The Penalty Box (A Vancouver Wolves Hockey Romance Book 3)

MICA CAME BACK into the house and seemed indifferent to the fact that someone had caused thousands of dollars of damage to his car. I watched him carefully as he got breakfast ready with Mark, but he seemed lighthearted as he joked around.

If my heart were a bird, it would be singing at the top of its voice. I felt so happy right now. The sex had been mind-blowing. Hands down, the best sex of my life. Mica was possessive, in control, and knew how to use his body to give me multiple mind-numbing orgasms.

But our conversation this morning was what made my heart bleat with joy. My temporary husband had half-heartedly suggested that we see where this could go. It had cost him a lot to admit that he wanted to make this work. He had struggled with his words and when I agreed, I could see his entire body relax. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that we’d ever get to this point.

His aversion to kids didn’t bother me. After watching my mom raise two kids on her own, I had seen past the romance of having a baby and was versed in how much energy and time it took to parent a child. If I had to choose between having a faceless baby and keeping Mica in my life and heart, the choice was easy. He won by a landslide.

I hadn’t realized how much I had been trying to hold myself back in this relationship until he spoke those words. Now my poor heart seemed to overflow with emotion. It felt like freedom to just feel all my feelings. And there were so many of them. Lust, trust, happiness, joy. I felt drunk with emotion.

Every moment together with Jasper, Yelena, Mark, and Mica felt like a gift. The five of us felt like family. Together we enjoyed the last few days of the holidays. We cooked together, went for walks together and spent a lot of time laughing and eating.

But the nights were my favorite part. I couldn’t wait to go to bed. Mica was a demanding lover and his wicked, dirty talk made me crazy.

When I got out of the bath, he was lying on the bed, waiting for me.

“Tonight, I think I want a fashion show.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I want you to try on all your lingerie and show me what you bought. I’m going to lie here, and you’re going to parade up and down in your little outfits.”

I half laughed. “You do realize I bought, like, ten outfits.”

“Better get started, then. Start with the one with the feathers.” His hands were crossed behind his head, but his dark pupils told me he was turned on at the thought.

When I came out of the walk-in closet, wearing my feathery teddy, I only got halfway across the room before he was grabbing me and tossing me on the bed.

“The audience shouldn’t interfere with the lingerie models,” I laughed uncontrollably as I tried to crawl away from him.

He yanked me back and within seconds he had me bent over so he could take me from behind. When he was done ravishing me, he had feathers in his hair, his mouth, and stuck to various parts of his body.

The next night when I got out of my bath, he was waiting for me.

“Drop your towel and get on the bed.”

I couldn’t get on the bed fast enough.

He stood at the foot of the bed, fully dressed, his eyes drinking in my naked body. “Now spread your legs.”

I complied, and he grabbed my ankles and yanked me down the bed. With his big hands holding my thighs down, he put his face between my legs and made me come repeatedly, each time more powerful than the last.

“I can’t take it,” I begged, my body humming so hard I thought I might pass out.

Only when my body was a twitching mess of heavenly sensation did he strip down and push himself into me. He fucked me like a savage and made me come twice more before he finally shouted his own release.

We couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. And every time we came together, it was better than the last.

THEN THE DAY came when everyone needed to leave. Jasper and Mark flew home in the morning. Yelena took an afternoon flight back to Russia. And Mica was packing to catch a red-eye. I sat on the bed watching him while secretly dreading his departure. Not because I was scared, but because when he left this house, it always felt like he took all the light and energy with him.

He looked at me. “You going to be okay?”

A smile tugged out of me. “Yeah.”

“Want me to get Zoey to come over here?”

No, I needed to be alone. To process everything that had happened. “That’s okay. I’ve got Sniper.”

He zipped his bag shut. “I talked to my friend. He will be keeping an eye on things.”

I lifted my eyes to him, wondering if he’d tell me. “Which friend?”

“A good friend. Someone I trust.”

He gave me a long, passionate kiss before leaving in a cab to meet up with the rest of his team. I curled up in bed with Sniper at my side and Sasha at my feet, but despite the dogs, the house felt lonely. And I was already counting the days until he returned.

I RETURNED TO WORK. Sniper came with me to work and, not wanting to leave Sasha at home, I brought him with us too. When Krista saw Sasha playfully chewing a toy in front of the photocopier, I held my breath, but she picked him up and said, “When this one is at the office, he’s my dog.”

And then she disappeared into her office with him.

