The Czar: A Standalone Hockey Billionaire Novel

by Selena Laurence

  She leaves the chair that she’s sitting in and falls to her knees in front of me. Her arms are crossed over her chest protectively, and she looks small, and alone. “I’m so sorry that I lied to you, Mick. I never meant to hurt you or to violate your father’s rules. It was a terrible mistake, and I would do anything if I could take it back.”

  I take a deep, shuddering breath, and my heart nearly beats out of my fucking chest, because this right here, is not someone I can hate. She’s not someone I can dismiss from my life, or wish I’d never met. This is someone who is real, and flawed, but also so amazingly perfect I can hardly believe I get to be in the same world with her, much less the same room.

  “Solnishka,” I whisper as I take her elbows and lift her onto my lap. She stares at me, so solemnly, waiting patiently for me to speak.

  “I was hurt, and I was angry, but I’m not anymore, and I don’t want to hate you.” I run threads of her golden hair through my fingertips. “I don’t even want to dislike you.”

  She blinks at me, and I can’t help but smile.

  “Really, all I want to do is show you that everyone doesn’t leave, and even when you make a mistake, if you’re honest about it and you’re sorry, it can be overcome.

  “I want this with you, Solnishka. These last few months I’ve been struggling, trying to figure out what a future without the NHL looks like for me. But the one thing that keeps coming up is you—you’re in my future, and that makes it look so much brighter.”

  She nods rapidly now, tears coming to her eyes. “Even though I’m unemployed and will probably be homeless as soon as my professor comes back?”

  I laugh as I wipe away the tears. “Yes, baby, even then. And you’ll never be homeless when you have me. I think there might be a job for you in the near future too.”

  She sniffs, and I pull her closer, brushing my lips against hers.

  “You know of a job for me?” she asks, her breaths quickening.

  “I might have a lead or two,” I tell her. “Let me make a call first. We can talk about it more later.”

  Then I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and hold her head steady. “Solana, I’m all in from here on out. I need to know you are too.”

  “Yes,” she says without hesitation. “Absolutely yes.”

  I grin then as I stand and toss her over my shoulder.

  “Ohmigod, Mick!” she squeals.

  “I need to show you exactly how all in I am.”

  I walk to the bedroom and toss her on the bed where she bounces a couple of times as she laughs. Then I tug my t-shirt off and wiggle my eyebrows.

  Her eyes go a little hazy as she stares at my chest.

  “See anything you like?” I ask, undoing my belt and dropping trou.

  I kick off my shoes and the jeans, then tug my boxer briefs off, giving my already hard cock a stroke or two while her eyes grow bigger and rounder.

  “I’m about to get all in, baby. You’d better take those clothes off.”

  She grins and scrambles around, tossing lacy things right and left as my mouth grows dry with need. When she’s finally kneeling on the bed in front of me, her skin bare from the tip of her darling nose to the bottoms of her plump toes, I take her in. She’s stunning. Silky and smooth, curvy and muscular. She completely steals my breath.

  “Come here,” she tells me, voice husky with desire. “I want to have you all in my mouth.”

  My cock hardens painfully and I grit my teeth to control my urge to pound her right that second.

  “You have no idea what you just did to me,” I growl, stepping to the edge of the bed.

  “I think I could see it for myself.” She strokes up and down my length with her soft hand and my eyes roll back in my head.

  Then I feel her tongue, tasting, testing, as it swirls around my head.

  “Oh fuck,” I gasp, digging my fingers into her hair.

  She starts to pump me in and out of her hot, wet mouth, using her hand to guide the whole process. I struggle not to push her too far, but even when she takes me nearly all the way in, I want more—need more.

  “God. Oh God. Right there,” I growl as she sucks and pulls away at the same time. Then I can’t take it anymore. I pull out completely, lifting her up as I sit down on the edge of the bed and pull her onto my lap, frantic to be inside all that tight heat.

  “I’m not sure this is going to be my best performance,” I warn her. “I want you so fucking bad.”

