Playing With Fate

by Ava Thorpe

  Luke’s body was shaking, his hands finding their way down to Carter’s head, fingers tangling through Carter’s hair. He didn’t pull too hard, didn’t force his way in Carter’s mouth, but the pressure of his fingers on Carter’s temple made Carter want to redouble his efforts. He licked his palm, before closing it around Luke’s cock. Carter tugged gently, but firmly.

  Luke’s breath was coming in ragged, uneven gasps, and the sound went straight to Carter’s dick. He loved Luke like this. Luke was putty in Carter’s hands, breathless, his entire concentration honed in on Carter and Carter alone.

  In moments like these, Luke was completely his.

  “Oh god, babe, you have to stop,” Luke groaned, rocking his hips up. “I can’t. I can’t hold off, I’m too close.”

  Carter pulled off, grinning. “It’s okay, you can come, I want you to.”

  Luke’s cock twitched at that. “Jesus,” Luke said emphatically. He pushed Carter away, pulling him up so that their lips were inches apart. Luke kissed him wetly, deeply, and Carter had no choice but to go along for the ride.

  When they separated, Luke laid his head on the crook of Carter’s shoulder. “Don’t want to come yet.” His voice was muffled, his breath still jagged.

  “Oh?” Carter asked, stroking Luke’s sides.

  “Want to come with you inside me.” Luke said it quietly, but there was no mistaking the want in his voice.

  Carter shivered. God, just the thought of being inside Luke. It left him speechless. He couldn’t wait to be inside him, to be so connected to him.

  “Tell me what to do,” Carter said helplessly. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Shaking his head, Luke kissed him again. “You won’t hurt me. Just…just go slow, okay? It’s been a while.” Luke unbuttoned Carter’s jeans, pulling them down, tossing them to the side. “I trust you.”

  Luke grasped Carter’s cock in his palm, stroking it lightly, his thumb spreading the precome forming at the slit. Carter gasped sharply, pulling Luke’s hand away. It was too much, the sensation was too good. Carter didn’t want this to be over before it even started.

  Pushing Luke down on the bed again, Carter braced himself around Luke so that he was on top of him, their cocks touching. Carter groaned, grinding down against Luke, unable to control himself.

  Luke made small, little gasps of noise that went straight to Carter’s cock. He spread his legs wider, and Carter pulled off slightly, taking his fill of Luke.

  Carter was mesmerized. Luke was sexy as fuck. It was almost overwhelming. Luke trusted him. It was clear from the way Luke’s eyes softened as he stared at Carter. There was vulnerability there, and Carter counted himself lucky that Luke wanted him back.

  Reaching to his nightstand, Carter rummaged for his box of condoms. Picking a condom up, he also grabbed the small tube of lube along with it. It had been a while since he had any use for them, and he was glad his condoms weren’t expired.

  He rubbed Luke’s thighs tenderly, encouragingly. Coating one finger with lube, Carter teased Luke’s hole, before pushing his finger in gently, letting Luke adjust to the intrusion.

  It was tight, hot, and Carter didn’t know how he’d be able to handle having his dick inside Luke. Carter fucked Luke gently with his finger, a second one joining the other. Stroking the vee of Luke’s hips with his other hand, Carter pushed in another finger, stretching Luke out.

  Luke made throaty, guttural noises, incoherent with need as Carter pressed his fingers deeper, angling them so that they’d brush against Luke’s prostate. Carter wasn’t sure if he was doing it right, at first, but Luke’s whimpers assured him he was doing exactly what Luke wanted him to do.

  “I can take it,” Luke said gruffly. “I need you, Carter.”

  Carter wanted him so badly, wanted to feel Luke around him, but he didn’t want to hurt the man. “You’re still too tight, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “I’m ready, I promise,” Luke insisted, rolling his hips down, taking more of Carter’s fingers. “I want you. Please, baby.”

  Carter felt the desperation behind Luke’s words. Nodding, he pulled out his fingers slowly. Luke whined at the loss. “Shh, I’ve got you,” Carter said, reassuring.

  He quickly removed the condom from its foil packet, sliding it over his cock. He lined up himself against Luke’s hole, slowly sliding inside in small, controlled thrusts, letting Luke get used to his girth.

