by Jaci Burton
PRAISE FOR JACI BURTON'S NOVELS
"Jaci Burton's stories are full of heat and heart."
--Maya Banks, #1 New York Times bestselling author "A wild ride."
--Lora Leigh, #1 New York Times bestselling author "Passionate, inventive, sexually explicit."
--USAToday.com
"One of the strongest sports romance series available."
--Dear Author
"Endearing characters, a strong romance and an engaging plot all wrapped up in one sexy package."
--Romance Novel News
"Both sensual and raw . . . Plenty of romance, sexy men, hot steamy loving and humor."
--Smexy Books
"Holy smokes! I am pretty sure I saw steam rising from every page."
--Fresh Fiction
"Hot, hot, hot! . . . Romance at its best! Highly recommended! Very steamy."
--Coffee Table Reviews "Burton knocks it out of the park . . . With snappy back-and-forth dialogue as well as hot, sweaty and utterly engaging bedroom play, readers will not be able to race through this book fast enough!"
--RT Book Reviews
Titles by Jaci Burton
WILD, WICKED, & WANTON
BOUND, BRANDED, & BRAZEN
Wild Rider Series
RIDING WILD
RIDING TEMPTATION
RIDING ON INSTINCT
RIDING THE NIGHT
Play-by-Play Series
THE PERFECT PLAY
CHANGING THE GAME
TAKING A SHOT
PLAYING TO WIN
THROWN BY A CURVE
ONE SWEET RIDE
HOLIDAY GAMES
(an eNovella)
MELTING THE ICE
STRADDLING THE LINE
HOLIDAY ON ICE
(an eNovella)
QUARTERBACK DRAW
ALL WOUND UP
HOT HOLIDAY NIGHTS
(an eNovella)
UNEXPECTED RUSH
RULES OF CONTACT
Hope Series
HOPE SMOLDERS
(an eNovella)
HOPE FLAMES
HOPE IGNITES
HOPE BURNS
LOVE AFTER ALL
MAKE ME STAY
DON'T LET GO
Anthologies
UNLACED
(with Jasmine Haynes, Joey W. Hill, and Denise Rossetti) EXCLUSIVE
(with Eden Bradley and Lisa Renee Jones) LACED WITH DESIRE
(with Jasmine Haynes, Joey W. Hill, and Denise Rossetti) NAUTI AND WILD
(with Lora Leigh)
NAUTIER AND WILDER
(with Lora Leigh)
HOT SUMMER NIGHTS
(with Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy, and Jessica Clare) MISTLETOE GAMES
(Holiday Games, Holiday on Ice, and Hot Holiday Nights in one volume) eNovellas
THE TIES THAT BIND
NO STRINGS ATTACHED
WILD NIGHTS
BERKLEY
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Copyright (c) 2016 by Jaci Burton
Excerpt from Don't Let Go copyright (c) 2016 by Jaci Burton Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
BERKLEY is a registered trademark and the B colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Burton, Jaci, author.
Title: Rules of contact / Jaci Burton.
Description: First edition. | New York : Berkley, 2016. | Series: A play-by-play novel ; 12
Identifiers: LCCN 2016040883 (print) | LCCN 2016046866 (ebook) | ISBN 9780425276822 (trade) | ISBN 9780698175273 (ebook) Subjects: | BISAC: FICTION / Romance Contemporary. | FICTION Romance Contemporary. | FICTION Contemporary Women. | GSAFD: Love stories.
Classification: LCC PS3602.U776 R85 2016 (print) | LCC PS3602.U776 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016040883
First Edition: December 2016
Cover photo by Claudio Marinesco
Cover design by Rita Frangie
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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CONTENTS
Praise for Jaci Burton's Novels
Titles by Jaci Burton
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Excerpt from Don't Let Go
About the Author
ONE
Of all the things on Flynn Cassidy's bucket list, opening a restaurant hadn't been anywhere even close to his top ten. Yet here he was, sitting at one of the corner tables of Ninety-Two, his new restaurant in San Francisco. He marveled that at some point in his life, cooking had joined playing football on the list of things he loved the most.
If someone had told him five years ago he was going to open his own restaurant, he'd have told them they were full of shit. But look at him now, owner of his own place.
Ninety-Two was shiny and new--sort of. He'd had the old building renovated after he'd bought the property, so it still felt like it belonged in this neighborhood. He made sure it didn't look too trendy, keeping a lot of the original details intact both inside and out. He was more in favor of restaurants that felt comfortable--like home. He wanted his customers to feel as if they could come in, sit down, and feel at ease.
