My king-sized bed was not built for three men who wanted to keep some space between them, but after Nikki’s great escape, this was the only option. In the middle of the two smaller men didn’t suck as much as I figured it would. Nikki had his back towards me laying on his good side, and Dion had wrapped himself around me in a way that had his breath fanning over my back. He kept wiggling against me, and he had his cold toes tucked under my calves. 

Nikki wiggled in front of me, groaning and sitting up. He mumbled something and went to stand up. “No. Stay seated.” I hissed from behind him. 

He paused and looked back at me and looked around for the crutches. But Dion had taken them away last night and put them up so he couldn’t escape. 

“Ugh. I have to pee,” he whined, and I moved away from Dion, waking him up as well. Standing up, I grabbed Nikki and carried him to the bathroom. He cried out when I set him down and he put the bad leg on the ground. 

“Nikki, no. Don’t put weight on that leg.” I said, reaching to lift him off that leg again. 

“Ngh. Shut up and hold me up.” He snapped, and he was trembling. I was positive he was in a lot of pain. Slipping my arms under his armpits, I held him up as he peed. He leaned back against my chest, and I could see his eyes shining in with tears. 

“Dion, will you grab Nikki some of the pain medication that Alessio gave you?” I hollered, and Dion came with a syringe cap pulled off and an alcohol pad in hand. Dion lifted Nikki’s shirt, and down his boxers, and wiped a spot on his bum before he used the needle like a dart and pushed the plunger. He fixed Nikki’s clothing afterwards, and I lifted him back up and to the bedroom. 

Setting him on the bed, he grunted at me. “You set me down on the needle spot.” 

“Forgive me, that was an accident.” I said and pushed his messy hair out of his face. He wrinkled his nose at me and tries to bite me. “Now, that’s not nice.” 

He frowned at me and grabbed my wrist. He looked a little annoyed. “Sit.” He said, and he patted the bed beside him. Nikki climbed into my lap and set his head on my shoulder. “Nikki?”

“I’m fine. I’m just trying to get comfortable,” he said. 

“Are you still in pain?” I asked. 

“A little, but nothing unbearable. The pain medication really helped.” 

Dion came out of the bathroom at that moment and one of my black towels hung low on his hips. Nikki had his attention on Dion, too. He smiled a little sloppily, before he muttered. “Thank you for this meal.”

He watched as Dion moved to the bag on the floor and pulled out a change of clothing. He dropped the towel and pulled on his boxers. “Kylian. I want to lick him dry. I’m thirsty.” Nikki said softly, his voice just above a whisper. 

“Alright.” I muttered, looking at Dion, calling his name just before he pulled a shirt over his head. “Before you pull that on, Nikki has asked that he be allowed to lick you dry. He is thirsty.” 

Looking down at Nikki, his eyes were wide, and a blush was on his cheeks. “I let him know. That was what you wanted, yes?”

Dion seemed pretty amused. He came over and grabbed the water bottle on the nightstand and took a long sip before he came as close to Nikki and me as he could. He grabbed Nikki’s face and pressed their lips together, sharing the mouthful of water with him. Nikki looked dazed after Dion pulled back, and excess water ran off his chin. Reaching out, I swiped the water away, so it didn’t dampen Nikki’s t-shirt. 

Looking at my phone, Nikki still had loads of time before Meadow came to visit him, and I wanted him to rest more. Dion seemed to have that in mind for Nikki, too. He fixed some pillows and the blankets and instructed me to put Nikki in the spot, and I did, much to Nikki’s dislike. 

Despite him being unhappy about being put back into bed, he was out like a light the next time I went to check on him, less than ten minutes later. Taking a deep breath, I looked him over again before leaving my bedroom and heading out to the main area where Dion was relaxing on the couch, his phone in hand. 

“What are your plans for the day?” he asked, looking up from his phone. 

