Chapter 2
1343 Words
Jax POV
The pain in my shoulder was getting worse every single day, but I wasn’t about to let anyone see it. During practice I threw myself into every drill like my life depended on it. When one of the rookies came at me with the puck, I laid him out with a solid hit along the boards. The impact jarred through my whole body, and that familiar burning fire shot down my arm again. I clenched my jaw so hard I thought my teeth might crack.
“Callahan! You good?” Theo Ramirez shouted from across the ice, skating over with that cocky grin of his.
“I’m fine,” I growled, skating back into position without looking at him. I wasn’t fine. The shoulder had been bothering me for weeks now, but telling the coaches meant they might pull me from games. And we were finally looking like contenders this season. I couldn’t afford to be weak.
Practice felt longer than usual. Every pass, every check, every sprint made the pain sharper. Sweat was dripping into my eyes by the time the coach finally blew the whistle. The guys headed to the locker room laughing and talking s**t, but I stayed quiet. I showered fast, the hot water doing nothing to loosen the tight muscles in my shoulder. I threw on a pair of gray sweats and a black hoodie, grabbed my bag, and left the arena without saying much to anyone.
My mind was a mess. I needed to shut it off for a while.
Briar had texted me right after practice saying she was staying at the Marriott downtown. I replied with the room number. No small talk. That’s how things worked between us.
I drove through the city with the radio off, shoulder throbbing with every turn of the wheel. By the time I got to the hotel and knocked on room 1423, I was already tense as hell.
Briar opened the door wearing a tiny black silk robe that barely covered her thighs. Her red hair was loose around her shoulders. Briar Lennox always looked good. She knew it too. She gave me that knowing smile she always did.
“Well, well. Look who finally showed up,” she said, stepping aside so I could come in.
“Practice ran late,” I muttered, closing the door behind me.
She walked up to me slowly, running her hands up my chest. “You look like you need to blow off some steam. Rough day?”
“You could say that.”
Without another word, she pulled my head down and kissed me hard. I kissed her back, pushing her against the wall. Her robe slipped open easily, and I ran my hands over her bare skin. She moaned softly into my mouth as I grabbed her ass and lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around my waist right away.
We made it to the bed in a clumsy rush. I dropped her onto the mattress and yanked my hoodie and t-shirt off. The movement pulled at my bad shoulder, sending a sharp pain through it, but I ignored it. Briar sat up on her knees and helped me push my sweats down, her hand wrapping around me immediately.
“God, I love how hard you get for me,” she whispered, stroking me slowly.
I groaned and pushed her back down, climbing on top of her. I kissed her neck, then moved lower, taking one of her n*****s into my mouth and sucking hard. Briar arched her back, moaning loudly.
“Jax… yes…”
My hand slid between her legs. She was already soaked. I pushed two fingers inside her, curling them while my thumb rubbed her c**t. She started moving her hips against my hand, breathing fast.
“f**k, that feels good,” she panted. “Don’t stop.”
I kept going, watching her face as she got closer. Her moans got louder, her body tightening around my fingers. When she came, she cried out my name, shaking underneath me.
But even as she was falling apart, my head wasn’t fully there.
I kept thinking about earlier. About bumping into Riley in the training room. The way she looked up at me with those big eyes. The spark I felt when her hands touched my shoulder. The fire in her voice when she talked back to me. It was still stuck in my mind, playing on repeat.
Briar grabbed my face and pulled me down for another kiss. “Where did you go just now?”
“Nowhere,” I lied.
I spread her legs wider and positioned myself at her entrance. In one thrust, I buried myself deep inside her. Briar gasped, her nails digging into my back.
“Oh my God, Jax… you’re so deep.”
I started moving, hard and steady. The sound of our bodies slapping together filled the hotel room. She wrapped her legs tighter around me, meeting every thrust.
“Harder,” she begged, her voice breathy. “I can take it.”
I gave her what she wanted, pounding into her faster. Sweat covered both of us. Her breasts bounced with every thrust, and she kept moaning my name like a chant. It felt good — really f*****g good physically. Her body was tight and hot around me, pulling me deeper.
But the emptiness was already creeping in. No matter how hard I f****d her, my mind kept drifting back to Riley. To that princess who called me out on my s**t with a blush on her cheeks. This — what I was doing with Briar — suddenly felt like a routine. It felt empty.
Briar flipped us over, climbing on top. She sank down onto me slowly, rolling her hips in that way she knew I liked. “Look at me while I ride you.”
I gripped her waist and thrust up into her. She rode me faster, moaning loudly, her hands on my chest. The pleasure built, but it felt distant. When she came again, clenching around me and crying out, I finally let go too, groaning as I finished inside her.
For a few seconds, everything was quiet except for our heavy breathing.
Then that familiar hollow feeling settled in my chest. The same one that always came after. No matter how intense it was, it left me feeling nothing.
I rolled off her and stared at the ceiling, trying to catch my breath. My shoulder was screaming now.
Briar turned on her side and traced her fingers over my tattoos. “That was really good. You were wild today.”
I sat up and reached for my clothes. “Yeah. But this has to be the last time, Briar.”
She sat up fast, the sheet falling to her waist. “Last time? Are you kidding me?”
I pulled on my boxers and sweats. “We’ve been doing this on and off for too long. It’s not going anywhere. I need to focus on hockey. The injury. All of it.”
Briar looked pissed. “You always say s**t like this, Jax. Then you come back when you’re horny or lonely.”
“Not this time,” I said, putting on my hoodie. “It’s done.”
I grabbed my keys and phone and headed for the door.
“Whatever,” she called after me. “You’ll be back.”
I didn’t answer. I just left.
In the elevator, my phone buzzed.
Training staff: First official PT session with Riley Bennett tomorrow morning at 9 AM. Don’t be late.
I stared at the message for a long moment.
Riley.
Even after everything that just happened with Briar, the thought of seeing her again tomorrow made something tighten in my chest. The chemistry between us earlier today had felt different. Deeper. More real than anything I’d had with Briar in all these months.
I already wanted her more than I’d ever wanted Briar.
Way more.
And that realization scared the s**t out of me.
- Writer
