Another hit, p.22
Another Hit, page 22
Marriage was going to be a wild, wild ride.
Chapter 24
Ida Jane
“Krasivaya, I adore you, but I don’t want to be late for our party,” Maxim called from the other side of the bedroom door. “I hate being late.”
The sneaky jerk thought he’d pulled one over on me, but I had sources. People who wanted me to have the best possible experience, and therefore, had helped me change tonight from an engagement party to a wedding. Those were my girls: Keelie, Naomi, Mimi, and Nicole.
“You think this is a good surprise for him, right?” I asked.
Mama nodded. “It’s good to keep some tricks up your sleeve, daughter-mine.”
“I don’t want Maxim to be overwhelmed.”
“He’ll be fine. Better than fine. He told Amos just last night he can’t wait to marry you again.”
I nodded as I turned to look in the full-length mirror.
“You don’t think the veil’s too much?” I asked.
Mama shook her head. “How could the veil be too much? And why is Maxim thinking he’s taking you over to Cormac’s? That boy is stubborn. And lovesick. I swear, he keeps better tabs on you than Blade.”
The dog perked up at the sound of his name, lifting his giant head from his paws. My mama was as smitten with the dog as I was and had taken to giving him bacon every chance she got—which had been often this week.
She patted the dog’s head, cooing at him, before she cracked open the door and slipped out.
“Amos called. Cormac and Cruz had some issue. You need to get over there to make sure it’s all sorted,” Mama said.
“But I planned to take Ida Jane—”
“I’ll get her there, son,” Mama said.
I could picture Maxim puffing out his chest and lifting his chin. He loved that Mama called him son. He loved that she included him in our family group text messages and that she called to talk to him. She made him feel like he belonged, and Maxim lapped up the mothering.
“I want this to be perfect,” he fretted. “I promised—”
“It’s okay, Maxim,” I called through the door. “I still need to get in my dress and shoes.”
“I’ll see you soon,” he called.
Mama slid back into the closet, chuckling. “He left, muttering about how long it takes to put on a dress. Oh, he’s in for a surprise.” Her eyes lit up with expectation.
I pressed my hand to my stomach. “Daddy’s ready to walk me down the aisle?”
“More than ready,” Mama said. “Ooh, this is going to be so much fun.”
The CATS knew how to decorate. Thousands of fairy lights wrapped around trees and the porch area. The ladies had bought out what had to be every florist in the city because flowers seemed to drip off every surface. And what wasn’t covered in flowers, flower petals, or lights was wrapped in icy blue ribbon—the exact color of Maxim’s eyes.
“My darling girl,” Mama said, folding me in a hug. I hid in the living room, peeking out toward the yard. Maxim had figured out what was happening, and he’d pounded Cormac on the back before he wiped away a tear. Cruz had blown his nose into a large handkerchief twice, and Coach Whittaker had threatened the new rookie with bodily harm if he spouted off any crap.
I was so excited these people were mine as much as they were Maxim’s.
Maxim
Cormac leaned in closer. “Your eyes.”
“What?”
“The color of the ribbon,” he said. “Ida Jane told Keelie it had to match your eyes. She’s been obsessed with it and bought out entire stores.”
“Oh.” My lips turned up slowly. “I approve.”
Cormac chuckled. “Yeah, like that was an issue.”
“Thank you for going to all this effort.”
Cormac grinned, but it was Keelie who answered. She’d come to stand on the other side of the altar. “This was fun! I rarely get to be crafty.”
“Because you suck at crafts,” Naomi said, sidling up next to Keelie. They wore matching long dresses of pale blue. Keelie’s baby bump poked out the front of hers and she rubbed it idly with one hand while she cradled pale blue flowers in the other.
Beside Cormac, Stol, Cruz, and Naese stood, hands clasped, solemn.
I turned back in time to watch Millie walk down the aisle. Her baby bump was larger than Keelie’s and her gaze never wavered from Stol, who stared back, equally rapt.
