BREAKAWAY (The Dartmouth Cobras) (38 page)

"Hey, I'm not looking to model for any girly magazines." Luke laughed and nodded his thanks when the trainer handed him a fresh pair of gloves. "Good thing we've got you and Demyan to do that, right? I'm fine getting called Scar Face."

One eyebrow raised, Seb observed him with a small, amused smile. "I do believe our captain already holds that title."

"Yeah, but he's got all his teeth."

"Actually . . . ." Perron grinned as he leaned on the shelf of the stall above Luke and shrugged. "Sorry to butt in, but just thought I might check on our favorite smart ass. And thought I should let you know Sloan had to have a busted molar pulled when his face was torn open. I
ain't
gonna
pretend I didn't hear why your girlfriend dumped you, Carter. But you've got Jami and I've
gotta
say, you traded up. She's a good girl."

Seb chuckled and Luke couldn't help but grin.
Right, our girl’s an angel.

"All
righty
then, don't know how well behaved she is, but I do know she won't ditch you because of a few scars." Perron shook his head. "Anyway, I don't want to know, got it? I still look at her as that awkwardly cute fourteen-year-old girl who used to follow her daddy around the forum, blushing whenever one of the guys talked to her. Leave me with my illusions, okay?"

Luke nodded and watched Perron join the coach at the other end of the room, able to relax a bit because Perron was treating both him and Seb normal-like. But he froze when Seb latched onto the back of his neck and pressed their foreheads together.

"I see nothing wrong with your mouth, semental." Seb's husky tone caused goose bumps to rise all over his flesh. "And my opinion should be the only one that matters."

"Not here, man. The press—"

"Tell me you understand and I will leave you." Seb gave him a hooded look. "Until we return to our hotel room."

Anticipation blazed through his veins. Luke swallowed and nodded. As they headed back out to the rink, all Luke could think was he couldn’t wait for the game to end.

Three minutes into overtime, Pearce scored the winning goal with a sick dangle that stunned both teams. Luke howled as the Sabres goalie looked into the net behind him like he couldn't believe it was over. Pearce's lips curved slightly as he skated a wide circle towards his team. Any other player on the team would be celebrating, hot dogging, something, but Pearce seemed to be quietly soaking it in.

"Hell, Pearce, would it kill you to crack a smile?" Demyan whooped and barrelled into Pearce, pushing him into the crush of his teammates. "That was fucking sweet!"

Luke crowded the man with the rest of the team, pumped about the win and impressed by the goal, but everything passed in a blur as Seb brushed against his side, congratulating Pearce, his voice rough from shouting. Seb's tone brushed over his flesh like a million fine bristles. His nerves tingled, the hairs at the nape of his neck rose, and his entire focus locked on Seb, on his big body, so close. And what the man would do to him when they were alone. He decided to wait for his shower, not sure he could play his hard on off as excitement from the win if he saw Seb naked. He went to his locker and dressed in his rumpled suit, grinning to himself as he considered how Seb would react to him not using the hangers to keep it nice and neat. The man was a little OCD about his wardrobe.

"Sloan, give me a statement and I can fix this. I'll write something about the manly camaraderie between players and how it can be misunderstood."

Fisting his tie in his hands, Luke caste a hooded glance towards Bower's sister, Becky, as she trailed after Callahan.

Callahan stopped short and tipped his sunglasses down as he met Becky's bright, inquisitive grey eyes. "What if I don't want to fix it? Let people believe what they want."

"But you're not—"

"So what? I don't feel the need to defend what I do behind closed doors."

Fuckin
’ right, man.
Luke wanted to high-five his captain, but making himself as inconspicuous as possible seemed a lot smarter.

"Then make a statement saying as much. You're in a position to help those who are afraid of public scrutiny."

"I get why people may think that, Rebecca, but I'm sorry, I feel no need to draw any more attention to myself than I already have."

Becky bit her bottom lip and nodded slowly. "Can I quote you?"

"I'd rather you didn't." Callahan sidled past her. "Tim, if I've got a script, let's get to it. I want to get out of here."

