Chapter 12 Luca #2
Jaxon was easy to spot. Number seven. Bigger than most of his teammates, moving with that reckless confidence he'd always had.
Our eyes met across the ice.
The bond flared between us. Hot and electric and impossible to ignore.
I had to look away. Had to focus on my own drills.
Then I saw her.
Reina was in the photographer's area, camera already raised. And she was wearing it. My jersey. The blue and white Frost Kings colors, my number on her back, my name stretched across her shoulders.
Every possessive instinct I had roared to life.
Mine.
She was mine and everyone could see it. She caught my eye, smiled. The bond warmed between us, soft and grounding. Then she turned her camera toward the Steel Wolves end of the ice. My Sweetheart was a fucking professional, and neutral.
But wearing my name.
I glanced at Jaxon, saw him watching her too. Saw the way his jaw tightened, the flash of jealousy before he controlled it.
Good. Let him be jealous. She was wearing my jersey tonight. The thought made me warm and fuzzy inside.
The game started with the drop of the puck, and everything else fell away. This was what I knew. What I was good at. The ice, the speed, the strategy. I was the Ice King here. Controlled. Focused. Unstoppable.
Jaxon and I circled each other like predators.
First period was intense. Both teams feeling each other out, testing defenses. Jaxon and I ended up battling for a loose puck in the corner.
Bodies collided. Hard.
I felt the impact through the bond. Jaxon's flash of pain, quickly suppressed. My own satisfaction at landing the hit.
He shoved back, harder than necessary. Got his stick tangled with mine.
The ref didn't see it but I felt his grin through the bond.
Fucker.
We separated, skated back to our positions. But the charge between us was different now. Not just rivalry. Not just competition.
Something else. Something the bond had created.
Second period, Jaxon scored.
I watched him celebrate, watched him skate past the Frost Kings bench with that feral grin. He made sure to look right at me as he passed.
The bond pulsed with his satisfaction.
It pissed me off.
Next shift, I set up the perfect play. Drew the Steel Wolves' defense out of position, passed to Johnson who buried it in the back of the net.
I made sure to celebrate where Jaxon could see.
Made sure he felt my satisfaction through the bond.
Two could play that game. Third period was brutal. The score was tied 2-2 with five minutes left. Both teams desperate, both playing like it was the playoffs instead of a regular season game.
Jaxon and I went for a loose puck at the same time.
Full body collision.
We went down hard, a tangle of limbs and sticks and pads. For a second, we were pressed together on the ice, chest to chest.
The bond flared so hot it was almost painful.
I could feel everything. Jaxon's strength. His heat. His arousal.
Wait.
My eyes met his and I saw the same realization there.
We were both hard. From the fight, from the contact, from the bond screaming between us. We scrambled apart like we'd been burned.
The refs blew their whistles. Matching penalties for roughing.
I skated to the penalty box, adjusted myself as subtly as possible. Tried to will my erection away before anyone noticed.
Across the ice, in the other penalty box, Jaxon was doing the same thing.
Our eyes met again. The heat in that look could have melted the ice between us. What the fuck was happening to me?
Final buzzer sounded with the score 3-2.
Steel Wolves won.
We'd lost.
I was furious with myself, with the game, with the fact that I'd been distracted by the bond the entire time.
But I still had to go through the handshake line. Still had to be professional.
Jaxon was near the end of the line.
When our gloved hands met, the contact sent electricity racing through the bond.
"Good game, Vale," he said, his voice low.
"Fuck off, Roarke," I replied, but there was no real heat in it.
Just frustration and desire and confusion all tangled together.
His eyes searched mine for a second before he moved on.
Back in the locker room, the loss hung heavy over everyone. Coach gave his standard post-game speech about learning from mistakes, coming back stronger.
I barely heard it.
All I could think about was the cabin. About Reina waiting there in the nest. About the fact that I wanted to get back to her.
And that I wanted Jaxon there too.
"Bar?" Johnson suggested as we were getting dressed. "Power Play?"
Several guys agreed immediately. My brother's bar. Good place to blow off steam after a loss.
"Yeah," I heard myself say. "I'll meet you there."
Marcus shot me a look but didn't comment.
I drove to Power Play still in my suit, my tie loosened. The bar was already filling up with my teammates when I arrived.
Noah was behind the bar. He took one look at the bite mark on my throat and grinned.
"Rough game," he said, pouring me a double whiskey without asking.
"Yeah."
"Want to talk about it?"
"No."
He slid the glass across to me. I downed half of it in one swallow.
My teammates were scattered around the bar, rehashing plays, already half-drunk. I tried to focus on their conversations but all I could feel through the bond was Reina.
She was back at the cabin where she was safe and waiting.
And Jaxon was... closer than he should be.
I could feel him moving towards the bar. The door opened to the place opened.
