CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

They dozed for a little while before Matty's stomach rumbled, pulling Antoni out of the drifting, contented state he'd been in.

Eyes still closed, Antoni smiled against Matty's shoulder that he'd been using as a pillow. "Worked up an appetite, huh?"

"Yeah. Little bit." Matty pressed his lips to his forehead.

Antoni shivered at the brush of his soft, short beard.

"Want anything?"

"Mmm." Antoni took stock of how he felt. "Yeah, I could have a bite."

"I'm gonna get us snacks then."

Antoni opened his eyes to see Matty leaning in for a kiss. But before Antoni could pull him close and deepen the kiss, Matty smiled brightly and hopped to his feet.

He tugged on boxer briefs and Antoni got a few seconds to enjoy the sight of that glorious ass before he disappeared from view.

Wow.

Antoni rolled onto his back and stretched, trying to remember the last time he'd felt so good.

He couldn't stop smiling,

He glanced at the ring on his finger, his head spinning at how quickly everything had changed.

He was married now. Married to the sweetest, sexiest man alive, apparently.

Sex with someone new was usually awkward. Lots of fumbling and hesitation, trying to figure out how to read the other person. And sure, tonight there had been nerves. There had been for him at least. And since Matty didn't have much experience with men, Antoni had to assume there were some for him too.

But it had been easy to read Matty's expressions, easy to tell when he liked something or wanted more. Maybe there was something to be said about taking it slow and getting to know the other person first.

Antoni was used to sex right away, then getting to know a guy.

He and Matty had done everything upside down. Moved in together, become friends, got married, kissed, had sex …

Antoni glanced at the ring again. Wow. Yeah, it was still there. Wild.

He'd said ‘I Do' and signed the license and it still seemed completely surreal. But hey, he couldn't argue with the results.

He'd never felt better.

Maybe it was because he hadn't had an orgasm with another person in five months or maybe it was that he felt so much more settled and secure, knowing that the kids would be safe.

Maybe it was knowing that he and Matty were in this together. A united front.

But probably, it was just Matty.

Who needed love when he had this?

Antoni shivered as the air kicked on, and decided that they should relocate to the bedroom. The basement was cold and they clearly weren't going to pay much attention to the TV anyway.

Antoni glanced at the screen to see some totally tame scene with characters chatting in a coffee shop. He laughed softly at the idea that a Northdale Heights sex scene was what had finally broken the ice between him and Matty.

Smiling, Antoni found the remote to turn the TV off, then pulled on underwear and a hoodie. He spied his phone on the floor—it had probably fallen out of his pocket earlier—and snuck a peek at it.

His mom had told him that if there was anything urgent, she'd call. Otherwise, she'd send him a few texts throughout the weekend with updates on how the kids were doing. But mostly, she'd admonished him to relax and not worry about them.

Not worrying was pretty much impossible but the pictures of Reese and River sleeping and Eli reading while Alexis and his father watched hockey on TV put his mind at ease.

Antoni frowned, confused. Obviously, the season hadn't started yet so they must be watching an old game or something. With a shrug, he decided that since the kids were safe and happy, he should enjoy the rest of his night with Matty.

Tucking the box of chocolate under his arm, Antoni picked up the rest of the discarded clothes and juggled the glasses and Champagne as he carried them up the stairs, belatedly realizing he should have taken two trips.

He met Matty in the hallway who was carrying a tray loaded with food.

"Oh my God, Matty. We can't eat all that!" Antoni protested with a laugh and shake of his head.

"Speak for yourself," Matty said, grinning, but the smile fell as he looked Antoni up and down. "Hey! Why'd you get dressed?"

"Figured we'd relocate," Antoni said. "Bed seems more comfortable."

"Okay. But you better get naked again."

Grinning at Matty's back as Antoni followed him down the hall, he said, "Well, if you insist."

After setting everything out for a picnic in bed, they both stripped and settled on the bed.

Still smiling—because he couldn't seem to stop—Antoni reached for a mini pepper stuffed with herbed cream cheese, trying not to let his gaze wander to Matty's soft but still substantial dick.

God, he hoped Matty wanted to fuck him.

It was fine if he didn't but, oh, he could imagine how good it would be if he did.

"You teased me about all of this food," Matty said as he crunched into a peapod. "But maybe some of this is for after round two."

