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

I SAT across Krista’s desk, eating lunch with her.

“How’s married life with Mica going?” she asked, giving me a pointed look.

I squinted. “I don’t know.”

“You two seemed to get along at your party.”

I felt myself flush. My memories of that night still plagued me. I spent far too much time thinking about what a fabulous kisser he was.

“That was for show.”

“You still sleeping in the guest bedroom?”

“Krista!”

She laughed, long and hard. “It’s an honest question.”

“Separate bedrooms.” I stabbed my salad. “He wants to buy me a new car. And he opened a bank account for me.”

She shrugged. “You need a new car.”

“Doesn’t mean he needs to be the one to buy it for me.”

She eyeballed me for a moment. “What’s the real issue?”

“He keeps telling me this marriage is real. I signed up for a fake marriage with a roommate situation. He’s making this a real marriage with an expiration date.”

Her tone filled with pity. “You’re falling for him.”

A half-lie came out of me. “No! I’m not.”

“Okay, you’re worried you will fall for him if you let him make this real.”

“Yes.”

She nodded. “Tricky.”

“I don’t understand why he keeps insisting this marriage is real.”

She thought about her answer. “Because everything Mica does is real. His friendships are real. His commitment to hockey is real. The guy doesn’t play games. So it makes sense that even if he didn’t want to be married, he’s seeing this as a real marriage.”

I spoke through clenched teeth, thinking about my big, mushy heart that ached for real. “That’s not what I signed up for.”

“Hold on to your boundaries. Make this work for you too. But you definitely need a new car.”

“He shouldn’t have to spend all this money on me.”

She shrugged. “So give it back to him on your way out. But you signed up to play the part of a hockey wife. Driving a five-hundred-dollar car does not fit that role.”

“What about the other stuff?”

“Find common ground. Forge a friendship. If you want to sleep with him, then sleep with him, but if you can’t emotionally handle it, then stick to your guns. He’ll respect your decision.”

I was starting to question my reasoning. Was I giving up the best year of my life because I was afraid of getting hurt?

“What about the money?”

She winked at me. “Spend it. God knows, living with that man, you will earn it.”

FRIDAY NIGHT, I attended another game, this time with Zoey at my side. We had a lot of fun watching the game, even though the Wolves lost. Afterward, we waited in the family room for the players to come out.

Mica was quiet after the game. He didn’t speak much on the way home and he seemed distracted. Still trying to figure out his moods, I decided this might be one of those nights he needed his own space. I retreated to my room to read and got lost in a book. I only realized how late it was when I finished my book.

Outside my bedroom, the house was dark and quiet. I changed into a T-shirt and then washed up before crossing the dark room to get into bed. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. A large menacing figure, its face obscured by a dark hood, stood just outside my balcony doors looking in on me.

My mouth opened to scream, and at first, no sound came out, but then the most piercing, horror-movie shriek escaped my throat. I almost fell over as I bolted out of the room. I ran through the dark with only one thought.

Mica.

In the dark, two strong arms grabbed me. I screamed harder, fighting to get away.

“Charlie, it’s me.” Mica’s voice penetrated my fear.

“There’s a man…” I babbled. “Outside.”

He charged across the living room. I watched in mute horror as he disappeared out the balcony doors.

I rushed after him, stopping at the doorway. I saw him sprinting barefoot across the deck before he disappeared into the dark. I stood there, heart pounding, imagining the absolute worst-case scenario. After a lifetime of anxiety, he reappeared on the deck. He walked towards my balcony doors and was looking at the deck. He was wearing nothing more than a pair of black boxer briefs. Half of my brain was freaking out about the potential intruder, and the other half was trying to compute the vision Mica created.

He was built like a Greek god, with broad shoulders, rippling abs, a tight ass, and monster thighs. He turned and came back towards me, unabashed that he was wearing only his underwear. I, on the other hand, tried to look anywhere but at the manly bulge that promised to be in proportion to the rest of his huge body.

He was slightly out of breath. “I didn’t see anyone.”

“There was someone there, I swear.”

I could tell he was debating how much he wanted to tell me. “There are muddy boot tracks outside your balcony door. Someone was there.”

