Page 31 of Tamed (The Courtside King Duology 1)

Motherfucker.

Was he really that transparent?

Jegs nodded, soaping his armpits. “Kai’s just keeping you in check. Helping you to focus. You know, tough love, grandmaster-style.” A grin split his face. “He’s so gonna put you on your ass again tonight.”

Breck ground his molars. “No, he won’t.”

“Oh, yeah?” Charlie waggled his brows. “You willing to back that up? I’ve got a twenty back in my locker that says he will.”

Jegs loosed a chuckle. “I want in on that, too.”

Breck scowled. “You guys are dicks.”

His friends cracked up laughing, but soon got back to showering and talking more basketball. Breck turned into the spray and tuned them out. He didn’t feel like shooting the shit. Needed to contemplate other things. Like what he was going to do when he saw Kai at martial arts. A better strategy was obviously in order, and not just in terms of sparring, but to make his show of indifference a bit more convincing. This coming across as ‘distracted’ or ‘on edge’ was a problem. He had a reputation to uphold. Kai disrupting his cool in front of others could destabilize his image.

Exhaling, he closed his eyes as water sluiced down his torso.

He needed to shut it down and end this twisted infatuation. Beside the fact that it robbed him of his ‘calm, cool, and collected,’ it wasn’t healthy to lust after a guy he wanted to throttle. Kai made him mental, but also horny as hell. Out-and-out crazy with aggravation, but also need.

Without warning, an unbidden image filled his mind. Kai’s face. Those knowing eyes, all dark and smoldering beneath sleek black brows. Those lips, just barely curved, yet somehow playful. That jaw of trimmed stubble. That tantalizing ponytail. Fuck, how he’d love to grip that thing and give it a tug.

The image panned back. Now Kai’s body was visible. Breck’s heart picked up speed. He swallowed and moved to sudsing his pecs, his soapy fingers grazing his nipples and making them pebble.

The man was ripped, filling his dobok like an Olympian god. His physique so masculine and flawless, it couldn’t possibly be fair. Because while it was true that Breck hadn’t actually seen Kai’s muscles, he could still picture them perfectly, because he’d definitely felt them.

Every time they’d inadvertently touched. Fists glancing off arms, grazing abdomens and chests. Shoulders bumping. Legs connecting. Hips knocking. Plus, all of those times when Breck would stumble backward and Kai would grab his dobok. Sometimes he’d tug too hard and their chests would collide, and Breck would clutch his chiseled biceps to steady himself.

Lean, dense, powerful male. Not a trace of fat.

Breck’s sudsy hands roamed lower, his dick starting to stir, as the heady memories lured his thoughts even deeper.

Kai’s voice came through next, all purring through Breck’s mind. So true to form, the sound even held that hint of teasing. The one that always put him on guard. Although, mostly it just turned him on and made him hyperaware. Of every move Kai made. Of every sound he emitted. The scent of his skin. The way his lips parted whenever Breck came near. Stealing Breck’s focus without even trying, ever beckoning him closer.

And damn if he didn’t always want to heed.

To advance on the man with his mouth instead of his fists.

Rivulets streamed down Breck’s abdomen as his body tightened. Shit. What was he doing? He needed Kai out of his brain or he was going to bust a boner right there in the shower.

Besides, lusting after the guy was pointless. Breck may be bi, but he wasn’t stupid. He had one chance at going pro, and very few athletes made it, as it was. He couldn’t take unnecessary risks. Couldn’t ever indulge in that part of himself.

Even if he craved Kai more than he’d ever craved any woman.

Palming the tiles, he exhaled and let the water wash over his head.

Simply put? He was dying to see Kai’s face again.

Yet at the same time, he was also dreading it.

---