LOGIN“Hey,” Ryder murmured against Jax’s shoulder. “You okay?”Jax huffed softly, tired rather than amused, and let his forehead rest briefly against Ryder’s temple. “Fine. Just tired.” He paused, then added, “Nora’s back at her dorm. A couple of her friends said they’d stay with her tonight and check in.”Ryder nodded. “Good.” His arms tightened briefly around Jax. “I’ll help if you need anything.”Jax leaned down and kissed him again, slow, lingering. When he pulled back, his expression softened slightly.Ryder hesitated. “I thought… maybe you changed your mind about the date.”Jax kissed him once more, shorter this time, then reached for a nearby towel and wiped between them with practical efficiency.“I’m sorry I didn’t call,” he said. “My phone was dead in my bag and everything at the hospital was a blur.” His voice lowered slightly. “But no. I haven’t changed my mind.”He opened a drawer beside the bed and pulled out a small bottle of lotion.“Lie down, stay like that,” Jax said.Ryd
Lila paused halfway across the room, one brow arched in delighted curiosity.“Stay?” she echoed, already turning back. “If it’ll help, of course I’ll stay.”She crossed the room again in three easy steps and perched on the edge of Jax’s desk chair, crossing her long legs so the hem of her skirt rode high on her thigh.Ryder groaned.“Lila.”She waved a hand.“I’d like to make sure my boys are playing nice before I hand you over for good,” she added, voice light but eyes glittering. Ryder swallowed, shifting his weight against the dresser.Jax closed the last step until Ryder’s back met the solid edge of the dresser. The wood dug into the backs of his thighs; Jax’s body pressed in from the front, hips slotting flush against his, chest to chest, heat rolling off bare skin in waves. Ryder had nowhere to go. Nowhere to look except up into those dark, steady eyes that hadn’t blinked once since he’d lifted Ryder’s chin.“Look, I didn’t know why you left,” Ryder murmured. “I wasn’t gonna do
Jax watched them.Deliberately. Ryder leaned in closer, nuzzling lightly against Lila’s neck.“Ry!” she laughed, squirming. “That tickles—stop!”Ryder tried to keep his eyes on Jax while he did it, trying to hold that stare, unfazed. Like he hadn't spent the entire day feeling sick with worry.Jax’s jaw tightened.For a second Ryder thought he had him. Then Jax started walking straight toward them.Ryder’s nerve faltered almost immediately. He’d imagined this differently. Jax looking regretful. Apologetic. Maybe even a little desperate.Instead he just looked tired. Pissed. Like he didn’t have the energy for whatever game Ryder was trying to play. Jax reached the cupboard beside them, grabbed a glass, and poured himself a drink without looking at Ryder again.“Jax! There you are,” Lila said brightly.Jax took a long swallow before answering. “Yeah.”He grabbed a bite of something off the counter and leaned back against it.“Where were you?” she asked, tilting her head.“Shit day,” h
Ryder pulled his phone out.He hit Jax’s name. The call rang once. Then cut straight to voicemail.Ryder frowned and pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the screen like it might explain something.“What the hell,” he muttered.He tried again. Same result. Straight to voicemail.Shit.Had Larsson kicked him off the team?Was Jax bailing on their date?Had Ryder actually blown it for him? Had he made such a big deal out of that hit that Larsson started asking questions?The thought made his chest tighten.Jax deserved this season. Deserved the career he’d clawed his way back to after everything. And Ryder might have just torpedoed it because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut for thirty seconds.The arena door banged open behind him.“Hayes!”Ryder turned just as Drew strode out into the lot, dragging the backup defenseman with him.The kid was tall, broad-shouldered, built like he’d been assembled in a weight room. Dark hair, buzzed short, and the kind of eager, slightly panick
The rink was chaos before practice.Sticks clattered. Someone blasted music from a phone speaker. Half the team argued over tape and missing gloves.Ryder shoved his bag under the bench and looked up just in time to catch Jax glancing his way.It was quick. Barely a second.But Jax's mouth tipped slightly, like he’d been waiting for Ryder to walk in.Ryder looked away first, grabbing his gear before Connor or Drew could notice and start their usual bullshit again.It didn’t help.“Calloway!” Connor’s voice exploded across the room. “You bring the Mustang today?”Jax didn’t even look up. “I always bring the Mustang.”“Let me drive it.”“No.”Drew leaned over the back of the bench behind him. “Five minutes.”“No.”“Two minutes.”“Still no.”Connor pointed accusingly. “You let Hayes sit in it all the time.”Ryder choked on his water bottle. “What's that got to do with it? Zach's been in there too!”Jax finally looked up, mouth twitching. “He didn’t ask. He just got in.”Connor gasped. “S
Going about normal college life without Jackson Calloway as his mortal enemy was… weird.Good weird.But weird.Ryder kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. For a snide comment across the rink. A shoulder check in the hallway. Some reminder that the universe had returned to its natural order.But things had just… shifted.It turned out not being at war with Jax had perks.Like copying his stupidly perfect notes in class while Jax pretended not to notice.Like complaining once about how cold the lecture hall was and walking into his next class to find a spare Direwolves hoodie folded over the back of his chair.No note. No comment.And then there were moments like Wednesday afternoon.The science lab emptied slowly after the last lecture, students drifting out in twos and threes until the room finally went quiet.Ryder lingered. Perched on the edge of one of the lab counters, swinging his foot idly while he replied to Lila’s latest flood of messages.Jax leaned against the opposite b
Milo hurried down the hallway, phone in hand, bag slung over one shoulder. The hotel’s conference-level restaurant was easy enough to find, he just followed the scent of coffee, bacon, and testosterone.A few of his new teammates were already gathered in a large side room off the main dining area,
Ethan was braced above him like some living wall. Half-shadow, half-sculpture, all heat.His dark hair was tousled and sticking up in chaotic tufts, his jaw rough with stubble that shadowed the sharp lines of his face. Sleep had softened him around the eyes, but it hadn’t dulled the power radiating
The bar was already loud when they walked in. Low lights, pulsing music, and half the Stormriders filtering through the front like they owned the place. Someone had clearly posted a location tag, because within twenty minutes, the puck bunnies descended.Tall girls in short skirts. Painted nails, p
Noah woke up to silk sheets, a pounding head, and the unmistakable ache of thoroughly satisfying sex.He groaned and flopped onto his stomach, burying his face in a pillow that smelled like Sterling. Clean, expensive, and faintly spiced, like bourbon and power."Mmmfuck," he mumbled. "Dead. I’m dea







