Open Wounds: The Boxed Set

by Michelle Frost

  “You’re serious, aren’t you, Rory? About him?”

  “Kayla, I—”

  “Because,” she lowered her voice and stepped closer to him. “He really needs you to be.”

  Rory tilted his head. Gone was the jovial look of just moments ago and staring at him now was a concerned friend, with secrets burning in her eyes. Secrets he wanted. But he wanted them from Magnus. The confirmation, though, that there was something more eating at Magnus. Something lurking down farther under his skin, had Rory nodding. “I’m not going anywhere this time, Kayla. For as long as he’ll have me.”

  “Good. How do you like your eggs?”

  “Scrambled,” Magnus said, making Rory jump. He was standing in the middle of the hallway, maybe five feet away from Rory with his hands on his hips. “And he likes cheddar melted on top.”

  Kayla gave Rory one last meaningful look, then stepped away from him, moving around Magnus’s kitchen like she’d done it a million times. Walking to Magnus, Rory felt that same joy he’d woken up with flood back into his veins, and before Magnus could protest, he slipped his arms around him, squeezing until he nearly brought Magnus up off the floor. Magnus held on just as tightly.

  “What was that about?” Magnus whispered when Rory set him back down.

  “Oh, Kayla was just reminding me that she’d have my balls if I fucked this up.”

  Magnus hummed. “Did the threat work? Are your balls running for cover?”

  Rory walked forward, backing Magnus into the wall and sealing their mouths together. He kept the kiss brief, but poured everything he was feeling into the limited contact. He wanted Magnus to know exactly where he stood. “I don’t need threats. I know we still have shit to deal with, but I’m here, Maggie. I’m here.”

  A tiny grin bloomed on Magnus’s face, and he brought a hand up, running his fingers through Rory’s beard. “Good.” They watched each other a moment before Magnus kissed him again. “There’s towels under the sink if you want a shower, and there should be a new toothbrush in one of the drawers.”

  “Thanks, love. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  The coffee cake was worth it. It was soft and delicious and filled with some crumbly cinnamon and sugar ribbon that had him contemplating whether Magnus would stab him if he tried to swipe a second piece.

  “So this is an every Sunday thing?” Rory asked glancing from Kayla to Magnus where they were all situated at the island, half-eaten plates of food and coffee cups in front of them. Magnus sat between the two of them, eating coffee cake and looking like he was in heaven.

  “Yep,” Kayla replied, flipping the jet-black braid of her long hair back over her shoulder and reaching for her cup. As soon as they’d gotten to the business of cooking, Rory had stood back and assumed bread toasting duties while Magnus and Kayla moved in sync to whip up eggs, bacon, and some kind of deliciously spiced potatoes. “It’s kind of become our thing since Magnus moved back. Although...” she elbowed Magnus in the ribs, but her eyes stayed on Rory. Vivid, green, and calculating. He felt like he was being weighed and measured which until this morning, he’d never expected from Kayla. He’d had no idea she and Magnus were so close. “We’re supposed to text when one of us has company.”

  “I’m sorry, okay!” Magnus protested, mouth half full. “We fell asleep.”

  “Uh huh.” Kayla arched a brow at him. Ah. She expected Rory to freak out at the mention of Magnus potentially having other “company.” Regardless of the kick in the gut he felt at Magnus having stay all night company, Rory didn’t flinch away from Kayla’s stare and earned a little grin for his fortitude.

  Admittedly, the jealousy he felt over Magnus’s previous career and the thought of anyone else touching Magnus in general made the kind of red-headed temper he always denied having boil right to the surface. It was one of the things he’d sworn to himself he would change the night before he, Vidar, and Rocco snuck into the compound where Luca was being kept against his will. He’d done a lot of reflecting that night. There was something about the certainty of knowing you were about to walk into a truly dangerous situation to bring your perceptions of what was important into sharp focus, and at that moment, while true dark had settled around them, all he’d wanted was Magnus.

