None of it had seemed like lip service. Not even for a moment. Everything he did and said had felt genuine, and so had his desire. For me.

  Maybe…

  Maybe I did need to start listening to Tanner instead of Keith.

  Chapter 12

  Tanner

  Road trips were a normal part of hockey. Ever since my U16 days, constantly traveling during hockey season had been my reality. That was why I didn’t have any pets—as much as I wanted a cat, I couldn’t justify it when I was gone so often. I just went home during the off season and spent as much time as I could with my parents’ pets. That would have to do until I retired.

  Suffice it to say, this frenetic pace of play-practice-plane-hotel was nothing new. Hell, I’d stayed at this exact hotel every time I’d been here for an away game.

  So why couldn’t I relax today?

  I was supposed to be grabbing a nap before we all headed to the arena for tonight’s game, but I’d been staring at the ceiling for the past twenty minutes, wide awake and restless.

  Was it time to go back to Pittsburgh yet?

  Was it time to see Isaiah again?

  Sighing, I closed my eyes and scrubbed a hand over my face.

  My stitches had come out a few days ago. My lip had mostly healed, and now it was just a question of how much of a scar I’d end up with. The pain and itching were a distant memory; I could still feel it sometimes when I was talking, eating, or playing with my mouthguard, but it was almost back to normal.

  Which meant my mouth wasn’t out of commission anymore.

  Seriously, is it time to go back to Pittsburgh yet?

  I closed my eyes and shifted on the bed. I had a good idea of what would put my ass to sleep right now. But I’d done a lot of that on this road trip—more than I usually did when I was traveling with the team, honestly—and all it was doing was frustrating me. I didn’t want my hand. I wanted Isaiah. His hand, his mouth, him fucking me into the mattress. Just… him.

  I swore into the stillness. How bad did I have it for him that even jerking off wasn’t helping? Because all that did was remind me of how far away he was and how bad I wanted to be in the same bed with him.

  I did need to sleep for a bit so I could play tonight, though. My teammates and fans deserved better than me being out of sorts when I was supposed to be earning that contract some people thought was excessive for a player like me. I had to do whatever it took to be ready for tonight.

  So, I took care of myself. Quickly. Without trying to draw it out or even enjoy it. Shortest distance between Point A and Point Orgasm.

  And in the end, it did make me drowsy. It helped me kind of doze off.

  But it didn’t do a goddamn thing to make me less frustrated.

  “Hey.” Isaiah smiled at me from my iPhone screen. “That looked like a tough game tonight.”

  Lounging back on the hotel bed, I groaned. “Fuck. It so was.”

  “What planet were the refs even on?” He tsked. “Because they showed that one replay like sixty times from about twelve angles, and there’s no way that one goal was offside.”

  “Ugh. Right? I’m kinda surprised they didn’t eject Coach after that. He was pissed.”

  “And rightfully so.” He smirked. “I suppose fighting with the refs is frowned upon?”

  I barked a laugh. “Uh, yeah. We can police ourselves and rough each other up, but picking a fight with a ref is…” I grimaced.

  Isaiah’s laugh made my body warm all over. “It would be funny as hell, though.”

  “For you, maybe!”

  “Hey, the fans are always right.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh my God.”

  He snickered and shrugged. “What? I’m just saying.”

  “Uh-huh. And this is why you’re not a hockey coach.”

  “Well, that and I’ve never skated in my life.”

  “Never?”

  “Never. I couldn’t even stand up on Rollerblades, and I don’t like being cold, so…”

  I laughed. “You don’t stay cold for very long. I usually get too hot.”

  “Yeah, because you’re wearing fifty pounds of protective gear.”

  “No, that’s goalies.”

  “Okay, but you’re still wearing a lot of gear.”

  “You could, too. It isn’t like you have to go out there in your underwear.” I paused. “Though I wouldn’t say no if you wanted to.”

  There was a flicker of something across his face that I couldn’t quite read. A hint of discomfort? But he just chuckled and said, “You first.”