  It was heaven.

  Carter was pretty sure this was heaven, and he was losing his goddamn mind. Luke felt amazing, his ass gripping Carter’s cock like a vise.

  “Keep going,” Luke said, moaning. “I want all of it.” His eyes were shut. He pulled Carter towards him, wrapping his arms around the man, nails scraping over Carter’s back.

  Carter knew Luke was going to leave a mark, but he didn’t care. He loved the idea of having a reminder of this—of Luke—on his body, even if it wasn’t permanent.

  He pushed in further, inch by inch, until he bottomed out, his cock fully inside Luke’s channel. They both swore in tandem, clinging to each other with need.

  Luke was shaking, his body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He kissed Carter, wet, sloppy kisses that made Carter shudder.

  Carter loved seeing Luke like this, all reckless abandon. He loved the way Luke moaned onto Carter’s skin, arching his back in pleasure as Carter fucked into him in long, languid strokes. Carter loved the way Luke cried out his name, like a desperate plea, and holy shit—

  Carter loved Luke.

  Like a bullet going hundreds of miles per hour, it him square in the chest, hard and unexpectedly. He was in love with Luke. Carter couldn’t breathe, like all the air had been sucked out of him. He gripped Carter’s hips tightly, needing the other man closer. Jesus, how could he have missed this?

  Why didn’t he see it coming?

  “I’m so close,” Luke whispered brokenly.

  Carter snaked a hand between them, wrapping his palm around Luke’s cock, stroking it in time with his thrusts. Luke felt heavy in his hand, smooth like velvet.

  “Do it. Come for me, Luke,” Carter groaned, his thrusts becoming more erratic. He was losing control, and he wanted Luke to come before he did.

  Luke let out a loud, searing cry. He came, his come splattering all over their stomachs, all over Carter’s hand. Luke was impossibly tight, clamping around Carter as he rode the waves of his orgasm.

  Carter fucked him once, twice, before his body overtook him. He came, filling the condom with his come, his grip on Luke hard and bruising.

  It was incredible—Luke was incredible, and Carter never wanted this moment to stop. Luke looked at him tenderly, stroking the stray hairs falling over his face. Panting, he pulled out of Luke gently, laying his head on Luke’s chest.

  He could hear Luke’s heartbeat, trying to match his breaths with Luke’s breaths.

  “Not bad, rookie,” Luke said in a serious tone.

  Carter cracked up, laughing tiredly, putting more of his weight on Luke. “Thanks, coach, you know you can always count on me.” He looked up at Luke, and Luke wrinkled his nose.

  “Yeah, no, no sports talk in bed. It’s weird,” Luke said.

  Carter snorted. “You started it.” He placed a barely-there kiss on Luke’s forehead before getting up. He walked towards the ensuite bathroom to wash his hands. Grabbing a small towel, he ran the tap over it, wetting it slightly.

  When he walked back to the bedroom, Luke was still laying in the same position, his eyes trained to the ceiling, his breathing evening out. He looked the picture of relaxation.

  Carter ran the towel over Luke’s stomach, over his cock, wiping him clean. Dried come wasn’t the best, and he liked doing this for Luke. He liked being able to touch him afterwards—liked being able to take care of him.

  “Ah, this is the life. Orgasms and aftercare. I hit the jackpot,” Luke said, clearly still high from endorphins.

  He was such a dork, but Carter didn’t want him any other way.
When he was done, Carter flung the towel to the floor. He slid up the bed until he was on his side beside Luke. Luke moved so that Carter was spooning him, grabbing Carter’s arm and placing it over his waist.

  “Love this,” Luke murmured.

  Carter couldn’t agree more. His cock twitched as it lay between the globes of Luke’s ass, still interested, but also very satisfied. Luke fit so well against him, like Luke was made for this—made for him. He kissed the juncture of Luke’s neck, his chest reverberating as his earlier revelation thrummed back in his head.

  He was in love with Luke.

  There was no going back now.

  “Nap time?” Luke asked sleepily, wriggling so that he was even closer against Carter, with absolutely no room in between them.

  Carter felt like he should tell Luke, that he should say something. Instead, he hummed his agreement. “Nap time, definitely.”