  The past had melted away, leaving the pure, relentless desire of his heart to speak to Magnus again. To see him. To tell him how very sorry he was. He’d picked up the phone, the voicemail he’d left a poor facsimile of the conversation he knew in his gut needed to take place, but it was all he’d had, and somehow it had brought Magnus back within in his reach.

  “Rory,” Kayla asked, leaning forward to see him around Magnus. “What are you going to be doing now with Harbor in Indy?”

  It was a legitimate question. He’d always worked for the gym and still would, but since he got back from Scotland after his mother passed, his main duty had been training Harbor. “I’ve taken over teaching Harbor’s Jiu jitsu class, and I’m doing private self-defense lessons. And since Vi offered that discount to any first responder or military personnel, we’ve had an influx of new members, so I’ve picked up a few personal training clients to help Vi and Dagen out.”

  “Did you text Vi last night?” Magnus looked up at him, sticking the last bite of his coffee cake into his mouth.

  “Yeah. He read it but didn’t respond.”

  Kayla’s eyebrows furrowed. “That’s not like him.”

  “Maybe he was busy.”

  Magnus snorted, then sliced off another thin piece of coffee cake. Before he got it to his plate, Rory reached forward and broke off a chunk and popped it into his mouth.

  Magnus gasped. “I can’t believe you did that! A man’s coffee cake is a sacred thing!”

  “Wait,” Kayla interjected. “What do you mean ‘busy’?”

  In unison, he and Magnus both shrugged and stuffed another bite of food in their mouths.

  “Fine. Keep your secrets.”

  After finishing breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, Kayla left with a wave and a wink and a promise to see them later. As the door closed behind her, Rory found himself standing across the kitchen from a quiet Magnus with no idea what came next. The stillness of the apartment felt strained in the light of day, and regardless of them agreeing to “try” the night before, the same awkward uncertainty that had plagued them for months stretched between them now.

  “So…” Magnus started, letting the word stretch.

  Rory nodded and stepped across the kitchen and into Magnus’s space. “So.” Lowering his head, he claimed Magnus’s lips the way he’d wanted to the night before. He pressed his tongue against the seam of Magnus’s until he yielded with a low moan, letting Rory in and kissing him back with the same fervor. Magnus’s mouth was hot and so, so sweet as his wicked tongue danced with Rory’s. Sucking in a breath, Rory pulled back to nibble at Magnus’s lower lip before using teeth and lips to work his way from Magnus’s jaw to the delicate skin of his throat.

  “Rory,” Magnus panted. “I don’t know if this counts as kissing.”

  Relenting, Rory pressed a gentle kiss to the spot he’d just been savaging and whispered against Magnus’s throat, “Do you want me to stop?”

  Magnus groaned. “No, b-but…”

  Rory lifted his head.

  “I really don’t,” Magnus said while his arms slid up around Rory’s neck, fingers carding through the hair at the back of his head. “But maybe we should.”

  Rory chuckled. “Your lips are saying one thing, love, but your body is saying another.” Tilting his hips forward, Rory pressed his own erection against the growing hardness he could feel in Magnus’s pants.

  Instead of creating the inferno Rory expected, Magnus seemed to sober, and while he didn’t pull away entirely, he moved his hips back an inch and clearer eyes than a moment before met Rory’s. “I can’t help the way my body responds to you, but…” Magnus licked his lips, eyes going downcast. “Is it okay if we wait?”

  There was something there in M
agnus’s eyes, in his voice, that had alarm bells pinging in Rory’s brain. He cupped Magnus’s face between his palms and tilted his chin up so he could hold his gaze. “Hey, look at me. Of course, it’s okay.”

  Magnus watched him, an earnest quality to his stare that stripped Rory to the bone, and instead of hiding, he laid his heart out for Magnus to see—in his eyes, on his face, with his body. Gently, he let his hands slide down until they wrapped around Magnus’s waist and pulled them back flush together, holding him tightly and pressing a kiss to the side of his head. This was a side of Magnus he hadn’t seen since they’d been together before, and just as it had then, that vulnerability cut into him, lighting up every protective instinct he had. It seemed even more acute now, and Rory wondered if something had happened or if all that pain he could see lurking behind Magnus’s eyes was his fault.

