Harmless (Pier 70 Book 4) Read online

  Hence the reason Seg had so boldly invited himself to Roan’s table.

  And now, here, Roan looked somewhat less stressed, as well as incredibly casual in his navy blue polo pulled snug across a nice upper body and dark jeans that hugged a very impressive ass.

  What did this guy do for a living?

  Wait. That didn’t matter. This was a one-time thing. No personal shit to ruin that.

  Seg didn’t need to know if the guy was married, separated, recovering from a bad breakup. He didn’t need to know where Roan lived or worked, if he spent a lot of time with his friends or got along with his parents. He knew the guy was old enough to drink, wasn’t wearing a wedding band, and that he was sexy as fuck. Plus, he seemed fairly adamant that this thing between them fizzle out in just a few hours.

  Yeppers, they were going to have fun tonight.

  “How about a beer?” Seg suggested, sensing the tension in Roan.

  Yeah, this was a hookup. No doubt about that. He wasn’t even going to pretend otherwise. Based on Roan’s reaction, he didn’t mind a one-night stand, which was exactly how Seg wanted it to be.

  And he knew he’d made the right choice when Roan had recognized him yet still managed to keep his cool. Oftentimes, when he had conversations with men—straight, gay, whatever—Seg would be inundated with hockey chitchat by this point, and he wasn’t really looking to talk.

  Tall, golden, and brooding was just his cup of tea.

  Speaking of tea…

  Before he could turn toward the kitchen, Roan ambled over to him and came to a stop less than a foot away. He was a few inches shorter and probably a good thirty pounds lighter, which Seg liked immensely. Although he got an intensely alpha vibe from Roan, Seg knew he’d have the upper hand here. For all of ten seconds, those golden eyes searched Seg’s face, and he waited to hear what Roan would come up with.

  Had he changed his mind? Was he going to start talking hockey?

  “I no longer want a drink,” Roan muttered, and Seg felt a hint of insecurity right then.

  As he was gearing up to suggest something else—grapes, cheese, ice cream … fuck, anything—Seg kept his eyes on Roan. He couldn’t figure out what he wanted to say, but that didn’t matter for long, because the next thing he knew, Roan’s lips were on his and they were…

  Damn.

  Warm, smooth, firm.

  Roan smelled like sin and tasted like beer and man and erotic promises. A combination that had Seg’s dick throbbing incessantly, desperate for attention.

  Mouth to mouth had never been this fucking good. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in the kiss, but Seg knew just how much to give to ensure Roan didn’t mistakenly believe he was in charge. Before that could happen, Seg gripped Roan’s head, spearing his hair with his fingers and then spinning them both around. Using his full body weight, Seg pushed Roan against the door. Hard.

  Their dicks ground together, although the only friction came from the denim that separated them. Seg wanted to get closer. He wanted to feel this man’s skin beneath his palms. He wanted to run his hands over every hard plane, every sharp angle, and kiss every inch of him, then sink deep and…

  Goddamn, it had been so fucking long. Too long. This man was like chocolate, a treat Seg had no choice but to keep himself from craving too damn much. He wasn’t one to give in to temptation, because he knew the repercussions.

  “I don’t bottom,” Roan grumbled against Seg’s lips.

  Seg managed to pull back enough to look into Roan’s eyes. “If you’re gonna be with me you do.”

  Expecting a full rebuttal, Seg didn’t move. He waited patiently while Roan’s eyes locked with his before dropping once again to Seg’s mouth. He was fairly certain there was a battle brewing there. When Roan’s eyes met his once again, it appeared as though Roan had settled it.

  “Fuck it,” Roan whispered, then crushed his lips to Seg’s once more.

  Good answer.

  The kiss went nuclear.

  Seg would’ve been content to stand here in his lavish foyer and fuck this incredibly sexy man against the wall, but he had other things in mind. It’d been so long since he’d given in to these urges. He needed a little more than a quick fuck.

  But not too much more.

  He managed to walk them toward his bedroom, their lips still locked together, hands fumbling. By the time they reached their destination, they’d relieved one another of their shirts, and Seg was already working on Roan’s jeans while Roan kicked off his shoes.

