7. Hux
seven
Hux
I watched as the team filed out of the bus into the swarm of reporters talking at the cameras and photographers snapping away. They couldn’t see me through the column I’d parked my ass behind, but I could see everything. I watched as Minns stepped off the bus and scowled at the crowd gathered on the street only a few yards away from where the bus was stationed. Then I watched as Cara stepped off the bus. She was weighed down carrying—oh fuck, my bag.
I groaned, my exhale harsh as my epic screwup slapped me in the face. I’d stepped onto that bus and looked down the aisle at the faces glaring at me. The only ones who’d been welcoming were Gauthier and Hewitt, but I wasn’t going to ask them or anyone else to take pity on me. So I’d sat in the front row. I hadn’t expected to be joined by the beautiful woman who’d been holding up the Welcome to Australia, Seals sign.
Now she was carrying my bag.
My reaction to her was visceral, like my very cells were cheering me on, telling me to get closer to her. When she’d sat down, we’d been pressed together, and I’d never been more grateful for my bulk in my life. I was close enough to her to smell her sweet perfume and, for the first time since my life had turned into a complete and utter clusterfuck, the throb at the base of my skull lessened and the noise quietened. I was on edge, my senses hyper alert, but it was as if in her presence, I could breathe for the first time. Her perfume filled my head with hope. It was heady and I wanted more of it—and of her.
But at the same time, I couldn’t. I had to focus. Rocking the boat at this point would mean career suicide, and I couldn’t risk that.
But then I saw the man looking around, and my dick instantly took notice. He was older, but fuck me, he was sexy. His face lit up when he spotted Cara, and my breath caught as he crossed the portico to her. He hugged her, and the yearning to be with them hit me like a Mack truck.
I was being ridiculous. I shook my head, chiding myself, and turned away.
But like we were magnetized, my gaze was drawn back to them. They were close enough now that I could see the colour of his eyes—a striking royal blue, so very different to my icier colour.
He was the classic silver fox with a perfectly trimmed beard tipped in grey that highlighted his strong cheekbones, chiselled jaw, and fuckable lips. His muscles were cut rather than bulky. His clothes—a perfectly fitted Powderfinger band tee and faded blue jeans—were well-worn and looked soft as silk as they hugged every inch of his tight body.
I slunk back, staying out of view so I could watch as he held Cara’s hand and carried my bag with the other. The picture they made together raised every hair on my body, every nerve ending set alight at the visual.
I was screwed. Utterly, hopelessly screwed.
The message the front desk gave me when I collected my key came as no surprise—Cara had my bag, and I could collect it from her whenever I wanted. I went straight to her room.
“Cara,” I called before she took that sex god into her room. If it were me with either one of them, we wouldn’t be surfacing for days. “You’ve got my bag,” I added.
Her guy faced me head-on, and even though I was taller and wider, he wasn’t even close to being intimidated.
“It’s not her job to carry your shit, mate,” he hissed in a strong Australian accent.
I loved the sound of it. The soft pronunciation of the “r” so that “your” sounded more like “yeh,” and the way he stretched out the “a” in “mate” was sexy as fuck.
His protectiveness over Cara was next-level addictive too. They would be beautiful together.
I swallowed hard when my dick twitched. Jesus, I didn’t need a boner right when I was trying to make myself scarce, and I was sure the horror showed on my face. But forgetting my bag was also unintentional on my part—I’d needed to get out of there and hadn’t been thinking.
“Relax, dude. I just forgot it,” I volleyed back.
“Don’t let it happen ag—”
“Okay, then,” Cara cut in and rested a hand on her guy’s forearm.
He turned his attention to Cara, ignoring me entirely. The take-no-shit attitude made my dick twitch too. The way his eyes flashed with determination to teach me a lesson if I took advantage of Cara again was hot as fuck. The low growl in his voice sent shivers through me. I could just imagine it in my ear as he pinned me down and fucked me into the mattress.
Instant lust for sure.
I loved the softness of a woman, her luscious curves and sweetness of touch. I loved their moans and sighs and the way they clutched at me and trusted me to take them to the stars. Cara would be like that. I saw her with that dude and knew she’d respond beautifully when she was touched. She was awkward and adorable, and the flush that crept up her throat, staining her cheeks that pretty pink, was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. I wanted to see if I could make her flush like that too.
