The Instigator Read online

  THE INSTIGATOR

  Stephanie Julian

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Love is hotter on ice...

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Love is hotter on ice...

  On the ice, Derek Flaherty is an instigator. He can goad an opponent into throwing down his gloves with a few well-chosen words. Off the ice, he’s the life of any party. His Redtails teammates love him...when they don’t want to smack him. Hockey is his life, but he’s about to take a shot to the heart.

  Sophie Tsoukalos is well acquainted with chaos. She’s the youngest of four sisters and works in her parents’ bar. She’s used to dealing with drunks and toddlers. She’s not used to dealing with a man with a panty-dropping smile and the body of a god.

  From the moment he sees Sophie, Derek discovers what it’s like to be struck dumb. For about two seconds. Then he does what he does best. He charms his way into her bed. But can he charm his way into her life?

  Copyright © 2018 by Stephanie Julian

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at [email protected].

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

  Chapter One

  “Hey, Schmidt, you asshole. You hit like your sister after a couple drinks. Sac up.”

  “Fuck you, Flaherty. Fucking asswipe. You need to grow a pair, prick.”

  “I’ve got a pair. And they’re so fucking huge, you couldn’t hold ’em in your hands.”

  “You need your head examined, dickwad.”

  “Yeah, why don’t you get close enough to do it with your mouth, pindick.”

  Grinning as the home crowd cheered loud enough to be heard in the next state, Derek Flaherty skated toward the bench, raising his hands over his head to acknowledge the adulation as the ref announced his roughing penalty and his opponent’s major penalty.

  Derek would be back for the next game. Lars Schmidt would not. The prick had been all over Derek’s forward, Ian Clark. Yeah, it was Schmidt’s job, but the guy had deliberately tried to hurt Ian. That shit couldn’t go unanswered.

  “You are one crazy motherfucker.” Lad Marchenko smacked him on the shoulder as he skated by. “I think you are not right in the head, my friend.”

  The rest of his teammates echoed the sentiment as he reached the bench. Most smiled and shook their heads. Even Coach Cary looked like he might crack a smile.

  Derek grinned all the way back to the locker room. Yeah, he was out for the rest of the game, but all the Redtails had to do was hold off the Rochester Eagles for the last minute and thirty-eight seconds.

  The playoffs were in sight, and the Redtails wanted so fucking badly to defend their Calder Cup championship title. He could practically taste the cheap champagne he’d be drinking out of a plastic cup.

  How fucking great would that be? Maybe then the big-club douchebags would get their heads out of their asses and start giving some of their AHL players a little fucking love.

  Yeah, right. Maybe you don’t deserve to play up. Maybe you don’t have the skill. Maybe—

  Shaking his head, he bit back the urge to tell himself to shut the fuck up.

  All that really mattered was that he got to play. And if he won another ring in the process... Icing on the cake, baby. All icing. Nobody had expected a guy with his background to get as far as he had playing professional hockey. Sometimes you just had to stick your middle finger in the air and laugh in people’s faces.

  After watching the end of the game on the monitor in the locker room, he’d just finished his shower when the rest of the team began to file in, high on their win.

  “We keep going like this, we’ll clinch our division, boys. Damn good hockey tonight.”

  Tony Dellafranco, who’d inherited the captain’s C from Cary when he’d stepped behind the bench a few weeks ago, spoke over the noise of the team as they undressed and headed for the showers.

  “Damn right.” Dirk Bennett tossed his helmet into his locker and whooped, making the rest of the team do the same. “Time to kick ass and take names.”

  “Hell, all we need to do is set Derek on their ass and they’ll be begging us to end the game and their misery.”

  The smile Tyler Richardson threw Derek’s way had a sharp edge to it, but Derek let it slide. Richie was a dick. Everyone knew it. Yeah, Derek had his moments, too, but he never turned on his teammates.

  On the ice, Richardson was a damn good player, one you wanted on your front line. He scored on a consistent basis and got named pest of the game by opposing teams almost as much as Derek. But Derek wasn’t a dick. At least, he tried not to be.

  Luckily, the conversation flowed back to the game, where it should be. But as things began to wind down, Derek couldn’t. He was too wired. And he knew from experience that he needed an outlet for the excess energy.

  “Hey, Will. You up for a few drinks? I know Jess is outta town so I figured you might wanna hang tonight.”

  Will shot him a look over his shoulder and Derek could see from Will’s expression that his fellow defenseman was about to say no.

  Derek resisted the urge to beg, though he knew he shouldn’t go out by himself tonight. He was in a mood and, if he went to a bar without adult supervision, he might not be as...restrained as he should be.

  And that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

  But if he went home and had to stare at the four walls of the apartment he shared with Robbie... Yeah, that could be just as bad. He had no issues with Robbie but, holy fuck, the guy never really talked. And Derek couldn’t stand the quiet. Which meant he talked way too much.

  Sometimes he wondered why Robbie put up with him.