Stress made my voice get progressively higher. “Who was that person? What did he want? Was he trying to break in?”

Mica put two hands on either side of my face. “It’s okay. Just calm down.”

I clung to his wrists as my body trembled in a very un-calm state. “What’s happening?”

His expression was grim. “I don’t know.”

“Should we call the police?”

His nostrils flared. “They will not do anything except discover the same footprints I did. The guy is long gone.”

“What do I do now?”

“You should try to get some sleep.”

There was zero chance I was sleeping after that. “You go on. I will stay up for a while.”

He gave me a speculative look. “Want me to hang out with you?”

God, yes. “You don’t need to.”

He disappeared into his bedroom and reappeared wearing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. He was also carrying a deck of cards. “Want to play a game of cards?”

Actually, I would have pretty much done anything to keep him up with me. “Sure.”

He looked at his still-destroyed couch. “Come to my bedroom. We’ll be more comfortable there.”

I was so scared that I didn’t even care if this was some ruse to get me naked. I just didn’t want to be alone.

Mica was a perfect gentleman. He sat cross-legged across from me and shuffled the cards. “Have you ever played Durak?”

I shook my head.

“This is a popular card game from Russia. The objective of the game is to get rid of all your cards first. The person left with cards is called the durak, which means ‘the fool’ in Russian.”

I laughed. “Okay.”

He patiently explained the rules to me and then we got started. He totally crushed me the first game. Impatiently, I gathered the cards and handed them back to him.

“Shuffle up.”

He grinned. “You want to play again?”

“I want to destroy you.”

I learned two things about my husband. He was competitive to the bone, and he loved to trash talk. I loved how he concentrated on his cards and talked under his breath.

“So, you think you can take me out, do you? You’re going to have to do better than that.”

“I feel a win coming on. I think my years of Durak playing are going to annihilate my little wife.”

I giggled into my cards. “Bring it on.”

Much later, I woke up with a start. The room was dark and I was disoriented. I was cuddled under warm blankets, and I wasn’t alone.

“Mica?”

“You fell asleep.”

“Who won?”

His laugh sounded sleepy. “The person who stayed awake the longest, naturally.”

“I should go back to my room.”

A big hand lightly touched my back. “You can stay.”

So I shut my eyes and drifted into the best sleep of my life.

FIVE MORE DAYS passed without incident. One day I came home, and we had new living room furniture. Mica went into protector mode, barely letting me out of his sight, and I let him. I allowed him to drive me to and from work. We didn’t talk about what had happened, but it changed something between us. It made us feel more like a team.

On non-game nights, we cooked dinner together, and once we sat at the kitchen table and played cards. It was unlike any relationship I had ever had before. We joked around and kept our conversations light. It felt like we were both trying hard to keep up the camaraderie we had developed so far. Each night that passed made the threat of that night seem almost like a distant, bad dream.

Mica didn’t touch me again. He respected my decision, and he kept his distance from me, but that didn’t stop him from constantly tracking me with his eyes. I often would look up and find him watching me or studying my body. The man wasn’t remotely self-conscious about displaying his attraction to me, even in the face of outright rejection.

I attended two more hockey games and had a good time, mostly because I sat with Zoey. I was quickly finding out that she made everything fun.

And then the time came when the Wolves were going on the road for eight long days, and I was dreading it with my entire heart. Partly because the best part of my day was my time spent with Mica, even if it was just cooking and eating together. And partly because I was shit scared about being alone in that house. Especially at night.

Mica had insisted I use his car while he was gone, so I was driving him to the stadium to drop him off at the team bus. I pathetically ground through all the gears of his Porsche, each time worriedly glancing at him to see how much it bothered him, but he didn’t seem to notice. Something distracted him.

I pulled into the parking lot along with the other wives who were dropping their husbands off. We got out, and I watched as he pulled his bags out of his car.

“Wait here,” he said. I stood beside the car and watched as he brought his bags to the bus before walking back to me.

He stood close and looked down at me, wearing a serious look on his face.

“You going to be okay?”

No! I don’t want to be in your house alone. “I’ll be fine.”

“You going to text me?”

I shrugged, which made him smile.

“Call me if you need anything, okay?”

