Big Win (Brit Boys Sports Romance Book 2)

by J. H. Croix

  His smiles were like little presents—rare enough I loved every one.

  “Nothing. Just…this.”

  I curled my hand around his nape and tugged him down just far enough to kiss him. He dipped to me easily. The moment my lips dusted against his, he took over. What I’d meant to be a little kiss turned hot and heavy in a flash with his tongue tangling against mine. By the time he lifted his head, I was on fire inside and out. Breathless, I glanced up to find him grinning.

  I swatted him on the chest. “You just like showing me up. Race home?”

  I didn’t give him a chance to answer and dashed off. I didn’t get far before I heard the sound of his feet pounding the ground behind me. In a flash, he caught me from behind and swung me into his arms. All I could do was laugh.

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  Please enjoy the following excerpt from Out of Bounds, the next book in Brit Boys Sports Romance!

  Excerpt: Out of Bounds by J.H. Croix; all rights reserved

  Ethan

  A fist glanced off the side of my chin, and I reflexively swung back. I shan’t say I meant to clock the guy right on the nose, but then I’d walked right into this fight. Literally. Blood streaked down the guy’s chin while he kept swinging, swearing a mile a minute while he was at it. I managed to dodge another fist and slip out of the midst of the scuffle. It was in the wee hours of the morning, and I’d meant to just skip out of the bar where I’d gone with a few mates from my football team. I hadn’t been paying much attention and, truth be told, was a tad sloshed from a few too many beers. I wasn’t prone to drink too much as a rule, which meant when I did, I tended to get fuzzy fast. Hence, I’d been making my way outside and didn’t even notice these guys in the middle of a heated argument.

  A quick scan around, and I deduced I’d slipped my way clear. Last thing I wanted was Coach to find out I’d stumbled into a fight, so I headed outside into the rainy Seattle darkness. I tugged the hood to my jacket up and turned to walk to my flat when I heard my name. “Ethan Walsh?”

  I turned back to see a police officer standing beside one of the bartenders. Bloody hell. I nodded politely. “Yes, sir.”

  I might have just accidentally punched someone, but I had manners. Fat lot of good they did me. Before I knew it, I’d been bundled into the officer’s car and watched while another officer stuffed the two guys whose fight it had actually been into another car. The officer who seemed to be in charge of me was friendly enough.

  “Mr. Walsh, as far as I understand, you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Problem is, the guy you hit is pretty upset about the whole thing and plenty drunk. We’ll get to the station and sort this out. There were plenty of witnesses who report you walked right through and took one on the jaw first.”

  The officer jabbered on a bit, while I put my face in my hands and sighed. Great, this was just great. I don’t know how long it was until we arrived at the station, but I immediately declared I needed to talk to someone. I made quick call to Tristan, my flat mate and the mate who had enough sense not to be out at the bar tonight. He chuckled and assured me he’d call Coach and get someone from the team sent my way.

  I was a player for the Seattle Stars, a US football team spending big bucks to sign footballers from all over the world. Correction: soccer team. There were many bits I’d come to love about America, but their silly idea to call another sport—an inferior one if you don’t mind me saying—football was a constant irritation. The rest of the whole wide world of sports called football football, but in the US it was soccer, or no one knew what you meant. Anyway, hard to believe it but I was an elite player and had lucked into this team after a successful run at the World Cup back in Britain. Downside to all this meant it wouldn’t be too great for me to make a ruckus for my team. Our Coach, whom I respected, I truly did, had little tolerance for players getting into silly messes.

  I leaned my chin in my hand and waited. They’d deposited me in a room that didn’t have much of anything in it, other than a table and a phone. I don’t know how long I waited, but out of the dead silence in the room came a sharp knock. Before I managed to fully stand, the door swung open. I glanced up to see Zoe Lawson standing in the doorway and almost knocked my chair over.

  Zoe stepped into the room, closed the door behind her and walked briskly to the table, sitting down and eyeing me. “Hello Ethan,” she said.

  I sat down and bit back the sigh that wanted to escape. Zoe Lawson was a criminal defense attorney. I’d met her a bit ago when she helped Alex Gordon with his assault charges after he hauled off and punched the asshole who’d raped his girlfriend a few years prior. Alex was one of my mates from Britain and the goalkeeper for the Stars. Alex, being Alex, had assault charges for a hella good reason. Me, well, I didn’t even know if I was charged with anything yet, but all I’d done was basically walk into someone’s fist and react.

  Now, here was Zoe. Zoe was, well, she was flat beautiful. I don’t know if she was the most beautiful woman ever, but she was to me. She was also slightly terrifying. She stood close to six feet tall with legs that went on forever. Although she must’ve rolled out of bed to come meet with me, she looked tidy and professional in a navy jacket over a fitted skirt that fell to her knees. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a sleek knot, not a single tendril escaping. I looked across the table and felt caught between impulses. On the one hand, I wanted to walk around the table between us and untie her hair. I’d fantasized a few times about what that gorgeous hair might look like loose, but all I could do was imagine. The unflattering fluorescent lights couldn’t even dim its brightness, streaks of gold winked out amidst the rich auburn.