"Round two?" Antoni asked, pleased by the idea. Apparently Matty wasn't a one-and-done kinda guy, which suited Antoni fine.

"Sure, everyone knows the best hockey players can go four rounds." Matty grinned.

Antoni stared blankly. "Uhh. Is this … some sort of hockey thing I don't get the reference to?"

Matty made a face and reached for some cheese and ham, wrapping it together. "Yeah, I was trying to make a playoff joke but it went right over your head."

"Sorry," Antoni said, feeling sheepish. "I really should brush up. Now that we're … married."

They both froze, staring at each other for a few heartbeats before they looked away. Okay yeah, that was still weird. Not bad weird, exactly. But weird.

"Nah, it's okay," Matty said with a shrug. "Honestly, you don't ever have to be into the game if you don't want."

"Sure, but I want to be supportive," Antoni said earnestly. "And it'll look better to the public if I'm involved and know what the fuck I'm talking about, right?"

"Uh, yeah, probably."

"So, explain the joke," Antoni urged as he scanned the tray for what he wanted to eat next.

Ooh, dill pickle hummus. Matty had started buying that for Antoni all the time because he'd kind of been obsessed with it since Matty brought some home from the store a few weeks ago. Antoni tore off a piece of whole wheat pita and dipped it in.

Matty shifted onto his side. "Okay. So, in the playoffs, the top sixteen teams from the regular season compete. The top three teams from each division and four wild card teams."

Antoni frowned. "Okay, what's a wild card?"

"They're the next two best teams in each conference."

"How do they decide what's best?"

"Whoever has the most points from the regular season. You get two points if you win the game in regulation time. If it goes to overtime, the winner gets two, the loser gets one."

"Hmm."

"Some people argue that it would make more sense if regulation wins were three points, but we won't get into all that now."

"Okay." Antoni reached for a grape, popping it in his mouth and enjoying the juicy crunch.

He listened intently as Matty kept talking, explaining how all four rounds worked. They had demolished about half the food by the time he finished.

"You done?" Matty asked, gesturing to the tray.

Antoni nodded. "Yeah. So to win the Stanley Cup, you have to win all four rounds?" he asked, hoping he finally had it straight.

Matty moved the tray onto the dresser. "Yep."

"So, who won the first round we had?" Antoni teased.

Matty grinned and climbed on the bed again, topping off their glasses. "Felt like we both won, to be honest."

"Didn't feel like a loser point at all," Antoni said with a smile, taking the glass. It had probably lost most of its bubbles but oh well.

Matty held out his glass. "Definitely seems like a win to me."

Antoni clinked. "Me too."

After a few sips of wine, they set them aside on the nightstand, drifting together in the center of the bed.

Stretched out on their sides, they kissed again, slower and lazier this time. Antoni roamed his hands across Matty's chest, enjoying the firm muscles and the light tickle of hair against his palms.

Matty slid his hands along Antoni's back, reaching down to cup and squeeze his ass occasionally but never going further.

Eventually, Antoni nudged Matty onto his back and used his lips and teeth to tease at Matty's nipples. He was kind of obsessed with Matty's response every time he did that. He was pretty sure no one had ever taken their time to see if Matty liked it.

"Shit, that's good. I didn't know they were, ah, that sensitive," Matty said with a groan.

"I like that they are," Antoni admitted, tweaking one with his fingertips and making Matty hiss. "But I want to explore the rest of you. Roll over. Please."

"Okay." Matty sounded agreeable as he rolled onto his stomach.

Antoni took a moment to drink the sight of him in, loving the width of his shoulders. But for all of Matty's sturdiness in his arms, chest and thighs, from the back, he was narrow at the waist. From there, his ass curved into lush round globes that Antoni had been dying to get his hands on since they met.

"God, your ass …" Antoni sighed appreciatively, reaching out to skim his fingers across the skin. "How are you so …"

"Lots of glute workouts," Matty said, his voice a little muffled by the pillow. "And, I guess just the way I'm built."

"Well, I like it," Antoni said appreciatively.

For a little while, he ran his hands across Matty's back, smoothing his thumbs down his spine. Matty made a happy little noise so Antoni kept going, dropping kisses here and there, flicking his tongue out to taste the faint salt of Matty's skin.

