by Amber Lynn
Vasily understood that the team unit was protective of their own, but Lacey seemed to be a special case. It was like they didn’t trust her to make her own decisions when it came to her love life. Since none of them knew the full story when it came to Lacey, they were overstepping. That realization wasn’t Vasily’s.
Lacey told him how she’d tried to distance herself after George left but couldn’t. She also told him that her being at the bar the night they met was meant to be her night of trying to find some new friends. Not that she didn’t love the circle already around her, but they were smothering her.
He understood the need to protect her, even if he didn’t know what triggered the need. She was tougher than any of them knew. She had to be after living through what she had the last year.
“The guys are going to kill you.”
His words were slow, no hiding the emotion driving them. He was pissed. Vasily was surprised there wasn’t a fist flying in his face, but Curtis remained still on the bench he was sitting on.
“Why? What does it matter if we’re having a baby? I’m planning on marrying her, so it’s probably the first of at least a couple kids. If that’s what she wants, of course. We’re still discussing exactly what the future holds.”
Technically, beyond a date, they hadn’t spoken more about what would happen one day from the next. She didn’t balk when he showed up and tried to make room for him in her life, but surprise showed on her face each time he knocked in the morning.
Vasily was waiting for a reply, studying the smile that had taken over his teammate’s face when he felt the hand tighten around his shirt. Being jerked up was almost as jarring as the smile.
“What the fuck did you do?” Brady McDonald’s voice growled in his ear.
Sadly, it was not the first time Vasily was pushed into a wall with an irate man behind him. It was a plus the man probably wasn’t drunk and being stupid. On the downside, it wasn’t like Vasily could turn around and punch Brady to put an end to it.
“Didn’t you just hear him, Brady? Vasily’s going to be a father.” The tone from Curtis didn’t change.
So, sleeping with Lacey only irritated them. The baby was what had them seeing red. Well, at least Curtis anyway. Brady could be an ass just to be one.
“That’s exactly what I heard. It was bad enough thinking you took advantage of her for one night. If she was okay with that, it could’ve been forgiven. Hearing that you don’t think highly enough of her to use a damn condom, I’m going to rip off your arm, beat you with it and then stick it up your ass.”
Punches were one thing, and one or two, Vasily felt were warranted. What Brady described was a little much, but there was sincerity in his words. Vasily didn’t want to hurt Brady, but he was partial to both of his arms.
“You know how much I love seeing you all manly, sugar pie, but why don’t you let Vasily go and discuss this matter like we’re more than just cavemen.”
Brady groaned the second the words “sugar pie” were out of his wife’s mouth. It didn’t seem like the right moment to laugh, so Vasily kept it in. If Nina was on his side, in any way, he wasn’t going to piss her off. She may be the smallest person in the room, but it wouldn’t surprise Vasily if Nina had a hitman on retainer.
Nina’s presence in the locker room should’ve been suspicious, but as the owner of the team, she tended to do whatever she wanted. Vasily looked over his shoulder and smiled at the blonde. Once upon a time, she was exactly what he looked for in a woman. Feisty, with a body that made supermodels look homely. In his mind, she was the kind of woman who was fun to play around with, maybe even have an arrangement, meeting a few times a month.
She was not, however, someone Vasily would ever consider marrying. Not that until recently he’d thought of such things. Nina was a wild child at heart, with money to back up her wild ways. Vasily had no idea how Brady domesticated her, enough that they had children together and everything.
“He got her drunk and pregnant, pookie.”
Somehow, neither one of their terms of endearment sounded all that endearing. It was amazing the two of them didn’t kill each other.
“So I heard. But, if you remember, I paid good money to get rid of that no-good, cheating husband of hers, so I prefer if you didn’t ruin my investment.”
“Your investment? You might not want to say that too loud, sweetheart, since you’re so big on not being involved in personnel matters. Plus, it might make a man like me a little jealous.”
Nina laughed and walked further in the room. Brady only had eyes for her, so his grip loosened, making it easy for Vasily to elbow him and move out of his hold. Sitting down on the bench in his area, he straightened his shirt and sat back to watch the couple. The little he’d seen of them together made it seem like their life was either a soap opera or a reality TV show. Since there were no cameras following them around, they were clearly going for the soap opera angle.
“You keep me happy and you have nothing to worry about. As far as you,” she said, pointing at Vasily. “you have some explaining to do, but the phone call I just got says we have to wait to kill you.”
He should’ve been happy to hear those words, but they meant Lacey had more than likely intervened. Plus, there was the whole part about them just waiting. The teethy smile Nina sent his direction was way too happy.
“Tell me that just means there’s a backorder on the bullets for that cute little pink gun I bought you for our anniversary.”
Cute, pink and gun shouldn’t exist in a sentence together. Especially, not when Nina is involved. Brady thought giving Nina a gun was a good idea? She could easily buy her own arsenal but handing her a gun seemed dangerous.
“Now you’ve got him imagining me running around guns blazing.”
