Nodding slowly, Dave reached out and freed the strand of hair from Ladd’s hold, letting his knuckles brush his cheek. “Like that?”
Pressing his eyes shut, Ladd shrugged, which didn’t tell Dave much. He moved to take his hand back, but Ladd caught his wrist. Looked up. “If I was back in Russia, and anyone saw us like this—”
“You’re not in Russia. Damn it, Ladd, you don’t ever gotta go back there.” Dave combed his fingers into Ladd’s hair, forgetting all his hands-off intentions. His touch seemed to comfort the other man and he had to do something to get the pain out of his eyes. “You can be honest with me. With yourself. Or whatever. But if something happened that scared you, stay the fuck here.”
With a soft laugh, Ladd settled his hand on Dave’s forearm. “It’s not that easy. But you’re right. I am here now. And this is nice.”
Dave wet his bottom lip, hardly breathing. It was nice. Nicer than he wanted to admit. Looked like he had the answer to his own question, but that didn’t make things any less messy. Or safe for Ladd. The ‘now’ was pretty much Ladd saying he’d go back to Russia. To whatever had freaked him out so much he rarely opened up to anyone. And he had issues with being touched that he hadn’t told anyone about. How many times had one of the guys given him a hug, or grabbed him in a harmless way, and ended up messing with his head?
Won’t fucking happen again.
“How long has it been since you were close to anyone and felt okay?” Dave loosened his hold on Ladd’s soft hair, stroking it gently, smiling when the tension eased from Ladd’s whole body. “You flirt sometimes.”
“With you.” Ladd’s cheeks reddened. He ducked his head. “I wanted you to like me.”
“I do.”
“Yeah…” Ladd leaned closer as Dave brushed his fingers down his jaw. “But you didn’t.”
True enough. Ladd’s short answers and teasing had pissed him off at first. Then they’d started spending more time together and it went from him getting protective to…whatever this was. He sighed quietly as he trailed his fingers down Ladd’s neck, then traced his collar lightly. Ladd’s throat worked as he swallowed, but he didn’t move.
“You confused me. You still do.” Dave met Ladd’s eyes. “But I’m starting to think there doesn’t always have to be an answer. Sometimes it can just be the moment. What feels right.”
Ladd inclined his head. “This does.”
“Good.”
“But…just this?” Ladd’s jaw ticked. He pulled away, abruptly. “Which isn’t fair.”
Sitting up, Dave put his hand on Ladd’s shoulder and eased him back down. He had no clue what he was doing. Where he wanted this to go. If anywhere. He had a lot to figure out. So did Ladd. All he knew was he wanted to see that peaceful expression on the other man’s face again.
To know he’d been the one to put it there.
“I know what I’m doing. Do you trust me?” Dave smiled at Ladd’s nod. “Good. Then let’s just chill. Like this. I’ll go crash on the couch in a bit.”
Brow furrowing, Ladd looked over the bed. “There’s room here.”
“Are you gonna feel comfortable with the cleaning lady coming in and seeing me sleeping next to you?” When Ladd closed his eyes and shook his head, Dave placed his hand on the side of his neck, lips slanted. “I didn’t think so.”
For the next hour, Dave lay there with Ladd, mostly keeping his hands to himself, though he didn’t hesitate to brush back Ladd’s hair or squeeze his arm. Ladd seemed to soak up every touch, relaxing so much he was drifting off when Dave decided it was time for him to go.
As he rose quietly, Ladd reached out, grabbing his hand and pulling him back down. He leaned up, staring at Dave, then moved close, his eyes on Dave’s lips.
Barely breathing, Dave waited.
Ladd’s lips brushed Dave’s cheek as he whispered, “thank you.”
Neither moved for what seemed a long time. Dave had to fight not to lick his lips. Not to kiss Ladd because he really wanted to. He’d never wanted to kiss anyone this much. And he had a feeling Ladd would let him.
But he wasn’t ready.
He might never be.
That Dave both wanted more and was willing to accept nothing was weird, but it was the truth. He curved his hand under Ladd’s jaw and brushed his thumb over his bottom lip.
