CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Dom awoke in Shea's bed.

He'd rolled away, half on his stomach, one arm hanging off the bed. He was sleeping deeply, shoulders rising and falling in slow steady breaths. Dom wanted to reach out and trace his fingers across Shea's skin but he clenched the sheet tightly in his fist, not wanting to disturb him.

Memories of the night before trickled back in and Dom swallowed hard, remembering the feel of Shea's release on his skin, the soft, gentle pressure of his lips.

Dom had almost forgotten how good it was to kiss someone. He'd forgotten the slow, languid glide of a tongue against his own, the warm puff of air against his lips.

The intimacy of it.

Unease skittered across his body— this moment overlaid with a moment that felt like a lifetime ago.

Falling asleep in Christian's bed for the first time, letting himself be lulled into a false sense of security.

Trusting Christian, only to be betrayed when he threatened to out Dom. Christian backing down because Dom's agent had paid him off and not because he'd loved Dom enough to protect him.

Dom closed his eyes and breathed for a moment, the urge to run so strong he could feel it in his jaw and his shoulders, his legs. The coiled tension screaming at him to leave before he made that mistake again.

He reached for the covers, intending to fling them back and get out of bed to dress and leave, but Shea sighed, rolling over, murmuring something that sounded like Dom's name.

Dom froze, grip tightening on the smooth cotton fabric.

It was long enough to Shea to blink, lashes thick and long, his eyes so blue … He smiled at Dom, expression unguarded, happy to see him.

Dom's chest felt tight and he licked his lips, wondering what to say.

Voice raspy and sleep-roughened, but still smiling, Shea said, "Everything okay?"

Dom unclenched, touched by the way Shea's first thought had been of him. Checking in.

"Yeah, everything's okay," he rasped.

It wasn't. Not really. Nothing had changed.

Dom's back was still a wreck and he was going to have to deal with whatever consequences there were about making stupid decisions that nearly got him killed. His teammates were still going to be nosy and worried about him and he probably wasn't getting back on the bench any time soon.

The city was gossiping about his personal life and it would take a miracle to keep strangers from prying into his sexuality and discussing it over coffee and around the watercooler.

But …

But now Dom knew what Shea's mouth tasted like and he knew how good it was to kiss him and, well, it would probably end badly this time too. Maybe worse because of what was a stake. Where they lived.

How he and Shea had begun.

But either Dom could keep kissing Shea or he could walk away and only one of those choices felt good. Only one of them felt right.

"I could use a shower," Dom said.

Shea sat up, glancing at his phone. "I've got about twenty minutes before my alarm goes off."

"You could join me," Dom offered, surprised by the sudden jolt of his heartrate at asking for such a simple thing. They'd showered together before, the night of the fire.

And yet, this felt different somehow.

"I could. If you want," Shea offered, already turning off the alarm.

Dom had exhausted his ability to talk this morning so he simply stood, gritting his teeth against the pain and stiffness, and held out a hand.

Shea took it, and although he let go to lead the way into the bathroom and turn on the water, Dom could feel the ghost of the touch on his skin as he followed.

They brushed their teeth, gaze meeting in the mirror then skittering away, as if they were both too shy to admit why they were brushing in the first place.

But the moment Dom had Shea under the rushing water, he crowded him against the tile and leaned in, pressing their mouths together. Shea laughed softly but there was nothing mocking about it, only a little amused and happy, so Dom kissed him.

The shower was about a third of the size of Dom's and the water pressure wasn't great but as Shea's tongue slid between his lips, Dom had a sudden, hazy thought that mornings would be better if they always started this way.

He dismissed the thought immediately, but that didn't stop him from kissing Shea again and again. He ran his palms along Shea's sides and smoothed them over the curves of his ass, mapping out his musculature.

Dom was drunk on the feel of kissing after having denied himself the pleasure of it for too long and his head spun as Shea playfully pushed him away.

"Hey. Go do something useful now! I need to actually get clean before work."

So Dom gave him one last kiss and, reluctantly, backed out of the shower. He toweled off and stole some hair product from Shea—laughing at his indignant squawk—using the cream to tame his hair before he walked into the bedroom.