  Chickening out, Carter used sleep as an excuse to hold off on saying those words. He’d never said them to anyone other than his parents before. When the right time came, Carter was going to tell Luke how he felt.

  They had all the time in the world.

  Chapter Twenty

  Carter

  Their nap ended up longer than anticipated. By the time they stirred from their sleep, the sun was starting to set, orange and yellow hues of light filtering through Carter’s bedroom windows. Carter cracked an eye open, sleepily taking stock of Luke beside him.

  He looked so peaceful, so content—Carter wanted to see Luke like this every day. He kissed the bridge of Luke’s nose, circling his arms around him. Luke was warm and inviting, cocooned in Carter’s duvet. Luke’s skin felt soft to the touch, and Carter couldn’t resist stroking Luke’s arms up and down.

  Luke’s eyes started to flutter, a yawn escaping him. He made cute little gurgling noises at the back of his throat, leaving Carter helpless in the wake of it all. Luke was adorable as shit, even in his sleep, and Carter was doomed. Moving so that Luke was on his side facing Carter, he hugged Carter back, burrowing his face in the juncture of Carter’s neck.

  “Wha’ time’s it?” Luke mumbled throatily. He squeezed Carter lightly, snuggling even closer, until there was no space in between them.

  Carter couldn’t hold on tight enough. He didn’t want to let Luke go. Craning to see the alarm clock in his nightstand, Carter’s stomach rumbled involuntarily when he realized how close it was to dinner time. “Just after five. We slept for a long time,” he said, tangling his fingers through Luke’s hair. He inhaled deeply, taking in Luke’s scent, memorizing it.

  “I should move,” Luke said, hesitation in his voice. “I promised my roommates I’d hang out with them tonight.”

  Frowning in disappointment, Carter kissed the top of Luke’s head. “You can’t stay, then?” He’d gotten used to having Luke over. Most nights, Luke stayed, and Carter was finding it harder and harder to find rest without Luke in bed with him.

  Luke sighed. “I wish,” he said, sadly. “I’m really fucking tempted to cancel, but I’ve already canceled on them a bunch of times the last couple of weeks.” Luke didn’t directly blame Carter, but Carter understood. Luke had been canceling on his roommates because of him.

  “I understand,” Carter replied. Carter couldn’t say he was sorry—he was sure Luke’s roommates were great, but he loved hanging out with Luke. The last few weeks had been amazing. He wasn’t going to feel guilty about taking up a good portion of Luke’s time. It was selfish of him, in a way, yes, but he craved Luke’s company.

  “We can hang out tomorrow?” Luke pulled away from him slightly. He kissed Carter, soft and tender and light. It made Carter’s chest ache.

  Carter almost said yes, until he remembered he had a game. He was leaving the next day for a short road trip to Nashville. “Can’t, I’ll be out of town.” Carter’s excitement about seeing his best friend, who played for Nashville, was dulled when he realized he wouldn’t be able to see Luke for a bit.

  Luke pouted. “That sucks,” he said, though he backtracked immediately. “I mean, obviously it’s fine, and it’s your job. I can’t begrudge you that, but I miss you when you’re away.” He said the last part quietly, almost like he didn’t want Carter to hear it.

  Carter cupped Luke’s chin, caressing it, before kissing him. Sometimes he wished hockey didn’t take him out of town so much. The life of a hockey player wasn’t always conducive to relationships. He’d seen it get in the way of his teammates’ relationships before. Time zones and distance were hard to combat.

  He could only hope that Luke understood.

  “It’ll only be for a couple of days,” Carter assured him. “Want to come over when I get back on Friday? I have half the day off, we can go out or do something.”

  Luke smiled happily, nodding in interest, before he started to frown. “Frick, I have to, uh, run this errand on Friday. Can’t really miss it. But maybe Saturday?”

  It meant it would be practically half the week before Carter could see Luke again. It seemed like an extraordinary small amount of time, but to Carter, it felt like it stretched to forever. “I have a game on Saturday night. Unless you wanted to come to the game? I can get you tickets again, and we can go home together?”

  “That sounds great, I think I’d like that. Who are you guys playing?” Luke said.

  Carter had to think about that for a second. The Admirals had a busy second half of the season, with a game practically every other day. It was exhausting. “Colorado.”

