Page 16 of Barn Burner (Love The Game #2)

Brayden

We secure the win in Edmonton, and then we’re heading straight to the airport to catch our flight to Vancouver ahead of our game tomorrow.

The regular season is now underway, and I’m looking forward to putting last season behind me.

I only played one of the preseason games, using the time to focus on my strength and conditioning.

Plus, the preseason is the perfect time to allow a few of the prospects from the farm team to try and earn their spot on the roster.

There are still a few guys out on injury reserve following surgeries they had in the summer, too, but the games went well.

I have a good feeling about this season.

The only downside is I haven’t had nearly enough time as I’d like to speak to Jesse.

He’s had a busy few weeks with trail rides, and I’m back in my sleep routine, so it’s almost been like we’re ships passing in the night, sharing texts and occasionally jerking off together over video call, but I didn’t realize just how hard it would be to be away from him.

How can someone come to mean so much to you in such a short period of time?

How can everything change within the space of four weeks?

The urge to tell him the truth about me playing in the NHL is higher than ever, especially now as I’m riding the high of our win.

I want to share this with him. I want that safe landing during both the highs and the lows.

Because I have no doubt there will be some lows.

The media are being kind to me right now, but for how long?

I need to find the courage to tell him when I next see him, which I’m hoping will be soon because I’m craving the taste of his kiss again. Desperate to feel his body against mine. Dying to feel the deep rumble from his chest reverberating through my veins.

Even more so since he sent me a photo of himself earlier when I arrived at the arena ahead of tonight’s game.

His clothes were completely soaked through from the rain.

I could see the shape of his muscular pecs and the hard bead of his nipples poking through his shirt.

My mouth salivated as filthy thoughts filtered through my mind about all the ways I could strip him out of those wet clothes and warm him back up again.

I wanted to text back with a selfie, perhaps losing my own shirt, but I didn’t find the time or the privacy with my teammates milling around.

Now it’s been burning a hole in my pocket, fingers itching to text him back. Maybe lick the photo on my phone screen and pretend it’s his body.

Okay, maybe I won’t do that because that would definitely raise some questions with my teammates, but I plan to stare at it, then dream about all the things I want to do to him when we’re together again.

Storing my duffel bag in the overhead compartment, I drop down into my usual window seat and pull my phone from my pocket. It’s late, so the chances that Jesse’s still awake are slim, but I don’t want to wait another minute.

Sorry it has taken me forever to respond to this, work has been so busy and I’ve only just stopped.

First of all…

HOT DAMN! fire emoji hot face emoji drooling emoji eggplant emoji water droplets emoji

Fuck, the things I’d do to be there so I can strip you naked and warm you up with my mouth.

Okay I should stop with the multiple texts because this is probably going to wake you up. If it does, I’m sorry! If it doesn’t, yay! I’ll speak to you tomorrow. I miss your sexy face.

I stare at my phone, waiting for his response.

The flight attendants announce the doors are closed and it’s time to depart, but the texts remain unread.

I guess I’ll have to set my alarm so I can catch him before he leaves the house in the morning, because I don’t think I can go another day without hearing his voice.

My alarm goes off a few hours later. We didn’t arrive at the hotel in Vancouver until 1:00 a.m., and it feels like my head has only just touched the pillow.

Without opening my eyes, I roll over and pick up my phone from the bedside table to silence the alarm.

I don’t need to be down for the team breakfast until 10:00 a.m., but I want to catch Jesse before he heads out for the day, and with Vancouver being an hour behind, it means an early wake-up call for me.

Opening the call log on my phone, I click on Jesse’s name and hit the Video button. It only takes two rings before the screen lights up, and Jesse’s sleepy face appears. He’s in the kitchen, sipping on a cup of coffee. The only light is coming from above the stove, bathing him in a soft, warm glow.

“Brayden? What are you doing callin’ me at this time?” The deep rumble of his voice instantly makes waking up at the ass crack of dawn worth it.

“Wanted to speak to you,” I murmur around a yawn. “Wanted to see you.”

“It’s early. I’m about to take a shower.”

“Take me with you.”

The corner of Jesse’s mouth hitches in a smirk. This isn’t the first time we’ve showered together over video call. He even bought this in-shower rack that sticks to the wall so he could prop his phone on it.

