Page 148 of Pucking Strong

“Knees,” my husband replies.

“Ouch—fuck—let go—”

“On your knees, and it stops.”

Cursing, Novy sinks to his knees. The moment they touch the carpet, Henrik lets him go. Novy’s ear is bright red and shiny. He reaches up and rubs it. “Motherfucker.” He glares at Henrik, eyes narrowing. “Teddy doesn’t even have the keys, does he? He gave them to you.”

Henrik just glares back. “Touch my husband again, and your keys will take up new residence in your colon.”

Around the room, the guys let out chuckles and sounds of “Oohoo” and “Don’t hurt him, Karlsson.”

Taking a deep breath, I right my mussed jacket, smoothing down the front. “Right, well if you’re quite ready, Henrik and I will be more than happy to drive you to the hospital to welcome your newest bundle of joy. Shall we?”

Novy gets slowly to his feet, shaking his head in disgust. “Betrayed by my favorite PT. Lemme guess, she promised you a goddamn fruit basket?”

I smirk, holding his furious gaze. “Yeah, and your anaconda attack just added three tickets to Disney on Ice. So, thankyoufor being so predictable. Now, get your shit. We’re leaving.”

Novy makes us park at the hospital, demanding we leave his truck in the lot.

“How are we supposed to get home?” I call as he snatches his keys from my hand and takes off running across the lot, dressed in half a suit.

“I don’t give a fuck,” he calls over his shoulder.

I cross my arms with a huff. “Well, this is what I get for letting Poppy corner me at a buffet table. I am never doing her another favor again. I don’t care how much she flips her hair.”

Chuckling, Henrik drapes an arm around my shoulders. “He’ll be alright. Once the baby is born, he’ll forget how he even got here. All that will matter is that he’s with his family.”

I glance around this dark hospital parking lot. “I guess we have to call a car to come pick us up. Both our cars are still back at the arena.”

He takes out his phone, already pulling up the app. But then his shoulders stiffen. “Wait—where is Karro?”

I wince. “Uhh … yeah. So, I figured we should probably keep her out of the way of the great, fire-breathing Novikov.”

“Where is she?”

“I let her go have a sleepover with Emma Langley.” Turning to him, I brace my hands on his shoulders. “And I’m sorry, okay? IknowI should have asked you first. You have final say on all matters Karro, and this was her first sleepover, and I know that’s big. But I feel like you have to trust me with at least a few things when it comes to her care. It doesn’t have to all be on you, Hen. And Tess is totally reliable—”

“Teddy …Teddy,” he says over me, gripping my arms with both hands.

I take a breath, waiting.

“I’m not mad. You have every right to help make decisions about Karro’s care. And if you trust Tess Langley, then so do I.”

“You’re really not mad?”

“I’m not mad,” he repeats, his mouth tipping with a smile. “You know what I am?”

I lean away. “Uhh … hungry? Tired, probably. That was a crazy game. I—”

His eyes flash with secret meaning, which has my stomach flipping.

“Oh. Wait, seriously?”

Stepping closer, he wraps an arm around me. “Know what I was thinking earlier? Watching you hold your own against Novikov?”

I fight a blush, remembering the way I squealed and flopped like a fish. I was raised by three sisters. They taught me to fight with words, not fists. “I don’t know if I’d call it holding my own …”

His hands smooth across my back as he turns me, pressing me up against the side of Novy’s truck. Leaning in, he kisses my jaw, his beard soft and bristling. I roll my neck, giving him more room. His kisses are soft, seeking, but then his fingers dig into my locs and he jerks my head back. “He had his hands on you,” he growls in my ear. “And I wanted toripthem off.”

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