20. Daemon

T he rest of my week follows the same pattern, which means no matter where I turn, I find Archer fucking Gray waiting for me. From good morning texts, to him interrupting my daily workouts, waiting for me with coffee outside of my classes, bugging me during practice, and sending me pictures of his fucking cock fisted in his hand every night. And like everything else about him, it’s just as perfect as I fucking remember. I wish I could say I am able to avoid him when I sleep, but even my nightmares have been consumed by him, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to escape him.

Josh and I are running late for tonight’s game, since we hung around to wait for Hallie to get dressed, and honestly, I’m actually glad. Because at least it means less time for me to try to ignore my teammate and his damn taunts. The walk over to the rink is filled with Hallie chatting about some documentary she watched last night, and though it’s not really a topic I’m interested in, I still listen intently as she talks.

When we finally reach the rink, I leave the two of them behind to say goodbye, pushing into the locker room and heading straight for my locker. Thankfully, Coach isn’t anywhere to be seen, I wish the same could be said for my stalker, but of course he is standing in a pair of his ridiculous game day boxers, pulling a protein bar from his bag. When he spots me his eyes light up, and I swear the fucker flexes his muscles like it might entice me to drop to my fucking knees again, I roll my eyes, ignoring him once again, and I swear I see him frown from the corner of my eye.

I make quick work of switching into my base layer, well aware of his eyes on me, but before he can manage to piss me off, Josh rushes inside and is instantly accosted, as Coach storms into the changing rooms from the direction of the ice. “Peters, you’re late,” he booms across the room, and my best friend cringes.

“Sorry, Coach, I was waiting for my wife to get ready,” Josh replies, receiving an onslaught of hollers from the guys around, including the one whose dick pics are now saved on my damn phone.

“I can just imagine your wife naked,” Reign teases instantly, making Josh glare at him, but of course all he does is laugh, never known to take anything seriously in his life.

“Don’t forget hot,” Archer cuts in, still watching me, and I’m almost certain he is looking for a reaction from me. “Naked, hot, and sweating, just dripping everywhere,” he drawls, taking a bite of his protein bar and giving Josh a wink.

At his words, my best friend throws his bag to the floor and steps toward him, and I remember his words to Hallie in the house, the morning after the wedding. Without thinking, I step in front of Archer, giving him my back, effectively blocking Josh from reaching him, my hands flying to his chest to keep him in place. I don’t know why I do it, or at least that’s what I tell myself, and when Josh flicks his stare to mine, all I can do is shake my head.

Most of the team are watching, and no doubt presume I am once again jumping in to protect Josh, but it’s the weight of Reign’s stare that concerns me. He isn’t looking at me the same way as the rest of them, no, he is looking at me like he knows the real reason I’m standing here. Which is ridiculous, because even I don’t know the reason I’m standing here, other than I couldn’t let my best friend get into it with my…with my what? Archer isn’t mine, he isn’t even my friend, no matter what I felt that night in the kitchen, yet still here I stand, blocking Josh’s way.

He looks between me and Archer again, before pointing his finger at him and snapping, “Last fucking warning, Gray.”

Before Archer can respond, Nova appears and whips his left winger with a towel. “Stop fucking fantasizing about his wife you fucking creep,” he tells him, clearly more than used to dealing with his bullshit, and I contemplate asking my captain for some tips on how he does it.

I feel Archer shift behind me, no doubt turning towards his best friend, as he purrs, “Should I go back to doing it about his sister?” The question is met with a death glare from our captain, and I note Josh clench his fists by his side, Archer testing both of their limits, and I can’t help but shift my stare to watch him.

“Not if you value your life,” Nova tells him darkly, and Archer smirks, his eyes dancing to mine, and the delight from earlier is back.

My hands are still on Josh, restraining him, and when Archer looks at him again with a smirk, Reign is quick to step in as I push Josh back toward his locker. “Alright, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” he jokes, grabbing Archer and physically turning him away from everyone else, before lowering his voice and adding, “You really like to poke the fucking bears, don’t you kid?”

I step back to my own locker, meeting Archer’s stare, as he shrugs and responds to Alexander, “Maybe I have a pain kink.”