“I will.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “People are watching.”

My heart started its slow thud as I pretended to look around. “I don’t see anyone.”

He smiled and stepped closer. “Oh, they’re watching.”

His hand moved behind my head and his mouth came down on mine. How had I forgotten how perfect his mouth was? It felt like sin and salvation. He expertly nibbled at my mouth until I sighed. Only then did he slant his mouth over mine and intensify the kiss. I clutched the front of his jacket, moaning when he deepened the kiss, making the entire world spin. I felt his hands come around my ass and yank me up against his hard body. I felt the bulge of his erection dig into my stomach, and I reveled in the fact that I did that to him. My hands moved up to his thick neck, loving the feeling of his warm skin beneath my fingertips.

He lifted his mouth off mine, making me want to cry out in frustration.

“You’re trouble.”

I lifted my face to his again, and he rewarded me with another mind-spinning kiss before he stepped back. “I have to go.”

I leaned limply against the car, watching as he greeted someone and then laughed at something they said. He turned, lifted his hand to wave at me, and then he disappeared onto the bus.

THE HOUSE FELT empty and cold. I made a sandwich for dinner and then decided I’d go for a quick walk. I turned on every light in the house, made sure all the doors were locked and then set the alarm. I walked to the dog park and said hi to a few of the dog owners. One of them let me play ball with her dog. I heard a soft chuffing and then Sandy was eagerly pressing her nose against my leg.

“Where did you come from?” I bent down to pet her.

“Hey.” Andrew smiled at me. “The mysterious woman reappears.”

“Hey.” I bent down and brushed Sandy’s face before standing up. “How are you?”

“Good.” Sandy sat down and looked at him expectantly.

“I think she wants her ball.”

“I think you’re right.”

He pulled a ball out of his pocket and offered it to me. I played catch with Sandy while Andrew stood beside me, watching.

“So, you’re engaged to Mica Petrov.”

I winced. “Actually, we’re married now.”

He didn’t respond for a moment and then said, “Well, now you have to get me his autograph.”

I burst out laughing. “I can sort something out.”

He was good about it. He didn’t pepper me with questions and instead made light chitchat. When the dogs were tired, we walked back down the street towards our houses.

When we approached the house, I turned to him. “Thanks.”

His eyes looked over my shoulder and he frowned. “Why is your front door open?”

“What?” I spun around. The house looked dark and ominous. Not a single light was on in the house. Worse, the front door was wide open.

“Maybe it’s Mica? Maybe he left it open.”

I swallowed hard. “He’s on a flight to Boston.”

Andrew stared at the house, his voice serious. “We should call the police.”

I remember how the police had violated Mica’s home the last time. “Would you just walk through the house with me?”

He reached down and took the leashes off Sandy and Henry’s harnesses, and together the four of us approached the house. We searched the house, room by room, turning on the lights as we went. He didn’t even say a damn word when he stepped into the guest room and noticed my clothes in the closet and the unmade bed.

Finally, we got back to the kitchen.

“There is no one here.”

I licked my lips. I couldn’t stand the thought that someone had been able to open the door and turn off the alarm. “Maybe I left the front door open.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

I nodded, miserable.

“Do you want Sandy to stay with you tonight?”

I almost collapsed with relief. “You’d let her do that?”

“I’m not sure if she’s much of a guard dog, but at least you won’t be alone.”

“Thank you,” I breathed.

“I will go grab her dish and some food. I’ll be right back.”

He returned a few moments later with a small bag of dog food and her dog dish.

“You want me to spend the night?”

I did not want to be alone, but that gesture, no matter how platonic, was crossing a line. “That’s okay.”

He looked like he wanted to argue but he simply said, “Sandy will try to sleep with you. This one loves to sleep on the bed.”

I nodded, trying to cover my fear. “Thanks.”

He gave me a tender look. “You can drop her off in the morning on your way to work.”

IT WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT. I tucked Sandy and myself in Mica’s bed. Her head rested on the pillow and her body stretched out alongside mine. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t sleep.

Mica: You awake?

Me: Yes.

I took a photo of me and Sandy and sent it to him.

Immediately, my phone started to ring.

“Are you in my bed?”