  Breaking the kiss, Seg ran his lips over Roan’s stubble-lined jaw, working his way lower, pushing his jeans down as he went. The guy smelled good. Like the outdoors and … something musky. It was intoxicating. He kissed his way down the hard plane of Roan’s sun-bronzed chest, over the gentle ripples of his abs, trailing the thin line of hair that led downward until he was on his knees before him.

  Staring up into those golden-brown eyes, he waited to see if Roan would say something.

  He didn’t.

  Seg took that as permission to continue.

  It only took a moment to free Roan’s dick from his jeans, and when he did, Seg took a deep breath, stroking the thick, velvety length in his fist while he ran his tongue over the swollen head.

  He could count on one finger the number of times he’d done this. Not once during his previous encounters with men had he dared to take a cock into his mouth, yet he was salivating with the need to do so now.

  Roan hissed, his fingers digging into Seg’s hair, holding him in place. Seg didn’t mind the rough treatment. In fact, he preferred it.

  “Put my dick in your mouth. All the way,” Roan groaned, the demand in his tone not to be mistaken.

  Seg slid his lips over the smooth head, then sucked Roan into his mouth. The warm flesh slid over his tongue, forcing his jaw wider as Roan’s dick filled the space completely.

  Another hiss escaped Roan, along with a tightening of his grip as he pulled Seg toward him. Giving the man what he needed, Seg took every inch of Roan’s thick cock, all the way to the back of his throat.

  “Fuck, that’s nice,” Roan mumbled, holding Seg still as he began pumping his hips.

  Their eyes locked momentarily and Seg wondered if Roan knew this was a first for him.

  Seg allowed Roan to use his mouth, to fuck his face. He held on to Roan’s hips, dug his fingertips into his glutes, and took every inch as deep as he could, gagging a few times before Roan would pull out. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been with a man. It’d been so damn long, and now that he was here, tasting, touching, devouring, he wasn’t sure how he’d managed to hold back his urges all this time.

  You’re in the closet, dumb ass.

  Well, there was that.

  No way could he risk his teammates finding out that he preferred to be with men. That would just be awkward, and he loved his job too damn much to risk being ousted because he was gay.

  There was a stigma associated with gay professional athletes, and Seg wasn’t interested in fighting that uphill battle. Instead, he pretended to be straight, going out with women, even sleeping with a couple here and there to ease some of the frustration and appease all the curious people, although it never worked. He was never sated. Pussy just didn’t do it for him.

  When Roan urged him to get up with a tug on his hair, Seg got to his feet and slammed his mouth over Roan’s. A few minutes of fumbling ensued while they rid themselves of their remaining clothing. Shoes were kicked off, jeans and underwear discarded, socks followed.

  And then they were both naked. Hot skin against hot skin.

  Seg shoved Roan onto the bed, then reached for a condom and the lube in the table beside his bed. Good thing he preferred a slick palm when he jacked off, or they would’ve been shit out of luck.

  Without a word, Seg gloved his dick, greased up, and then crawled on the mattress just as Roan was turning over onto his stomach.

  A frisson of disappointment shot through him. He’d wanted to
look at the man while he was buried deep in his ass, but this would work, too.

  “Fast and dirty? That what you want?”

  “That’s all I want,” Roan confirmed.

  Okay then.

  Without romance or finesse, Seg guided his dick to Roan’s ass and slowly sank inside.

  He didn’t offer foreplay, didn’t tease with his fingers, simply pushed himself inside, allowing the tight ring of muscle to grip him and pull him in deep. Still, he went slow, not wanting to hurt Roan. The man had informed him he didn’t bottom, yet here he was. Seg felt an overwhelming responsibility to make this good for Roan.

  The heat of Roan’s body was like a furnace, engulfing him, sending electrical sparks firing beneath his skin.

  So good.

  Too good.

  Son of a bitch.

  Had it been like this before? Seg didn’t remember, but he seriously doubted it. Shit, he seriously doubted anything had ever felt as fucking good as being lodged inside this man’s ass.

