Page 19 of The Puck Player

I’m sitting at the kitchen island, sipping a cup of tea while studying paint samples for the building, when my teammate finds me. Daemon shuffles into the kitchen quietly, not meeting my stare, but I can tell from his eyes that he is struggling to sleep. Archer has been practically glued to his side since he found out his father supposedly killed himself in jail, but I have enough money and connections to guess it was more than that.

“Can’t sleep?” I ask quietly, though the question is pointless, because whenever he has stayed here recently I hear him moving around, trying his best not to wake Archer.

He shakes his head, leaning into the fridge to grab a bottle of water, but instead I grab an extra cup from my tea tray and pour him one, sliding it across the counter when he turns around. When he doesn’t move to accept it or say anything, I add, “It’s chamomile and lavender, it will help.”

A defeated sigh leaves him, knowing me well enough to know I won’t let him leave a perfectly good cup of tea, so he slides into the chair opposite me and accepts it with a nod of his head. “Why are you up so late?” he asks, taking a sip before another sigh leaves him, this one more settled.

“I did something a little crazy,” I admit, and to my surprise the broody fucker just smirks.

“What’s new there,” he grunts, draining more than half of his cup before he moves to reach for my teapot. I slap his hand away in horror, because no one touches my teapot! Then pour himanother cup, and when I don’t say anything he adds, “Come on then, what have you done this time?”

I almost roll my eyes at his question, it appears Archer is rubbing off on him, and not just with his dick. “I bought the apartment building that Aubree lives in,” I admit softly, and his eyes widen in surprise.

“You bought the building?” he repeats in confusion. “You bought a whole apartment building?” he confirms, still staring at me, and when I nod my head he begins to shake his. “Fucking hell, Reign, who even does that? How much money do you have?”

I know his question is rhetorical, but I can’t help but mumble, “About two billion alone, two hundred if you count my family's money.”

At my response Daemon is rendered speechless, and for the first time in my life I recognize how privileged I am, not because of my money, though it helps, but because I grew up with loving parents who gave me anything and everything. They didn’t just meet the basic needs that all parents should, but went above and beyond to ensure I had the best of everything that money can buy, and I will never be able to repay them for that.

Daemon wasn’t so lucky, and given the brief mention of her mother’s death, and the fact she has moved across state to share an apartment with Evie, I’m not sure Aubree is either.

“Why did you buy it?” he eventually asks, and all I can do is shrug.

“I don’t know, I just wanted her to be safe I guess,” I reply, not really sure how to put my reasoning into words, but still he nods as if he understands me completely.

We both fall into a silence drinking our tea, but I feel him watching me, and it isn’t long until he says, “Bree has a boyfriend, right?”

“Yeah, and?” I snap far too quickly and the fucker smirks, rolling his eyes, once again reminding me so much of his boyfriend.

“And she doesn’t like you?” he dares to add, and I narrow my eyes at him, before sighing and focusing back on my computer.

“She’s coming around,” I reply, because surely she can’t still hate me after our tutoring session the other night, right? We got on great and she stayed for dinner after, she even thanked me for taking her home.

“My point is I spent my whole life not feeling safe,” Daemon starts, and my eyes snap back to him. “And it wasn’t the pain in my body that defined me, but the ache in my chest that never went away, no matter how hard I tried.” It’s the most vulnerable I have ever heard him be, and he stops to take a sip of his tea, as if the emotion burning up the back of my throat can also be felt in his. I’m not stupid, I have glimpsed the scars on his body and saw the background check on his father, it doesn’t take a genius to work out what he went through. “I was in hell every day and then Archer saved me.”

His words are said with so much emotion that I know he truly believes that, that my teammate didn’t just save him from his father, but from himself too, and I nod, wondering why he is bringing this up now.

“Is this your fucked-up way of telling me to leave her alone?” I ask with a forced laugh, and he smiles at me softly, a hint of darkness and sadness still lingering in his eyes.

“No, it’s your reminder that even with obstacles in the way, if it’s meant to be, nothing can stop it,” he states simply, and I blink back a little in surprise, just as Archer appears in the entryway, as if Daemon just saying his name summoned him.

“What the fuck are you two doing? It’s 2 o'clock in the damn morning,” he groans, his tired eyes dragging over our little tea set up, before they quickly snap to Daemon, as if silentlyensuring he is alright. He moves straight for him of course, any distance between them unacceptable since they move like magnets these days, and I smile. “Are you trying to steal my boyfriend, Alexander?” he asks, slipping his arms around Daemon and pulling his head back for a kiss.

I snort at my best friend, shutting my laptop, leaning back in my chair with my cup of tea as I look at them both. “If I were, it wouldn’t be hard, we all know you’d both enjoy choking on a dick as big as mine.”

Archer only smirks as he pulls himself from Daemon and replies, “Oh please, we could tag team you right now and it would be the best night of your fucking life.”

“Promises, promises,” I muse, comfortable enough in my sexuality to not just admit that my teammates are hot, but to flirt with them too.

“Don’t worry, baby, I’m not the one Reign is interested in stealing,” Daemon grunts, finishing off his tea with a smirk, moving to rinse his cup before drying it and putting it back on my tray. “Thanks for the tea,” he adds, sliding his hand into Archer’s and pulling him back towards the stairs, no doubt ready to sink into his comfort now that it’s awake.

“Anytime, Forbes,” I tell him truthfully, and with Archer at his side, the smile he gives me this time is filled with nothing but lightness and relief.

So much so that I know I’m gonna be dancing at their damn wedding in the next couple of years.

When our nexttutoring session rolls around, I wait for Aubree to call me out on buying the building, but she doesn’t, and to my surprise she doesn’t even mention anything about it. Just scoldsme for not booking a meeting room in the library, but once I explained it was pointless, considering the business books I have in my room could never be matched by the ones in the library, she relented.

Now she is sitting at my desk scribbling away at the questions I prepared for her, while flicking back and forth between the numbers and information I provided to help her answer them. I’m sitting on my bed reading, but really I am watching her and cataloging her every move. Today’s theme is baby blue, a soft, fitted wool sweater, with a black pleated skirt, pale tights, and black boots. Her hair is up in some fancy swirl, secured with a blue clip, and there is a gold charm bracelet secured to her wrist, with little ocean-themed charms. As usual, she looks fucking delicious.

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