The Penalty Box (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #3)(25)

She hadn’t given up, and she was doing it. I enjoyed needling her. “You can go more than 30 kilometers an hour.”

Stress made her tone caustic. “Shut up, Petrov.”

I laughed, not caring that cars were honking as they blew past us. They could all piss off.

“Why did you make me drive?” She was clutching the steering wheel like her life depended on it. “Why couldn’t we take an Uber home?”

“Variety.”

“You’re nuts.”

“Okay, we’re going to gear up here a bit. Same thing. Clutch.” I shifted the gears for her. “Now more gas.”

She made a cute little noise in her throat as the car leaped forward. “I hate you, and I hate your car.”

I lazily studied her. She was still wearing my hoodie. I had a vision of her wearing that lace thing with just my hoodie over top, and my brain almost melted.

“You buy any more outfits like that?” The words came out of me with no filter. I had no business asking her this, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “I… yes. I will pay you back.”

I didn’t give a shit about the money, but the question crossed my mind why she was buying lingerie that screamed sex. We had no plans on becoming intimate, which made me wonder if she had someone else in mind when she had purchased those things. The thought pissed me off.

My voice hardened. “Who are you planning on wearing those for?”

“They’re just for me.”

I could live with that. “Good.”

She glanced at me, but she didn’t speak.

“What else did you buy?” The words blurted out of me again.

What the hell, Petrov?

Her voice sounded slightly breathless. “Some different colors. Some are more racy. There’s one with feathers.”

My mind went to that place, imagining her naked with a few strategically placed feathers.

What I meant to say was good for you. Instead, I said, “Tell me about the feathers.”

That made her turn to look at me again. “What do you want to know?”

Where are the feathers?

I cleared my throat, working to sound casual. “Just making conversation.”

“You’re drunk,” she accused.

“I’m not sober,” I admitted.

We drove three more blocks in silence. Then she said, “It’s pink with lots of straps and some feathers around the cleavage and… other places.”

Alcohol pumped through my veins, but my hardening cock hadn’t got the memo. “Oh yeah? Sounds nice.”

It sounded more than nice. It sounded fucking hot.

She made a little humming noise. “I shouldn’t have bought them, but they made me feel… feminine.”

She was killing me.

“You deserve nice things.” I meant it.

She geared down without my help as she pulled onto our street. “I did it. I’m driving a stick.”

That’s not the only stick I want you to drive. I bit my tongue to keep from sharing that crude thought. I watched as she carefully pulled into my driveway before turning off the engine.

We sat in silence together for a long moment, neither of us moving.

“We should keep this platonic,” I said out loud, more for my benefit than hers.

Her eyes widened as she turned to look at me, but she didn’t respond.

“I mean, it’d mess things up if we did something we shouldn’t.” I forced myself to stop talking.

She chewed on her bottom lip but she still didn’t speak.

I need to shift gears, get her out of my brain and put her firmly in the friendship category. “Glad we cleared that up.”

“Me too.” She sounded breathless.

Neither of us made a move to get out of the car.

“Thanks for picking me up.”

“Thanks for all your help.”

“Are you going to be okay with all of this?” I meant our marriage and pretending to be with me.

She nodded, flushing hard.

I needed to get out of this car before I did something stupid like kiss her. So, fighting the instinct to pull her over the seat onto my lap, I instead got out of the car.





Chapter 9





CHARLIE





I woke up Sunday morning, alone. This time, Mica hadn’t bothered to leave a note. I wondered if he was avoiding me after last night’s embarrassing conversation about my lingerie. It had been obvious that I had piqued his curiosity but then he had informed me we would never cross that line. Considering the long line of gorgeous puck bunnies he had dated, I was fairly certain that I had been only a fleeting consideration before being punted back into the rejection pile.

I went from having no time in my life to having all the time in the world. Last night, I had called my bar job and quit without giving notice. When my manager heard that my place had burned down, he understood completely and told me that if I ever wanted to work there again, he’d hire me on the spot.

Without a car or money, I had little to do other than watch TV, organize my new bedroom and hang out.

I was bored stiff.

Krista: I just noticed you called on Friday night. Everything okay?