  “No way, man. I need that gear!”

  “And I wouldn’t?” He laughed, his momentary discomfort seemingly forgotten. “I’d fall on my ass!”

  “Well… yeah. But eventually you learn to stand up.”

  “Uh-huh. Eventually.” Isaiah shook his head emphatically. “I think I’ll stay in the stands.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “By the way, I noticed you don’t have…” He gestured at his upper lip.

  “Yeah.” I touched where the stitches had been. “They came out the other day. I am so glad they’re gone.”

  He grinned. “Me too, honestly.”

  A laugh burst out of me. “I think we’re on the same page about that.”

  Isaiah winked, oblivious to what he was doing to my pulse, my body temperature, and my dick. Fuck, I needed this man yesterday.

  “Speaking of,” he said, “my tests came back today.” He gave me a thumbs up. “Completely clear.”

  “Awesome. I should have mine tomorrow. The last ones I had were at the beginning of the season, and you’re the only one I’ve been with since then, so I have no doubt they’ll be clear too.”

  “Good.” Isaiah licked his lips. “I’ve been thinking about that nonstop. Topping you bareback.”

  I couldn’t help shifting on the mattress. He really had no idea what he was doing to me, did he? But I just said, “Yeah?”

  “Mmhmm.” He laughed softly, almost self-consciously. “What can I say? You turn me on.”

  “Likewise. And I fucking wish we were coming home tonight. Three more days?” I groaned. “Not gonna lie—I’m losing my mind.”

  Isaiah shifted a little. “You and me both. I can’t wait for you to get home.”

  I had to bite back a whimper of frustration. This amazing man wanted me, and I was hard as a rock, and he was too damn far away. Sighing, I let my head fall back against the padded headboard. “I’m going to have to jerk off again as soon as we end this call.”

  “Why wait?”

  I met his gaze. “Huh?”

  “If you’re that turned on…” He lay back and slid his hand behind his head on the pillow. “Let me watch.”

  “Yeah?” I was suddenly winded. “You want to watch me jerk off?”

  “I want to ride your ass or blow you until you come, but since those aren’t options right now…” He grinned. “You better believe I want to watch.”

  “Oh. Okay. Uh…” I thought fast. Then… “Give me a sec to prop up my phone.”

  “Take your time.”

  I didn’t have a stand or anything for my phone, so I had to get a little bit creative. The alarm clock on the nightstand worked well enough, and once I had the phone positioned where he’d be able to see me on the bed, I sat back against the headboard. “This work?”

  On the screen, Isaiah nodded. “That’s a hell of a view.”

  Warmth rushed through me as I laughed. Nerves, probably. I’d never done this before. “I’ve, uh… This is kind of new. I’m not really sure what to do.”

  “What were you going to do after we got off the phone?”

  I laughed nervously. “Strip and jerk off.”

  “Okay.” His voice was husky with desire. “Do that.”

  Right. Yeah. That… That made perfect sense. But it felt weird with someone watching. Hot as hell, sure, but also kind of weird.

  I met his gaze, and I realized his shoulder was moving a little. Oh, was he touching himself too? Because that was seriously hot. And it was also motivation for me to give him more of a show, so I did exactly what I’d planned to do—stripped out of my clothes, sat back against the headboard, and started going to town on myself.

  Isaiah moaned softly. “That is so hot.”

  I bit my lip as a whimper tried to escape. My nerves did the same thing they did during a high-stakes hockey game, when they’d have me queasy and squirming on the bench and in the locker room, but as soon as my skates touched the ice for a shift, they were gone.

  Now that I was jacking myself for Isaiah, now that he was watching me while I relieved this unbearable need for friction and release, I wasn’t nervous anymore at all. Just turned on and not sure if I wanted to draw this out and make it last, or if I wanted to make myself come before I lost my fucking mind.

  “You are so sexy,” Isaiah whispered. “Will you… Will you touch yourself like that while I’m fucking you?”

  “Oh God.” I struggled to speak. “You want me to?”

