Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
RYAN
H oly fuck, what was I doing? I’d worked so hard to stay away from Jonah, and now… As I stood, my knee twinged. With a grimace, I stumbled. “Shit.”
Jonah hooked his strong arm around my waist. “You okay? Did that fucker hurt your knee?” He dipped his head, looking toward my legs.
“No, it just twisted when”—I huffed—“when he turned me around.” Goddamn it, how had I let him get me into that position? I clenched my jaw. He’d surprised me. I never thought he’d pull something like that.
“Lean on me and I’ll take you out of here.” Jonah’s hold on me tightened and he weaved me out of the hallway and through a throng of dancing men. The whole place was hopping now. He threw a wave across the room, then continued on.
As I walked, the stiffness in my knee relaxed and I put more weight on it. I peeked at Jonah, biting his lower lip as he guided me. Warmth fluttered in my chest. Thank God he’d been there. But I was pretty sure after the initial shock had worn off, I’d have thrown Owen off me and beaten him to a pulp. Inside, I was still a hockey player, after all.
Walking me out past the bouncer at the front door, he stopped at the top of the stairs. “Are you going to be able to get down these? If not, I can carry you.” He knitted his brows. He was serious.
“No, I can walk. I’m fine now.” I took the first stair with my good knee, then winced as my knee stitched on the second step.
“No, I’m carrying you, and we’re going to ice that knee when we get to your place.” Jonah shoved his arms under my shoulders and legs and lifted me like I was a sack of feathers.
Shit, he was stronger than he looked. I wrapped my arms around his neck and fought off a smile. “This really isn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is.” He stopped and pulled me closer, then kissed my cheek. “I’m taking care of you tonight.” He curled the edge of his lips and made his way down the stairs, carefully navigating each one.
“Jesus, okay.” I buried my face in his neck, breathing in his musky cologne. Fuck, he smelled so good. And the way he kissed… My dick plumped in my jeans. I was in so much trouble. But I wasn’t going to think too much about it tonight. It was too late to take back what had happened, and I’d have all day tomorrow to figure things out.
At the bottom of the stairs, he set me down. “Can you walk okay?” He snatched my hand.
“Yes, I can walk.” I took a purposeful step down the sidewalk with him at my side, watching my legs. The pain was pretty minor now, and fuck if I was going to let him know about it again. “Let’s go. My place is two blocks down.”
“Okay.” He fell into stride with me, past people dressed up for a night out and students in their hoodies and jeans. “So, what the hell happened?”
I gazed at the restaurants and bars lining the street, the glow of their inside lights spilling out onto the sidewalk, then the cars driving down the boulevard. “I don’t know, it was so fast.” I furrowed my brows. “I guess he was angry that I blocked him. I told him I wasn’t going to see him again.” I shook my head. That was only a few weeks ago. I stopped at the entrance to my building and slipped my keycard out of my wallet. The door clinked and Jonah opened it.
Leading Jonah down a short hallway to the elevator, I snuck a peek at him. He was really here. I was bringing him up to my place. I never thought I’d be doing this.
At the elevator, I pressed the call button and the metal doors swooshed open.
“After you.” Jonah waved me inside.
I stepped in and pressed the button for the third floor, my floor. My mind replayed the almost kiss at our hotel in Colorado Springs.
“Ryan.” He faced me, then cupped my cheeks. “This is what I’d wanted to do the last time we were in an elevator together.” He pressed his soft, warm lips to mine and devoured me in a heated kiss, then broke it as the doors opened.
I blinked a few times, gathering my wits. When he kissed me, it was like nothing else. “Guess we were both remembering the same thing.” As a slight smirk teased my lips, I grasped his hand in mine and led him down the hallway, the gray industrial carpet quieting our steps.
When we reached my apartment, I let him inside. The city twinkled outside my patio doors, giving the room a soft glow. As I strolled past the galley kitchen, he tugged on my arm.
“Ryan, we’re doing this, right? You’re not going to turn me away?” He snapped his brows together and stepped to me, our chests touching. He brushed a lock of my curly bangs off my forehead. “You have no idea how much I’ve been thinking about you.”
My pulse hammered in my chest. “Oh, I might.” Was I already too far gone to even consider ethics at this point? I might be.
“Come on, you go put your leg up on the couch, and I’ll get you an ice pack.” He strode into my kitchen, flicking on the overhead canned lighting along the way. “I assume you have an ice pack in your freezer?” He stopped with his hand on the handle. “I mean, you were a hockey player.”