Oh, yeah, those two were going to create some fireworks.
Then came my lovely krasivaya, who walked down the aisle on her father’s arm. Jacob beamed and Ida Jane looked like a dream in the same white gown she’d worn in front of the justice of the peace.
I cleared my throat, struggling to maintain my emotions—and what Ida Jane was signaling by wearing the same dress. She was already mine. Now, she was telling our friends and the world what we’d been too afraid to admit for months: we belonged together.
Jacob placed her hand in mine, and I raised her left hand to my lips, kissing both her rings. “You are the most beautiful of brides, Mrs. Dolov.”
She smiled at me through her veil, her eyes luminous. “Only for you, Maxim.”
The reception was in full swing, and my teammates were showing the rest of the guests that we knew how to celebrate. The boys crowded the dance floor, surrounding my precious wife who was showing off some spectacular moves. She never ceased to surprise me—was that the moonwalk? I guffawed as Ida Jane owned the floor, enjoying the guys’ hearty approval. Those who weren’t dancing crowded around the round tables, plates loaded with food.
“Thank you for helping Ida Jane set this up,” I said to Jacob and Loreen, who stood on the edge of the dance floor, beaming.
Ida Jane had told me her parents had footed the bill for the catering and cake, while Keelie, Nicole, and Naomi had purchased the decorations and flowers. “It was a team effort—a show of support for their new captain.”
“Oh, this was our absolute pleasure,” Loreen gushed. Her eyes were bright.
“Seeing our baby girl so happy…” Jacob broke off and cleared his throat. “You put her first, like you promised me. Thank you, Maxim.”
I clapped his shoulder and squeezed, but he wasn’t having that. He pulled me into a hug, and I reveled in his approval.
“Don’t you worry about Dillon,” Jacob murmured. “He’s definitely getting prison time.”
“I like the sound of that. And the pregnant woman?”
“Stella Lincoln.” Jacob shrugged. “Harder to say, but she’s not too pleased you won public opinion and ruined her sugar daddy situation, so I’m guessing that’ll work itself out.”
“Excellent. I’m going to go dance with my wife,” I said.
Jacob chuckled. “You might not leave again. Ida Jane loves to dance.”
“This I know. Scoot-boot.”
Jacob’s lips twitched. “Boot-scooting.”
I’d happily boot-scoot with her all night long.
Ida Jane
Maxim pulled me out of the car and into his arms. “I’m sorry I don’t have a fancy hotel room—”
I placed my fingers against his lips. “Stop. I’m more than happy for you to love me in our bed.”
He kissed me. “You shocked the hell out of me—planning our wedding like that. Sneaky.”
Maxim nipped at my lip before sucking the lower one into his mouth and laving it with his tongue.
“As Mama said, I have to have some tricks—”
“No tricks. No omissions. Just truth between us.”
My shoulders stiffened but then I noted his vulnerability, and I melted. “Just us and the truth,” I whispered.
He swallowed hard and rested his forehead against mine. “You know, there are some things about being Russian we should discuss.”
I twined my arms around his neck. It was just like Maxim to decide to have a conversation in the garage. “What’s that?”
“Well, I was born in Russia…and that’s part of me, just like Nadia is part of me. But I’m no longer Russian.” He winked. “My beautiful American bride helped solidify my connection to this, my adopted country. Still, adding some Russian spice to our love play would be fun.”
My body warmed as a flush of desire started at the juncture of my thighs and wended its way to my cheeks. “I like where this is heading...”
He nipped my jaw. “And seeing as how it’s my heritage, if—I mean when we have children…” His fingers flexed possessively on my hips as he trailed his lips from my temple down my cheek to my neck. He licked the pulse pounding there, mumbling pleasured sounds about its speed and erraticism. “I’ll want to teach them the good parts of my history and culture. Like the traditional bridal night.”
