14. Christian

Christian

"Oh, my God…" I dropped onto the mattress beside Theo, still shaking all over from that orgasm. "I'm not gonna be able to walk tomorrow."

He laughed drunkenly. "So you don't want to go another round?"

"I didn't say that. I just said I wouldn't be able to walk tomorrow." I wiped sweat from my forehead. "If we go another round, though, I nominate you to be on top. My legs are still shaking."

Theo grinned. "Pretty sure I can manage that. And make your legs shake again."

I bit back a moan. This man was absolutely insatiable, and he was a spectacular lay. That months-long dry spell between our first and second hookups had been frustrating as all hell, but we'd been making up for lost time and then some. He had stamina to burn, the perfect-sized dick to fuck me senseless without leaving me sore, and… I mean, he was a hockey player. He had some serious strength in his lower body, and he used it. Even when I was riding him like I'd just done, he didn't lie still and let me do all the work.

"I should get rid of this." Theo groaned as he sat up. "Shower?"

"Mmm, good idea." I paused. "When I can stand."

He shot me a playful look. "Oh, come on. I didn't make you come that hard."

"Pfft. Says you." I moaned theatrically as I hauled myself up out of bed. My legs were still wobbly, but, yeah, I could stand enough to handle a shower. And hell, if my balance went wonky, I could always lean on Theo. Such a hardship.

Though my condo was blessed with an unusually large shower, we didn't need much of the real estate. We cleaned ourselves off, but then spent most of the time kissing and touching under the spray. I didn't have to lean on him to stay upright, but I did it anyway because I loved how I felt wrapped up in his powerful arms. He was leaner than a lot of guys I'd been with, but every inch of him was perfectly toned and tight. I could never get enough of touching him all over while we made out, and he seemed to enjoy that. In fact, he did the same thing—running his hands and fingertips all over my skin. Not just groping my ass or trying to turn me on, either. It was like he wanted to commit every inch of my body to memory.

I was more than happy to let him do it, too.

After a while, I came up for air and met his amazing dark eyes. Sliding my hands up his back, I said, "I'm glad we decided to keep doing this. Even if it's, um… risky."

Theo brushed a few strands of wet hair off my forehead. "Feels weird to think I was going to call it off. But one look at you…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

Some warmth rose in my face. "Really?"

He nodded, a blush in his own cheeks deepening the flush from the hot shower. "I can't really explain it. I was all set to say we can't do this. But as soon as I walked into that room…"

I kissed him lightly. "Must've been that intoxicating scent of unwashed jerseys."

He wrinkled his nose as he burst out laughing. "Oh, yeah. That's it. If that cart had been full of jock straps, we'd be on our way to Vegas right now to elope."

We both collapsed into laughter, which led to more kissing. First playful, then more languid and soft.

"We should get out of here," he murmured against my throat. "Before we use the whole building's hot water."

"Mmm, good point." I shut off the water and we got out of the shower. After we'd dried off, we returned to my bed, slid under the covers, and picked up right where'd left off—touching and kissing.

When he broke away this time, an unspoken thought creased his forehead.

I smoothed his wet hair. "What's on your mind?"

"Uh. Well…" His expression was completely serious now. "Listen, I don't want to rush anything, you know? I don't know what we're doing. What you want out of this. What I want out of it." He trailed featherlight fingertips along the edge of my jaw. "Literally the only thing I know is that regardless of what's at stake, I don't want to stop."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed against him. "That's all we really need to know at this point, isn't it?"

"True. I just… I didn't want you to think that what we talked about earlier means we're getting serious. Or that we're not. Or…" He exhaled and shook his head. "I don't know. I guess I just don't want extra pressure on either of us?"

"I know what you mean." I brushed my lips across his. "And like, we don't need to make any long-term plans or commitments. But you're the only one who's turned my head since that first time we hooked up. I don't see that changing any time soon." I half-shrugged. "So even if it's not serious—nor or ever—I wouldn't be opposed to us being exclusive."

Theo's eyebrows flicked up. For a split second, I thought he might pull away and declare that that was too much, but then his kiss-swollen lips curved into a smile. "I haven't touched anyone since the first time with you, so… Yeah. I'm good with being exclusive."

I grinned back, startled by the flutter of excitement in my chest. It wasn't like we were getting engaged or anything. We weren't getting serious. But still, the thought of being the only man he wanted was heady as hell. "Okay. So… just the two of us. Pretty sure I can keep you satisfied."

His laugh made my whole world a few shades brighter. Sleep with him and only him for the foreseeable future? Twist my arm.

Sobering a little, he searched my eyes. "Do you, um…" His blush was so adorable. "Do you want to keep using condoms?" He carded his fingers through my hair. "Or grab some blood tests and ditch them?"

I considered it. "I don't see any reason to keep using them if we're exclusive."

"Good." His shy smile turned into a wicked grin, and he slid closer to me. "Because I would love to fuck that beautiful ass of yours bareback."

"Mr. Mathis." I tsked, wrapping an arm around him. "You have a filthy mouth."

"Mmhmm." He brushed that mouth across mine. "Are you complaining?"

"Not in the least."

Neither of us said anything after that for a long, long time.

But I definitely kept that filthy mouth busy.

Theoand I were extra careful after we had that talk. We didn't take these risks lightly, and we made sure no one—especially my dad—caught even the faintest scent that there was anything between us.

It was tougher on the road, but we made it work. Sometimes one of us went to the hotel bar with the team. Sometimes both. We didn't make any conspicuous attempts to sit away from each other, but we also didn't try to sit together. On the plane, we'd occasionally wind up in the same card game, but Theo spent most flights with Grekov and Rusanov. They were the only guys on the team who Grekov could interact with easily, so I understood spending as much time with him as possible. I couldn't imagine the isolation of having a language barrier between me and nearly everyone I worked with.

