Page 4 of Here Be Dragons
He laughed slightly and shook his head. "Your shoes."
Ava gave him a teasing look that made his cock twitch and slipped them back on. He probably had marks on his back from those heels digging into him as he came hard, her body taking him for all he had. He would never complain about that though.
Just the thought of Ava was making him uncomfortable but alone in bed this morning. The sunlight didn't help. It was probably just better at this point to get up and get ready.
He rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom, thankful that he was already naked so there was nothing hindering the predicament he woke up with. The shower started to get warm as soon as he turned the water on. He grabbed a towel from the shelf nearby, catching a glimpse of his back in the mirror. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, but there was definitely a small mark on each side where Ava's high heels had been.
He stepped in the shower, lamenting the fact that he was taking it alone. Ava was gone for now. But Shane needed to get her out of his head. He had other things to worry about this morning, and finding Ava wasn't his top priority. Maybe tonight. Maybe he could go to the bar again or sit in the lobby and watch the guests come in and out. Maybe he could see her one more time and have a little more fun.
But right now, he had work to do. Hockey work. He wrapped a towel around his waist and started wandering his hotel room preparing for the morning ahead. Underwear and undershirt were in his suitcase. Dress slacks were in the closet, still wrinkle-free. It was amazing how he had been able to find pants that could easily be tailored to his hockey body and still not end up a disastrous mess in his suitcase. Although he also went to a tailor who worked with all the guys on the Dragons. Totally top notch and totally expensive, but they were worth it.
The hotel room also had a coffee machine that would make a cup of average coffee. He was used to these things by now considering all the travel he did with the team during the season. Well, during the seasonifthe team was playing. This lockout was making him desperately miss playing.
He has spent the past three days at this stupid hotel already meeting with the lawyers for the players union as they tried to hash out a deal with the owners. Things seemed to be dragging though. The players union would suggest different plans or ideas and the response from the owners would simply be, "Not interested." But "not interested" was not an actual plan or an effective negotiating strategy. Hell, it had been the owners' strategy since talks began this summer, but there was still nothing from them.
Shane worried things were going to get worse today too. Rumor had it that one of the owners was so frustrated they went rogue, sending in their own lawyer to help move negotiations along. It sounded like the anonymous owner wanted the same thing the players did and wanted to get the season started. Shane just wasn't sure yet if this was going to be a good plan or a bad plan for the players.
No one knew who the rogue owner was and no one knew the lawyer they sent in to negotiate. Shane could imagine what the guy looked like. Middle-aged, slicked-back hair, super fancy suit. Probably some hot shot that was sent out here from their office in New York City. Maybe he would sit down and have some drinks with the players and this could all be over with by tomorrow. Maybe he would be a ruthless hard ass. The players had to be prepared for anything.
Shane straightened out his tie but still left it a little loose. He hated wearing these things but preferred this look to wearing a suit coat. The season hadn't started and he didn't have to follow some league rules just yet. So that meant his fancy slacks, tie, and a buttoned-down shirt. At least he could roll the sleeves up on his shirt, exposing his forearms. Hannah hated it when he did that for some reason, which was another reason why he was glad she was gone. Brown dress shoes to match his brown belt and he was set to go.
His key card was lying next to the coffee cup so he grabbed both of them, then shoved his phone in his pocket and headed out.
"Hey, Tay."
Shane turned to see Dylan Ferguson, captain of the Bay City Bears, walking down the hallway towards him.
"Ferg," Shane replied. "You went for a suit today?"
"How nice of you to notice." Dylan smiled as he dramatically grabbed the lapel of his black dress coat. "I figured I should look my best for the douchebag the owners are bringing in."
Shane laughed and the two started walking down the hall together towards the elevators. "Can't wait," he lamented.
They talked a little on their way to the first floor and headed down the hallway towards the conference rooms the league and players were using for negotiations. Not every player was there of course. Many were back home waiting for word on what was going on. But Shane and Dylan, along with a few other players, lawyers, and union representatives were here to be on the front lines to hammer out a deal. As captains of their teams, they both were natural choices to be here as leaders on their players' end of things.
It was also nice to find some camaraderie with other players he normally didn't have time to talk to during the season, even if it meant hanging out in a boring conference center. A few of them had already made it down this morning and were standing around before heading in for another day of "negotiating."
"Morning, boys. I see you found the 'gourmet' coffee," Shane said as he approached the group.
"Only the best if we're staying here, right?"
Shane smiled at Jordan King, captain of the Detroit Pirates, with a cheap coffee cup in his hand that matched everyone else. He was standing next to the union's lawyer, Mark Nelson. Mark was a good guy, no nonsense, who got the baseball players union a great deal a few years ago after they had a dispute with their owners.
Shane was glad that Jordan was here with them. He was the captain of Cleveland's biggest rival, the Detroit Pirates, but Jordan was also a good guy who was working hard to get some sort of deal together so they could all get back to work.
"So has the new guy shown up?" Dylan asked.
Jordan shook his head. "We're still waiting," Mark said.
"And we don't know which owner sent them here?" Shane asked.
"I bet it's not my guy," Dylan lamented.
Shane gave him a tight smile and took another sip of his coffee. "Dylan's guy" was Jason Stewart, a tech guru with way too much money. The guy had become a billionaire leading a gaming company from their headquarters in San Francisco. In that sense, he wasn't much different than Jack Foster, who owned the Detroit Pirates. Jack also had made it big in the tech industry but sold his company and moved back to Detroit to help redevelop the city and buy his favorite hockey team.
There was one big difference between Jack and Jason: Jack wasn't a dick. In fact, he was one of the owners in the league that players wished they could play for. Some of the guys had speculated that Jack was the rogue owner who was sending a henchman in to get the season started. Shane just hoped whoever it was would show up soon. This waiting around was getting annoyi--
"Oh shit," Jordan muttered, his jaw slack as he stared down the hall.