I avoided walking the dogs with Andrew. He had crossed some weird line with us, and I didn’t feel like it was appropriate to spend more time with him. I changed our walking times, heading out with the dogs as soon as I got home from work. When the doorbell rang around the time of the dog walking group’s walk, I didn’t answer the door. I knew it was cowardly to ghost him, but I didn’t want to deal with him.

Mica either called or texted every night that he was on the road.

“How was your day?”

I smiled into the phone. “Busy. Sasha ate one of Krista’s shoes.”

“Was she pissed?”

“She laughed.”

His voice rumbled in my ear. “Miss me yet?”

With my entire being. “I’m enjoying having the entire bed to myself.”

He laughed and dropped his voice. “I think I want another lingerie show.”

“You think you’ll make it through more than one outfit?”

“Doubt it.”

Those conversations were the best part of my day.

TWO NIGHTS LATER, I was lying in bed, watching TV, when I remembered that tomorrow was recycling day. Groaning, I yanked some clothes on, knowing that if I didn’t get it out tonight, I’d probably miss the pickup in the morning.

I stood in the garage and looked in dismay at the amount of recycling we had. Between the party and the gifts, it would take three trips to haul it all to the end of the driveway.

I opened the garage door and groaned when I saw the sheets of rain cascading down.

“Shit.”

I put up my hood, picked up a bin and carried it to the edge of the street. There was no one outside this late at night. I dragged all the bins to the street and trudged back towards the open garage door.

I half screamed when a dark figure moved in between me and the door. He had a hood up and water streamed off his hood, obscuring his face.

Sniper was inside with the door shut. The front door was locked. He was between me and the house.

He pushed his hood back, revealing his identity. Yazimoto. One of his eyes was black and his face was covered with bruises.

My heart thudded loudly in my chest, threatening to give up at any moment.

“What do you want?” I gasped.

He stepped forward, up to my face. “Make them stop.”

“What?” I could barely speak, I was so scared.

“I told them your debt was forgiven. I even offered to return all the money to you, but they told me as long as I left you alone, we’d be good.”

Anger surged through me. “Maybe you should have left me alone, then!”

“I haven’t sent you a single text. Not one. And none of my guys dares go near you.”

He pulled an envelope out of his jacket and shoved it into my hands. “Take it. It’s all there. All the money you gave me, all the interest I charged. I forgive your brother his debt too. Just tell them to back off. Please.”

I stared down at the thick block of cash I could feel inside the envelope. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

I lifted my head. “Did you start that fire?”

He winced. “I didn’t order that. One of my guys went rogue, and trust me, he won’t be setting any more fires.”

“Maybe some of your other guys have gone rogue and have been trying to scare me?”

“No way. No one is coming near you.”

Anger made me stand up for myself. “What about the break-in and the scarecrow? Or Mica’s car? You think you can intimidate me and get away with it?”

“I don’t know shit about that, but I didn’t send you a single text.”

“Who cares about the texting? You’ve been coming here and harassing me.”

“I’m the one who’s being harassed,” he yelled.

This conversation wasn’t making any sense. “Then why were you trying to scare me?”

He stepped forward, so his face hovered over mine. “Bitch, I’m the one who’s scared.”

We stood there staring at each other.

He tried again. “I’m begging you with my life. Please call off your fucking dogs.”

And without another word, he disappeared into the night.

I MOVED BACK into the house, set the alarm and sat down at the island to open the thick wet envelope. Inside was $107,000. All the money I had paid Yazimoto over the last two years. This made no sense. Why had he shown up here to give me the money back?

When he told me he hadn’t been the one to harass me, I believed him. The guy had been on edge and scared, begging me to get him off the hook. Which meant that Mica’s mysterious friend had held true to his word and had been working overtime to keep Yazimoto away from me.

A shiver of fear went through me. If Yazimoto wasn’t behind all the scare tactics, then who was? It was almost worse to realize that my perpetrator was an unknown entity with no known agenda.

I put the money in the kitchen drawer, not sure exactly how I should handle this situation. I would talk to Mica but not while he was on the road. This was a conversation that needed to happen in person.

I WENT TO THE CLINIC. They prescribed monthly birth control pills, which I would start the day my next cycle started.

And then finally the day came that I had been waiting for since Mica left. Eager to be done with work, I hustled the dogs in the car and drove home, unsure when he would arrive home.

When I opened the door, he was sitting at the island. He stood up when I walked in, and I flew across the room towards him.

