Kayden

"How are you feeling?" Rhys asked for the umpteenth time as soon as Miller and Leo left the bus. "Are you sure that you are alright and able to play?"

I rolled my eyes and playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "Oh please, Rhys. I have repeatedly told you that I am fine. What more do you want me to say?"

Rhys sighed, placed a hand on my forehead, playing doctor even though I wasn’t sure he understood what he was doing. "If you need more of my pheromones, then let me know so I can—"

"No, Rhys," I told him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "There is no way I am going to let you do any more than you already have. I don’t want you to collapse suddenly because you are weak because of me. We both agreed to win this cup together and that is exactly what will happen."

Rhys kissed my forehead and buried his head into my shoulder. "I am just worried. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Please, if you ever feel anything while we are playing, don’t pretend to be fine. I don’t want you to get hurt."

He was worried about me. It was exactly why I was never going to tell him even if anything happened to me on the ice. I wanted him to

Focus on the game and not me.

"I will be fine, Rhys. You have done enough for me," I pulled away from the hug and, before he could say anything to counter my words, I leaned in and kissed him slowly on the lips.

It was brief, barely taking three seconds, but at least it would stop him from worrying or even asking more questions.

"I love you so much, Kayden," Rhys whispered against my lips. "Should anything happen today, anything at all, I would always be here for you."

I rolled my eyes out of annoyance because not even my kiss could stop him from being concerned, but there was something underlying his tone that showed he wasn’t just talking about my condition.

"Did anything happen?" I questioned him.

Silence. There was no response from him for a few seconds, and I already knew what that meant. His grandfather or any member of his family must have threatened him again.

"Did your father call you? Or was it Rami Calder?"

Rhys heaved a deep sigh, and that was all I needed to hear to know that I was right.

"It’s going to be fine, Rhys. You don’t have to—"

"He said that he has a surprise for me," Rhys interrupted before I could finish. "I don’t know what he meant by that, which is why..." He paused, placing his hands on my cheeks and cupping them gently.

"Whatever surprise he has, I don’t want it to stop you from achieving your dreams. Remember that, Kayden. Promise me you won’t stop playing today, unless you are hurt and..."

I stopped him with a kiss.

It started slow, just my lips pressing against his to cut off whatever he was about to say, but the second our mouths touched, the hunger took over. I pushed in deeper, making it longer and far more passionate than I had planned.

My fingers slid up into his hair, threading through the strands and gripping just tight enough to hold him there.

I tilted my head and parted my lips, letting my tongue trace the seam of his mouth before slipping inside.

The moment our tongues met, a low moan escaped me, vibrating against his lips. He answered with his own soft sound, and the kiss turned messy.

Our tongues slid together, slow at first, then faster, tasting and exploring like we had all the time in the world even though we didn’t.

I sucked lightly on his tongue and he groaned into my mouth, the sound sending heat straight through me.

My hand tightened in his hair, tugging gently as I pressed my body closer. Another moan slipped out of me, quieter this time but filled with passion, as his hands found my waist and pulled me in.

We kissed like that for a long moment, our tongues tangling, breaths mixing, soft wet sounds filling the small space between us.

I didn’t want to stop.

Every little moan he gave me only made me kiss him harder, deeper, losing myself in the heat and the taste and the way he responded like he needed this just as badly as I did.

But we had a game ahead. This could wait.

When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard. I kept my fingers in his hair and rested my forehead against his for a second, then slowly whispered.

"Everything will be fine, Rhys," I assured him. "Let’s go join the morning skates."

Rhys smiled widely, his blue eyes turning dark. "That was some crazy kiss. I didn’t want it to stop. It took all my willpower not to pin you down right there and take you from behind."

"Me too," I said, heat rushing through me again. I grabbed his hand and laced our fingers. "But we have a game to win. Maybe... just maybe, after we win and all of this is over—" I rose up on my tiptoes. He leaned down, his ear close to my mouth.

I whispered low and dirty, "I’ll let you fuck me anywhere you want. On a private island, on the beach, sand sticking to our skin while you pound me hard from behind."

Rhys’s eyes widened, a hungry grin spreading across his face. "Deal." He squeezed my hand tight, thumb stroking my knuckles. "Let’s win this fucking game."

Together we stepped off the bus and headed straight to the locker room. By the time we finished getting ready, some of our teammates were still pulling on their warm up jerseys.

As soon as they saw us walk in, their faces lit up.

"How are you now?" Philip asked as we got closer.

"I’m better now," I replied, fist-bumping him.

"Great," he said. "Both your lockers are side by side." He pointed to the left side of the locker room.

Rhys nodded and thanked him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me over to where our stuff was already waiting.

We changed into our warm-up jerseys fast, then headed out to the rink for morning skates.

The second we stepped onto the ice, every head turned our way.

Coach Reddick waved me over. I skated straight to him. "How are you? Feeling better now? Ready for a little warm-up?" he asked.

I bounced lightly on my skates and nodded.

"Join the others," he ordered.

"Yes, Coach," I said and skated off toward the group circling in the middle. They fired questions at me the moment I got close, but my answer stayed the same every time.

I was fine.