  Luke perked up. “Ooh, is that the team with the really hot Swedish captain?” His eyes were full of mirth.

  Tickling Luke, Carter moved him around so that Luke was under him. “Yes, but you’re not allowed to look at guys from the other team. I thought we talked about this already.”

  Laughing, Luke fought his tickles weakly. “No, that was about Ash. This is about the hot Swedish captain.”

  “Still not allowed,” Carter said, nosing at Luke’s neck. He fought the ‘mine’ threatening to spill from his lips. He wasn’t normally the jealous kind. In fact, he couldn’t recall ever being jealous of anyone when he was dating women, but with Luke, it was different. He wanted everyone to know Luke was his, just as much as he was Luke’s.

  It was a startling revelation. Carter wasn’t even out, for fuck’s sake, not to anyone. His newly found bisexuality was still strange to him sometimes.

  Luke flipped them over, so that he was on top of Carter. Laying his head on Carter’s chest, Luke stroked Carter’s side. “A caveman as well as a hockey player. How did I get so lucky?” he said, deadpan.

  “Ugg,” Carter replied tonelessly. “Admit it, I’m hotter than Landeskog, anyway.”

  “Landeskog, that’s his name. I don’t know, I feel like I should be googling this. For, you know, accuracy.” Luke took his phone from the night table.

  “No googling.”

  “Okay, maybe not googling. But I really probably should go.” Luke sounded disappointed, reflecting the feeling twisting in Carter’s stomach.

  Luke gingerly got up, stretching his arm muscles as he sidled out of the bed. His clothes were haphazardly thrown around the room the night before, and he picked them up off the floor one by one. Luke was beautiful, rays of sunset hitting his body just so.

  “You mind if I use your shower?” Luke asked, pointing to the door.

  Carter nodded. “Go ahead, it’s fine.” He came up with a brilliant idea. “I could join you? You know, to conserve water.”

  “How conscientious of you,” Luke said drolly. “You can, but no funny business, okay? I really have to go or Tessa will have my balls.”

  Getting up from the bed, Carter walked towards the bathroom, following Luke. He couldn’t help but admire the curve of Luke’s ass. He’d never been an ass-man before, but Luke was quickly changing that part of him.

  He was obsessed.

  In the end, it was Luke who touched him first as they showered. Mutual orgasms later, they shut the water off, toweli
ng each other dry. This was going to have to tide Carter over until he saw Luke again in a few days, but it wasn’t enough. He could never get enough.

  “Frick, Tessa’s going to kill me,” Luke whined, putting on one of Carter’s old shirts. It was big on him, as usual, but it didn’t hide how gorgeous he was. If Carter could put Luke in his clothes all the time, he would. He loved seeing Luke in his clothes.

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine, you guys were just going to stay in anyway, right?” Carter dressed himself quickly, putting on a threadbare pair of sweats and an Admirals hoodie. Most of his clothes had the Admirals brand on them. He lived at the rink half the time, it was just easier to have a bunch of team-related clothing around.

  Luke looked at him doubtfully. “You’ve never met Tessa. Trust me.”

  Something in Carter stopped. He’d never met Tessa. Actually, he’d never met any of Luke’s friends, outside of that one meeting with Zarwah. That had been accidental, too, and it happened way before they started this…thing they had. Why hadn’t he met them? He would like to meet them—after all, Luke spoke highly of them.

  Was Luke ashamed of him? Carter knew he wasn’t exactly…academic, but he’d like to think he’d be able to keep up.

  “That’s true,” he said finally. He went to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water. He greeted Puck, who immediately ran to him, panting, and begging for food.

  His dog was all stomach.

  “Hey buddy, did you nap, too?” Luke ruffled Puck’s fur. “Should we feed you? Are you hungry?”

  Carter smiled at the two of them fondly. He liked that Luke loved Puck, almost as much as he did. Luckily, Puck loved Luke back—sometimes more than Carter, but that was because Luke was a sucker for Puck’s puppy dog eyes.

  “He’s always hungry,” Carter said. “I’ll feed him when I prep my dinner. He can wait a little bit, right, buddy?”

  Puck looked at him sadly, as if understanding. Crazy dog.