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

I CLOSED THE DOOR, spun Charlie around and kissed her up against the door. Her mouth felt so damn good. My libido shot through the roof when she wrapped her arms around my neck. I grabbed handfuls of her ass and lifted her up off the floor, pinning her against the door with my body.

I trailed my mouth down her neck, loving how her skin tasted on my tongue.

Her fingers tangled in my hair. “You feel so good, Mica.”

I kissed her until she was breathless. She squeezed her legs tighter around my waist, pulling my hard cock against her apex through our clothes. When she suggestively ground against it, my plans for a hot kiss rapidly morphed into plans to get her naked. We were heading across the line again, but she didn’t seem opposed to the idea.

I lifted her down onto her legs and then crouched before her. I reached up and yanked her leggings and panties down past her hips.

Her gasp sounded scandalized. “Mica!”

I ignored her and pushed the fabric down to her ankles, lifting one of her legs free. I was eye level with her pussy. In an adorable move, she crossed her hands over herself. “What are you going to do?”

I’m going to blow your mind. I lifted my eyes to her face. She looked nervous, which meant she needed to let go. Sometimes pretending to take control away from someone gave them more control. And I was kind of an expert at that.

“Spread your legs for me,” I demanded.

Her breath was sharp as she stared down at me, debating her options.

I didn’t touch her except with my words. My dirty, hot words that I knew made her squirm. “Step wide and give my tongue access to that hot little pussy that so badly wants to get sucked.”

She took in a shuddery breath and then spread her feet apart.

“I said wide. I want your legs spread open so I can bury my entire tongue into you. I want access to all of you.”

She moved her legs apart so wide, my eyes could devour the sight. She was glistening pink and wet, her lush body unable to hide how turned on she was. I leaned back and looked up to her. “Now walk that pretty pussy over to my mouth.”

She swallowed convulsively and then stepped forward. I grabbed her ass and yanked her towards my mouth, gripping her hips tight as I got my first taste of paradise. Fuck. If I thought her mouth tasted good, her pussy tasted like a five-star meal. I worked my mouth over the length of her, feeling half-starved as I tried to taste all of her. Her fingers dug into my hair, pulling so tight, but I continued to do what I wanted to her pussy, ravishing it for my own satisfaction.

I could not get enough of her.

She was making all kinds of noises, shocked, crazed little noises that let me know she was still in the game. I lifted one of her thighs over my shoulder, knowing by how hard she grasped my hair that I was pulling her off balance. I yanked her ass tighter so I could push my tongue deep inside of her. I swirled the sensitive entrance with my tongue, loving her scent against my buried nose, unable to slow down the frenzy in which I feasted on her arousal.

I worked to bring myself under control. I tilted my head back so my eyes could look up the length of her. Her eyes were scrunched tight, and she breathed hard. I pushed two fingers deep into her and watched as her stomach tightened, her head went back and a long moan ripped out of her.

“Want me to suck on your clit?” I spoke against her folds while my fingers slowly thrust into her.

“God, yes!” she gasped.

I latched my mouth on her tight bud and slowly, delicately sucked it into my mouth, letting my tongue dance circles around it.

Her legs were trembling so hard. I worked her over until she got as close to the edge as I could get her, and then I lifted my mouth off her.

She made a strong noise of protest.

I flicked my tongue on her clit and said, “You’re such a horny little wife, aren’t you? Has your husband been depriving you? Do you need some hot cock in that sweet pussy of yours?”

“Yes.” She was begging now. “Yes, I do.”

I obliged by slowly pushing three of my big fingers into her.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she begged me hard. “God, yes.”

She was so close. I latched onto her clit and swirled my tongue on her pink bud, faster and faster, to match how my fingers were now roughly thrusting into her. Her hips wildly pumped my fingers, her legs were trembling and her fingers were doing their best to pull out my hair. I loved it. I loved the uninhibited sounds that were coming out of her, I loved how she was moving her body to find her release. I loved knowing I did this to her.

As she began to come, her hips jerked against my face, so I had to work hard to keep her clit in my mouth as her sweet wet pussy spasmed over my fingers. Unexpectedly, she threw back her head and screamed her pleasure in a guttural, gasping, high-pitched cry that went straight to my cock. As I sucked on her clit and my fingers thrust into her through her orgasm, she did her best to let everyone in the house know that she was coming long and hard.

When she was done, I kept my fingers inside of her as long as she would let me. I stared up at her.

“Never took you for a screamer.”

She covered her face with her hands. “Oh, God.”

“Pretty sure everyone heard that one,” I teased as I pushed my face back between her legs. I needed one more taste.

She shuddered, and her hands pushed on my face as my tongue laved her sensitive pussy. “No more. I can’t.”

Reluctantly, I pulled my fingers slowly out of her.

“Put your hands on my shoulders,” I instructed her, as I helped her step back into her leggings. Her legs were trembling so hard, I wasn’t sure how she was still standing.

I stood up and wrapped her in my big arms, crushing her to me. “Fuck, you are so fucking hot.”

She buried her face into my neck. “I think your mom knows what we were doing.”

I laughed out loud. “Sweetheart, I think Andrew knows what we were doing.”

She moaned and buried her head further into my shoulder. “This is so embarrassing.”

I put her face in my hands. “Really? ’Cause I kind of feel like a stud.”

Her face was pink, but she held my eyes. “Now what?”

Now I want to fuck you. Hard.