A pain kink? Maybe that’s why he gets joy out of pissing me off and following me around like a damn puppy. He’s probably never known true pain in his life, which is why no matter how perfect his cock is, I can’t lead him on again, he wouldn’t survive my brand of darkness. Just as I have that thought, my phone lights up in my locker, and whatever other conversations are happening around me are suddenly lost to the white noise.

Jasper - Are you done pretending I don’t exist yet?

Jasper - We really need to talk

I almost laugh. If only I could pretend he didn’t exist, if only I could wake up and not remember that someone could have saved me, saved us, but unfortunately life doesn’t work that way.

Daemon - It worked out pretty well for you when you left us, so I thought I’d give it a try

My message is read almost instantly, and I don’t even know why I responded. I don’t want to talk to my brother, the time for talking has passed. And after what happened to Ryan, he lost his chance at being part of my life, no matter what he says or does, it won’t change anything, so he should stop trying.

My phone vibrates again, and I brace myself for his response, yet to my surprise, the new message isn’t from my brother. No, it’s from the stalker standing right next to me. I flick my eyes to Archer, but he is talking to Reign like nothing is happening, and I can’t help but be curious as to what he’s sent me.

Opening his message, my eyes fly across the screen, and I have to bite my lip to keep myself from smirking at what he wrote.

Gray - Whoever the hell Jasper is, tell him to fuck off

Again I glance his way, but he still isn’t looking at me.

Daemon - Stalking me isn’t enough, you have to read my texts too?

The second he receives my message, his eyes drop down to his phone and he smirks, glancing up to meet my stare, as he turns back towards his locker.

Gray - It’s called taking an interest

Gray - You should try it sometime

My eyes can’t help but ghost back over him, taking in his still half-naked frame, and even wearing boxers with fucking Christmas trees on them, he looks like he was sculpted for a damn museum.

Daemon - So sucking your cock wasn’t taking an interest?

He smirks as he reads my message, shaking his head as he types out his response.

Gray - I’m not sure I remember it well enough after you’ve been ignoring me so much

Gray - Maybe we should go again and I can let you know?

Daemon - If you’re that desperate for attention, I’m sure there will be plenty of girls at the party tonight willing to suck your cock

As soon as I send the words I regret them, the thought of anyone else going near him makes bile rise in my throat, but like I said, he isn’t mine. He can never be mine.

Gray - See that’s the thing you don’t seem to be grasping

Gray - The only thing I’m desperate for, is you

I’ve barely read the words before he is tossing his phone in his locker and slamming it shut, and all I can do is stand there frozen, as he starts going through the motions of getting ready. Given how soon the game starts, some of the team are already on the ice warming up, and I know I need to get ready too, but after reading his message, I am frozen in place.

I watch as person after person leaves, and by the time I finally drag on my jersey, only Archer and I are left in the locker room, as Coach storms from his office. “Hurry up, you little shits,” he spits, as he heads towards the ice, and I finish getting ready.

Archer reaches for his stick, moving to follow after him and before I can stop myself, my arm snaps out to grip his, halting us in place. “We need to talk,” I grit, glancing around to make sure we are truly alone, only to come back and find him watching me with a cocked brow.

“About how this can’t happen?” he asks cockily, and I find myself nodding in surprise, but before I can respond, he slams me against my locker, his stick pressing against my chest, as his lips capture mine in a furious kiss.

Our mouths instantly become one, moving together in perfect sync, until his hot, wet tongue trails along my lips, begging for entrance. My mouth opens with a grunt, which he greedily swallows, and then he is kissing me like he’s mine, like I’m his, and suddenly nothing else matters.

He pulls away all too quickly, leaving me breathless, as he smirks. “Save whatever bullshit you were about to feed me, because this mouth might tell me lies,” he exhales, roughly swiping his thumb across my lips. “But your body doesn’t,” he adds, leaning in to capture my mouth one more time, before he pushes away from me and heads to the ice.

And all I can do is watch him leave, realizing that somehow the entire time he’s been pissing me off, he has managed to get beneath my skin in a way I thought I was immune to. Fuck .