Gloves Off: a marriage of convenience hockey romance (Vancouver Storm Book 4)

Volkov and I head home in tense, awkward silence, pretending each other doesn’t exist.

I replay the dinner: the dinner, the game, the dance where Pippa sang about finding someone who means everything, trusting them, and giving them every part of yourself.

Been there, done that, and I won’t be doing it again.

I keep thinking about that kiss, though, and I have a sinking feeling I’ll be thinking about it for a while.

At his house, I’m about to head upstairs without saying goodnight when his voice stops me.

“Hellfire.”

Halfway up the stairs, my spine straightens. God, I hate that nickname. I hate the way he says it all low and arrogant, and I hate the way his mouth quirks when he says it, like he knows I hate it.

“Get rid of him.”

I turn to look down at him. “Excuse me?”

His eyes flicker with possession. “Damon.”

I freeze. He knows? How does he know? I snuck them into my room without him seeing, and they haven’t made a peep.

Fuck, he’s mad. He’s doing that jaw-clenching thing again. My stomach flips at the intensity in his eyes. Slowly, I descend until I’m at his level.

“How did you find out?”

“I heard you talking to him in your room. We had a deal. Cut him loose.”

I stand as tall as I can, staring him down. He will not intimidate me. “No. They’re a bonded pair.”

“They? Who’s they?” He folds his arms over his chest, his expression a dark cloud.

“He and Stefan.”

“Stefan?” Outrage flashes in his eyes. “There are two of them?”

“They’re a bonded pair.”

“What does that even mean? No. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.” He glowers down at my feet. “I bet you wear the shoes for them, don’t you?”

I pause. That’s a weird thing for him to care about. “I mean . . . I guess I try them on in front of them? But they don’t seem interested.”

He makes a noise of anguish, raking his hands through his hair, and I laugh. He’s so uptight and serious.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about them, but they’re so quiet, you won’t even notice they’re here. And the only place they’ll be is my room.”noveldrama

His eyes widen with shock. “They’re not coming over to my house, and they’re sure as shit not going in your bedroom.”

“Where are they supposed to live?”

“They’re living with us?!” His voice goes weirdly high. “What did I say, Georgia? I said no fucking other guys.”

Silence stretches as I stare up at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“No fucking other guys.” He leans in, inches from my face, glaring deep into my eyes. A shiver of anticipation runs through me. “I don’t share. This year, you’re my wife. Mine.”

I like the way those words sound, and I like the brutal, furious, possessive way he says them. I shouldn’t, because I hate him, but I do.

There I go—thinking about our kiss again.

Wait. “Who do you think Stefan and Damon are?”

“Your boyfriends.”

A delighted choking noise scrapes out of my throat. I press my lips together so I don’t laugh. Oh, this is good. This is so good.

“Or fuck buddies,” he adds. “Whatever. It sounded pretty fucking intimate, though, telling them it’s only temporary and soon it’ll just be us again.”

The laugh bursts out of me and I clap my hand over my mouth as his expression turns outraged again.

“It’s not funny, Georgia.”

I laugh again. I can’t help it. “You’re right, it’s not. It’s hilarious.”

“Stop smiling.”

“Volkov, Volkov, Volkov.” I shake my head as victory fills my chest, warming me throughout. This must be what Olympians experience when they win the gold.

“What?” he bites out. Ooooh, he’s mad. He keeps glancing at my smile like it pisses him off more.

“After what you did to my shoes, I have half a mind to walk away from this conversation and let you keep believing this.” My smile turns wicked, and his eyes drop to my mouth again before he frowns harder. “But I pity you, because not only do you have such a bad personality,” my gaze roams the brutally handsome planes of his face, “you’re ugly, too. So ugly.”

He arches an unimpressed eyebrow. “Are you done?”

“For now.” I wink at him, heading to the stairs. “Come on, Volkov. It’s time you meet my boyfriends.”