Page 27

DAMIEN

SATURDAY

F riday was a bust. Since Finn was gone and Ethan called in sick, I cancelled the training session.

I figured I’d let the guys get a long weekend in and then we’d get back to it full force on Monday.

I was also thinking of myself when I decided to cancel.

This way, I didn’t have the temptation of Silas around me all day.

Bad enough I could barely sleep or eat.

There were times when I wanted to text him and cancel our plans for tonight, but every time I picked up my phone, I couldn’t do it.

Was Selwin right? Would this thing between me and Silas burn itself out?

If so, was there any point in worrying? It would probably be over in a few weeks, like summer, and then everything would go back to the way it was.

I didn’t believe that, but I was clinging to any rationale.

I’d already stressed cleaned my entire house from top to bottom, made my bed with fresh sheets, and scrubbed out the grill.

Silas hadn’t texted me at all today, which was making me even antsier.

Yesterday, he’d sent me more sexy pictures and each one had me so worked up, I was taking cold showers every couple of hours.

There was a snap of him lying in bed, showcasing all the tattoos on his chest and abs, along with that mouth-watering treasure trail.

In another pose, he was standing in what I assumed was his bathroom, offering me a delectable glimpse of his broad back and that incredible ass.

But it was the first pic, the one of him riding that dildo, that I couldn’t unsee.

I’d started jerking off to it, imagining my cock in his tight hole, fucking him deep and slow and then pounding it so hard I’d leave his ass red for days.

It took every ounce of willpower I could summon to stop myself so I wouldn’t climax.

I didn’t know how much more edging I could take, and it was all my own doing.

My balls were harder than hockey pucks, and I was pretty sure I was ready to spontaneously combust even though that was not a real thing.

Or was it?

I was sweating so much it felt like I was standing in the desert in Vegas, instead of the mountains in Vermont.

In the afternoon, I took a break, grabbed a sandwich, slathered myself in SPF, and wandered down to the dock at the base of my property.

I sat down at the edge and slipped my feet in the water.

The lake temperature was frigid but in another month it would be perfect.

In my mind, I tried to picture what July would look like, and funnily enough, Silas was still there.

That told me a lot. More than I was prepared for.

After an hour, feeling more relaxed, I made my way back up to the house. It was nearing on seven. I picked up my phone and noticed one missed message.

Silas: On my way.

The nerves in my belly took flight and my pulse shot up. Fuck, it was like the first time I ever hit the professional ice, overloaded, excited, in awe that this was happening.

Instead of standing by the door waiting like a lovesick fool, I made myself busy in the kitchen, grabbing a couple of beers and coolers and adding them to a bucket of ice. Then I pulled out the snacks, and when all of it was organized, wiped my still-sweaty palms on my shorts.

I was about to bring everything outside when I heard the knock at the door. I could’ve slipped on a T-shirt but decided against it. My heart took off running again, and when I opened the door, there was the reason.

“Do you ever not wear leather?” I quipped when I took in the sight of Silas, looking cool as ever in olive green cargo pants, a tight white T-shirt, and his motorcycle jacket.

With his hair tied up, his sunglasses on, and the beard trimmed, he was giving off a sexy biker vibe that had my dirty imagination working overtime.

“Do you mean the jacket or something else?” He gave me a wicked grin and placed his hands on his hips.

My gaze followed his hands, lower, and suddenly I was dying to know what he was wearing underneath those pants.

“Are you going to flirt with me or are you coming inside?” I demanded, unable to hold back my grin.

“I’m definitely coming, and the flirting will continue,” he stated and shoved his sunglasses up to rest on his head. “I want to kiss you right now but in case of neighbors?—”

They were a good enough distance away but still, you never knew. I nodded and it was only then that I noticed the two bags at his feet.

“Instead of burgers, I grabbed a few steaks,” he added and picked up the bags. “Steaks, salad, and dessert.”

I offered to take one of the bags, but Silas refused.

“Let me help you.”

“Nope, I got it,” he insisted and carried the bags into the kitchen, placing them on the island. “I’ve got a few more things to grab from the truck. You unload the food while I do that.”

“Wait,” I replied, and Silas stopped to stand in front of me. “You forgot something.”

I pulled him into my arms and took possession of his mouth, kissing him with all the frustration that had been riding me.

I’d been aching to touch Silas, and now he was finally here.

And given the passionate way he kissed me back, I wasn’t alone in my desperation.

His lips and tongue teased mine and we made out like horny teenagers, Silas pushing me up against the counter, taking control of the kiss. Fuck, I more than liked that.

“Don’t move,” he whispered and gave me one last kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

I grabbed the edge of the granite counter to steady myself as I watched him walk away, his hockey swagger in full effect. Taking a deep breath, I reached down and adjusted my aching cock, which was begging to be released from these shorts.

After taking a long, shuddering breath, I reached for the bags with shaky hands and began to unpack the groceries.

The steaks needed to be seasoned, so I left them on the counter, then I placed the salad kit and the key lime pie in the fridge, and the bag of fries in the freezer.

