The Athlete

by Elin Peer

  I rubbed my face and groaned a little.

  Hunter lowered my hands to see my face. “Be honest.”

  Lifting my head, I looked over to see that Mila and Jonah were gone.

  “Mila is showing him to the bathroom; they left just before I woke you up.”

  “Okay.”

  “You might as well tell me the truth about why you made love to me because I won’t back down until you do.”

  “It’s complicated,” I breathed.

  “Did you plan it?”

  “No.”

  “Did you want it to happen?”

  I searched for the words and ended up rambling: “I’m embarrassed to admit it but the things that Mila and Jonah talked about yesterday, you know, about being grounded and confident… I guess you’re not the only one who is immature enough to feel jealous. I never planned for us to be intimate together, but then you went to the sex club and the thought of you being with someone else just made me miserable. I came to talk you out of it, but by the time I showed up you’d already entered the room with her.”

  Hunter didn’t interrupt as I rambled on.

  “Cole said that it would be mean of me to interrupt you while having sex and the only thing I could think of was to take her place, except I knew that you wouldn’t do it if you knew that it was me since you were always talking about the fear of falling in love. This way, however, you would never have to know that it was me.”

  “Breathe, Ema. Just breathe for a second.”

  “If you knew, then why didn’t you say something?”

  “Because I was confused about your motive.”

  “My motive?”

  “I like you, Ema, but I need to protect myself if this is just fun for you.”

  When I didn’t say anything, Hunter asked in a soft voice, “Is it just fun for you?”

  I covered my eyes with my hand and sighed. “I have nothing to compare this to. I’ve never felt this way about anyone and I’ve never behaved the way I do when I’m with you. But when you talk about marriage and family…” I shook my head. “I’m a soccer player. Getting pregnant would ruin my career.”

  “You’re not going to be a soccer player forever, you said so yourself.”

  “True, but… I don’t know, Hunter, none of it makes sense to me. I just know that when you’re close and when you touch me I don’t want you to stop.”

  Hunter leaned in and kissed me. “I feel the same way.”

  He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “I know you need time but can you at least promise me that you won’t fight falling in love with me?”

  “But what if I don’t know how to do that?”

  Hunter let his thumb trail down my jaw and took a deep inhalation before answering, “Just keep an open mind. Maybe you’re already in love.”

  Voices became audible just before a door opened and Mila and Jonah came out on the rooftop terrace. It made me sit up and stretch my arms in a yawn. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

  “Yeah. I did, thanks. Where did you two go?”

  “I had to check in on my dogs and Jonah was kind enough to help feed them breakfast.”

  Jonah smiled. “I also needed to use the bathroom.”

  Hunter got up and stretched his body. “I’m hungry.”

  “Then let’s get some breakfast. After that, we can find some rooms for you.”

  “We just need two. One for Jonah and one for me and Emanuela.”

  Mila, who had been folding the blankets, turned to look at Hunter. “You want to share a room?”

  “Yes. We’re roommates in the Motherlands for a reason. Living with Emanuela is supposed to teach me how to be comfortable around women. I don’t think management would like it if we didn’t follow through on the plan.”

  Mila tilted her head and changed her focus to me. “You want to share a room with Hunter?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  Placing the blanket in the drawer under the chaise lounge, Mila took a minute before she spoke again. “Okay, then follow me.”

  Five minutes later we walked into an opulent dining room full of people. Khan, Finn, and Magni were sitting at the end of a huge wooden table with twenty-two chairs around it. Athena was standing by the breakfast buffet helping her daughter decide what to eat.

  “No, honey, we don’t eat these types of sausages. They have animal meat in them. Look, don’t the berries look delicious?” The girl reached for a sausage but Athena was quick and picked her up. “Ooh, look, sweetie, the cook made croissants. I’ll bet he knew you were coming.”

  “Ah, good morning,” Khan greeted us. “Come join us.”