  She lifts onto her knees before she takes my hand and holding my index finger, pulls it to her core. She slides my finger through the slick heat there. “I want you too,” she whispers. “Feel it?”

  I’m beyond words then as I pull her down onto my erection hard, both of us groaning at the force of my entry.

  I draw one of her nipples into my mouth as I slide in and out of her, and she arches into me, gasping in pleasure. My hands are everywhere, caressing all of that soft, beautiful skin, and every little sound she makes is like balm to my heart. It’s all magic now, for both of us, and the future is only sunshine, like her. Her light has driven out the darkness from my world and together we’ve lit up the shadowy corners of hers. This is where we’re meant to be, this is what we’re meant to be.

  I feel her swelling around me and my balls tighten with electric pleasure.

  “Are you close, baby?” I ask, panting with the restraint it’s taking me to hold off.

  She doesn’t answer me, just arches more and then cries out as the ripples of her orgasm take over. The minute I feel her shuddering around me I’m lost, tentacles of hot desire racing through me, shooting out of me, taking over every thought I have.

  When we finally come down, I collapse onto my back, still inside of her, already semi-hard again. With her sprawled on my chest, I kiss her hair and stroke her back.

  “I’m so glad we had this little talk,” she says before snorting in laughter.

  I grin. “Me too.”

  She giggles for a moment, but then I wrap my arms around her and press her to me tightly. “Solana?”

  “Yeah?” she asks, leaning her head up to look me in the eyes.

  “Is it too soon to say I think I’m falling in love with you?”

  She gazes into my eyes. “No. It’s the perfect time.”

  “Good,” I tell her as I press her head back down onto my chest where she belongs. On top of me. Naked. Mine.

  “I love you too,” she whispers.

  And in that moment I know that I’ll always love her enough to do what’s best for her, because she just became the most important thing in my life.

  30

  Solana

  Two years later

  I rub my tummy as I watch Mick skate toward me, his team sprinting around the ice in some sort of drill.

  He skids to a stop in front of the wall I stand behind and I lean over to kiss him. After a quick smack on the lips he cradles my large bulging mid-section, which is right at eye level for him, and kisses it. “How’s my baby today?” he asks before grinning up at me.

  “She’s wiggling around a lot,” I tell him. “All morning at the office your dad kept saying it looked like an alien was about to climb out of me.”

  He laughs. “She’s a Petrovich kid, we don’t like to sit around, she wants to get out and skate.”

  I roll my eyes. “How do you know she won’t want to be a corporate giant like her mom and her granddad?”

  “I’ve asked her,” he tosses off as if it’s perfectly reasonable that a baby who hasn’t even been born yet could tell her father about her career plans.

  “Hi, Mrs. Petrovich!” Amanda yells as she comes skating over. The fifteen year old is six inches taller than when I first met her, and is currently sporting a small diamond stud in one nostril.

  “Did your mom let you get that piercing, young lady?” I ask, trying to look stern.

  Amanda gives me a sheepish smile. “Not exactly, but after I paid her a hundred dollars from my savings account and cleaned the
house for a month she let me keep it.”

  “We’ve been having some discussions about how to ask for permission rather than forgiveness,” Mick adds, smiling at Amanda.

  “Well, it looks very nice, but do ask first next time.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she answers, grinning.

  “And what have you heard from college coaches this week?”

  “I’ve been invited to a showcase camp at my number one choice!” she cries in excitement.

  I congratulate her and then Mick sends her off to finish practice.

  I sit down on the bleacher and lean forward so I can be eye to eye with Mick over the railing that separates us.

  “I have to go back to work,” I tell him. “But I wanted to see you again before you leave this afternoon.”

  He kisses me softly on the lips, his palm skimming over my cheek at the same time. “I’ll miss you, baby,” he tells me with that rumbly voice that shoots straight to my core.

  “I’ll miss you too, but you always have a blast commentating on the Stanley Cup Finals, and you’ll get to see Deke.”

  “Mm,” he kisses me again. “Not half as much fun as I’d have in bed with you though.”