With a quick chuckle, I said, “Yep.” I ambled to the couch and sat at one end, then lifted my leg. Hopefully, the fucking knee wasn’t going to swell up on me. I reached over to my side table and switched on a lamp.
Jonah appeared with two bottled waters, an ice pack, and some paper towels. “Take off your jeans.” He smirked at me.
“What?” I stared at him.
Lifting the ice pack, he said, “It works better on bare skin. You know that.” He dropped beside me. “Or do you want me to take off your jeans?” His pupils flared. “I’m not going to lie. If I do it, I might get distracted.” He glanced at my swelling groin.
Fuck, he could get me hard just by looking at me. “Yeah, I’ll do it.” I shimmied my jeans down my legs, then kicked them off, my dick at half-mast inside my briefs. I wanted him to touch me again. I’d almost blown a load with a few of his strokes at the damn bar. It was like he’d turned me into a teenager again.
He propped the paper towel and the ice pack on my knee, then twisted a bottle of water open. “Here.” He handed it to me.
I gulped some water down. “You know, I barely had a chance to have a drink at the bar. I have some good Canadian whisky here if you want to pour us both one.” Maybe it would settle my nerves a bit as well.
Scratching his temple, he said, “Yeah, well, I’m three shots and three beers in, so I think I’ll stick with water.” He stood up. “But I’ll get you a whisky. Where is it?” He strode toward the kitchen.
“In the liquor cabinet there.” I pointed toward my dark wooden buffet cabinet, centered on the wall, which most people would use for fine china. But for me, it was my makeshift bar.
“Oh.” With a grin playing on his lips, he pivoted to the liquor cabinet and poured me a whisky into a low-ball glass, then brought it to me and sat down again.
I sipped my drink and hissed with the woodsy burn sliding down my throat. “Damn, I needed that.” Especially after this crazy, fucked-up night. My gaze found his. But was it though? He was here, in my apartment. It was like a dream, really. I took another long drink, letting the alcohol buzz through my veins, then set my glass on the side table.
“How’s the knee?” He inspected the ice pack, then focused on me, resting his hand on the sofa back and leaning over me.
“It’s uh, numb, actually.” I gazed deeply into his blue eyes, the pupils wide. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and pulled him in, slanting my mouth over his and slipping my tongue between his lips.
Closing his eyes, he freed a soft moan, then kissed me harder, tangling our tongues. His hand brushed over my shirt and crept under to tease my nipple into a hard nub.
“Fuck.” Sensation sparked from my chest to pulse in my dick. I hardened in an instant, the crown peeking through the band of my briefs. My balls ached. God, what he did to me, and we’d barely gotten started.
He left my mouth to nibble on my chin, then lower, biting and licking the column of my neck. “I want all of you, Ryan.” He pinched my other nipple.
With a gasp, my body jerked, and my hips thrust. “Yeah?” Did he want to fuck? But it seemed too quick, and we needed to talk before we did something like that. I had things to tell him. Plus, I wanted to get to know him slowly. Shit, I was already thinking this wasn’t going to be a one-and-done thing.
Lifting my shirt, he sucked one nipple into his mouth and flicked his tongue over it, then the other. “God, you’re so fucking gorgeous.” He bit and nibbled his way down my stomach.
I threaded my fingers through his hair, gasping as his teeth brushed over my abs. Was he going to suck me off? My cock jerked and beaded precum at the tip.
Stopping with his hands on the band of my underwear, he said, “You want this, right?” He snapped his gaze to mine, his eyelids hooded over his darkened eyes .
“Fuck yes, I want it,” I gritted out and squirmed on the couch cushions. “And when you’re done, let me take care of you.” My mouth watered. What would he taste like?
He lowered my briefs, my dick standing tall against my stomach, and swiped his tongue around his lips. “Fuck, you have a nice cock.” With a groan, he lowered his hot, wet mouth over me, fisting the base of my dick, and devoured me.
“Jesus fuck.” As pleasure jolted up my spine, my hips twitched and I tipped my head back, my mouth dropping open.
Twisting his head over my cock, he pumped the base with one hand while fondling my balls with the other. As saliva leaked out of his mouth, he slid it onto my taint and rubbed the crease of my ass.
Sensation heated over my skin and I thrust into his willing mouth. I was at his mercy, and he knew what he was doing. “Oh fuck, so good, Jonah.” I watched his head bob over me as pleasure knotted inside my gut. My balls drew up. No way I was going to last. “I’m, uh, about to come.”