  Pearl looked up and smiled. “How good to see you again. Help yourself to some breakfast, it’s all very informal here.” She had to raise her voice to overpower the children at the other end of the table.

  Khan shouted to them. “Hey, boys. If you have to argue, take it outside. We can’t hear a thing down here.”

  “Mom, Mason says that Aubri is stronger than me and that’s not true.”

  Athena gave her son a sympathetic smile. “Honey, you’re a peaceful Motlander while she’s a warrior of the North.”

  Athena’s son pinched his brows together and looked like he was about to cry. “Dad, tell Mom that’s not true. I’m a Northlander too, ain’t I?”

  Finn leaned over the table. “You’re the best of two worlds, Frederick. Strong enough to beat anyone but wise enough to know how to resolve your problems without violence.”

  Frederick turned to a large boy with red hair. “See! My dad says I’m right. I’m strong enough to beat anyone.”

  Mason lifted his chin. “Prove it!”

  “Did you not hear the part about being smart enough not to fight?” Finn asked but the two boys and Mason’s twin sister Aubri were pushing back their chairs. It set off a domino effect of two younger boys following suit. One of them looked just like Frederick so I assumed he was Finn’s youngest son, and the other looked to Pearl for permission.

  “You can go too, darling.” Pearl smiled at the boy, who couldn’t be more than five or six years old.

  “Put on your safety gear if you want to fight,” Magni shouted after the kids as they ran out the door. “And no playing with weapons until one of us is around, do you hear me?”

  The French door slammed shut without an answer from the children. It made Finn laugh and slap Magni’s shoulder. “At least your soldiers listen to you.”

  Magni shifted in his seat. “Your boys are a bad influence, they have no respect for authorities.”

  Finn grinned. “I didn’t see your kids stop to listen either.”

  “At least it’s quiet now.” Khan nodded to a girl who sat with her head in a book. “Freya dear, would you mind keeping an eye on Thor for us?”

  Laura walked over and caressed the girl’s long hair. “Keep an eye on all of them, will you, sweetie? You can bring your book. Just come and tell us if one of them starts to bleed or if any of them uses dirty tricks.”

  “How would I know if I’m reading?”

  “Can’t you look up once in a while?”

  The girl pushed her chair back and left with a sigh.

  “That girl lives too much in her head.” Laura looked at Pearl and Khan. “She’s smart as a whip but you need to restrict her time reading. It’s all she does. I invited her to come run with me this morning and she said it was boring.”

  “Running is boring.” Pearl smiled and clapped the seat next to her. “Come sit with us. You too, Athena.”

  Athena shook her head. “I’m just going to keep an eye on the children from here.” Moving to the window, she set down her daughter. “Honey, go and sit with Daddy for a while.”

  Linea looked cute when she came over with her plate.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Finn told her when a slice of apple fell on the floor. “The dogs will eat it.” With a kiss on her hair, Finn settled the little girl in on his lap.

>   “So, how long did the party last?” Laura had taken a seat next to Pearl.

  “Oh, I think we were back here around two or something.”

  Magni was playing with his fork. “Did we miss out on anything?”

  “Just dancing and talk around the bonfire.”

  “It was such a beautiful wedding.” Pearl’s eyes met mine. “Didn’t you think so?”

  “Yes. Absolutely magical.”

  “I can’t wait for Mila’s wedding.”

  “You’re getting married?” Jonah gaped at Mila. “To whom?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  Magni pushed out his chest. “Mila’s wedding will be the biggest event the Northlands have seen for at least a decade. Men are saving up to take part in the tournament and I’m going to be the proudest father alive.”

  Jonah blinked his eyes. “You’re having a traditional tournament?”

  Mila’s eyes darted between him and her parents. “Yes. That’s the plan.”

  “What’s the plan?” Tristan asked as he and Salma entered hand in hand. She looked gorgeous, and I straightened in my chair a little. Coming to the Northlands had been such an adventure and here I was eating breakfast with celebrities I’d seen in the media endless times.

