Beg Me Like You Mean It, Captain

The puck dropped, and the sheer speed of the drill washed everything else out of my head.

​Russo collected the puck off the back boards, turning sharply to clear the zone. I burst up the center ice, my skates digging into the clean sheet with a power I hadn’t felt since the season started. The sluggish, heavy weight that had been dragging down my limbs for days was completely gone. I felt light. Dangerous.

​I checked my shoulder, cutting toward the right boards just as Russo slapped a hard, crisp pass right onto the tape of my stick.

​"Go, Cap!" Miller yelled from the blue line, already moving up to support.

​Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of white and green. Reid was matching my pace effortlessly, his long, sturdy strides eating up the ice on my left wing. He was perfectly positioned, pulling the simulated defense away from me just by being a threat.

​I faked a shot, drawing the opposing defenseman toward me, and then made a blind, backhand pass directly into the space behind him.

​I didn’t even have to look. I knew he’d be there.

​Reid caught the puck on his backhand, smoothed it out with a single, fluid motion, and fired a vicious, rising wrist shot straight into the top shelf of the net. The water bottle on top of the goal flew into the air, splashing ice water across the crossbar.

​"Beautiful! That’s what I’m talking about!" Coach Devin barked from the bench, blowing his whistle. "Again! Next line up, move, move!"

​Reid skated past the net, turning in a tight arc that brought him right back to my side as we headed to the back of the line. He wasn’t even breathing hard, his chest rising and falling in a steady, calm rhythm that made me want to hit him.

​"Nice pass, Evans," he murmured, his shoulder bumping mine again as we lined up at the boards. "You really do have great vision when you aren’t distracted."

​"I told you to watch the line, McCoy," I gritted out, keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead, refusing to look at that smug expression under his visor. My neck was burning beneath the adhesive patch, the friction of my heavy collar keeping the memory of his teeth fresh against my skin. "Don’t get cocky over a practice drill."

​"Just appreciating the chemistry, Cap," he chuckled, leaning his weight against his stick, his grey eyes fixed on the side of my face with a terrifyingly sharp intensity. "We work well together. In every space."

I turned away from his annoying remark and just focused on the game. When the final whistle for the end of the drill came, I was panting and sweating, thirsty for water.

And the hand who handed me a bottle was Reid, having that arrogant smirk on his lips as he looked down at me.

It vexed me but I took his water. We would get even closer in the future, not because I want to but because it’s the price I have to pay for him to keep his mouth shut.

And if I’m going to be carrying his scent around at odd times, then I have to make it seem like we’ve gotten closer to the rest of the team so his scent rubbing off on me does not strike as odd.

"Hmph!" He was so smug and I watched him skate away, high fiving the other rookies.

I drank from the water and finally felt like I could breathe. My body was in tiptop shape thanks to his Pheromones, but I do not plan on relying on them for any longer than I need to.

"Alright, get your asses in the shower and prepare to leave!" I announced it to the team, my tone deep and masculine as it could be. "This bonding trip is officially over. We’re going home!"

The crew erupted in wild excited roars. They were always like this.

"But don’t get all excited and forget our match tomorrow night."

"We won’t, Cap," That was Gerald from behind me, patting my shoulder pad. "We’ll take good care of ourselves." He grinned.

Yeah, by taking good care of themselves, half of them are likely going to hit a pub tonight and fuck out their frustration. Alphas.

After getting back to the cabin, I was met with the sound of rubbing water from the bathroom. Reid was already bathing.

I did not want to have another encounter with him before we left so I walked out of the cabin for a while, went to the outside rink to make sure we didn’t forget any luck and then back to the inside rink.

After about five minutes, I returned to the cabin and found him on his towel, his body dripping with water.

I tried my best not to look but my best wasn’t enough and my inner Omega swooned over how his abs looked so thick and so...

"Hey!" Reid called and I flinched. I tore my eyes away from his abs and looked up to find him grinning. "Who’s the pervert now?" He asked and began to walk closer. "Don’t you know checking me out like that only turns me on, Cap? What? You wanna beg again?"

My face was flushed. Not just with embarrassment at being caught but anger. I was so dumb for doing this, knowing the kind of demon he was and knowing the kind of situation I was in.

I walked past him, my shoulder pad hitting his bare wet skin and acted like none of what he said registered.

"I’m going to take a bath," I said, my tone cool and collected like the captain I was. "You should stop standing around in a towel and get ready and start loading your stuff on the bus."

​I locked the bathroom door behind me, leaning against the cold wood until my racing heart finally slowed down. I took my time under the hot spray, scrubbing at my skin as if I could physically wash away the lingering weight of his presence.

By the time I walked back out, fully dressed in my traveling gear with a fresh adhesive patch securely hidden under my high collar, the cabin was empty. Reid’s bags were gone.

Thankfully.