  Since they didn’t have a game tomorrow and tonight’s adrenaline continued to jack him up, a few drinks would help mellow him out but he really didn’t want to go alone.

  As Will’s gaze narrowed, Derek tried to look like he wasn’t about to jump out of his skin. He must not have done a great job because Will turned to look at him more closely.

  After a few seconds, his teammate nodded. “Yeah, sure.” Then Will grinned and actually looked happy to be going out. “But I’m picking the place.”

  Derek agreed before Will could change his mind. “Sure, yeah, no problem. Where is Jess tonight, anyway?”

  Derek forced himself to sit on the bench while he waited for Will to get dressed, tapping his foot on the floor until he realized he was doing it and forced himself to stop.

  “Wheeling. Checking out some forward.”

  “Better watch your back, old man, or she’ll be trading you in for a new model.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, Derek wanted to take them back. Story of his life. He’d been working on keeping his mouth shut more. So far, he hadn’t had much success.

  Luckily, Will grinned as he shook his head. “I can’t believe you still have your teeth, D, considering how many people have probably tried to punch your face since you learned to talk.”

  Derek pulled a frown and let his lower lip tremble. “What are you talking about? Everybody loves me. They just gotta get to know me.”

  A second later, the first shoulder pad hit him in the head, followed by several more pieces of equipment, including a jockstrap.

  Luckily, that one didn’t hit him in the face.

  “Hell, D,” Justin called out from across the room. “Most people wanna kill you before you ever open your mouth.”

  He acknowledged that true statement with a shrug. “What can I say? I got mad people skills.”

  “Yeah, you’re mad all right.” Colin chimed in, catching the knee pad Derek threw back at him. “In the head.”

  “Nah, I’m just excitable.”

  As the guys laughed, Derek grinned, soaking it in. Along with the sound of skates on ice and the roar of the crowd when he scored, laughter was the best fucking sound in the world. Drowned out all the other shit.

  “All right, excitable boy.” Will grabbed his shoulder and shook him. “Let’s get the hell out of here and get a drink. Justin, you coming?”

  “Yep, just let me— Shit, hold on, can’t find my shoe.”

  Will and Derek exchanged a grin as they waited for Justin to realize the shoe he was looking for was under the bench directly beneath him. Which he did only after checking everywhere else.

  Derek shook his head as the guy nearly tripped over his feet as they walked out the door. Surprisingly, all of the other guys were going home tonight. Yeah, it’d been a long week but Derek needed an outlet for this excess energy.

  Besides, hanging out with his friends was way better than drinking alone.

  “So where are we going?”

  Derek was expecting Will to name the bar the team usually went to after games, which would’ve been fine. There were always decent women to hit on and the beer wasn’t too expensiv
e.

  “Place on Penn Avenue. Quiet. Food’s good and the beer’s cheap. Jess knows the manager there.”

  Derek’s gaze narrowed. “How quiet?”

  Will grinned. “Too quiet for you to get in much trouble.”

  “Hey.” Derek tried to look offended but couldn’t manage it and shrugged. “All right, I’ll give you that one.”

  “Damn right you will. Besides, I could use a laidback night.”

  Derek opened his mouth to rag on Will about his age then remembered the guy had taken a pretty brutal check into the boards in the third period.

  “Hey, if you’re not up for it tonight—”

  “Say one more damn word about my age,” Will pinned him with a look Derek had seen from coaches for the past ten years, “and I will show you how fast this old man can punch you.”

  His grin getting even wider, Derek put his hands up in surrender. “Wasn’t going to.”

  When Will gave him a disbelieving look, Derek shook his head. “Seriously! Dude, I was just thinking about that hit Michaelson laid on you.”

  Will grimaced and flexed his shoulder. “Bastard’s gonna pay for that if we see them in the playoffs.”

  “Don’t worry,” Justin chimed in. “We’ll get there. But Rochester might not. We kicked their ass tonight. Knocked them back into last place.”

  They talked hockey all the way to the parking lot. Well, Derek talked. Will and Justin nodded and added a few comments.

  Yeah, yeah. He had a problem. Yada, yada.

  When they reached their cars, Will told him where to meet. Derek’s roommate, Robbie, had gotten a ride home with Dirk and Ian, who lived in the same apartment complex, so Derek didn’t have to shuttle him back.

  It also meant he got to crank the music and sing along to Bon Jovi all the way to West Reading. Still the best damn band in the world, hands down.

  After parking along the street, he looked for the bar but didn’t see it at first. He must’ve gotten the address wrong. Then he realized he’d been looking on the wrong side of the street.

  So he focused his attention on the other side and still missed the sign the first time around. He would’ve missed it the second if someone hadn’t opened the door and walked out.

  Since he drove even faster than he talked, he had to wait a few minutes for Will and Justin to get there and gave the place a once-over.

  Hell, if you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t realize it was a bar. Only the small sign hanging over the door identified it.

  He spent a minute tapping his foot along to Queen’s “Fat-bottomed Girls” until headlights shone in his rearview. Pushing out of the car, he shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for Justin and Will to join before they walked across the street, wind whipping all around them.

