Page 73 of Heated Rivalry 1
Except Shane had beenwatching himmake out with that girl. And Shane had looked so fucking good. Not, like, clothes-wise; Shane’s wardrobe was as boring as he was. But something about seeing Shane Hollander in that environment had been...exhilarating.
What if Ilya had been able to get closer to him? Would Shane have danced with him, right there in that packed Montreal nightclub? Would he have let Ilya push that stupid polo up and run his hands over the hard lines of his abs? Would he have tilted his head back and sucked in a breath when Ilya kissed his neck?
No. It would never have happened. Shane was with Rose now. And he and Ilya couldn’t even appear to be friendly with each other, let alone be spotted grinding against each other in a club.
He pinched the cross that hung around his neck and rubbed it with his thumb as he scowled into the dark room. He had never in his life been angry about someone sleeping with someone else. He was largely indifferent to most things.
Was it just that Ilya liked his sex with a generous helping of danger, and Shane provided both? Or was he just being childish about having to share his favorite toy with a gorgeous movie star?
Somewhere, buried deep in his brain, there was a third reason that was screaming for attention.
Ilya ignored it.
Chapter Fifteen
One week later—Montreal
Shane liked Rose Landry. He did.
She was easy to talk to, and she had a warmth about her that drew people in. She was a bigger celebrity than he was, but she handled it so easily. She laughed a lot, and when she asked people questions—which was often—she genuinely seemed to care about their answers. Maybe it was because she was an actress, but she always seemed very interested in people. Always observing. And she remembered every detail.
They had slept together a couple of times. It had been...fine. Better than usual, really. Except Shane knew she wouldn’t be so dazzled by his stardom that she would be able to overlook his performance, and that had made him nervous. Which had made it more difficult for him to...perform.
But she had been patient and helpful, and he’d completed the task both times. He may have noticed some surprise on her part that it seemed to be such a chore for him—especially the second time. He was sure she wasn’t used to that.
Tonight, Shane was alone with her at a private table in a wine bar in Old Montreal. He had actually been surprised when he’d arrived and found her alone there. He’d been expecting the usual crowd of Rose’s friends and coworkers.
“I thought it would be nice to have some time to...talk,” she’d explained. “Just the two of us.”
“Sure.” Shane had nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s nice.”
They talked for a long time, over wine and charcuterie. At one point Rose laughed at some dumb joke Shane made. “You’re so cute,” she said. “Have I told you how cute you are?”
“No,” Shane said, blushing a little.
“You are. I’ll tell you,” she said, leaning in, “Miles isextremelyjealous.”
“Of me?”
She laughed. “No, silly! Ofme!”
“Oh.” Shane let that sink in.“Oh!”
Rose’s eyes bugged out a bit. “Wait...did you not notice that Miles is gay?”
“Um... I guess I hadn’t really thought about it,” Shane lied.
“Well, he is. And he’s low-key in love with you.”
“Oh.” Shane knew he was blushing. He hoped the dim lighting hid it.
“Are you...surprised that a young actor is gay, Shane?”
“No—I mean...no.”
She leaned back in her chair. “Are there, like, gay hockey players?” she asked. “I mean, obviously, yes, there are, right? But are there anyopenlygay hockey players?”
“No,” Shane said. “I mean, yes. There are gay players. Bi players. Whatever. I’m sure there must be, yeah. But no one has ever...come out. Publicly.”Why is she asking me about this?