  “It’s okay.” I pat my tummy. “We’ll be fine, and we know that you never leave us for long. We’ll be waiting right here for you when you get back.”

  “Naked?” he asks, his eyes lighting up.

  “Naked,” I answer. “Always naked.”

  The End

  Excerpt From The Heir

  A Billionaire, His Intern, and a Forbidden Romance that leads two lovers into dark family secrets.

  Niko

  It's hard not to love my life. I have it all--looks, a family who dotes on me, and more money than God. I'm the heir to a Greek shipping magnet, and one day I'll own his international corporation. But I have to admit, sometimes it's all too easy, and I wonder what life would have been like if everything wasn't handed to me. Then I see her stumble off the ferry onto my family's island, and I know that I want her. The only problem? She's my new intern. Finally, something that's not so easy.

  Tess

  Some people say I'm boring, I follow the rules to a 'T,' work hard at everything I do, and already know exactly what I want my future to look like. But what might seem boring to others is successful for me, because I just scored an internship in Greece for the school year. I can't wait to prove my worth at a company like Stephanos Shipping . Things look even better when I stumble off of the ferry and straight into the arms of a very hot guy. Only problem? He's my new boss. Following the rules just got a lot harder.

  Turn the page to read more!

  Tess

  I’m standing at the edge of the ship, the breeze whipping my blonde hair into knots, while the people on board shout in different languages, clamoring to gather their belongings before we disembark. I recognize some French, and a little German, also Italian, but there are about a dozen other things being bantered around that sound completely foreign. Which, well, since they’re called foreign languages makes sense I guess.

  The water below me is the bluest blue I’ve ever seen. I’m used to Lake Michigan, a sort of green or gray, depending on the time of year and the time of day. This water is achingly, cinematically blue. Something you’d see on a Discovery Channel show about aquatic life, or the coral reefs, or marine-based eco-tourism. The ship slowly edges its way up to the dock, and I gather my two suitcases, struggling to balance them on my shoulders.

  The ship is a madhouse and I’m only five foot two, so I’m in danger of being mowed over by the enthusiastic crowd. I try to use the two-ton bags hanging off of my shoulders to buffer me from the virtual mosh pit that’s formed at the exit down the gangplank.

  I’m doing pretty well, having settled in between a tall man with a toddler in his arms on one side and a little old lady on the other. But right as we’re about to reach the pavement of the dock the guerilla grandma sees her family who are standing ten feet away yelling and waving like lunatics. She starts shouting back at them in Greek and with a determination I’ve never seen on someone that old she puts both elbows out, tucks her head, and charges like a defensive lineman taking out a running back. She manages to clip me in the rib cage, and my bag swings back, then forward, gaining momentum that propels me the last two feet off the edge of the gangplank.

  I fly onto the sidewalk, and land on my feet, but the bags are heavy and they’re still moving even though I’m trying to stop, so I stumble. Their weight is pulling me down, I’m heading for a horrible impact on solid concrete, when out of nowhere, a pair of hands catch me under the elbows, lifting me, bags and all, upright onto my feet. I stand for a moment trying to catch my breath. Then I look up—way up—to thank whoever has saved me from both humiliation and I’m sure a good deal of pain.

  I stare at him blankly, my heart beating erratically as I take in his tan skin, crystalline eyes, and dark, nearly black, wavy hair. He’s wearing a blue t-shirt, fitting close in all the right places, and a pair of athletic shorts with beat up Nikes. The stubble that grazes his jaw is the absolute right amount—not too heavy, not too sparse—he must be one of those special one-in-a-million guys blessed with perfect facial hair. My brother, Nate, always talks about how much he hates those guys. Nate can’t grow decent stubble to save his life.

  A smile spreads across his face and his teeth are as perfect as the rest of him. White, straight, and shiny.

  “You okay?” he asks, a slight accent to his English.

  I swallow. Hard. Words seem to be escaping me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more perfect-looking guy. Ever.

