Pucking Wild (Thin Ice #11)

Chapter Three

Hugo emerged from his shower and found Tavey’s bedroom empty. His gaze slid toward the unmade bed. It was the first place they had made love. That night had been top tier. Somehow, Tavey had surpassed that night last night. Goddamn. The guy was shameless and sexy as fuck. Hugo honestly hadn’t wanted anyone else since they’d met. He had tried getting Tavey out of his head. It hadn’t worked so far. Everything felt bland and pointless. It was Tavey’s devilish eyes and smile. His expression always screamed there was nothing he wouldn’t do, and there really was nothing Tavey wouldn’t do.

Hugo scrubbed his hair with his towel. He didn’t want to don a shirt until his hair quit dripping. That shit was annoying as fuck. Tavey didn’t make a reappearance. Hugo finally decided to go in search of him. He padded from the bedroom and down the stairs. Hugo spotted ice-blond hair in the kitchen. He headed inside. Tavey stood at the counter, making a cup of coffee. He wore sexy light tan dress pants and a white dress shirt. There was a gun on his belt. That confused Hugo. Not only had he thought Canadians weren’t really gun people, it made no sense for Tavey to be armed, much less inside his home.

Hugo sidled up behind him and crowded his space. “Why are you armed?”

Tavey jumped out of his hold and spun. “What the fuck, dude? ”

Hugo held up his hands. “Sorry. Not the right twin. I didn’t realize—” He fought a nervous laugh. “Definitely not the right twin.”

Tinkling laughter behind him had Hugo turning. He found a beautiful blonde woman strolling into the kitchen. “You can actually tell the twins apart? That’s wild. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve accidentally slapped Tavey’s ass.”

“Obviously, I can’t tell from behind,” Hugo muttered under his breath.

Another sweet-sounding laugh met his words. Hugo racked his brain for their names. They had met at the wedding. “Allison, right?”

She nodded. “Hugo?” She sounded unsure.

Hugo nodded and focused on Travis. “Sorry again, man. ”

Travis shrugged. “It’s all good. Ninety-nine percent of people can’t tell us apart. Mom used to pin shit to our clothes when we were toddlers, so she wouldn’t get us mixed up.”

Tavey’s dad strolled into the kitchen. Hugo suddenly wished he had a shirt. Tavey had said they wouldn’t even know he was here. Now he was with everyone but Tavey.

The elder Cattaneo eyed Hugo. “Who the fuck are you?”

“It’s Tavey’s man,” Travis said, sounding bland as he answered for Hugo.

“Hugo,” Hugo supplied.

Len nodded. “Good. It’s about time Tavey settled down. The Cattaneo men are a lot of things and faithful tops that list. I’ve had enough of him bed-hopping.” Before Hugo decided how he should respond, Len focused on Allison. He kissed her cheek. “Where are my grandbabies?”

“Upstairs with Mom, getting spoiled,” Travis answered for her.

“Not without me, they’re not.” He headed out without looking back. Before he cleared the doorway, Tavey appeared in his path with a bakery box. Len paused and set his hand on Tavey’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Tavey. It’s long overdue for you to settle down. Your man seems nice.”

Tavey looked as shocked as Hugo felt. His dad had barely even spoken to Hugo. Everyone talked as if they were getting married or something. His gaze slid Hugo’s way. Hugo flashed an uncomfortable smile. Tavey stepped aside so his dad could pass. Allison went with him, leaving Tavey and Hugo alone with Travis.

Before Tavey cleared the door, Allison turned and rushed him. She kissed his cheek. “Your man accosted mine. Turnabout is fair play. ”

A bark of laughter burst from Travis. It was obvious they had a good marriage. Still, Hugo covered his eyes. He was horrified. The pair looked deadass alike from the back.

Hugo dropped his hand.

Travis followed his wife still laughing.

Hugo stared at Tavey in horror. He didn’t know what to say or what had just happened.

Tavey shook his head as he closed the distance between them. “Looks like we’ll have to get married now.”

An unexpected laugh burst from Hugo. He was beyond horrified. “I barely got a word in beyond my name.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Tavey stole a kiss.

Hugo forgot how they ended up here. “You were gone when I got out of the shower.”

Tavey held out the box. “I got us breakfast. Since you’re technically on vacation, I wanted you to enjoy the entire Canadian experience. Timmies.”

Hugo bit his bottom lip, trying to stop smiling like an idiot. “Thank you. This is amazing.”

Tavey crowded his space. “So… you accosted my brother.”

Hugo blushed. He felt it happen and couldn’t stop. Goddamn, this man had him fucked up. Part of him wondered if he should run.

The way Hugo blushed gave Tavey life. Hugo’s open horror had Tavey fighting a bout of roaring laughter. Allison had grabbed his ass so many times, Tavey wondered sometimes if it was purposeful. He didn’t know what Hugo had done, but it gave credence to Allison’s mistakes. Also, to her credit, it hadn’t happened since they married and moved out, presumably since she recognized Travis’ outfit for the day.

Tavey couldn’t resist touching him. He set the box aside. His hands slid across Hugo’s bare sides. The air changed. Hugo wasn’t blushing any longer. His gaze filled with heat and cocky promise.

