Immediately, half the guys started making “world’s smallest violin” gestures.

  I gave the haughtiest scoff I could and shook my head. “Go ahead, boys. Troll the man who decides which chemicals wash your jocks.”

  That changed their tunes, and they all shouted, “Whoa, wait” and “You know we were kidding, right?” at my back as I headed out of the bar. I just smiled cheekily and flipped them all off before continuing to the elevator.

  I chuckled to myself. I loved the relationship I had with all these men. There was plenty of chirping and trolling, which was basically how hockey players showed affection. I also knew they deeply respected and appreciated me as well as the other equipment managers. More than a few of them went out of their way to thank us for keeping everything running smoothly, and they went all out for us on Christmas, birthdays, and the end of the season.

  As I waited for the elevator, my smile fell a bit. All the teams treated their equipment managers that way if they knew what was good for them, but I was also close to these guys. They were like brothers to me, and I felt it every time one of them was traded, retired, or signed elsewhere. I worried when Yanni’s brother got hurt or when Foster’s wife’s pregnancy had some complications last year. People said that “we’re like a family” was a red flag for a toxic work environment, but in hockey, teams and organizations really were like family.

  And the relationships I had within this family were arguably more loving and functional than the one I had with my own father.

  Was I being stupid, risking this camaraderie so I could screw one of their teammates? And how would they feel if they found out? They were all completely fine with my sexuality, and in my time with the team, there’d been two openly gay players who’d passed through without any issues (aside from my dad being a dick). But would that good will extend to a player and an employee hooking up? Would they be okay with two of their teammates hooking up? Would it suddenly get weird in the locker room if everyone knew two people in the room had been fucking?

  Well, it probably wouldn’t matter anyway. If the players knew, then Dad would know, and Theo and I would both be gone.

  The elevator doors opened and I stepped inside. As I rode up to the ninth floor, I reminded myself for the millionth time that I was taking a massive risk.

  But also for the millionth time, I didn’t heed my own warnings.

  Maybe I was playing with fire, but what could I say?

  I loved the heat too much to stop.

  Chapter 17

  Theo

  The time between when Christian left and when I casually got up from the table was easily the longest ten minutes of my life. I gave the guys some money to cover my portion of the tab and tip, and then I tried not to sprint across the lobby to the elevators.

  In the elevator, I pressed the button for the ninth floor, leaned against the wall, and exhaled, willing myself not to get visibly aroused. It would be just my luck someone would get in with me, and then there’d be headlines about the pervy Seattle Rainier wandering a hotel with a prominent boner. Not ideal, especially for someone trying to get a foothold in this league.

  And it’s so ideal to be banging the hell out of the homophobic general manager’s son, who also happens to work for the team?

  I grimaced, but I didn’t spend too much time worrying about it. I went through that little “oh fuck, what am I doing?” spiel every time I was about to meet up with Christian, and it hadn’t talked me out of anything yet. I doubted it was going to start now. One look at him—hell, one thought of him—and all logic and reason left the building.

  At the ninth floor, I got out and strode down the deserted hallway as the numbered doors counted down to Christian’s room. No one had been in the elevator. No one was here in the hallway. No one was going to have a clue where I was going or why.

  I bit my lip as I neared his door, but then an uncomfortable sinking feeling followed. One that had been getting more and more noticeable—and familiar—over the past couple of weeks.

  Every time Christian and I slipped under the team’s radar, I got a little thrill.

  Lately, though, another feeling chased that thrill, and it wasn’t nearly as fun.

  What if what we were doing was only this hot and exciting because it was forbidden? If the team found out and Jack decided to let it go, and we could be out and proud as a couple… would it be nearly as fun as sneaking around?

  Do we only want each other like this because it’s against the rules?

  Fuck. That was a thought.

  On the other hand, did it have to be anything more than that? The sex was mind-blowing. The secrecy was thrilling. We were just hooking up, so why make it more complicated? If the novelty wore off, we’d move on and go our separate ways. No harm, no foul.

