The Wingman (Vancouver Storm, #3)

by Stephanie Archer

I squeak in surprise as he lifts me up like I weigh nothing, and instinctively, my legs wrap around his trim hips. I loop my arms around his neck, but his hold on me is firm, hands cupping my ass, and the length of his cock rests against my clit. At the firm press of him against my nerves, I’m overrun with need. He takes a step so my back is pressed against the cool wall, and my eyes go wide. “Like this?” I’m breathless, eyes darting around the foyer. The spontaneity of having sex here in the dim apartment with just the lights of the city sparkling through the big windows makes my stomach dip with excitement.

“Like this.” His mouth tilts in a dark, seductive smile that makes my intimate muscles clench in anticipation. God, this is going to be good. “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? That’s what you said that night at the...

My thoughts blur in a rush of desire, and I nod. God, yes, I want that. “Yes, please.” My gaze drops, trailing down the carved muscles of his chest, ...

A rakish grin pulls up on his handsome face. “You don’t have to say please with me, but ...

With one hand, he holds me up, toned arm flexing in a riveting display of masculine strength. Forget the spectacular marble lines of Michelangelo’s David. Hayden Owens is the perfect depiction of male beauty. My train of admiration derails, though, as he palms my breast. Our lips meet again, and he toys with my nipple, pulling an aching sweetness from deep inside me like there’s a cord connected to my center. He shifts his hips, sliding his ...

It’s everything I wanted for her—to finally love her job, for her to be excited to go to work in the morning. Jamie and Pippa’s wedding is in a couple of days, and worry knots behind my sternum. Darcy seems happier than ever, but I can’t be sure. I’ve been wrong in the past. I never knew how unhappy she was with Kit.

“Hayden?”

At the sound of my name, I turn, and my gut drops through the floor. “Jess.” I probably look like I’ve seen a ghost from the way my jaw goes slack. I blink in surprise, but I recover an...

My pulse picks up and uncertainty weaves through my gut. “Yeah. Life’s funny like that.”

Her gaze drags up and down my form, and an unwelcome, uneasy feeling settles in my stomach.

I glance to the windows where Darcy is still on the phone. I’ve just started to shed the player stereotype with her, and I don’t want her to look over and think that the second her back is turned, I’m hitting on other women. I’m trying to show her I’m boyfriend material. I don’t even see other women.

Pain wraps around my chest, tightening, and I shake my head. “No, Hayden, I don’t.”

“You do,” he says with more force, eyes sharp and vulnerable. “You saw it as soon as you met me. Remember that party, first week of school?”

The hockey...

“Kit said I was the biggest player he knew and you agreed with him. You said ‘I can totally see that.’” He cr...

“I remember it.” My voice is soft, barely above a whisper, as the memory replays in my head. “I remember him talking about how easy you have it with women.” He was so handsome and funny and friendly, and all week, I’d been hoping he’d ask me out. I was disappointed when he didn’t. When Kit said that Hayden was a player, I clung to it as a reason. It wasn’t a reflection of me; it was just the way he was. A few months ago, I called him “king of the players.” You’re like their leader, I said. When he tested the waters and said having a girlfrie...

“It’s fine.” His voice...

It’s not fine. How could I have not known? I’ve known Hayden for years. I saw what I wanted to see, because it was easier that way. My mind flicks to the game against Calgary and how furious Kit was. “What did you tell Kit?” Last time I asked this, he said he told him the truth, but we were to...

“The way people treat you is a reflection of them, not you.” Emotion clogs my throat—anger that Hayden’s felt like this for so long, guilt that I contributed to it, and the overwhelming need to make it better. “Would you ever tell me that I deserved how Kit treated me?”

I sense she wants a few minutes to process what I just told her. Darcy’s like that; she needs time to figure out how she feels about something. I press a quick kiss to her cheek. “I won’t be long.”

“Take your time.” She settles back on the bench, getting comfortable. “I’m happy to sit here and watch.”

His grin widens. “You have cherry blossoms in your hair.”

“I’m in the bath,” she calls from inside the apartment, a teasing, flirty note to her voice.

