So This Is War (Vancouver Agitators, #5)

by Meghan Quinn

To bring you up to speed, yes, I was fucking his daughter. Yes, it was in the locker room. Yes, it was out in the open where anyone could walk in. Was it stupid? Absolutely. Have I lost my mind? One hundred percent. Do I have any defense? Not one. Nope, this was pure stupidity. This was a move by a desperate man brought to his knees. A weak man. A man with no morals. A man infatuated with a woman he can’t control himself around.

“Then he’s benched,” Wood says as he looks me in the eyes, nostrils flaring. “Did you hear that, you bologna-loving motherfucker? You’re benched.”

It’s more complicated. I didn’t just fuck some random girl on an arbitrary day in our locker room. The coach’s daughter was riding me, completely naked, in the middle of the locker room after he struck a deal with me to hire his daughter as my assistant to teach her a lesson.

Nope, this will take a monumental, epic proposal of apologies, especially if I want to stay on this team. Which I do. My boys are here. My life is here. She’s here . . . Which means I need a plan. But I swore I wouldn’t get them involved. I said over and over again that I wouldn’t use their idiotic advice or poorly constructed ideas, but I think desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s time to call on the Frozen Fellas.

I roll my eyes because ugh, hockey. Growing up with a single father infatuated with the sport, I could have gone two ways. I could have grown to love it as much as my dad or utterly despise it because it took my dad away from me for nearly half of my life. Can you guess which one it is?

“But I said I wanted to come on your cock, not your tongue.”

“You act as if you’ve only come once in a night.”

“What if I have?...

“Then you need to spend the night with me, baby, because you aren’t coming just o...

Are you seeing a trend here? All these assholes are head over heels, living in their lover era, because of me.

All these assholes are head over heels, living in their lover era, because of me.

When I reach his door, I give it a knock only for him to yell, “Get your ass in here.” Yup, dick is completely shriveled. I’m in trouble. Is this a baby mama situation? Please no, please no baby mamas. I’m not ready for diapers and bottles. I’m still as immature as a twelve-year-old.

“And most importantly, rule number five. Under no circumstances will you have any sort of physical contact with my daughter.” “What do you mean⁠—” “Fucking her. You will not fuck her, Posey.” “Ahh . . .” I smile. “Well, no worries there. Pretty sure if she looks anything like you, there will be no need for rule number five.”

So I have an assistant now. I’d be sort of thrilled if it wasn’t the coach’s daughter. Really thrilled if I didn’t have this sick feeling that I’m being set up to fail.

It’s the redhead from the bar. The girl I’ve been searching high and low for over the better part of a year. The girl who haunts me in my sleep. The girl I think about whenever I consider hooking up with another woman. The one I compare everyone to, who no one ever comes close to matching. The girl I hired a fucking private investigator to find. That’s how goddamn desperate I was. Wasted money, since all I had to do was ask Coach Wood to meet his daughter. Because holy shit, she’s here.

“I saw the way you just looked at her, and if you even think about her in any way other than your coach’s extremely off-limits daughter, I will personally slice your dick off with a rusty pair of skates. Got it?”

I try to avoid looking at her exposed stomach, but

I’m a guilty fucker as she moves closer. I can’t help it. I’ve never found a woman as attractive to me as she is. She checks all my fucking boxes. Every single one of them.

“So we’re not going to talk about the first time we met?”

“You remember that night?”

“Of course I remember that night. I sought you out. I wanted you. We kissed. It was phenomenal.

You took off before I could even find out your name. You’ve left me wondering about you for a goddamn year.”

He’s infuriatingly handsome. Like stop-you-in-your-tracks, you-have-to-stare handsome.

would know exactly what it feels like to have spent the night with Levi Posey. And from the way my body reacts to him, I’d assume it wouldn’t have been a one-time thing. Nope, I would have kept going back. So this, this right here, trying to act like that night meant nothing, is uncomfortable to say the least. Painful actually. Because even though it’s been months, the moment I sat next to him, all I could think about was how much I wanted him still. How much I want a do-over of that night.

“That being said”—he clears his throat—“I’m insanely attracted to you, and I’m not saying that as a pickup line. I’m putting it out there because I’m massively uncomfortable with this setup.”

Shoulders back, I open the door and feel my stomach immediately turn warm from the sight of Wylie. Fuck me, she’s so hot. The epitome of what I look for in a woman. Gorgeous face with those steely gray eyes, the lightest smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and she has

bow-shaped lips that glisten under the lights of my entryway. Her dark red hair is silky smooth and long, enticing me to wrap it around my fist to see what kind of hold I can have on her. And her curvy and sensual body is out of this world.

“Oh, look at all these baking supplies.” She looks through my kitchen cabinets, making herself at home while I remain shaken and stunned from rodent death by the size fourteen shoe incident. I squealed in front of her. I broke the bed. I killed a fucking rodent with my foot. The boys will NEVER hear about that. “What, uh . . . what’s going on here? Do you like to bake?”

Pacey: I snorted on Winnie. She’s not happy.

Did something happen? Of course something happened. Minus the mouse and the vibrator and the weird tasks Levi asked me to take care of, I could not stop feeling this heavy, electric draw toward him. Like my body was being pulled in by some cosmic force, and if I don’t talk about it, I think I might scream.

“Yes, something happened.” I look her in the eyes. “I am crushing so hard on Levi Posey, and I know you know this. I know you’ve seen me fawn over the man for a long time, but being here, being next to him, seeing the way he tries to inconspicuously check me out. It’s driving me nuts. I know I can’t do anything about these feelings. It’s almost as if my dad knew I liked this man and decided to torture me by putting me in a situation where I can’t have him.”

“But I’m determined to prove to my dad that I can do this, that I can provide for myself and do what will make me happiest in life.”

“I’m proud of you, Wylie. I know this was a tough decision, but following your heart is what will bring you joy.”

“A few comments. Dingo dangling is a first for me. I’m not sure where that came from, but it will never leave my head. Ever. Second, using the word flaccid, was that by choice?”

“Dingo dangling was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants terminology,” I say. “And flaccid, yes, that was by choice. Nothing is sadder than a flaccid dick.”

“To show these men that women are not their puppets.”

“Strong, confident, smart, and in no need for a penis to dictate our future.” I raise my fist to the sky, feeling drunk off power.

“That was before I found out he was in cahoots with my father. Now . . . now I’m seeking revenge.” “No, you’re seeking erotic torture.”

What am I thinking? I’ll never be able to have Levi as anything other than my temporary boss. And that’s . . . well, that’s fucking sad.

Penny: Twenty minutes and you still didn’t touch the side boob? Oh my God, Posey, you weren’t supposed to be a massage therapist, rubbing her worries away. You were supposed to diddle her orgasm button.

“Jessica’s not your type?” I ask, flabbergasted. “I feel like she’s everyone’s type.”

“Not mine,” he says.

“Is that so? Then what is ...

“I’m staring at it.”

“Battle? Ohhhh no, Sandie. This is war now. All of this is war. I was sidetracked for a second there, trying to please my dad, but not anymore. I’m doing this for me and me alone.”

“I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you at the bar that one night. I’ve always wanted you, Levi.”

never should have treated you the way that I did. I should have cherished you. I should have told you the truth right away. I should have worked with you instead of against you. It was foolish, and I was a scared motherfucker, and I’m sorry, Wylie. You deserve so much better.”

know enough about you to understand that I like you. That I want to get to know more about you. Wylie, I never stopped thinking about you after that night we first met. I feel such a genuine connection with you, and I’d regret not exploring this.

but at least give this a chance, Wylie. Give us a chance.”

“You think this could be something?” “I know it can be something,”