It hadn’t been intentional, but I wasn’t disappointed that I’d forgotten my bag. Cara had been kind enough to save my ass—Keeley would have reamed it if I’d admitted my passport had been lost along with my bag—and unintentionally gave me the perfect opportunity to see her again.
I shouldn’t be imagining her splayed out on my bed, naked and sated, but there was no way I could resist it. She was perfection from every bumbling word that tumbled from her mouth to that gorgeous ass I wanted to grip onto.
Every instinct told me to get closer to her—to both of them. My gut never let me down on the ice. I moved when my instincts told me to. I wasn’t on the ice here, but damn, that instinct was screaming at me to move and not hesitate.
I had a type—first Minns and Kam—and now this guy and Cara? Spot. The fuck. On.
And they were going out on a date.
I wanted in on it.
It was completely unexpected. I’d just been spectacularly dumped by my teammate and his wife, yet I was already thinking about these two people. That just didn’t happen to me. I was built for polyamorous relationships, but I hadn’t had much experience with it. Sure, I’d had one-night stands, but Chris and Kam were the only relationship-ish relationship I’d ever had.
They’d hurt me. They’d cast me aside exactly the same way that my parents had when I didn’t fit the mould they’d created for me.
But I’d done a lot of thinking on that long-ass flight, and I’d realized a couple of things.
One, I wasn’t in love with them. Sure, I liked both of them, but it wasn’t love. Now it wasn’t even like.
They’d never ever hinted that they wanted anything but casual. I’d ignored it and let my imagination run away with me. I’d planned our fucking future together.
But the crushing despair that I thought would be front and centre from losing them just wasn’t there. I was hurt, yes, but the rest of me was just angry. If anything, it was their betrayal that hurt the most—letting everyone think I was the bad guy—rather than devastation at losing them.
The second thing that had occurred to me was that I wanted more than they were prepared to give. I would never have asked Minns to come out for us, but by hiding, he’d made me his dirty little secret. I was okay with doing things on the DL during my rookie year and even during this season—and probably the next—but one day, I wanted to live authentically. I wanted kids who were like me to see that they could achieve their dreams too.
I had no idea how the team would react—I certainly wasn’t the first out player, but I would be the first bi, polyam player. Would it be too much? Too controversial? Would they say thanks but no thanks to the media circus that would no doubt follow me around? If the way they swarmed on me when I was leaving the bus was any indication, the only reason those reporters were at the hotel’s front door was to try to get the scoop on me. Getting the hell out of Dodge was the only way I could stop it from turning into a feeding frenzy, and with Minns on the same bus, it would have been a bloodbath.
One day, I wanted to be able to be seen in public with my partners. I didn’t want to jump fences and escape down back alleyways like I was doing something wrong.
I hit the button for the lift, and the dude talking to Cara stepped up beside me. “Are you up or down?” I asked.
“Up,” he answered. “Look, I’m—”
“I apol—”
We stopped talking at the same time, and I snorted out a laugh and shook my head. The lift doors opened, and I hit the button for my floor. He did the same. I swallowed, my mouth going dry at how close we were standing.
I started again. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to take advantage of Cara’s hospitality. I needed off that bus, and I forgot my bag, that’s all.”
“I get it. But it’s not me you need to apologize to.” He raised a brow and waited for my acknowledgement.
“You’re right.” I nodded and held out my hand. “Alec Huxley. Everyone calls me Hux.”
He looked down at my outstretched hand as if deciding whether to take me up on the peace offering. When he did, his grip was tight and his palms rough. I wondered what he did for a living. Whatever it was, it was physically demanding. My hand tingled and my dick twitched.
“Monroe Stevens. But call me Roe.”
We pulled apart, and I adjusted the bag on my shoulder, fidgeting with the strap.
“You like her,” I stated, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I’d thought them through.
He nodded. “I do. What's not to like? She's beautiful, smart, sweet, and lovely.” The smile tilting the corner of his lips was small, but the warmth in his eyes spoke volumes. He was smitten.
“She’s definitely sexy,” I agreed.
He shot his gaze to mine, and I returned his stare, not backing down. It was the truth—one I wouldn’t deny no matter how possessive of her he wanted to be.