“No,” she laughs as I carry her to the bath, fully clothed. “Please.” She clutches at my neck, shaking with laughter while I dip her down, half an inch above the surface of the water. She’s laughing so hard she can barely breathe. “Please,” she begs again, and I beam down at her.

“Sorry,” she gasps, clutching me and trying to wiggle away from the water. “I’m sorry.”

“And what else?”

“Daniel’s sorry, too,” she says, eyes sparkling, but she yelps when I dip her an inch lower, getti...

He stares. “Uh.”

At the door, he pauses, gaze trailing over me again, followed by the slow bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallows. “What is it?”

He lets out a light laugh, shaking his head. “Just thinking how lucky I am to have you on my arm, Darce.”

and I glance down at Darcy beside me. She looks so heartbreakingly beautiful. She gives me a soft smile and turns back to the bride and groom, and her new earrings catch the light. Her awestruck expression, so delighted and surprised, only fed my addiction. I’m going to marry this girl. The thought struck me eight years ago, during a conversation before class our first week of school. Embarrassed by it, I buried it as fast as it sprung up; I was eighteen, for Christ’s sake. I knew, though. A few conversations with Darcy Andersen, and I knew she was the one for me. She glances back at me with a teasing, scolding expression and flicks her gaze to the front. You’re staring at me, she mouths, and I grin, lifting a shoulder. I like you, I mouth back. I love you, I want to say. She rolls her eyes and I force my attention back to the reason we’re here.

I blink, and my pulse stumbles. Oh, god. I love Hayden. Of course I love him. How could I not? He’s wonderful. He’s kind, affectionate, funny, optimistic, and hardworking. But it’s more than that. It’s that we love so many of the same things. That I love how he cringes when I hide that stupid gnome around our apartment. That he gets me the perfect gift I didn’t know I wanted. I take another deep breath, trying to settle my racing heart, and inhale a lungful of Hayden’s scent. My skin tingles where he’s touching my hair, tucking it over my ears and pushing it back behind my shoulders, and I’m flooded with impatience. I don’t want to spend another moment sitting here and talking. I’m not ready to tell him how I feel, but I can show him. I slip my hand into his and pull him to the bedroom.

“Me neither,” she whispers. “I’m on birth control. I started it last month.”

“Jesus.” I bury my head against the crook of her neck, letting out a dry laugh. She fantasized about me coming inside her? I’m not going to last more than ten seconds.

She hums, smiling, trailing her fingers over my flat stomach. “I feel the same way.”

“That’s because of you!” My voice is loaded with urgency and frustration. “I’m finally happy because we’re together, and I’d do anything for you.”

“I know.” She presses her lips together and sucks in a tight breath. “And that’s why I can’t let you do it. I can find a job in Vancouver and we can stay together, but if you get traded”—she swallows hard, frowning down at her hands—“it’s a death sentence for us.”

Hayden shakes with laughter. “I’ve loved you always, but that’s when it hit me.” He takes a deep breath, still smiling down at me, joy radiating from the depths of his eyes, from his skin, from the air around him. “No one’s ever taken care of me like that, Darcy. If I wasn’t in love with you then, that would have sealed the deal.”

“Mhm.” Leaning back against the headboard, he smiles to himself like he just thought of something. “I used to dread the end of summer. I think because it always meant I wouldn’t get to see you as much.”

Summer being over means we’re going back to real life, but with Hayden, our “real life” feels better than I could have imagined. There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell him for weeks. I focus hard on trailing my finger over the ridges and lines of his chest.

His gaze is soft, patient, and gentle. “Mhm.”

“No.” He snorts. “You can wait.”

“But I just said I’m ready.” I make a hurry up motion. “Let’s go.”

He laughs again. “I’m not going to propose to you here, Darce. It has to be special. You deserve memorable and special.” He runs his hand through his hair. “Besides, I wanted to check if you’d rather pick your own out. We can go to a store. ...

He tugs on a lock of my hair. “You want a coffee?”

I stare at him. “How can you be so casual when we just had a monumental conversation?”

“Yes,” I say without hesitation, smiling. “I’d be lucky to.”

“You haven’t even seen the ring.”