He kneaded Matty's ass and thighs, mesmerized by the sheer strength of his body.

Spying the box of chocolates on the nightstand, he stretched out to whisper in Matty's ear, "You mind if I try something?"

"What'd you have in mind?" Matty asked, sounding dozy and content, his eyes closed, his face mashed into the pillow.

Antoni dropped a kiss to his cheek. "Eating chocolate off your body."

Matty's eyes opened, face lighting up with interest. "Only if you save enough for me to do the same to you."

"Deal." Antoni snagged the box and grabbed one of the ones with liquid centers. He bit into it, cracking it open. Before it could spill into his mouth, he pulled it away, letting the sugary, boozy syrup trickle across Matty's back.

Matty shivered, but he didn't protest when Antoni nestled the chocolate shell in the hollow of his back. Antoni licked his fingers, then started at the top, lapping at the sticky liquid. He was rewarded with a low groan from Matty, so he kept going, alternating licks with gentle bites and sucking kisses.

Matty shifted on the bed, hips beginning to rock. Antoni smiled. "You like that?" he whispered.

"Mmhmm." Matty sounded both content and turned on so Antoni kept going. It was messy, eating the chocolate from the small of Matty's back, but it was worth it to hear the noises he made and see the way his ass flexed every time he rubbed his cock on the sheets.

"Gonna do another one," Antoni said and Matty hummed.

This time, Antoni drizzled the liquid across Matty's ass and thighs, letting the heat of their skin melt the chocolate a little. It was messy and sticky, especially where it clung to his body hair, but Antoni kept going, loving the little pants and groans from Matty.

He teased at the seam of Matty's ass a few times, brushing lightly, watching his reactions. He tensed at first but then melted into it, shivering and widening his thighs when Antoni brushed against his taint.

"Has anyone ever eaten your ass?" Antoni asked huskily.

"No." Matty's voice was a little muffled but he sounded more alert now.

"May I?" Antoni teased a finger up from his balls, letting it drag between his cheeks but not going in far.

Matty raised up on one elbow, squinting. "Can I shower first?"

"Yeah, of course," Antoni said, stretching out to kiss him. "I can even do it in the shower if you want."

"Then hell yeah, let's do this," Matty said, looking much more excited by the idea. He practically dragged Antoni into the bathroom.

Antoni laughed at his enthusiasm. God, Matty was … endearing.

And when he backed Antoni against the shower wall, kissing him under the fall of warm water, Antoni melted.

For a while, they kissed. They kissed until Antoni's lips felt tender and a little bruised and his cock ached where he'd been rutting against Matty's thigh. He could come like that if they kept going and he thought maybe Matty could too.

He was torn between wanting to come now and wanting to eat Matty out and he wavered between the two for a moment before he pulled back.

"Let me clean you up," he said, reaching for his body wash. "I'll get rid of the stickiness from the chocolate if you want to turn around."

Matty turned, bracing himself against the shower wall, biceps bunching, and Antoni stared for a moment. Goddamn.

He lathered his hands and dragged them up and down Matty's back, digging his thumbs in a little and making Matty moan. He seemed a little tense so Antoni went slow, teasing him. He lathered his hands again and gently pried apart Matty's cheeks, letting the white foam run between.

Matty shivered and Antoni stepped closer, pressing his lips to Matty's shoulder. "Should I keep going?"

"Yeah."

Antoni slipped his middle finger into Matty's crease. There was so much muscle there it was a snug fit but he rubbed gently, feeling Matty shudder with every drag of his finger across his hole.

"Fuck, Antoni …" Matty's voice was strangled.

Antoni kissed the base of Matty's neck, rubbing his cock against Matty's cheek. "You good with me eating you out now?"

"Yeah. God. Do it."

Antoni could feel Matty's eager nerves making his big body tremble. He carefully dropped to his knees, the tile hard against them. But that was less important than running his hands across the round swell of Matty's ass.

Antoni pried his cheeks apart and let the water run between them, washing away any soap residue before he leaned forward, pressing his mouth to Matty's ass cheek. He bit the muscle, licking his way toward the crease. When Matty stayed relaxed, Antoni pressed his face in, dragging his tongue across Matty's hole.

