Page 8

Cian

I drummed on the boards, screaming encouragement as Oscar flew down the ice. Nashville was riding us hard, but no way were we giving up the W in this game. I missed playing on his line, but Miller and Lathan were easy to read, and we worked well together. The lamp lit up and our third line forwards sprinted for the bench while our first line spilled onto the ice.

“Great play, Caveman,” I shouted, holding my knuckles out for Oscar to knock. He grinned at the nickname and flopped onto the bench beside me, squirting his water bottle into his mouth without bothering to remove his helmet.

“Shit. How long do we have left on the clock?” he asked, breathing hard. We both grimaced as the Nashville goalie shut out Viggy’s slapshot, but Han was already circling the net for another attack.

“You ready?” Lathan thumped me on the shoulder. I nodded and slid my mouthguard in under my helmet. I was always ready to play. Energy thrummed through my body as play continued in front of us. The puck zipped back and forth between each of the team’s defensive zones, but Logan was on his game in goal and hadn’t let anything through this whole period. Finally, Coach blew the whistle, and I vaulted over the boards with Lathan and Miller close behind me. Nashville’s defensive line was edgy, clearly unhappy with the scoreboard and almost as soon as I hit the ice, I was driven into the boards.

Not happening.

Instead of engaging with the giant left defenseman, I ducked out from underneath him and sprinted over the ice while Murdock sent the biscuit down the line. Miller circled behind Nashville’s goal, positioning himself perfectly while Lathan kept their right D-man busy. Leaning into my skates, I angled my body for a shot I didn’t intend to take, waiting for the goalie to move before I passed to Miller who used the advantage to score a bar down. The lamp lit up just as the final siren sounded and the arena echoed with shouts and jeers from the crowd. I never got tired of the feeling of winning on the national stage. Camera crews lined the boards while the announcer confirmed the Aces had taken the win.

We skated for the gate, ignoring shouts from the gathered crowd. They could wait for the presser to get their sound bites. I just prayed Blair didn’t want me to sit in on it.

Speak of the devil.

Halfway down the tunnel, with the stadium lights shining off her wild curls, Blair’s smile was as wide as any of the team’s as she snapped candid shots of my teammates. She squealed a laugh as Han gave her a sweaty hug on the way past. Something uncomfortable slid through my gut as I watched the interaction. I’d never noticed her paying attention to him before, but maybe I’d missed something.

Instead of letting the feeling crawl through me, I shook it off, making a beeline for her to get some of that attention she seemed so ready to give.

As she laughed at something Oscar said to her on his way past, I snuck in close to get in her ear.

“Did you enjoy the game?”

She jumped, pressing a hand to her chest as she wheeled toward me. Her brown eyes seemed lighter than normal. A subtle amber color lighting up the center.

“You scared me. Yeah, you guys were great. Keep that up and we’ll take home the cup this—Mmph.” I slapped a hand over her mouth before she could jinx our whole season.

“Eew, sweaty hands,” she groused, wiping the back of her wrist across her lips. Come to think of it, they were quite full. Pink and plump and perfectly shaped for… What was she saying?

Oh. Right.

“You can’t jinx the team in the first week of the season. They’ll never forgive you. I was just being a good friend.”

“A good friend.” Her voice had a curiously flat edge to it when she repeated my completely reasonable claim. I knew I was a good friend. I’d been working extra hard since I spoke to Mia. My takeaway was that I hadn’t paid enough attention to her needs. Friends were good at looking after one another. Like when Oscar needed a bird decoy. So I’d thought about what I knew about Blair and came up with one absolute. She liked coffee.

She continued to stare at me while the team disappeared down the hall toward the locker rooms.

“We’re friends… right?” I didn’t like the note of doubt that crept in when I asked it, but maybe I’d read the room wrong.

“No.”

Okay, so it had only been in my… Wait.

“Wait. No?”

“No. We’re not friends. What made you think we were?”

The answer to that was simple. I wanted to be. But as I thought more about what Mia had actually said, I realized I hadn’t taken Blair’s thoughts into account at all.

Although, I was certain she’d been imagining some very friendly things when we were on the plane earlier in the day.

“I’m going to be your friend.”

Fuck. I sounded like I was in middle school when I said it like that. But something in me wouldn’t let it go. So, I would earn her trust, whatever it took.

“Sure. Good luck with that, big guy.” Blair patted my shoulder and headed off toward the locker rooms without a backward glance.

* * *

My cock throbbed in time to the pounding of my heart as hair the color of a banked fire dragged across my chest. The scent of fresh roasted coffee beans filled my nose with a hint of sweetness to take the edge off. With a deep groan, I fisted those curly locks, guiding that soft mouth to the spot I needed her to go. A deep, feminine chuckle ghosted across the tip of my erection, denying me the pleasure I sought. Of course she was a tease.

This thing between us had been going on a lot longer than either of us had realized.

“Please.” The word came out on a hiss as she stroked her tongue along the groove of my hip. So close.

“Do you still think we’re friends?”

“I’d do anything to make it friends with benefits right now.”

She hummed, and the vibration shot straight through me, taking me right to the edge.

I tried to guide her head the rest of the way, but her hair was no longer in my fist.

She stood over my body, gloriously naked, but somehow blurred. Her silhouette was exactly as I remembered it when I’d held her for that brief moment, but I couldn’t see details.

“You’re so beautiful,” I murmured, palming my erection and giving it a few pumps to relieve the ache.

She dropped to her knees, hovering over my fist as she leaned in and took my earlobe between her teeth.

“Liar.”

She sat down hard, taking me all the way inside her .

I came awake with a shout, my body shuddering through an orgasm like a preteen, whose balls had just dropped. What the fuck kind of twenty-six-year-old had a wet dream? I glared at my dick like it was personally responsible for my dreams.

Seriously, dude?

I hadn’t forgotten the star of the dream, either. It was all Mia’s fault for putting the thought in my mind. Blair was someone I’d like to pursue a friendship with, not a relationship.

“Get that through your thick head,” I growled at my rapidly deflating erection. In the dream, it had felt so right, but as the cum dried on my sheets and the sweat slicked my skin, I wanted nothing more than a shower.