He shamelessly helped himself to Shea's underwear, going for the plain black so he wouldn't get chirped in the locker room for wearing turquoise blue or—good lord, electric yellow —then put on his clothes from yesterday.

The shower was still running—what on earth was Shea doing in there?—so Dom shrugged and left the bedroom in search of food.

In the hall, he nearly tripped over his own suitcase, belatedly remembering he'd brought it with him after the road trip. Whoops . Oh well.

At the end of the hall, Dom could see an open living area, all exposed ceilings and gray concrete. The building's exterior looked new so Dom guessed the industrial vibe was entirely for the aesthetic.

But the space was filled with bright pops of colors and numerous green plants, softening the look of the concrete floor and walls.

The plants made him think of Jonah. He'd know what they were all called, though Dom didn't have a clue.

Did they belong to Shea? Or to Audra?

The kitchen was on his right and as he glanced into it, he froze.

Speaking of the devil …

A redheaded woman wearing impossibly short shorts and a tiny tank top lounged on the counter eating yogurt, looking him up and down with a blatant once-over.

"Morning," she purred, licking her spoon.

"Uh, morning," Dom managed. "Audra, I presume?"

She gave him a flirty little smile. "The one and only. And you're Dom, I presume?"

There were probably a lot of men who would have killed to be in his shoes at the moment but her long bare legs and the sultry voice didn't do a whole lot for Dom when his head was still swimming with the memory of water streaming down Shea's arms and the sound of his hoarse moan in Dom's ear.

Or, ever, really.

"I am. Nice to meet you," Dom said politely. "Mind if I use your kitchen to cook something?"

"Feel free." She crossed her legs and licked more yogurt off her spoon. "Help yourself to anything you'd like."

Dom ignored the come-on in favor of pulling eggs and vegetables out of the refrigerator. He fumbled his way around the kitchen in search of utensils, opening drawers and cupboards at random.

He managed to locate everything except for a cutting board until Audra opened a drawer with her bare toes then splayed her knees wide on either side of it.

"It's in here." She winked.

"Uh, thank you."

Dom reached into the drawer hesitantly. He was reasonably sure she was only fucking with him but he didn't know enough about her to call her out on it so he left it at that.

She was silent as he cooked, though he could feel her gaze on him while he worked.

It wasn't until he was halfway through cutting the last of the green onion that it occurred to him that she knew his name.

Which meant she likely knew about the arrangement Dom had with Shea. And exactly who he was.

"Are you a hockey fan?" he asked, setting the knife down.

She blinked, as if it wasn't the question she'd expected. "No. Not particularly."

"Me either." He refrained from glancing down at the Fisher Cats logo on his hoodie.

She laughed, loudly and freely. It wasn't a pretty sound, too brash and unguarded, and he suddenly liked her more.

"So, Dominic Olson," she said. "What exactly are you doing in my apartment at this hour of the morning?"

"Cooking breakfast, obviously." He gestured to the whisked eggs in a bowl and the pan heating on the gas stove.

"Obviously." She smirked. "But aside from that."

"Oh, just thought I'd shoot my shot with you," he said, reaching over her to grab some salt and pepper.

"With me?" She looked skeptical.

"Yes, I'm looking for a date." He heard a door open down the hall, so he drizzled some olive oil in the skillet, then poured the eggs in, sprinkling chopped ham, cheese, mushrooms, and green onion on top. "For a team event."

"Hey." Shea stopped behind him, his body radiating heat. "You cooked."

He sounded dumbfounded.

"Yep, there's enough for two." Dom shot a vaguely guilty look at Audra. He probably should have asked if she wanted anything.

She smirked at him like she knew his mind had been on Shea the entire time and that she was an afterthought.

Shea protested. "You didn't have to. I would have …"

"Look, I was hungry and I thought you'd probably want something before work. It's nothing that exciting."

Dom was never going to rival Matty for the title of Brunch King but he could throw together a passable omelet, for fuck's sake.

"Thanks." Shea pressed a hand to Dom's shoulder. "Looks good."

Audra hopped off the counter, tossing her empty yogurt cup in the trash then putting the spoon in the sink.

"Well, goodness, what's a girl gotta do to get a little attention around here? Lose my top?"

