Traded (Nashville Grizzlies, #1)

by Carly Marie

“Trev, listen to me. Whatever’s in your bag isn’t going to freak me out. I’m a gay man. My dad owns a BDSM club. Do you really think that there is anything you could say or do, shy of committing a crime, that would surprise me?”

I growled into the pillow and felt the bed dip. The pillow was pulled from my face and Easton’s face was way too close to mine as he spoke. “Doms do not pout.”

“Money for thoughts?” Yuri’s thick Russian accent was difficult to miss, but the absurdity of what he’d said was what really pulled me away from the conversation happening a few feet away from me. “What?” He waved his hand around. “You look like you need to poop.” My blank stare made Yuri huff and call over to Seth, who quickly excused himself and jogged toward us. When he was near, Yuri pointed to me. “Brax does not understand. I ask, money for thoughts.” Seth snorted a laugh. “Yuri, bud, that isn’t Brax, that’s your butchering of American sayings. It’s a penny for your thoughts.” Yuri pursed his lips. “That saying is stupid. Penny is cheap. Thoughts worth more.”

Words weren’t enough, so I pulled him toward me to kiss him firmly. When we finally pulled back, Trevor was flushed, though I didn’t get the impression it was from embarrassment. “What was that for?” “For telling me that you feel safe with me. That’s a huge honor. Come on, let’s go to the shower and we can talk more.”

His words had left my heart pounding with something way more than fondness or adoration. It was a new feeling, one I’d never experienced but knew exactly what it was. I was falling in love with Braxlyn Cernak. Burying my head against his shoulder, I kissed his neck, letting his happy hum fill me with warmth. “I think I’m starting to fall for you.” I’d whispered the words, but by the hitch in Brax’s breathing, I knew he’d heard them. He squeezed me closer. “That’s okay. I fell for you when I was twelve and you barely knew I existed. I knew you were it for me way back then and it hasn’t changed. Every time I thought about dating someone, I thought of you, and they never compared.”

I’d just settled myself in the recliner where I could see Trevor easily when Easton leaned forward, hissing in a voice that was almost too quiet to hear and nearly too fast to make out. “Tell me. What the hell? I told you that you needed a boy! You said you found one, but Trevor Cane? Fucking hell, Cernak, now I know why you’ve been so cagey lately. I also need more details! Like every single one of them.”

Forgetting where we were, I laid my head on his bicep and grinned up at him. “I do.” Brax adjusted slightly to squeeze me to his side. “Tell me what you’re coloring this time.” My mouth opened but the sound that came was not my voice. “You two are very close.” “Yuri, leave Trevor and Braxlyn alone. They do not want you to bother them,” Igor said, his Eastern European accent thick but his English not as broken as Yuri’s.

Yuri stuck his tongue out at his best friend. “If they did not want to talk, they would not sit so close and shoot eyes with love.” Igor shook his head. “Yuri, stop with the English sayings. You kill every one of them.”

“They aren’t going to bite.” “I’ve been checked into the boards by your dad before. It’s not his bite I’m worried about.”

Pulling back just enough that I could make out his beautiful eyes, I ran a finger down his cheek. “I love you, Trevor. I love you as my boyfriend, as my little, as my friend, as my teammate. I’m so happy you gave me the chance, trusted me enough to give you this.”