Penalty Kill (Love on Thin Ice Book 4) Page 21

  It had taken weeks for the nightmares to go away after that moment. She hated the fact he could read her mind, but when she moved in front of him, he hated it even more. Not that he could actually read her mind.

  Knowing why Lacey did or said something was easy. She wanted to protect everyone close to her. He knew the moment she’d moved in front of him that’s what she was trying to do. Trusting that was the case and knowing how badly things could go wrong almost froze him in place.

  It wasn’t just her decision to confront George. It was the fact that she moved in front of him at all. George terrified her, and she was willing to face him. It felt like the night before when it seemed like she said she loved him just to try to help with securing his citizenship. She was trying to protect him, but the moment in the school was different.

  She’d said the words when they were both caught up in passion. They could’ve been true. He’d hoped they were. But, they were nothing to the realization that she would face her biggest fear to protect him. If she hadn’t heard about his legal issues, which to him weren’t that big, at the time, he doubted she would’ve done the same thing. She would’ve let him deal with her troubles and stayed safely behind him.

  He’d never expected she’d get within touching distance of George, and by the time she had, his movement would’ve aggravated the situation. He shouldn’t have let it get that far.

  Thankfully, he’d had months to recover. It helped that George had been arrested and Lacey finally got a restraining order. Vasily worried it wouldn’t be enough, but he upped the security system at the house and kept tabs on George. Like Vasily’s brushes with the law, the charges ended up with community service.

  Vasily did his best not to think of the man. Apparently, his balls being knocked to his large intestines got the message across that Lacey wasn’t interested in rekindling their marriage. Vasily had to admit, it was a persuasive argument.

  “Do you honestly think now is the time to bring up that idea?”

  They had gone from their doctor’s appointment straight to the small church they’d decided to get married in. When it came down to scheduling the wedding, things had gotten away from them. There was no question they were madly in love. But, getting married during the hockey season proved to be a challenge.

  He vowed they’d be married before their daughter was born, though. As it was, her contractions that had sent them to the hospital already that day shouted he was cutting it close. Thankfully, at least for him, they were false contractions, and she wasn’t due for a couple more weeks. Lacey was so uncomfortable most of the time with her extremely rotund stomach that she was ready for the baby to come out.

  Vasily loved the way she looked. Part of it was knowing his child was inside of her. Another part of it was just seeing the glow that literally shone around his pregnant soon-to-be wife. Lacey on the other hand hated the fact she had been asked more than once whether she was having twins.

  He found he couldn’t look away from Lacey. That was probably why he went ahead and brought up the subject even though they were standing in front of a church with a minister and all of their family and close friends only feet away. Kevin and Rachel were only a couple of feet away, and they probably didn’t want to hear about Vasily’s plans to tie their mother up.

  Lacey had barely made it down the aisle in her white gown that had been altered a few times as their wedding day got pushed back before he sprung his question on her. Vasily scarcely looked at the gown, other than to noticed how much he couldn’t wait to rip it off her and enjoy their wedding night. Maybe that was why the rope comment had immediately come out.

  After their recent trip to the doctor’s, it shouldn’t be the first thing on his mind, but his want for Lacey was as strong as the night they first met. If she was tied up, she wouldn’t really overexert herself. Right?

  “You never know. The minister might have some good advice on making sure my new wife follows doctor’s orders and stays in bed.”

  At least the minister had enough good humor that he laughed at the words. Lacey’s reaction was closer to trying to dissect him with her eyes. She’d already said she thought the bed rest was a little much on their way to the church. The usual gaggle of women she called friends had taken her away as soon as they’d gotten to the church, so it’d been almost an hour since he’d seen her.

  The look in her eyes made it clear her opinion on the matter hadn’t changed. He’d have to work on that.

  “Well, I think you should refrain from asking others about it until you’re sure I’m going to be your wife. I know my running days have warped into waddling slowly, but I can cover the twenty feet between here and the door without having to stop for a rest.”

  Vasily laughed. He shouldn’t have, but he couldn’t help the image of her huffing and, in her words, waddling down the aisle away from him. He would never say her slower gait was a waddle, but she could bemoan it for hours if he let her.

  Reaching down, he picked up her hand and kissed it. He knew she wasn’t serious about leaving him at the altar, but he decided to be on his best behavior. When they were alone, he really wanted to discuss the bed rest.

  “I suppose we better get this started,” he said, winking at his bride.

  The minister took his cue and began the service. It was shorter than Vasily suspected. They’d gone over what the ceremony entailed, so he shouldn’t have been surprised when he was told he could kiss his wife.

  Maybe it was the fact someone had said “his wife” and it was true. Vasily had a wife, and while there was a time in his life he would have rather had a butter knife jabbed in his eye repeatedly, he couldn’t have been happier.

