Woof

Viola

Marriage.

I had never known my life would bring me here. For a while, I wondered if what Luke was saying even made sense, but it did. He was helping me, getting me out of legal trouble, only because he wanted me to be his team’s physical therapist.

Even though he was cold and as arrogant as a pig, what he was doing was huge. Marrying the rival team’s captain was my best bet at the moment. I was willing to agree to the terms and conditions of this marriage as long as they were reasonable.

I picked up the paper he had given me, trying to ignore the fact that he was still bare-chested. It was distracting. I started reading it. 

Condition one: Party A (Viola Michelle) will give Party B (Luke Colston) one kiss every night. On the lips. Without touching any other body part. 

Tiny pinpricks of explosion went off in my mind. My eyes snapped to him. He seemed absolutely cold and nonchalant, as though this didn’t affect him.

“What is this? Why do I have to kiss you?” I asked, bewildered.

The room’s temperature dropped further when his demeanor turned like that of a berg. “Consider this as practice. It will help us show we are intimate in front of others,” he replied. 

Huh? I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it.

“Condition two: Party A will sleep in the same bed as Party B. Every night, she will roll around in his bed until her scent is everywhere—on the sheets, comforter, pillows, mattress, and cushions.”

“What do you mean, I have to roll?” I asked, shocked. 

He clenched his teeth, and a muscle feathered in his jaw. “You don’t have to roll.”

“Condition three: Party A will attend every event, whether related to hockey or not, with Party B.”

“Condition four: Party A will never bite Party B again.”

“Bite?” I was now bamboozled. “I never bit you!”

His cold eyes landed on my lips. “I have evidence.” He leaned forward, turned toward me, and pointed at two marks on his neck. Two very angry red marks. Teeth marks. “Right here,” he said. “You will never do this again.”

“When did I—?” But I blushed fiercely as memories of last night returned. How I had bitten him in a frenzy. It seemed I had wanted to molest this brute. “S-sorry!”

“Read on,” he said in a cold voice, his gray eyes hiding a storm.

“Condition five: Party B will not force himself on Party A or vice versa. If Party B does so, he must pay compensation of one million dollars for the first offense, two million for the second, and so on. If Party A does it, Party B will punish her appropriately.”

“Oh. My. God.” That was all I could manage to whisper at the amount of money, and of course the embarrassment. 

His frosty voice reached my ears. “That doesn’t mean you should try to entice me.”

“I have no intention of doing that,” I muttered, my eyes drifting to his inked chest. A muscle jumped where my gaze landed, and his chest vibrated with a low rumble.

“Woof.”

I jerked my head back to look at him. “Did you just woof at me?”

He closed his eyes briefly, the tendons in his neck straining so much that they looked ready to snap. “No,” he said, as though exercising extreme control. “I didn’t. You must have imagined it.”

I blinked at him. Surely, I was going mad. Why would a normal hockey captain woof at me? I dropped my attention back to the paper.

“Condition six: During the contract period, neither party will indulge in extra-marital affairs.”

“Condition seven: If Party A or Party B fails to comply with any of the contract’s terms, there may be consequences at the other party’s discretion.”

I slowly peeked at Luke. What was with all his strange conditions? I took a deep, ragged breath, contemplating whether I should sign this ridiculous contract. I read the remaining terms and conditions, which mostly said I would be with him for one year. During that time, he will be taking care of me monetarily, and will be responsible for my well being. 

My phone buzzed, and I saw Andy’s name flashing on the screen. This was his tenth call since last night. He had sent me over twenty messages about feeling guilty and wanting to talk, and settle this amicably. I didn’t understand what he meant by that. 

I looked at Luke and asked, “So how do we move forward?”

“As we speak, my lawyers are already discussing it. We can buy out your contract with the Knights. Or there are other ways to pressure them. But I assure you that by the end of this week, you’ll be the Boston Wolves’ physical therapist.”

I remained quiet because that wasn’t all.

As though he understood me, he continued, “Trust me. I’ll make him regret it.”

I looked at my phone one last time, where Andy’s name was flashing again. 

I signed the contract. 

Luke took the papers from me and signed them as well sealing the deal between us. 

Excitement and fear warred inside me. “What now?” I asked.

He folded them and said, “Now we're getting married. If you like, you can call or message Andy about it.”

A wave of fear coursed through me. “No, I can’t,” I rasped. “What about Horace?” 

Luke pinned me with his sharp gray eyes. “Okay. Just message him and Sandra to come to St. Moritz Cathedral at eleven. We’ll take care of the rest.”

“But is it necessary?” I pleaded. “Why can’t we do it in secret?”

“Because I want the world to know I’ve married you,” he replied, his voice leaving no room for discussion. “And Andy and Sandra should be the first ones to know. Don’t you want them to regret?”

Nervous, I got up and walked to the window, pushing my fingers into my hair. My hands shook, and I dropped my phone.

Luke came behind me, picked it up and handed it to me. “Message him,” he said, standing behind me as though telling me he had my back.

With trembling hands, I sent Andy the message: Come to St. Moritz Cathedral at 11 a.m.

The moment I sent it, his call came through.

“Viola!” he said, his voice laced with worry. “Where are you? We’ve been going crazy trying to contact you. Sandra’s been worried sick about you since yesterday. She is feeling guilty. Horace has been trying to reach you. And what’s this invitation to St. Moritz Cathedral? Come home now!” he said. “We need to talk. Please.” 

My heart thudded inside me as familiar rage returned. What did he want to talk about now? Before I could say anything, Luke curled his finger beneath my chin and turned my face toward him over my shoulder. Surprise washed over me. 

“This is for last night,” he whispered, and pressed a kiss to my lips. 

I gasped as an electric shiver ran down my spine. His lips were warm and firm against mine. Despite myself, a moan escaped me. My hand rose to his wrist, my fingers resting over his as he kept my chin tipped toward him. I opened my lips and he quickly swept his tongue inside me. 

Silence immediately blanketed the air. After a long pause, Andy asked, “Who are you with, Viola?”