  “Magnus—”

  “I’m okay, Rory,” Magnus said, quietly, holding on to him just as tightly.

  Rory didn’t believe him. Not entirely. But then Rory wasn’t really okay either. He closed his eyes and let himself breathe Magnus in. They’d find a way to be okay together.

  Chapter Ten

  “That’s good, Luca. Remember to drop your chin before he gets his arm secured,” Rory said from his place on the side of the Jiu jitsu mat where Niko and Luca were practicing choke holds and how to get out of them. Rory had sessions with the brothers twice a week, and what had started as purely self-defense training had morphed into mini Jiu jitsu lessons. Luca wasn’t ready to take the regular Jiu jitsu class that Rory had taken over teaching after Harbor’s move, but he was turning into quite the little submission artist. It had crossed Rory’s mind more than once to ask if Luca might want to branch out even further with some boxing or kickboxing. All in good time, he supposed.

  He’d been afraid that after the busy week they’d had before, moving Harbor out and Dagen and Ollie in, that he’d feel lost this week. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. The week had mostly flown by in a flurry of personal training clients and texts with Magnus. They’d spoken every day since Sunday. If it had been solely up to Rory, they’d have seen each other every day as well, but he didn’t want to rush in like a bull, and Magnus was swamped with interviewing for new staff as well as the general running of the bar. But now it was Thursday, and they had plans for a late lunch together and Rory couldn’t wait.

  Despite their conversations, every day that Rory went without laying eyes on Magnus felt like a chance for Magnus to change his mind. Rory was still having trouble reconciling his past behavior with Magnus deciding to give him another chance. He knew Magnus cared about him. It was plain to see, but that little voice in his head saying that Magnus was struggling with something, was also saying that maybe Magnus had run back to Rory because he was familiar. Safe. Comfortable in a way, that as far as Rory knew, Magnus didn’t have with anyone else. And perhaps...convenient. He didn’t like that train of thought.

  He wanted Magnus to love him. Wanted them to be in love, not exactly like they were before, but even better than, with new understanding and a deeper, more cultivated sentiment. He wasn’t looking for short term anything. This was long haul material, and he was here for it. Now, he needed to show Magnus that, and he was going to start by taking him to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant he’d found that served a colcannon almost as good as his mum used to make.

  “Like this?” Niko asked, drawing his focus back to what was happening on the mat.

  “Close,” Rory said, stepping onto the mat and dropping down to his knees beside them. “Let me show you.” Niko moved back to watch, and Rory shifted into position, but stopped before he touched Luca. The first time he’d demonstrated a move for Niko on Luca, Luca had gone into a full-blown panic attack and nearly passed out before Niko had been able to coach his brother through, getting his breathing back under control. Rory had felt like absolute shit, but once Luca had settled, he’d hugged Rory tight and told him it wasn’t his fault. There had been a couple close calls since then, but they’d all gotten used to training together, and Luca was getting stronger every day. “Luca?”

  “Go ahead,” Luca said, nodding, and moving so that Rory could easily put him in the hold. They went through the motions several times—Rory placing Luca in the hold, and Luca breaking out of it before switching places with Niko.

  “And here I thought I’d find you crying into your water bottle, but it looks like you hardly miss me at all.” Harbor’s voice had Rory’s head snapping up and a smile splitting his face.

  Rory hopped up off the mat and embraced his friend before stepping back and offering his hand to shake. Harbor looked good. Happy. There was a calm about him now that had never been there before, a self-assurance that had Harbor carrying himself a bit lighter. Theo had been good for him.

  Harbor exchanged greetings with Niko and Luca before glancing around the gym and looking back at Rory. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this busy in here.”

  Rory nodded. There were people working out in every area. Dagen was coaching several people on various cardio machines. Vidar was running a group through heavy bag punch drills. And in the free weights, two of the newest gym members, a set of twin brothers taller than Dagen at six-foot-eight towered over basically everything. They were powerlifters and new to the area, and Dagen was thrilled to have some guys around that were on his level.

