Penalty Kill (Love on Thin Ice Book 4) Read online

  “So you call all the women you hook up with that, right?”

  “I spend all my free time with you and the kids. You are the only woman I have ever not just hooked up with.” Leaning down, he kissed the top of her head. He wanted to taste her lips, but he didn’t trust himself. “And you are without a doubt the only woman I have ever called that. There is no one else in the world I would willingly spend the rest of my life in jail for.”

  “Kevin said you love me.”

  The comment seemed odd, made more so by the confusion in her voice. He hadn’t known what to expect from his admission but circling to Kevin already knowing the truth threw him off.

  “We’re going to have to be careful around that kid. He sees too much.” Vasily licked his lips and bit his lower lip while he thought about that. “Now that I think about it, he is the one who got us together. We should search his room for voodoo dolls or something.”

  He was partially joking. Part of him was a little ticked that the kid had said the words before he could. Not to mention the fact he’d figured it out first.

  The skin on her forehead managed to crease even more. He couldn’t stop his thumb from reaching up and trying to smooth it out. His other hand remained on her stomach, moving slowly over the fabric of her skin as he sought the baby.

  “You said there was a problem with us getting married. I don’t understand. If you love me, then what else is there? I just got done saying that didn’t matter. Doesn’t that mean we should be discussing what day we’re getting married.”

  Yes, that was exactly what they should be discussing, but Vasily had realized what she’d been saying all along was right. They didn’t have to be married for them to be a family. He loved her and the kids. That was the important part, not some slip of paper.

  “I don’t think it’s time to start setting dates and picking out rings. I mean, technically, I do have a ring, but I think I’ll wait a little while before I give it to you.”

  Why was it so easy to babble around her? After he’d found out they were having a baby together, he’d gone out and bought a ring. It was sort of simple, in a way he thought she’d like.

  “You have a ring?” Lacey’s voice sounded more confused than excited about the idea.

  “I didn’t bring it with me tonight because of the game, but it’s back at my place. The point is that we don’t have to get married.”

  Fear flashed in her eyes for a second. Proving to him he was making the right choice. He leaned down and kissed her lips gently. He knew it was a bad idea, but he didn’t like what the fear did to her face. Vasily never wanted her to be scared because of him.

  “I want to get married, Lacey. Don’t think for a second I don’t.”

  He pulled back a little, so his breath wasn’t the only thing she had to breathe. Her eyes were closed, and it took her a second for them to flutter open and her breath to return to normal. It sent a rush through him to think he could do that to her.

  “But?” The word was soft on her lips. If he hadn’t been that close, he wouldn’t have heard it.

  “But,” Vasily responded, while placing both hands under her ass and lifting, so she was forced to wrap her legs around his waist.

  He hadn’t thought the move through. The need for her to be in his arms outweighed the fact they were still in the living room. Her body that closely against him made him think about the door again and wonder if there was anyway they could manage to not wake the kids.

  “But?” she asked again, her voice a little stronger.

  Shaking his head to clear it, he turned them to head to her bedroom. If they were going to try to play without the kids walking in on them, it had to be in her bedroom.

  “But, I just told you I love you, and I’m not sure you believe me.”

  She opened her mouth to protest. He shook his head. He didn’t technically know she’d protest, but he wasn’t done talking.

  “It’s not important that you believe me right this second. I know how I feel, and it’s made me understand why you’d want to wait for someone to feel this way. It also made it clear that I want to wait until you feel the same way.”

  “But I love you too.”

  Vasily’s steps faltered when he heard the words. Her voice was still soft, almost lost in her thoughts, but he wanted to hear conviction in the sentiment. His heart immediately said that he heard some force in the words, but his head couldn’t forget the fear. Not from her hearing that he wasn’t ready to get married. It was the fear of George he saw in Lacey, Kevin and Rachel.

  She might actually love him. His chest felt full just from thinking it could be true, but he wasn’t going to run out and get married without ensuring fear wasn’t the main motivator.

  “And right now, we’re going to focus on me making love to you.”

  Keeping away from the lips he obsessed over, Vasily bent down and bit gently at the spot where her neck met her shoulder. She made the purring noise again and he thanked God he’d made it to her room. He managed to get the door shut and found evidence that there was in fact a God he could thank because there was a lock on the door, which he quickly turned.

  He had hoped that his nibbles would keep her distracted, but the arms that had been around his neck fell to the top of his shorts. Her hands were so quick that he didn’t have a chance to stop her. No chance to slow things down. Before he knew it, her hands pushed his shorts down and were around him.

  He gritted his teeth and pulled away from her neck. If he didn’t, he would have bit harder than he wanted. As much as he would love to leave little love bites, giant teeth marks in her collarbone wasn’t what he had in mind.

  “You need to slow down, Lacey. I said I want to make love to you. It’s the only way we can possibly keep things quiet. It needs to be slow.”

  He needed to keep saying slow as many times as he could. Both of her hands were wrapped around the length of him, tugging up and pushing down. She didn’t need both hands. It seemed the second one just helped her squeeze tighter around him.

  In reality, her hands were moving slowly. But that slowness ticked up his heartbeat about ten notches.

