“Yeah.
Jacob leaned down and kissed him—slow, gentle, reassuring. Tane’s hand came up to cradle the back of his neck, holding him there for an extra beat before they parted.
They snuggled closer after that… Jacob tucked against Tane’s side, Tane’s good arm wrapped around him, fingers tracing idle patterns on Jacob’s bare back.
No more words.
Just breathing.
Jacob was used to being looked after, but being there for Tane in a moment of doubt felt better than he could ever have hoped for.
* * *
Later that afternoon, after a light skate and film review, they slipped into the players” sauna at Pine Rise.
The room was small, cedar-lined, the air heavy with heat and eucalyptus. Most of the team had already come and gone; only a couple of stragglers remained when Tane and Jacob arrived. They nodded hello, then waited in polite silence until the others filed out.
The door clicked shut behind the last guy.
Tane locked the door.
Jacob grinned.
They stripped down to towels…
Tane first, then Jacob.
They then settled onto the upper bench. The heat hit like a wall, sinking into sore muscles, loosening the knots left from seven hard games. Sweat beaded almost immediately, rolling down chests and stomachs in slow, glistening trails.
Jacob leaned back against the wall, eyes half-closed, letting the warmth seep in. Tane sat beside him, legs spread, towel draped loosely across his lap. The lidocaine from the morning had worn off hours ago; the shoulder ached steadily now, but the heat helped. Everything felt softer at the edges.
Jacob opened his eyes and looked over.
Tane was watching him… dark gaze steady, appreciative.
“What?” Jacob asked, smiling.
“You look good like this,” Tane growled. “Relaxed. Sweaty.Mine.”
Jacob’s pulse kicked up. He shifted closer until their thighs pressed together. Jacob reached over, fingers brushing the edge of Tane’s towel. Tane didn’t stop him.
The towel parted easily. Tane was already half-hard. Thick, heavy, flushed from the heat. Jacob wrapped his hand around him, stroking slow and deliberate, feeling Tane thicken fully in his grip.
Tane exhaled through his teeth. “Jacob…”
“Shh,” Jacob murmured. “Let me.”
He slid off the bench, knelt between Tane’s spread thighs on the lower level. The wood was hot against his knees, but he barely noticed. All he cared about was the man above him—broad chest rising and falling faster now, good hand braced on the bench behind him, bad shoulder held carefully still.
Jacob leaned in, licked a slow stripe from the base to the tip of his hard cock. Tane’s hips twitched, and he grunted.
Jacob took him deeper. Slow at first, savoring the weight on his tongue, the salt and heat. Then faster.Wetter. One hand braced on Tane’s thigh, the other stroking what his mouth couldn’t reach.
Tane’s breathing turned ragged. His good hand slid into Jacob’s damp hair—not guiding, just holding.
“Fuck, baby,” Tane rasped. “Just like that.”
Jacob hummed around him, the vibration making Tane curse softly, and took all of Tane’s seed to the back of his throat and held it there for a moment before swallowing it all.