He pumped me harder, faster, and snuck a finger around my hole, circling it, then moaned over my sensitive cock.
“Oh shit, yeah. Coming.” I groaned as my body exploded with sensation, curling my toes. Tensing my brows, I thrust hard into him, and my cock spurted cum down his throat again and again. The ice pack fell off my knee. Fuck if I cared.
He swallowed it all down and lapped at the head of my dick. As it slowed, his gaze met mine, his body trembling. “Ryan?” He palmed his hard cock through his jeans.
“Get those jeans off. In fact, take it all off and come over here.” Waving my hand at him, I swallowed hard, my mouth watering like never before. I sat up on the couch, throwing my legs over the side.
He tossed his shirt to the floor, his muscled chest and arms on full display, then shimmied his jeans and underwear off and stepped out of them. His solid cock stood almost to his navel and leaked precum down his shaft. “You turn me the fuck on.” He lazily stroked himself, giving me a coy smirk, then stepped to me.
Tipping my head back, I gazed up at him. “Well, you certainly turn me the fuck on too.” I admired his dick, brushing my fingers up and down his shaft, and it jerked at my touch. “You’re stunning, Jonah.”
“Fuck, I’m close already. I almost came in my damn jeans.” Biting his lip, he rocked his hips toward me.
With a smirk, I grabbed his weeping cock and swallowed him whole, sucking him to the back of my throat.
He groaned and slapped his hands on the back of my head, then thrust into me. “God, fuck, that’s good.”
I pumped him so hard my cheeks hollowed, and I pulled gently on his balls with one hand while fisting his shaft with the other. I wanted to make him feel as good as he’d made me feel. Which was amazing.
As ragged moans worked out of his mouth, his thighs quivered and his skin pebbled. “Fuck, close.” With a loud gasp, he clutched at my hair and his dick swelled further in my mouth.
Quickening my pace, I fluttered my tongue over the crown of his cock.
“Coming, oh fuck.” His body went rigid, then his dick pulsed and spurted hot cum down my throat. With a shudder, his knees buckled, and he righted himself.
I swallowed him all down, my tongue flickering up and down his shaft, the salty taste of him flooding my mouth. As it slowed, I released him with a wet pop.
Panting, he said, “Jesus, Ryan. You’re fucking good at that.” He raked his fingers through his long, dark bangs, then plopped beside me on the couch.
I leaned back into the couch cushions. “I think we both just had a lot of pent-up frustration, eh?” But, okay, maybe we were both pretty good at blowjobs.
“Yeah, suppose so.” He looked me over, his brows wrinkling, like he wasn’t sure what to do or say next .
“Come here.” I held my arm out, and he tucked himself in beside me, resting his cheek on my shoulder. Combing my fingers through his hair, I kissed the top of his head. Okay, now I didn’t know what to say. But I was supposed to be the adult in this situation, right? Even though I was only five years older than him. But I was a coach on his team. “We should probably talk about things.”
“Can I stay the night?” He peeked up at me, his gaze searching my face.
I worried my lower lip. How much worse could it be? We’d already crossed all the lines. “Yeah, sure.” I pushed him off me and stood. “Come on, grab your clothes and let’s go in my bedroom.”
He snatched his things and held them in front of his groin, the soft lamplight throwing shadows in the creases of his muscles.
Damn, he was built. I’d been built like that once. I plucked my jeans and briefs off the floor, then my drink from the side table. “Follow me.”
I led him into my bedroom, just off the main room and across from the kitchen, then threw my clothes into a hamper along with my shirt and set my drink on my nightstand. Now, we were both naked and on even footing. I turned the covers down on my bed, the lights from downtown Tempe casting a glow through my large window on the side of it. “I’ll go shut off the lights and be back.”
He dropped his clothes into the corner and nodded, then climbed under my covers.
As I walked through the kitchen and main room, flicking off switches and lamps, my mind flooded with the events of the evening. Jonah was in my bed now. My pulse kicked. How the hell had I let this happen? I grabbed the water bottles he’d brought us and padded over my cool tile flooring into my bedroom. As my gaze caught on him, his dark hair splayed over one of my cream pillows, his muscled arms falling across my gray duvet, my breath snagged. He was gorgeous. There was no way I could deny him. It was bound to happen. Us being together was some sort of twist of Fate.
