43. Oskar
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
OSKAR
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Laurentian Cup.”
The roar in Condors Arena is deafening as two league officials carry the gleaming trophy to center ice. The Pulse have retreated to their dressing room, but Kai and his teammates are gathered in a loose, dazed circle, already sporting their new Laurentian Cup Champions hats.
I’m two rows behind the Condors’ bench, vibrating with a joy so intense it’s almost painful. I can’t remember ever being this happy for anyone in my life. A small part of me aches with the wish that it could be the Fury out there, but I shove it down. This is Kai’s moment.
My focus locks in as the commissioner steps onto the ice and begins talking. After a quick speech that I barely hear, he calls Nico, the Condor’s captain, forward. Wearing a smile broad enough to light up the city, Nico accepts the Cup and lifts it over his head. The crowd goes insane.
Nico skates a slow lap, then hands the Cup over to Kai.
Time seems to slow as Kai hoists it high, his face a mask of disbelief and pure joy.
He starts his lap, but after only a few seconds, he glides to a stop in front of the home bench.
His face is sweaty, and when his eyes find me, the light in them is wild.
He nods, just a small tilt of his head, but it’s everything.
His grin, already huge, looks like it’s about to split his face.
As my throat tightens, I have to blink back the sudden sting in my eyes.
He holds my gaze for another heartbeat before turning away and continuing his victory lap, the happiest man in the world.
Before he left for the game, he said he’d text me from the locker room. “Whether it’s to help me raise hell or keep me from crying, I want you with me.”
When the Condors leave the ice, I stay put and send him a message.
OSKAR: CONGRATS, BABY! I’m so proud of you!
A couple of minutes later, my phone buzzes.
KAI: We’re having a team party tomorrow, and you’re my date! No arguments. I don’t feel like going out tonight, so meet me at home? I’ll be there as soon as I can.
Does he really think I would argue about being his date? Our teammates know about us, and photos showing us together are appearing more often on social media. I’d go anywhere with him.
OSKAR: This sounds fantastic. I’ll be waiting for you.
I take a cab back to the condo in time to catch part of the postgame press conference. Kai’s smile is so big his cheeks must ache, but I can see the exhaustion around his eyes. Most people will remember how happy he looks. I’ll remember how tired he looked.
Come home, hj?rtat.
The broadcast cuts to announcers who are dissecting a victory I already understand, so I turn the TV off.
In the kitchen, I confirm the sparkling cider is waiting in the fridge, then make my way to the bedroom, where I take some coins from my drawer.
They are fake gold, each one stamped with an image of the Laurentian Cup.
I turn back Kai’s side of the covers and arrange the coins in a gleaming border fit for a champion.
It’s almost one when the door clicks open. I’ve been dozing on the couch, but I jump up as soon as Kai comes in. He looks like he’s been through a war.
“Hey,” he says, his voice rough with exhaustion.
“Hello, champion!” I pull him into a careful hug because I know he’s sore all over.
He melts against me and says, “I’m so tired.”
“I’m sure, but you did it.”
He pulls back enough to look at me. “We did it. I couldn’t have made it through this without you.”
After giving him a quick kiss, I take his hand. “Come on. I have something for you.”
I lead him to the kitchen, pour cider into two champagne glasses, and hand him one. “To the Laurentian Cup champions,” I say, clinking his glass. “And to my personal champion.”
We carry our cider out onto the balcony. Below us, the city is alive with more than the usual middle-of-the-night sirens. Tonight, there are car horns, loud music, and distant cheers.
“Listen.” I slip my arm around his waist. “They’re going crazy for you guys.”
“New York loves its winners,” he says.
Right on time, a group of rowdy guys stops on the sidewalk below.
“Mercer! Mercer!” they yell, looking upward. “Let’s go, Condors!”
I’m sure they can’t see us, but a protective instinct has me pulling Kai closer. “They know where you live?”
“It’s impossible to keep it completely secret,” he says. “Why do you think I chose a high-security building?”
I kiss the top of his head. “They sure know how to pick someone to cheer for.”
He leans against me, resting his head on my shoulder. “I keep thinking I’ll wake up and this will all be a dream.”
“If it’s a dream, it’s a damn good one,” I say. “I’m glad I get to be part of it.”
“Wouldn’t be a dream without you, Ozzy.”
For a while, we stare at the skyline while the greatest city in the world celebrates his victory. I’m so lucky to be with the man I’ve always been waiting for.
He pulls away and looks at me. “You know what I want more than anything right now?”
“What?” I ask. “Whatever it is, I’ll do my best to get it for you.”
“You don’t have to do anything except make love to me.”
We go back inside as the city’s celebration continues below. In here, it’s just us. “Come on,” I say, guiding him toward the bedroom. “Let’s get you comfortable.”
