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

The next afternoon, Alexei’s on the phone in the other room, talking to his lawyer about some last immigration details, when I walk out in the dress he bought me. He’s shirtless with his back to me, and I take a moment to admire the strong planes of his back.

My husband is so freaking hot.

He notices me standing there and stops talking, eyes flaring. He hangs up without saying goodbye, never taking his gaze off me.

“Hi.” I smile.

“Hi, Hellfire.” He hasn’t seen this dress yet. “Jesus, fuck, my wife is hot.”

I roll my eyes, smiling, and my gaze catches on the bandage across his chest. My stomach drops through the floor. He’s hurt?

“Oh my god. Alexei, what happened?” When did this happen? I was half-asleep when he got home last night, and when I woke this morning, he was already awake, dressed, and giving me a quick kiss before he stepped out to get us breakfast.

I reach for the bandage but his hands wrap around my wrists.

“Let me take the bandage off,” I insist, but he’s way too strong.

“No.” His gaze is steady on me, voice firm. “I didn’t get hurt, but you can’t see it.”

I drop my wrists, confused.

“It’s a tattoo.”

“What?” I blanche. “You got a tattoo. You got a tattoo.”

“Yes.” The corner of his mouth ticks up. “I got a tattoo.”

“Of what?” I’m desperate to see it.

“I’ll show you when you’re ready.”

My heart thunks. “Ready for what?”

He smiles that quiet, secretive smile, and now I want to see it more than anything.

“It’s of my face, isn’t it?” I joke.

“No.” He laughs, low and pleased, before he looks at his watch. “We need to go soon.”

Rory and Hazel’s wedding starts in half an hour. He puts his shirt, tie, and jacket on while I retrieve my necklace from the bedroom, return, and hold it up for him. “Help me with this?”noveldrama

He takes it from me and I hold my hair off my neck as he does the clasp up, his fingers sending goosebumps over my back as his fingers brush my skin.

“You look great, by the way,” I say over my shoulder. “You know how to wear a suit.”

“Thanks to you.” He presses a warm kiss to the back of my neck. “And you haven’t even seen the lining.”

I turn, and he opens his suit jacket. The lining is the same color as my dress. My smile is instant, delight bubbling through me.

“You wanted to match me?” This is the dumbest, sweetest, cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard.

“Mhm.” His mouth tilts. “Got a little something for you to complete your outfit, too.” He strides across the room and opens his bag before placing a shoebox in front of me.

I bite back a smile, flipping the lid open. It’s The Georgia heels in ice blue to match my dress. “Another pair?”

“You needed them for the dress.”

I make a wistful noise and stroke his cheek. “You’re learning.”

He grins and kisses my palm before kneeling in front of me. He slips them on my feet, doing up the dainty straps. The sight of them between his strong fingers sends a weird twist of longing through me.

“You’re spoiling me.”

He smirks, working on the other shoe. “You deserve to be spoiled.”

“Can you imagine saying that a few months ago?”

He looks up, hand encircling my ankle. “I didn’t know what I was missing, Hellfire.”

“So this is the last present, huh?”

He shakes his head. “Nope.”

Excitement flutters in my stomach. “Are you going to give it to me?”

He stands, gazing down at me, so steady and warm. “When you’re ready.”

This again? I groan in frustration. “You’re driving me nuts.”

“Good. Now you know how it feels.”

Hazel and Rory’s wedding is beautiful, romantic, and fun.

“Hazel Hartley-Miller, I love you more than anything,” Rory says during their vows, blinking away vulnerability and emotion from his eyes. He looks so dashing and handsome with his blond hair, sparkling eyes, and black tux.

Hazel is a vision, her chestnut hair up in an elegant ponytail, her long white dress cascading down her form in soft waves.

“You are my world,” he says, “and when we’re a hundred years old, I’ll still be flirting with you to get your attention.”

He whispers something in her ear, something just for her. Hazel closes her eyes, like she can’t believe how much he loves her. Like she can’t believe this is real.

I look up to Alexei, holding my hand and watching the couple, and my heart twists at the sight of my handsome husband, with the strong lines of his face, thick hair, and dark eyes.

How could I ever think his eyes were cold? They’re warm like the spring sun, one of those brilliantly sunny days after a winter of dreary rain. Everything’s a bit brighter, lighter, and happier, like it’s all going to work out just fine.

Alexei’s eyes are like that.

He meets my gaze and his throat works.

“Are you thinking about your wedding?” I whisper. “It’s okay. Weddings stir up weird emotions.”

He lets out a soft, silent laugh, shaking his head. “Not even a little bit, Hellfire.” He gives my hand a warm squeeze. “Just thinking about how hot you look in that dress.” He sends a pointed glance down to my feet. “And those shoes.”