“You feel good,” I moaned as he wrapped his arms around me.

“You taste fucking amazing,” he managed between kisses.

He backed me into the bedroom, with a trail of clothes behind us.

TWO HOURS LATER, I lay on the bed, buck naked. Mica was on his stomach beside me, tracing circles on my back.

I giggled when his stomach growled loudly. “Do you need to be fed and watered?”

“I do if you want round two.”

I thought about that. “I have some pasta sauce that we can heat up. We just need to cook the pasta.”

He slapped my ass. “Yes, wench. Go cook for your husband.”

We cooked together. I did the salad, and he heated the food. I was in the middle of telling him a story about Sniper, when he interrupted.

“What’s this?” His voice sounded slightly strangled.

I glanced up to see that he held the envelope of cash from Yazimoto.

I put down the knife. “I was going to talk to you about that.”

“Am I going to like this story?”

I swallowed. “Probably not.”

I explained how Yazimoto had shown up here, begging me to take the money back and call off “my dogs.”

“I don’t think he’s the one who’s been trying to scare me. He didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.”

Mica crossed his arms. “Go on.”

“He admitted that one of his guys set my old place on fire, but everything else he swore he knew nothing about. I believe him.”

Mica’s eyes narrowed. “So he gave you all of your money back?”

“He gave it back and told me my debt was forgiven. He also said my brother’s debt was forgiven. Mica, he looked really scared.”

Mica spoke slowly. “If Yazimoto hasn’t been harassing you, who has been?”

“I don’t know.”

He stood up and looked across the room. “I don’t like this.”

“Maybe it’s some kids playing a prank.”

He turned to me. “This stuff has gone beyond a prank.”

The conversation was over but it had put a damper on our night. Mica was distracted, and only when I climbed into bed naked did he seem like himself.

WE WERE DOWN to one car again, since Mica’s car was still in the shop for repairs. He used my car during the day and then came to pick me up.

I looked in the back when I got in. “Where are the dogs?”

“Sniper is babysitting Sasha for us.”

I smiled. “Oh, I bet he loves that job.”

Mica put a big hand on the back of my neck. “I thought I’d take you out for dinner.”

“That’d be nice.” I looked down at my work clothes. “Do I need to change?”

He leaned in and dropped a kiss on my mouth. “Nope, you look perfect.”

The restaurant was a cozy, dimly lit place that offered secluded seats and a fabulous menu. As I took in the romantic ambiance of the place, I wondered if Mica had brought his previous dates to this place. I could easily imagine him cuddled up in some booth with a half-clad bunny.

While we looked at the menu, I looked up at him. “What’s good here?”

His eyes met mine over his menu. “I’m not sure. I’ve never been here before.”

I hid my smile behind my menu. “Okay.”

He leaned forward. “Hey.”

I met his eyes. “What?”

“I will never take you to a place where I wined and dined someone else, okay? I respect you too much for that.”

I lifted my chin. “I wasn’t thinking about that.”

He didn’t believe me but he smiled and said, “Okay.”

We were finishing our meal when someone pulled up a chair and plopped himself down.

Mica rolled his eyes. “Detective Wallace.”

The larger man looked around our table and helped himself to some bread. “I was just walking by and I saw you sitting here.”

Mica looked less than impressed. “You must have something big to tell me if you’re stalking me now.”

“I was looking into your car situation and wondering why someone would want to destroy your property. Nine out of ten times, this comes down to an owner pulling an insurance fraud scam.”

“I already told you. I didn’t wreck my car.”

Detective Wallace chewed his bread. “No, but it warranted a closer look at your finances and I did a little digging.”

Mica’s jaw tightened. “That’s enough.”

The man ignored him while wiping his hands on his suit pants. “My question is, why does a son of one of the wealthiest oligarchs in Russia change his last name and move to Canada to play hockey for a fraction of what his family is worth?”

This conversation wasn’t making sense.

Mica leaned in and hissed, “Shut the fuck up.”

Detective Wallace carried on. “You don’t have money issues. Your issue is what to do with all that money. You’re the only heir to a billionaire. Why bother getting your Porsche fixed? Why not throw it out and buy a new one?”

Mica looked at me. His face was a mask of resignation. He looked at Detective Wallace and said, “You’re such a fucking dick.”

“Mind if I order something to go on your tab? You can afford it.” He laughed loudly and stood up. “Guess you didn’t wreck your car after all.”