Page 49 of Possession

So that put a pep in his step that morning.

Even if the rest of the people in the clubhouse were dragging from the late night before, he couldn’t help but feel damn near bursting with happiness and anticipation.

They were the only ones in the gym for the first twenty or thirty minutes. Vinnie started to become more talkative as theymoved from doing their cardio warm-up to weight reps. Heavy footsteps coming down the stairs drew their attention.

Mason recognized Marv’s easygoing tone as he said something that made the other man laugh. A shiver worked down Mason’s spine. That was Tomas. He could tell, even though he’d only heard him laugh a couple of times.

The two of them appeared in the doorway a moment later, and they paused when they saw that Vinnie and Mason were already working out.

“Mind if we join you two?” Tomas asked, shooting them his trademark half smile.

“It’s your gym,” Vinnie said, back to playing the ice queen again.

Mason knew him well enough to know he was far from unaffected by Tomas’s appearance, trying too hard to play it cool. He wasn’t worried though. Vinnie didn’t break his promises. He might get a little scared after sharing something so personal with Tomas last night, but he’d still try.

Marv snorted and moved over to one of the treadmills while Tomas moved closer to him and Vinnie. “It is, but you’re guests in our home. It’s called being polite, Vincent.”

Mason’s eyes widened, and he looked between the two of them.

“No one calls me that,” Vinnie said tightly, keeping his eyes on his barbell.

“I doubt I will often either,” Tomas said. “Unless you’re being particularly bratty first thing in the morning, gatito. In which case, there will be more consequences than your full name.”

Vinnie sucked in a breath, eyes darting up and locking on Tomas’s. Mason suddenly felt like a third wheel, but not in a bad way. He got it. He’d been happily wrapped up in Tomas’s orbit since the moment he’d arrived at the clubhouse. He’d gotten weeks of stolen glances and shared meals, soft smiles. He didn’tmind one bit that the two of them were still feeling each other out, finding their footing.

Though he couldn’t wait until it was the three of them finding their way forward together.

“I’m not really a morning person,” Vinnie said, and it was the closest thing to an apology Tomas was going to get, and he seemed to know that, giving him a quick nod and then a wink.

Then, Tomas turned on Mason, his eyebrows shooting up as he stared at the T-shirt Mason had turned into a workout shirt, cutting off the sleeves and the bottom to turn it into a crop top.

His black shorts were low-riding and like a second skin on him, showing off his pierced belly button, but Tomas’s gaze was stuck on the image and words across his chest.

He glanced down and then grinned up at Tomas. “What’s the matter? You don’t like pound cake?”

Tomas snorted and shook his head, giving a soft touch underneath Vinnie’s and then Mason’s chins before turning and heading over to the elliptical next to Marv.

Mason bit his bottom lip and watched him go before offering Vinnie a smug smile and stage-whispered, “I told you he’d like my shirt.”

It had an illustration of a pound cake covered in white icing with the words “pound my cake, daddy” above and below it. Considering he’d been keeping his distance despite what he actually wanted from Tomas for the last three weeks, he’d thought he should send a very clear and direct signal this morning.

The chains were off. If Tomas was willing to try with them, then Mason was all in. Vinnie and Tomas could figure out their shit as they went, but Mason was eager for all of the fun and sexy things Ollie got to have with his boyfriend.

“At least his face looks a little better this morning,” Vinnie said, a lot quieter than Mason had been.

Mason wasn’t sure what exactly he was looking at, if maybe they were talking about two different people. As far as he could tell, Tomas’s face was even more gross than it had been the night before, the bruises more vivid and the swelling still there around his eye and lip.

Though he supposed there wasn’t any active bleeding anymore, so that was an improvement.

He glanced at Marv and gave him a quick once-over, ignoring the sexy sleeves of tattoos he had and taking note that the others had been right. He really did only have his right hand wrapped, though it didn’t have a full cast, so he probably hadn’t broken anything. His face was clear of any sort of damage though.

He tried not to hold it against him, considering Marv had been nothing but nice to him since he’d arrived. But a small, petty part of him was upset Tomas looked like he’d been jumped by a dozen guys, whereas Marv was basically fine.

They were just starting another circuit when Six appeared in the doorway, oddly silent for a man as big as he was. Thumping loudly down the steps behind him could only be Ollie.

As soon as he appeared in the doorway next to Six and spotted Vinnie and Mason, he beelined toward them, groaning dramatically. “Who let me drink so much last night?”

Mason laughed. “You barely had anything to drink that I saw.”

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