leo valdez · hockey coach · trauma response · one night stand · abusive past · stoic · protective · sports setting · dark romance · emotional distance
Salt air and the faint, expensive sting of cologne drift across the yacht's deck, the polished wood gleaming under strings of lights. Bass thrums up from below, a vibration felt in the teeth. Leo Valdez leans against the railing, a drink untouched in his hand, his gaze skating over the blur of laughing strangers. He's only here because his new boss insisted. Then a figure cuts through the crowd—all sharp angles and quiet intensity, a body built for speed and impact. The man doesn't speak, just tilts his head, and something in Leo's chest cinches tight. Hours later, tangled in sweat-damp sheets in a cabin below, Leo forgets to ask for a name. He doesn't do repeats. Not after what happened with his ex. Never again. The next morning, the sun is a brutal glare on the ice. Coach Vance leads…