Page 31

TREV

I had a rare day off from all things hockey, and the boys were with Bryan, so I spent it being as lazy as humanly possible.

I slept in. I spent a solid hour scrolling my phone in bed.

I indulged in a late breakfast delivered from a nearby café.

There wasn’t a lot of downtime like this during the regular season, so I made sure to take full advantage.

I wished I could’ve spent it with my kids, but I tried not to dwell on that. They’d be back soon.

Even while I had a lazy day, I did still like to keep up on my workouts, so I spent some time in my home gym.

Nothing too strenuous, of course. A good run on the treadmill, some low-intensity weightlifting, and maybe another twenty minutes on the bike.

Then I could figure out what to do with the evening.

I was maybe fifteen minutes into my twenty-minute run when the stairs creaked. I bit back a curse; Cam was coming in, wasn’t he? And I doubted he was just here to ask me a question or something.

I was right—he was wearing shorts and sneakers and carrying a towel, which meant he was here to work out.

Oh God. Do you have any idea how distracting you are like this?

I didn’t say a word, though. We exchanged smiles as he got on the elliptical beside the treadmill I was on, but neither of us spoke. As he got started, I stared straight ahead, focusing on the yard, the windows, a spiderweb in a tree—anything but the gorgeous man beside me.

I both loved and hated seeing him work out, especially when he wasn’t wearing a shirt. I didn’t want to stare at him and make things weird. At the same time, I didn’t want to take my eyes off him. He was just so…

My God, Cameron. Do you have any idea how sexy you are?

Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, but I sure did. And it was killing my concentration.

At least I was almost done on the treadmill, and when the timer went off, I whispered a prayer of thanks as I shut off the machine. Then I moved to the lat pulldown.

Which… only made things worse.

Because I had arranged this gym without giving any thought to the possibility that my incredibly hot best friend would be using it with me, and the lat pulldown was facing the elliptical.

Which was currently occupied by Cam.

Shirtless Cam with his powerful back and shoulders on full display, not to mention his legs. And those gym shorts weren’t doing a whole lot to make his ass look any less appealing.

As he moved, sweat rolled down his back, sliding along the grooves between his sculpted muscles. It traced the edges of some of his tattoos. Made others glow as if they were freshly inked.

And of course, I knew from experience that if he were facing me, I’d see sweat gleaming on his chest, too, and the barbells in his nipples would catch the light, and?—

I had to tear my gaze away from him. Jesus, I was going to embarrass myself one of these days, wasn’t I? Drop a weight. Trip over my own feet. Something.

Fuck it. I couldn’t concentrate, and I was going to lose my form and hurt myself.

Fine. I could cut my workout short, then make up for it later tonight or at the training center tomorrow. I needed to get out of here before I hurt myself or embarrassed us both.

I cleared my throat as I got up. “I’ll, uh… I’m going to head upstairs.”

“Already?” He turned to me. “Taking an easy day?”

“Yeah. Yeah, something like—it’s my day off, you know?” I forced a laugh. “Might as well enjoy it.”

He eyed me as if he saw right through to my internal freakout. Then he shrugged. “Okay.”

I nodded sharply and headed for the door, eager to make my escape.

I didn’t get far, though.

“Trev. Look at me.”

There was a sharp edge to his voice that caught me off guard, and I turned to him.

He stepped off the elliptical and faced me.

His expression was closed off, but something in his eyes echoed that sharpness.

He absently dried his hands on the towel he was holding, and he kept his gaze fixed right on me.

I inclined my head, silently asking what was going on.

His eyes narrowed a little. “I need to know something. And don’t bullshit me.”

I showed my palms. “Okay. Sure. What’s on your mind?”

He studied me for a painfully long moment, then asked in a flat voice, “Does it bother you that I work out without a shirt on?”

I stiffened. “What? Why would it—what makes you think it bothers me?”

“I don’t know. You just seem…” He chewed his lip, and he held his towel against his chest, as if making a subtle attempt to cover up. “The way you look at me when I’m working out, or whenever I don’t have a shirt on. You just don’t seem comfortable whenever I’m…”

“Oh. Fuck.” Shame, embarrassment, and horror swept through me. Shaking my head, I said, “No. No, it’s—it doesn’t bother me in the least.”

Cam’s brow knitted as he watched me, his eyes asking me, So then what’s the problem?

I thought fast, but every possible attempt I could think of to sidestep the truth just made me certain he’d feel more uncomfortable and self-conscious. He knew damn well I’d been in locker rooms with naked men almost daily for years, so why should I be bothered by a shirtless guy on a treadmill?

