Puck Money

by Raine Miller

  I pull off the T-shirt Boris must have put me into—an extra-large Austin Comets tee—and then shimmy out of my panties. When I step under the hot water, it stings at my bruises and scratches but its more comfort and relief than anything.

  I take my time, closing my eyes as I tilt my head back to wet my hair. It feels exquisite to get clean and wash away the filth of that night. I wasn’t sure when or how I’d wash away the fear and terror of the night…

  When I open my eyes, Boris is at the door to the bathroom. The shower glass is clear, and he can see all of me. I stand, hands at my sides, making no effort whatsoever to cover myself.

  Boris steps forward, pulling his white T-shirt over his head before exposing powerful thighs and a fully aroused, very beautiful penis when he drops his shorts. He hesitates at the threshold of the shower, waiting for permission. I nod, and he steps under the steamy spray with me. It’s a snug fit for two people, especially when one is as big as he is. He’s close and his closeness makes me forget my aches and pains. All I feel is desire.

  He reaches out and strokes the bruise on my cheek just ever so lightly.

  “It will fade.” I remind him that he was hurt too when I kiss the ugly bruises on his ribs and on his side.

  Boris nods and swallows back whatever he thought to say. His thumb moves to rub against my swollen bottom lip before he leans in, kissing me, a feather soft thing that does nothing to tame the heat pooling between my legs.

  “You said you had a big speech for the restaurant,” he says, taking the soap and washing my shoulders and arms.

  “I did,” I answer, smiling up at him. “Basically, I was going to tell you that I care for you a whole lot and I think we should be together. I mean, I was going to be way more romantic about it, but in light of everything that’s happened…”

  He grins. “Do you feel that way still?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Good.” He smiles. “So, tell me.”

  “Tell you?” Big strong hands lather the soap gently over my breasts as I close my eyes, sighing with simple pleasure.

  “Tell me what you were going to say. I don’t think it is too late.”

  His hands roam, fingertips playing at my pebbled nipples, trailing down my slick and soapy stomach. I can hardly think about anything else, let alone all the things I had planned to say the other night.

  “I was…” I moan as he fits two fingers inside of me. “I was going to say that I really like you. That I….ahhhh…”

  His fingers pump in and out of me, deliciously unhurried. It feels sinfully good, and makes me forget that my face is bruised and my lip is swollen. “Is this okay?” he asks, as if my moans of pleasure aren’t enough evidence of consent.

  “Yes,” I whisper. “Yes, it’s wonderful. And I think you’re amazing. Honestly? You’re the best man I’ve ever met. And I’m done pretending I don’t want you, or that I can live without you, because neither of those things are true.”

  Boris’s free hand rubs along the length of my spine, down to my rear, cupping one ass cheek, pulling me closer. His erection pushes against my stomach. “I’m glad to hear all of those things.”

  “Yeah?” I ask, my lips skimming his chest.

  “Oh yeah. Because I feel the same. When I found out you’d been taken—Talia, I am not a violent man, but I was ready to kill anyone standing in my way to protect you.”

  I don’t know what to say, so I just reach around, splaying my hands against his broad, strong back. My fingertips dig into the hard planes of muscle as I press fully against him, skin to skin. His fingers leave my body but he brings me in even tighter into him, our bodies aligned as we embrace under the steaming water.

  “I think I’m in love with you,” he says in my ear.

  It’s much too soon, right? Too soon for him to say things like that to me. But my heart is thundering in my ears as I look up, meeting his intense gaze, and I can see that he means it. I can see the emotion in his eyes. And when he kisses me, it’s soft and careful, passionate and protective.

  “I feel deeply connected to you, I have for a while now. I tried to keep it professional, but I think this might be the real deal between us. I want to try to make something of it.”

  “So do I, krasotka.”

  Gorgeous beauty. That Boris thinks of me as a gorgeous beauty is probably my biggest surprise of all, but I’ll never complain about it.

