Chapter 23
Lars
A ce fires a pass five feet ahead of me, and it’s a race with the Montreal defender, but he knows I’m fast. The defender on Dylon has been marking him all night. The trash talk has gotten personal. They’re trying to rattle us, and it’s working to some degree. I see my opening, but the goalie gets his glove on it in a truly acrobatic feat. If he hadn’t blocked my shot, I would be impressed.
Dylon strips the puck before we cross center ice and sends it to Ace for a shot to the top corner. A second later, the red light glows, infuriating the crowd. We skate together for a team hug to celebrate the goal.
“Listen to those boos. Let’s hear them all night.” Dylon grins.
“Get ’em, Lucky.” Our defender slaps his helmet.
Montreal’s fucking defender knocks Dylon into the boards and throws his body weight at my man’s shoulder. He’s recovered but any area that has a previous injury is vulnerable and I see red.
The puck is at their skates, but I don’t slow or get my stick in position; I barrel into the Montreal’s defender. “Sorry, didn’t see you there,” I taunt and attempt to skate away, but he tears off his gloves and comes at me. This fucker will not touch Dylon again. Not tonight, not ever. The fight blurs with punches and wrestling moves. By the time I get to the sin bin, my nose is bleeding and Coach screams at me.
At least the defender is in with me, so it’ s not a power play.
Dylon and Ace finish their shift, and Dylon shakes his head at me, frowning before grabbing water. Ace mouths “cut the shit” on the other side of the glass.
I took it too far this time. My team needs the best from me, and I check my emotions to focus on scoring.
We fight hard, but they’re determined not to lose at home. I have become their favorite target, which I don’t mind, provided they stay off Dylon. I will take their hits all game.
“You good?” Dylon fist-bumps me after our shift and a hard hit behind the goal.
“All good,” I lie, but the twinge in my leg will be fine after resting a few minutes.
They tie the game with thirty seconds left, and the game goes into sudden death. Ace, Griff, and I take the first shift. Dylon unconsciously rubs his shoulder. Coach can tell he’s not a hundred percent.
I win the face-off and pass it off to Griff. Once I’m in position, he launches it back to me. As I’m approaching the goal, pain flares and my left leg drags for a second, sending me slightly off balance, and the goalie makes the save.
Grayson meets me at the boards. “I want you on my table after the game.”
I hang my head, hoping we score.
Patrik blocks their attempt like a ninja, and we’re back in the game.
Dylon’s over the boards and fights for the puck. He’s tangled up right outside the crease but manages to get a shot off. I hold my breath until the goal judge signals we’ve won the game. The bench empties onto the ice for the celebration.
The crowd files out, silent and stunned.
Dylon barrels toward me but stops short so he doesn’t hurt me. “Hey, what happened? Are you okay?”
“Grayson will check out my leg. I am sure it’s fine.”
I hate being in the training room, but it’s even worse on the road. Grayson manipulates my leg and presses in to find where it hurts. “Nothing serious.” He massages my groin.
“Sorry to interrupt this party. Should I get popcorn or record this? How far are you going to let him go, Drake?” Dylon teases from the doorway .
“Watch it or I’ll make you massage him tonight,” Grayson fires back.
Dylon raises an eyebrow, and I cannot let my mind go there.
“You should be fine if you rest for a day. I’ll tell Coach you’re out for tomorrow’s skate. Ice it tonight, keep it elevated, and I’ll give you some compression wraps.” Grayson hands a bunch of supplies to Dylon.
“Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him out of bed.”
“I’ll tie him down if necessary.” Dylon grins as if excited about the possibility, but my missed shot dampens my mood.
“Lemme check your shoulder.” Grayson pats the table when I stand.
“It’s fine,” Dylon grumbles.
“If you were all as fine as you claim, I’d be out of a job.” Grayson examines his shoulder. “You’ll live. Use a heat pack at the hotel.” He throws him one and dismisses us.
Dylon wraps an arm around my waist to help me to the locker room.
“I can do it on my own,” I complain, annoyed about my minor injury.
“But why would you want to? Stop sulking and enjoy the fact that I’ve been given strict orders to be in your hotel room, pinning you to the bed. If you play your cards right, I’ll even massage your groin better than Grayson,” he says with innuendo. “Get your head out of your ass, and I’ll put mine there instead.”
Dylon proceeds to take very good care of me after I adjust my attitude.
My leg is much better by the time we get to the hotel, but Dylon insists on tending to me and touching me. No one on the team gives it a second thought, and I give in. My boyfriend can touch me in public and it’s amazing.
“I’ll get you settled in your room,” he announces and assures Grayson and Ace that he’ll tuck me in.
They think he’s joking, but we’re in our boxer briefs a minute after the door closes behind us.
“Nurse Dylon reporting for duty.” He guides me onto the queen hotel bed. “Ice or a massage first?”
“Is that a trick question?” My body relaxes with his hands on me.
“If you behave, this nurse will provide a happy ending,” he says against my lips .
“I will be a model patient.” It’s so natural to sleep next to him, as if we’ve always done it, and now I cannot sleep without him.
A groan slips through my lips as he rubs the pain away. Grayson provided relief to a strain, but Dylon’s touch heals more than the soreness. My frustration melts, and he props himself up on his elbow, watching my face as his hand works magic.
“Tell me if I’m too rough.” He kisses my shoulder.
Twisting my torso and bending my leg, I face him and give him better access between my thighs. “I can take it.”
“Let me take care of you for once. You’re thinking ten steps ahead, but the only thing you need is to lie still and enjoy my hands on you.”