  Bending down, he took his wife’s lips with his and tried to relay how being with her made him feel. It wasn’t something he could do with one kiss. He’d been trying to show her in the eight months they’d been together. Nothing he did seemed to show just how deeply his love for her ran. How she completely turned his world upside down, yet at the same time made everything make sense.

  The cheers around them kept the kiss from pushing to something not approved for the many children in the crowd. With Lacey’s older brothers, as Vasily had come to call Curtis, Brady and Jake, in the crowd, it was best he didn’t get lost in the kiss.

  Taking a deep breath, he pulled his lips away and rested his forehead on his wife’s. Her forehead was moist and her skin warmer than he expected. He pulled back to get a better look at her. He’d stared at her for the whole ceremony and hadn’t noticed anything wrong, but Lacey didn’t sweat.

  She spent most of her time under blankets at home while they watched television with the kids or cuddled on the couch after dinner. The only time perspiration dotted her skin was in bed with him and he was doing his best not to think about that while they still had a reception to get through.

  “What’s wrong,” he asked as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  He’d noticed tears in her eyes, but he assumed it was just a reaction to the wedding. He wouldn’t have minded full tears, but she hadn’t let a single one drop.

  “My water broke about five minutes ago,” she admitted in a quiet hush. “The contractions are starting to get a little more persistent.”

  Her hand on his bicep squeezed and her jaw set in a painful grimace. He could tell she tried to keep even that from showing. Had he somehow missed the same reactions during the ceremony?

  “Are you kidding me? The doctor said it was a false alarm.”

  Vasily had frightened the poor guy who saw them in the emergency room. Lacey’s regular doctor hadn’t been able to see her because she was with another patient. Dr. Hansen was used to his overprotective antics, but the new guy was not. He stumbled over every word as he informed them he was sure there was no reason for her to be in the hospital yet.

  “Well, I’m pretty sure I didn’t pee my pants. I know I have to run to the bathroom every thirty minutes, but I can hold it if I have to.”

  Some days thirt
y minutes seemed generous. Lacey ran to the bathroom ten seconds after almost every sip.

  “You’re sure?” he asked.

  There was no reason he should disbelieve her. He just wasn’t sure he could go through the excitement a second time in the same day. That didn’t even take the fact that they’d just gotten married into account. His heart felt like it would leap out of his chest any second.

  She nodded rapidly. Her bottom lip folded into her mouth and the grimace that had barely cleared returned to her face.

  Holy shit. She hadn’t done that during the earlier contractions. She’d just said they were uncomfortable. There hadn’t been the look of pain he’d seen in her eyes.

  Vasily had wasted enough time talking. He scooped Lacey up and juggled her in his arms a little to make sure she was secure. She always hated when he picked her up, claiming she was too big for him to carry around, and she didn’t disappoint, even in labor.

  “Put me down, Vasily. Now is not the time to prove you can bench press a car.”

  She was probably right about not being the best time to pick her up, but he made no move to put her down. A limo waited outside for them, and he was the fastest way to get her to it.

  “Apparently, we have another trip to the hospital in our future, but we don’t want to ruin all your fun. The reception is still on, so eat, drink and dance. We’ll just be at the hospital having a baby.”

  “Are you sure?” Rachel asked. “You guys left this morning and said the same thing.”

  Her voice rang out amid the hurricane of murmurs and cheers that filled the church. Vasily wasn’t surprised he could pick out her words. He would’ve heard Kevin as well. While he never envisioned having kids or a family, he apparently was really good at it. It was always interesting to hear Kevin and his friends talk about sports and girls in their class in another room. Bionic parent hearing was already proving to be a useful superpower.

  “Mommy tells me it is, so you’re going to have to hang out with Jake and Kelly for a little while.”

  “But our dance, Daddy,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “We practiced for hours.”

  The “daddy” warmed his heart. She’d been calling him that for weeks, and he was just getting used to responding. He’d been surprised when she asked if it was okay. So surprised that he’d looked to Lacey for advice. She said he was more of a father to the kids in just the months that he knew them than their biological father was and thought it was a great idea.

  Rachel didn’t sound devasted about the dance. Through all the lessons and practice, she’d complained about dancing in front of people and how much she’d hate it. Vasily always had a feeling she secretly couldn’t wait to dance with him. The fact that she brought the dance up proved that point.

  “I promise I’ll make it up to you, princess. We’ll invite everyone back for a reception after your mom and little sister are settled.”

  Even though she didn’t sound upset, Vasily wanted to assure her that if she wanted a dance, it would happen. He liked surprising her with the fact he meant what he said. Evidently, George always had a problem with letting his daughter down. That wasn’t the kind of father Vasily wanted to be.

  “Okay, I suppose,” she sighed again, making him stifle a laugh. “We get to come to the hospital and wait this time, right? If you’re really having the baby, I want to be there.”