  “It’s a combination of New Year’s resolutions and the new military and first responder discount. A lot of CPD officers have moved their training here.”

  “That’s awesome,” Harbor said, bumping Rory’s arm. “It’ll keep you out of trouble.”

  Rory let his voice take on a wistful softness that he knew would get Harbor’s attention. “Oh, I think your brother is going to do a fine job of that for me.”

  Harbor’s eyes snapped back to his. “Are you serious?”

  A silly grin broke out on Rory’s face a second before Harbor grabbed him and squeezed until Rory heard his back pop.

  “Holy shit, that’s awesome! Wait, does everyone know? Why didn’t you call me!”

  Rory laughed, disentangling himself from Harbor’s hold. “It only just happened this past weekend, and we’re taking things slow. But I’m hopeful. It feels like a step in the right direction, anyway.”

  “I’m going to kick Magnus’s ass. I cannot believe neither one of you called me.”

  “Please don’t, I’d hate to have to fight you.”

  Harbor laughed. “Yeah, I don’t want that either. I’ve got to be able to walk to get in the cage with Matheson in a few months.”

  “Have they given you a date?”

  Harbor shook his head. “Not yet. It won’t be before summer, and if I had to guess, I’d say it’ll probably be on their big Labor Day Pay-Per-View card, but who knows.”

  “That’ll give you plenty of time to prepare. You going to be up for fighting Theo again after you smash Gregor?”

  Harbor’s grin turned wolfish. “Oh yeah. He knows I’m coming for him.”

  Rory chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s crazy to me that it works, but I’m so glad it does.”

  “Me, too. And speaking of work.” Harbor glanced around. “I found you a project, but now I’m wondering if you’ll even have time.”

  Rory furrowed his brow. “What project?”

  “How would feel about training another fighter?”

  Rory actually glanced at Luca before he could stop himself. He and Niko had kept going with their practicing, going through the moves and holds Rory had already shown them today, and giving him and Harbor some privacy to talk. Harbor caught where his eyes had gone and raised a brow.

  “Really?” He asked, watching as Niko continuously attempted to apply a choke hold to Luca, only for Luca to slip out of it.

  Rory stepped a bit closer and lowered his voice. “Yeah. I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but he’s got a bit of a knack along with the determination and the work ethic. There’s definite potential there.�
��

  Harbor pursed his lips, nodding. “Think you’ve got room for another one?”

  “Starting from scratch?”

  Harbor laughed. “No. Come on.”

  Rory told Niko and Luca to take a break and he’d be right back before following Harbor through and into the attached tattoo shop, Open Wounds. Sitting in the waiting area were Theo, Ollie, Kayla, and Andre Harrison.

  “Hey, Rory, it’s good to see you,” Theo said, climbing to his feet, gripping Rory’s hand, and pulling him into a back-slapping hug.

  Rory genuinely liked Harbor’s boyfriend and not just because he’d been a fan of Theo’s fitness and fight training videos long before they’d ever actually met. Theo had turned out to be a truly good person, a fighter with a champion’s heart, and honest in his love for Harbor. Rory respected the hell out of him. “It’s good to see you, too. How was Vegas?”

  “It was Vegas. We had a good time. Saw some good fights and speaking of, Rory Wilson, meet Andre Harrison.”

  Andre stood up off the couch and offered his hand. He was a good-looking guy, strong jaw, dark hair, and blue eyes. There were still bruises littering his face from the beating he’d taken from Matheson, but his eyes were clear and full of determination.

  Rory gripped his hand. “It’s good to meet you, Andre.”

  “And you, Mr. Wilson.”

  Rory chuckled. “No need for that, lad. I might be older than you, but I’m not that old.”

  Theo gripped Andre’s shoulder, but looked at Rory. “Andre here is looking for a top-notch trainer that can get him fight ready, but will also listen and work with him. He wants to be part of a team.” Theo glanced at Harbor. “So we told him we knew just the trainer and just the place.”