  “We were just talking about Mila’s wedding.” Finn smiled at Tristan and Salma.

  “Oh, right. Did you set a date yet?” Tristan was filling his plate at the buffet.

  “No. First I have to be twenty-one. There’s no rush.”

  I was trying to make eye contact with Jonah but he was still staring at Mila with a look of utter disbelief. I didn’t blame him. It was hard to understand why someone born in the Motherlands would partake in a barbaric and violent tournament.

  Athena tapped her knuckles on the window in quick succession. “Put that down!”

  “What is it?” Laura asked.

  “Frederick is chasing his little brother with a stick.”

  Magni turned his head. “So?”

  Athena spoke with patience. “He first picked up some dog poop with the stick and then he chased his brother.”

  The men chuckled but when Athena raised a brow, Finn swallowed his laugh.

  “Do you want me to go out there?”

  “No, it’s fine, he saw me in the window and put the stick down.”

  “Mila, you need to control all your dogs,” Khan reprimanded. “I don’t want dog shit in my garden.”

  “Finn, what is Linea eating?” Athena’s eyes bulged as we all turned to watch their little daughter chew on a sausage.

  Hunter moved his plate out of the girl’s reach. “My bad, she must have grabbed it when I wasn’t watching.”

  “Oh, relax. It’s just a sausage and the child loves it. We have much more important things to discuss today.” Khan swung a dismissive hand and began giving out orders. “Hunter, I need you to call your sister and find out when the newlyweds will be here. Finn, as soon as Solo arrives you will do a swab on him, and you can do Magni’s test with him right now. Jonah, I know you want to spend time with Pearl and me, and we’ll be happy to answer any question you have as well as help you optimize your political agenda.”

  Jonah and I exchanged a glance. We’d never experienced someone so shameless in the way he ordered people around. There was no “please” or “if you wouldn’t mind.”

  Finn put Linea down and stood up with a smug smile. “Thank you, my friend. No one is better than you at curing my homesickness.”

  We all looked at him.

  “In the Motherlands I miss meat and alcohol but then I come here and as soon as you two start ordering me around, I’m so grateful I don’t live here anymore.”

  “You loved living here.” Khan got up too. “And last night you admitted that you miss me and Magni.”

  “Did I?” Finn scratched his beard before placing a hand on Khan’s shoulder. “I might have, but then I was pretty drunk last night. Either way, I’m not doing any test until I’ve lost a few pounds.” He smacked his belly and walked out of the room with a laugh hanging in the air.

  I was curious to know if Solomon and Magni were related, and I didn’t understand why Finn needed to lose weight when he looked more than fit in my eyes. With disappointment in my voice, I turned to Hunter after Finn had left the room.

  “That’s too bad. I was hoping we could get a result today. How long do you think it will take him to lose weight?”

  Hunter saw my confusion and placed his hand on my thigh under the table. “Finn was just saying that he needed to use the bathroom, that’s all.”

  “The bathroom?”

  “Yeah, you know, to empty himself.”

  I felt stupid and wondered if everyone else in the room had known what Finn was referring to, but it helped when Jonah leaned over. “Hunter, you have some strange sayings here.”

  “It’s not really a saying, it’s more like Finn’s humor.” Pushing his chair back from the table, Hunter turned to Mila. “I could use a shower. Where are those rooms you talked about?”

  Mila popped a last grape in her mouth and emptied her glass. “Let me show you.”

  As we left the dining room, Hunter whispered in my ear. “Is your offer to shower with me still open?”

  CHAPTER 22

  Shower

  Hunter

  I was digging my own grave, and I fucking knew it.

  Emanuela might be everything I wanted in a woman, but to mistake her curiosity for genuine love for me was beyond naïve. I had once made the mistake of interpreting Alice’s interest in me as something more, and it had scarred me forever.

