Page 46 of Iced Out Mate

Directly under his helmet.

I could almost hear the sickening crunch from over the unified groan of the crowd.

The referee whistled. The game paused as blood poured from under his helmet.

Welp. So much for no injuries. I shot to my feet. This was my job, after all. Even though I knew Emmy would be just fine in a few minutes, the majority of the people watching would be thinking the worst. Dylan and Eli helped him skate to the bench. Before I knew it, his sister had appeared, surprising me as she leaped over the barrier to check on him.

Coach didn’t say anything. “Are you okay?” she asked him, as I helped him sit down on the bench. The bleeding had already stopped. I gently lifted off his helmet and handed him a Gatorade bottle while I got a warm, wet cloth to clean his face.

“I’ll be fine,” Emmy said. “Send in Chris, Coach. He’s got this.”

Chris, who had come to stand near me in concern, looked to his alpha. I noticed a brief flicker of hesitation in his expression. Emmy nodded his reassurance. Coach valued Emmy’s opinion as the captain and didn’t object. The ice was quickly cleaned and Chris jumped over the barrier and onto the ice, taking Emmy’s spot as center.

As high as the stakes in the game were, I knew I had a job to do. And I certainly loved my job. Even more than the game itself, which was saying something. I enjoyed helping people heal and making them feel better, even when their bodies had it under control already.

The puck had hit right underneath Emmy’s chin. I was sure there’d been some kind of fracture or break, but while gently feeling around the area, I could tell his shifter genetics were swiftly mending the damage. I cleaned it up and placed a bandage there just for appearances as the skin had already stitched itself closed. Anyone else would have needed to go to the hospital for at least twenty to thirty stitches, as well as be concerned about blood loss.

“You’re so good at your job,” Macie said next to me, her back to the game, her wide green eyes full of worry for her older brother. She knew he was a shifter but I guessed that sibling worry overrode logic.

“I didn’t even realize you’d be here,” Emmy said.

“I was going to surprise you after the game. I guess I ruined the surprise.” She played with her ponytail, twirling it between anxious fingers. I noticed she had on a similar bracelet to mine. Brushed gold with that beautiful marbling effect to it. Emmy must have gifted it to her. She looked to me and the concern appeared to be replaced with sadness. “I wanted to take you both to dinner. Kind of like how it used to be when we were younger. When we’d eat at Chili’s or something. I’ve been reminiscing a lot lately.”

Those were nice memories, for sure, but I hadn’t really been craving that kind of interaction tonight.

“Maybe some other time, Mace,” I said as I put away the bloody towels and gave Emmy another look-over. “I’m starting to get a headache.” It was a shitty excuse but I really just wanted to get back to my hotel room after the game.

She appeared disappointed at that.

“I’ll go to dinner with you,” Emmy said, coming in for the save.

There was a twitch of something in Macie’s delicate features. Before I could think much of it, the crowd’s cheers grew loud and Coach shouted out Chris’ name. Urging him on. I looked over at the game just in time to see Chris shoot the puck directly into the Barracudas’ goal.

Score.

Win.

Music played loudly as the announcers called it. The guys on the bench shot up and started to jump around, a celebratory happiness overtaking everyone. Even Macie got swept up in the celebrations. Dylan came skating over to the bench. He’d taken off his helmet. Sweat dotted his flushed forehead, his cheeks pushed up in a smile. I wanted to lean over and kiss him. Wanted to hold him in my arms and congratulate him.

I couldn’t do any of that. But I did get another idea…

I reached over and squeezed his shoulder instead. I leaned in for a friendly looking hug. In his ear, I whispered. “Come to my hotel room tonight. Room 652. At eight. I’ll leave the door unlocked.”

His eyes lit up as if I’d just handed him the Calder Cup.

“See you then,” he said before Gabe grabbed him in a bear hug.

My invitation had been fueled by days of pent-up frustration over not having Dyl all to myself. He’d been so busy with practice that we didn’t have time to spend together.

That would change tonight.

I had been placed on a different floor of the hotel than the rest of the team. It made this much less risky. I didn’t want Coach walking out to get some ice and seeing Dylan waiting outside my door. I knew I had to tell him what was going on, especially after promising that to Dyl, but I needed a couple more days to formulate what I was going to say and how that was going to go.

So I put it off.

Tonight would just be about us. And I was ready to be fucking primal about it.

I showered up and got myself ready. Fucking Dylan had rewired my brain chemistry. Something about having his cock inside me turned me into a hungry power-bottom, even though I typically topped in sexual encounters. He pressed a button in me that needed to be pressed again.