She reached out, trailing her fingertip across Dom's chest and tugging at his hoodie string playfully.

Shea snorted and reached around Dom's body to bat her hand away. "Audra, drop the sex kitten act. You're not Dom's type."

She looked Shea up and down. "No, his type seems to be about, oh, 6'4" tall and 215 pounds of beefcake."

"220 at the moment, actually," Shea said coolly.

"Jesus, it's a shame you weren't able to play in the NHL," Dom muttered.

Dom was 6'2" on a good day and usually hovered around 195. It didn't seem like two inches and twenty-five pounds should make that much of a difference but when all of that came barreling at you on the ice or crushed you against the boards, it mattered .

"Yeah, I could have killed them out there," Audra said with a wink, her small bicep popping as she flexed.

Dom grinned, then noticed his omelet was in danger of getting overcooked. He hastily flipped it.

"Are you aware it was stupendously dumb of you to come here, Mr. Olson?" she asked, tilting her head back to look Dom in the eye.

"I am."

She glanced at Shea. "Well, he's not a complete idiot like you are."

Based on the way Dom had been playing lately, half of the city would probably disagree and if they knew the other decisions he'd made, the remaining half would likely chime in on his lack of smarts. But he'd take the compliment.

"Thank you," he said drily. "Very kind."

"I try." She fiddled with the coffee machine, then pulled out three mugs. "So, while you two enjoy your breakfast and I scrounge for scraps to sustain me, let's talk about the plan."

"The plan?" Dom asked blankly. He gestured toward the giant omelet with his spatula, miming cutting it in three pieces.

She shook her head so he cut the omelet in half, then divided it between two plates.

"The plan for how to get your recognizable ass out of this building without causing more trouble for you two." She looked pointedly at his lower half.

"Right," Dom managed. She should meet Matty.

Dom handed a plate to Shea who took it with a murmured, ‘thanks' and passed over a fork to Dom. Audra reached for some bread and popped it in the toaster.

They ate standing in the kitchen, discussing how they wanted to handle this situation.

When the food was gone, Audra brushed toast crumbs from her cleavage and said, "So, Shea, you'll leave on your own. A short while later, Dom, you're going to walk me out, arm in arm, looking like you're madly in love with me."

"Umm …" Dom was a better actor than Matty, but that wasn't saying much. He didn't have high hopes for an Oscar-worthy performance or anything.

"Ugh, fine. If you can't manage that, we'll throw a pair of Shea's sunglasses on you and I'll do all of the work."

"That's probably for the best."

"That way, if you get photographed leaving the building, it'll look like your walk of shame was with me instead of Shea."

"Yeah, good idea," he said gratefully.

Dom had a sudden, sneaking suspicion that Kate and Audra would get along famously. The thought terrified him.

He wanted no part of it.

And yet, they were both working hard to cover his dumb ass, so he should show his appreciation.

"And thank you," he said sincerely. "You're right, I shouldn't have come here last night. But I did it because …" He licked his lips. "Because Shea was my lifeline the other night and I wanted him to know that I appreciate everything he's done for me lately."

"Oh. Well, in that case …"

"Hey, cut it out, Aud," Shea said, his voice oddly rough. "Not now, okay?"

They seemed to share some silent communication before Audra threw up her hands. "Fine! Whatever. How soon do you have to leave, Dom?"

He glanced at the clock on the microwave. "Twenty minutes, max? I'd like to stop at my place and drop off my suitcase before I go to the arena."

"Fine. I'll go get beautiful then."

When she was gone, Shea stepped closer. "Sorry about Audra. I love her to death but she can be a lot. Especially at this hour of the morning."

Dom huffed out a laugh. "It's fine. I mean, she's … definitely something but she's willing to help us out so I'm grateful."

"Us?" Shea said.

"Yeah?" Dom tilted his head. He wasn't sure what Shea meant by that but despite all evidence to the contrary, Dom was actually trying to protect both of them from further scrutiny.

Shea smiled. "Well, thanks for breakfast."

"Thanks for the underwear."

Shea arched an eyebrow, then stuck his finger in Dom's waistband, tugging the sweats away from his body so he could peer at them. "You're welcome."

