All Chapters of Owned on the Ice M/M Romance: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The low hum of the TV filled the room, but it might as well have been static.Noah watched Sterling for a long moment, letting the silence stretch until it pressed against them. He took a slow sip of his beer, watching Sterling squirm just a little under the weight of it.Finally, Noah said, voice casual but razor-sharp, "What exactly do you think keeps happening?"Sterling exhaled, the tension in his shoulders tight as wire. "Something physical," he admitted, his voice low and taut with barely restrained desire. "A reaction. Chemical. Hormonal."Noah's heart kicked faster.Sterling’s eyes flicked to him, something raw behind them. "Something we need to get out of our systems."Noah leaned back in his seat, smiling crookedly. "What exactly do you suggest we do about it, then?"Sterling’s presence was overwhelming, the heat of him bleeding across the narrow space between them. Noah’s pulse beat hard at his throat.Sterling looked him dead in the eyes. "Accept it. Allow it to happen. Bu

The lights in the St. Louis arena were almost blinding, the roar of the crowd a constant thrum under Noah’s skin.Neutral-site charity game. Preseason. The team had taken a charter bus early that morning, the guys sprawling out across the rows, joking, sleeping, tapping restless feet against the seats.Sterling, naturally, hadn’t traveled with them. Noah figured if Sterling was coming, he'd fly in separately. Private jet, of course, because that was just who he was. Sterling Belmont didn’t ride buses with rookies. Didn’t kill hours trading chirps or napping in cramped seats. He moved in a different world. Maybe it was a good thing he was staying distant, Noah thought grimly. Maybe a little space would finally help him get Sterling out of his damn head.It was supposed to be low-stakes.It didn’t feel that way.Not when it was his first real taste of pro-level play.The locker room buzzed with energy as Coach Jensen ran through a short, clipped speech, reminding them that rookies might

The noise, the roar of the crowd, the screaming on the benches. Then the lights blurred and vanished. One second Noah was blinking up at the arena ceiling, the next... nothing.For a fleeting moment, Sterling’s face flashed through the darkness. Fierce, pale, furious. And then even that was gone.***Adrenaline brought him back a second later.Muffled voices. The hurried screech of skates.Brutal cold seeping into his back. The sticky warmth of blood sliding into his eye.Someone shouted his name. Mac or Ash maybe?"Noah. Relax. We got you."He tried to move anyway, groaning through the searing pain lancing through his ribs. Gritting his teeth, Noah forced his arms under him, trying to push himself up, but the world tilted violently, slipping out from under him.He collapsed back onto the ice with a broken gasp, the air forced from his lungs.Before he could try again, he was pinned down. Familiar voices cursing, scolding, keeping him grounded."Stay down, dumbass!""You're making it

The helicopter ride was short. Nothing like the long, groggy journey to the game, but still not short enough.Noah lay strapped to a stretcher, secured for the flight, the belts tight across his torso. Every bump and vibration rattled through his bruised ribs, grinding his nerves raw. He felt trapped. Caged. Pinned down in more ways than one, his frustration simmering under the surface like a low boil. Every vibration from the blades above reverberated through his chest, each one a grim reminder of his pathetic state.Sterling sat beside him. Too close, too composed. Silent and unreadable. The occasional brush of Sterling’s leg against his arm was maddening. Each touch, too casual, too frequent, felt deliberate in a way Noah couldn’t prove, but couldn't ignore. Sterling’s thigh bumped his hip once, then his shoulder. Noah clenched his jaw, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a flinch. But the tension simmered, electrified by proximity and history.He didn’t look up. Didn’t say a

Two days since the bath, since the confession, since everything boiled over and then… settled.Somehow, after all the heat and confusion, they had fallen into a rhythm.Sterling hadn’t left the house. Not once. Noah wasn’t sure if that was typical for him or if he was an exceptionally dedicated caregiver, but he had started to expect the quiet footsteps, the soft clink of dishes, the subtle way Sterling always seemed to know when he was hungry before he did.Sterling’s house was ridiculous. It was spotless and sterile in places, sleek and muted, but also oddly lived-in where it mattered. And stocked. Everything from phone chargers to unopened toothbrushes to fourteen different types of herbal tea.Noah had mostly been in bed, TV remote in hand, ribs still tight and sore, with just enough painkillers to keep things manageable. Sterling brought food to his room, usually something fresh and warm and painfully good. They ate together, often side by side in bed, watching whatever show Noah