ログインNora still couldn’t believe she’d been talked into this.She’d been ambushed by Ryder on his knees in the doorway of her dorm room earlier that day, hands clasped together like a desperate prayer, eyes wide and pathetic.“Please, please, please, please, please!” he’d whined, rocking back and forth dramatically. “Nora, I’m begging you. I don’t want to cancel this date again. I really like him. It’s only one night.”Students were walking past in the hallway, staring openly. Someone snickered.Nora’s face burned. “For fuck’s sake, get up. People can see you.”But he didn’t. He shuffled forward on his knees, grabbing the bottom of her door so she couldn’t close it.“Beck said he’ll watch you the whole time,” Ryder continued, voice cracking with desperation. “He’s super overbearing, so Jax won’t be worried. Please. I’ll owe you forever. Anything you want.”More people were passing now. A girl slowed down, phone already out like she was considering filming.Nora hissed, “People are literall
The sky bled into soft pinks, deep oranges, and lavender, reflecting perfectly on the ice. It was breathtaking, peaceful in a way ambitious hockey players rarely got to experience.“Shit,” Ryder breathed, a slow, awed grin spreading across his face. “You can literally skate right up to the damn door. I’d never be late for practice if the Den had a strip of ice straight to the rink.”Jax chuckled as he grabbed their bags from the trunk and carried them inside the spacious cabin. Ryder found himself rooted to the floor by a large window, completely mesmerized. The sunset painted the ice in warm amber and rose, the colors so vivid they almost didn’t feel real. The quiet beauty of it settled something deep in his chest.No rink. No noise. No teammates. No pressure sitting heavy on his shoulders.Just… quiet. A moment later, Jax returned, wrapping his arms around Ryder’s waist from behind. His chest pressed warm and solid against Ryder’s back, lips finding the sensitive spot just below h
The Wolf Den was always quiet on Sunday afternoons. Most of the guys were sprawled in their rooms, nursing hangovers or catching up on sleep after a brutal week. The occasional muffled laugh or video game sound drifted down the hallway, but the common areas were peaceful.In Jax’s room, Ryder stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the collar of his dark green button-down. He’d put in real effort today — fitted black jeans that hugged his thighs, the shirt sleeves rolled up to show his forearms, and his hair styled just enough to look intentional without trying too hard. He wanted to look good for Jax. Really good.Across the room, Jax was doing the same.He wore a charcoal-gray sweater that clung to his broad shoulders and chest in all the right ways, the fabric soft but fitted enough to hint at the muscle underneath. Dark jeans sat low on his hips, his dark hair was pushed back, a few strands still falling forward, and the sharp line of his jaw was freshly shaved. He looked ridiculo
Ryder flipped them carefully, rolling Jax onto his back and sliding two pillows under his hips to ease the angle. His hands felt suddenly unsteady.Jax was spread out beneath him like something sacred and filthy at the same time. Completely naked, skin still flushed from the frantic makeout against the wall, dark hair messy against the pillow. His broad chest rose and fell with quick breaths, the silver chain catching the low lamplight every time he exhaled. The sharp ridges of his abs tightened with anticipation, the deep V of his hips framing his thick, flushed cock that curved up hard against his stomach, already twitching. He looked devastating.This is the man… I love.The thought hit Ryder like a slapshot. This wasn’t just sex anymore. This was Jax, the guy who’d knocked him off the puck and then knocked his entire world sideways, trusting him with something he’d never given anyone.“Sure you wanna do this?” Ryder whispered, voice rough as he pressed a soft kiss to the inside
The bus ride back to Greyhollow was pure torture.In the dark cabin, surrounded by sleeping teammates, Ryder sat stunned and still half-hard while Jax licked his fingers clean with slow, deliberate strokes, eyes never leaving Ryder’s. Then Jax pulled the blanket higher over their laps and slumped against his side, stealing soft, lingering kisses that still tasted like Ryder’s own release.Ryder’s brain was buffering on a loop.He said he loved me. Did that really just happen? Was that really the name for this thing between them?Was the back of a team bus, surrounded by twenty snoring hockey players, really the place to say it?His stomach kept flipping like he was fifteen again.He liked Jax. A lot.He wanted to be with him—all the time.Relationships had always felt restrictive. That’s why what he’d had with Lila had been so perfect: open, easy, no expectations. But with Jax… he didn’t want to touch anyone else. And he sure as hell didn’t want Jax touching anyone else either.But J
They thanked Milo Laskey in a daze.Ryder shook his hand again, muttered something that sounded like “Appreciate it,” while his brain kept looping the same impossible thought: two centers from the same program. Jax did the same, voice steady but eyes a little too wide. Milo just gave them that easy, grounded smile and said, “Think about it. No pressure,” before slipping out the side door like he hadn’t just dropped a grenade in the middle of their lives.Back in the locker room, the noise had mostly died down.A few stragglers were still packing, but the energy had flattened into post-game exhaustion. Ryder moved on autopilot, shoving damp gear into his bag, the zipper loud in the quiet space. His mind wouldn’t stop spinning.A team wanted both of them. Not one or the other. Both. Same lineup. Same city. Same everything.It felt too good to be real. Like the universe had looked at the messy, secret thing growing between them and decided to hand them the perfect future on a silver pl
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
Harlow’s house was a whirlwind of emotions, hugs, and excited chaos. Her husband met them at the door, wrapping her up with a soft, relieved “Congratulations, babe,” before shaking Aiden’s hand and hugging Lukas too.Her two boys barreled forward next, each promising to look after their mom. Lukas
Aiden barely got the car into park before Lukas had the door open. He practically launched himself onto Mac’s front lawn, adrenaline still buzzing through every vein like he hadn’t just played sixty minutes plus celebrations.Mac burst out the front door at the same time, meeting him halfway across
A few weeks later, Lukas was standing barefoot in the middle of his apartment, holding a bottle in one hand and a burp cloth in the other, trying to remember where he’d set his phone.The apartment looked like a baby store had exploded in it.Soft blankets draped over the back of the couch. A half-







