Page 30 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

“Exactly,” he said after I stammered some more. “Now, stop distracting me or I’ll have to shut you up myself.” His game was loading and he was fully focused on the screen, but the suggestion of his words made hope zing through my chest like a shooting star.

If he joked about it, maybe he felt like a second time was a possibility.

“Ah,” he mused, glancing at me ever so briefly when I inhaled through my quickly constricting throat. “I’ve made you horny. My apologies.”

My nostrils flared and I narrowed my eyes at him. “You haven’t.”

“Sure, sure, sure.” He was handling the controller like a pro, his thumbs swiping across the buttons, his index fingers bent over the top. The controller vibrated hard in his hands, lighting up each time he received a blow from the boss he was fighting. “You’re just blushing because of the heat.”

“I’m not blushing,” I insisted heatedly.

He snorted and shook his head, tilting the controller like that gave him an advantage. “Now, you’re being a brat who’s asking for it.”

“Asking for what?” I played dumb. “I’m not even sure what we’re talking about.”

Cameron threw his head back and laughed out loud, getting killed in the process. “Pick a lane, Brooks. Are we flirting or are we not?”

I swallowed, my mind spinning a little, and the familiar sense of needles pricking me through my insides. “Let’s see how we do tomorrow, first, huh?”

Cameron dropped the controller to the other side of him, then threw an arm over the back of the sofa, facing me. His gray sweatpants were the bane of my evening, especially now that he lifted and bent one of his legs, sat on his foot, and shamelessly allowed me to look at the rising bulge. “Is that how it is? We play a good game, then reap the rewards in the shower?”

“Erm… That’s not exactly what I meant.” I bit my lip, fighting the urge to undress him with my eyes. The taunting, while we were clothed, did more harm than good. It annoyed me to pieces. “Why don’t you stop tormenting me and play that game?”

“There’s no better game than tormenting you, Riley,” he said in an amused tone, picking up the controller again and shifting away from me. “It’s full-immersion, open-world, state of the art stuff.”

No matter the teasing that made me wrinkle my nose and growl at him, something had shifted between us. No wonder. Taking his big dick so unashamedly in the shower was bound to push the needle a wee little bit.

The miracle happened on Wednesday evening, when Coach Murray pinned us with a steely look that brought the temperature down in the already freezing rink. He didn’t need to say the words for Cam and me to know our asses were on the line tonight.

Coach put us on the same team for the scrimmage, accompanied by Beckett on the left wing. If Cam had any reservations about being put on the right wing instead of center, he didn’t voice them. For once, he let me take the lead without throwing a tantrum. Perhaps because he knew my leash was short and firmly in his hands since Monday. Me leading our team to victory didn’t take anything away from his massive ego when he was the one who brought the captain to his knees.

For the first time since my blood had curdled in the basement upon seeing Cameron after three years of silence, we played the fuck out of this game. Somewhere along the way, magic was born again. Beckett, always cockier than skilled, was still a strong player for the team, although I would have preferred Caden on my left side.

It was Cameron, however, who carried the magic of this game.

He committed to his position and worked the offense against Caden’s team. They were unified behind the assistant captain as they had been for the better part of this season. Aside from his eye rolls at Beckett, Caden had no enemies, rivals, or distractions. He had been carrying the burden of my role all this time and his team fought well for it.

But I had Cameron on my side today, which made all the difference so long as we played like one. And that we did. He was generous with sliding the puck my way instead of trying to take everyone on by himself. But, as I evaded Caden’s attempt at a body check and slipped the puck back to Cam, I realized that it hadn’t been just him.

Last week, I would have rather lost the puck to Caden and gotten checked, then to let Cameron score an extra point, no matter which team he played for.

I was the asshole, too.

Dammit. Moments of reflection such as these were better left for the quiet hours of a sleepless night. My heart was full of something fuzzy and weird when I realized that we could, in fact, be a team. We could work together.

And that was the moment when Sebastian slammed me against the boards and I went down laughing and crying at the same time. The impact knocked me off my skates and I flailed, sliding down until I was sprawling on ice, seeing that I had been effectively contained from fighting back Caden’s offense. Cam, who had the shot to foil Caden’s plans, wavered when he saw me sprawling and gasping for air. He missed the chance because his gaze lingered on me for too long. And when he rushed after Caden it was too late, but he left me filled with warmth despite a stupid and sentimental loss of a point.

Later, Sebastian marched up to me to hug me for not taking the blow so lightly, but I had barely been aware of anything except Cameron’s horrified expression upon seeing me down. He had doubtlessly wondered if I’d broken something.

I should have thanked Sebastian, but I merely slapped his shoulder and told him that was the fun of the game. I’d always loved the physicality in hockey. I’d never gotten big enough to play football, but I’d never cared for it as much. I belong on the ice, my blades sliding and scraping, a stick in my hand. It was like Spartans fighting the Vikings if the game was good. There was a sense of battle and unity, today more than ever, that filled me with the feeling I had lacked most of my life.

Belonging.

This was my place. These were my people.

Cameron’s outward attitude hadn’t changed in the locker room. He was still quiet, brooding, almost suspicious. He did, however, search me for one naughty, sparkling instant, as we filed into the showers. He was entering the very same stall we had been in two days ago.

It exhilarated me, even though I picked a distant stall for myself, to think he was hinting at repeating it. Maybe that was exactly what we had needed. A way to vent without killing each other so that we could play properly.