  Damn, it was fucking cold. Almost as cold as home in Boston.

  “How’d you find this place?” he asked Will. “Looks like the kinda place my grandfather would love.”

  Will rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Christ almighty, I am going to knock you into next week.”

  Derek just grinned. “You’d have to catch me first and I’m faster than you. Come on. I’m buying first round.”

  “And this is why we love you.” Justin threw one long arm around Derek’s shoulders and pulled him in for a rough hug before shoving him away. “And maybe because you annoy the other teams so fucking much.”

  Derek was still grinning as he walked into the bar. Then stopped just inside the doorway.

  Christ, he’d stepped into a time warp. He was ten years old and looking for his mom at one in the morning. Who he really needed to call tomorrow. He hadn’t talked to her since Thursday and he didn’t want to worry her. When his mom got worried, she got manic and he didn’t want his sister to have to deal with a mess he could’ve avoided with a simple phone call.

  “Derek? Hey, something wrong?”

  Will stood a few feet away, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

  “Nah. Nothing, I’m fine.” He smiled and shrugged those thoughts away. Like he’d been doing since he was four years old. “Bar or table?”

  “Table.” Will answered immediately. “Need to stretch out my legs.”

  Derek grinned, something stupid on the tip of his tongue but, this time, Justin beat him to the punch.

  “Need the seat to hold you up. It’s past your bedtime.”

  Will just shook his head. “Sit, both of you. I’m getting the first round. Try not to embarrass me while I’m gone.”

  There were plenty of empty tables and Justin slid into the closest. Derek was about to open his mouth and fill the silence when a woman walked through double-swinging doors behind the bar and greeted Will with a huge smile.

  “Hey! Didn’t think I’d see you here tonight with Jess out of town.”

  “Figured I’d come here so you could tell Jess I was being a good boy.”

  Another laugh, this time longer and accompanied by a shake of her head that made her dark hair shimmer in the light falling on her from above.

  Holy crap. Who the hell is that? And can I get her number?

  “You’re so full of shit, Will. When are you ever good?”

  “Hey, I take offense to that. I’m always good.”

  She laughed again and Derek sat up even straighter in his seat.

  “Dude.” Justin tapped the table to get his attention. “You look like you just heard a dog whistle—Oh.”

  Then the fucker started to laugh hysterically.

  Yeah, Justin was laughing at him but, in the moment, he couldn’t care less.

  Holy fuck, who the hell was she? Will needed to introduce him immediately so he could marry this woman and live happily ever after.

  Okay, maybe the marriage thing was rushing it a little. But damn, he had to meet her.

  He tore his gaze away from her so he could grill Justin.

  “Who is she?”

  Turned out Justin was more than willing to share, if only to break his heart in the process.

  “No way, dude. Not gonna happen. Not ever.”

  Derek scowled at Justin’s smartass grin and had the urge to punch it off his buddy’s face. Not that he would. Sure, he’d get into it on the ice if he needed to, but that was how the game was played. Off the ice, there were lines he didn’t cross.

  “Fuck you.” He leaned closer so he could lower his voice. “Who is she?”

  “Her name’s Sophie. She’s the owner’s daughter. And dude, she will eat you for lunch.”

  “She can eat me for any meal she wants.”

  “So not gonna happen.” Justin looked so damn smug, Derek would’ve slashed him if he’d had a stick in his hand. “First of all, her dad will pulverize you ’cause he’ll take one look at you and kick your ass out the door. And she’s not into athletes.”

  “What gave you that idea? ’Cause she turned you down? She hasn’t met me yet.”

  Justin continued to grin but Derek ignored him. Mostly because he couldn’t stop staring at her.

  He didn’t think he’d ever seen a prettier girl in his life. Yeah, he’d met beautiful women before. Training camps with the main club meant nights out with the NHL players and women practically ripped their clothes off to attract them. Gorgeous women with amazing bodies and perfect hair and designer clothes.

  A lot of the big-club guys took it in stride and ignore it. Some took it as their due. Derek had always been turned off by the hard sell.

  His high school girlfriend had been the sweetest girl who’d put up with his crazy shit. Until he’d gone to college. Then she’d dumped his ass, married a local guy and had a few kids. Whenever he got home, he’d go to their house to catch up.

  See, not a total dick.

  His last college girlfriend had been a whole different story. And that one didn’t have a happy ending. So he didn’t think about Mandy. Like, at all.

  “Hey, I’m not saying you don’t have a shot.” Justin paused. “But don’t get your hopes up, man.”

  His hopes weren’t the only thing that was up because, damn, there was something about the girl that tripped all his triggers.

  He rose partway off his chair...then sat back down again. “Tell me how you struck out.”

  Leaning back in his chair, Justin smirked, shaking his head. “Who said I struck out?”

  Derek smirked back. “There’s no way you wouldn’t have told anyone who would listen that you were dating her.”