  “Did you hit your head or something?” he asks, a small furrow appearing in his brow as he peers at me.

  “Oh! No.” My brain finally catches up to my libido and I work to get words out of my dropped jaw. “No, I’m fine. Thank you. For catching me, I mean.”

  He chuckles and raises an eyebrow obviously thinking I’m an idiot. “Sure thing. Old Mrs. Yanos is a vicious one when she wants to get to her grandkids.”

  That snaps me out of it and I look past him trying to find the ancient battering ram who nearly laid me out.

  “Mrs. Yanos? She’s dangerous as hell. Can’t she read?” I point to the signs written in several languages that say: Please disembark in an orderly fashion. Safety first.

  Perfect guy looks at me for a minute then busts up laughing.

  “What?” I ask, incensed that he’s ridiculing me when I’ve just escaped what surely would have been a life-threatening injury. Well, ok, could have been a life-threatening injury. Maybe.

  “No one’s read that sign or followed the rules in fifty years or so. In fact, I work across the street and I’m here all the time and I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that sign.”

  “Well what the hell is the point of having rules if no one is going to follow them?”

  He shrugs. “Someone probably thought it was a good idea to put it up, but as a suggestion. Because everyone knows that Stefan, who captains the ship, doesn’t like to dock here since it’s got a view of his ex-girlfriend’s house, so if you want to get off the ship you have to do it fast or he’ll leave again and you’ll get stuck going to the far side of the island. Then you’ve got to call a cab to come get you. It can take a couple of hours all together.”

  I stare at him again, but this time it’s not in lust, it’s in disgust. My father is a district attorney and my brother is an FBI agent. My mom was a State police officer until she had us and decided to stay home and consult with the local police department instead. I’m majoring in forensic accounting. We’re in law enforcement, and we follow the laws, the rules, and the procedures. I mean, if you don’t, society falls apart. Right?

  “Again. What’s the point of the sign then?” I huff.

  He shakes his head. “You’ve never been to Greece, have you?”

  “Nooo…”

  “Well, princess, Greece is chill. We don’t fuss over the rules too much here. It all works o
ut fine.”

  Princess? Don’t fuss over the rules too much? I sputter, “W-what? You’re kidding, right?”

  He laughs. Yes, laughs. “Can I get you a valium or something?” he asks. “I don’t want you to stroke out here on the docks.”

  Oh my God. He is such an utter ass. I should have known. Anyone that pretty must be a jerk too. It’s a law of nature or something. They get by on their looks, so they learn they can act like an asshole and still skate by.

  “Listen,” I say, getting as far up in his face as I can, which really isn’t all that far since the top of my head barely makes it to his shoulder. So, really I’m getting up in his chest, which, wow, is such a nice chest. I breathe in and smell the ocean, and soap and guy. My head swims a little and I blow out the breath, taking a step back because, shit. Focus.

  “I don’t know who you are, and I’m not an expert on Greece, but it’s the source of our modern democratic systems of government, so I don’t believe for one moment that no one here follows rules or laws—” Just then a tall, lithe Mediterranean-looking girl appears in front of me. “Excuse me, are you Tess Richardson?” she asks.

  I turn to look at her. She’s very beautiful, curly shoulder-length hair, big dark eyes, and full lips.

  “Yes!” I’m so happy to see this girl even though I don’t know her. “You must be Cass.”

  “I am,” she answers, grinning. My new roommate. I’m so happy to see a friendly face. Mr. Perfect did a good job of saving my bacon, but I’d almost rather have wiped out on the pavement he’s pissed me off so much now.

  “It’s so nice to meet you,” I say, throwing chill guy a dirty look before I give Cass my most winning smile.

  I can see the gorgeous hunk of rule-defying man smirking out of the corner of my eye.

  Cass glances at him then does a double-take. Yeah, I want to say, he really is that perfect.

  “So are you ready to go?” She looks between us, obviously confused if he’s with me. He’s got his arms crossed now, biceps bulging all sexy irritating, and is leaning back against the railing that runs alongside the dock.