We’ve had to get creative, and while it isn’t a substitute for the real thing, it’s been a hell of a lot of fun watching Jesse lose his mind because he can’t touch me.

And I love to tease my grumpy cowboy.

He drinks the remnants of his coffee and places the cup in the sink before heading into the bathroom. He flicks on the bathroom light, and I squint at the brightness of my screen.

“Are you in bed?” he asks, resting the phone by the sink. He pulls down his pyjama pants and reaches a hand behind his head to remove his T-shirt.

“Mhm,” I hum, trailing my eyes over his gorgeous body. “Fuck, I miss you.”

“Miss you, too,” he replies, and my eyes follow his hand as he gives himself a slow stroke. “Turn on the light. I want to see you.”

I stretch across to press one of the multiple light switches on the wall beside the bed. The light by the door comes on first, so I turn that off and try the next one. That ends up turning the large main light on, and I let out a groan.

“Bloody hell, why are there always so many light switches?” I quickly turn it off again, and the third one turns on the LED lights behind the bed. That will do the trick. It gives enough lighting that Jesse can see me, and judging by the smirk on his face, he likes what he sees.

“What?” I ask.

“Did you just put on the sex light?”

I tilt my head slightly to look at the red glow coming from behind the headboard. “The sex light?”

“Yeah. The ambient lights behind the bed always have that sexual vibe to them.”

Grinning, I wiggle my brows. “Good thing I’m about to have the wank of a lifetime while talking to my super-hot cowboy boyfriend, then.”

The word slips out of my mouth without a second thought.

My eyes widen as panic laces through me, my heart rate picking up speed.

We haven’t had the conversation about what we are.

We haven’t discussed labels. The only thing we’ve said is while we’re doing this, we’re exclusive, and in my mind, that means he’s my boyfriend.

Maybe that’s naive of me. I’m not exactly the most experienced when it comes to this kind of stuff. I’ve probably gone and put my foot in it now.

“Boyfriend, eh?” Jesse growls, and I don’t miss the way his cock twitches in his palm.

“I mean…” I clear my throat nervously. “If you want?”

Please say yes.

He reaches inside the shower and switches the water on, then turns back to the phone.

He braces his hands on the countertop, like he’s bracketing me in, and leans forward.

His hard cock hangs heavy between his legs, his arms providing the most erotic frame.

His long, dark hair creates a curtain around his face, making his blue eyes pop even brighter under the bathroom light.

His voice comes out in a deep rumble that causes goosebumps to erupt across my skin when he says, “Boyfriend. Partner. Whatever you want to call me is fine by me, because as I’ve told you before, Brayden, you’re mine. In every sense of the word.”

A shiver travels through my body, and I reach down to palm my growing erection.

“Now, get naked, Brayden. It’s time we got a little wet.”

I scramble to strip out of my boxers as he picks up the phone and steps into the shower.

He sets it on the small shelf in the corner.

The angle stops at his knees, giving almost a full-body view.

I rest mine against the other pillow, bending my knee to give him a better view while I jack myself and play with my balls.

“Touch yourself,” I beg.

Slowly, he arches a brow, a devilish smirk playing on his lips as he squirts shower gel into his palm and begins rubbing over his chest in circular motions. “Someone’s feeling bossy, considering the sun isn’t even up yet.”

“ Jesse ,” I whine. “I miss you, okay? I miss you. And your gorgeous face, and your sexy body, and your big cock.”

He snickers, then his face softens with a smile. “I miss you, too, Brayden. All of you,” he says earnestly, but then the soft smile disappears. His jaw becomes lax, a low groan spilling from his lips. My eyes drift down to where his hand is roughly fisting his cock.

“Oh, God, yes, Jesse,” I gasp, my own hand picking up speed. “Imagine it’s my hand. No, imagine it’s my mouth. Pretend I’m on my knees and you’re fucking my mouth.”

He curses, eyes rolling to the back as he gives a slight shake of his head. “Your mouth, Brayden.”

“Yes, imagine you’re fucking it.” I let go of my balls and suck my fingers into my mouth, getting them nice and wet before reaching down to my hole.

I trace my fingers around my sensitive hole.

I don’t have any lube with me, but just the teasing caress and pressure around my rim is enough to have me gasping for air.