My head fills with what to say, but I hold back, taking his advice and focusing on his fingers. There are calluses on a couple, and the roughness digs into taut tendons and achy muscles. The hairs on my thighs stand up in their wake.
“That’s it.” We stare into each other’s eyes, and his tell me all the things I am afraid to hear. He thinks I saved him, but before he came into my life, my world was bleak, a void of existence. I am terrified to go back to that place.
Dylon tackles things without fear, and he hasn’t questioned his sexuality. His unflinching recognition of his newfound preference seems as simple as finding out he likes a new type of food. I struggled for years to accept myself and didn’t embrace my bisexuality until him.
He leans in for a quick kiss, but I chase his mouth and lick the seam of his lips. I am so happy for the gift of him in my bed, sex is secondary.
“I’ll get some ice.” He breaks our kiss after several minutes. “No arguing.” He reads my mind.
I miss the heat of his body the instant he moves away and hiss at the contact from the cold pack.
“I’ll warm you up.” Using an elastic bandage, he wraps the pack in place, then blankets the opposite side of my body. His arm wedges under the pillow to bring my head on his shoulder, and he kisses me as his other hand cups my balls. “Is this okay? ”
“No. I will not break. Touch me like you mean it.” I take his bottom lip between my teeth, and he squeezes in retaliation, but the pressure releases the last bit of tension, priming my body for whatever Nurse Dylon has in store for me.
Dylon smiles into our kiss and strokes my taint, skimming my rim.
“Stop teasing.” My body’s on fire, and he’s denying the oxygen.
“It’s who I am.” He nuzzles his nose into my hair, and I huff in agreement.
I roll on top of him, longing for all of his body, and leave enough space to take us both in hand. Our cocks sizzle with need. Leaking. Greedy. I harshly twist my wrist.
“Fuck.” His fingers press into my ass. “This shouldn’t bring me right to the edge.” He moans.
It’s right there to say it’s him, not the act itself, but I don’t. I’m already close and so is he. I could easily slow down to prolong this, but his eyes glow with golden sparkles and I relish the glide of his cock against mine. There’s no way to stop the orgasm thrumming through me.
My balls draw up, and I let go as his abs contract, grinding our cocks together. He arches up into me, and his cock jumps before spilling between us. I follow behind him, watching his gorgeous face blissed out and sated. I push his hair off his forehead and kiss it.
“Thank you, Nurse Dylon. All my pain is gone.” I lick his dimple and he laughs.
“If Grayson could see us now.”
“He’d have a heart attack. Coming out is different than getting an eye full of naked men with cum all over them.” I lift to scoop up our combined cum to taste it but hold my fingers out for him.
His mouth swallows them down and licks between them. “I’ll clean you up.” He nudges me on my back and dips his head to lap up our release. “So good, Sugar.”
The way he draws out “sugar” and the affection behind it, like he’s thinking of lazy kisses and naughty things, makes the nickname bearable. Hating it will only encourage him to say it more, but deep down, I really, really like it .
His tongue sweeps my belly button and I shiver. Dylon’s eyes are predatory as he stalks up my torso and pins me to the mattress, plunging into my mouth with our cum on his tongue.
“Tastes good,” I say, barely able to form a full sentence. We lie together, drifting off when he sighs and heaves out of bed, going into the bathroom. He comes back with a warm washcloth to clean me up, then unwinds the bandage to ditch the ice pack and rewraps my leg in the compression band.
“There.” He peppers kisses on my inner thigh. “Almost ready to tuck you in.”
I’m about to ask him to stay, but he speaks first.
“Do you need anything else?” I shake my head and he continues. “I’m spending the night. No one will question me falling asleep here.”
“Good.” I bury my head in the crook of his neck.
Tangled together, this carries the weight of a stolen moment, and I hope that changes. The pervasive fear lingers that he will not be mine long term. He needed me and cares for me, but I don’t add value to his life like he does to mine. He sees the good in the world and endless possibilities. Dylon helps me believe in more than potential problems and negative outcomes. Even his depression brought companionship and a sense of purpose to my life.
Eventually he won’t feel indebted to me, and where will that leave us? Coming out is a life-changing event, and caring about me might be short term. He takes the mantra one day at a time seriously. I would hate for him to mistake his lust for something more.
I lost my heart to him so long ago, but I won’t trade my happiness for his. My family will accept my sexuality. I’ve hinted at it for years but made it clear after a headline falsely insinuated a romantic relationship with my friend Von. Their biggest concern is grandkids, but I cannot promise kids even if I end up with a woman.
The only future I want is with Dylon, but I’m too scared to believe it’s forever.
The last time I had a relationship with a man and thought about going public, it ended terribly. Dylon is not Boe. He’s stronger and committed to sobriety, and our relationship is much deeper than mine with Boe. But Dylon can be a people pleaser. He has to decide for himself, not for me.
I’ve been careful about giving my opinion so I don’t sway him. If anything, I will encourage him not to make our relationship public. He’s right, the press will camp out on our doorstep, hire photographers to get photos of inside our apartment, pick through our garbage, and dissect every facial expression and our body language.
My friend Von was front page news more than once in his life, and he disappeared from the public and turned his phone off for over a month. I don’t have that luxury, and neither does Dylon.
“You’re thinking so hard I can hear you. What’s wrong?” Dylon spoons me from behind and rests his chin on my shoulder.
“Your name is Lucky, but I got all the luck when I got you.”
“Aww, Sugar, you say the sweetest things. Too bad you’re lying.” He grabs my chin to kiss me.