  On the other hand, I felt a bit foolish. The hands of the simple black and white clock on the wall above the door told me it was approaching one-thirty in the morning now. I didn’t have a good explanation for why I’d ended up in this little mess, but here I was, wondering how to explain myself to Zoe.

  Bloody hell. Zoe Lawson had the strangest effect on me. She commanded any room she stepped into. She exuded brilliance and confidence and wasn’t the slightest bit intimidated. I wanted her like mad.

  I didn’t realize I was just sitting there like a dolt until Zoe drummed her fingers on the desk. “Can you handle a simple hello?” she asked, a tad sharply.

  Oh, that did it. I straightened and eyed her. “Hello Zoe. What brings you here this evening?” I asked, leaning heavy on the haughty in my tone.

  Zoe arched a brow and leaned back in her chair. “It’s morning Ethan, and you apparently managed to get yourself in a little fix. Coach Hoffman called me and asked me to come meet with you.” She paused and glanced pointedly at her watch. “At 1:30am.” Her gorgeous eyes lifted to mine again. They were hazel, layers of green and nutmeg swirled together with flecks of gold.

  I got lost in them, so lost she had to clear her throat to snap me back to attention. “Aye, I suppose it’s a bit late, or early, depending on how you look at it,” I finally managed.

  She inclined her head slightly and pulled a small notebook out of her purse. “Tell me what happened.”

  I quickly summarized and couldn’t help but grin when her lips twitched. I wasn’t grinning because any of it was funny. Actually, it was. However, it’d be much more amusing when I knew I wasn’t facing any trouble. I was grinning because I loved ruffling her. It wasn’t easy though. I had to credit her there. But the corner of her mouth curled up, just the slightest bit, and I loved it. Blood shot straight to my groin.

  Pay attention, mate. Not the time to get all randy.

  “Ethan, tell it to me straight. Did you really walk right into the middle of a fight? Because, I’ll be honest, it sounds a bit ridiculous.”

  I eyed her, knowing it sounded bloody ridiculous, but it was the truth.

  Zoe


  Ethan Walsh looked over at me with a half-grin and a shrug. Even a half-grin from him was devastating. Insouciance was the word that came to mind whenever I encountered Ethan. He carried himself with a teasing, devil-may-care manner. Pairing that with his tousled golden locks, flashing green eyes and body made for sin made him downright dangerous. Layer on his British accent, and it added up to way too much charm and temptation. He ruffled me in more ways than I liked to consider. I’d only met him a few times and always in situations where the last thing on my mind should be anything to do with sex. Case in point, now. It was the middle of the night. I was tired and cranky…and on fire inside. All he had to do was look at me, and it was a direct shot of lust straight in my veins. This annoyed me to no end. I didn’t have time for men, much less an international sports star who was well known for being a relentless flirt. Hell, his nickname in the press was Golden Boy Brit.

  My wandering eyes—naughty, willful eyes—took in his muscled shoulders and chest. Dear God, even his hands were sexy—strong and just battered enough you knew he could work magic with them. I heard a low chuckle from him and whipped my eyes up, feeling my cheeks heat. Dammit! I didn’t need a sexy soccer star thinking I was ogling him.

  “Should I repeat my question?” I asked, internally cringing at my bitchy tone. My default mode tended to be bitchy, especially when it came to men.

  Ethan ran a hand through his rumpled hair, tossing a sheepish grin my way. “No you shan’t. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s what happened. I was walking out and wasn’t paying attention.”

  “So you walked into the guy’s fist?”

  Ethan threw another sheepish grin my way, a dimple appearing in one cheek. Sweet hell. He had a dimple that I’d never even noticed. It only added to his roguish charm, which he already had in spades. My pulse was buzzing and heat slid through my veins. Even worse, I could feel the moisture at the apex of my thighs. This was a problem. I was contracted by the Seattle Stars on an as needed basis. My prior interactions with Ethan had been conveniently brief. If he were actually charged with something over this silly bar fight, I’d have to spend much more time with him. Not good. Not good at all.

  I opted to completely ignore my body’s reaction to Ethan. It would pass. It would have to. “So we’re going with this whole stumbling into a fight then. I haven’t had a chance to speak with the police. They sent me straight here when I arrived. When I do talk to them, will they tell me witnesses said otherwise?”

  “Absolutely not,” Ethan said, straightening in his chair. “I feel a bit foolish, but it’s what happened.”

  His gaze was sober and earnest, his typical insouciance gone. I promptly discovered this was more dangerous than his teasing manner. A man as obscenely handsome and drool-worthy as him didn’t need to be nice on top of it all. What the fuck are you doing? Wipe the drool off your chin and do your damn job. If you do it well enough, you won’t have to worry about seeing much of Ethan at all.

  The next voice that tried to pipe up got kicked to the curb. That voice wanted to ask how come I was so damn determined not to even consider the possibility of a man in my life. Given how attractive Ethan was, it wouldn’t be bad to enjoy some time between the sheets with him. I almost laughed hysterically. Don’t even go there.