"Sloan, give me
something
!" Becky crumpled her tiny notepad in her fist. "The other reporters won't care how this looks—"

A cold chill slithered down Luke’s spine. She was right.

"
I
don't care how this looks." Callahan's lips drew into a thin line as Demyan and Bower joined them in the hall outside the player's lounge. "You're lucky your brother is our goalie. Otherwise, I'd tell you where to go."

"Callahan . . . ." Bower stepped forward, looking ready to defend his sister. "She's just doing her job."

"So am I," Callahan said.

"Yeah, but you're doing it with respect for the team." Demyan opened his locker, letting the metal door slam into the one next to it. "Bower, get her out of here. Seriously, I'm fucking sick of her using that she's your sister as an excuse to get an inside scoop."

"Fuck off, Demyan." Bower approached Becky, speaking low. "I'm sorry sis, but we're not supposed to talk to the press during playoffs—not unless the PR—"

"Scott, you're not still sour about the article I did on you and that girl, are you?" Becky pushed past her brother and squared her shoulders. "She
was
underage."

"Yeah, and she fooled both me and the bartender. But whatever, I'm sure you got a nice bonus. Good for you." Demyan ran his tongue over his teeth and laughed. "Not much you can do to make me look worse, but how 'bout you leave the rest of the guys alone."

"I'm just trying to help."

All the men grumbled, but as Mason stepped into the room, they went silent. He folded his arms over his chest and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Rebecca, but you'll have to wait outside for your brother. You are welcome to attend the press conference in the morning, but until then, we have nothing to say to you."

"But—"

"Now, pet."

Becky paled and retreated a few steps. She cast one last pleading glance at her brother, but he stared at the floor, refusing to meet her eyes.

Seb met Luke by the lockers just as Becky left, brushing his hands aside to fix his tie. "You are a mess."

"Yeah." Luke pressed his eyes shut, forcing himself not to move closer for support, or push away before someone saw them. He opened his eyes when he couldn’t feel Seb touching him anymore. "Yeah, I am. Let's go home, man. I can't deal with this shit."

"I know." Seb bowed his head and sighed. "But thank you for telling me. I respect honesty."

Luke nodded, but he couldn't help but feel he hadn't been completely honest. It wasn't just that he couldn't deal with this now.

He wasn't sure he could deal with it at all. Ever.

Chapter Eighteen

The scent of leather, mixed with the subtle, spicy note of her Hypnotic Poison perfume, rose with the crisp breeze as Jami stepped up to Sebastian's door and knocked softly. Holding her worn jacket closed above where the zipped stuck midway down her chest, she shivered and glanced around at the quiet street and all the houses with their darkened windows, feeling like someone was watching her. Her mouth went dry at a rustle in the bushes surrounding the neighbor's yard. She squinted and spotted a pair of glowing eyes. A scream lodged in her throat as a puffy ball of grey fur sprang out.

Just a cat, chicken shit.

"Come in, mi cielo."

At the sound of Sebastian's voice coming from inside, all the tension that had been building up over the past few days evaporated. Jami slipped into the house, shut the door, and leaned against it. She wet her bottom lip with her tongue as gaze drifted to where Sebastian slouched on the sofa in a crisp, black suit. Her focus slipped from his broad, welcoming smile, down to Luke who wore nothing but a pair of pants. On his knees, hands clasped behind his back, his head moved up and down at a steady rhythm as he sucked Sebastian's cock.

"Remove the jacket, gatita. Come to me." Sebastian stroked Luke’s hair, his eyes never leaving Jami as she let her jacket fall, revealing the costume she'd chosen from her second trip to the Sex Shop. "Lovely." The approval in his tone as he took in her slutty French maid's outfit had her glowing from the inside out. "Was the experience less embarrassing this time?"

Heat spread from the exposed swell of her breast, right up to her cheeks as she approached him. "A little. Getting the outfit wasn't so bad. Wearing it while I picked out a dozen different vibrators was horrible. That was mean, Sebastian."

