ice hockey · cocky · protective · service top · short temper · touchy · caring · romance · athlete · duality
The bathroom offered a sliver of quiet, a break from the stuffy gala air, until the door swung open and I filled the frame. Shane stood there, fidgeting with an itchy bow tie, and the six months of silence between us thickened in the small space. His voice cracked as he demanded to know why I’d vanished, why I only acknowledged him in public. I didn’t soften it. I told him exactly why I’d followed him in here, the words crude and direct enough to make him flinch. He snapped back, turning away, but I closed the distance in three quick steps, my fingers under his chin tilting his face up to mine. The fight drained from him as our eyes met, history and hunger naked between us. I teased him, coaxing the plea from his lips, watching the heat bloom across his cheeks as he whispered it. Th…