Page 36 of Breaking the Ice

Gavin was already here. Shirtless. Back turned to Zach. AndGod, what a back it was. Firm with muscle, wide shoulders sloping down towards his trim waist.

He turned, and Zach hoped he’d managed to rearrange his expression into something that wasn’t him panting like a dog in heat.

Hayes had reminded him—and he’d reminded himself—that he was going to need to be patient, but right now the last thing he felt was patience.

“Hey,” Gavin said. “I grabbed an early workout and I know we said nine, but I’m here, and you’re here . . .”

“I wanted to get started too.” It was good that Gavin felt the same way he did. They were going to lead this team, and Zach thought he’d never wanted anything more.

Okay. Well,almostanything more.

“You took care of all the equipment,” Gavin said warmly. “Thanks.”

“Hayes comes in handy.”

Gavin still hadn’t pulled on a shirt, and the front view was even worse than the back. Zach felt his tongue must be hanging out; his crush—and hisboner—showing.

How did someone who’d spent the last four years in the middle of fucking nowhere have honest-to-Godabslike that? Zach wanted to lick them up and down. Jerk off on them.

Finally,finally, Gavin pulled on a shirt, though it didn’t help much because it was a clingy underlayer, so tight Zach could still see every ridge of muscle.

“Bet he does,” Gavin shot him a weird look. “Are you going to get ready?”

Oh Jesus, he’d just been standing here, completely fucking useless andstaring, hadn’t he?

Fantasizing about jerking off all over Gavin. Even doing that, without Gavin touching him, might be the best sex he’d had in years.

Zach flushed. “Uh, yeah. Of course.” Getting naked in a locker room was something he’d done for so many years, it shouldn’t mean anything. But that had been then, and this was now, and it didn’t matter how many times he’d stripped down in front of his then-coach, it was entirely different to do it now, at twenty-seven.

He shucked his clothes quickly and efficiently, trying not to think about it. Trying not to look up even once, to see if Gavin was looking.

Hewouldn’t,of course. Even if Zach wanted him to. Even if Zach knew he had nothing to be ashamed of.

“Ready to go?” Gavin asked when he was dressed.

Zach glanced up, and Gavin’s gaze was warm and his face a little flushed.Hadhe looked? Well. Now Zach almost wished he’d caught him doing it.

“Yeah, let’s get out there,” Zach said.

Zach wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it, only glancing out of the corner of his eye as he led Gavin out onto the rink. They looped around the ice in slow, careful swaths at first, just warming up.

Hayes always told him it was like riding a bike and that had been true for Zach, and it seemed now it was true for Gavin.

“Feeling good?” Zach said as they came to a stop by the goal.

“Yeah, actually. Feels great.” Gavin was smiling now, wide. “I didn’t think . . .I didn’t think I’d ever have this again. Didn’t know if I . . .well, you know.”

Zach wasn’t sure hedidknow, and actually he wanted Gavin to tell him. But maybe the most important thing was that Gavin himself knew.

“Yeah,” Zach said. Patted him on the back in the most bro-y,hey I’m your ex-player and now your assistant coachway he could. “Good to have you back.”

“Can’t be as good as it feels tobeback.” Gavin sighed happily. “You wanna shoot some pucks?”

Zach wasn’t ever going to say no to that.

He grabbed his stick and a bucket of pucks and headed out, doing a more involved warmup, the way he used to before games.

Gavin continued making slow-ish laps around the ice, staying out of his way, but clearly keeping an eye on what Zach was doing.