"So," Dom said, swallowing hard because he wasn't sure what happened now. "I've gotta get to the arena pretty soon."

"And I have to get to work."

Dom licked his lips. They'd moved so far out of their usual Sunday night appointments he didn't know what to do anymore. "Maybe you could come over to my place this weekend," he suggested. "I'd have to smuggle you in but …"

"Yeah?" Shea smirked. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Well, I'm probably not going to be able to get quite as athletic as I'd like," Dom admitted. "But I'm sure we can come up with something."

"Sure." Something in Shea's expression tightened. "Yeah. Of course."

"Hey," Dom said. He reached out and grabbed Shea's hip. "We still have a few minutes before we have to go now though, right?"

"Yeah." Shea settled a hand on his chest. "We do."

Despite the fact that both their mouths tasted like green onion and coffee, the kiss was good. Better than good.

Easy and effortless. And then hot.

Dom had just backed Shea up against the counter when Audra cleared her throat. "Not that I'm not enjoying the show, boys, but you might want to wrap this up."

Unease skittered over Dom's skin. He'd been so lost in kissing Shea he hadn't heard her walk up. He'd never kissed a man in front of anyone before.

He pulled away, smoothing down his hoodie.

"Hey." Shea caught his wrist. "Tell me how your day goes, okay?"

"Okay," Dom echoed. "Have a good one."

He turned away and loaded the dishwasher as Shea disappeared into the bedroom, presumably to brush his teeth or grab his bag or some combination of those things.

Dom had just finished cleaning when Shea called out a goodbye to them both, and then the apartment went quiet and he was alone with Audra.

"You want me to …?" He gestured vaguely at the dishwasher. It wasn't quite full.

"I can run it later," Audra said quietly. "But thank you."

"Sure. I'll go brush my teeth and then we can head out."

"No problem."

It wasn't until they stood in front of the exit door and Audra slipped on her shoes that either of them spoke again.

"So, when are we going on our date?" she asked, plucking a pair of mirrored aviators from a shelf. She handed them over.

Dom inspected them. Not particularly his style, but they'd work.

"If you're referring to the charity event I need a beard for, it's two weeks from now. If you're talking anything else, well …" He gave her a pointed look.

"Yes, yes, you're very gay for Shea." She smirked. "I know, darling. I watched the two of you introduce yourself to each other's tonsils."

Dom suddenly felt grateful he wasn't prone to blushing. "Right."

"Let's exchange numbers and you can send me the details," she said briskly.

After that was done, they left the apartment. The silent ride down to the ground floor was awkward but the moment they stepped into the lobby, Audra hooked her elbow through his, smiling brightly.

"Ready to do this?"

"Sure," Dom said, because what other option did he have?

She lowered her sunglasses, staring at him challengingly over the rim. "I'm going to charge you through the nose for all this, you know that, right?"

"I wouldn't expect anything else."

Fiery Twist: Olson Spotted with Stunning Redheaded Woman

In a surprising turn of events, Dominic Olson, recently rumored to be involved with Sawyer Barnett, was spotted by an eagle-eyed fan leaving an apartment building in Leslieville this morning with a gorgeous woman beside him.

The team had only just returned from a game in Minnesota the night before, so unless Olson visited her for a very early meeting, it appears they spent the night together.

After leaving the building, the couple strolled arm-in-arm, laughing as he escorted her to the nearby Queen St. streetcar stop before hopping in a hired car a few minutes later.

No word on the woman's identity yet but fan speculation has been running wild. "What a gorgeous couple! I love that for him. I knew there was no way he was gay!" One fan posted on social media.

Others are less convinced. "You're kidding me, right? This is so classic. He's worried about people finding out about his little boy toy so he found some woman to be his beard. She's stunning, don't get me wrong, but anyone who thinks that they're a couple needs to get their eyes and their head examined. The man's gay, people, come on."

Whatever the truth, this is very unusual behavior for Olson. Notoriously tight-lipped, the recent rumors about his private life have captured the public's attention.

The aging player—whose game has suffered in the past few seasons—is currently out on injured reserve with an unknown injury.

With months left on his contract and little talk of a new one pending, is Olson perhaps beginning to consider his life outside of hockey?