Nina added some accent Vasily couldn’t place. He wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be similar to an old western, which may have coincided with the way she pointed her fingers in the air like guns. It also could’ve been a mafia accent or something. Whatever it was supposed to be, she didn’t pull it off.
“As well he should. The fear of Nina has clearly not been driven in him yet if he’s acting this stupid.”
Brady’s eyebrows rose as he dared his wife to challenge him. She shrugged and rolled her eyes.
“It’s just like a guy to think another guy is stupid for doing what comes naturally to all guys. Thinking with their dick.”
It was Nina’s turn to issue a challenge. The two of them were amusing for a short time, but Vasily couldn’t imagine how they didn’t kill each other.
“Last I checked, you tend to like when I do my thinking with that certain body part. The big difference is that we’re married and it’s a requirement of our marriage contract.”
Not being the center of attention worked in Vasily’s favor. How long he could handle wherever their conversation was heading was another thing.
Their way of showing their love, which he supposed was in there somewhere, made no sense. Vasily had heard love made you do crazy things, and he figured it also addled your brain. He had absolutely no desire to find out if that was true. Feeling how he did about Lacey, whatever the lust and cravings he had for her, was bad enough.
“Keep your kinks out of the conversation.”
Nina’s mouth opened to continue, but Brady cleared his throat. Vasily looked over to see him give his wife a meaningful look.
“Don’t start, mister. You’re already in trouble. I wouldn’t even be down here if I didn’t need to keep you from killing him. At least for the moment. I called and asked Lacey to come down so we can do a little catching up, and she insisted the only way she would is if her little boyfriend is in one piece when she gets here.”
When she mentioned Lacey making an appearance, Vasily’s attention turned. He couldn’t figure out the secret message Brady was sending Nina anyway.
“Lacey’s coming today?”
She probably came to tons of practices when George played with the team, but it was
the first one Vasily cared about her being at. He doubted she’d told Nina he was her boyfriend, and if she called him little, he’d have to remind her of how very not little he was.
“That’s the rumor. As long as you idiots don’t screw it up. I need to catch up on my intel, and she’s hard to pin down. I had to threatened that I’d tie you up and torture the information out of you.”
Vasily groaned. It wasn’t the thought of being tortured by Nina that caused it. Although, that would’ve sent a chill up his spine if he let it.
The thought of someone forcing Lacey’s hand pissed him off. Since the person pissing him off was basically the person who signed his paychecks, and a woman, he couldn’t relay the exact words floating around in his head.
“All you need to know is that after the fall the other day, she doesn’t need any extra stress.”
The tone in Vasily’s voice was as cordial as he could make it. It was impossible to hide all his anger, but he tried to keep his head to get his point across.
“Don’t worry, big guy. I’ll make sure she stays nice and calm. I expect you guys to do the same. No unnecessary hits or pucks shot in sensitive areas.”
“Seriously?”
Brady sounded like a pouting child. It wasn’t the first time Vasily heard the tone from him. The guy was older than Vasily, but in so many ways he was younger. Vasily felt that way with most of his teammates. Maybe it was a difference in how they were raised,
Back home, his parents were all about hockey, all the time. They wanted him to have a better life and at a young age he’d shown promise. So, from the time he was five, his life was almost solely about practice and chasing a rubber disk across the ice.
Thankfully, he enjoyed it. And, once he got away from his parents, his focus switched between hockey and having a good time. And boy did he, but through it all, he liked to think he’d never pouted like a child. He probably didn’t even pout when he was a child. His dad would’ve given him one of his looks. You didn’t want to be on the receiving end of one of those.
“You’ll get mouth wrinkles if you keep pursing it like that,” Nina warned. “So, knock it off and get dressed. I want to see what you guys have to offer this year. After last year not going according to plan, I have high hopes.”
After a quick kiss blown in Brady’s direction, Nina disappeared. Something about the woman made a logical man want to take cover. Vasily liked to think he was usually logical, but it was becoming clear he threw all logic out the window when it came to Lacey.
“If Lacey is distressed at all by your wife, I’m going to kill you.”
The threat was to the extreme. Vasily would probably only beat the crap out of Brady, but he needed to make it clear he would not let anyone harm Lacey and his child, even in minor ways.
“I guess that’s all we need to hear then,” Curtis said. “That’s more concern for Lacey than I ever saw in George. I suppose we can let things play out for a little while.”
Brady huffed at the words and retreated to his spot on the other side of Curtis. Like his concern for Lacey was all that stood between the teammates. It was going to be a rough year, and Vasily honestly didn’t know whether he’d make it through without losing his mind.
Chapter 17
Lacey had been to the arena dozens of times, actually hundreds of times. There was a time she used to love showing up. Her and the kids were treated like family, which she supposed they still were.
Humiliation changed the feeling of the arena. There was something stifling in the wide-open empty space. Since the room was maybe sixty degrees, maybe frigid was the right word.
Everyone said she had nothing to be embarrassed about when it came to what happened with George. Did they not understand that even though George was the one who strayed, she must have driven him to it? It said without a doubt that Lacey lacked what it took to please a man. Being a devoted mother and wife wasn’t enough.