  So why did just thinking about moving on make a ball of lead swell in my gut?

  Because the sex is awesome and God only knows where you’re going to find anyone who can blow your mind like Christian does, so get in there and rock his world, dumbass.

  Sounded good to me.

  Christian had left the door slightly open, using the swing bar lock to keep it from closing all the way.

  Heart thumping and cock thickening, I stepped into the room, flipped the swing bar out of the way, and closed and locked the door behind me.

  Oh, fuck.

  Christian was waiting for me the same way he had been the night I’d come to his condo—completely naked, fully hard, with his legs spread and his fingers sliding in and out of his hole.

  “Jesus fuck,” I breathed as I unbuttoned my jacket. “That’s a damn good way to make a man come in his pants.”

  “Don’t come in your pants.” He gave me a saucy wink. “Come in me.”

  I snorted, and we both started laughing as I joined him on the bed. He grabbed a handful of my jacket and tie with his free hand and dragged me down into a kiss. Not that I resisted—I met him just as eagerly and hungrily, and I stroked his dick just to make him squirm some more.

  “Fuck me,” he demanded. “Right now.”

  “Right—”

  “Now.” He started undoing the front of my pants.

  I shivered with anticipation as I reached for my belt. “You don’t even want me to get undressed?”

  “Mmm, I love when you’re naked,” he murmured, “but I also love when you fuck me while you’re wearing one of these suits.”

  I growled softly and claimed his mouth again. Between us, we managed to get my pants and underwear out of the way.

  “Lemme get some lube,” I murmured.

  “Don’t need any.” He stroked my dick with his slick hand. “Already got plenty.”

  I closed my eyes and moaned, rutting into his fist. “Fuuuck…”

  “C’mon, baby.” He nudged the back of my thigh with his heel. “I need your dick. Right now.”

  Like I was going to say no to that.

  He spread his legs wider and I guided myself in, and oh fuck, he wasn’t kidding. He took me easily, digging his nails into my shoulder as my dick sank into his well-prepped hole.

  “Oh my God,” I breathed. “Jesus…”

  Beneath me, Christian arched, pressing his head back into the pillow and gripping a handful of my shirt for dear life. “Fuck, yes… God, Theo, that’s exactly what I—fuuuck…”

  I could barely breathe. He looked so sexy, falling apart underneath me, and he was so tight and slick and hot—if I moved any faster I was going to lose it.

  He moaned and swore, stroking himself between us with his other hand. His blissed-out expression—eyelids fluttering closed, lips apart, skin flushed—drove me absolutely wild. I’d always loved topping, but there was nothing in the world like topping him.

  “I have never been with anyone who likes it in the ass as much as you do.”

  Christian bit his lip. “That a feature or a bug?”

  I groaned softly and leaned down to kiss his neck as I pushed back into him. “Have I ever complained about you wanting my dick in your ass?”

  The response was a whimper.

  “For the record,” I mumbled against his throat, “I love fucking you. I love fucking anyway, but when it’s you…” I trailed off into some slurred curses as I rocked into him a little faster.

  He dug his nails into my shoulder through my jacket as he pumped himself even faster. “Nobody fucks me as good as you do.”

  I grinned, then rocked into him harder. “Don’t you forget it.”

  He laughed softly, sounding almost drunk, and then moaned as he rolled his hips to drive me on. We fell into sync with each other, moving faster and harder until he was damn near sobbing and I felt so good I thought I might pass out.

  “Oh my God,” he whined. “Baby, that’s so… Ungh, I’m gonna come.”

  “Good. Make me come too.”

  The deliciously choked whimper that escaped his throat sent me right over the edge, my orgasm knocking a cry out of me as I fucked into him as deep and hard as I could. Then he was clenching around me, swearing and almost crying as he came between us.

  I exhaled and slumped over him. There was cum on my suit now, not to mention sweat, but I just didn’t care. I still had two others I could wear on this road trip. Trembling and trying to catch my breath, I buried my face against his neck and let the last few aftershocks roll through me.