They'd been filled to capacity since they opened two weeks ago and so far things were going well. He took that as a sign that his inclination to keep it simple appealed to others as well. Besides, it was damn good food, he'd made sure of that. But still, opening a restaurant was a risky proposition and he didn't want to get too cocky. He knew Ninety-Two needed all the good press and attention it could get. Which was why he was sitting here. Right now one of the major entertainment media outlets was doing a feature on the restaurant. Great for publicity, but it meant camera crews, bright lights and a lot of damn people in the way of regular business. He had already wandered around and apologized to his patrons, who seemed to take it all in stride. He hoped the crews would grab all the film and sound bites they wanted and get the hell out shortly.
"This is so thrilling, Flynn."
> He dragged his gaze away from the camera crews and onto Natalie, the woman he'd been dating the past few weeks. She was a looker, for sure, with beautiful auburn brown hair that teased her shoulders and the most incredible green eyes he'd ever seen.
"Yeah, thrilling isn't the first thing that popped into my head when the crews showed up today."
Natalie grabbed his hand. "Oh, come on. Who doesn't want to be on TV?"
Him, for one. As a defensive end for the San Francisco Sabers football team, he'd had plenty of cameras and microphones shoved in his face over the years. It was the last thing he wanted now, when his fledgling restaurant was just getting off the ground. But since the restaurant was new, he wouldn't turn down some publicity for it. So he'd done the interview and now he just wanted to stay out of the way while the film crew got their overview shots.
"Do you think they'll want to get some film of the two of us together?" Natalie asked. "You know, kind of get some background on your personal life, like what you do on your off time away from football and the restaurant, who you're seeing, stuff like that?"
Warning bells clanged loud and hard in Flynn's head. He'd gone down this road with more than one woman, and had ended relationships because of women who were way more interested in the limelight than in him.
Lately he'd been careful to steer clear of any woman who had an entertainment background. No models, no actresses, no one he could suspect of chasing face time in front of a camera. He figured since Natalie was a financial analyst, he was safe.
But seeing her gaze track those cameras like a vampire craving blood, he wasn't sure career choice had much to do with someone hungering to get their fifteen minutes of fame.
He didn't understand it. Not at all.
"Maybe we should move to one of the more prominent tables, Flynn," Natalie said. "You know, that way we might be in one of the camera shots."
He forced back a sigh. "I don't think so."
She pushed back her chair and stood, ignoring him. "I'm going to go to the bar and get a drink. You know, all casual like, and see if maybe they notice me."
He leaned back in his chair. "Sure. You do that."
This relationship was doomed. Just one of the many Flynn had seen go down in flames in the past couple of years. He bit back the rising anger over having yet another woman use him to get her time in the spotlight.
What the hell was wrong with him that women craved camera time instead of just being with him? Yeah, he was a football player, and maybe that held some appeal, but he was also a nice guy who had something to offer besides photo ops. He was getting damn tired of playing this game with every woman he dated.
Maybe there wasn't a woman out there who was interested in him. Just him. Not Flynn the football player. Just Flynn the guy.
He shook his head, mentally notched up another failure and took a long swallow of his beer.
*
Since orders had slowed down and she had the kitchen under control, Amelia Lawrence washed her hands in the sink and tried to hide, avoiding the cameras. The last thing she wanted was to be on television. She was head chef at Ninety-Two. This whole publicity thing was on Flynn, and she didn't need to be interviewed, filmed or in any way noticed.
But as she did her best game of hide and not be sought, she also spotted Flynn's new girlfriend doing her best job to try to be seen by any of the camera crew.
Oh, no. Not another one of those kind of women.
She'd worked with Flynn the past couple of months, even before Ninety-Two had opened. And in that time period she'd seen him go through no less than three women, all of whom seemed to be way more interested in his prowess as camera fodder than anything else.
She felt bad for him, and nothing but disdain for the women who couldn't appreciate what a fine man Flynn Cassidy was.
He was supremely tall and ridiculously well built, with a thick mane of black hair and amazing blue eyes. She could spend at least a full day doing nothing but ogling his tattoos. And who didn't love football? Plus, the man had fine culinary taste. When he'd hired her, they'd spent several weeks designing the menu for the restaurant. She had to admit, he had good ideas.
So did she, and she appreciated that he listened to hers, and had been willing to blend their ideas for the final menu. She loved the way it had turned out and her estimation of Flynn had risen. In the past she'd worked for her share of egomaniacs who insisted it was their way or the highway, but Flynn wasn't like that. He was willing to collaborate. He also liked to crack jokes, was kind to the employees and seemed like a nice guy.
So why couldn't the man find a decent girlfriend? He kind of sucked at it, actually. If she had been a native of San Francisco maybe she could have help him out, but she'd only moved here recently from Portland. Her only ties in the city were her best friend from college and her friend's husband. Otherwise, she was pretty much alone. She'd rented a house not too far from the restaurant, and she was getting out in the neighborhood and meeting people there.
