Sledge: The Hockey Player's Secret Baby (19 page)
Read Sledge: The Hockey Player's Secret Baby Online
Authors: Lila Moore
19
The fallout was immediate and devastating. Sledge called the head of our hometown hockey organization as well as the school board. I’m not sure what he told them, but my father was fired immediately.
There was no farewell party, no reminiscing about his career or congratulating him on all the professional hockey players he’d produced as a result of his coaching. He was unceremoniously fired.
My father tried to save face by claiming he’d decided to retire. No one believed him though. They knew hockey was my father’s life. Everyone assumed he’d drop dead on the ice, probably while screaming abuse at one of his players.
I was terrified he’d return with a vengeance, but Sledge assured me he wouldn’t. I wasn’t sure what kind of dirt he had on my father but it must have been bad. I begged Sledge to tell me, but he refused. I got my answer one night in the form of a call from my mother. She told me that my father had been falsely accused of sleeping with a student at the high school.
“It’s just the most ridiculous thing,” she said.
There was an unmistakable strain in her voice though. She believed the rumors. The thought of my father cheating on my mother had never occurred to me, let alone with a girl my age. It was gross and terrifying.
When I asked Sledge about it, he only replied: “I’m sorry.”
“So, it’s true?”
“Yes. We all knew about it. No one said anything because he was the coach. He was like a god to us. Everyone worshipped the ground he walked on.”
“I had no idea.”
“I didn’t want to upset you.”
I had no intention of ever speaking to my father again. Still I was shocked to learn the depths of his hypocrisy. He despised me for being a bad Christian all while he was having an affair with a teenager.
What a pig.
My father couldn’t stand the small town gossip about his firing. He left with my mother and they settled in Florida. I didn’t speak to either of them and they made no effort to contact me. It was a relief to know they were far away. Putting all those miles between us helped me relax.
Still, I watched Jake like a hawk.
Sledge had taken to calling him Bear because of the way he growled when playing with his teddy bear. After a while the nickname stuck. Everyone called him Bear. I dreaded the idea that this was the making of a hockey legend. Would he follow in his father’s footsteps?
I held him on my lap as Astrid and I sat and watched the game from the box seats. Bear bounced up and down excitedly. He pointed at the rink below and said: “Dah! Dah!”
I checked my watch. It was getting late. The baby needed to get to bed and so did I. I had class in the morning. After Sledge beat the shit out of my father, he insisted I stay in his condo until we could get things settled. I never left.
Sledge and I started out sleeping in separate bedroom, but soon enough we were sharing a bed again. By all accounts, Svetlana was furious when she found out. She tried to change her story and claim it was me all along. I’d attacked her, tried to murder her. The cops didn’t buy it. They’d heard one too many of her lies.
Sledge’s lawyers threatened to sue her and leak all the dirt they had on her to the press if she didn’t stop making wild accusations. She kept her mouth shut and moved on to a wealthy oil baron. We hadn’t heard from her since and I hoped we never did. Svetlana was part of a chapter in my life I never wanted to revisit.
Sledge and I were forging on ahead. We were going to make a life together and put the past behind us. No one was going to tear us apart.
Suddenly the crowd erupted. Bear yelled excitedly. Sledge had gotten into a fight. Again. What a surprise. I watched as Sledge knocked a player’s helmet off and hit him.
“Okay… I think that’s enough hockey for one night,” I said.
I picked up Bear and carried him out of the arena. He didn’t need to watch his father fight another man. Besides, what if it gave him ideas? It wouldn’t be long before Bear started school. I didn’t want him to think violence was the answer to all his problems. Fighting on the ice is one thing, but fighting on the schoolyard is another.
I put Bear into his car seat, then turned at the sound of cheers. The arena was lit bright. Shadows danced across the clouds. The sound of the audience shouting, “
Sledge! Sledge
!” echoed through the parking lot. I smiled.
“I think your daddy just scored,” I said to Bear.