  Roan’s head tilted back and Seg reached around him, cupping his neck without applying any pressure while he kissed Roan’s cheek, his ear, his jaw.

  “Hurt?”

  Roan shook his head.

  “Want me to fuck you hard?”

  Roan nodded.

  Seg pulled his hips back and slammed home, burying himself to the hilt inside Roan’s tight ass. He groaned from the pure bliss that consumed his entire body. The hair on his arms stood on end as the sensations exploded through him. Fucking felt amazing.

  While Roan jerked himself, Seg pounded into him, enjoying the way Roan’s body strangled his dick, the way Roan pushed back against him, taking all of him. Their grunts and groans echoed in the room, spurring Seg on.

  When he knew he was close, he turned Roan’s head so he could claim his mouth. It was an awkward angle, but Roan didn’t resist, their tongues dueling while Seg continued to thrust deep and hard.

  Roan jerked his mouth away, a tortured moan escaping him. “Fuck, yes… Don’t stop… Fuck… Don’t you dare fucking stop.”

  Seg continued drilling him hard until Roan cried out as he climaxed. Only then did he give in, letting himself go right over the edge with him.

  After a few seconds, Seg pulled out and dropped to his side, placing his hand on Roan’s back.

  “That was pretty damn good,” he said, keeping his tone neutral, his lungs fighting for air.

  “Not bad.”

  Seg chuckled. “Want to try it again? We’ve still got the rest of the night.”

  Roan rolled over and glanced at Seg. For a second, he thought the man was going to tell him he had to bolt. Instead, Roan sighed. “Yeah. A beer would be good. Then I could probably go for round two.”

  If Seg had his way, they wouldn’t be stopping with round two.

  One

  Friday, October 14th

  ROAN KNEW HE SHOULDN’T HAVE come. And not only because he risked running into the one man he’d been doing his best to forget about completely.

  Sure, that was a concern—more so since Cam informed him they’d get a chance to meet the team after the game—but he was more concerned that he’d left his sister at home alone this afternoon and something had felt off.

  Seriously off.

  In fact, he’d been worried enough that during the third period of the game, he’d snuck out to the concourse and called her, but she hadn’t answered, and now he was having to go meet the team with his friends. On a normal day, this would’ve been a dream come true. Today, not so much.

  Good God, a year and a half ago, Roan would’ve shit monkeys if someone asked him to go meet the Austin Arrows. Unfortunately, a lot of shit had gone down since then. He’d had an unforgettable one-night stand with one of the players and… Well, there was too much other stuff to think about right now. So much that Roan’s entire world was flipped upside down and sideways. No way was this night going to end well.

  For one, by going to the locker room, he risked coming face-to-face with Seg. A man he’d promised himself he would never think about again. Not the way he found himself thinking about him anyway. There were a million reasons keeping a safe distance from the famous defenseman was imperative. One, the guy was definitely in the closet, and it wasn’t a secret that Roan had no interest in being some guy’s closet play toy. Remarkable sex or not.

  And two, Roan needed to check on his sister. He was worried and there was this strange buzzing in his head. It was like a warning that he needed to get home. Although he hadn’t talked to her, Cassie had texted him a couple of hours ago.

  She’d been in pure bitch form, of course.

  I wish you’d leave me alone. I’m fine. I don’t need you checking up on me. In fact, why don’t you find someone else to bother tonight because I’m not in the mood to deal with your shit.

  Roan had fought the urge to shoot off a message telling her exactly how he felt. That particular text was actually one of the nicer ones he’d received from her. Most of them told him he was an asshole, that all the bad shit that had ever happened to her was his fault. Somehow he always managed to bite his tongue and not give her a piece of his mind. Ever since her drug problem had become his problem, Roan hadn’t been dealing with it well.

  So, he had given himself a few minutes to calm down, then shot a quick text back, letting Cassie know he’d be home as soon as the game was over. Before he could even get the phone back in his pocket, another text had come through: Fuck you, Roan. I hate you, and I wish you’d leave me the fuck alone.

  Yep, pure bitch mode seemed to be her only setting these days.