Oh shit, I’d forgotten about that. “Yes, sorry.”

“Who’s your bed partner?”

“When I got home from my walk…”

He interrupted. “Were you with the dog walking group?”

“Yes. When—”

“Is that the dude’s dog?”

“Yes, Mica…”

“So he was on the walk?”

“The front door was wide open,” I blurted out.

Silence, and then his voice changed. It was harder, colder. “What happened?”

“I left a lot of lights on and I set the alarm and locked the door. When I came home, the front door was open, the alarm hadn’t gone off and someone had turned all the lights off.”

“What do you mean the door was open?”

“It was wide open.”

He swore under his breath. “Go on.”

“Andrew walked through the house with me. There was no one here. And then he offered for Sandy to spend the night.”

“Is that the dog?”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t speak for a moment. “This is seriously starting to piss me off.”

“I’m scared,” I blurted out.

“Sweetheart, can you give me a moment? I’ll call you back.”

“Okay.”

I didn’t know why Mica needed to end the call, but I lunged for the phone when it buzzed again.

“Hello?”

“I can’t come home.”

“I know.”

“I asked, but they don’t love that idea.”

It threw me that Mica would even consider coming home, much less ask for permission. “You need to play hockey. Don’t even think about that.”

“Zoey’s coming over.”

I sat up in bed. “She is?”

“She’s on her way. She will stay with you until I get home.”

“It’s too late. We can’t ask her to do that.”

“I did and she is. She can sleep in your room since you’re already in mine.”

That I wouldn’t have to be here alone made me so happy. “Thank you.”

“You need to change the alarm code for our house.”

“I already did.”

His voice was gruff. “Call me in the morning.”

“I will.”

I scrambled out of bed and changed the sheets and towels for Zoey in my room. The doorbell rang, causing Sandy to bark.

Zoey stood in the doorway with a cute little carry-on suitcase beside her. In her hand, she had a cat carrying case. “Hey.”

I ushered her in, and a pitiful meow sounded.

I bent down to stick my finger in the case. “Who’s this?”

She grinned. “That is Ikea. I couldn’t leave her.”

“You’re both welcome.”

She hugged me. “Mica told me what happened.”

“I’m so sorry to disturb you, but I am so glad you are here.”

She grinned and bent down to pet Sandy. “I didn’t know you had a dog.”

“This is Sandy. She belongs to our neighbor, but he lent her to me for the night. Do you think she will get along with Ikea?”

Zoey kneeled down and opened the cage door. The cutest cat came tumbling out. She took one look at Sandy and hissed. Sandy responded by turning tail and taking off towards Mica’s bedroom.

We both laughed. “So much for being a guard dog. Let me show you where you can sleep.” I led her to my room. “I changed the sheets for you.”

She looked around the room. “Is this your room?”

I flushed. “I took up camp in Mica’s room.”

Her grin broadened. “Oh, okay.”

“It’s not like that,” I rushed to explain.

She shook her head, trying not to laugh. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

WHEN MY ALARM WENT OFF, I felt like I could sleep for another ten hours. Sandy wasn’t on the bed, and I could hear voices. I scrambled into clothes and headed to the kitchen, where I found Zoey and Andrew drinking coffee. Henry and Sandy lay on the floor and Ikea was attacking Sandy’s flopping tail.

Andrew turned, and his eyes took all of me in. His voice was tender. “Hey, how did you sleep?”

I checked the clock. It was 7:00 a.m. “Wow, you two are up early.”

Andrew spoke. “I came by to check on you, and Zoey invited me in for coffee.”

Zoey, without speaking, poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of me.

“Thanks for lending me Sandy.”

“Did she behave herself?”

“She was perfect.”

He looked at his watch and then stood up. “I should get to work. We’re all walking again tonight, in case you need some fresh air.”

Behind him, Zoey’s eyebrows shot up.

“Thank you.” I felt myself flush. “I appreciate the invite.”

After he left, Zoey sat on a stool, sipping her coffee with a look on her face.

“What?”

She smirked. “Nothing.”

MICA: You never called this morning

This morning I had been in a complete rush to get to work on time. Now I was standing in line to grab a coffee for Krista and me, and it was the first time I had checked my phone.