  By sheer force of will, I met his eyes and nodded. I believed him, despite my inclination to give him a hard time. As I looked across the table, I found myself mesmerized by his eyes. They were a rich shade of green. Behind his teasing façade, I sensed there was more to the image he projected. Didn’t we just agree we weren’t going there? You can’t seriously be thinking Ethan would ever go for a woman like you. Not to mention, the last thing he wants to deal with is an almost-thirty year old virgin.

  He arched a brow, at which point I realized I was staring. I uncrossed my legs, immediately crossing them again. This had the unfortunate effect of drawing my attention to the fact the silk of my underwear was drenched. Great, just great. Ethan Walsh, a man I didn’t want to want, had the ability to make me wet whilst sitting in a drab room at the Seattle Police Station.

  This was annoying beyond belief. What had he just said? Oh right.

  “Okay then. Well if that’s the case, we should be able to clear this up easily.”

  I stood so quickly I knocked my chair over. Ethan was beside me in a flash. He caught the back of the chair in his hand and swung it back in place. Ever the teasing gentleman, he winked when he caught my eyes. He was too close. Even though I’d maybe been in close vicinity with him no more than three or four times, he was always a tad closer than I expected. He exuded strength and masculinity. My pulse bolted—if there was such a thing as a pulse race, mine would win right now. I took a step back and bumped into the table.

  Ethan’s gaze held mine and then dipped down in a blatant perusal of my body. I should’ve been furious. If there was one thing I’d worked my tail off for, it was professional recognition. Instead, I was furious with myself for the subtle flush of enjoyment at knowing he noticed anything about me. My skin prickled with heat under his attention—it was as if his eyes were caressing me. When his eyes meandered their way back to mine, my breath caught and my belly clenched, heat unfurling inside my core and radiating outward.

  I forgot everything I’d been in the middle of. Hell, I forgot why I was there. Ethan stood just close enough, my brain simply fuzzed out, while my heart beat a wild, staccato rhythm. He lifted a hand, tracing a finger along my jaw and down the side of my neck. It was the hottest fucking thing anyone had ever done. I could feel the subtle roughness to the pad of that lone finger, all of my senses attuned to it. His touch was like a blaze of fire on my skin. I was hot all over and nearly melting inside.

  I don’t have any idea how much time passed, but his voice snapped me into awareness. “Zoe luv…”

  His pause dragged out just long enough, I feared he could hear the wild pounding of my heart. After a few beats where I could hardly breathe as desire rolled through me in a crashing wave, he finished his sentence.

  “I shall have you one way or another.”

  His tone was a touch too confident for me. Laced with his haughty British accent, I was suddenly furious…and more turned on than I’d ever been in my entire life.

  Coming Soon!

  Out Of Bounds

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  Brit Boys Sports Romance

  The Play

  To Win Her

  Out Of Bounds

  Diamond Creek Alaska Novels

  When Love Comes

  Follow Love

  Love Unbroken

  Love Untamed

  Tumble Into Love

  Christmas Nights

  Last Frontier Lodge Novels

  Christmas on the Last Frontier

  Love at Last

  Just This Once

  Falling Fast

  Stay With Me

  When We Fall

  Hold Me Close

  Crazy For You

  Catamount Lion Shifters

  Protected Mate

  Chosen Mate

  Fated Mate

  Destined Mate

  A Catamount Christmas

  Ghost Cat Shifters

  The Lion Within

  Lion Lost & Found

  Resources

  A note about Harper’s story

  To Win Her is a love story above all, but it touches on a topic that
has been in the media lately - campus sexual assault. It is estimated that approximately 23.1% of female undergraduate students experience rape or sexual assault (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 2017). In addition, it is estimated that only 20% of these crimes are reported to the authorities (RAINN, 2017). Of reported sexual assaults, 98% of perpetrators will never spend a day in jail (RAINN, 2017).

  Harper’s experience in feeling like the legal system let her down is all too common for women in her situation. When I set out to write her story, I didn’t know how her emotional journey would play out. Time and again, her strength and resilience carried her through. In all honesty, more than once, I wondered if it was a good idea to write a romance where the heroine had such a traumatic event in her past. My stories tend to be steamy, so I had moments of wondering how to reconcile that with her trauma. However, I truly believe we can all find our own happiness. The scars we bear become part of the fibers that make us stronger. Harper was a passionate, bold woman who reconnected with that part of herself in her story. I loved how much she challenged Alex. I hope you enjoyed her journey as much as I did.

  If you or anyone you know has experienced rape or sexual assault, there are resources for help.

  National Sexual Assault Hotline: http://www.thehotline.org

  1-656-4673 (HOPE)

  National Sexual Assault Online Hotline: https://ohl.rainn.org/online/

  Confidential online instant messaging and online chat with trained professionals

  National Dating Abuse Hotline (for teens and youth): http://www.loveisrespect.org

  1-866-331-9474

  National Center for Victims of Crime: www.victimsofcrime.org

  1-202-467-8700

  RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)