The room is dark except for the soft glow of Manhattan filtering through the open drapes. I turn to face him, and my hands find the hem of his championship shirt and ease the fabric upward.
“I’ve been dreaming about this moment all day,” I tell him.
He raises his arms, allowing me to pull the shirt over his head. “About me winning the Cup, or just getting me out of my clothes?”
“Both. Mostly the second part, to be honest.”
His chest and abs are all sculpted muscle. A thrill shoots up my spine as I run my hands over his shoulders, outlining the knots of muscle that carried him through seven grueling games.
“You are beautiful,” I whisper.
“So are you.” He slowly unbuttons my shirt. “Now it’s my turn.”
He sneaks his hands under the fabric and runs them up my sides before taking the shirt off. His fingertips trace the shape of my pecs and linger there. Our eyes meet, and we get lost in each other.
“Ozzy.” His voice is rough. “I need you.”
“Right here, baby.” I capture his lips in a kiss that deepens as soon as it starts. Our tongues meet and slide together as urgency builds into a living thing between us.
We help each other out of the rest of our clothes, and when we’re naked, I pull him close. It’s impossible not to be overwhelmed. We’re pressed together from chest to knee, his warm skin against mine, our cocks already hard and brushing together.
“Fuck me now.” His voice is muffled against my neck.
I can’t help snickering. “Yes, sir.”
As we turn, he catches himself and stares at the bed. The gold coins I’d arranged there are glittering in the soft light.
He picks one up, inspects it, and turns toward me. “You always know how to make things special.”
“I try,” I say, then urge him onto the mattress.
The sheets are cool against our heat, and we lie facing each other as our hands explore. Touching him this way feels like a privilege since we haven’t had sex for a week. While his fingers roam over my chest, I cup his face in my hands.
“I love you, Kai.”
“Show me,” he whispers, pulling me over him.
The sounds of celebration drift up from below as I focus on him. I love how his heart pounds as I kiss him again, the way his body trembles under my hands.
“Get me ready.” His voice is so urgent it makes me shiver. “Now, Ozzy.”
As I take the lube from the nightstand, my fingers brush against one of his fidget balls. It seems right for a tool that helps him deal with life to be part of this intimate moment after his biggest victory.
His body arches as I open him with my fingers. Soft gasps alternate with desperate moans, driving me wild. Fan. Lucky doesn’t begin to describe me, getting to be the one who unravels him like this.
“?lskling.” The words are little more than breath against his skin. “Jag ?lskar dig, hj?rtat.”
He shudders beneath me. “I love you too. Fuck me now.”
I get into position and push inside as soon as he nods. His face contorts into the mask of pleasure I dream about, his head thrown back against the pillows and his mouth open in a silent cry of ecstasy.
We find our rhythm easily, and the familiarity is everything.
He wraps his legs around my waist, pulling me deeper, and I lose myself in the snug, hot perfection of him.
As I thrust faster, he moves with me. The light from the window paints patterns across his skin, highlighting the flex of his muscles.
“Harder,” he begs.
“Fuck yes.”
He demands even more. His exhaustion seems to have melted away, replaced by the intense need that has always driven me wild.
I angle my hips, searching for the spot inside him that will make him see stars. When I find it, he cries out.
“There! God, right there.”
Getting closer by the second, I focus on him. He looks amazing as he unravels. One of his hands is digging into my back, and the other is tangled in my hair.
“Fuck yes! Make me come, Ozzy.”
“Look at me. I want to see you.”
His eyes open, and their intensity draws all of me inside him. It isn’t just my cock anymore; my spirit is in him too. We’re connected body, mind, and soul.
He gasps. “Yes!”
I drill him faster. His cock is between us, and I wrap my hand around it, stroking him in time with my thrusts. A moment later, he comes with a primitive cry as his dick pulses in my hand.
I bury my face in his neck and groan as my orgasm washes over me, wave after wave of pleasure as I fill him with cum.
Afterward, we lie still, our limbs tangled, struggling to catch our breath. I brush the sweat-damp hair from his forehead and ask, “You okay?”
He nods, his eyes already heavy. “Much better than okay. This is perfect.”
“You’re all I need, baby.”
We lie quietly for a while, listening to the sounds of the city below.
“You know,” he says. “When I was holding the Cup, all I could think about was getting home to you.”
The sudden lump in my throat makes it hard to speak. “I was thinking the same thing.”
He yawns as his body relaxes against me.
I pull him closer. “Sleep now. You’ve earned it.”
He’s already drifting away, and I watch him, trying to memorize the peaceful look on his face.
This is what I want most, more than the glory of winning. I need quiet moments when the world falls away, and it’s just Kai and me together.
I kiss his forehead before I drift off, wrapped around the man I love.