But his reaction surprised me. His pupils flared, and he licked his bottom lip with a quick swipe of his tongue. The movement had me mesmerized. My body reacted like his stare was a physical caress. My nerve endings sizzled, and my cock thickened, throbbing with the fantasy of pushing it between those lush lips.
My cock bucked, and I inhaled sharply.
Roe blinked as if the noise had startled him and looked down. He could have been staring at his shoes if they were the height of my dick currently tenting my suit pants.
“She’s my daughter's best friend. They’ve known each other for a year or so now, but I only just met her a few weeks ago. I don't know her well yet. But I'd like to.” His voice was filled with cautious hope. That must have been what they were talking about.
I muttered under my breath, “Me too,” just as the elevator doors opened at my floor.
Roe snapped his face back up and met my stare once more, and I stepped off, walking backward out of there. He followed me out and paused momentarily, looking at the sign directing the way to our rooms.
I gestured over my shoulder with my thumb. “I’m gonna go get out of this suit. I’ll see you round, Roe.”
He nodded and watched me silently as I turned and walked away. When I got to my door, I looked over my shoulder and saw him and that perfect ass of his retreat to his room.
My suitcase and gear bag were already there, and I stripped out of my suit, dropping it on the floor on the way to the shower. I needed to get the ick of the plane off me and get some fucking relief.
The water hadn’t even heated when I stepped under it, but the shock of cold didn’t do anything to deflate my dick. I was rock hard, throbbing and sticky with the precum dripping from my slit. My balls were drawn up close and my ass clenched tight. I wanted to be stretched until I was full to bursting, a hot body behind me and a soft one in front of me.
The woman three levels below us and the man on the opposite side of the floor had me captivated. I soaped up my hand and closed my fist around my aching cock. My knees almost buckled, and I slapped my free hand against the tiles to stay upright.
Water poured down my back, and I moved my hand frantically over my steely length. Behind my closed eyelids, my fantasies ran wild. Cara lifted Roe’s tee and peeled it off him so that the only thing covering his chest was that sexy leather strap he wore around his throat. Then Roe’s hands were on Cara, turning her and unzipping that cute little dress she wore. He pushed it off her shoulders to reveal a white bra and cotton panties with a little bow at the front. Damn, those thick legs and wide hips were so fucking sexy. Her rounded belly jiggled as she moved. I wanted to bury myself in all that softness and get lost in it.
I shuddered as my balls drew up tight, and I imagined that bra coming off. Her generous breasts tumbled free from their restraints. Her nipples tightened as Roe reached around her and pinched them gently between his fingers. They turned a darker dusky pink from his touch. He presented them to me, holding her breasts together so I could drop to my knees and taste her. Worship her.
The me in my fantasy didn’t hesitate—I fell down right there. I dragged her panties down and leaned in, inhaling the strawberry scent of her body wash. I pressed open-mouthed kisses to her belly and worked my way up to her nipples, my stubble scraping along her soft skin. I left red marks on her, beard burn marking her up so perfectly. They’d soon fade, but she’d feel the sensitive spots for hours after. When I reached her nipple, I closed my lips over it and sucked and licked as I smoothed my hands back up her body. Her nipple tightened in my mouth and my dick throbbed. She was so responsive, so sensitive to my touch.
She moaned long and low as I wrapped my arms around her and gripped her butt. She overspilled my hold, her ass way more than a generous handful. I groaned and wished that my dick was getting in on the action.
Roe was behind her, and he hitched her leg over my shoulder, opening her up. I moved my hand, sliding it between her legs and savouring the slickness there. I thrust a finger inside her agonizingly slowly, and her breaths turned to pants as I pressed my thumb against her clit.
I needed to taste her. I sank lower, lining my face up with her pretty pussy. I lapped at her, flicking my tongue over her clit, and she cried out. She rocked her hips, riding my face. It was a good thing too. One taste of her wasn’t enough. I moaned, desperate for more as I licked and suckled her.
Roe gripped her hips and swirled his dick through her juices, lubing up the tip before he rocked himself into her. She moaned, her voice all breathy as her pussy pulsed under my tongue and stretched wide by Roe’s cock.