I kissed her hard on the lips. “Now we go back out there and pretend nothing is out of the ordinary.”

When we came around the corner, my mom, Jasper, and Mark stood at the island with shots of vodka lined up in front of them.

Jasper slow-clapped, and Charlie buried her face into my arm.

And then my mom said, in the driest of voices, “I’m not sure about you guys, but I definitely need a cigarette after that.” She winked at Charlie and jokingly wagged her finger at me, before she turned and disappeared outside.

MARK AND JASPER seemed to have sorted themselves out, and the five of us sat down to our Russian meal that tasted like home. We ate and laughed and drank until we were all buzzed out of our minds. When Charlie stood up to clear the table, I pushed her back into her seat and kissed her long and hard, not caring that anyone was watching.

“Men clean up tonight.”

Jasper and I spent most of our time goofing off with each other while his studious boyfriend worked circles around us. Then I started a fire in the fireplace and pulled Charlie onto my lap while Jasper and my mom took the dogs for a walk.

When they got home, we drank in front of the fireplace, staying mostly quiet while Charlie lay with her sweet head on my shoulder.

Mark stood up, offered Jasper his hand, and the two of them disappeared into their room. Charlie was falling asleep.

“Why don’t you go to bed,” I murmured against her neck.

She smiled sleepily. “Are you coming?”

“I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

And then it was just my mom and I. She reached forward to fill my glass with more vodka.

She finally broke the silence. “It’s nice to see you married, Mica,” she said in Russian. “Even if your marriage is only temporary.”

I looked sharply at her. “How did you know?”

“Jasper can’t hold his tongue when he’s drunk.” She pursed her lips. “I may have prodded him.”

I nodded, not sure why I was surprised. My mom had that way about her. She found out everyone’s secrets while holding her own so close to her chest.

I spoke openly. “It was Andrusha. We got together to play cards and drink, and his place got busted by the police. Since I was high-profile, the police focused on me. My GM threatened to trade me. My agent convinced him I was marrying and settling down. Charlie works for my agent.”

She stoically nodded. “Those were the details I was unclear about. How is Andrusha?”

I shrugged. “They have nothing on him. I keep my nose out of his business.”

“So you married Charlie in name only?”

“Yes.” I avoided her gaze by picking up Sasha and cuddling the dog to my chest.

“This afternoon, it didn’t sound like it’s in name only.”

Our gazes clashed. “It’s complicated.”

“She adores you.”

I rubbed my forehead. “I can’t give her what she wants.”

“You already are giving her what she wants.” She raised her glass. “A home, family, friends. Tenderness, laughter. Mica, these are the things women want from their husbands.”

“I don’t want to be married.”

She shook her head sadly. “Your father and I are getting a divorce.”

My head shot up. She looked resigned. She shrugged deeply. “It’s time.”

“Time for what?” I put Sasha down on the floor.

“Time for us to put down our burdens of guilt and to stop punishing ourselves for all our wrongs. That is the only reason we stayed in that miserable marriage. Since we couldn’t stand each other, what better way to punish ourselves than to stay? It’s gone on long enough. We’ve done our best to punish ourselves and each other, and the time has come to lay down our swords. We are both tired of the battle.”

I shook my head, not understanding what she meant. “That’s why you stayed married? Out of guilt?”

“I felt guilty for abandoning you. He felt guilty about Nadia and for how all of that nearly destroyed you. He was so caught up in his own grief, he made you bear all the guilt.”

I stood up, feeling that sickening emotion take over me. “Don’t talk about that.”

She stood up too and reached out and grabbed my hand. “Mica. Please. You did nothing wrong. You were ten. And you got stuck with two parents who seemed incapable of doing anything but hurting everyone around them.”

Tears blinded my vision. “Stop.”

“Nadia was not your fault. None of this was.”

Just that name made my chest so tight, I thought my heart would stop.

“Mom.” My voice sounded so broken, I almost didn’t recognize it. “Please stop saying her name.”

She grabbed my arms. “I want you to heal. I want you to be happy. You married such a beautiful woman, and I think she loves you. Let yourself be loved. Let yourself be happy.”

I don’t know how to let go of that. Of my guilt. Of my desire to punish myself. “I don’t know how.”

“Just let go. Let go of all that pain.”

“It was my fault. How do I let go of that?”

“Mica, it was not your fault. You were ten. She was a grown woman. She made those choices that day, Mica, not you. She was your nanny. You were in her care, not the other way around.”

Memories—of so much blood, the crying, and, worse, the silence—washed over me. My heart pounded so hard as it came back to me. All of it. “I don’t deserve love.”

Her face fell, full of sadness and understanding. “You, out of all of us, deserve love the most.”

She picked up Sasha and patted my arm gently before disappearing to her room. I stood there for a long time, trying to process and reprocess what she had told me.

I moved to the bedroom and stripped down before crawling into bed next to Charlie. I hauled her soft, pliant body against mine, wrapping my arms around her and burying my face into her neck. This. I need this. She made a sleepy noise and sighed my name softly.

“Mica?”

I sighed in her skin, fighting all the emotions my mom had unwillingly ripped out of me.

Charlie laid her hand on mine. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head. “No.”

My answer pulled her out of her sleep. “What can I do?”

I worked and failed to keep the husky emotion out of my voice. “Let me hold you.”

She snuggled deep against me. “Is that it?”

“That’s everything.”