Page 147 of Heated Rivalry 1
“The hell you will.”
“And you have been retired for, like, eight years already because you got very bad at hockey...”
Shane laughed. “Okay.”
“Then I will bring you to that dock out there. I will have hundreds of candles all over it...”
“That sounds like a fire hazard.”
“Is on the water, Hollander. Fucking relax. Will be beautiful, you will love it. The candles. The lake. The full moon.”
“Oh, is it a clear night?”
“Yes. Of course. And I will get on one knee—”
“Ilya—”
“And I will say, ‘Shane Hollander, will you please marry me so I can become Canadian citizen faster?’”
Shane burst out laughing, and shoved him. “You’re such an asshole.”
“And you will say yes, because you are a nice, helpful guy.”
“No,” Shane said, taking his hands. “I will say yes because I will still be madly in love with you. And I’ll want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
And, oh god, Ilya didn’t deserve him, but he didn’t care. He was selfish like that.
“I mean it,” Shane said softly. “I want to have a life with you. I know it will be awkward, and will still involve a lot of sneaking around for a while, but I’m playing the long game here. So, yeah. Whatever it takes, I’m in.”
Ilya lifted their joined hands to his lips and kissed Shane’s knuckles. “Does this mean I get to see your apartment in Montreal? Your real one?”
“You can even keep a toothbrush there. I’m going to sell that other place. I was being paranoid when I bought it. I’m sorry.”
Ilya grinned. “Buying an entire building because you are nervous is very you.”
Shane shook his head. “I really am sorry. I just wanted to protect what we had. I should have invited you to my real apartment sooner. I want you there. I want you in my life. All of it.”
God, were they really going to be able to keep this a secret until they were retired? Now that they were both honest about what they were to each other, Ilya feared it might be impossible to hide their relationship from the world.
Especially when Shane looked at him like he was looking at him right now—like Ilya wasworthall this trouble. Like he was worth loving.
“I want to tell everyone,” Ilya said. “Right now.”
Shane’s eyes went wide with panic. “No! Don’t. We have to stick to the plan.”
Ilya sighed dramatically. “You and your plans. What if I just kissed you on the mouth at the next All-Star Game?”
“I’ll punch you. I swear to god.”
“You wouldn’t. Not if I kissed you like this.” Ilya cradled Shane’s face in one hand, his thumb brushing Shane’s cheekbone, and kissed him. He took his time, and finished with little nips to Shane’s bottom lip. Shane, already boneless from the blow job, fell heavily against Ilya’s chest.
“If you kissed me like that I would push you to the ice and start tearing your gear off,” Shane murmured dreamily.
“That would be interesting.” Ilya’s cock was suddenlyveryinterested in that imagined scenario.
“What if we just told our friends?” Shane suggested. “My family already knows. We could just...feel our way with the rest.”
“Mm,” Ilya said. “And what would your best friend Hayden Pike say?”
