warrior was on his last leg by the time we killed all of them.
"That seemed a lot better," David said. "You were more evenly matched."
"It was great. I can tell you spent a lot of time tuning it," I said, knowing most of his learning experience as a DM had come from building combats, having us test them, then tweaking them to be more engaging.
He was a lot better at it than I was. In my other group I fudged the numbers a little bit to make it more engaging, but with David's I usually had to have some tricks up my sleeve to add or remove challenge from any particular battle. David meanwhile was brutally efficient, aiming for an even exchange of health every encounter so that the party was forced to take a rest after to recover.
"Now we'll do the ogre," he said, gathering his notes.
"Let me go check on the pizza first."
I pushed my chair out and headed into the kitchen. Reuben followed me in, so I wasn't surprised when his arm looped around my waist and he pressed his lips to the back of my neck, moving up to nibble my ear. I shivered, suppressing a moan.
"That's a good way to have burned pizza," I warned him.
"A little char never hurt anyone."
I swatted at him playfully, though I did also turn around in his arms and give him a proper kiss. It lingered a little longer than it should, the taste of the peach iced tea he'd been drinking still on his lips.
With all of us living together, we had to be quieter about it and had to confine our... activity to the bedroom mostly, but Reuben and I still found plenty of occasions to continue exploring each other's bodies and interests. Even after a year together, none of it had gotten old. I was looking forward to making some new discoveries tonight.
"Any word on whether or not Ruth's going to show?"
David's DMing debut was happening on his birthday, just like Reuben's had a year before.
"Yeah, she'll be there. She's bringing Heather."
Since divorcing Marcus, Ruth had taken the opportunity to explore who she was and who she wanted to be. That included her sexuality, which she proudly embraced as being bi now. Meeting Heather had only confirmed it.
"Oh, good, I'll finally get a chance to meet her," I said, grabbing a potholder and opening the oven door. "I'm pretty sure Keith is coming. I don't know about Brendan. You've got that meeting with the ethics board, right?"
"Yeah, the day before. He's gotten really invested in all of this. I think it'll fuck him up pretty bad if we can't get some justice for Ty, so I'd say he's a maybe depending on what happens."
I frowned at that, removing the pizza quickly so I could turn my full attention back to Reuben. During the start of the regular season, Ty was pushed into starting despite complaining of pain. One hit had rendered him immobile, and for a month now he'd been laid up at Shand's, unable to feel enough sensation in his legs to walk.
It'd hit Reuben hard, but seemed to hit Brendan even harder. They both felt like they'd failed him and had immediately pressed for a hearing with the ethics committee.
"I can't imagine them not admitting the school was completely negligent," I said, "but..."
"Yeah. Money makes the world go round. We'll see."
I stepped forward, looping my arms around his neck as his folded about my waist. Brushing my lips against his, I murmured, "Whatever happens, I'll be here. Whatever you need. Always."
"I know," he said, resting his forehead against mine. "I know I've said it before, but I don't know what I'd do without you."
It was always nice to hear that, but the truth was, Reuben had done just as much for me as I had for him.
"Good thing you won't have to find out, since I'm not going anywhere."
"You'd better not," he said in a teasing voice.
I kissed him again, running my hands over his shoulders before I drew back. Grabbing the pizza cutter, I sliced it evenly into eight pieces as Reuben fetched the plates.
"Ready to get absolutely destroyed by David's ogre?" I asked with a grin, holding one of the pizza-laden plates.
"Beats having rabies from some random wolf."
I laughed, heading toward the door. "Don't be so sure of that."
Making our way back to the table, we took our seats, ate our pizza, and enjoyed exactly three rounds of brutal combat before David's ogre wiped the floor with us.
It was definitely worse than some random wolf, but with encouragement from Reuben and I, David tweaked it. We kept playing late into the night, and when he was finally satisfied, we headed off to our room to enjoy some activity that was just a little more vigorous than rolling dice.
About the Author
Alison Hendricks is devoted to creating contemporary M/M romances that are sexy and emotionally satisfying. She loves making her boys work for their Happily Ever After and believes love stories are better with just a little angst thrown in.
Born and raised in Florida, Alison has always had a passion for writing, and romance novels of all kinds are her number one escape when life gets a little too hectic.
Subscribe to Ali’s mailing list for a FREE, exclusive short story:
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/plkwlx4o6z
Connect with Ali on Facebook or via email
alisonhendricksauthor
Also by Alison Hendricks
Hidden Creek
Ache
Mistletoe
Rescue
The DADcademy
Help Wanted
Hold Tight
Trial Run
Caldwell Investigations
Salvation
Savior
Eastshore Tigers
Strong Side
False Start
Trick Play
Offside
ESC Mavericks
Roughing the Passer
Unnecessary Roughness
Glen Springs
Final Stretch
Last Bell
Break Free
Standalone Titles
Business as Usual
Rivals