His eyes were heavy with sleep. He yawned, then his eyes closed. It was only a matter of time before Bear started playing hockey. God help me. I was going to be a hockey mom.
I got behind the wheel of the car and drove through the city. Traffic was light, but the city was alive with possibility.
How had we come this far? I never dreamed I’d find happiness, or that I’d ever feel safe again. Sledge had given me my life back. I was free. Together we would build a home and family.
The End
Thank you for taking the time to read Heat. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author's best friend and much appreciated. Thank you.
If you haven’t signed up for Lila’s newsletter yet
CLICK HERE
!
You’ll get exclusive access to free stories, updates on new releases, ARCs and more.
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS TITLE, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:
What happens when a domineering, possessive man meets the woman of his dreams?
Vincent Moreau
I shouldn't want her, but I do.
I demand perfection. My restaurant is my life. Or at least it was until I met Bee. I've spent years slaving away in the kitchen to build the best restaurants in the world.
I was obsessed. When Bee walked into my life, I found a new obsession. She's new to the culinary world, soft and naive. She's gorgeous, focused and determined.
I won't stop until I've claimed her as my own.
Bee might find me too hard, but I won't let her leave.
Beatrix
Celebrity chef Vincent Moreau is an arrogant, territorial jerk. He's also brilliant, talented and obsessed with me. I knew it was a bad idea to have a fling with my boss, but he's too hot to resist.
I'm in over my head and in too deep to quit.
I can't help thinking maybe, just maybe, he's the one.
Note: This romance novella is a standalone story with a HEA ending. No cliffhangers! Enjoy!
Everyone in the world wants Jamie Kelly. She's the it girl of Hollywood and America's Sweetheart- only this sweetheart is hiding a secret that could rock Hollywood to its core.
Enter Theo. He's an ex-marine turned bodyguard hired to protect Jamie from an obsessed stalker. He's hot and temperamental- everything America's Sweetheart is supposed to hate- but Jamie is desperate to break away from her good girl image and Theo is just the guy to do it.
But there's a problem: Jamie is dating one of the world's hottest actors and the two share a secret that could devastate their lives if ever revealed.
Jamie is convinced Theo came into her life to save her, not only from her secrets, but the stalker that threatens to kidnap her.
Will Jamie and Theo get their Hollywood ending? Or will she become another fallen star?
Note: Rumor Has It is a stand alone with a HEA ending. For a limited time, this edition includes a bonus story, Daddy Dearest. Enjoy!
“Say it... Say you want this,” he demanded.
The annual billionaire charity auction is an old tradition among the rich. Women are bid on and purchased for the evening by wealthy men. Often they spend the night having dinner and socializing, but sometimes it leads to more. Several girls find wealthy husbands, or benefactors. I found something more, something unimaginable...
After being purchased by my
billionaire stepbrother,
I found myself promised to him and the
dark secrets
he hides. I should have resisted his charms and fled, but he won't stop until he
possesses my curvy body.
Sometimes pleasure is worth the pain, but once I discovered the real reason he purchased me from the auction, I was left wondering if the sacrifice was too great.
When I took a job at one of the country's best companies I had no idea I'd find myself at the heart of a high stakes mystery involving a billion dollar trust fund and a wealthy family's dark secrets...
Three billionaire brothers: impossibly handsome, rich and infuriatingly arrogant.
They're my bosses and they work me to the bone. When I suddenly found myself at the center of a fierce competition between them, I couldn't help but suspect something was off. The men were determined to claim me as their own and they were willing to pay. They offered money, a promotion, anything my heart desires-- if only I choose one of them. I knew it was too good to be true.
The deeper I delve into the family's past the more suspicious I become, but it's too late to back out now. I'm in too deep and worst of all I'm starting to find it harder and harder to resist their charms.
Being swept up in a wealthy family's drama is bad enough, but fighting off the desire they've ignited in my heart may prove to be the greatest battle yet.
Author's Note: This full-length, HEA romance novel can be read as a standalone, though a sequel is planned. Enjoy!