It turned out Grekov did know some English. He wasn't fluent enough to joke around and banter, but he could carry on a conversation if people spoke a little slower and enunciated. In a pinch, he had his translator, Rusanov, or Theo handy to fill in the gaps. As he got more comfortable with the team, he started getting more outgoing with the English speakers, and he seemed to be feeling more like part of the group these days.

Still, it was always helpful to have someone to talk to who was as fluent as Theo or Rusanov.

Not gonna lie—I still found it endearing as hell that Theo went out of his way to help another Russian speaker find his place on the team. Card games. Chirping. Patiently translating during practices and while we were hanging out in bars. A lot of players did that if someone joined the team who didn't speak much English; the Swedes, the French Canadians, the Finns, the Russians—they all had each other's linguistic backs.

But every time I saw Theo bantering with Grekov or translating something on a menu at a restaurant, it melted my heart a little. I didn't care that other guys did the exact same thing. When Theo did it, it was sweet and adorable, and it definitely did nothing to cool my attraction to him.

It also had the added benefit of keeping any spotlight off Theo and me. If any rumors were going to start up about Theo getting involved with someone connected to the Rainiers, it was going to be Grekov, not me. Especially since Grekov was single. Straight? The jury was still out.

Either way, people were probably way more likely to think there was something going on between Theo and Grekov than Theo and me, and that was fine by me.

When we were in Seattle, it was game on at every available opportunity. He stayed at my condo more often than he stayed in his hotel room or his apartment.

Road trips just meant a lot of exchanged grins and racy texts, not to mention fucking like rabbits before we left. Tonight, we were in St. Louis for a game, and the pre-warmup routines were well underway. I was still aching all over from everything that had gone down after Theo walked into my condo the night before we left. Every time I moved, I could feel all the things we'd done. I was grinning like an idiot and no one but Theo had a clue why.

He definitely knew, too. Every time I caught his eye, he'd shoot me a smug little grin.

Cocky bastard.

Ah, well. He'd earned the right to be that cocky.

As we got closer to warmups, I noticed we were missing a goalie. In fact, now that I thought about it, Yanni hadn't been at the morning skate, either. Had he been at the team breakfast? I hadn't been paying nearly enough attention to notice.

Now, his locker stall was conspicuously unoccupied, his gear still set up exactly how I'd left it last night.

He wasn't injured, was he? That could be bad. He was our star goalie, and losing him for any length of time could be a disaster. Easton was good, but he wasn't Jan Stetina good.

The answer came when Coach Baldwin asked for everyone's attention.

"A little update to the lineup for tonight." He scanned all his players getting ready in the visitors' locker room. "Easton will be starting in net." With a grimace, he added, "Yanni's brother was injured in a PHL game last night and he's understandably shaken up over it."

A murmur of concern went around the room.

Condit spoke up first. "Is Marek okay?" His voice echoed the worry in all of us; teammates' family members were like extensions of our own families.

Coach nodded. "He took an open ice hit. Lost consciousness briefly, but he was able to get up and skate off the ice with help."

The room released a collective sigh.

"He'll be fine," Coach assured everyone. "But I think we can all sympathize with Yanni's head not being in the game tonight."

Solemn nods all around the room, and then everyone got back to work putting on their gear.

Yesterday must've been a hell of a roller coaster for Yanni. First the league had announced that his dad was being inducted into the Hall of Fame, then his brother took a scary hit. No wonder Coach wasn't asking him to start tonight.

Yanni did come in and suit up, though, since he'd still be the backup goalie. Even from across the room, he was clearly not in a good place. I didn't blame him. He and Marek were close from what I'd gathered, and Yanni was incredibly protective of his baby brother. One by one, players gave him shoulder smacks and stick taps, probably telling him they hoped Marek was all right.

During warmups, I had my chance to talk briefly with him while I fixed the strap on his mask, and this time, it wasn't about how he somehow went through straps faster than every goalie I'd ever worked with combined. I'd give him grief about that another day.

As I replaced the strap, I glanced up at him. Way up, because he had skates on and he was—being a goalie—a giant. "Sorry to hear about Marek. How is he doing?"

Yanni winced. "He's got a terrible headache and his balance is a mess. He'll be fine, though. It's nothing life-threatening, and they're keeping an eye on him."

I nodded. I'd been around this sport long enough to know that head injuries could suddenly decide to become life-threatening, so the teams' medical staff kept a very, very close eye on them. "Well, he's in good hands with the league. Even at the PHL level."

"I know. And his team shares a training facility with the NAPH team, so he's got access to their doctors too. He'll be fine." Yanni frowned. "No idea how long he'll be on the bench."

"He's a Stetina." I handed back the goalie mask. "If he's anything like his brother, they'll have to tie him to the bench."

Yanni laughed with some feeling as he pulled on the mask. "Probably. When I talked to him this morning, he was already bitching about not being able to skate." He rolled his eyes. "Idiot can't even stand up right now, but he's complaining because he's benched."

"Mmhmm, sounds just like his brother."

Yanni flipped me off.

"Rude."

He chuckled and skated away. I laughed too. I was glad Marek was recovering. Poor kid. Yanni would be okay, even if he was still too rattled to tend goal tonight.

I let my gaze drift around the ice. Naturally, it landed on Theo. As if he sensed me watching him, he glanced my way.

And he smiled.

And all those little aches lit up all over my body again.

God, I wanted him.

Was it time to go back to the hotel yet?