Honesty was risky because I might embarrass myself and look like an idiot, and it might make things supremely awkward between us. Still, it was the only approach that didn’t have the potential to hurt his feelings or make him think I saw anything wrong with him or his body.

So… fuck it.

I took a deep breath and pretended my heart wasn’t slamming against my ribs.

“I have no problem with you working out shirtless. Or doing anything shirtless. None at all.” I swallowed hard.

“It’s just, whenever I see you like that, it completely scrambles my brain because—God, Cam.

” I had to fight the urge to look him up and down. “You’re fucking hot. ”

Cam’s lips parted. “Come again?”

Frustration and embarrassment vied for dominance in my chest, and I couldn’t look him in the eye as I repeated, “You’re fucking hot.”

“I…” He shifted a little, the squeak of his sneakers giving away the subtle movement. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” I made myself look into his disbelieving eyes.

“You’ve always been cute. You’ve always been attractive.

But the way you are now…” I indulged in that impulse to look him up and down, and when I met his gaze again, I rasped, “I wasn’t avoiding looking at you because you made me uncomfortable.

It’s because every time I look at you, I forget how to think. ”

He stared at me. “You… Are you saying you want me?”

I pushed out a breath, my heart pounding so hard he had to be able to hear it. “Yes. More than I’ve wanted anyone in…” I shook my head. “More than I think I’ve ever wanted anyone.”

For long seconds, he was still and silent. Eyes wide. Lips parted.

When he finally broke the standoff, he didn’t speak. He didn’t make a sound.

He closed the distance between us, curved a hand behind my neck and?—

Oh, God. Yes.

There wasn’t a trace of tentativeness in his kiss.

The shyness of the first kiss we’d shared as kids—his first kiss and mine—was a distant memory, replaced by this assertive confidence that made my knees shake.

He wasn’t forceful or aggressive, but holy shit, he knew what he wanted and he took it without question.

I fucking melted. Wrapping my arms around him, I couldn’t help but whimper into his kiss. When he teased my lips, I opened them, welcoming his tongue into my mouth.

I’d never been kissed like this. Not once in my whole goddamned life. Never like I was exactly what this man craved. Never like he knew this was exactly what I craved, and he was going to give me all this and more.

Yes, please, baby. Fuck yes.

There was no hiding how turned on I was, either, and Cam clearly wasn’t bothered by it.

He pressed against me, grinding against my thickening hard-on, and my head spun even faster.

Oh yeah, my libido had definitely returned with a vengeance, and I wanted Cam so bad it almost literally hurt.

Now that I had his gorgeous body against me and his talented mouth working mine—fuck, I’d never been one to go off in my pants, but there was a first time for everything.

Cam drew back and stared up at me with wide eyes. He was panting. So was I. His hand was still firmly on the back of my neck, and I wanted his damn mouth again.

“Does that…” I paused to catch my breath. “Does that answer your question?”

“Uh-huh.” He sounded as dazed as I felt. “Yeah. Yeah, it does.” He swept his tongue across his swollen lips. “Now I feel like an asshole for thinking you were?—”

I cut him off with a soft kiss. “No. I’m the one who made you self-conscious because I was too stupid to?—”

And he cut me off with a kiss. Grinning, he said, “Why don’t we just agree that on some level, we’re both still the same dumbasses we were in high school?”

I laughed. “I can get onboard with that.” I bit my lip. “I, uh… I really didn’t mean to make you think I was?—”

“It’s fine.” He laughed and shook his head. “I should’ve known you of all people…” He waved a hand. “Anyway. We’re good now.” His eyes narrowed a little as he drew me back in. “Like, really good.”

“You’re not kidding,” I murmured just before he claimed my mouth. God, I loved the way he kissed now. All the tentativeness from our younger years was a distant memory—he was assertive bordering on aggressive, and he seemed to know exactly what to do with his lips and tongue to make my knees weak.

Is this real? Am I really kissing you? Holy shit, this is real.

I’d been worried that his half-naked body would get me embarrassingly hard, but it definitely wasn’t embarrassing now. Not when I pressed my erection against him and he responded with a low moan.

Oh, fuck yeah.

Then Cam drew back again, and when he looked down at himself, he made a face. “Ugh. I’m disgusting. If we’re going to—I should… I need to get a shower.”

I licked my lips. “Any chance you want some company?”