Page 29 of Full Body Hit, Part 2 (Alpha Omega Hockey #6)

AUSTON

A uston was fully aware he was being a creep as he stared at Chase while the Omega slept.

He’d been doing it off and on all night, waking up with a jolt, heart racing, skin sprinkling with anxiety.

He’d peer into the dark hotel room wildly, searching for an intruder, but everything was still and quiet.

The previous evening had been…intense. He got the impression Chase thought that kind of stuff was normal for Auston, but he’d never felt so fucking feral in his life.

He kept imagining Chase split open by the plug, ready for any Alpha who passed to fuck inside, and it made him burn, brain melting under the heat of his instincts.

They’d never really discussed doing something like that. The way Chase had struggled, the way Auston had kept pushing, sinking his cock and his teeth into Chase like his body was Auston’s property to do as he wanted with…it had been pure impulse.

They should have talked about it beforehand. Auston would have, if he’d known what Chase had been planning—if he’d predicted how it would affect him. But Chase had the excuse of youth and inexperience.

Auston should know better.

Chase had a good time. Despite the lack of scent telling him so, Auston was sure of it. The kid had hit subspace like he’d never seen anybody do, muscles going limp, giving himself over to Auston so beautifully it almost hurt to think about it now.

Subspace and the aftermath of subspace were two very different things, though. Auston felt sick with the dread of Chase waking up and being discombobulated. Of being harmed somehow, of having this memory of Auston taking advantage of him and—

Auston took a breath. He was spiralling. He knew he was spiralling. He just didn’t know how to stop the catastrophic thoughts from spinning in his head like the blades of a goddamn helicopter, slicing through everything as they took flight.

Auston snorted at the visual. That was just dumb as fuck. Jesus, he needed to sleep.

He lay beside Chase again, stuffing his nose in the Omega’s hair and wishing desperately that he could be comforted by a steady scent.

Instead, he was pacified by the rhythmic beat of his heart, the way his breaths were deep and even.

The kid had slept soundly the whole night—surely that was a good thing, right?

Unless Auston had hurt Chase badly enough that he needed to heal from it somehow, mind shutting down to save him from the pain of remembering.

Auston squeezed Chase closer. Fuck, it was fine . Chase had been smiling when he fell asleep. He just needed to—

Auston tensed as Chase shifted in his arms. The Omega mumbled something sleepily, and Auston was too slow to catch what it meant even though he should be paying more attention. Maybe it had been important. Maybe Chase had been asking for something vital. Maybe he was dehydrated or sore.

“Daddy?” Chase said, voice swollen with sleep.

“Morning, baby,” Auston whispered. He was surprised at how normal he sounded.

Chase turned and cuddled into his chest. Auston hoped Chase couldn’t hear his heart slamming into his ribs.

Chase smacked his lips a few times and then yawned, jaw cracking. “What time is it?”

Auston peered at his phone. “It’s only seven thirty.” They’d gone to bed early, and team breakfast wasn’t until nine, a light practice due after. They’d nap, eat again, and go into the Tulsa Tornadoes’ arena for the game.

Just another day, if only Auston’s body got the memo and calmed the fuck down.

“Oh, yay.” Chase sighed. He stretched over Auston, groaning at what had to be some aching muscles. “Jesus. I feel amazing.”

Auston froze. “Yeah?”

“Fuck. That was crazy last night, I can’t believe we fucked in a public bathroom.” Chase was giggling. He didn’t sound upset, but Auston’s heart lurched anyway.

“I, uhm…we should have probably talked about it before. Sorry I just jumped you.”

Chase raised his head, frowning. “Are you kidding? That was, like…the greatest sexual experience of my life .”

Auston swallowed. Somehow, that didn’t make it any better, as if he were conning Chase into thinking that. “I’m glad you liked it, baby. But definitely…you know, I should have made sure it was something you really wanted beyond the moment.”

Chase sat up, and Auston had to breathe through the panic at the sudden distance. Jesus, what was wrong with him? He needed to fucking chill.

“Okay…” Chase said. “But. I mean, we set the safe words.”

“Yeah, but we were already pretty much in the scene, so.”

Chase was full-on pouting. He shuffled forwards, hands cradling Auston’s face. “Are you okay?”

Auston swallowed. “Yeah. Just. Wanna make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m totally okay. So if you’re still not feeling good, maybe it’s actually you who didn’t love what we did last night?” Chase’s expression fell by increments—his mouth, his eyebrows, the corners of his eyes.

