Chapter Four
Luka
Beelz was Gem. Gem was Beelz. The Dom that had taken Luka to heaven with strong sure smacks of a hard paddle before bringing him back down with a breath-taking orgasm was the new rookie goalie in the league.
Still reeling from the shocking truth, Luka hadn’t been able to sleep.
All night, Luka had replayed every interaction that had taken place between them either in person or over the phone. Had Gem ever done anything to give himself away? If he had Luka hadn’t caught it. Until the night before. The tattoo.
Dragging himself into practice, anticipation filled Luka, knowing that Gem was somewhere in the building.
After the game the previous night, practice would be pretty easy.
Either a light skating session or workout in the gym.
Expecting Gem to be on the ice, Luka headed for the weight room.
It might be cowardly, but what did he do?
Walk right up to Gem and tell him that Luka knew he was Beelz.
Yeah, Luka didn’t have the balls to do that.
He just needed to think. Work out how to approach Gem.
Last night would have been the perfect moment but Luka had been too tongue-tied after seeing the tattoo.
Beelz, Gem, whoever—Luka didn’t know how to think of him now—had attributed Luka’s quietness to the stress of the move and being tired, ending the call not long after Luka had started responding with nods and shakes of his head.
They had a date for another session that night.
Except this time Luka knew who he was talking to!
He just didn’t know what to do about it. Or even if he should.
They’d be leaving for an away game the next morning.
Luka’s first away game with his new team as they headed to play last year’s Iron Cup winners the Dallas Hawks.
That was going to be a tough game that Boston needed to win to make the playoffs.
Which is what Luka should be concentrating on.
Not how to get Gem naked to get another look at that tattoo.
Pushing the swinging doors of the weight room open, Luka nearly tripped over his feet as he caught sight of a group of teammates along the back wall working out.
Gem.
The goalie was standing next to the weight bench that Tomas was currently pumping iron at, acting as a spotter. It was obvious that Gem had recently been working with the weights as his white sleeveless shirt was plastered to his chest and nearly transparent with sweat.
Luka locked his gaze to Gem’s left pec right over his heart.
“Hey, Kotov!” The trainer that Luka had met the previous day before the game rushed across the room toward him.
Gem glanced up and Luka couldn’t pull his gaze away in time to avoid the goalie’s violet eyes.
His eyes.
Such unique and easily recognizable eyes.
Doubt filled him. Luka’s Dom had dark brown eyes that he used to stare at Luka like he knew all of Luka’s secrets.
There was one secret that he hadn’t figured out.
As far as Luka figured, Gem had no idea who he was.
Or who else he was. That Luka was also the needy little sub that got off on pain and sucking cock.
Or did Gem know?
Had Gem figured it out and never said anything?
No, glancing back at Gem, whose attention had returned to Tomas, Luka was certain that if Gem knew, he’d have broached the subject already.
Luka’s Dom was so sure about everything.
Calm and soothing. Luka hadn’t been around the goalie enough to know much about him in that aspect, although Luka felt like he knew Beelz more than intimately.
They’d shared so much during those late-night conversations.
Safe to talk in the dark with the masks firmly in place.
Those nights had been all that had kept Luka sane when the rumors of a trade had reached his ears.
Actually, since their first meeting at the masquerade event through the club, Beelz had become the only thing that Luka could count on. His Dom always had time for Luka, although now Luka had to question how Gem had managed it.
Being a rookie in the league was hard enough.
Gem was a rookie goalie that had proven himself enough that Boston had put him in place as the starter.
Plus, he was apparently dealing with threats directed at him and his brothers for being smaller shifters.
So much happening and still Luka had been his Dom’s first priority.
How had Gem done it?
“Does that work for you?” the trainer, Bryan, asked.
Snapping his attention back to the man that had been talking to him, Luka shrugged. How had he tuned out an entire conversation? “I’m sorry, what?”
“I just wanted to go over your routines so we can make sure that we’re providing you with everything you need,” Bryan said with a friendly smile.
“Yeah sure.” Luka gave a half-hearted shrug although he appreciated the trainer.
He’d been with Seattle for so long that the staff and most of the management had stopped checking on him.