“Wh-what?” He always loved my breathiness—told me it made his dick hard. He ground it against my belly, and we both groaned, enjoying the friction.
Not enough. Never enough.
“The traditional Russian bridal night,” he said.
I rose on my tiptoes so I could nip at the lobe of his ear. “You never mentioned anything.”
“It’s where I strip you bare and spend the next hour worshipping you with my mouth.”
My belly did a slow roll as desire sizzled through me. “J-just your mouth?”
He scooped me into his arms, cradling me to his chest as we he carried me out of the garage and through the kitchen.
“Unless you beg me to fill you with my cock.”
“Holy moly,” I whispered. “Maxim.” I groaned the last as he gently sucked the delicate skin where my neck and shoulder met.
“We must. It’s tradition.”
“B-but Blade…”
“Will go to his place,” he said. With a huff, Blade trotted over to his thick, downy bed—only the best for our dog. “Guard.”
Blade’s ears perked, and he seemed to salute Maxim.
“Our dog’s content and doing his job. Now, let me do mine.”
I wound my arms more tightly around his neck and brought my lips to crash against his.
“Only if you plan to dick me…real…hard…” I moaned as he strode across the living room.
“Oh, yes, I love this assertiveness,” Maxim groaned. “With pleasure, Fists. My absolute pleasure.”
Epilogue
Maxim
“Dmitri, I can’t work with that,” I said, shaking my head. “You can’t high-stick. Automatic penalty, my man.”
“But he was stealing the puck.” My younger son’s lisp was more pronounced as he pouted.
“That’s all part of the game,” I said. Crouching down, I laid my hands on his shoulders.
“But Aleksander is bigger and faster,” Dmitri griped.
“For now,” I said. My little one was growing so fast—much more quickly than I liked. Maybe I’d have to work on putting another baby in Ida Jane’s belly.
“Not a chance,” Ida Jane said in her sweet, Southern drawl. I swear she always knew what I was thinking—after fifteen years of marriage, I couldn’t get away with my own thoughts.
“Stop it, Maxim. You look just like your son,” Ida Jane said. She smiled, and it was as sweet now as it had been when I first met her. She wore my Wildcatters jersey, just as she always did when we were at the ice rink. I loved that she felt such pride in my accomplishments. I brushed back the errant strands of her thick, silky hair that had tumbled into her eyes. Last year, Ida Jane cut off her long hair into a short style. I liked it, though I’d needed time to get used to the change.
I rose to my full height and tugged her against me, running my fingers along her cheeks to her plump lower lip. She had the faintest of laugh lines around her mouth, and I loved that I’d helped put them on her face. My need to mark her as mine had never diminished.
I grunted even as my heart ached. “He is so big now, krasivaya. He’s eight, and he won’t let me cuddle him anymore. He also cheats, which he did not learn from me.”
Ida Jane giggled, a sound that always warmed me to my very soul. “He gets that from his Uncle Amos,” she muttered out of the side of her mouth.
“Oh, yeah! Uncle Amos said that if you can’t win fair and square you find a way to even the odds,” Dmitri said.
“I’ll be having some words with Amos,” I said, my tone dry, but my heart was very full.
Ida Jane
“This is pee wee hockey,” I reminded my husband gently.
“I’m the coach of this under-ten team, and there’s no way I’m having my kids play dirty.” He shot a look at Cormac and Keelie’s youngest. “That includes you.”
Della dropped her gaze to her little skates. “Yes, Coachy.”
She’d been calling Maxim “Coachy” since she could talk—back when he oversaw her older brother’s team, on which our son Aleksander also played. Maxim insisted on coaching both teams now and had quit his lucrative scouting position to stay at home with the boys.
The world never would have guessed that Maxim Dolov would turn into a doting stay-at-home father, but I’d known from the moment Aleksander was born. Maxim had so much love to give to his boys and to me.
I leaned into his side, enjoying the cold nip from the ice on my cheeks and nose. “You’ll get them in line,” I murmured. Maxim turned me in his arms and dropped his chin against my shoulder.