“Are you close?” Jesse growls. He’s moved closer now. One hand is planted against the tiled wall, the other hastily pumping his cock. His biceps bulge, and I just want to lean in and bite them, sink my teeth into his skin and mark him.

“Yes,” I moan, easing one finger inside while I continue to jack myself.

“Be a good boy and paint those pretty abs with your come for me, Brayden.”

It only takes hearing those two words fall from Jesse’s lips to tip me over the edge.

Pleasure courses through me. My toes curl into the mattress, eyes rolling to the back of my head.

My muscles clamp around my finger, and I moan loudly as my orgasm hits.

Hot spurts of come land on my stomach and chest. I stroke myself until my cock becomes too sensitive to touch.

Jesse’s pleasured groan echoes through the phone, and I open my eyes just in time to watch him unravel. His body goes taut as he spills over his fist. My tongue darts out, licking over my lips. I can almost taste him. I’m so desperate for him.

We stay like that for a few moments, locked in a heated stare, both of us breathing heavily as our lungs work hard to regain our breath.

“I need you. Soon,” I admit, not caring anymore if I scare him off with how needy I am for him. “How soon can I see you?”

Running his fingers through his damp hair, he pushes it from his face and steps back underneath the spray.

“I’ll try to come to the city this weekend.”

I have a game on Saturday, but I could make it work. I don’t have another game for three days, so except for practice and training, I could spend all my time with him.

And I’ll tell him the truth this weekend about my career.

It’s the last thing holding us back, and if he knows the truth, it will make things easier. We can make arrangements around both of our schedules, and I won’t have this guilt gnawing away at me anymore.

Yeah, I’m scared about his reaction, but it’s the risk I’m willing to take because I don’t want anything getting in the way of us.

After the call with Jesse, I managed to fall back to sleep for a few more hours, then headed down for breakfast with the team.

We did a light workout in the gym, and then I had my pregame nap before heading over to the arena.

There’s a nice rivalry between the Calgary Bobcats and Vancouver Vikings that’s been around for decades, so I always find these games more fun.

I always get a kick out of scoring goals on the road in front of other teams’ fans, but there’s something immensely satisfying about scoring goals in front of rival fans. They hate it, and I fucking love it. Their hatred fuels me and only makes me want to wind them up more.

But between players, it isn’t always the rivalry people expect it to be.

During warm-ups, I skate over to the bench and grab my bottle to quickly squirt some water in my mouth before I head to the centre line, where Vancouver Vikings defenseman Jay Brookbank is waiting.

After I took part in the photoshoot for Queervolution magazine, there was a group chat set up for us out—and some not out—athletes to keep in touch and have this safe zone where we all had something in common.

While Jay wasn’t a part of the photoshoot, or out, he is a member of the group chat. He’s a good guy, and we always make sure to check in with each other whenever we’re in the same city.

And I like to make sure I always score on him because I’m nice like that.

“Hey, mate, you alright?” I ask, holding my fist out for a bump.

He knocks his hand against mine, and the corner of his mouth hitches in a small smile. “Yeah, all good, thanks. How are you doing? Ready for us to kick your ass?”

I scoff. “Dream on, Brookbank. More like you’re the one who’s in for an ass kicking.”

He rolls his eyes, but he takes my ribbing in stride. “Did you have a good summer? After the whole… you know? You went radio silent in the group chat to the point you had Cosmo concerned.”

I did have to let them know I was alive, but I didn’t tell them where I was, what I was up to, or anything about Jesse. Only Jude and Cody know, and until I tell Jesse, I want to keep it that way.

“Yeah, it ended up being a lot better than I was expecting. How about you?” I ask, and then the sight of the newest goaltender for the Vikings snags my attention. “Oh! How’s the new tendy?”

Jay spares a quick glance over to where Marek Myers is going through his stretches and lets out a disgruntled noise.

“Fucking peachy,” he replies, his tone dripping in sarcasm that makes me grin.

“He might as well have a halo above his head. At least he’s good for interviews because I hate that shit. ”

I press my lips together, trying to bite back my laugh. “Preach. Send the poster boy to the wolves. I like it.”

We fist bump, and then Jay skates off, collecting a puck on his stick and sending it sailing toward the net.

I skate over to my usual warm-up spot and drop down onto the ice to run through my series of hip flexor stretches and allow myself to wonder what Jesse’s doing right now.