Chapter 7
SEVEN
ALEX (ALEXEY)
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…Why was I so stupid?
Not only did I have sex with Julian Mercer, but then I spent the rest of the night spooning with him.
Had I lost my mind? With my heart beating in my throat, I jogged to the elevator and stabbed the call button.
And on top of it all, I was late to the team breakfast. As captain, the coaches expected me to show up early and welcome all the players.
As the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, Mason and Jett strolled toward me.
Mason waved. “Hey, will you hold it for us?”
“Yeah, sure.” What was another couple of minutes when I’d already be fifteen minutes late? After hooking up with Julian fucking Mercer. I stepped inside the elevator and held the button to keep the doors open.
“Hey, Cap.” Jett sauntered onto the elevator with his hand firmly gripping Mason’s. “I expected you to be down there by now.”
The door slid shut.
Mason swayed his head to see me past his husband. “There’s a rumor going around that you had to share a suite with Julian.”
My heart slammed against my rib cage. “Yeah, it’s true.
Somebody messed up and didn’t reserve a room for him.
The hotel manager gave us a suite to share to make up for it.
” And there was only one bed. And Julian had guilted me into…
what, kissing him? No, I’d done that all on my own.
We hadn’t even gotten under the covers yet, and my damn dick had taken control of my body.
“So, how was it?” Mason wiggled his brows. “Did he behave, or was he a douchebag?”
I had to get the players to respect him. With Mason, it would be the hardest. “He behaved. In fact, we had some excellent discussions over game footage from last year. He’s been reviewing videos on YouTube, and we watched them together yesterday.” I clasped my hands in front of me.
“Oh.” Mason hooked a brow. “So, he’s finally learning the sport. About time.” He huffed.
“Mason, leave the kid alone. It sounds like he’s trying.” Jett gave me a knowing look.
Jett would help me out. He was savvy like that. “Yes, in fact, he’s a quick learner. I think he’ll be great once he understands our dynamics on the ice in an actual game.” I watched the elevator doors open and stepped out. “See you there.” Coach would be pissed.
I jogged to the conference room holding our catered breakfast, and as if on cue, Coach met me inside the door. “Volkov, you’re late.” He planted his hands on his hips.
“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t set my alarm correctly last night.” I brushed my hands down the back of my still damp hair. Or at all? Usually, I’d wake up in time without it, but sleeping next to Julian had been too comfortable.
“Okay, well, go around to the tables and greet the guys. Have a few words with each of them.” Coach pursed his lips. “Is Mercer on his way? I heard you two shared a room last night.”
Did the entire fucking team know? “Yeah, we did. They messed up his reservation. He’ll be down shortly.”
I made my rounds at the tables, giving short pep talks to the rooks and handing out what wisdom I could to calm their nerves. Some of them were fighting to stay on the roster and not return to our AHL affiliate, the Firebirds.
After, I filled a plate with eggs, a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and some yogurt, and then fell into a chair beside Jarvis. “How do you feel about tonight?”
“Great. It’s preseason, so we’ll have some fun.” Jett glanced at Hopkins. “Right, babe? Get the legs and lungs back into game condition.”
“Yeah, that.” With a snicker, Hopkins ate some melon. “Tell me more about Mercer. You’ve spent a lot of time with him. Is he still prattling on about us playing together?”
“No, he hasn’t mentioned it.” I scooped eggs onto my fork. Maybe I could change Mason’s opinion of him for good. “He’s progressed significantly since the first week. He understands that hockey teams function differently than a corporation. I mean, at the player and coach level.”
“Good.” Hopkins nodded as his brother took a seat beside him. “Little bro, are you ready for tonight?” He slapped Lucas’s arm.
“Hell yes.” Lucas gave Mason a wide grin.
Crosby pulled up a chair beside Lucas. He’d complete his first full season in the NHL this year. Last year, he’d made some big plays during the Stanley Cup finals.
“Crosby, how are you feeling?” I took a bite of my bagel.
“Great, Cap.” He gave me a lop-sided smile. “How much ice time do you think Gagnon will have?”
I focused on Crosby. He’d played with Gagnon last year on the Firebirds, so of course he’d like to see him move up. “I have a feeling Coach will give him an equal split. Ace has proven himself, so he’ll want to see—”
Julian strolled into the room, his brown curls hanging down the side of his face, past his cheekbones, in a sexy mop. His team sweats hugged the curves of his body in all the right places.
Fucking hell, that loose hair did something to me. I blinked. What was I saying?
“What?” Mason’s gaze swung toward Julian. “Oh, look, there’s your boy.” He let out a sharp snicker.