She knew it would take time to form a circle of close friends, but even with her limited contacts she guessed she could find better women for Flynn to date than the ones he'd been parading in and out of the restaurant lately. She could spot posers a mile away. Maybe she could offer her services to Flynn.
"Orders up."
Pulling her focus away from Flynn, she put her attention on the incoming orders, on directing her staff, on minding her own business, and not on Flynn's girlfriend who was currently preening for the cameras as if she was auditioning for the next blockbuster movie.
With an eye roll, she dismissed the woman and set about making scallops.
Because Flynn Cassidy was decidedly not her problem. And no matter how sorry she felt for him, she wasn't going to get involved in his personal life.
TWO
Flynn showed up for practice early, just like he always did. He liked to get a run in to warm up before hitting the weight room.
After logging his three miles, he made his way to the weight room. As usual, he wasn't the first one in there. His defensive teammates--the guys he counted on--were up and at it early today, too.
He spotted Junior Malone, Alfonso Labelle, Hank "Hey Man" Henderson and Chris Smith. These guys were his rocks, the ones he depended on to be at the line of scrimmage with him and prevent the offense from moving forward. He'd worked with most of these guys ever since the San Francisco Sabers had drafted him. The only one to join the team after him had been Junior Malone, but he'd been a perfect fit to the line. They were fierce, ass-kicking defenders, and the reason the Sabers had one of their best years defensively last year. They were clicking on all cylinders and even though they were only five games into the season so far, their numbers were solid.
"You're late," Hey Man said.
Flynn laid his towel on the bench. "I'm the only one out there running three miles before workouts. You're all welcome to join me if you want to burn some of that fat off."
Hey Man looked down at his stomach. "This is all muscle, man."
Flynn let out a snort. "It looks a lot more like too much fried chicken."
Hey Man glared at him. "Don't mess with my fried chicken. You know it's my weakness."
"We all know what your weakness is, Hey Man," Chris said. "Food. All of it."
Flynn grinned, then lay on his back and started light with the bench press. Soon enough, he added more weight and the trainers had showed up to spot him. There was nothing like a pounding, sweat-pouring workout to get the blood pumping and prepare him for practice.
He finished off with an energy drink, jawing with the rest of the guys, then they headed out to the field where Mick Riley, the Sabers quarterback, was leading the offense in practice drills.
Since they weren't ready for the defense to come in yet, Flynn took a minute to watch the offense play. Defense could keep the opposing team from putting points up on the board, which was key. But if your offense failed to score, your team was sunk. Mick had been leading the Sabers off
ense for ten years now. He'd won two championships and didn't appear to be slowing down any time soon. At thirty-five, the man looked to be in the prime of his life, which was unusual for a quarterback.
Still, when it was time for the defense to take the field, Flynn had to take a shot at him.
"How's it going, old man?" Flynn asked.
"Hey, fuck off, Cassidy."
Flynn took his position with a grin at Mick.
"You know if you give shit to my quarterback, I'll lay you flat." Oscar Taylor, the left offensive guard, joined the fray.
Flynn crouched down in front of him. "You could try, Oscar, but you know I'm just going to run right past you."
Oscar growled. "We'll see about that, Flynn."
Flynn grinned. Shit talking was a normal part of practice. It got them fired up and ready to play. So when the ball was snapped, he and Oscar went at it, though not as fiercely as they would in a game situation. The last thing you wanted to do was hurt someone on your own team.
Practice lasted two hours. After general drills, they worked with their position coaches and went over plays for this Sunday's game against Detroit. When they were finished he and Mick headed back to the locker room together.
"How's the new restaurant?" Mick asked.
As was typical, all the trash talk ended once practice was over. "It's good, thanks. You and Tara should come for dinner."
"Yeah, she asked me about it the other day. She's eager to try it out. But it'll be a couple of weeks before she can fly out here."
As they walked down the long hallway toward the locker room, Flynn turned to him. "Well, actually, Irvin's assistant has booked the team party at the restaurant two weeks from now. Is Tara coming for that?"
Mick nodded. "Yeah, she is. So, your first big gig at the restaurant and the whole team will be there. Make you nervous?"
Flynn laughed. "Not really. I think the restaurant can handle it. And I'm grateful Irvin is giving the restaurant some business."
"I'll definitely let Tara know about the party being at your place. She'll be excited, since she's wanted to eat at Ninety-Two ever since she heard you were opening it."
"Good. I can't wait to see her."
Flynn knew that Mick and Tara made their off-season home in St. Louis, where the entire Riley clan lived. Mick also had a place here in San Francisco and Tara often came and stayed during the season, since she owned an event planning business here, along with another office in St. Louis.
Lots of juggling there, as well as their four-year-old son, Sam, and another son in college.
He didn't know how they managed. Family support, he supposed. The Rileys were a big clan, so he knew they all pitched in and helped rally around Tara and Mick and their kids.
