The Wingman (Vancouver Storm, #3)

by Stephanie Archer

I huff a laugh. “Whatever. Don’t blame me when the windows start shaking because you’re sawing logs.” Her smile stretches wide, and I thank that dumb bird for flying into her window and making this situation happen. “I’m going to turn the light out,” I tell her, and she nods. I reach over my shoulder and click the lamp off, darkening the room. Even with the blinds closed, a soft glow from the city lights outside sneaks through. I listen to the sound of our breathing, but my mind wanders back to the bar tonight. How she looked so terrified at the idea of the team using her hockey models. A memory resurfaces—years ago, her talking with animated excitement about her new job. For six months after we graduated from university, Darcy worked for the Canadian Department of Agriculture as a data analyst. I still remember the way her voice sounded when she talked about her job, full of interest and excitement. “Hey, Darce?”

“...

“What happened at your first job?” She never told me why she got a new job, just that she was working somewhere else before she changed the subject. She never had that spark when ...

“I screwed up and got fired,” she says quietly. “And I got s...

I can still make out her profile in the dim bedroom as she stares at the ce...

I nod, not knowing what to say. I hate seeing her in pain like this. I hate that this has weighed on her for years and made her feel like she isn’t capable.

He watches with interested amusement as I flip the shoebox open, but when I lift a pale blue velvet heel, his smile drops.

And I wanted them. I felt sexy, grown up, and stylish in them.

“I think those are called fuck-me shoes.” He stares hard at them, with a rough edge to his voice that makes my skin prickle.

Heat careens through me. “Are they?” My voice goes high...

He swallows, blinking, and looks away. “What’s in this bag?” He reaches for the white paper bag, ...

“No, don’t⁠—” He pulls out a delicate balconette bra—cream with pretty soft-purple flowers carefully stitched onto the gauzy fabric—and I freeze at the sight of the lingerie in his strong hand. For a long moment, he just stares at it before he drops the lacy garment back into the bag. Our ...

A muscle ticks near his temple and his gaze moves over me, flickering with something. Is he picturing me wearing it? No, of course he isn’t.

“It’s not luck. That’s what you always say about these things, right? It’s not luck, it’s a predicted circumstance. You were right, Darce. Your math checked out.” She bites her lip, and I silently hope that she changes her mind, forgetting all about what happened in the past. You’re right, I’m an amazing genius, she says in my daydream.

“Miller said if I didn’t score a goal, he’d set you up with one of the rookies.” Even now, protective feelings spike in my gut. “Not in a creepy way. He was going to encourage them to ask you out or talk to you at the bar.”

Darcy’s eyes spark with amusement. “Aren’t they, like, twenty years old?”

“One’s eig...

She laughs. “Why would I ever go out with an eighteen-year-old? It would be like d...

“I mean, it did work.” She gives me a pointed look.

“Really?” Her mouth lifts into the sweetest smile.

I can’t help but chuckle. How can she not know? I spend every free moment with her. “Yeah, of course.”

“Not Kit?” Her smile dims a fraction, and ...

An ugly, cold feeling weaves through me. He didn’t brag about her. He didn’t value her. He had her for years and he didn’t build her up the way she deserved. “After what you told me about New Year’s,” I admit, taking the seat beside her on the bed, “I don’t...

“At Christmas, when he went home to Ontario to visit family, and we hung out playing video games and eating chocolates?” I give her a wry smile, and her mouth curves. “I didn’t miss him.” My pinky shifts an inch so it’s touching hers. “But I would have missed you.” I could never admit it before, could never even acknowledge it, because that would make me a fuckin...

Surprise flares in her pretty green eyes. Her mouth tips into a small, hopeful smile. “I w...

“If we do this,” she starts, biting her lip with an uncertain look, and my cock twitches, “it can’t be weird after.”

I can’t believe we’re doing this. I can’t believe this is real. He hooks a finger beneath the leg of my panties and slips the toy against me, and I instinctively arch as sensation rockets through me.

“Good,” I manage, abs and thighs tensing. My clit aches with lust. I think my toes are curling. “It’s good. I’m good.”

“You sure?”

“Uh-huh,” I moan. He pushes the other end of the U inside me, and my eyes close, my lips part, and I clutch the duvet as the pressure and stretch of the toy send heat rushing through me. Sparks gather low in my abdome...

“Fuck, you’re so wet,” he whispers with reverence, staring between my legs, his jaw tensing. I’m mostly covered by my panties, but there’s a damp spot on the fabric, and his broad chest rises and falls fast as he studies it. His eyes flic...

A desperate, pained groan slips out of him, and his eyes close for a brief moment. “I’m goi...

I nod, clenching my eyes closed as he draws my orgasm out on the toy, and he makes a pleased noise.

Worry clangs through me as Hayden moves off the bed to set the toy aside. But when he returns to the bed and lies down beside me, I relax.

“Come here.” He gathers me against his chest, and I inhale a lungful of Hayden Owens’s intoxicating, delicious scent. “Nice work,” he murmurs against my temple.

I let out a light laugh. “You did a...

“I think our friend, the G-Spot Banger, is the re...

I grin into his firm chest and bite back the truth—that I never would have come that hard if he weren’t here, teasing me, watching me, making me feel so desired and desperate. I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone but him. I can’t imagine having this experience with s...

Something flashes across his expression that I can’t read before he shakes his head. “No, not weird,” he says quietly. His hand smooths over my hair, and even though this isn’t a romantic thing and we’re not like that...

“Let’s make it a double date,” he says, standing taller. “You sure you want to do that?” Alexei asks him. “Positive,” Hayden bites out. He glances to Georgia. “Georgia? You want to go on a date?” Alexei’s eyebrows snap together. “It’s a conflict of interest.” “She’s not my doctor,” Hayden shoots back. The players are divided up between the two team doctors. “And she’s not yours either. Right, Georgia?” Hayden asks her. “It’s not a conflict of interest for you to go out, because none of us are your patients.”

“I should say no to this drama,” she mutters to me, “but I also feel like it could get interesting.” She gives me a sidelong look. “What do you think?” I don’t think she has any romantic interest in Hayden, but there’s still a hard little kernel in my stomach at the idea of it. He’s not mine, though. “I think it’ll be fun.” She smiles at me. “Great.” To Hayden, she nods. “You’re on, Owens.”

“Great.” He glances at me. Alexei glances between us, expression unreadable. “Great.”

“Great,” I say, unsure of what ju...

The night of the double date, I lean a hand on Darcy’s bedroom doorframe, watching her get ready. She looks stunning, hair loose and pretty around her shoulders and wearing a top the shade of the roses I bought her for Valentine’s Day. And it’s for him. My nostrils flare. This morning, I saw the lingerie she bought hanging to dry in the bathroom, but when I walked past half an hour ago, it was gone. She’s wearing it for a date with him. I should be supportive of her, but I just feel sick and pissed off.

“Hey.” She catches sight of me. “You look nice.”

“That blue color makes your eyes look like the ocean.” She smiles over at me.

He puts his hands on his trim hips. “I’m going to the gym.”

“Now?” He even has those V-muscles pointing into the waistband of his boxers. I didn’t notice those the other day because I was too busy having the most intense orgasm of my life.

“...

“I thought you were goin...