Page 21 of Nix
“I know.” The sadness returned to Aries’s face.
Damn it! Nix wanted more time with his brother! This wasn’t fair.
“Why don’t you go wash your face real quick,” Vin suggested to Aries. “There’s a bathroom right around the corner.”
And now Nix was back to respecting the vampire. He must really care about Aries.
Aries blushed but nodded. “Yeah.”
Nix urged his brother toward the bathroom. This was perfect. He just needed a few minutes to threaten, uh, talk to Vin. “I’ll wait here for you. Say goodbye one last time,” Nix promised Aries.
“Okay!” Aries bounced away.
Nix barely waited until Aries had turned the corner before rounding on Vin. “Vin, is it?”
Vin snorted. “You know perfectly well who I am.”
“I do,” Nix admitted. He didn’t have anything to hide here. “Because you’re all my little brother talks about whenever he’s on the phone with me or Gem. Even our mom has mentioned how taken Aries seems to be with you.”
Vin watched him for several minutes.
A lot passed in that look.
Nix knew men. Could read their interest. He understood what Vin wasn’t saying.
“I’ve been helping him,” Vin tried.
“Helping.” Nix wasn’t buying it. He wanted the whole truth. If he was going to trust this man with Aries then Nix wouldn’t put up with bullshit. “Is that what you call it?”
“Yes,” Vin hissed quietly. “You know damn well that Aries wasn’t doing well on his own. He thrived on the ice but off he was struggling.”
He swallowed hard as guilt ate at him. Nix should have refused to go to any team other than with Aries. Fuck! Now he felt like an asshole.
“He’s trying his hardest,” Vin told him. “Aries doesn't want to be a bother to anyone. And he’s a good guy. He cares about his teammates and they like him a lot, but that’s not the same as having his brothers with him.”
Nix was quite aware. He’d had no idea how hard this separation would be. “It’s not easy on any of us. I really thought it wouldn’t be a big deal. We’d be busy. I didn’t realize how much downtime we would have.” It sucked, plain and simple, but Nix didn’t know how to fix it.
Vin grasped his shoulder gently. “He’s doing good. These first away games have shown him what to expect. It’ll get easier.”
“I hope so,” he replied. And now he liked Vin. Vin obviously cared about Aries. He just needed Vin to understand that he couldn't fuck around with Aries like he could other men. “But your interest in my brother isn’t just as a mentor looking after the rookie.”
And Nix was going to ignore the similarities between Vin and Aries and Nix's friendship with Evan.
“It’s not,” Vin admitted. “Your brother is a sweetheart. I like spending time with him. I think he likes being around me too.”
Nix rolled his eyes. They were almost out of time. Aries would be back soon. Was Vin fucking Aries or not? “You’re hot,” Nix pushed. “That doesn’t mean that he’ll fall into bed with you. Don’t think you can fuck him and push him to the side. He isn’t like that.”
Vin grinned. “I know.”
Wait! What? “He told you?” Nix couldn’t believe it! His little brother was growing up. It made Nix’s heart happy.
“Yes, but that conversation is between me and your brother.”
Like that was going to happen. “He tells me everything.” He was more than a little smug about that. Aries couldn’t keep a secret to save his own life.
“Maybe.” Vin shrugged. “Maybe not. That’s his business.”
The vampire was giving Nix all the right answers. Apparently Evan had been right about him. Still, Nix was an older brother. “If you hurt him, I’ll come after you, vampire. I don’t care who you are or how old you are.”