“No, baby, I was…I was feeling it. It’s just something I wish I’d been more responsible about.”

Chase looked at him for a long moment, searching Auston’s face. “Do you trust me?” he asked eventually, voice light and soft.

“Yeah. ’Course I do.”

“Okay. I trust you too. I feel like that’s what made yesterday okay?

We’re not strangers. We’ve been talking for months about this kind of stuff.

And I know we didn’t cover this particular scenario, but…

you know what I enjoy. I know what you enjoy.

You’re not giving yourself enough credit—there is no way you would have attempted that if you didn’t know I was literally asking for it. ”

Auston huffed, but the crushing pressure on his chest lifted a little. Chase trusted him, even after the previous night.

Auston nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“I promise that if we ever do anything I even slightly dislike, I’ll say yellow at a minimum, okay? So we can stop and check in.”

A little more relief washed through. “Okay. Yeah, that sounds good.”

After another beat of just watching Auston, Chase lay down again, draped over the Alpha’s chest. “I really did have such a good time. You were…so great.”

Auston rubbed Chase’s back, letting that sink in. He felt exhausted suddenly, but not exactly in a bad way—it was the feeling of finishing a good shift, filled with lactic acid but happy about his performance.

“We still have an hour before we have to get ready for breakfast…let’s nap, huh?” Chase suggested.

Auston was already going under, the tension that had kept him captive all night draining away.

***

Auston was beginning to wonder if he was smart enough to begin a business venture or if being obsessed with only hockey for three decades had atrophied his brain to everything else.

Mark seemed to know what he was doing, though. He was in contact with people who were familiar with the corporate side of launching a youth program—how sponsorships worked, how to involve the local community, how it would integrate with local and national competitions.

They’d begin with something specific—sponsored summer camps that would draw attention, and then they’d expand into year-long programs if everything went well.

Auston was excited. He found himself thinking about how to structure lessons—which skills were foundational, what stuff kids needed to know about hockey that wasn’t just the stuff to do on the ice.

Mark and Auston started attending some after-school lessons, watching how the teachers worked, taking notes. It had been a very long time since Auston had worked at developing skills that felt so new.

Auston liked his team, of course—he might be new to the Spirits, but he’d melded in well since he’d actually put effort into opening up.

He couldn’t forget the fact that those bonds were temporary, though.

Except Chase, he didn’t think he’d stay in contact with a lot of the guys—it was just how life went.

Mark, though—that relationship had both a history and a future. He felt settled when they were together—finally, something that wasn’t going to be suddenly ripped from under him.

“So,” Mark drawled one day after another meeting, Auston driving him home. “You gonna introduce me to your new boy soon or what?”

Auston glanced at him with narrowed eyes. He’d barely spoken about Chase to Mark, for no other reason than Mark was as bad with the probing questions as Auston’s sister. He knew the moment he gave in, Mark wouldn’t be satisfied until Auston spilt every fucking detail.

“Come on,” Mark teased at Auston’s expression. “Why not? Chin-sun wants to meet him too. We can do a double date.”

“It’s new,” Auston protested. “Give me some time to settle, would ya?”

There was a pause. “I dunno, man. You say it’s new, but I’ve never seen you stare at your phone like you do lately. I think you’re a goner for this guy.”

And there was the reason Auston wasn’t saying anything.

He just didn’t want to have a conversation about how down bad Auston was.

He needed to fucking pace himself or risk going too far too quick.

There was a hunger inside him for Chase that rumbled all the time, a sort of bloodlust that Auston didn’t want to fucking think about.

Chase was so fucking young. The courtship should be long. He had to give Chase time to grow up and see if this was really what he wanted. He didn’t want Mark to take one look at him with Chase and realise Auston’s teeth fucking ached with the need to bite down and—

Auston shook that thought off. Nope. It was way too soon for that.

“Chill out,” he grunted. “He’s not going anywhere.” Hopefully.

Mark hummed. “Well, that’s good to know. Glad your days of chasing Omegas away is over.”

Auston rolled his eyes. “Dick.”

Mark laughed, scent bright, the absolute asshole.

Auston practically kicked Mark out of his car when they reached his apartment, driving away with a sarcastic goodbye. He was tired by the time he reached his own home, glad to hear Chase doing something in one of the rooms as Auston emptied his pocket and hung his coat.

“Baby?”