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
“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.”
“I’m not above treating these grown men like naughty children.”
“You’ve got this. Sit down, beautiful. Take me nice and slow. Ride me. Fucking own me. A queen on her throne.”
“One thing to know about me is I don’t fucking share, Poppy. Did I not just tell you I’m a jealous person? I don’t care if there’s been other men. Fuck a thousand other men. But when I ask you if there are others, you will tell me no. Understand?”
“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.”
“This is it, understood? This is where I wanna be. I want you both. We don’t run from this, and we don’t hide. Together. The three of us, no matter what. Family.”
“I’m not mad at you, I’m mad for you.”
“We don’t have a lot of time to play and explore. What does my queen like? What gets you off?”
“Stay with me, Poppy. My goddess, my fucking queen. Come with me. Look at me.”
“I’m not asking to date you. I’m just letting you know that you need to be kissed more often, and I’m willing to be the man to do it. Any time of the day or night. You need kissing? You come to me. Understand?”
“Obvious? Lukas, you just hard-launched our love triangle to my sister and all her friends! Without telling me first! Do you have any idea the shitstorm that little joke is gonna swirl me in?”
“And you’re a ball-busting harpy witch. But you’re also so gorgeous you knock the air out of my chest when you walk in the fucking room.”
“I’m a freaking jellyfish. I’m a Poppy-fish. I’m a pushover.”
“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.”
“Call it secret, call it private, call it a fucking fever dream, I don’t care. But so long as Lukas and I are satisfying your every need, you don’t look at another man. You don’t touch another man. You’re ours. Say it, Poppy.”
“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.”
“Your body is a gift. You tell us what’s allowed, and we’ll thank you for it.”
“Just call me Buddy the Elf because I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it.”
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