She supposed she always knew she wasn’t good enough for George. He wanted her to be like one of the porn stars he made her watch over the years. She’d tried, but it just wasn’t in her to act wantonly. She couldn’t beg him to make her feel things, since she had no idea what she even wanted. And clearly, she couldn’t drive any great emotion out of him.
It made her wonder why he’d ever asked her to marry him. Or why he bothered with her at all. She’d thought over there years there had to be something she’d done to make him fall in love, but as the months went on without him, she had to wonder if he’d ever loved her.
“So many people with such deep thoughts. I’m going to find myself surrounded by permanent frowns.”
Nina’s voice broke through the melancholy that always threatened to take over. Lacey needed to stop letting herself delve into what was and think about the future. About the future growing inside of her and Kevin and Rachel.
“Well, Nina, I believe it is a requirement for people to always do plenty of deep thinking when in your presence. If they don’t, they’ll find themselves trampled on in seconds.”
Her friend waved a hand before sitting next to her in the leather chairs of Nina’s private suite. From afar, the suite looked like any of the others, but Nina had added her own spin on things. The leather chairs weren’t just comfortable. They had heat and massage available at just a flick of a switch. And, the children’s area at the back of the suite rivaled any kid’s entertainment center.
There were no kids playing today, but as the season got underway, there was sure to be plenty of laughter. Lacey’s own child could eventually join them.
“Oh hush. I’m not as evil as people make me out to be.”
Lacey schooled herself not to raise an eyebrow and look at her friend as skeptically as she felt. Even the woman’s husband would’ve laughed at the remark. Maybe evil wasn’t the right word, but it fit well enough.
“Plus, I hear you have a little Russian growing inside of you. I think any deep thinking should revolve around him and his daddy. Considering the frown on your face, I hope you weren’t thinking about them.”
It didn’t surprise Lacey to hear Nina knew about the baby. Vasily had said everyone would know after the way he reacted.
“Does everyone know?”
Lacey ignored the question of her thoughts. No good could come from revealing the dark places her mind went. Plus, Nina was right. If she was thinking about Vasily or the baby, she wouldn't have been frowning.
“Give me a little credit. I found Brady and Vasily talking about it ten minutes ago. I like to verify information before I start spreading it.”
Lacey hadn't looked at her friend, preferring to stare out at the ice. Hearing that Nina had just found out made her glance over to gauge whether she was serious. Nina's blue eyes were busy staring at Lacey's midsection.
“Are you sure you're pregnant? I remember thinking I just had some bad indigestion when I was pregnant. Maybe it's the reverse for you.”
She made it sound logical, even if she was saying the words to a mother of two. Of course, she had no idea how far along Lacey was.
“You guys really didn't figure it out at the party? Vasily thought someone would’ve heard me tell him and see his hand.”
Nina shook her head. “I’m pretty sure we were all too focused on the fact that Ox, who previously cared little about anyone I might add, ran across the yard to check on you. The rumor of him carrying Rachel around hadn’t even died down yet. No one knew you two were that close. Well, no one other than Jake when we grilled him later.”
“We weren’t that close. I didn’t even know he’d ever said more than two words to Rachel, so I was as surprised as anyone else.”
Eyes narrowing, Nina pursed her lips as she thought about that. For being worried about others finding themselves with permanent frowns, she didn’t seem to mind doing her own thinking that could lead to them.
“But they had met, right? We’ve all seen her around strangers, and as gorgeous as Ox is, her initial reaction is to scream, not smile and hold
on tight.”
There was something about Vasily that made it impossible to scream and run the other way. With his towering size, it shouldn’t be that way, but something in his smile and the playfulness in his eyes made you want to be close to him.
“Yes, they met the night he stayed over, which I didn’t find out about until later.”
Admitting that much was hard for Lacey. She didn’t like sharing intimate details with her friends. It wasn’t like she usually had anything to share, so the issue didn’t come up.
“Wait,” Nina held out a finger and scooted closer before she continued. “He’s stayed over at your place?”
“Yes?”
She’d just said that, so she wasn’t sure why she needed to repeat herself. And why Nina seemed surprised by the admission.
“Did he fall asleep or were you guys doing it all night long? I’m going to assume your children weren’t in the house when things got started.”
Lacey quickly shook her head. She’d been irresponsible, but she hadn’t completely lost her mind.
“I’m pretty sure he fell asleep. I think I fell asleep on him, so he either fell asleep or decided to wait until morning to leave. Because, no, my kids were not there until ten o’clock the next morning.”
Nina let out a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. For a few moments, she just stared off in space. The quiet made Lacey uncomfortable, so she hurried to fill it.
“When the choice was between my place and his, I thought my place was the better option.”
“Wait,” Nina said, jumping forward again. “Did he actually say his place was an option?”
What the hell? Was Lacey speaking in tongues or something?
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. She’d replayed the words he’d said at the bar many times over the days after their night. “There was no question we were debating between his place or mine. He eventually asked if maybe neutral ground was better, but he looked like he immediately regretted the suggestion.”