Hold the Line

Teo Brandt wears the "C" on his jersey like a vow. Eight years as captain of the Providence Harbormen. One rule: protect the room. Then Anders Lindqvist, the brutal, brilliant winger whose hit ended Teo's best friend's season, is traded to Providence.

Anders has a ruined reputation, a concussion history no one will say out loud, and one season left to prove he's not finished. He needs the Harbormen. He needs Teo to stop looking at him like a crime scene.

Management has a solution: make them partners. Same line. Same hotel suites on the road. Same rented lakehouse for a two-week "cohesion retreat" that becomes a season-long arrangement when the team's accountants catch a lease problem. Teo has authority on the ice. Anders has the stats. Neither will blink first.

They hate each other precisely, with fluency. They know each other's tells. They know exactly where it hurts.

So why does Teo stay up listening for Anders's footsteps? Why does Anders keep his door open? And when a late-night argument ends with Teo's back against a wall and neither man backing away, what will it cost them to admit that hating someone this much was always a way of paying attention?

Steamy, intense, and emotionally raw, with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers · Forced Proximity · Hockey Romance · Rivals on the Same Team · Captain/Star Player · Slow Burn · Grumpy x Grumpy · Gay Romance · HEA

Content note: Adult M/M romance with sensual intimate scenes, strong language, on-ice violence, and discussion of concussion and head-injury trauma. 18+.