“As far as I know, at this moment, I have some training before I come back for when Meadow comes. I’m going to push Alessio and Maddox to allow Nikki, you and I move to his place. There’s more space there, and he can stay with his daughter. Unless you would prefer to stay here if you’re worried about his daughter.” I said and looked at him to gauge his reaction. 

“That is definitely a good idea. Having his daughter back around him would help him feel more comfortable, and less rushed to get healed faster. Good thinking.” Dion said and ran a hand through his hair, before he looked at me again. “So, Kylian. You know Nikki’s daughter, right? What is she like? I mean, I only saw her in passing.”

“She’s cute. Well spoken, and probably far beyond what she should be for her age. But she’s happy with Nikki. To her, her father is her entire world.” I said, and smiled softly, recalling Meadow covered in blue and green paint. 

Dion nodded, “Ok, so she will be easy to speak to. Anyway, don’t let me keep you if you need to get to training.”

“I should be back in an hour or two at most. Food is in the fridge. Help yourself to anything you need.” I said, before going to my room and looking at Nikki for a few minutes before grabbing my gym clothing and heading to the bathroom to change.  

In my gym clothing, I left Dion and Nikki to round up the guys, but could only locate Fox. He laughed, as he was tying up his shoes. “Sasha and Ilya asked them to look after something small.”

“Alright, guess it’s just us then.” I said, and he nodded. 

Heading to the gym, Vito and Ilya were in the ring doing some hand-to-hand combat, and Ilya looked exhausted, but that was nothing new. Vito pushed him relentlessly on training days. But he also went the extra mile to look after his special little psycho. Ilya slipped out of the ring when he spotted Fox and me. 

“Good, I was hoping to run into you. How is Nikki today?” he asked, and there was a softness on his face that seemed to be reserved for those he only cared about. 

“He is a little grumpy because of the pain, but otherwise, he is good. At my place with the doctor, sleeping off his pain medication.” I said honestly as I stretched my arms over my head. 

“What do you make of this so-called Doctor?”

“Ilya.” Vito called his name in a warning tone.

“I think he is good at his job and is the reason that Nikki is even alive. So that should be proof enough. At face value, he seems trustworthy, but only time will tell that.” 

Fox took that moment to decide to speak. “Eh, Kylian’s biased. He is staying there with Nikki and him, and they have for sure fucked.”

“How would you know that, hmm?” I asked Fox, and he chuckled uncomfortably.

“You give him bedroom eyes, my dude.” Fox said, before patting on the shoulder and heading off to the weights.

“Correct me if I’m wrong here, Kylian. But I thought Nikki and the new doctor were something. Most normal people don’t just drive into a den of tigers if they don’t like someone more than a friend. Or is this a Theo, Demitri, and Luca deal?”

“Honestly, I don’t fucking know Ilya. I don’t even know what to call this entire thing.” I confessed, and Vito actually chuckled. 

“I’m sure at some point it will be defined, and you will understand more. I wouldn’t rush to label it anything, though.” Vito said, and shrugged, “But that’s just my two cents.”

He grabbed Ilya by the arm and pulled him over to some of the equipment to get a further workout in. Looking around the gym, there were a few too many people here for my liking. Given the day and time, the pool was bound to be empty, and I could get a good swim in without too much hassle. 

Heading to the pool, I stripped down in the locker room and tossed my things into a locker. The pool was empty, and the air smelled heavily of chlorine. Slipping into the deep end of the pool, the water was damn cold. But I honestly wasn’t surprised, only when there was snow on the ground did we willingly run the heater. After a hard workout, a piss warm pool just sucked. 

Adjusting to the water pretty quickly, I completely submerged myself before I started doing laps across the pool. I wasn’t all the fond of others looking at my burn scars, hence why I was working out here and not in the gym. 

Holding my breath, I swam to the bottom of the pool and pushed myself until my lungs burned, and I had to return to the surface. 

“Told you he was here.” I heard Nikki say, and I looked up at the door. Dion stood there with Nikki on crutches at his side. Just what the hell were these two up to? Nikki was supposed to be resting.