  “Are you kidding?” He sounded as breathless as I was. “Or I can do it. Just let you lie back and enjoy the ride.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. “Fuck…” Good thing I wasn’t holding my phone; I’d have dropped it on the floor by now.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he purred. “Just lying back while I fuck you and jerk you off?”

  The only sound I could manage was a choked whimper as I pressed back against the headboard and pumped myself furiously. “Fuck… I’m…” The strangled moan that escaped my throat was probably way too loud, given the thin walls and my teammates staying nearby, but fuck it. I was too turned on to care, too close to the edge with Isaiah—oh my God, Isaiah—watching me with his dick in his hand.

  “Come for me, baby,” he whispered. “Oh yeah. Let me see how good it is.”

  I managed to open my eyes, and when I saw him on the screen—saw the heat in his eyes and the flush of his face—I was just… gone. My hips bucked and my voice probably would’ve carried through the whole damn hotel if I could’ve breathed at all, and as hot cum landed on my abs, Isaiah purred, “Jesus Christ, that’s hot.”

  Fuck. It so was.

  “Holy shit,” I panted. I looked down at myself. I was a mess, but from the way Isaiah was watching me, he didn’t see a damn thing wrong with that. “I’ve, um…” I paused to try to catch my breath. “Never done that before. On camera, I mean.”

  “Well, any time you want to do it again,” he said in a sultry, flirty voice, “say the word. You’re hot as hell on camera.”

  I laughed softly. “If you promise to talk dirty to me again, you’re on.”

  “You better believe it.” He shifted, and I realized his shoulder was still moving in that telltale way.

  I licked my lips. “You’re still turned on, aren’t you?”

  “Are you kidding?” He sounded as breathless as I was, and he shifted again. “Fuck, Tanner…”

  “Let me see,” I pleaded.

  “You want—” Something like panic registered across his expression, but it was gone flicker fast. “Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

  Before I could insist he didn’t have to unless he wanted to, the screen blurred with motion. When it stilled, he’d propped it up on something, same as I had, and—

  Oh, fuck yeah.

  He was still dressed, just his shorts pushed down a little and his hard dick in his hand. My mouth watered at the sight. I hadn’t gone down on someone in ages, and I’d been craving that since the first night we’d fooled around. Watching him pump himself, I was almost surprised I didn’t start getting hard all over again. Was it Tuesday yet? Were we in the same damn place yet? Because I wanted to lick every inch of that impressive cock before he buried it in my ass.

  And from the flush of his skin and the way he was already breathing in short, sharp gasps, he wasn’t far from losing it.

  “God, that’s hot,” I whispered, surprised I managed to get the words out clearly. “Let me see you come.”

  Isaiah squeezed his eyes shut, and his lips moved, but I couldn’t hear what he said. Probably cursing. The muscles on his forearm stood out as his hand blurred up and down his cock, and the tension building in his body was so plain to see I could feel it. He was getting close. So close. Now he was holding his breath. So was I, completely mesmerized by the sight of Isaiah nearing the precipice.

  Jesus Christ, what I wouldn’t have done to be there with him now. Stroking him to that edge. Maybe nudging his hand out of the way and finishing him with my mouth.

  Or lubing him up, getting on top, and riding him until he screamed.

  I couldn’t stop myself, and I murmured, “I can’t wait until I’m home so you can fuck me.”

  Isaiah’s eyes flew open, meeting mine on the camera, and then he was coming, thrusting into his own fist as his cum rolled down his hand. As he relaxed against the pillows, he panted, “Wow.”

  I laughed softly, suddenly out of breath again myself.

  Licking his lips, he met my gaze, and he sounded both dazed and winded as he asked, “Are you serious about that? Me fucking you?”

  “You know I am. I haven’t been dicked down in way too long, and I have a feeling you’ll do it good.”

  His eyelids fluttered shut, and I thought he moaned. “You’ll be home soon, right? I didn’t lose track of the dates and it’s actually still two weeks away?”

