My name is Poppy St. James, and I am going to kill Lukas Novikov! I've just landed my dream job as the director of public relations for the NHL's newest expansion team, the Jacksonville Rays, but the team owner has only granted me a one-year contract. If I want to stay, I'll have to prove myself. Easy. Public relations is in my blood.
But it turns out professional hockey players are a major handful. No one is a bigger pain in my side than party boy defenseman, Lukas Novikov. I don't care how well he plays hockey. Off the ice, he's a PR nightmare. Brash and bossy, he's always finding ways to drag his teammates into trouble. His favorite accomplice is fellow defenseman Colton Morrow.
The players can all call me PR Barbie if they want, but I'm getting the job done, and I'm doing it in three-inch heels. Because I am Poppy St. James-poised, powerful, and always professional . . . until the fateful night my phone rings.
One phone call from home leads to one drunken mistake. Now I'm staring down at a little blue plus sign and I have no idea where my carefully balanced life will lead next. All I know is that nothing will ever be the same.
Why You Should Read This Book
Tropes
Trigger Warnings
Pucking Sweet
“You’ve got this. Sit down, beautiful. Take me nice and slow. Ride me. Fucking own me. A queen on her throne.”
“You want this kept quiet while we all figure out what we are to each other? We’ll be quiet as the fucking grave. You want to sign the paperwork with HR and start wearing our jerseys to our games? I’ll buy a house and move you into my bed tomorrow. All options are on the table here. All eventualities. Have us together, have us apart, it’s whatever the fuck you want. But you will have us, Poppy. Because not having you is no longer a fucking option.”
“Stay with me, Poppy. My goddess, my fucking queen. Come with me. Look at me.”
“I just told you, Lukas. I don’t care what you do. I only care how you do it. If you’re determined to make it your job to party every moment you’re not on the ice, then as your PR manager, it’s my job to ensure you do it with as little damage to your reputation as possible.”
“Lie to me again. Do it, Poppy. Make my fucking week. You love my jealousy. It turns you the fuck on, don’t even try denying it.”
“Just call me Buddy the Elf because I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it.”
“You’re not a game to me, Poppy. Or if you are, you’re the endgame. You’re it. That’s what ‘playing for keeps’ means. It means this is not catch-and-release. I catch you; I fucking keep you. I love you, and marry you, and follow you to the ends of the fucking earth.”
“I’ve died and come back three times over, Poppy. I know with a clarity most others lack that sometimes you only get one shot in this life. You have to be ready to take it when it comes. You have to be ready to fucking cherish it.”
“Such a good fucking girl. Look at you, taking my cock like a fucking champ. Your cunt is so tight. You fit me like a glove, baby.”
“You are dripping on the goddamn floor right now. You are mine, and you deserve better. No one gets to treat you this way and fucking breathe.”
“Now, be a good girl, and get on your hands and knees for me. Let me show you how you deserve to be worshipped, body and fucking soul.”
“When he breaks your heart, come find me, okay? I’ll be waiting.”
“I’m acknowledging that you engage in self-destructive behaviors as a coping mechanism for managing your deep fear of abandonment.
“I’m not above treating these grown men like naughty children.”
“This position being philandering manwhore. Just say it, Poppy.”
“I’m a freaking jellyfish. I’m a Poppy-fish. I’m a pushover.”
“So what if your sister knows? Fuck her. Fuck anyone who’s not in this room. If you’re that afraid of what other people think, you should leave now.”
“Your body is a gift. You tell us what’s allowed, and we’ll thank you for it.”
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