“I brought us our waters.” I set a bottle on the nightstand on his side, then rounded the bed to the other side and climbed in. Funny, but he’d naturally picked the side of the bed I didn’t sleep on. Fate?
“Thanks.” He sipped his water, then set his bottle back down and turned on his side to face me, tucking his hand between his head and the pillow. “I like you, Ryan. A lot.”
Damn, he was not one for mincing words. “Yeah?” I drank some of my whisky. “I, uh, I suppose I can say the same.” Might as well tell him the truth. I let my gaze find his.
“So, we’ll do this again. I mean, we have something here, right?” He brushed his hand over my forearm and knitted his brows. “I don’t care if we have to keep it a secret. But you’re not technically my coach anyway.” He inched closer to my side.
I held out my arm and he edged into me, resting his head on my shoulder and his arm across my chest.
His tense body relaxed against mine.
Had he been worried I would send him home and tell him we couldn’t do this again? “Jonah, this is unethical, but I’m not sure if it’s technically against school policy because, yeah, I’m not your direct coach.” Shit, I should probably look into this. I didn’t want to get reprimanded already.
Adjusting his head on my shoulder, he teased a fold in my duvet over my chest. “I don’t want to get you in trouble. But I can’t go back to having you ignore me like you did after the Colorado games.”
As an ache wound through my heart, I squeezed him into my side and kissed his head. “Don’t worry. I couldn’t do that again after tonight, even if I wanted to.” Now that I’d had a taste of him, there was no going back. I knew myself better than that. When it came to matters of the heart, I was utterly weak .
He lifted his head, peering into my eyes. “So, you don’t want to ignore me after this?” The corner of his mouth twitched.
“No, I don’t.” I huffed a laugh. “Shit, I couldn’t.” I placed my palm on his cheek, taking in his gorgeous blue eyes framed by almost black bangs. “You were right. I’m a relationship guy, and you might have awakened a monster.”
A full-on smile spread over his face. “I like the sound of that.” He lowered his head again and brushed his fingers across my chest, leaving a tickle.
“We do need to keep this between us, though.” I twisted my lips. How would it even work? Would we let his friends know? “Who did you wave to at the bar?”
“Ace.” He inched closer to my side, his warm, flaccid dick pressed against my thigh. “He saw me leaving with you, so I waved to him.” He sucked in a breath. “He won’t care.”
Shit, the more people who knew, the more chance there was of being outed. “What exactly will your friends think about you leaving with me and not coming home?” My gut knotted. Maybe I should have sent him home in an Uber.
With a huff, he lifted his head and peered at me. “He’s probably hoping I’m in bed with you.”
“Jesus.” My pulse jolted. There were six of them. Word was sure to spread. Raking my fingers through my hair, I said, “Why would he think that?” Did all his friends know how he felt about me already?
“Because they know I like you. They know I want to be with you.” He dipped his gaze to my lips for a beat. “Well, Archer’s the only one who really knows the extent of it.”
And Archer was my player. I took a rough swallow. “So, do you think when you get home tomorrow, you can tell them you took me home and then fell asleep on my couch because you drank too much?” I winced. It was sort of a shit move, but I needed time to figure this out before it imploded on me.
“Yeah, I told you I’d keep us a secret if you wanted.” He bit the side of his lower lip, his brows creasing. In a soft voice, he said, “I’d do anything for you.”
My heart pattered with warmth. Fuck, the things he said to me. They were all the right things. “Yeah, okay.”
“My friends are super loyal. You don’t have to worry about them.” He choked on a laugh. “Well, maybe, except for Mason. He’s a goof and wouldn’t mean to say anything, but he might do it unintentionally.”
“Then let’s keep this quiet as much as we can.” I kissed his cheek and pulled his head down to my shoulder. Would he feel differently about things in the morning when the drinks had worn off? What would I do if he did? End it? I hugged him tighter into my side and nuzzled his dark hair. I didn’t want to think about it right now. I just wanted to be with him, to have what I’d been longing for all these weeks.
“I told you. I’ll do whatever you want. I’m all yours.” He rubbed his cheek on my shoulder.
My heart wrenched. If only we’d met under different circumstances. I wanted to give him everything he deserved, and he didn’t deserve a secret, unethical relationship. “Thank you, Jonah. At some point, I’ll make this up to you.” I kissed his head. “I promise.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to. I’m just happy to be with you,” he said, wrapping his leg around both of mine. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” I shut off the nightstand lamp, then snuggled in with him and shut my eyes. Tomorrow would come too fast.