I wasn’t hungry right now. Not for food. Cooking would happen later. Much later.

When I turned around, Silas was standing behind me, an uncertain look on his face. I wasn’t surprised to see him holding his backpack, since he was, after all, planning to spend the night.

No, what shocked me was the bouquet of sunflowers he held in his other hand.

That was a first. I’d given plenty of flowers to my ex, but I’d never in my life received any.

Not that I expected it. Not that I needed that.

Still, Silas’s unexpected gesture made my heart clench in a way that I wasn’t prepared for.

He didn’t a say a thing and I didn’t either.

Our eyes locked, and I swallowed hard, trying, but failing, to calm my runaway heart, desperate to put all these heady feelings about him into words.

Silas placed the flowers on the counter and the bag on the floor, and stalked towards me, crowding me back against the counter. He cupped my face and leaned in, resting his forehead against mine, his hot breath teasing my lips.

“Too much?”

I shook my head.

“No,” I replied and slid my hands down to cup his ass, bringing him in closer. “Not at all. But you are one surprise after another, Silas Moss. There goes my playbook. I have no idea what to do next.”

“Let’s start with a kiss.” He smiled against my lips. “Everything else we’ll figure out together.”

Silas

What possessed me to buy flowers for Damien?

Who fucking knew. I’d never done that for a man before.

To be fair, I never needed to. I was closeted for so long, and I had no desire to date.

Also, it wasn’t in me to make that kind of romantic gesture.

I didn’t need or want… romance. I had a hard time summoning the word, never mind saying it.

But then I found myself in the checkout line of the grocery store, and the bright sunflowers caught my attention.

I reached for them before I even had a chance to question it.

And driving to Damien’s, the flowers on the seat beside me, I realized that I was behaving so out of character that I had to blink twice when I looked at myself in the rearview mirror.

Talk about a total mindfuck.

Damien wasn’t the only one skating into the unknown; I didn’t have a playbook when it came to him either.

I was running purely on instinct. There was something about the man that kicked all my primal impulses into overdrive.

I knew that I would do anything to get in his bed, and I’d be damned if he was going to look anywhere else but at me.

It turned out, I was ruthless in this, too.

I wanted to mark him all over because he was mine.

And, even more shocking, I wanted him to claim me in return.

Which is why, not a second after I put down those flowers, I had my hands on him.

And my lips.

“Baby.” Damien moaned when I backed him up against the island and ravaged his mouth.

We made out like we hadn’t kissed in months, never mind days.

There was a desperation to our coming together that I still couldn’t wrap my head around.

It reminded me of those nail-biting games when the clock ticked down, and there was only one goal that separated us from a win.

You could taste victory, so heady, so close, and when it finally happened, it was the most incredible high.

When we lost, though, I didn’t like the bitterness that lingered.

I thought winning and losing was always about hockey, but suddenly it was about Damien.

I knew one thing for sure: I didn’t want to fuck this up.

“Hey,” Damien whispered and cupped my face, staring at me. I had a feeling that he knew exactly what I was thinking. Probably because I was gripping him so tight I’d leave bruises. “You all right?”

“More than all right. You?”

“Never better.” He smiled.

I couldn’t resist this man or his gorgeous grin.

“I want to see your bedroom, Damien.”

He licked his lips and swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

“This is real, right?” He groaned. I felt a shudder run through his body, and yeah, he wasn’t the only one asking that question. “Please tell me I’m not dreaming.”

I kissed him soundly, then gently nipped his lower lip, teasing him.

“I’d rather show you.”

Taking my hand, he guided me through the kitchen to the back of the house.

His bedroom was as cozy as the rest of the place, with two skylights that flooded the room with sunshine, and a king-sized bed covered in a navy and white striped quilt.

It was all too easy for me to picture the two of us in that bed.

My cock grew so hard in my pants that it was almost painful to walk.

Suddenly, I was nervous as fuck. I wasn’t new to sex, and yet I was sweating hard, like this was the first time I’d ever been with a guy.

Damien, observant man he was, turned and gave me a look I recognized from practice. The one that asked me if I was okay. Sometimes players pushed too fast, too hard, and that’s when injuries happened. Mistakes that can’t be undone.

Me and him? We were breaking the rulebook on so many levels.

No, not that. Rewriting it. There was no play for this and no going back.

But being here with Damien wasn’t a mistake. I was anxious, but that was only because I wanted to please him. For once, it was all about his pleasure, not mine.

“We don’t have to—” he started and then paused, seemingly at a loss for words himself.

Damien assumed my silence meant I was uncertain about him.

“I know,” I whispered, feeling exposed, like I’d laid bare all my secrets. “It’s not that. I got overwhelmed for a moment. This, you and me, it’s fucking intense. Unexpected. Wild. Maybe a little crazy.”

“A little?” He squeezed my hand. “If it’s too much, maybe we should stop. Stop before it’s too late.”

“Do you want to do that?” I asked, terrified of his answer.

“No,” he replied without hesitation.

I finally let out a long breath as I glanced at his bed and then back at him.

“Then I’m all in.”