  He turns off the shower and wraps me in a big, fluffy towel before taking one for himself. After I’m dry, he leads me to the bed, pressing me back onto fresh sheets and peeling away my towel.

  Baring my body so I’m naked, there’s nothing but hot fevered skin between the two of us aching for the other’s touch.

  I sink back onto soft pillows and wait for him to join me.

  He asks if I want him to wear a condom, saying he will go out and get some if I need him to.

  I shake my head no and tell him there’s no need because I get a birth control shot every three months, and that I trust him.

  Also that I will die if he leaves me hanging right now to go condom shopping.

  He laughs darkly and drops the towel.

  Boris spends a long time kissing every inch of my body. He rubs and massages my aching muscles as he goes, sending me into some blissful place between relaxation and combustion. He kisses and licks at my breasts, telling me how beautiful I am, how amazing my body is. He teases me as his lips and tongue move against the inside of my thighs, his shoulders forcing me to open my legs wide and bare myself to him.

  It’s only minutes before I’m coming, his tongue sinister and talented against my clit. His grin is pure bad boy when he emerges victorious, moving up to kiss along my neck and jaw, careful of my injuries. I want him in me so badly that I’m desperately impatient, so when he turns onto his back, I climb on top, straddling his hips and aligning his cock to my entrance. He watches his cock disappear inside me as I sink down onto his whole hard length, both of us moaning in pure pleasure. Our bodies fit perfectly together…and nothing has ever felt so right.

  His hands are cupping both cheeks of my ass as we start to move together. I’m so full with his cock deep inside of me. I feel claimed and complete, like this is what I was always supposed to feel but never knew. Nonsensical noises escape my throat as I ride him. It takes no time before I’m coming and clenching around his cock, the orgasm hitting me sharply when he sits up and starts nipping at my breasts and nipples with his teeth. The hint of delicious pain sending me over the edge all in an instant.

  We’re all wrapped up in each other, so close, moving together, breathing together, hearts pounding, kissing, tasting, fucking together.

  Boris twists me to my back without ever separating his body from mine.

  “I need to look in your eyes when I take you, krasotka.”

  And so he does.

  We stay locked on each other as he moves, pumping his cock in long, deep slides in and out of me, his pace ever increasing. It’s a beautiful torture as I build again. Up, up, up I go until he kisses me fiercely and his cock becomes impossibly harder, spasming as he comes inside me. I fall into another sweeter climax, pausing from breathing as the sharp sting of pain-laced ecstasy overtakes my whole body in a tingling, hot rush.

  Boris puts his forehead against mine as he finishes. He looks meditative, as if his experience was as life-altering as mine was.

  I’m in awe of this connection we have, this chemistry. I can’t find words to say it, but I know this is right. It’s meant to be. I don’t ever want it to go away.

  I trace the dragon tattoo with my finger along the intricate inked design from his shoulder to his forearm. Green blends into turquoise, which blends to blue, which blends to purple, and into black. It’s a stunning work of Asian art, striking in form and context. With one deviation. Instead of the more typical red ball incorporated into the design, there’s a flat black disc. A hockey puck. His dragon is not a mean-looking one. Boris’s dragon is brave and honorable, just lik
e the man.

  My man.

  I can say it now. My man. Because he is mine, and I am his.

  We’ve been lying together in the bed, naked and sated, for a long time, dozing off here and there, sharing sweet kisses, caressing each other’s skin, when the ring of his doorbell invades our peace.

  Boris sits up and peers at his phone before exiting the bed, pulling on a pair of jeans lying nearby on the floor.

  He disappears, shutting the bedroom door behind him.

  I force myself from the bed and zip into the bathroom to retrieve the Comets T-shirt and Boris’s discarded athletic shorts where he dropped them in front of the shower. The black shorts are positively huge on me, but at least they have a drawstring that I can cinch up tight enough to stay on my hips. I pull my hair up in a messy bun and pad out to the living room, only to find Ally reviewing something with Boris at the kitchen island.