“I had to leave so I wouldn’t climb into that shower with you. You’re too much of a temptation.”

Hugo’s mouth lifted in one corner in a wicked smirk. “Like you said, I’m on vacation. I have time to do anything I want.”

“We could eat these donuts later.”

Hugo’s smirk grew. “We could take them upstairs and eat them now.”

God. He was just temptation on two legs. Tavey never got bored. With the lack of space between them, he felt Hugo’s erection grow and his phone buzz. Tavey gave him space.

“You might want to check that. It could be an emergency.”

“I doubt it.” Despite his words, Hugo pulled his phone from his pocket and eyed the device. A smile exploded across his face. Jealousy slammed into Tavey. They were dead. Whoever they were. Dead. Hugo belonged to him.

“It seems this guy from my team in the minors now plays for a Toronto league. He says he heard through the grapevine I was in town and wants to meet up for lunch.” He focused on Tavey. “Do you want to go?”

Tavey didn’t know how to feel. On the one hand, he didn’t know if this was only a friend. Hugo was so fucking sexual; it was hard to imagine him having anything the least bit platonic. On the other, he asked Tavey to go with him. Surely, he wouldn’t do that with someone he slept with.

As if reading his mind, Hugo shook his head. “Don’t look at me like that, chérie. We were on the same team. That’s all. Last I heard, he was engaged.”

Tavey’s shoulders relaxed. Hugo had no reason to lie. They weren’t a couple. He didn’t owe Tavey loyalty. “Sure. You might as well see your friend while you’re here.”

Hugo searched his face for a second, as if ensuring Tavey meant it, before nodding and typing on his phone. It immediately buzzed again. Hugo groaned. “He wants to meet at the same pizza place where we ate last night. Is this the only restaurant y’all have?”

Tavey laughed. “It’s a very popular place among locals. We like to show off our food. They have things other than pizza there.”

Hugo shrugged. “I’m cool with it if you are.” He typed on his phone some more. “Okay. Noon.”

Tavey cast a glance toward the clock. It was just after ten and it would take at least a half hour to get there. Technically, they still had time to go back upstairs.

“Hey, bro. Time to work.”

Tavey blew out a soft sigh at his twin’s drive-by words. He couldn’t complain. His father didn’t ask often. If he was sending Travis and him on an errand, that meant it was important. Someone owed a lot of money or encroached on his turf. He glanced over his shoulder. “Give me a sec.” He focused on Hugo again. “I’m sorry. It looks like duty calls.”

“Do you want me to postpone lunch?”

Tavey shook his head and dug out his keys. “My car is in the garage. Have fun. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Hugo nodded. “Okay.”

Tavey stole a quick kiss before turning away. His twin watched him, looking mildly curious. He bit back a sigh. Tavey knew what was coming before Travis opened his mouth. At least he waited until they were in the garage.

“Spill.”

Tavey tried keeping his tone bland. “There’s nothing to tell.”

His twin knew him too well. “Don’t give me that shit. You’ve never, not one time, brought anyone home. You know how Dad is. There’s no way you’d risk him meeting someone you’re not serious about.”

Tavey blew out a tired-sounding sigh but didn’t respond. He honestly didn’t know what to say. Tavey still didn’t know what was happening between them. He couldn’t say what possessed him to invite Hugo to stay.

“He’s on Storm’s team, right? I remember him from the wedding. ”

That seemed like a safer topic. “Yeah. That’s where we met.”

Travis waited to speak again until they were sequestered inside the black SUV with a dark tint that they always used for intimidation runs. The windows were bulletproof and there were several hidden weapons inside. “You know Dad will never let two sons move to New Orleans. He needs us here.”

“I’m aware.”

Travis pulled from the garage. “All right. As long as you’re going into things with your eyes open. This isn’t like Allison or Storm. They grew up around here. They knew what they were getting with us. This guy very obviously doesn’t. He asked why I was armed this morning when he thought I was you. Thankfully, the horror over realizing he had just grabbed the wrong guy shut down the conversation.” Travis shot him a quick glance. “That makes this one hell of a tricky situation.”

Tavey nodded, even though Travis no longer looked his way. “I’m aware.” Tavey didn’t know what to do except continue repeating those words. He knew all these things and had intentionally not thought that far ahead. They were just fucking. There was no reason for Hugo to know their business. Everything was good. No reason to panic. He rubbed his chest. Goddamn it. The more time he spent with Hugo, the more he wanted. Hugo was a true Cajun-country boy. He wouldn’t want to leave his hometown. Tavey didn’t know why he even had these thoughts. Not only was he unsure of what they were beyond fuck buddies, there was no way Hugo would accept Tavey as is. He was a nice guy. Nice guys didn’t mix with a mafia king’s family. Tavey couldn’t get out and wouldn’t even if he could. This was his family. It was all he knew. He was proud to be Len Cattaneo’s son. Invisible middle child or not, he wouldn’t trade his family for anyone else in the world. Tavey should give up the dream of Hugo. Each day, it looked less likely to happen. All those thoughts led to one conclusion. Tavey wanted more with Hugo.