Matty made the most incredible noise, so Antoni did it again. And again. Until he was lapping with teasing, darting licks. He alternated that with swirls of his tongue, teasing the opening.

Matty's thighs trembled.

When Antoni sucked at the rim, Matty slapped his hand against the tile, the sound echoing over the steady rush of the water.

Antoni chuckled and did it again, loving the way Matty shook and moaned.

For a while, Antoni got lost in it, drunk on Matty's reactions as he pressed in deeper, gasping to breathe as he pulled away, then diving in again.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Matty said, trembling. "I'm … God, I'm close."

"Think you can come this way?" Antoni asked breathlessly, intrigued by the idea of trying. "Or do you want my hand?"

"Neither."

Antoni must have made a disappointed noise because Matty shifted, pulling away and turning to face him. He dragged Antoni to his feet and tugged him close, their wet bodies sliding together.

Matty kissed his cheek. "No, hey, we can do that another time. I just really want to fuck you." Matty reached down, kneading his ass. "But only if you want."

"Oh, I want," Antoni said fervently. Did he want to try to make Matty come with his mouth? Obviously. But the thought of Matty's thick cock filling him was so good it sent a shiver down his spine.

This time, he was the one hurriedly tugging Matty along as he turned off the shower and toweled dry.

Before he left the bathroom, Antoni took a swig of mouthwash, in case making out with a guy who had rimmed him weirded Matty out.

Their skin was still pretty damp as they tumbled onto the bed and Antoni immediately reached for the nightstand drawer. Matty petted his skin while he fumbled around for the lube and Antoni finally flung one of the vibrating dildos on the floor in his annoyance when it got in the way.

"Is that a toy?" Matty asked, sounding intrigued.

"Yeah. Don't ask me how many times I used that on myself thinking about you," Antoni muttered.

Matty groaned. "Fuck, really?"

"Mmhmm." Antoni pulled out the lube with a relieved sigh.

He turned to look at Matty, who stared so intently it made Antoni shiver. "Can I use it on you sometime?" Matty asked, his big hand wrapped around his thick cock.

Antoni moaned. "Yes, fuck yes, but not right now. I need your dick in me first. Hey, do you want me to open myself up or do you want to do it?" he asked, sliding a pillow under his hips.

"I want to." Matty reached for the lube and shifted until he knelt between Antoni's thighs.

Antoni was a little surprised by how sure and deft Matty was as he slicked his fingers and slipped them between his cheeks but it occurred to him that perhaps Matty had experience at this, even if he'd never fucked a guy.

Antoni moaned at the first slide of Matty's fingers across his hole and the gentle but steady pressure when he pushed inside. Matty leaned down to kiss him, fucking him with two fingers. Antoni's head went hazy with pleasure when he added another.

It wasn't long before Antoni's cock was leaking and he couldn't stop moaning against Matty's mouth, rocking on his thick fingers. "Fuck me," he whispered. "God, Matty I need you. Fuck me please."

As they dried off after their shower, they'd talked about testing and going without condoms, so there was nothing more to do but for Matty to slick his cock and position it at Antoni's entrance. He ran a big broad palm across Antoni's stomach, grasping the base of his dick with the other, then easing inside.

Antoni's eyes fluttered at the stretch to his rim, needy chills racing across his body when Matty pressed in deeper.

"Matty," he groaned and Matty braced himself, rocking his hips in shallow little thrusts that lit up Antoni's body but weren't nearly enough. "More."

Antoni wrapped his legs around Matty's hips and dug his hands into his shoulders. He urged him on, crying out when Matty finally moved like he wanted.

Antoni was overwhelmed by the slick drag and the way the flared head of Matty's cock tugged at his rim when he pulled nearly all the way out before plunging in again.

It was so good it shocked the breath from Antoni's lungs, and he clutched at Matty's arms, blunt nails scraping across his skin, sliding a little where he was sweaty. He muttered nonsense, letting it all fall from his mouth without shame.

Pleasure welled up from deep within him, tugging at his belly, spreading across his skin, consuming him until he was lost in it. He cried out, gripping Matty tighter every time he nailed the perfect angle.

"Fuck, fuck, Antoni, I'm close," Matty said with a desperate groan.