  Ally hands me a cup of coffee from my favorite nearby coffee shop. It’s fresh and hot and tastes like heaven. “Thank you, Ally. How did you know?”

  “A little birdie sent a text and told me you might be having caffeine withdrawal. You doing okay? I heard you took a nasty fall.”

  I look at Boris and realize he’s not spreading the news of my abduction widely. Thankfully. I nod and say, “Yeah. I’m such a super klutz. That’s what I get for reading books instead of doing sports all my life.”

  “Boris,” Ally interrupts, “you’ve got a team meeting in half an hour, then you’ve got to get back and pack for your preseason road trip.”

  “Thanks. And thanks for the information on that class.”

  “I’ll walk you to the arena so we can go over the week’s schedule,” Ally says, heading toward the door.

  Boris disappears into his closet, returning in shorts and T-shirt. He shoves his feet into his trainers and throws his workout bag over his shoulder, then makes his way over to me.

  “Stay as long as you need, krasotka. I should be back in a couple of hours and I will find you.”

  He kisses me on top of the head before meeting Ally at the door. The young woman watches our exchange with interest but keeps any feelings carefully masked. She says goodbye to me as they leave. I give a little wave in return as the door shuts, not sure I know how to read Ally yet. She must be crushing on Boris, because how could she not. But she was professional and invested…that’s good, right?

  There’s no reason to hang around here for two hours, so I find my phone, keys, and the fanny pack I was wearing on game day, and head down to my own apartment. LuLu meows like she’s been left alone for a year as I shut myself inside. I pick her up, rubbing her soft fur and missing her sweetness as she purrs. I know Boris has been taking care of her here because he told me so.

  I’m so tired. From the ordeal. From the lovemaking. From the intense emotions. I lie down on the chaise with my favorite blanket, LuLu making herself comfortable wedged between my side and the edge of the chaise.

  I drift away wondering just one thing…

  Should I have told Boris that I might love him, too?

  Twenty-Seven

  Naked Storytime

  Boris

  Ally rattles off the schedule for the week. I’ll pack tonight for a short flight to Anaheim tomorrow morning. We’ll condition, do a press event, and then chill for a bit before our first game. We then travel to Los Angeles for game two on the road. We’ll finish two nights later in Portland. I’ll be gone for four days and it feels like forever, knowing Talia will be left here alone. I approached Viktor at practice yesterday and asked if he could point me in the right direction for hiring private security to watch over Talia when she goes to and from her office. He told me to call the same guy Vlad mentioned, Saul Heisenberg, local fixer of all problems—for a price. I told Viktor price is nothing to me compared to peace of mind for the safety of my krasotka. He slapped me on the back and typed Heisenberg’s number into my phone himself. I considered our fences mended.

  “Do you want to try for the Saturday morning session?” Ally is asking.

  I give her an apologetically quizzical look.

  “The dyslexia session?” she asks.

  “It sounds really awful, Ally.”

  “It’s a mix of cognitive stimulation and introduction to some cheat tools they’ve developed,” she says. “It’s up to you.”

  “I’ll think about it.” And I will. “But thank you for doing the research.”

  We’re nearly to the arena. I thank Ally again and tell her I really appreciate her assistance with my schedule. She nods and starts to walk away before turning back. “Boris?”

  “Yes?”

  “Things are different between you and Talia now, aren’t they?”

  “They are.” I gave her an answer, but I don’t feel like I owe her more than that.

  She nods again, a small smile playing on her lips. “All good. I could see it coming a million miles away. Talk to you once you get on the road.”

  “You guys were a machine out there,” Coach is saying. “Bring that same energy and organization on the road and I can’t see us doing anything but heading to the playoffs by season’s end. We have to keep the momentum going. We have to play with purpose—every single game.”

