All Chapters of Claimed on Ice: Marked by the Rival Captain: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Dominic POVTheo was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was holding the strap of his duffel bag tightly. The ceiling light was shining down on him. His knuckles were white. The room did not smell good. It smelled like carpets, rain, and Theo's fear. He had just found out about Crown Media Holdings, and it had made him look really pale."We cannot win this, Dominic," Theo said. He was looking at the floor. His voice was shaking. "They own the ice rink. They own the media. They own everything we need to succeed."What he said made me feel bad inside. I did not care about the people in charge of the company. I did not care about the contracts or the media blackout at dawn. Seeing my husband look so sad and broken made me feel like I had been punched in the gut.I walked over to him, took the duffel bag away from him, and threw it across the room. It hit the table. Fell to the floor with a loud thud."Look at me," I said. My voice was low and rough.I sat down next to him on the bed. The

Theo POVThe keycard flashed green for a second. The lock clicked loudly. I opened the oak door. Walked into the huge luxury suite. My heart was racing fast. I could feel it beating hard against my chest. The sound of my heartbeat was loud in my ears. It reminded me that a lot was at stake.I didn't look at the city view. I didn't care about the gold decorations on the walls or the big glass windows showing the city skyline. I looked up at the corners of the room.There were black boxes on the wall. Three robotic lenses moved quietly as I stepped onto the mat. Their recording lights turned red. The live stream was on. Fans were already watching. Every move I made, every breath, and every mistake would be shown to millions of people.Dominic was standing by the glass window on the other side of the penthouse. He was wearing his blue Western Conference jersey. The fabric looked smooth across his back. The captain's emblem shone under the lights. He didn't turn around when the door close

Theo POVThe hallway with the glass walls was really loud. No matter where I looked, I saw the picture of Dominic and me shaking hands on the ice. It was on all the screens. The comments on social media were moving too fast to read. There were thousands of posts every second. My chest felt weird. My palm still felt hot where Dominic's fingers had touched mine.I walked around a corner. Left the main area with all the cameras behind. I needed to get away from all the people taking pictures. I needed to get out of the part of the arena that smelled like fake flowers and was filled with the bright red lights from the cameras.I opened a heavy door at the end of the hallway in the basement.The weight room was dark and empty. It smelled like metal and sweaty clothes. It was quiet. It felt really far away from all the noise upstairs. I walked past the weights, my shoes making a sound on the floor.I leaned against the cold wall. Closed my eyes. I took a breath. My heart was beating fast. B

Dominic's POVThe lock on the weight room door clicked open.Theo tensed up against the vinyl training table, his bare legs locking around my waist. I could smell his panic. It was like vanilla mixed with the smell of my coffee. This smell hit me instantly in the dark."Vale!" Julian's voice came from the other side of the frosted glass. "Open up. We know you're there. Your Royals gear bag is blocking the bench line."I kept my hand flat over Theo's mouth so he would not make a sound. My own breath was coming in gasps. Our skin was slick with sweat. We were stuck together in the narrow gap between the heavy iron plate racks. If I pulled away now, the air would shift. The vanilla smell would go under the door.I used my hand to grab my gray training jacket from the floor. I threw it over Theo's torso and pinned him down with my chest. Every movement had to be slow. One wrong sound would expose both of us before we had a chance to leave."Hold still," I whispered in his ear.I slowly pu

Theo POVThe living room in the cabin smelled of wood smoke and a hint of lavender. For a moment, everything else just stopped. There was no war between companies, no calculations for the playoff teams, and no media people bothering them. All that existed was the sound of the radiator and Dominic Vale on his knees.He was holding a boy against his chest. His big arm, still wrapped in tape from a hockey game, was wrapped around the boy like a shield. The boy was Liam, and Dominic was being very gentle with him. Dominic's eyes, which were usually cold and sharp, were now filled with tears that he was trying not to cry.Liam did not push Dominic away. Instead, the little boy put his arms around Dominic's neck. He rested his head on Dominic's shoulder, and Dominic could smell the scent of coffee and leather on his skin.Theo was standing near the rug, his boots making him feel heavy. He had his hands in his pockets. He was trying not to feel too much. He could not help it. He felt a pull