Antoni pried his eyes open to see Matty's skin sheened with sweat, his face pink with the effort of holding back, and he clenched around Matty just to see his lips part as he gasped.

"Yeah, come in me," Antoni urged. "I want it."

"But you …" Matty trembled.

"I'm almost there," Antoni promised. Antoni reached down to grasp his cock but Matty shifted, bracing on one arm and wrapping his hand around his cock.

The touch lit Antoni up, making his head go light with need and he gave in to it, overwhelmed by the dual pleasures of Matty thrusting inside him and the heady pressure of the grip of his calloused palm.

A shudder rippled through Antoni and he came with a sharp cry, fingers biting into Matty's arms. His hips stuttered and his body went tight as cum coated his dick and dripped onto his stomach, Matty working him through it for a few more strokes before he let go.

"Now you," Antoni urged, his head still hazy but determined Matty would feel as good as he did.

Matty shifted until he was braced on his forearms, and he kissed Antoni desperately, then gave a few more deep, hard thrusts. He buried his face against Antoni's neck, panting his name as he came inside him.

Sweaty and overwhelmed, Antoni wrapped his arms around Matty's back and held him close.

For a few minutes they lay like that, Matty's weight pressing him into the mattress, Antoni breathing hard as he tried to get his brain to function again.

"Your mother is a genius," Matty mumbled against his neck.

Antoni made a face but he kissed Matty's hair anyway. "Eww. Can we not talk about my mother when your dick is inside me?" he pleaded.

Matty huffed out a laugh and lifted his head. "Yeah, okay. That's fair. Man we smoked the second round though."

Antoni laughed, not entirely sure if he understood Matty's goofy sense of hockey humor but charmed by it anyway. "Yeah, we did."

Matty gave him a slow, pleased smile and kissed him lightly. "So what now?"

Antoni's eyes widened. "Uhh, Matty, I like to think I have a pretty healthy sex drive and I'm fairly fit but I am not going to be able to keep up with you if—"

Matty laughed and cupped Antoni's face in his hands. "Not more sex. I need a minute to catch my breath too. I mean are you hungry? Ready to sleep? What do you want?"

"Not hungry," Antoni said as he took stock of himself. "Wrung out but not sleepy, exactly. I dunno. Maybe we could chill in bed?"

"There's no TV in here anymore," Matty said with a mournful sigh. "I like Charlie's designs but I'm sad that's gone."

Antoni chuckled. "We could watch something on my laptop, or …"

If he were alone, he'd probably read but he wasn't sure how much reading Matty did.

"Or?" Matty asked.

"Read. But that's not really something we could do together."

Matty shrugged. "We could if you read aloud to me."

"Yeah?" Antoni asked, surprised. "You'd want that?"

"Sure. You have a nice voice and you make it sound really good. Sometimes when you read to River I sit in the hall and listen. Sorry if that's kinda weird, I just like hearing you."

"No, Matty …" Antoni said softly, touched by the mental image. "That's so sweet. You can come in and listen any time you want. And yeah, I'll read to you now if you want."

"I like books," Matty said. "I'm just a really slow reader so I'm more of an audiobook guy."

"Yeah?" Antoni rubbed his thumb against Matty's beard. "What do you like to listen to?"

"Lots of sports biographies and stuff. But sometimes fiction. I dunno. Whatever the guys recommend. Felix reads a lot on the planes and sometimes he tells me about stuff that he thinks I'll like."

"You ever do sci-fi or fantasy?" Those were Antoni's go-to genres these days when he wanted a little bit of an escape from the real world.

Though lately, the real world had been pretty nice. And, apparently, had only gotten nicer today.

"Mmm, not big on sci-fi but fantasy can be good."

"Perfect." Antoni smiled. "Okay. I, uh, probably need to get cleaned up and we should put the food away and stuff. Meet you back here in fifteen?"

"Sounds good." Matty pecked Antoni on the lips and shifted away.

Antoni shivered at the sight of Matty kneeling there, his cock still wet from coming inside him. Fuck that was hot. Okay, maybe round three wasn't as far off as he'd thought.

Matty smirked like he could see exactly what Antoni was thinking but he gently slapped Antoni's thigh, then got off the bed with an athletic grace that amazed Antoni a little.

He was really looking forward to actually watching Matty on the ice.

Not to mention everything else he could do with his body.