Me: Sorry, got busy.

My phone rang.

“Hello?”

Mica’s voice rumbled in my ear. “How did you sleep?”

I smiled at the sound of his voice. “Surprisingly well. Thanks for asking Zoey to come over.”

“You’re welcome. Did you bring the dog home?”

“Sandy? Andrew came over this morning to pick her up.”

A fraction of a pause. “He did, did he?”

I knew that Mica didn’t like Andrew, but I didn’t quite understand why I responded with so many nerves every time we talked about him. “Zoey let him in and he stayed for a quick coffee.”

“I see.”

“How is it going there?”

“We just had practice and are heading in to a team lunch.”

“Zoey and I will watch the game tonight.”

I could hear the smile in his voice as he teased, “Come on, don’t jest.”

“It’s true. I am voluntarily going to watch a hockey game tonight.”

A slight pause. “So why were you in my bed?”

I felt myself flush. “Because Zoey was coming over.”

“You were in my bed with the dog before you knew Zoey was coming over.”

There were a few reasons why I had crawled into his bed. It felt like him, which made me feel less lonely, and being in his room made me feel safer. “Your bed feels safe.”

His voice went low. “Oh yeah, how come?”

“It just does. Do you mind?”

“Nope.”

The barista called my name. “I have to go.”

“Talk to you later.”

ZOEY and I made dinner together and then settled down on the couch to watch the game. I liked Zoey. She was funny and light and she always had a smile on her face.

We talked as we watched the game, and then the worst thing happened.

Mica got into a fight.

I wasn’t even sure why it started. One minute, he and another player were toe-to-toe, and then Mica threw his gloves off. The other guy shoved him, and Mica grabbed his jersey and swung hard, hitting him in the face. Fighting on the ice is no easy feat. It’s an uneven dance of flying fists and trying to stay upright on skates. At one point, the other guy dropped to his knees, but he snapped back up to his feet, swung and hit Mica in the mouth.

I screamed into my hands, wanting to shut my eyes but unable to look away. What I couldn’t process was how fast they punched. Repeatedly, like jackhammers, they both took swings at each other, connecting with each other’s heads, never letting up.

The refs circled but didn’t interfere. The other guy lost his balance and flipped onto his back. Mica pounced, and the refs worked hard to pull Mica off him.

The camera zoomed in on Mica, who was bleeding from his cheek. The other guy was in worse shape. Blood gushed from his nose. They were both sent to opposite penalty boxes.

I dropped my face into the pillow, emotionally trying to recover.

“Are you okay?” Zoey asked softly.

I lifted my hot face up. “I hated that.”

She patted my arm. “I know.”

“That was horrible. Why would they do that? He was bleeding.”

“He’s okay. Mica’s a tough guy.”

I blinked at her. “I was starting to like hockey.”

“Hockey is fun, but the fighting never gets easier to watch.”

I curled up on my side of the couch, feeling completely traumatized. “Do you think he’s hurt?”

The camera zoomed in on Mica. A trainer crouched beside him, taping his cheek. He was indifferent to the ministrations and was lipping off at the other guy through the Plexiglas.

“I’m thinking he’s okay.”

I stayed silent, cursing the camera when it focused back on the game.

She spoke again. “Mica’s tough. He can handle a lot.”

Except emotion. “Don’t tell him I freaked.”

She studied me for a moment. “Yeah, okay.”

I stood up, unwilling to finish watching the game. “I think I’ll head to bed.”

“Have a good sleep.”

I WOKE up from a dead sleep to the sound of bells. Sitting up, I realized the doorbell was ringing. Repeatedly.

In the dark, Zoey and I came together in the kitchen. Neither of us had turned on a light.

“What time is it?” she whispered.

“Three in the morning.”

We stared at each other.

“It could be a neighbor or someone?”

She silently opened a drawer and pulled out a large knife. Together, we crept to the door. I disengaged the alarm and swung the door open.

There was no one there. We stepped out onto the front stoop and looked around. The street was empty.

We didn’t speak until I had relocked the door and engaged the alarm.

“Someone’s trying to scare you,” she said.

“They’re doing a good job.”