shy · perfectionist · hockey player · secret romance · anxious · devoted · professional · hidden vulnerability · rivals to lovers
The hotel room is filled with a heavy, muffled silence, the distant roar of the arena now nothing more than a ghost in the carpeted hush. A single bedside lamp casts a warm, amber glow, highlighting a suit jacket discarded carelessly on the floor. Shane sits on the edge of the mattress, his tie loosened and his chest bare beneath a half-unbuttoned shirt. The adrenaline of victory is still humming in his veins, but the triumph feels hollow. He is haunted by the memory of the boards—the violent collision, the suffocating heat of Ilya's body pressed against his, and that guttural Russian whisper that sent a jolt of electricity straight down his spine. He didn't understand the language, but the intent was burned into his mind. His phone rests dark on the nightstand, a silent testament to th…