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

The doctor smiles the whole way up the stairs.

This is pissing me off. I don’t like it when she smiles. I can’t look away and my stomach feels weird.

And that kiss earlier. That fucking life-changing kiss. I keep hearing the little moan she made as our tongues met.

Unease threads through me as she enters her room and I linger in the doorway. There’s no one here.

“Oh, darlings,” she calls, opening the bathroom door. “I’m home. There they are,” she says proudly, with that big grin on her annoying, gorgeous face. “My boyfriends.”

On the floor, a giant ball of dryer lint makes a squeaking noise.

“Eugh.” I make a face. “What the fuck is that?”

“Don’t say eugh. This is Damon.” She crouches down to pet the dryer lint. “He’s the friendly, flirtatious one. Very outgoing,” she says, matter-of-fact. “And that one,” she points to the one hiding beside the toilet, “is Stefan. Very serious, brooding, and emo. I named them after the brothers on my favorite TV show.”

Realization dawns. A bonded pair, she said.

They’re so furry, I can’t see their eyes. Maybe they don’t have any. “But what are they?”

“They’re rabbits.”

“This is Stefan and Damon,” I say, mostly to myself.

Her smile is smug, but I don’t even care. Relief crashes through me, easing my shoulders down, loosening the knot in my gut. The doctor doesn’t have two boyfriends, or even one. She wasn’t talking to some other guy. She has rabbits and she was talking to them. My shoulder hurts a little less.

I slide a glance at her. “Those aren’t rabbits.”

“They’re double-maned lionheads.”

“Is that why they look all fucked-up?”

“They don’t look fucked-up. God. You’re so rude. They’re just fluffy. They’re cute.”

“They look like stuffed toys that went through the blender and got sewn up the wrong way.” I lean down to get a better look at the two massive piles of fur. “Are they even alive?”

She looks at me like I’m stupid.

“They’re not moving.”

“They’re tired,” she sputters.

“Tired from what?”

Her expression turns incredulous. “From the journey into your hellhole home. They don’t want to be here any more than I do.”

“Do they bite?”

Something about the wicked way she smiles makes my blood pump harder. “Yes, so stay far away from them.”

“They look like the before picture on a pair of your shoes.”

Her jaw drops in outrage. “I would never make them into a pair of shoes. That’s horrible.”

A smell hits my nose and I wrinkle it, sniffing. “They stink.”

“That’s the smell of their hay. It smells fresh.”

“Smells like a barnyard. You’re not keeping them in the house.” I’m just trying to get a rise out of her now.

“Yes, I am.” There’s a fire in her eyes that I like. “They need space to run around.”

I scoff, getting to my feet. “They don’t look like they can run. Roll, maybe. Keep them in the backyard.”

“No.” Her eyes go wide and she stands, eyes flashing. “They’ll get eaten by a coyote.”

I make a face like, well?

“If they go, I go.” She folds her arms over her chest, and my gaze snags on the way it pushes her breasts up in that dress.

“Fine.” I drag my eyes up to her face. “They can stay.”

As if I’d make these weird little things live outside. I don’t care if they stay in here. I’m so relieved she’s not involved with some other guy, I’d say yes to just about anything right now.

She opens her mouth to protest before she catches herself. “They can stay?”

“They don’t leave your room.”

The fight leaves her eyes, and she looks at me warily. “Fine.”

“Fine.” I make a noise of acknowledgment, crossing my arms. A beat of silence passes.

That fucking kiss sneaks into my head. My gaze drops to her mouth, pretty and full, and I think about how soft it was. How her hand sunk into my hair and how it felt when she tugged.

I don’t like this woman. She’s shallow and selfish. She recommended me for retirement.noveldrama

She tried to take away my dream. I can’t be thinking about kissing her.