  Lacey’s eyes looked up at him then down at her hands. Her eyes quickly darted back up. Vasily didn’t expect the look of confusion on her face. There had been so much of that in the other room that he thought the bedroom would clear her face of it.

  “Why am I like this with you?” She seemed shocked to say the words. “I was married for years and watched hours of porn to get me in the mood supposedly, but there was never a need like this. I dream about things we could do together.”

  Vasily let his predatory smile come out. As much as he hated thinking about her and George, the thought of her wanting him more than she’d ever wanted her ex-husband made his chest puff out.

  He wished she was wearing something with a skirt he could hike up and take care of both of their needs. Or, that he had the strength to rip her jeans off her body. Since he didn’t, and he had no answer to her question, he unwrapped her legs and helped her stand before he did a little pants removing of his own.

  She stood there, watching his every move. His eyes didn’t leave hers as he undid the button and lowered her zipper. She made a slight whimper when he didn’t take her pants down immediately, instead opting to slip his fingers inside to rub the small slightly swollen button that was slick to the touch.

  “I haven’t even touched you and you’re soaking wet,” he said as he adjusted her jeans, so he could put his hand in deeper, confirming his words.

  He worked her pants down with his free hand as he stuck a finger inside her. She cried out, but Vasily reacted quickly and muffled the sound with his lips. So much for taking things slow and keeping quiet. He could try to make sure the latter was at least controlled, but there wasn’t going to be anything slow about it.

  His free hand was joined by hers trying to get her out of the jeans and underwear. At some point after she’d gotten home from the game, her shoes had disappeared
, so the task wasn’t difficult, especially with the three hands.

  Knowing she was wet enough for him, he picked her up again and helped her slide down his painful erection. He’d been an idiot for thinking they could possibly take things leisurely. He hadn’t had sex in almost four months. The last time he’d abstained that long was before he lost his virginity.

  He had to keep the kiss going, for both of their sakes, playing a careful game with their tongues. He wanted to yell and scream just as much as she was, and he had just gotten the feel of her soft curls against his skin. Fully seated inside of her, it took everything to not explode right then. The sensation was all too familiar when it came to Lacey.

  She mewled, like the kitten she was, as she rippled around him. It had been a while since he’d used the nickname. It seemed to embarrass her, and since she didn’t understand the other nickname he tended to use, he stuck with it.

  He held himself as still as he could as he walked her over to the bed. As fun as taking her against the door would be, it was both noisy and he was worried about the upward force into her and how it mixed with the baby. Eventually, they’d have to talk about that, but he wasn’t so far gone that he needed to bring it up in that second. The bed was close enough.

  When her back touched the bed, he pushed her legs up to adjust the angle a bit. In the process of moving, he’d had to let her mouth free, so the needy pants that escaped her lips filled the quiet in the room. They weren’t loud, but experience told him they’d reach a crescendo before long.

  “Lacey, it’s late and we’re both tired. I’m going to bring us both, but I need you to make sure you stay awake, so you can lock the front door behind me.”

  “Huh,” she said.

  Her eyelids flitted open. He hadn’t finished his sentence, but it was good to see she was paying attention.

  “But I thought you were staying.”

  The passion was deep in her eyes, but just a little of it seemed to be clearing. He pulled out of her and pushed back in slowly. She tightened around him, causing him to grit his teeth. His idea to make sure she stayed in the mood while he made plans for afterward was going to backfire if he didn’t hurry and get the directions out.

  “I am. It’s just that if I was George, I would verify the guy who I caught holding on to my ex-wife left for the night. I’m going to act like I’m leaving and park a few blocks away. I just need you to lock the front door and unlock the back to let me in. In the morning, I’ll sneak out and pretend to come back like I always do.”

  He didn’t know specifically where George would be, but he sensed he was out there somewhere. He wouldn’t be out front with the guys hanging out across the street. Or maybe he was. Maybe he was waiting in the bushes to attack Vasily. He’d have to figure it out when the time came.

  “Okay, I won’t fall asleep.”

  She pulled her pelvis down to slide him out of her and raised herself back into him. His little kitten was tired of talking, and so was he. He leaned up to change the angle again, testing the position a few times before he settled into a rhythm.

  One day, he promised himself he’d spend a whole night of foreplay and unhurriedly making her crazy, but tonight wasn’t that night. She quivered around him within minutes, and it took him only seconds after that to push deep inside of her and lose himself.

  Chapter 23

  A giggle was the first thing Lacey heard in the morning. It was followed closely by a deep male voice shushing the laughter. The noises in the otherwise silence brought a smile to her lips.

  She couldn’t remember being as happy as she was as she stretched out. As her limbs moved under the covers, the brush of the cotton against her skin reminded her she didn’t have any clothes on. Those giggles and the shush had come from inside the room, so her slow ease to full awareness was jolted forward. Well, her eyes sprung open at least. Her body remained frozen.

  “Now look what you’ve done,” Vasily teased. “We were supposed to let her sleep five more minutes.”

  Even with the shock that her daughter was in the room without Lacey wearing a stitch of clothing, she couldn’t help that the smile stayed on her face. The smell of coffee nearby had to be the reason for that.