  Following behind Cam and Gannon as they led the way to the locker room, Roan did his best to disappear into the background. He wasn’t going to ruin anyone’s night by insisting they head out now, but he didn’t have to be all gung ho about it either. He slowed his steps, trying to let Teague and Hudson go in front of him. Even though it meant he would not get to personally meet any of the players, Roan did not need to be the guy at the front.

  Teague’s head pivoted as he looked at Roan, confusion forming a wrinkle in his forehead. “Going somewhere? Looks to me like you’re trying to hide from someone.”

  Not in the mood to deal with anyone’s shit, Roan mumbled, “Shut the hell up.”

  Of course, that went right over Teague’s head. “Not all that fun to get your balls busted, huh?”

  Roan bit his lower lip to keep from saying anything. Okay, fine. He probably deserved that. He had personally busted Teague’s balls—figuratively, of course—on more than one occasion.

  “Guys,” Phoenix Pierce—the owner of the Austin Arrows—prompted, “I’m sure he doesn’t need an introduction, but this is Spencer Kaufman, the Arrows captain.”

  While Roan lingered behind them, he watched as Cam shook Spencer’s hand, his eyes wide, his jaw nearly on the floor. It almost made Roan laugh. Almost.

  “And that over there is Kingston Rush, the man in the net.”

  Roan glanced over to see the Arrows goalie talking to a reporter, but he didn’t get to watch for long because they were on the move again, following Phoenix toward another group of guys. He didn’t pay much attention as Phoenix rattled off names. Roan already knew who the players were. He’d been a fan for a long damn time.

  “And this right here is the man of the night,” Phoenix noted with pride in his voice. “Colton Seguine, defense. Seg, these are some friends of mine. They own the marina out on Lake Buchanan.”

  Shit.

  Shit, shit, shit.

  Roan let his gaze slide to the concrete floor, hoping to become invisible.

  Unfortunately, that didn’t work, because he felt those cool blue eyes land on him, and he couldn’t resist looking up and meeting them head on.

  Don’t let him talk to me. Don’t let him talk to me.

  For a brief moment, he had to wonder whether Seg even remembered him. It was possible that the man had so many one-night stands that he couldn’t keep track. Unfortunately, Roan
didn’t have that luxury. And since Seg had been his last one-night stand, which meant he’d also been the last man Roan had been with, it wasn’t quite so easy for him to forget. Still, in the past year, Roan had never once seen an article or story tying Seg with another man. Women, definitely. Which meant Seg was still guarding his secret. And Roan reminded himself again that the sex might’ve been the best he’d ever had, but it wasn’t good enough for him to spend the rest of his life hiding out, so a repeat was definitely out of the question.

  He was tired of people being ashamed of him. Hell, his own mother had walked out on them when Roan was sixteen. The homophobic bitch had claimed he was cursed and wanted nothing to do with the devil’s work, so she packed a suitcase and abandoned them all. From that moment on, Roan had vowed that he would never be embarrassed by who he was. Not for the woman who’d given birth to him, and certainly not for a guy whose bed he’d occupied for only a few hours.

  The thought made him snort and he felt more eyes turn his way.

  Looking up, he met Cam’s concerned stare.

  “We done here?” Okay, so he sounded like a dick, but Roan really needed to get away from Seg. The man was not good for his health.

  As it was, he’d enjoyed many sessions with his own hand by remembering that one night. It didn’t make pretending it never happened any easier when that delicious temptation was standing only a few feet away. Even disheveled and sweaty from the game, he was hot.

  Phoenix cleared his throat as though he sensed Roan’s tension. “Again, thanks for coming out tonight. Tickets for the games are yours whenever you want them. I’ve gotta go catch up with my husband and wife. I’m sure they’re looking for me.”

  As those words processed, Roan glared at Seg. Here was a man who was too afraid to come out of the closet, yet the owner of his freaking team was bisexual and in a long-term, committed relationship with a woman and a man.

  Roan turned away from the others and started for the parking lot. He’d done his part. Night was officially over.

  “Hey!”

  Or not.

  Shit. That voice… He still heard that deep baritone in his fucking dreams.