Page 85 of Tamed (The Courtside King Duology 1)

— THIRTEEN —

“What a shot!”

Kai smiled as the announcer’s voice boomed through EagleBank Arena, the pounding base of BLACKPINK’s Savage exploding through the sound system in taunting celebration. The crowd went wild, and understandably so. The Patriot’s center just grabbed the rebound and launched a quick pass back up the court, where Breck scored a nothing-but-net before the defense even had a chance to set up.It wasn’t his first basket of the game, and it clearly wouldn’t be his last.George Mason’s monarch was on fire tonight.

The halftime horn blared.

George Mason Patriots 55, Dayton Flyers 30.

As the masses piled out en route to the restrooms and refreshment stands, Kai settled into his seat and watched Breck’s team exit the court. A break in the locker rooms they’d most definitely earned. Especially, Breck, if Kai was being honest, demonstrating without contention why he’d been nicknamed the King. Kai had been impressed by his previous performances, but Breck had clearly upped his game for March Madness.

Which made Kai glad that he’d come, despite Breck’s demand that he stay away. He honestly didn’t understand what the big deal was. It wasn’t like Breck would ever notice him in this sea of a thousand faces. Besides, he’d already purchased his ticket when Breck had told him not to go. He’d been to enough games now to feel invested. He wanted to see Breck go the distance and win the championship.

Although, in his defense, he had considered staying home. Ultimately though, the temptation had been too strong. Breck enthralled him. Always had. How Kai reveled in the act of simply watching him move. Such a strong, lithe, athletic stag darting this way and that. Like he’d done when they’d sparred at Kai’s dojang, only now he was on a basketball court lighting up a crowd. No harm, no foul. Kai was just enjoying the game. One where, in his opinion, Breck surpassed king status. The kid was a prodigy.

The guy to Kai’s right plopped back down in his seat. A student, Kai presumed, wearing his Patriots hoodie. Right from the start, when Kai had first noticed him, he’d reminded him of Sean, what with his wavy blond shoulder-length hair and slender build. Sean was more attractive, of course. Far more attractive. Kai rarely spotted guys who surpassed his good looks. And unlike this guy, Sean carried himself with confidence. One of the traits Kai had liked about him most. Sean was just as poised and self-assured as he was handsome.

His thoughts strayed to their Tuesday session. So many reasons why it’d fallen through. Hell, by the time they’d gotten situated in Max’s dungeon, he’d gleaned enough about Sean and Max to be fully aware that no real playtime would be happening. And so, he’d begun with his change in plans, using every minute spent tying Sean up to devise a strategy for his own extraction. Sean’s request for Max to watch had only made things that much easier.

The kid was clever, Kai would give him that. And tenacious. Had refused to go down without a fight. Or maybe he figured if he was going down, then Max was going with him.

Not that Kai hadn’t had a back-up strategy if, somehow, Max had miraculously persevered. In that case, he’d have kept things underwhelming. Anticlimactic. Quite literally, as it were. He’d decided from nearly the get-go to not even bring Sean to orgasm. Which in no way meant the kid wasn’t worthy, because from what Kai observed, he most definitely was. Sean was a great big yellow flower engulfed in sunshine.

He just didn’t do it for Kai.

Of course, it hadn’t helped that the guy who did had been directly above, hanging out in the kitchen with Tad. Kai had been aware of Breck’s presence the whole time, wishing it’d been him tied up instead of Sean.

The pair to Kai’s left returned to their seats as well. Two very enthusiastic basketball fanatics. Not because of the pom poms they carried, or their head-to-toe George Mason Patriots garb, but rather, because of their faces and how they’d been covered in paint. One side, bright lemon yellow, the other a forest green.

Kai smiled, marveling at how much fans got into this stuff, then turned his gaze back to the court just as both teams filed back in. Halftime was over. Breck came into view, looking gorgeous as ever in his number eleven jersey. It’d only been twenty minutes, and yet the arrogant senior was a still sight for sore eyes.

Kai watched him saunter back to his team’s sideline, his coaches and fellow players filling up the courtside stretch. A moment later, the third quarter began and, just like that, the game was back in full swing. Fans leapt to their feet as Breck tore down the court, deftly dribbling toward his team’s new target now that they’d entered the second half; the basket on the court’s opposite end—whose backboard just so happened to be positioned almost directly in front of where Kai stood.

Without warning, Breck rifled it to Charlie on the outside perimeter. Charlie leapt off his feet and sent it sailing through the hoop.

“Jump shot for three by Maddox!” the announcer boomed.

The crowd exploded. “Ha! How you like that?” erupted from the sound system. More BLACKPINK. Kai grinned. Whoever was running sound clearly had a thing for K-pop.

The two to his left went ballistic with their green-and-gold pompoms. Kai scooted over to avoid getting hit. But when he returned his gaze to number eleven, he swore he caught Breck looking his way.

Kai stilled. Oh, shit. Had Breck seen him?

No way. That wasn’t possible. Not in a crowd this size.

Breck glanced away and tore in the opposite direction, falling into zone defense against the other team’s main ball handler. The guy slowed to set up his offense. Breck stayed in his face, ever between him and the basket. His opponent juked right, then went left, threading through traffic to get to his center. He passed him the ball. Reggie was on the guy in an instant. The center ducked left then launched the other way and took a shot.

“Oh!! Monster block by Cornell!” the announcer shouted as Reggie managed to intercept. Another explosion of celebratory cheers and base-booming music. Jegs snagged the deflected ball and dashed out of the paint, then passed it to Breck.

“Javerson with a fast break to Harland!”

Breck bolted back down the court. But as he neared Kai’s end of the arena, his golden gaze cut Kai’s way again and he nearly lost control of the dribble. Slowing abruptly, he scowled and launched it to his small forward, who took it to the net with an impressive slam dunk.

“Bryson for two!” the announcer roared.

More stadium exuberance. Kai, however, didn’t so much as break a smile, uneasily watching as Breck booked it toward the other end of the court. He couldn’t possibly know Kai was there. It was utterly inconceivable that he’d seen him amidst all these fans.

The other team scored.

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