Page 106 of Full Body Hit: Part 2
Auston felt whole. Felt as if he’d been shedding crucial parts of himself these past few weeks and they’d just grown anew, a little fragile but there, weaving him together.
“Love you, baby,” Auston murmured when Chase was done with the food and just lying on Auston calmly.
Chase raised his head, smile on his lips. His scent was a burst of beauty. “Love you too, Daddy.”
Auston leaned in and kissed Chase on the forehead.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AUSTON
Auston had thought that he and Chase had bonded well together, their scents mixing perfectly, but it was nothing compared to the pair sitting on the other side of the table.
Auston had never really given Beau Lavoie and Emilio Torres much thought. News had come out of their bonding at the beginning of the season, but Auston, one, was busy with his own shit and, two, didn’t really give a fuck about who mated who in the league, even if there was apparent drama surrounding the bonding.
Maybe Auston should have paid closer attention, what with going through a similar situation himself. He avoided the media like the plague, but he couldn’t help coming across a few online comments about how weird it was that Auston and Chase were suddenly mated. How there was something fishy there—maybe it was a PR stunt. Maybe Chase had been pressured into it for some reason. Maybe Auston was drinking Chase’s blood to rejuvenate himself and be able to play a few more seasons.
Auston had almost replied to that last one. ‘I’m drinking something, but it isn’t his blood’, he wanted to snark, watch all the traditionalists crawl out of the woodwork about an Alpha giving an Omega a blowjob.
There were small doubts Auston tripped over sometimes, the loose soil of a shoddily constructed foundation—would the outside voices eventually pierce the bubble encasing Auston and Chase? Would Chase start listening to the chatter and realise all those people were right?
Wasthemagainstthe worldtoo much of an ask? Could nobody survive that?
Watching Beau and Emilio settled something wild and scared inside Auston. Beau was talking to his brother in a voice that was two decibels too loud while Emilio stared at him as if his mate were the only thing in the universe.
They’d more than survived the trials of a public and controversial mating. They’d thrived despite it. There, before him, was the example of a mated pair who had come out of the mess seemingly unscathed. Auston wasn’t foolish enough to believe it’d had no impact, that under the shiny veneer there weren’t a few hidden bruises, but what relationship didn’t have those?
All Auston could see between Beau and Emilio was adoration.
And looking at Chase, that was exactly what he felt, too.
Auston stretched an arm around the back of Chase’s chair when he finished his own food. He rubbed a thumb lightly across the nape of Chase’s neck, far enough away from the mating bite that it wouldn’t be scandalous.
Chase glanced at him, smile wide on his face, shining like there was something glowing behind his eyes, some golden thing Auston wanted to reach out and touch.
They all went for a drink after, bar crowded with chatter and the thin, looping sound of blues, a warbling voice making the air shiver.
Auston relaxed into the wine-coloured booth, sipping from his drink, Chase pressed against his side but engaged in conversation with Beau and Sammy. Noah was nodding along, looking a little lost, but then again, Noah always seemed to have a perplexed expression on his face.
“Hey.” Emilio’s voice cut through Auston’s staring. Emilio was smiling a little, hair perfectly styled, stubble shaved close to his face.
Auston made a questioning noise.
“Wanted to say congrats. About the mating.”
“Oh. Thanks, man. Had to go out with a bang, you know,” Auston joked—there was enough speculation about this being his last year in the NHL that Auston didn’t feel the need to be coy about it even if he hadn’t officially announced it yet. “It’s been a few months now for you guys, right?”
“Yeah, a year this summer.”
“Smart time to do it. Away from the cameras.”
Emilio snorted. “Yeah. Doing it during the season was ballsy.”
“I love attention,” Auston deadpanned. That knocked a laugh out of Emilio.
“Yeah, I can tell. Guess it comes with winning two cups.”
That was the funny thing about hockey players who hadn’t won the big prize—they always brought it up. “Guess I missed my chance to mate in front of the trophy.”