I shuddered, the tingling at the base of my spine spreading through my body as I pushed past the point of no return. I tightened my fist around my cock and shuttled my hand faster. My balls let loose, lightning rocketing through me and the resulting wildfire burning every one of my nerve endings. I came, shooting out stripes of cum from my pulsing cock. I blinked open my eyes and watched as my cock painted the tiled wall. I grunted and struggled to catch my breath as I watched the evidence of my desire swirl down the drain.
My legs were jelly and my hands shook with the force of the orgasm that had hit me. Exhaustion swept over me, and I groaned. Instead of enjoying the warm water, I flicked the tap to cold and tilted my face up into the stream. It sucked the breath out of my lungs and tempered the fire inside me, instantly waking me up from my post-orgasm sleepiness.
Guilt swept over me. There I was, fantasizing over two people who I had no business lusting after. Roe and Cara had potential. Me stepping between them was a recipe for disaster. My interference could only cause problems, just like the ones I’d caused between Chris and Kamirah.
The high faded fast, and the little bit of breakfast I’d eaten soured. I ground my teeth together. Why did they have to fuck this up as well? Why couldn’t I indulge in a little fantasy without being constantly reminded of the two people who’d betrayed me? Their message was clear: they never wanted to see me again—and I was fine with that. Angry as fuck, but fine.
I didn’t linger in the shower. I washed myself off quickly and got out of there before I put my fist through the glass door.
Fuck.
I wrapped the towel around my waist, then yanked the bathroom door open to storm out of there. The door bounced against the wall, and I shouldered past it, striding out into my room. I kicked my suit out of the way and opened my suitcase, looking for the gym shorts I’d packed.
I needed a run to work off this energy.
Or maybe a punching bag.
But I was hungry too.
I exhaled and dropped my chin down to my chest, stretching out the tightness in my shoulders and neck. I closed my eyes. Memories of my fantasy played through my mind’s eye like a reel.
The gym was on the third level, overlooking the river, but the view outside wasn’t what held my attention. It was what was inside.
Roe was there, shirtless and sweating. The patch of silver hair on his chest was sexy as fuck. I wanted to rub my face on it like a cat. He was punching a bag bare knuckled. He held his fists high, protecting his face while he bounced lightly on his toes. His legs tensed and released with each step, the power in his corded muscles reassuring me that my fantasy wouldn’t have been far off.
Moving left and right, he ducked and weaved, throwing sharp jabs and a few punches that would have knocked most guys on their asses. But all I could think about was stripping him out of those shorts and licking every inch of him.
My mouth went dry. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his tight body glistening with a sheen of sweat as he worked out. He was completely oblivious to my predicament, thank fuck.
Roe gripped both sides of the punching bag and brought his knee up, connecting hard with it. His shorts barely covered to mid-thigh, and they stretched up, showing even more of the tight lines and cut muscles of his legs.
Unconsciously, I reached down and adjusted my dick, trying to hide the tent in my loose gym shorts. Fuck me, he was beautiful.
Too beautiful for me to work out next to him without blowing in my shorts.
I backed out, letting the door click closed after me. But I couldn’t bring myself to turn away. I watched him through the glass panel in the door as he spun around, and kicked the bag, nearly toppling it. He reached out to steady it, and I groaned. Jesus fuck that was so sexy.
Lightheaded with lust, I sucked in a breath and forced myself to back away.
When I turned, I came face to face with the one person I didn’t want to see—Minns. My dick shrivelled, and I stared him down, waiting for him to say something. We were alone in the corridor, no one else around. But the coward didn’t say a single word to me. No asking if I was okay, no saying he was sorry, nothing. He looked like a deer in headlights, his gaze darting left and right as if he was looking for an escape route.
I huffed and shook my head in disgust. I wasn’t going to waste another breath on Minns. I wouldn’t give Kam a single thought either. If it wasn’t blatantly obvious before, it was now. We were officially done.
I didn’t need to say anything to him. I had nothing I wanted him to hear anyway. Instead, I walked away, and it was as if a weight lifted from my shoulders. It was the most freeing experience I’d ever had. With my head held high and satisfaction running through my veins I headed to the ballroom that had been set up as the team’s dining room and lounge area. I needed food to tide me over until my date tonight—7:00 p.m. with a certain sexy silver fox and our sweet woman.