“Get some sleep, Heath.” He inhaled slowly, then brought his lips to Heath’s forehead and pressed them there for a moment. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Chapter 5
Scott bolted awake as his phone went off. He rolled over, almost falling off the bed as he reached for it. Smiled as he saw Becky’s name below the last photo she’d sent him of her and Cassie. He answered, flopping back onto the soft sheets. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Don’t. Just don’t.” Her voice was muffled by the wind, as though she was walking fast outside, her tone tight with anger. “What did you do? What the fuck did you do?”
Sitting up again, Scott pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. Then brought it back. “What?”
“Scott, it’s all over social media. I’ve spent the last few hours getting videos taken down, but we both know people copy them within minutes and there’s no way to completely erase them…” She let out a rough, irritated sound. “You seriously don’t know?”
“No, I don’t. And I’m figuring I should apologize either way.”
“You should. Why are you in a hot tub with two men completely naked?” Her voice grew quiet. The way it did when she was really upset. “I know they’re your friends, but I thought…I thought when we played, it was a decision we made together.”
Tightening his grip on the phone, Scott tried to find the right words. He’d never thought much of hanging out with Luke and Tyler, soaking in some sun. They’d been friends for a long time and they saw one another naked in the locker room. Who cared? They all knew nothing would happen without their significant others. The teasing never led anywhere. Not anymore. They’d settled down.
But…did him knowing that mean anything? Becky had seen something that upset her. They were honest in their relationship. Always. And no matter how much they played, there were limits.
Limits he’d never intended to cross.
He had. And he needed to fix this.
“We’ve talked about me hanging out with Tyler and Luke at hotels, out of sight of any cameras, tanning. I guess I assumed last night was no different, but I should have asked if you were cool with it.” He didn’t know how anyone had gotten footage out, but it didn’t matter. The hotel had security cameras. All it took was one guy pressing record, hoping for a payout. He should have thought of that.
Even without the footage, if it upset Becky, he shouldn’t have done it.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t be. Or… Damn it, I don’t know what to say. You being in the hot tub naked didn’t bother me. And the sunbathing and you guys hanging out…I know everything, it’s not an issue.” She let out a soft groan. “Seeing it online was a gut-punch. We’re usually so careful and the last few months there’s been too many slips. This one got to me. I know the last one wasn’t your fault. And this one probably wasn’t either.”
“Hey, don’t let me off the hook. I’m at a hotel and I should have considered people would be watching.”
“Maybe…but who wants to live like that?”
“I get paid very well to have my life on display. You don’t.”
“Don’t go there. I’m part of the team that makes sure it’s on display the right way.”
“And I just made your job harder. I’m sorry.” He continued quickly as he dressed and headed out to the main room, where Luke was already gulping down coffee and making desperate ‘let’s talk’ motions. “You’re the expert, I’ll do whatever you ask. But when it comes to me and you…I fucked up. You deserve better.”
“A man who knows how to apologize properly and makes me happy every single day?” Becky let out a soft laugh, sounding much
more relaxed. “I don’t know what ‘better’ would be, but I’m happy with what I have. I’ll see you as soon as I put out some fires.”
He winced at that. Then said ‘Goodbye’ and ‘I love you’ before taking a seat next to Luke. As Luke opened his laptop on the table, Tyler came out of the last room, rubbing his eyes.
At Luke’s sharp look, he paused, then came over to sit at Luke’s other side.
Luke reached over and pressed ‘play’ on a YouTube video. It showed all three of them. In the hot tub. Just as they were getting out.
Completely naked.
Their dicks were blurred out, which was probably why the video hadn’t been taken down yet. The video already had over a hundred thousand views. It was only a minute long. The last ten seconds were gifs of girls screaming and fainting.
Well…the editing was well done, anyway.
He rubbed his hands over his eyes.
What a fucking mess.
