Page 111 of Unrivaled

Grady had said he wanted to show Max off, and Max had slept soundly wrapped in the warm fuzzies from that declaration, but how was that going to play with their jobs? He tried to think what he’d say about Grady now, if a question caught him off guard. He’d probably make the same dumb besotted face Grady had and whatever words came out of his mouth would sound exactly likeHowever the game ends, I’ll end the night with Grady’s cock in my throat. “Shit.”

Polly grabbed a sandwich and a plate and perched on the arm of the sofa, her knee against Jess’s shoulder. “Eat your lunch first,” she said. “Strategize after.”

AS EVERYONEwho knew him could tell you, talking was not Grady’s strongest point. He sat on the end of his bed and ran his hands through his hair as he tried to order his thoughts.

Annoyingly, he had no one to blame but himself. He was the one who’d lost control of his face when he’d learned Max would soon be back within arm’s reach.

Even more annoyingly, he hadn’t given a second’s thought to what the almighty Narrative would be, this time around. In the fall, he’d used the inevitable public fallout as an excuse to keep his thing with Max in a vault labeled CASUAL.

Or, well, to try to keep it there, at least. Sometime when Grady wasn’t looking, Max snuck in and picked the lock and got feelings all over everything.

“Are you freaking out?” Max asked finally from where he’d sprawled out next to him.

Grady thought about it. “Weirdly, no.” They needed to figure out how to handle this, but it was a minor nuisance, not something he dreaded. Actually, it was kind of funny.

“Okay. Cool.” Max nudged his hip, and Grady flopped backward and turned his head to face him. “So what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. This is going to sound so stupid, but I actually never thought about it.”

Max snorted. “Bull shit.” He made it two words to emphasize his disbelief. “You were so paranoid, Grady, don’t even front. We went to get milkshakes in the middle of the night and you were looking over your shoulder like the hockey rivalry police were going to come for you.”

Yeah, Grady would give him that one.

“And yet you were still dumb enough to park your car in my driveway and then you tried to givemeshit—”

“I meant the second time,” Grady blurted. “Once I fucked up, all that mattered was fixing things with you.”

God. He would’ve been embarrassed, except Max made a sound like he’d been punched and smushed his face into the mattress. “You think my pillow talk is rough. Have you listened to yourself talk about your feelings?”

“I try not to,” Grady said honestly, and smiled when Max shook with laughter.

“Okay. So what’s our objective here?” he said when he’d recovered. “Full-on star-crossed lovers treatment? Are we leaving them guessing? What do you want?”

“Art Ross? Stanley Cup? Hall of Fame induction?” Grady was spitballing. He had what he wanted. He did kind of want to show Max off, but Max had fallen asleep before he could agree to that, and anyway that was gravy.

Besides, Grady didn’t know if he could say that out loud a second time.

Max snorted and slid his knee between Grady’s thighs. “Settle for a hot boyfriend and a blow job?”

It seemed like he wouldn’t have to. Grady threaded his fingers through Max’s hair. “For now.”

But he kept thinking about it afterward. It was easier to think about what hedidn’twant, and harder to imagine saying it. He didn’t want to be expected to say cruel things about Max. He didn’t want people to think Grady hated him. He wasn’t going to pull his checks on the ice—he’d play as hard as he always had. But he wanted the rivalry to stay on the ice—and okay, maybe in the bedroom sometimes, but only if it was in fun.

He wanted to play hockey,goodhockey, and learn how to bully Max out of his rare bad moods, and come home from road trips to a bed that Max had slept in, was still sleeping in, would sleep in again. He didn’t want to care what anybody thought about it.

That would be enough.

He hadn’t napped earlier, and Max was warm and heavy on his chest, the perfect living weighted blanket, and Grady was doped up on orgasms and content for the first time in years. He should finish his conversation with Max.

Maybe he would close his eyes for a moment. He and Max could talk afterward.

MAX HATEDto leave Grady while he was sleeping, but he could only nap so much before it interfered with his ability to fight jet lag. After ten minutes he got up and crept out of the room, then closed the door quietly behind him.

Polly looked up from her seat on the couch, where she was curled up with a book. “Come to any conclusions?”

Max grinned. “Probably not in the way you’re thinking.”

Laughing, she closed her book and turned her full attention to him. “Are you heading out?”

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