“See, our lives don’t suck as bad as you thought, lassie.”
“Don’t say that,” Veda practically cringed, looking down, and Becca felt a jolt go through her—a chill down her spine that signified Veda’s rolling confessions weren’t over just yet.
“What is it, Vey? Please tell me. You know you can talk to me about anything.”
“I know and I’m so grateful you’re my sister. But I feel so ashamed.”
“Why? There’s nothing for you to be ashamed about.”
“But there is… Becca, Quil and I didn’t use protection at the Halloween party.” Veda blew out, like her lungs had held the weight of the world and she could fully breathe now after expelling the secrets there in. “I didn’t even think about it at the time. I mean, we were in the moment and it was so unexpected… I just took a test, and Becca, it’s positive.”
A ringing began in Becca’s ears, as if she were falling. What kind of test? An STD test? What was her sister saying? That she had some horrible disease, and now Becca was at risk of losing her best friend? “Vey, what—?” Her panicked eyes must have alerted her sister, for Veda’s next words stilled her heart completely.
“And I can’t keep it. God knows I should, but I can’t have a child born out of wedlock. Mam has enough to worry about… but it’s eating me up inside.” Veda’s sobs returned as her lips quivered.
“Wait!” Becca almost shouted. But her heart was up in her throat, making the words come out in a croak. “Veda, what are you saying?”
She squeezed her sister’s hands, and the look in Veda’s eyes was hauntingly desperate and sorrowful. “Becca, I’m pregnant.”
THE END
SNEAK PEEK AT ILLEGAL FORMATION
PROLOGUE
Quillan “Hades” Layton looked back over to the intriguingly petite figure of Medusa. Dark ribbons of hair flowed out from under a crown of plastic snakes, some hissing, some striking, others tangled into the strands that turned mahogany where the light touched it. A black mask concealed the woman’s face. Alabaster skin, as fine as any piece of china he’d ever seen, stood out beneath a sleeveless, midnight-black dress, covered in various colors of ink that weaved a pattern of endless stories over slim arms and an ample chest. Plump, milky breasts spilled forth beneath the plunging neckline. A trim waist and curvy hips greeted him, but it was the bright green eyes, as piercing as emeralds, that sparkled beneath the kitchen lights that drew him in.
Quil hadn’t originally been that thrilled to join the party. Although he wasn’t the only single guy present, he was one of the few. It had been a long time since he’d had the company of a woman in his bed and even longer since he’d been on a date. His wife, Rian, had died of a cocaine overdose over a year ago. Quillan had blamed himself, blamed his career, blamed God and anyone else whom he could, but ultimately Ri had loved her drug more than him or their little angel, Quinn, which had led to her snorting far more than she ever should have and ultimately, the action had stopped her heart.
Quil had been the one to find her, cold, blue-lipped, face covered in white powder, nose and forehead bloody where her head had dropped heavily onto the glass coffee table of her hotel room in death. Remnants of that scene bounced through his head like a metal ball in a pinball machine, hitting the nerves with rapid succession.
Which is why you need to avoid this woman, his brain screamed.
She turned from speaking to Brooke Taylor and a little diamond caught the light, twinkling in her nose. Piercings, tattoos, a come-hither glance in his direction--she was trouble; trouble with a capital T. She had to be by the sheer look of her alone. Becca had introduced her as Veda, such an enigmatic name for such an enigma of a woman.
Quil’s eyes roved her once more, his fingertips itching to explore those tattoos of hers, the lines and curves of her body. Aside from those markings, she favored her twin in practically every way. Same height, same build, same enticing lips… But the mask reminded him so much of someone he’d met before.
Much to his delight--and dismay--the woman moved closer. It wouldn’t do for him to allow her the opportunity to invade his private bubble of brood, but hell, it was Halloween after all and when was the last time Quil had enjoyed himself? Quinn was home safe for the night, with the nanny he’d known since her birth, a woman he trusted with her life. And he had nowhere else to be, nothing else to do.
“You make a fine Hades, I must say,” the voice was as sultry as the body and rolled into his ears like a soothing melody.
“And you, a fine Medusa.” Quil gripped one of the snakes laconically, watching her eyes follow his movements. “You look so familiar to me. Have we met before tonight?”
Something about a mask had always intrigued him. Elusive, mysterious, sexual. And this woman was all three things simultaneously.
“Oh, aye, we have, Quillan.” He detected a slight accent. He, himself, had a slight Spanish one. His maternal grandmother was from Spain and never spoke a word of English to him. “A confusing language”, she’d told him, so she’d taught him Spanish instead. His abuela had raised him while Quil’s father worked two jobs to keep a roof over their heads.
Quil’s brows rose, waiting for the stranger to elaborate. When she didn’t, he grinned and brought his drink up. “Call me Quil.”
“Oh, you don’t prefer Hades?” The playful smirk that pulled at the beauty’s lip made his belly flutter.
“One and the same. I figured that was assumed.”
Veda laughed, sexy and husky. Damn! “I go by several names myself.”
“Oh? Pray tell what the others are.” It hadn’t taken her more than sixty seconds to reel him in; he was a goner.
“In certain circles I’ve been called Obsidian.” A long, pink tongue snaked out of her mouth akin to the serpents in her hair, slow and calculating, until it was fully unsheathed and licking her lips provocatively, a silver barbell tongue ring showcased.
Quil’s sharp intake of breath seem to please Veda and he felt his cheeks flame in both surprise and familiarity. “Holy shit,” he hissed under his breath.
