there was nothing he wouldn’t do. He hadn’t batted an eye at retiring, moving thousands of miles from home, and taking a new job. He just wanted to be right where he was.

Their feet brushed beneath the table. Len read the paper, which always made Hugo smile. It was an honest-to- God newspaper. He hadn’t known anyone still did that. The guy just felt like the head of the family with everything he did.

Tavey held his stare and bit his lip. Hugo felt his expression turn heated. Tavey’s gaze dropped to Hugo’s mouth.

A loud sigh came from behind the paper. “I wish you two would take this into your private space. People eat in here.”

A smile exploded across Hugo’s face. He had no clue how Len knew what went on, but he supposed they should get out of the guy’s hair. They stood and headed for the stairs. Hugo didn’t miss the smile Len wore behind his newspaper. He loved this family like his own blood. It was easy because they loved him too.

Tavey played with his ass, pinching while following Hugo up the stairs. Hugo couldn’t stop smiling. Logically, he knew they hadn’t been married that long and things were still in that sunshine honeymoon stage. Still, he had never been happier.

Tavey overcame him as they reached the bedroom. With his arms wrapped around Hugo’s waist, he kissed Hugo’s nape while penguin-walking along with him.

“Maybe we should get our own place,” Tavey suggested as he closed the door behind him. “We haven’t really talked about it, but I’d love to get fucked on the kitchen table.”

Hugo laughed. “You know, a lot of things sound a lot more adventurous than they actually are. Hard surfaces lead to unnecessary bruises.”

That was true. “Still, you get my point. I want to know we’re alone and I can seduce you anytime I want.”

Hugo saw the importance of this in Tavey’s eyes. They’d had so much else going on. He hadn’t thought about finding a house. He supposed they really needed to do that. His house was up for sale, and he hadn’t had time to consider what to do with everything that had been moved to storage.

“I got an offer on the house in New Orleans, so I don’t see why we can’t use the money to outright buy a place here.” A thought hit and Hugo winced. “How would your dad feel about you moving? I know you’re an adult and all, but he seems to really enjoy having everyone under one roof and you’re the only child left at home.”

Tavey shrugged as he moved to the bed and sat. “As you said, I’m the last one out. He’s been through it before and at least I’m not moving over two thousand miles away like Barrett.”

Hugo joined him. He chewed his bottom lip. The last thing he wanted was to make Len hate him by stealing his final child. Then again, he had moved here instead of dragging Tavey to New Orleans.

“It’s odd that you look like you don’t want this.”

Hugo came back to himself at Tavey’s comment. He smiled, trying to reassure him. “I was just picturing how much we’d need to do.” A thought hit. “Isn’t there a house for sale like two doors down?” Two doors down was much farther than it sounded, but it would probably appease Len.

Tavey looked as if he racked his brain, trying to figure out where Hugo meant. “Oh. There is, isn’t there? That’s actually a pretty new property. An elderly couple had it built as a second home about three years ago. The man died shortly after it was finished. The wife passed recently. I don’t think they ever even got a chance to stay there. It’s just been like cleaning crews and whatnot in and out, keeping up the property. I guess their family decided to sell.”

“Sounds kind of perfect for us.”

“It’s a bit big for just two people.”

Hugo took a breath. They hadn’t talked about what their future would look like. “Do you think we’ll always be only two? Plus, my mom will need a place to stay when she visits, and what if Travis’ kids want to stay the night?” He added that last bit, hoping to gloss over his question about future kids.

It was obvious by Tavey’s stunned expression that the topic had not been missed. “Do you think you’d want kids with me?”

“Yes.” Hugo didn’t mince words. He wanted all their cards on the table so they could know where they were headed. If this wasn’t something Tavey wanted, Hugo wanted to put it out of his head now. He would rather have Tavey. Kids were negotiable. Tavey wasn’t.

Tavey nodded. “Good. I want everything with you. Maybe not this second. I want to have you to myself for a while. Travis and Allison had kids immediately.”

“And didn’t stop,” Hugo chimed in with a laugh.

Tavey snorted. “Exactly. They never get time alone.”

Hugo barked out a loud laugh. “They’re obviously getting some time alone.”

Tavey shifted to his knees and crawled Hugo’s way. He straddled Hugo’s body, giving Hugo the pleasure of holding two handfuls of ass and hauling him closer. Tavey wrapped his arms around Hugo’s neck. “No matter what happens, I swear we’ll have an amazing life. When your house sells, just keep the money. I’ll buy the next one.”

Hugo could afford to walk down the street and buy the place now. Money wasn’t an issue. “How about we buy it together? From our joint account,” he added. “Our first fifty-fifty venture.”

“Us getting married wasn’t fifty-fifty?” Tavey asked with a laugh.

Hugo rolled, pinning Tavey beneath him. “Nope. It was seventy-thirty.”

Tavey growled.

Hugo brushed noses with him. “I’m joking. It was sixty-forty.”

Tavey pinched his side, making Hugo smile brighter. “I don’t know what you want me to say here.”

“Say you love me.”

Hugo’s smile slipped away. He needed Tavey to see how serious he felt about this one topic. “I do. I fucking love you more than life. Wherever you see yourself in the future, I’ll be right there.”

Tavey lifted his head and took the kiss he obviously wanted. Hugo’s eyes burned behind his closed lids. He hadn’t lied. Wherever life took them, it would be together. This was forever.

Keep an eye out for the next Thin Ice, Pucked Until the End .