Heated Rivalry
by Rachel Reid
Contents
Chapter Twenty-Five
Overview
Shane and Ilya’s time at the cottage shifts from playful secrecy to future-planning as Ilya admits fears about citizenship, safety, and what comes after hockey. A joking start becomes an honest negotiation of options—free agency, Canada, and rejecting a marriage-of-convenience with Svetlana.
Shane proposes a concrete plan to change their public rivalry through nearby teams and a shared charity, and the emotional stakes break open when Ilya finally says “I love you” and Shane says it back. They seal that commitment physically and then choose a meaningful cause—mental health and suicide prevention—for the charity, tying it to Ilya’s mother Irina.
Summary
At the cottage, Shane and Ilya start an NHL video game, bickering over team picks. When Shane takes a call from his best friend Hayden, Ilya mischievously escalates the moment by undressing Shane and teasing him while Shane tries to keep the conversation going.
Ilya’s teasing turns into oral sex, and Shane struggles to stay composed on the phone until he mutes the call at the last second and orgasms. Afterward Shane is furious and laughing at how hot it was; Ilya briefly worries Shane only wants the relationship as “rebellion,” but Shane reassures him that this is not why Shane is with Ilya anymore.
Later, Ilya admits he has been thinking about a future where he isn’t trapped by politics and secrecy: America feels unsafe for Russians, and Russia feels unsafe for someone like him. As a pending free agent after next season, Ilya considers leaving Boston for a Canadian team to make life easier and to make their rivalry matter less.
The next night, Ilya raises the idea of marrying Svetlana for U.S. citizenship. Shane, fighting panic, presses Ilya about whether Ilya truly wants a conventional marriage; Ilya admits he likes women but cannot stop wanting Shane, and he does not want that “problem” to go away. Shane blurts that Ilya should not marry Svetlana, and Ilya agrees.
Over coffee they build on Ilya’s idea: if Ilya plays farther west, the rivalry could fade and make a real future more possible. Shane proposes a more specific plan—Ottawa for Ilya and Montreal for Shane—so they are close, can publicly shift the narrative by starting a joint charity, and eventually have a path to being together openly after retirement; in the heat of this honesty, Ilya finally says “I love you,” and Shane returns it.
They have sex in a newly tender, affirming way, repeatedly saying they love each other. In bed afterward, Shane suggests their charity be a hockey school with proceeds going to mental health and suicide prevention; Ilya is moved, tells Shane his mother Irina would have loved him, and they fall asleep exchanging “I love you,” including in Russian.
Who Appears
- Ilya RozanovShane’s rival and lover; weighs citizenship options, rejects sham marriage, confesses love, plans charity.
- Shane HollanderIlya’s rival and lover; reassures commitment, proposes Ottawa/Montreal plan and mental-health charity, returns love.
- Hayden PikeShane’s best friend; calls during which Shane tries to act normal while Ilya teases him.
- SvetlanaPotential marriage-of-convenience option for Ilya’s U.S. citizenship; ultimately rejected.
- Sergei VetrovMentioned as Svetlana’s father, used to explain her connection and willingness to help Ilya.
- IrinaIlya’s late mother; named aloud and emotionally linked to Shane’s charity idea.