  “Holy fuck,” Christian murmured.

  “Uh-huh.” I kissed beneath his jaw, reveling in the way that made him shiver. “Something like that.”

  He laughed softly. “Cocky fucker.”

  “You better believe it.” I pushed myself up on shaking arms and met his gaze. “I can turn you into a crying, coming mess. I’ve earned the right to be cocky.”

  “I wasn’t crying,” he said even as he wiped his eyes.

  “Sure you weren’t baby.” I came down and brushed a soft kiss across his lips. “You sure were coming, though.”

  “Mmm, you better believe it.”

  “Think we should grab a shower?” I carefully pulled out, making both of us gasp. “Or do you want me to take off?”

  As we both sat up, Christian huffed and rolled his eyes. “Theodore whatever-your-middle-name-is Mathis, do not ask stupid questions.” He tugged at my lapel. “Get these clothes off and get in my shower.”

  I just laughed and started undoing my tie.

  Chapter 18

  Christian

  After the night Theo fucked me senseless while his teammates were downstairs at the hotel bar, we gave up on staying apart on the road. Whenever we could swing it, we didn’t miss an opportunity to discreetly hook up on the road. Sometimes we even got lucky and had a whole evening wide open without a game.

  An evening like… tonight. The team had taken a short hop into Vancouver late last night after a home game, and they’d practiced this morning. There’d be a morning skate tomorrow, followed by a game that night, but they had this afternoon and this evening free. A lot of the guys went out to dinner. Or they went golfing and then went out to dinner.

  Me and Theo? We were staying in tonight. He’d slipped into my room while the rest of the guys took off down to the lobby, and we’d put in an order for room service. The hotel’s kitchen was apparently busy as hell, too, because they gave us a solid hour ETA for our dinner. That would’ve been unfortunate had we been climbing the walls and hangry. Or if we’d been bored.

  Neither of us was dying of hunger quite yet, and bored?

  We were definitely not bored.

  “Ooh, yeah…” Theo carded his fingers through my hair as I licked up and down his shaft. “Fuck, baby, your mouth is incredible.”

  I hummed around his dick, then teased the head with my tongue, loving the way that made his legs shake. He was sitting up against the headboard with me between his powerful thighs, and every time I looked up at him, my own dick reminded me it needed attention. He was so hot like that, gazing down at me with heavy-lidded eyes, his lips apart as he whispered curses and encouragement. I loved the way his fingers combed through and sometimes tugged at my hair, twitching whenever his hips jerked or his back arched.

  “Oh my God,” he purred. “I want to come so bad, but I also want you to keep doing that all night.”

  I ran my tongue down his shaft before teasing his balls with the tip, drawing little light circles on the soft skin because I loved how it made him gasp.

  “Jesus fuck…” He was gripping my hair so tight it bordered on painful. “God, Christian…”

  I teased his balls some more, then worked my way back up to the head. The salt of precum met my tongue, and I went to town on him, stroking him with one hand while I worked the head with my mouth. I was rewarded with more cursing, more gasping, more of his fingers kneading and pulling and twitching against my scalp.

  He exhaled a harsh breath and pushed his dick deeper into my mouth. In his position, he couldn’t really fuck my face like he probably wanted to, but he tried his damnedest, and we both moaned as the head slid back and forth on my tongue. I pumped him in time with his erratic half-thrusts, and his shuddering breath and trembling legs said he was close, so close. His dick was rock-hard between my lips, too, his balls pulling up as I licked away more precum.

  “Oh God,” he breathed. “I’m gonna come. You ready, baby? You want me to come like this?”

  My answer was tighter strokes and even more insistent teasing with my tongue, and he shuddered hard as his dick thickened in my hand. Then he gasped and swore. His whole body tensed. His hips jerked, as if he wanted to push even farther into my mouth, and then he was coming, crying out helplessly as I took every drop.