“Aw, man!” Aleksander groaned. “They’re going to get all lovey-dovey. Come on, Little Ds, let’s do some drills. No way we’re going pro and smashing our dads’ records at this rate.”
I kissed my husband, so, so happy that my heart felt like it would burst.
Maxim whispered in my ear, “Alex is already better than I ever was.”
“Shh,” I nipped his ear. “He’s working hard.”
Maxim pulled back and his gaze settled on the kids, who were now on the other side of the rink. “Because he loves the game?”
A worry line settled between his brows. I smoothed it.
“Yes, Maxim. Because he loves it.”
Maxim gave a short, stiff nod. “Okay, then.”
I snuggled up against my husband and watched our boys play the sport he’d shared with them—taught them to love. “Okay.”
THE END
Looking for more steamy hockey romances with a secret baby theme? In book 4, Luka Stol has to prove that he’s not only the man Millie deserves, but the father their baby needs. You’ll also get more of Maxim and Ida Jane’s story (current characters of the book you just finished) as well as Cruz and many other CATS in the next book of the Wildcatters Hockey Book series. Preorder your copy here!
Keep reading for a PREVIEW OF ANOTHER DUMP AND CHASE
Another Dump and Chase
A Wildcatters Hockey Book 4
By Alexa Padgett
Chapter 25
Millie
A man…an enormous, strange man settled into the chair Ida Jane had vacated a few moments before. He was just so…big—too big—and his smile was wide. I didn’t trust smiling, large strangers.
Well, for the record, I didn’t trust. That made life a lot simpler and less painful.
My muscles tightened as my heart rate slammed into my neck. I took a deep breath, preparing to bolt…possibly screaming my head off. Creating a scene was better than ending up dead.
“I’m Luka Stol, your temporary date until your friend’s finished dealing with her pest problem. He’s a real douche canoe, huh?” I blinked at him, unable to unstick my frozen vocal cords. The rest of me was equally as paralyzed…
This felt like some kind of prank.
He plowed on, seeming undeterred by my lack of response. “My teammates normally call me Stolly. Speaking of, Maxim and Cruz will make sure your friend is safe. She was holding her own, but that pissant got mouthy when he fell in the puddle. Served him right—talking to a woman like that. Ah, dinner! Excellent, I’m starved.”
He picked up Ida Jane’s napkin and settled it into his lap before he dug into her dinner. I sat there, mouth gaping.
“Ida—is that her name?—said you’re shy, but don’t tell me you’re star-struck, please.” He wiped his lips and peeked at me through his blond lashes even as he heaped up another bite. “I’m too hungry to deal with shrieking right now. It’ll give me a migraine and that’ll kill my appetite. Creates a vicious cycle. You get it.”
That caused me to blink, and a tiny smile flitted over my mouth. Well, I had two choices: freak out or go with it. He made me want to go with him…er, it. “Good to know how to bring you to your knees, Stolly.”
He smiled, lips closed, until he finished the bite. Then he leaned closer, those light brown eyes warm with humor. I waited for the skyrocket of my pulse and the slickness of sweat to spread over my skin like a virus. I couldn’t help my reaction to men, not since Trenton forced…
I buried that thought in my mind and refocused on the beautiful male in front of me. Affable was the best way to describe him.
“You could just ask me nicely. I’d drop to my knees for a pretty girl like you.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I was in my nerd glasses that did nothing to showcase my green-gray eyes. My dress was a size too big—intentionally. I never dressed to impress anymore. I didn’t want male attention, but Luka Stol looked at me as if he saw me. Not the scared, scarred woman, but me: Millie Jones, the woman who craved adventure as much as she shied away from the terrible possibilities it would bring.
The sound tinkled out across the table, shivering over the silverware and warming my chest even more than it did from Stolly’s smile. He was beautiful, he was presumptuous, and…and…maybe he was just what I needed.