He wasn’t the golden boy goal scorer or a needy player.
They’d expected Luka to take care of himself, so their efforts went to other players.
He’d gotten lost somewhere over the years until Luka had met a man in a mask that had shown him that Luka was worth someone putting in effort with him.
Luka allowed Bryan to pull him to the side where Bryan had a clipboard waiting.
“Why don’t you have a seat?” Bryan offered, waving a hand at a stool beside him.
Making sure that he could still see the goalie from the corners of his eyes, Luka sat and Bryan began to run a measuring tape over him.
Gem and Tomas were changing places, with the goalie lying flat on the bench as Tomas wiped the sweat off his forehead and downed half a bottle of water. Without the chance of those violet eyes staring back at him, Luka took the opportunity to run his gaze down Gem’s body.
The goalie was surprisingly built for such a small guy.
That was the same thought Luka had when he’d first met his Dom.
The power in Beelz’s arms as he’d administered flawless blows across Luka’s ass had been shocking and erotic.
Luka had fallen to his knees, offering his mouth to worship the Dom’s cock.
He’d made his Dom come twice by just using his mouth before Beelz had bent him over the spanking bench and railed his hole.
That memory, the entire first night they’d met, was often what Luka used to get himself off when he was all alone. He often fantasized off all the places that he would kneel for his Dom.
Luka still wanted to fall to his knees. This time he could imagine kneeling between Gem’s legs as he lay on that same weight bench. Luka would crawl up to pull Gem’s shorts down his legs until Luka could get his long cock into his mouth.
More than once Luka had affectionally been called a good little cocksucker by someone. It sounded crude but Luka loved it. What would Gem think though? Since their relationship was mostly online, they’d done a lot of teasing and planning but had very little time truly together.
And all that could change now.
“Your heart rate is a little high,” Bryan commented, pulling the sensor off the tip of Luka’s finger.
Well fuck! This was not the time or place to be fantasizing about his Dom or teammate or whatever. Pushing his knees together, Luka hoped Bryan hadn’t noticed his cock plumping up. He did not need the trainer thinking he was a pervert or something.
“Let’s try this one.” Bryan slipped a different sensor on his finger.
Pressing his lips together, Luka wished he could share this with his Dom. Maybe he would. Give just enough details not to give himself away but also share more about his everyday life. He’d done it in Seattle. Shared parts of his city and house.
His apartment in Boston wasn’t as nice…
His apartment. In Boston. His Dom had just moved out of an apartment. The manager had even told Luka that a teammate had recently moved, which allowed the team the ability to offer the place to Luka.
Was he living in his Dom’s old apartment? Gem’s old apartment?
Luka cleared his throat. “How long have you been with the team?” he asked the trainer.
Bryan looked up from making his notes. “This is my second year. I’m in my senior year at Boston College in their sports medicine department and was offered the intern position when the last one graduated.”
“That’s great,” Luka enthused. He’d wanted to go to college. Had hoped for a career after he was done playing hockey. His father had laughed and insisted that since he was a shifter, he’d be able to play past when most men retired.
That had been before the paranormal council had changed things and Luka had been kicked out of the NHL for not being human. Only then did his father blame Luka for not having a backup plan.
It was always Luka’s fault.
“Why sports medicine?” Luka asked the trainer.
Bryan grinned and shrugged. “Honestly, I just sort of fell into it. I was playing hockey for BU when I blew out my knee. We thought it was fixed with a shift but in the next game, I reinjured myself. It became apparent that playing professionally would no longer be a viable option.”
It was rare but some injuries just couldn’t be a quick fix with a shift.
Luka had lost teammates over the years when they rushed back onto the ice thinking because they were shifters, they would be fine and that wasn’t the case.
Even shifters and paranormal creatures needed to give their bodies time to heal.
More time even since they played harder than the regular hockey league filled with humans.
“I’m sorry about your injury,” Luka said sincerely.
“Thanks,” Bryan replied easily. “It was a long shot anyway. I’m nothing like Gem or his brothers. We played against them my freshman year and they wiped the ice with us.”
Hearing Gem’s name made Luka’s body tighten. “You know Gem then? From before I mean?”