"Was it?" Sebastian chuckled. "Then I suppose your next trip will be unbearable."

Oh boy.
She tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth as trepidation and arousal swirled into a pool of liquid heat deep in her core. "I should have kept my mouth shut."

"I disagree." Sebastian's hooded look turned her legs to Jell-o. He tugged Luke’s hair lightly, then gestured for him to move aside as he drew Jami down for a soul searing kiss. She lost her balance and fell onto the sofa beside him. His breath, hot and cold all at once with a hint of mint, caressed her lips as he whispered. "You know I can do so much worse. And you complain because you hope I will."

"
Mmm
." Jami tipped her head to the side as he pressed soft kisses down the length of her throat. His beard tickled her and the sweet sensation feathered down to her nipples. They drew up and hardened, throbbing with her pulse, aching to be touched. "I need . . . ."

"Yes, mi cielo, I know." Sebastian patted Luke's head. "Take Luke's place, pet. I need to feel my little
puta's
mouth on me. Though it will take quite an effort to please me more than he has. Do you think you can?"

A challenge. Jami grinned and slipped off the sofa. She licked and bit along Sebastian's inner thigh as she knelt beside Luke, then dipped her head down to suck Sebastian's balls into her mouth. The scruff on Luke's chin lightly scratched her cheek as he moved closer and kissed the edge of her lips. She moaned as he used her bun as a handle to pull her up, tasting her mouth with deep thrusts of his tongue before forcing her over the thick, swollen cock, still slick with his saliva.

"Say 'thank you for preparing Mi Rey for me, Sir'." Sebastian's knuckles grazed her cheek

Jami gulped as Luke let her come up for air.
Sir?
She'd assumed that since Luke was on his knees, Sebastian would dominate them both.

"Say it, boo." Luke bit her throat and tightened his grip on her hair. "I'm looking forward to you being a slut for me again. You're such a fun little toy to play with."

The heartbeat of pain erased her reservations. Power licked at her from all around and she melted into it, surrendering.

"Thank you for preparing Mi Rey for me, Sir." She whispered. A spark of mischief lit a smirk across her lips. "Now let me show you how it's done."

Luke laughed and pushed up to stand over her. "I won't argue that. You've got a mouth made for sucking cock."

Batting her eyelashes, she rose up on her knees so her face was level with his crotch and nuzzled against the erection straining his zipper. "Too bad you have to wait."

Hissing in a breath throat his teeth, Luke stared down at her, eyes glazed with lust. She blew him a kiss, then turned her focus to Sebastian, easing her lips over his cock. Gliding all the way down until he hit the back of her throat, she kept her lips slack, her jaw muscles relaxed just holding him deep inside for as long as possible. Swallowing, she looked at him as she slid up, and stroked her hand along the wet path.

The heat in his eyes, fierce passion mingled with tenderness, stole her breath. "Mi cielo."

For a moment it was only the two of them, and that moment was enough to remind her how much he meant to her, to assure her that she meant just as much to him. Nothing he did to her would change that. If anything, it would solidify what she already knew. He accepted her exactly as she was, freakiness and all.

"Hands behind your back, gatita." Sebastian trailed his fingers down her cheek. "And do not stop."

Her heart beat like the wings of a hummingbird caught in a net, frantic and fast as she sensed Luke behind her. His hands moved around her, binding her with a thick red rope, over and under her breasts, so snug it pulled the material down past her nipples. She bobbed her head, simply keeping her mouth open to glide along Sebastian's pulsing length as her arms were pinned to her sides and her wrists bound together. The metallic rip of a zipper brought her head up and she stared at Luke as he fisted his hand around his cock.

"I don't feel like waiting anymore." He gave her a crooked smile as he latched onto what was left of her bun, forcing her to move sideways on her knees until she faced him. "I told Seb how your ex's friends used you, one after another. He liked the idea. So while you're here, we are going to use you, just like that." He pressed her down until the head of his dick touched her lips, his grip on her hair the only thing keeping her from falling forward. "Your mouth, your cunt, your ass. Whenever, and however, we want."