My hero. My protector. My stepbrother. My lover.
When my stepbrother returned home from war, I hardly recognized him. The lanky boy I'd grown up with had been replaced by a tall, muscular handsome man, but something was missing. Now darkness clouds his eyes.
I'm determined to make him happy; however, his cheating, vengeful wife Mia has other plans. In his absence, she became pregnant by his childhood best friend and has done everything she can to destroy our family.
Secrets and lies have changed his home forever, but no matter what happens, I'll always be there for him.
I've never been with a man before, let alone my stepbrother, but I'm determined to carve out a new life for the two of us. There's just one little problem: he wants a baby and I'm finding it harder and harder to resist temptation.
Can I heal my stepbrother by giving him the family he desperately desires? Or will our taboo attraction be our undoing?
The Sheikh is trouble.
Devastatingly handsome, arrogant, rich and desperate for an heir, my stepbrother Sheikh Idris has set his sights on me. After offering me a small fortune to bear his child and secure his family fortune, I find myself at his mercy.
It all seemed so easy: I give him a baby in exchange for a big payday. Simple, right? Wrong.
What was supposed to be strictly business has turned personal. I find myself fantasizing about his exotic, good looks and foreign culture. Half the time I can't decide if I want to slap him or throw him down and have my way with him. But one thing's for sure: I'm finding it harder and harder to say no to his demands.
The perfect husband. The perfect life. The perfect family.
I had it all until the day my husband's body was found on the shore of the town's lake. His death was ruled a suicide, but I know my husband would never take his own life.
It's two years later and I'm left with more questions than answers. I'm a widow and single mother. I'd given up. Then one day a mysterious stranger moved into town.
Theo's that guy. Handsome, smart, perfect. The kind of guy girls tear each other apart over. And he wants me. But I'm not sure I'm ready to move on.
Plagued by questions about my husband's death, the truth has started to unravel around me. And the worst apart is, I think Theo may be involved. I can't help being attracted to him, but I'm starting to think he's dangerous.
The truth could destroy the both of us, but there's no turning back now.
Over 700 pages of steamy, stepbrother romance!
This collection contains some of Lila Moore's steamiest tales of forbidden desires, fatal attractions and unbridled passion. From arrogant bad boys to handsome billionaires with shocking secret, soldiers, Sheikhs and more this bundle has a little something for everyone.
With stories full of passion, obsession and inexperienced young women this collection is a hot, suspenseful roller coaster until the very last page!
An Heir For My Billionaire Stepbrother
"I want you to be my girl. I want you to carry my baby."
When my
handsome, older stepbrother
inherited a
billion dollar
trust fund, I couldn't help feeling jealous. Until I discovered there was a catch: he can't collect the money, unless he has an
heir.
Now he's desperate to find a girl to bear his child.
I'm a big girl and a bit insecure, but I'm determined to make my
forbidden crush
a reality by giving my
stepbrother
exactly what he
desires.
With a baby and a billion dollar fortune at stake, my
innocent crush
could lead to ruin.
But I don't know how much longer I can resist...
Growing increasingly bored with my status as a junior reporter, I was eager to sink my teeth into a meatier story. When a new club opened in town, rumors swirled about what went on inside. Tales of domination, submission and more intrigued and frightened me. When I pitched the idea of a story about the seedier underbelly of the club to my editor, he was thrilled. I was tasked with going undercover to get the real story.
Inside the club, I watched wealthy, handsome men seduce and dominate beautiful women. I was just settling in to watch a salacious show when I received the shock of my life: my hot, domineering stepbrother Alex was in the audience! When our eyes met, he looked furious.
After failing to convince me to leave, we found ourselves in a private room. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I was submitting to my new Master-- my stepbrother!
Our relationship is volatile and dirty; if anyone finds out, our lives will be ruined. We're finding it hard to stay away from one another even though we know it's wrong. Even worse, I think might be falling for my new Master. How long can our relationship last before the truth is uncovered?