“Foot fetish,” I sing lightly under my breath, and he shakes his head, but his mouth is twitching.

At the front of the grand room, the officiant smiles between the couple.

“I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

They kiss, everyone cheers and applauds.

“Remember when you didn’t want to kiss me?” I ask Alexei.

He presses his lips to my temple. “We don’t have that problem anymore.”

Later, after dinner, a band plays and people fill the dance floor. Alexei’s getting us drinks while I chat with Darcy and Hayden, only half listening as they playfully argue over plans for their upcoming wedding.

“We should have a Northern Sword–themed wedding,” he says.

She smiles. “I love you, but no.”

The entire team and most of the staff are here. Ward smiles down at his daughter, who’s holding his hand and wearing a pink party dress, before he sneaks a glance at Jordan. She looks anywhere but at him. Rory’s parents laugh with Hazel’s parents, a new ring sparkling on Rory’s mom’s ring finger. His parents divorced when Rory was young but remarried this past summer, Hazel said.

While the band takes a break, Pippa gets onstage with her guitar amid cheers and applause.

“This is a song about true love,” she says, smiling at Jamie, before she starts to play.

The newly wed couple dances, swaying on the dance floor, Rory looking down at his new wife with adoration. Their lips move as they talk quietly. My heart aches.

I wish I could lay it all out on the line. If I tell Alexei, though, I suspect he’ll retire, and I can’t let him give up something he loves because of me.

My husband appears at my side with our drinks. He sets them down and holds out a hand to me.

“Let’s dance, Hellfire.” He takes my hand. “I want to dance with my wife.”

On the dance floor, his arms surround me, and I loop mine around his neck. We sway to Pippa’s soft, lilting voice, the strum of her guitar. Alexei’s breath tickles my cheek, and I inhale his fresh male scent.

This song is familiar, and it hits me. I lean back to look up at him. “This is the song we danced to at the team dinner.”

He nods, studying me. I think back to how I felt, dancing with him that night, hating him. Questioning Pippa’s sanity for falling for someone so hard. Feeling like a phony in front of everyone.

I get it now. I’m the one who fell hard. I’m the one who let this get real.

I wish we could stay here forever, on the dance floor in a ski town in the middle of the mountains, where everything is an easy, effortless dream.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?” he asks, and I smile, turning away and pressing my face into his shoulder.

Of course I’m in love with him. I was always going to fall in love with this guy, the only man who ever made me feel something.

“Tell me it’s real, sweetheart.”

Does he mean this marriage, or what we’re doing right now? I don’t care. The answer’s the same for both. For me, at least. “It’s real.”

He stops, breathing hard, gazing down at me. My heart pounds in my ears, my skin is hot, and my head spins. I can’t believe I admitted that.

“I know about the flowers,” I say against him.

He pulls back to meet my eyes, unsurprised and unfazed, his mouth slanting into that affectionate half smile.

“I know what they mean. I know that—” I break off.

“What, Georgia?” His deep voice is low and gentle. More gentle than I ever thought he was capable of. “What do they mean?”

My throat works but I hold his gaze, heart pounding. “That you love me.”

His chin dips. “Mhm. And I think you love me, too.”

My heart stops. He sees right through me. I’m stripped bare, naked and exposed, with no defenses left. Even if I don’t say it, he can see it in my eyes. What’s the point of hiding? This is going to decimate me regardless of whether I say it or not.

“I do love you.” The words fall from my lips. After all this time, fighting it so hard, telling Alexei I love him is like breathing. It feels right.

He kisses me once, twice, three times. “I was trying to give you time and space. I didn’t want to rush you.”

“Rush me.” My heart beats harder than ever, and my hands thread into his hair, tugging him down to me for another kiss.

“Okay.” His breath tickles my lips. “I love you, then. I want you. This is real for me, Georgia.”

Relief slams into me, so hard it makes me give a short laugh. “It’s real for me, too.” Him getting hurt, though. “But⁠—”

“I know.” He clutches me harder to him, his big hand moving over my back in calming strokes. “But maybe we save that for later. We can find a solution together.” His mouth comes to my ear. “Let go for me. I’ll be there to catch you.”

I’m tired of fighting this. I’m tired of trying to not be in love with him, so I nod. Letting go of control had never felt so easy, so I lean against my husband, sway to the last verses of the love song, and give him my heart.

The hesitant, worried part of me demands attention, but I shove her down, so far down I can’t hear her anymore. I want to be in love. I want it to be easy.

I want Alexei.

The song ends and he leans down to kiss me, a soft, slow kiss that warms me to my toes, blanks out every thought from my head.

“You want to get out of here, Hellfire?”

I smile against his neck and nod before he takes my hand and pulls me off the dance floor.