Page 24 of Iced Out Mate

I walked through the kitchen and out through the living room, back through the sliding doors, heading directly for the cooler. The ghost of Dylan’s thumb against my lips followed me all the way there. I could have kissed him right there and then. I wanted it so fucking bad, but what message would that send to everyone around?

I sighed as I cracked open another beer. The buzz of all the alcohol I’d drunk began to tingle and spread through me. My inhibitions were definitely lowering. Maybe it was best for me to head home. It was getting late and the game night seemed to be winding down anyway. Removing myself from this island of temptation felt like a good idea at this point.

But first, I needed to find the bathroom.

I went back inside the living room. A couple people were sitting on the couch chatting, and another handful were at the round table near the window playing a round of cards. Gabe waved me over. “I think I might be heading out soon,” I said as he pulled out a chair for me. “Where’s the bathroom again?”

“Down the hall to the left. And you should stay a little longer, I think Soren got some fireworks to throw later. It’s a bit of a Bobcat tradition. We do it at the start of every season.”

That did sound fun and I enjoyed being included in a tradition, especially being so new to the team.

It also meant spending more time around Dyl…

“Sure, why not,” I said.

“Hell yeah.” Gabe lifted his beer and clinked it against mine.

I excused myself and followed the directions toward the bathroom. Emmy had a couple photos hanging up on the walls. Some of them were cool art prints and others were some great action shots of him and the team on the ice. There was one toward the end that made me pause.

It was a photo of us. Taken on his twenty-second birthday. We’d gone out to a wreck-it room so we could break some stuff and have a good time doing it. The photo had been taken in the middle of our wreckage. We stood with our arms over each other’s shoulders, helmets off and smiling wide. He loved that birthday. We went out afterward and had the time of our lives barhopping and meeting random people. I still laughed at some of the bright memories. I had no idea he kept that photo.

Smiling, I continued toward the bathroom. I opened the door just as it was being pulled from the opposite end.

“Oh shit, sorry,” I said before realizing Dyl was the one who’d been on the other side.

His eyes went wide before they quickly narrowed, his smile quirking. “You following me now? Thought I could use some help? It is a two-handed job sometimes.”

Heat flushed through me, as if I’d swallowed gasoline and paired it with a lit match.

“You’re a big boy, you can handle it yourself.”

“Emphasis on big.” He winked at me.

The flames crackled and roared.

I should turn and go. Or push past him and close the door and let him go back to the party. It was the correct thing to do. The good boy thing to do. The no consequences to deal with later thing to do.

I swallowed down my doubts and worries, put a hand on Dylan’s muscular chest, and pushed him into the bathroom without a second thought.

Fuck it. Tonight I’d let the fire consume me until I was left a pile of ash at Dyl’s feet.

Chapter Eleven

Bathroom Break

DYLAN

Miles pushed me into the bathroom with a hand on my chest and his gaze locked on my lips. I stumbled backward, nearly tripping on myself, my heart racing with an excitement that was usually reserved for winning a big game. I’d wanted this since the second he stepped foot in Emmy’s house. Hell, I’d been wanting it since the second he stepped foot in Burlington. My soul had been craving this very moment even before we’d ever officially met.

My ass hit the bathroom counter as his arms wrapped around me and his mouth crashed against mine. I inhaled his scent, drinking him in, mixing it with the taste of beer and sex on his tongue. I reached for his ass, squeezed, pressing him against my needy body.

God damn, he already had me rock-hard. And it seemed he was too.

I rubbed myself against him, not being shy about how hard he made me. His hand climbed up to the nape of my neck. I felt completely feral at his touch. My neck was my most sensitive erogenous zone. His grip made my eyes roll to the back of my skull.

I groaned into the kiss as I ground myself into him, feeling his hard length against mine. I’d already held him in my hands, but that wasn’t nearly enough. I needed him in so many other ways. And tonight, I’d have him.

“Fuck, Miles,” I whispered against his lips. The fan in the bathroom was on which gave us a little bit of privacy. I glanced at the door. Locked.