  Vasily had made it down the aisle and was getting ready to walk out of the church, so he turned to look over his shoulder to try to find Jake. With Vasily’s attention about to be very otherwise occupied, it was up to the babysitters to decide.

  “We’ll go to the reception for a little bit and make sure everything’s in order there. Then, we’ll head to the hospital to check in.” Jake said as he moved forward and swept Rachel up and put her on his hip. “They’ll probably be there for hours, Rachel, so let’s have some fun before hanging around the hospital all night.”

  Her lower lip stuck out a little, before she sucked it in and switched to a full-lip pout. She took a deep breath and shrugged.

  “I guess that’s okay. They won’t let me in the room until after the baby is born anyway,” she said.

  “Great. Kevin, try to keep her out of trouble.” Vasily winked at Rachel, then turned to Kevin.

  Kevin hadn’t decided to call him dad or anything, but they got along. Lacey claimed Kevin had done a complete three-sixty with his attitude, and she thanked Vasily for that. He knew he had nothing to do with it. The kid was just a good kid.

  “I’ll try,” he said without a hint of sincerity.

  With everything with the kids set, he returned to his hasty exit from the church. Getting a woman in labor wearing a full layer after layer of a wedding dress proved to be a little challenging, but they were both dedicated to getting to the hospital as quickly as possible. Lacey’s long moan and clutching of her stomach as soon as she sat down made it clear getting to the hospital was urgent.

  It took only ten minutes to get to the hospital. By the screeching coming from next to him when they pulled up to the emergency entrance, Vasily figured there were only minutes until the baby was born. That estimate ended up being off by about eleven hours.

  At four o’clock in the morning the day after their wedding, Vasily and Lacey welcomed Sofia Rose Oxentenko into the world. Vasily stayed by Lacey’s side through it all. They were both exhausted, but when Vasily got a look at his little girl, any sense of weariness disappeared.

  The nurses and doctor took forever checking her over. Once they did, Lacey finally got to hold her, with Vasily on the edge of the bed cooing like an idiot.

  “One time you told me that you weren’t father material.” Lacey’s voice was deep, revealing how tired she was.

  She looked up from Sofia and met his eyes. He wanted to pull both of them in his arms, but he was worried the emotions welling up inside of him would drive his hold a little too tight. Sofia was tiny, only six pounds, and fear of somehow hurting her kept him from doing anything more than softly rubbing the light brown fuzz on her head.

  “Yeah, well, I also didn’t think I’d ever fall in love. And, kitten, there is no doubt in my mind that I am completely crazy in love with you.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her on the top of her dampened hair. His life had turned on its head when he met her, and he wouldn’t change a single thing about it. He would never actually write a letter of thanks to Judge McMillen, but he owed her some gratitude, even if he kept it to himself. It was her insistence on limiting where he spent his community service hours that led Vasily to finding where he belonged. In the arms of a woman and family he loved.

  About the Author

  Amber has always had a passion for the written word. Along with that, she’s always had ideas for stories swimming around in her head. It finally got to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore and had to start getting her thoughts down on paper. There are still too many ideas, but she is working to get them out as fast as she can. Her hope is that one day her brain will be hers again.

  Other hobbies of Amber’s include: drawing, baking, arts and crafts, motorcycles, hockey and archery. She likes to think she has eclectic tastes where her hobbies are concerned. She loves to laugh and tries to make herself smile at least once a day. With the crazy thoughts going on in her head that usually isn't hard.

  Follow Amber on social media

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmberLynn00

  Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amberlynnbooks

  Blog: http://amberlynnsbooks.blogspot.com

  Other books by Amber Lynn:

  Love on Thin Ice

  Blocked Shot

  Neutral Zone

  Missed Call

  Delay of Game

  Too Many Men

  Splitting the Defense

  Five for Fighting

  Game Misconduct

  Blue Lines

  Empty Net

  Top Shelf

  Dropped Gloves

  Twisted Fates
series

  The Call

  The Pull

  Argonauts’ Adventures

  The Witch’s Web

  The Dragon’s Fire

  Daughter of Gaia series

  Daughter of Gaia

  Queen of Aquima

  Nightwalker Saga

  The Nightwalker Knocks

  The Nightwalker Teaches

  The Nightwalker Fights

  Unlucky in Love series

  Calypso in Love

  Nani in Love

  Rhea in Love

  Hermia in Love

  Desma in Love

  Avery Clavens series

  Not in My Job Description

  Just Another Day at the Office

  Working through the Weekend

  Another Day, Another Dollar

  The Harder I Work, the Luckier I Get

  All in a Day’s Work

  Nyx Slaughter series

  Nyx Slaughter: Books 1-7

  More Books

  Searching for Home

  Between Blood

  From Earth to Oblivion

  The Monster in the Woods

  The Gray Side of Eden