Page 19 of Pucking Secret

I sink deeper into the couch, the ache in my chest mingling with a different kind of heat, a pull that’s half-memories, half-longing. She looked incredible. More confident, more beautiful than I remembered. My body reacts just thinking again about the curve of her hips, and the fullness of her breasts. She didn’t have those in high school. She wasn’t quite so… womanly.

I shift uncomfortably, trying to push the thought away, but it lingers, stubborn and insistent. My cock twitches as I imagine all the things I’d do to her delicious little body…

My phone suddenly rings. I glance at it and seeMomflashing across the screen. I was expecting this, of course. Mom was never thrilled with the idea of me coming to Denver, and I know Gerald’s also going to try and maintain his control over me even from afar. He’ll attempt to do so through her. With a heavy sigh, I answer.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Owen! How’s Denver?” Her voice is warm and soothing.

“You know, it’s different. Warmer than Canada, for sure.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll adjust. It’s a great city, Owen, and I think you made the right choice. You deserve to try something new before you settle down.”

Huh, I wasn’t expecting that. Her apparent acceptance of the move makes me a little suspicious. Before I can try and dig a little more into her response, I hear Gerald’s demanding voice in the background.

“Give me the phone.”

Mom sighs. I tense up, bracing myself. Gerald’s voice barrels through the line.

“Getting settled?” His tone is all business, and I know this isn’t a friendly check-in.

“Yes,” I say, keeping my answer short.

“Good. You’re there for one season, Owen. You’ve got until then to get whatever this is out of your system and return to Vancouver.”

I clench my jaw, forcing myself to stay calm. “Right. Whatever you say.”

“This trade? I never agreed to this. You belong in Canada. Where you’re accessible. I had plans for you to settle back home, play where you’re supposed to be, and keep the family image intact.”

I take a deep breath, my grip on the phone tightening. “I needed this move, Gerald. I requested the trade because I needed some space… even before you tried to force that engagement on me.”

“I don’t care what you think you need. At the end of this season, you’re coming back. You have responsibilities here, and you’ll be marrying Elise. No more of this nonsense, and no more arguing.”

I roll my eyes. He refuses to let the engagement go, no matter how many times I tell him it’s not happening. I’m overa thousand miles away now. He can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do… not while I’m here.

“Make sure you don’t do anything to embarrass us or cause your mother grief while you’re there,” Gerald orders. “I’ll be checking in.”

“Fine by—” Before I can finish, the phone clicks and the call ends. Well, I guess he’s done with me for the time being.

Frustrated, I walk toward the stacked moving boxes. Maybe doing some unpacking will distract me from all this.

I grab a box off the top of the pile and start tearing the tape off. Unpacking feels strangely therapeutic as I pull my clothes out of the box and sort them into piles on the floor. Removing an old hockey jersey from the box, I pause, clutching it in my hands. This jersey used to be my dad’s.

Suddenly, I’m a junior in high school, standing next to my dad’s hospital bed, holding his hand, feeling the roughness of his bone-thin fingers in mine. He looked at me with such sadness in his eyes, and it tore me up because, even then, I could see that he was already slipping away. That day, he made me promise to look after Mom, not to cause her any trouble, and to always be the one she could rely on.

I’ve kept that promise, even when it meant bending myself backward to make her happy. Even when it meant putting aside my own needs just to keep her from being disappointed. She was devastated when he passed, and I did whatever I could to be her rock. To be the person who never let her down.

Then she met Gerald, and everything changed.

Gerald has used me for his own PR schemes for years, parading me around to show off how “supportive” he is of my hockey career. It’s like he thinks my whole existence is a vehicle for his own success. If he could market me as “Gerald Weston’s All-Star Son” without it looking tacky, I know he would. Christ, I’m not even his fucking son, but he says calling me his “stepson”makes the “Weston” name look bad. Fuck the Weston name. Gerald’s not even in charge of the company… yet. He sits on the company board and makes public appearances to show off his “Golden Boy” persona, but he has no real power in the company. Maybe that’s why he’s so intent on having total control over my life… because he doesn’t have any real control in his.

Mom has no idea how unhappy I am. She thinks I’m thriving under Gerald’s influence, that he’s helping me succeed in ways I never could on my own. She even thinks I’mhappyabout the idea of marrying Elise. She’s seen us at family gatherings, talking politely, laughing even, and she thinks that means I want a future with her. There’s nothing there. Not the way there was with Stacey. Not even close.

Shaking my head, I push all those thoughts aside. I should focus on unpacking and not worry about my mom or Gerald right now. It’ll just stress me out. Huffing out a breath, I grab another box and rip it open. Inside, I find a few items from my collection. Padded cuffs, a sleeping mask, silky ropes…

I shut the box and pick it up to move it into the bedroom. Better to put these things away somewhere secure so no one else stumbles upon them. Reaching the room, I kneel down next to my custom-ordered bed and reach underneath, feeling around for the latch I know is there. When my fingers brush over it, I pull it and a hidden compartment drops down. I carefully store the contents of the box inside, then lock it up.

As I make my way back out to the living room, there’s a knock on my apartment’s front door. I jump, my heart slamming against my chest, feeling like whoever is at the door caught me with my kinky collection. It’s late, so I don’t know who could be showing up unannounced. I leave the bedroom, tossing the now-flattened cardboard back into the dining area, and cross to open the door. To my surprise, I find Carson, Jensen, Jayce, Zander, and Wilder standing in the hallway, all grinning.

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