“Becky’s taking care of it, but we’ll probably get fined. Which we should be. That was fucking stupid.” Scott dropped back against the sofa. “There are security cameras everywhere. We usually tan on a fucking balcony where there’s some privacy, but—”
“Dude, that wasn’t security footage.” Tyler clicked to start the video over. Let it play again. “That’s from someone’s phone.”
Damn it, Tyler was right. The sound was muffled, but not gone completely as he’d seen in most security footage. And there was a slight shake, as though the camera hadn’t been steady the whole time. He was used to vids recorded on phones being filmed vertically—he always did it that way when he posted vids for Instagram—but to fill the screen on YouTube, it needed to be horizontal.
“Do you think it was a staff member?” Luke glared at the laptop, then snapped it shut. “Finding out shouldn’t be hard. There are only certain people with access to our private areas.”
“Maybe…but who’d be working at night who had it?” Scott ground his teeth. “I can think of three people who probably thought they’d get away with it.”
Blinking at him, Tyler still looked confused.
Luke’s face reddened, his eyes darkening with the realization of who Scott meant. “Yeah? Well they thought wrong.”
The man moved so fast, Scott hadn’t stood before he was out the door, slamming it behind him. He glanced over at Tyler.
They both bolted across the room.
He’d never seen Luke this mad.
Someone was going to get hurt.
That fucking dream was going to be the death of him.
Dave groaned as he turned the hot water back on. Standing under the cold spray had done nothing for his erection. He was losing his mind. A mind he’d given clear instructions to.
Heath Ladd was his friend. The younger man needed affection, support, and for him to keep being a good friend. That was it. That had to be it.
For now.
No. For-fucking-ever. He couldn’t let himself wonder what else they might have or he’d be having these kinds of dreams all the time. And he couldn’t face the other man until he got a grip on himself.
A tight grip. He pressed his forehead against the silver and dark grey tiled wall, breathing in the steam filling the shower, slowly stroking his dick as he remembered each and every detail of the dream that had left him in this condition.
“Go to sleep, Heath.” Dave gritted out the words when Heath grabbed his wrist before he could leave the bed. He’d stayed because the younger man had asked him to, but he couldn’t do this anymore. He needed some space to cool down and convince himself this was a very bad idea.
Heath’s lips curved into a lazy smile. “No.”
“Fine. Then stay up all night. I can’t fucking do this, man. I can’t…” He inhaled roughly as Heath brushed his lips along his throat. “What the fuck are you—”
“Convincing you to stay.” Heath’s lips grazed his cheek. Came softly up to his ear. “Is it working?”
“Yes, damn it.” Dave shuddered as Heath sucked on his earlobe. Pleasure spilled in hot waves down his body, hardening his dick and making it almost impossible to hold still as Heath kissed down his throat again. He wanted to pin Heath to the bed. Kiss him until he was begging. But he didn’t think the man wanted to take things that far.
He was testing his limits.
And Dave let him.
“Lie down.” Heath whispered. “I want to try something.”
Muffling a moan with his fist, Dave stroked his hand faster over his dick. He should stop. Let himself come and forget the damn dream.
But he wanted to remember. Every. Single. Moment.
“When you kiss girls, does it feel like this?” Heath leaned over him, pausing for a second, an uncertain look in his blue eyes. He bit his bottom lip. “It’s never done much for me.”
Dave stilled, thinking of Richards and how hard he’d tried to get the kid to hook up with different girls. He’d been such an idiot. He refused to let Heath go through the same thing he’d put Richards through.
He curved his hand around the back of Heath’s neck. “So you don’t like girls?”
“I don’t know.” Heath lowered, so slowly holding still became pure torture. “But I like you.”
When their lips touched, the kiss was soft. Gentle. Letting Heath take the lead was hard, but this time, Dave would accept what he could get. Even if it was only this. He knew he could get more if he took control. He sensed that Heath would surrender, that he wanted to.
But him being submissive wouldn’t ease any regrets he had in the end.
And Dave didn’t want him to regret anything they did together. He needed Heath to know he could stop at any time and Dave would still be there for him.
Heath didn’t stop.