  I kept going until he murmured for me to stop. I’d barely lifted myself up off him before he grabbed me, shoved me onto my back, and claimed my mouth, his tongue plunging in as if he desperately needed to taste himself on me. His hand closed around my dick, and his kiss muffled a whimper as he started pumping me. He’d caught me by surprise, but I was so overwhelmed with need—for him, for friction, for my own release—that I just held on and fucked into his hand as he stroked and kissed me mercilessly.

  I couldn’t have stopped my orgasm if I tried, and I didn’t try. It was fast and furious, just a few moments of him kissing me and pumping me, and then I was coming all over both of us, trembling beneath his amazing body as he swallowed all my cries and curses.

  When I relaxed under him, he relented, letting his lips skate along my throat while I gulped in air. His hand had slowed to a stop, and he let go. He pulled away just long enough to clean off the cum, then came back and wrapped me up in his arms and started on my neck again.

  “I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it,” he murmured against my jaw. “But I love making you come.”

  I shivered beneath him and ran my hands up his back. “I was, uh… I was definitely getting that impression.”

  He chuckled softly and came up to kiss me on the mouth. It was gentler this time, and I wrapped my arms around his neck as we languidly made out.

  He pushed himself up on his arms. He was straddling my hips now, and he gazed down at me with bliss-filled eyes. Combing his fingers through my hair, he said, “Maybe being too sore to fuck isn’t such a bad thing after all.”

  I laughed softly and trailed my hand up his arm. “We don’t always have to fuck, you know. I love getting dicked down, but not when you’re sore.” I studied him. “How sore are you, anyway?”

  “Eh, not bad.” He shifted a little and winced. “My hip is still salty after last night.”

  I scowled. “It looked like a pretty hard hit.”

  Theo made a face. “It was. And no penalty, either.” He rolled his eyes.

  “Ugh. The officiating last night was trash. The refs let that horseshit slide, but they put Condit in the box for”—I made sarcastic air quotes—“boarding.”

  Theo huffed with annoyance. He lifted himself off me and eased down onto his side, then flexed and straightened his leg. With a wince, he muttered, “This better be fucking back to normal tomorrow.”

  I slid closer to him and ran my hand up his chest. “I’m sure it will be. The medical staff checked you out and didn’t find anything wrong, right?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, they said it would probably be sore for a day or two. I’ll see how I feel skating in the morning.”

  “How was it today?”

  He wobbled a hand in the air. “Not great? But I think that was also the flight and lack of sleep.”

  I grinned. “So, what you’re saying is… I should make sure you sleep like the dead tonight?”

  He returned the grin. “Exactly. That’s why I’m really here—it’s physical therapy.”

  “Uh-huh. I’m sure the trainers wrote you a prescription and everything.”

  Theo just laughed, and my God, he was so damn cute. More and more, it was moments like this—lying in bed, cuddling and talking—that drew me to him. The sex was off the charts, of course, but this was the part I really looked forward to. When we were behind closed doors, naked and comfortable, and we could just… be. Talk about whatever. Kiss. Touch. Be close to each other.

  I’m getting in over my head, aren’t I?

  Yeah. I was. Quite happily, too.

  Unaware of my thoughts wandering off, Theo craned his neck to look past me at the nightstand. “Room service will be here in a few. I guess we should…” He gestured at both of our naked, sweaty bodies.

  “Good call.” I hesitated. “The, um… The staff might recognize you. They know the team is staying here.”

  His brow pinched. “I mean, they all got a little starstruck over Condit and Sorenson, but I doubt any of them will give me a second look.” He paused. “Still, maybe I should duck into the bathroom just to be safe.”

  I nodded. “Probably not a bad idea.”

  “Eh, I need a shower anyway.” He kissed me lightly, then pushed himself up. “Do you need cash for the tip?”

  “I’ve got it. You can get the next one.”

  About ten minutes later, our food arrived. Theo had finished showering, but he stayed out of sight in the bathroom. When the coast was clear, he came out, and I swear I felt his mouth start watering when he laid eyes on the steak he’d ordered.