She was the masked dancer who’d sat on his lap at RISE; the one who’d brought his entire body to life with the French kiss to end all French kisses. He could still feel the dancing metal flicking across his teeth and over his tongue while his body had been engulfed in flames of scorching desire.
“You remember me, dark god?”
Remember her? How in God’s holy name could he ever forget her? Pushing her off his lap to tend to Paxton’s bruised ego that night had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done in his life. He’d wanted to continue to feel her tongue on his own, on his body, on his cock.
Obsidian/Medusa/Veda’s smile said she knew exactly what he was thinking, and Quil felt his body heat rise as she took a step closer. Her hand pressed lightly to his bare pec and he stifled a growl, loving her delicate touch on his hungry flesh.
Just then, Brooke and TJ squared off in a surprising conversation that promised sexual gratification and an invitation for everyone to move outdoors to watch the women dance around the bonfire Pax and Becca had made out back.
Quil’s body sizzled all over as Veda took his hand in hers and began to pull him outside. She playfully invited him to watch as he stood next to Pax and she and Becca lead the women around the bonfire, swirling and swaying, imitating the flames that consumed the crackling wood inside the fire pit.
Veda’s movements were smooth and sexual, like she’d been on stage, so alluring and inviting, her focus solely on Quillan. He watched with bated breath, knowing that before the night was out she was gonna be his.
He couldn’t wait!
***
Find out exactly what happens between Quil and Veda at Paxton’s Halloween party.
(This book is set simultaneously as—and following the conclusion of—book 3)
PRE-ORDER IT HERE
AFTERWORD
Thank you so much for reading PASS INTERFERENCE.
I hope you e
njoyed this fun, sweet, and tear-jerking third book of the series. If so, please be sure to leave a review.
This book was fun to write, light-hearted and sweet, but of course had to have some twists and a few dramatic moments—in typical Shanna fashion.
***
The conclusion to the Gods of the Gridiron series is Book 4, ILLEGAL FORMATION. Quillan—Hades—and Veda’s story, is the darkest book of the quartet. Hades has a lot of baggage, as you well know, and Veda, too. So be warned, not all fairy tales are without their traumatic moments. These two are tangled in a forbidden web and one of them is bound to get burned.
It’s set for a November 20th release date.
Pre-order your copy now.
BLURB:
Hell hath no fury… especially if you’re Hades—the god of death.
TE, Quillan Layton, is settling into his role as the newest player for the Gladiators. He’s embracing his brooding and dark character’s namesake. Hell, it’s easy to be such when your life is as skewed as his is. After all, he’s a single dad and the widower of a former drug addict who’s not looking for love—not in the slightest.
Though when he sees bad girl, Veda Ryan, at Paxton’s Halloween party, he might just be eating crow. This tattooed, pierced, and cynical Irish “snake-charmer” has more up her sleeve than ink, and one scorching hot night with her isn’t quite enough to satisfy the ravenous god within just dying to be unleashed.
Veda, the sharp-tongued twin of Becca’s, is an unhappy cheerleader, reluctant stripper, and passionate model-wannabe with a determination as strong as her colorfully art-clad skin. She sees the tall, dark, and delicious half-Spanish sex god, Quillan, and knows immediately that she has to sink her teeth into him, come Hell or highwater, and does so that fateful Samhain night in an ILLEGAL FORMATION of epic proportions.
But Quil and Veda are in for a rude awakening. The old saying goes that if one plays with fire, one is bound to get burned and burned these two lovers will be as they fight their sizzling attraction for one another tooth and nail.
Will a devastating secret be enough to bring them colliding together or will it doom Hades and his Persephone to a fiery pit of never-ending regret?
**This book is a forbidden/single dad bad girl romance that deals with abortion, a secret baby, violent sexual acts, and addiction.**
READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
***HEA GUARANTEED***
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I just want to drop a quick thank you to all my new (and continued!) readers, supporters, and fans. I love that you are loving my football team, the Gladiators. Thanks for all your love, your collages, your awesome reviews, and taking the time out of your day to message me, tag me, and make me feel special. It means so so much!!!
—Kisses, Shanna
ALSO BY SHANNA SWENSON
~THE ABUNDANCE SERIES~
Abundance
Return to Abundance
Escape from Abundance
Stars over Abundance
Abundance Legacy
Starlight Valley: The prequel to Abundance (FREE ebook)
~THE GODS OF THE GRIDIRON SERIES~
PERSONAL FOUL: Prequel novella
UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT
FALSE START
PASS INTERFERENCE
ILLEGAL FORMATION
(COMING IN NOVEMBER)
~THE SIN AND SECRETS COLLECTION~
RISE: A Prequel Novella (Sin and Secrets)
(Coming November 13, 2020)
~Aurora Rose Reynold’s HEA WORLD~
Until Kingston
(Coming 2021)
LEARN MORE AT WWW.SHANNASWENSON.COM
ABOUT SHANNA SWENSON
Shanna Swenson is a cardiac sonographer by day and a weaver of various fictional tales by night.
She’s been an avid reader all her life and began writing at the age of fourteen. She finally published her first novel, Abundance, after it sat patiently on her laptop for well over fifteen years and she hasn’t stopped writing since.
Shanna fits her zodiac sign of Cancer with a capital C and enjoys life’s simplest things—sunsets, rain, and coffee—to name a few.
When Shanna’s not supporting her fellow indies with her face buried in a book or writing her next novel/novella, she enjoys action and horror movies, pro football, hiking, working out, and traveling with her own “knight in shining armor”.
You can find her on the following social media platforms.
Her website is www.shannaswenson.com
PASS INTERFERENCE (Gods of the Gridiron Book 3) Page 21