Moving down his body, Heath hooked his fingers in the waistband of Dave’s boxers. Silently, Dave lifted his hips. His lips parted as Heath licked him, curving his hand around Dave’s cock as he grew bold suddenly and dipped down to take him fully in his mouth.
Pressure built up at the base of Dave’s spine. He shifted his hips, fucking into his loose grip, the slick wetness not quite as hot as Heath’s mouth, but close. So fucking close. Enough to drive him over the edge as he came with a shout. His legs shook as he braced himself against the wall. He could still see Heath, sucking his dick like a goddamn porn star.
Which was funny if he thought about it.
The kid was probably a virgin.
If he’d done more than kiss a girl, Dave would be shocked.
But it didn’t matter. This was a dream. Reality hadn’t changed. Dave would protect Heath and make sure whoever the guy ended up with treated him right. Like any friend would. Any friend who didn’t dream about blowjobs and wonder what would have happened next.
‘Friend’ was gonna become a fucking dirty word. And it wasn’t Heath’s fault. Dave had put himself in the ‘friendzone’. Had decided on his own what the best thing for them was. He had to make that decision until Heath figured out what he wanted. And he didn’t have to.
Ever.
After rinsing his cum off the wall, Dave quickly washed up. As he reached for a towel, a shout sounded from the main room.
Heath.
He wrapped the towel around his waist. Rushed out of the room. Spotted Luke with his hands on Heath’s shoulders, face red with rage.
And slammed his body into Luke, knocking him away from Heath. Falling with him.
Thankfully, the towel stayed put.
He landed two solid punches into Luke’s jaw before Luke slammed his fist up under Dave’s chin. Blood filled his mouth as he bit into his tongue, but the pain didn’t reach him. His vision became a red haze and he snarled as someone grabbed his arm. Shaking Richards off, he jolted as a punch caught him in the eye.
Something cracked into the back of his head and he fell onto Luke, too stunned to move. He pressed his eyes shut, shaking his head roughly to clear it. He had to keep fighting.
“Bloody cunt!” Heath let
out a vicious sound. “Get off me!”
Dave pushed off Luke and twisted around, gnashing his teeth as he saw Demyan restraining Heath, who was struggling to get to Vanek.
Bottom lip dripping with blood, Vanek dropped the cracked vase he’d been holding. He started toward Heath. Richards cut him off.
“What the fuck is going on in here?”
Everything stopped. Dave swallowed and looked over to where the assistant coach, Sloan Callahan, stood in the doorway. With the team owner, Lorenzo Keane.
We are so fucked.
“Get off him, Demyan.” Callahan strode into the room, snapping a sharp glare at Dave. “Take a seat, Hunt. Carter, go clean your face and then get back in here.” He continued until he was standing in front of Heath, who still looked ready to go after Vanek. “Don’t make things worse, kid.”
Heath’s jaw ticked, but he inclined his head and joined Dave on the sofa. Richards sat at Dave’s other side, arms crossed over his chest. He looked terrified, even though he hadn’t really done anything. But his boyfriend was a cop, so maybe he was scared of his reaction.
With the way Callahan had gone all calm and quiet, just watching them as Vanek, Demyan, and finally Carter took the remaining seats around the room, Dave wasn’t sure the cop was the one Richards should be afraid of.
Keane let out an irritated sigh, not moving from the doorway. “I came because I was in the area and hoped to gain some understanding about the ‘incident’, but this is messier than I have time for. I trust you’ll get this under control?”
“I will. Thank you.” Callahan inclined his head to Keane and the owner walked out, leaving them to his dubious care. Folded his arms over his chest, Callahan focused on Demyan. “You’re too damn old for this. I don’t want to hear any fucking excuses. Just the facts.”
Right, because you’ll get them from him, right? Dave tensed, then stilled as Heath’s hand settled on his forearm. Only for a second, more a friend telling him to calm down than anything. But it worked.
Demyan brought a hand to his face, rubbing his temples with his forefinger and thumb. He exhaled slowly. “Stupid pranks that went too far. That’s all there really is to it.”
Cocky Shot_The Dartmouth Cobras_An Off Ice Novella Page 4