  I should be smarter than to repeat my mistake, but Emanuela was like a drug to me.

  When I first moved in with her, I’d convinced myself I would be strong enough to be satisfied by a small daily dose of her closeness. She had seemed safe because I’d been sure she wasn’t interested in me as anything but a teammate. Now, a small dose would never be enough for me. I wanted to snuggle up with her all night and reach out and touch her throughout the day.

  “I could give you rooms closer to ours if you want, but with my dogs and all the children, you’ll have a quieter sleep in this part of the house.”

  “This is excellent, Mila. Thank you.” Emanuela smiled.

  “Great. Jonah, come on. Your room is just two doors down. It has a beautiful view of the park just like this room.”

  The two of them walked away but I called after them. “We’ll find you in an hour or so. Emanuela and I are just going to shower and meditate first.”

  Jonah looked back over his shoulder. “I’m happy to hear that you meditate.”

  “Of course. Every day.”

  Mila grinned and bumped Jonah’s shoulder. “I’m more happy to hear that he showers now. Back when we went to school together he and all the other boys smelled like skunks.”

  It was rare to hear Mila joke like that and I couldn’t help smile when Jonah rewarded her with a heartfelt laugh. I closed the door and turned to Emanuela.

  “So?”

  She stood by the window but turned to face me. “So?”

  “You want to join me in the shower?”

  She shifted her balance and put a hand to her collarbone. “We still don’t have any protection.”

  I shrugged and pulled off my shirt.

  “Hunter, did you hear me?”

  “Uh-huh.” Opening my pants, I looked at her. “You always say that it’s not a big thing to shower together.”

  Her eyes followed my every movement as I stepped out of my pants and removed my socks. I was naked now and her eyes widened as she took me in.

  “You okay?” I walked over to stand in front of her by the window. “You Motlanders are supposed to be comfortable with nudity, so why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

  “I… I…” She cleared her throat. “I’ve never seen you naked.”

  “No. But you’re the one who said that a body isn’t that interesting. It’s just a body. Everybody has one,
remember.”

  “Right, but…” She took a step closer and lifted her hand to touch the trimmed hair on my chest. “None of the other men have hair on their chest or…” Her eyes lowered down across my hard abs and stopped just below my navel. “There.”

  “You mean my happy trail?”

  “Happy trail?”

  “Yes, this line.” I let my finger slide over the hairs leading from my navel to my crotch.

  “Why is it called a happy trail?”

  I smiled. “My guess is that when a woman follows that trail down, it makes the man happy.”

  Emanuela had a playful gleam in her eyes that excited me. “Showering with you won’t be like showering with anyone else.”

  “I hope not.” Taking her hand, I led her to the bathroom, where I helped her undress before we entered the shower together.

  “Turn around,” I whispered into her ear and when she did, I trailed a finger down her tattoo. “This is so fucking sexy.”

  Emanuela leaned her head to one side, leaving her neck open to me. I took the invitation and trailed kisses up her soft skin to her jawline before nibbling at her earlobe.

  “You know I want to fuck you, right?” My voice was raspy as I whispered into her ear.

  “I guessed that much from your thing poking me.”

  “It’s not a thing, Ema, it’s a proud cock and you know how good it feels when it’s inside you.”

  She gave a deep exhalation with a sweet moan on the end. “I’m not going to deny that, but I can’t risk getting pregnant.”

  “No one ever got pregnant from oral sex, I think.”

  “You want me to…” Emanuela turned around and leaned her head back to meet my eyes. “I’ve seen it done, but I’ve never…”

  “Neither have I.”

  When Emanuela bent at the knees like she was about to kneel down in front of me right now, I grabbed her upper arms and stopped her. “Let’s just wash each other first.”

  I never knew the act of lathering someone with soap could be this erotic. My hands traveled everywhere on her body and she welcomed it. She had no body hair from her neck down, not even pubic hair. When I was done washing her, she did the same with me.