“His boy?” Lucas peered toward the entrance along with the rest of the table.
“Yeah, Cap had to sleep with him last night.” Mason drank some orange juice.
“Sleep with him?” As Lucas’s brows shot up, he smirked. “I thought you were straight.”
Crosby cackled and shook his head. “Ah, it happens to the best of us. We find the right guy, and bam. You’re in bed with him.”
As my cheeks grew hot, I said, “We shared a suite. That’s all.” I had to make the rumors stop. Yes, they joked, but it held some truth, so it was harder to combat.
“Jesus, how was that? Was he a prick all night?” Lucas peeled a hard-boiled egg.
“No, he’s not a prick.” Mason must have gotten to his brother. I poured coffee into a cup from a carafe resting on the table. “He’s learning, and we need to give him some time. He’s coming around.”
Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Julian sauntered to our table. “Mind if I join you?” He gave me a sly grin.
“Go right ahead.” Mason held his hand toward an empty chair. “Cap here was just telling us how you’re not a prick anymore.”
Jesus, fuck. Dipping my head, I rubbed my temples. How would Julian take that?
“He was, huh?” Chuckling, he swiped his fingers along his jawline, the faint hint of stubble peppering it. “Well, wasn’t that nice of him?”
Not only had he left his hair down, but he also hadn’t shaved.
I squirmed in my seat as my cock woke. The casual Julian was doing it for me.
He was sexy as hell in his suits, but now?
Fuck me. He should probably sit with the coaches, though.
Why was he choosing to sit with us? Was it because of last night?
“Okay, I’ll grab some food and be right back.” He strode toward the food tables along the wall.
I scooped yogurt onto my spoon and stuffed it into my mouth as my pulse sped up. I had to play it cool. The guys were already teasing me about sleeping with him last night.
When Julian returned with his meal, instead of taking the chair opposite me, he dropped in beside me. “Looks, uh, delicious. Like cafeteria food at a hospital.” He picked up a slice of bacon and bit into it.
“Sorry it’s not Michelin-star food, your highness.” With a shake of his head, Mason sniggered.
As his lips curved into a coy grin, Julian’s gaze swept to me. “Your Highness, that’s a new one. At least it’s not your prickness.”
Mason erupted in a round of laughter, covering his mouth with his hand. “Your prickness, I like that.”
Would Julian understand that chirping was part of bonding with the team? I eyed him, gauging his reaction.
As his thigh touched mine under the table, Julian jiggled it. “Do you instigate fights during preseason games, too, Big Hopkins?”
Mason lifted his brows. “If it’s warranted. The rookies might be reckless, showing off to the coaching staff. I might need to correct them.” He bumped his elbow with Jett. “Right, babe?”
“You do you. I learned long ago there’s no stopping you.” Jarvis ate some eggs.
“How about you, Little Hopkins? Are you a fighter like your brother?” Julian shifted his attention to Lucas.
“Nah, I’m more of a lover.” With a snigger, he drank his coffee.
“You’ll be defending your old goalie tonight. Are you excited about that?” Julian cut into a fried egg, letting the soft yolk pour out.
“Yeah, Gagnon’s worked hard for a spot in the NHL. It’ll be like old times.” Lucas threw Crosby a look.
“I’ve seen him make some amazing saves. It was his consistency that was lacking. But last year, he made some big strides.” Crosby ate a bite of toast.
With my chest warming, I watched Julian chat with the guys. He was earning their respect all on his own. Maybe he’d taken some of what I’d told him to heart.
After breakfast, we attended meetings and then retired to our rooms for naps before our walk-through at the Vegas hockey facility and gearing up for the game. I entered our room with Julian behind me. We’d have to pack before we left for the rink. We had a flight to catch soon after the game.
“Alex.” He strode to the couch and sat down. “Can we talk?”
Fuck, I’d been so focused on today’s game, I hadn’t figured out what I wanted to say. “Yeah, sure.” I dropped in beside him. I needed to make this quick so I could get my nap in.
“Last night was…amazing. But you should know, I rarely hook up with guys more than once.” Hanging his head, he wrung his hands.
“But after thinking it through, I’d like to hook up with you again.
” His gaze found mine and searched my face.
“If, you know, if you want to. It doesn’t need to be more than that.
It’s just…” The corner of his lips twitched.
“We’ll be traveling together, and it’ll be easy.
” He huffed a laugh. “I don’t want almost three weeks without sex again. ”
“So, what, you want to hook up while we’re on the road?” Okay, this wasn’t what I’d expected. He viewed it through the lens of convenience.
“I do. What do you say?” He snuck his hand across my thigh to weave his fingers into mine.