Jaxon Roarke walked into a bar full of Frost Kings players like he owned the fucking place. Still wearing his Steel Wolves jacket. Hair damp from his post-game shower.
Every conversation stopped.
Marcus muttered, "What the fuck?"
Jaxon ignored everyone. Walked straight to the bar. Straight to me.
"Vale."
"Roarke."
Noah poured him a beer without being asked, that knowing grin still on his face.
"Congrats on the win," Noah said.
"Thanks." Jaxon took a long drink, his eyes never leaving mine.
I could feel my team's confusion radiating from around the bar. This didn't happen. Rival captains didn't drink together after games.
Especially not us.
Marcus walked over. "Luca. A word?"
"Not now."
"Yes. Now."
I let Marcus pull me aside, away from the bar.
"What the hell is going on?" he hissed. "Why is Roarke here? And what's that mark on your neck?"
"It's complicated."
"No shit it's complicated. You're bonded. I can smell it. And Roarke's here. Is it...?" His eyes widened. "Holy shit. You're bonded to him?"
"It's not like that. There's someone else. An Omega."
"And?"
"And we're both bonded to her."
Marcus stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "A trinity bond?"
"Yeah."
"Fuck, Luca. Does the team know? Does Coach know?"
"Marcus knows now. The rest will figure it out."
"This is..." He ran a hand through his hair. "This is huge. You and Roarke? How is that even going to work?"
"I don't know. We're figuring it out."
Before Marcus could respond, Jaxon appeared at my other elbow.
"Need some air, Vale?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
We walked outside together, my entire team watching us go.
The alley behind Power Play was dark, lit only by a single flickering streetlight. Away from prying eyes. Away from questions.
"Your team knows," Jaxon said.
"Marcus does. The rest will figure it out soon enough."
"Good. I'm tired of hiding."
"Easy for you to say. You don't give a shit what people think."
"And you give too much of a shit." He stepped closer. "You played like shit tonight because you were worried about what your teammates would think if they found out about us."
"That's not true."
"Bullshit. I could feel you through the bond. Feel you second-guessing every play."
The accusation stung because it was partially true.
"You played dirty tonight," I countered.
"So did you."
"That slash in the second period was bullshit."
"Your check in the first could've broken my ribs."
We were chest to chest now. Anger and desire mixing into something volatile.
"You think I went easy on you because we're bonded?" Jaxon's voice was low, dangerous. "Think again, Vale."
"I don't want you to go easy on me. I want you to play fair."
"This is hockey. Nothing's fair."
His hand shot out, wrapped around my throat.
Not choking. Just holding. Possessive. Dominant.
The same way he'd done it at the cabin.
I should push him away. Should fight back. Should remind him that I wasn't his to command.
Instead, I leaned into it. My cock went instantly hard in my dress pants. I could feel Jaxon hard too, pressed against my hip.
"You've been thinking about this all game, haven't you?" Jaxon's thumb pressed against my pulse point. "Felt you get hard when we went down on the ice."
"You were hard too," I managed.
"Yeah, I was." His eyes were dark, feral. "Been hard since I saw her wearing your jersey. Wanted to rip it off her and replace it with mine."
"Too bad," I said, even though my breathing was ragged. "She's wearing mine tonight."
"Next game, she's wearing mine."
"Fine."
We were so close I could feel his breath on my lips.
Could see the want in his eyes. The same want that was probably written all over my face.
I wanted to kiss him. Wanted to find out if his mouth tasted the same as it had at the cabin.
Wanted to see if this thing between us was just the bond or something more.
Jaxon leaned in, his lips almost touching my ear.
"Not without our Omega's pussy in the middle, Baby."
The words sent heat straight to my cock.
He was right. This wasn't just about us. It was about all three of us. The trinity.
"She's waiting," I said, my voice rough.
"At the cabin?"
"Yeah."
Jaxon's hand tightened on my throat for just a second before releasing me. "Then what the fuck are we doing here?"
Good question.
We walked back into the bar together. I threw cash on the counter, caught Noah's eye.
"Leaving," I said.
Noah's grin was knowing. "Have fun."
Marcus looked like he wanted to say something but I was already heading for the door. Jaxon followed.
We stood in the parking lot, between our two vehicles.
"Meet you there?" Jaxon asked.
"Yeah."
He got on his motorcycle. I got in my car.
And we both drove toward the cabin. Toward Reina. Toward whatever this thing between the three of us was becoming. My phone buzzed as I drove. A text from Reina.
Are you coming home?
Home. She’d called it home.
Yeah, Sweetheart. We both are.
Her response was immediate.
Good. I've been waiting.
I could feel her through the bond. Anticipation. Need. The heat building again. She needed us. Both of us. And for the first time since we'd bonded, I wasn't afraid of that anymore.
The Ice King was melting.
And I didn't want to stop it.
A