  Our owner and GM are both here, too, and they’ve given us the same pep talk. Coach’s came with a few notes first, of course. The reality is that these first few games are all pre-season. What will really matter is our true home opener in two weeks. We have to win there in order to keep the momentum going into our long season.

  We finish up the meeting and a few of us head to the gym to get a light workout in. I follow mine with a trip to the physical therapy rooms. My shoulder’s a mess again, so Pam has me hop up on the table so she can dig into the muscle.

  “Wow, what did you do, get in a fight?” she asks jokingly.

  I just grunt a response because that’s exactly how I jacked it up again. Clearly, telling her I had to enlist a group of shady dudes from Vegas to rescue the woman I love from another group of shady fuckers from Russia is a not happening.

  “Not talking today?” Pam asks. “Fine. I’ll do the talking. I met your lady at the game the other night. Talia Wentworth, big-glasses-wearing financial genius. She hit it off with the First Wives Club right away, so they know about her now. She’s no longer your secret dream girl anymore. Still just friends, are we? Oh…sorry, professional colleagues?”

  I snort at this because her tone is so ridiculous. “You’re nosy.”

  “You started it by pouring your guts out and asking for advice. Plus, we’re family. You and Georg are blood relations. I’m your cousin now, too.” She pokes my shoulder a little over hard to get her point across. “Family shares shit about their lives with each other. So, spill. How did she go with the grand gesture? Did she go big?”

  I would say being kidnapped and nearly raped going a little too big …

  “Okay. Yes. We had a breakthrough and are on the same page. Happy?”

  * * *

  “Very. Good for you, Boris.” She sticks her tongue out at me.

  I leave with a stupid grin on my face.

  I brought Talia to my place on the guise of helping me pack for my road trip, but I have a few other plans for us tonight in addition to the packing. I just got her, and now I must leave her behind and here alone while she’s still healing from what they did to her in the abduction? It’s fucked-up and I hate it very much.

  She’s in my closet right now choosing shirts and ties to go with the two suits I’m taking on said trip I don’t want to take.

  “What do you think of this green tie to go with the windowpane check and this blue shirt?” She’s sexy as fuck with her legs for days in gray shorts, and a tiny pink top with no bra; standing at the threshold of my closet, my clothes in her hands, (which she chose for me) asking for my opinion.

  A dark shadow of a bruise is visible on her cheek and her hands still show the many scratches and cuts, but her beauty is not diminished e
ven in the slightest.

  Not to me.

  I stalk over to her, take the hanger with the shirt from her hand and toss it on my bed.

  “I really like the green tie for the blue shirt,” she chatters, “but what do you think?”

  I take the green tie from her and loop it behind her neck, tugging her against me. “I think I like it best when you are wearing it, krasotka.”

  “Oh yeah?” she says with a smirk. “Maybe the tie and nothing else, probably?” she teases.

  “I won’t say no to that, but I was thinking more about sneaking you along with me for this road trip. I don’t like leaving you alone so soon after—”

  “I will be fine right here with LuLu and my books.” She shakes her head at me, not entertaining any discussion on the matter. “I’ll be watching every game and we can even FaceTime after if you want to.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me suggestively. “That could be fun. But at the end of the day, you have a job to do and so do I.”

  I groan in frustration because even though I don’t like it, I know she’s right. I have to help the Crush win hockey games on the road, and she has to help people manage their money here in Vegas. “Okay, so the sooner we get me packed, the sooner I can take you to bed and have you read some more from the Iain Cooper book.”

  “Whoa there, dragon man. You’re taking me to bed to have me read to you?” She wrinkles her nose at me, unable to hide her disappointment.

  “Oh yeah. It will be days and days before you can read to me again, so I want to make the most of our night here together.”

  “Umm, okay, if that’s what you want to do…I guess I can read to you.” She doesn’t look convinced but she’s trying her best to be. She’s adorable.