  “No. Two more games, and then I’m on my way home.”

  “Thank God.”

  Yeah, I agreed.

  We ended the call not long after that. We were both shaky and desperately needed to clean ourselves off, not to mention get some sleep, so we really couldn’t linger much longer. I wanted to, even though I probably would’ve passed out after another few minutes.

  “Get some sleep,” he’d told me. “You’re gonna need it. And I don’t mean for tomorrow night’s game.”

  Not arguing with that logic.

  By the time I got out of the shower, I was still wobbly on my feet. My head was still light. I was still grinning like an absolute idiot.

  I put my phone on the nightstand again, this time facedown and dormant, and I settled into bed.

  And I was out cold in no time.

  Chapter 13

  Isaiah

  “Hey, Mr. Cole?” Oliver, one of my eighth graders, approached my desk as his classmates filed out. “Can I talk to you?”

  I put down my pen and met his gaze. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”

  He gnawed his lip and glanced over his shoulder. Possibly at the clock or maybe the steady stream of kids rushing past in the hallway. I was leaning pretty heavily toward it being the clock; there was only five minutes to move between classes, and on a campus this big, a lot of students cut it close.

  “I’ll write you a pass to your next class,” I said, and the relieved drop in his shoulders told me I’d read him right.

  He relaxed a little and faced me again, adjusting his backpack strap. I tried to keep my expression as placid and open as possible. There was never any telling what was on a student’s mind when they pulled me aside. It could be literally anything from a question about an assignment all the way up to something way more serious. Like, the kind of serious that a mandated reporter like me couldn’t ignore.

  Finally, Oliver swallowed hard. “It’s about my grade.”

  I very carefully schooled my reaction so he didn’t notice my relief. His grade was quite possibly a big deal to him, but it wasn’t a literal life-or-death situation, even if everything felt earth-shattering at that age. I did not miss being fourteen.

  And I knew Oliver’s grade situation already. It was seriously grim, and his parents and I had exchanged numerous emails. I didn’t blame him for being this wound up about it.

  Setting his shoulders back, he said, “I need to get a C or else my dad will ground me for the entire summer.”

  Also something I already knew.

  “Okay. So what do you think we should do to improve your grade?” More like what he should do, but I was willing to work with students who were willing to put in the effort.

  Oliver shifted from foot to foot. “I don’t know.”

  “I can give you some extra credit assignments,” I said. “But those will only count toward your grade if I can also see that you’re doing your best on the final project and the last two exams.”

  It was a tough love approach, but one I’d learned from a mentor. If a kid had slacked off for the first part of the semester but they were willing to bust their ass on extra credit as well as the classwork and exams to make up for it, then they deserved some grace. If the extra credit just served as a stopgap so they could skate through the important stuff? Sorry, buddy. Not in my class.

  I could tell from the frustrated line of his lips and the way he rolled his eyes that Oliver was not pleased with my suggestion. “Can’t you just raise my grade?” he asked.

  It took all I had not to laugh aloud at that. “So… just up your grade to keep you from getting grounded.”

  “Yes!” He groaned. “My dad is so strict about it, and he won’t get off my back about anything. If you don’t raise my grade, he’s going to ruin my whole summer.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “If you don’t raise your grade, you’re going to ruin your whole summer.” Anger flashed in his eyes, but I didn’t let him take the reins. “Your options are extra credit and serious effort on the remaining work, or take the grade you’ve earned and whatever consequences come with that.”

  “But that’s so not fair!” he protested. “I’m going to lose my whole summer just because I couldn’t remember all the countries in the EU or whatever? That sucks! I’m never even going to use this stuff!”

  “You’ve got time to change the situation,” I said. “But it’s up to you. Not me. Not your parents.” I folded my hands on my desk. “Would you like me to email you the extra credit assignments?”

  Oh, he wanted to go off on me. I could feel it. But his gambit hadn’t worked and now he was down to the two options I’d offered. Where things went from here was entirely up to him.