  “What are you two up to?”

  She wasn’t sure about propping her head up any higher to take in the scene in the room, given her state of dress. Lacey wasn’t sure if Kevin was also in the room, but she didn’t sense him. Her mommy senses had him in the kitchen, based on the sound of water in that direction. If he wasn’t in there, someone was going to be in trouble for leaving the water running.

  “Breakfast in bed for you,” Rachel said as she came into view.

  Rachel’s hair was pulled back into a ponytail and the t-shirt and jeans she wore made her ready for school. She looked way too perky for being up after her usual eight o’clock bedtime.

  The sound of the water turning off in the kitchen told her Kevin had in fact been in there. She looked over at the alarm clock next to the bed and finally sat up, with just enough consciousness to keep the sheet in her hands wrapped around her torso.

  Seven forty-five. The kids had twenty minutes before they had to be to school. The drive to school only took ten minutes, but that only left ten minutes for her to get ready. And, she remembered Vasily saying she was supposed to sleep for five more minutes. That brought a glower to her face as her head turned to the right, so she could see Vasily on the bed next to her, tray in hand.

  The smile on his face was devious, like he knew exactly where her thoughts were going, and he enjoyed panic going through her head. He couldn’t have thought whatever plan he was working on out. After all the fear the night before, things felt a little fuzzy, but she remembered clearly he had a plan of pretending to go home and returning in the morning. If he wanted to take the kids to school with her, his plan was dead in the water because there was no way he could get to his car and then back.

  Lacey highly doubted George was out there watching, or that he’d hung around the night before. That didn’t mean she was going to let Vasily’s mistake go without teasing him.

  “Good morning, Lacey,” he said, leaning over to give her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Rachel, thank you for your help, but you should probably go make sure your backpack is ready. We’re leaving in about ten minutes.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Lacey refrained from saying anything to him until their audience was gone. She turned to her daughter and gave her a bright smile.

  “Thank you so much for breakfast, sweetie. I’m going to eat it while I get dressed, then we’ll get you off to school.”

  Rachel stood on her tiptoes to lean over and give Lacey a kiss on her cheek. The smile on her face as she straightened warmed Lacey. She’d been so afraid all the stuff with George the night before would be waiting for her in the morning, but the day was starting off like most days.

  Well, not most days. She was usually the one up cooking breakfast for everyone and making sure they were ready for the day, so there was a slight difference. There wasn’t the fear and sadness, though, which she was grateful for. She knew it wouldn’t last, but she would relish the feeling as long as she could.

  After waving, Rachel left the room. Her head was high, with a confidence Lacey had noticed growing for months.

  “Here, eat a slice of bacon.” Vasily held up a crisp, brown piece of bacon. “And don’t think I missed that scowl and smirk. I already did my little act. I even ran home for a few minutes to grab some things. Hope you don’t mind I hung my clothes up in the closet.”

  While waving the bacon in her face, or at least a foot in front of it, Vasily picked up another slice and made a show of taking a big bite of it and crunching, with his mouth open more than necessary for chewing. Sometimes he acted like a Neanderthal. The fact shouldn’t send a thrill down her spine, but it did.

  Not wanting to be outdone, she snatched the bacon from him and did her own impression of potential ancestors from thousands of years ago. They probably didn
’t whimper like she did as the salt hit her tongue. The flavor quickly developed, and she found the sweetish taste of apple mixed with pepper.

  Her forehead scrunched. She loved that particular flavor of bacon, but she knew she didn’t have any in the house. They only had applewood peppered bacon for special occasions, because eating one slice wasn’t an option. Lacey could easily demolish a whole pound on her own.

  “I may have stopped by the store, too,” Vasily offered as he handed her a glass.

  Lacey eyed him warily. She’d woken up enough to verify he wasn’t in the clothes from last night, and instead wore a navy shirt that molded to his chest and a pair of shorts. He’d already mentioned picking up some clothes, so it wasn’t a surprise. She was used to seeing him in shirts the showcased his muscles, but it still gave her a rush to think her fingertips played on all those muscles hidden behind the thin fabric.

  “I hate it when you read my mind. It’s not fair that you can.”

  She took the glass and looked at the half an inch of orange juice in it. It was barely enough for a sip. There wasn’t a shortage of juice in the fridge, so the scant amount in the glass had her suspicious. She hadn’t had enough sleep if she was looking at a glass of orange juice like it was a snake about to strike.

  “It’s not fair that I know you’re naked under there, and as things stand, you’re only going to have time to throw on a dress and slip into shoes to get the kids off to school.”

  His voice dropped as he went on. The husky voice along with the words not said brought the glass up to her mouth quicker than eating a whole sleeve of saltine crackers.

  She had the idea of joking about why there was so little juice in the glass. Did he get thirsty before she woke up? Did they decide it needed to be fresh squeezed and didn’t get more than half an orange squeezed? The need to drink took the fun out of that.

  That need diminished a little when a noise came from the glass as she tipped it up. She hadn’t expected something solid to hit the glass. She thought for a second the clink was in her head, but a swirl of the glass resulted in another tink.