Going Deep Boxed Set (Books 1-4)

by Virna DePaul

  As they danced the night away, her brother Louis cut in to dance with his sister on one occasion. Kyle had taken to Arabella’s ne’er-do-well sibling the best out of her family, and he’d given the prince some love advice along the way. Louis seemed to be settling down more into his role as heir, even dating an eligible woman and trying his best to avoid scandal. He didn’t always succeed—drunken debauchery notwithstanding—but he seemed to have shed the wild child image that many in Salasia believed he’d never give up.

  Since Arabella was not heir, she had more freedom to come and go from Salasia. She’d negotiated with her parents a living arrangement in Georgia with Kyle part of the year, and the other part in Salasia. She wanted to be there for her husband when he played, she’d told them, and Kyle had swelled with pride at her new assertiveness. She would also do charity work while abroad, and continue to practice and perform as a singer, too.

  Later in the evening, the dance floor had cleared. Introduced by her brother, Arabella took the stage to sing a traditional Salasian song. She hadn’t performed in her own country in a number of years, and everyone watched her with hushed breath. Her voice, sultry and powerful and brimming with joy, brought more than one person to tears. Kyle, for his part, couldn’t have been prouder. To think this confident young woman had once been the girl running away in New York City just to have a little freedom! Now she was a woman who knew who she was and what she wanted.

  The last notes of Arabella’s song faded away, and the crowd erupted into applause. She smiled and bowed and shook her head at the audience’s demand for an encore. “You must keep dancing!” Arabella replied, humbled by their good graces. The crowd soon forgot its desire for an encore and began dancing again, champagne flowing freely about the room.

  “Congratulations, dude,” Heath gripped Kyle’s shoulder. “I’m glad you figured out what you wanted.”

  Kyle gazed at Arabella from across the room. “I always knew what I wanted.” Setting his glass down on a table, he walked to where she stood and, taking her gently by the elbow, said, “Excuse us, ladies, gentlemen. I need a word with my fiancée.”

  He led her away from the ballroom despite her protests. In his months here, he’d mostly figured out the layout of the palace, and he took the twists and turns without getting lost. Opening the door to the library, he shut it after them and sighed in relief at its unoccupied emptiness.

  “What is this about, Kyle? We can’t leave our own engagement ball!” Arabella arched an eyebrow.

  He turned to her with a big grin. “Of course we can. It’s our fucking ball.”

  “Watch your language, or I’ll be forced to wash that dirty mouth of yours.”

  “Just as long as you use your tongue, I’m good with it.”

  She rolled her eyes but laughed heartily. “You’re impossible.”

  He couldn’t help it, he pulled her close and kissed her, sucking the champagne off her tongue. She gasped and shivered at his touch, and he couldn’t wait to get her out of this dress later.

  “What was that for?” she asked after a moment.

  “You looked so beautiful, I couldn’t stop myself.”

  She curled her fingers into his hair. “You’re such a tease.”

  “You’re right. I am.” He kissed her again. “But only for you, Duchess. Only for you.”

  “And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she replied before reaching up to kiss him again.

  Description

  Ruby O’Brien, NFL publicist extraordinaire, lives her life by three simple rules:

  #1 - Never date a client

  #2 - Never sleep with a client

  #3 - Never fall in love with a client

  The problem is, she never counted on Alec LeBrun

  Alec, the cocky and talented tight end of the Savannah Bootleggers, repeatedly asks Ruby for a date, and no one’s more shocked than Ruby when she finally says yes. Less than twenty four hours later, however, he’s engaged to someone else. Lesson learned. Two months later, Alec’s single again, acting like a publicity nightmare and requiring up-close supervision. Now Ruby has to help Alec fix his bad boy reputation, even as she protects her heart.

  Alec watched Ruby from afar for months, long before circumstances got him engaged to his lying ex. Now he’s free to pursue the only woman he’s ever truly wanted. Ruby's smart, gorgeous, and super-professional, and he wants her with a hunger he’s never experienced before. Too bad Ruby thinks he’s still pining for another woman. Now he has to prove her wrong. Jeopardizing their careers isn’t part of the plan, but he also refuses to play by her rules—not when doing so means losing the woman he loves.

  Can Alex convince Ruby that, sometimes, scoring in love means risking it all? And will Ruby accept that she’s not second best, but the only woman Alec wants? For a lifetime.

  Chapter 1

  Ruby O’Brien flashed her media badge at the stadium security booth before zipping into the Savannah Bootleggers’ crowded parking lot. Pulling into her reserved spot, she turned off the ignition and rested her head against the steering wheel, listening to disgruntled Bootleggers fans returning to their cars after an unexpected defeat.

  No wonder Alec was in a bad mood.

  The mid-season loss, the recent breakup with his ex-fiancée, Colleen, the fact his own teammate had apparently been taunting him about both… It would put anyone in a bad mood, but unfortunately, right now, the reasons for Alec’s bad mood didn’t matter.

  He had to straighten up.

  Yes, he was obviously going through a lot, but he had choices. And choices, as a high-profile tight end in the world of professional football, meant everything.

  Lately, his choices had changed him. The charming, professionally-dedicated man she’d always known had deteriorated into a ghost of himself. For weeks now, Alec had wavered between his usual mischievous, easy-going self one minute and a short-tempered, troublemaking Hulk the next. The man was jeopardizing, not only his own image, but that of the entire Bootleggers franchise. Not to mention the reputation of her father’s publicity firm, O’Brien PR. One more bad move on Alec’s part, and the team’s contract might not be renewed.

  It couldn’t happen. Not on her watch.

  She had to get strict with him, and she had to start now.

  As Ruby strode toward the Bootleggers’ locker room, she focused on the job at hand. She tugged down the hem of her short skirt. She’d been in the middle of a date when her father had interrupted, a desperate phone call about Alec, urgently commanding her to “get that cranky-ass boy under control!” There’d been no time to change. So while she usually wore pressed, buttoned shirts and dark suits to work, right now, she was slaying a sexy black dress, strappy heels, and hair down in loose, fiery waves. Not how she’d choose to have a showdown with any client, least of all Alec, the man she’d crushed on for months.

  She’d been drawn to him from the moment she’d first met him, but while he’d been friendly, flirty even, he’d never given her any indication that he was seriously attracted to her. Then, two months ago, after he’d broken up with his cheerleader girlfriend, Colleen, he’d asked her out, multiple times. And what had she done? She’d finally caved, despite the fact she never dated clients, because doing so violated her own rules, yes, but mostly it violated her father’s business policies. In the end, it hadn’t mattered. The date never happened. Instead, the next day, it’d been all over the news—Alec and Colleen were engaged and planning an early October wedding.

  To say her heart shattered before it ever got out the gate was an understatement. Water under the bridge, Ruby thought. That weak Ruby was gone now, and she was the woman she’d always been. Professional Ruby. Ruthless Ruby. No-nonsense, Non-Heartbroken Ruby. And here we go…

  Pushing those double doors open was the same every time: loud, bright, chaotic, and filled with the pungent smell of sweat and buckets of body spray. Ruby marched through the swarm of players, keeping her peripheral blinders on. Do not look at the naked men. Do not,
do not, do not…

  For a moment, a sudden silence overtook the locker room, followed by several low whistles. An elongated “damnnnn.” Great. They were checking her out! She should’ve changed out of the dress. Oh, well, too late now. Her stride faltered, and a blush overcame her cheeks a split second before the catcalls ended.

  “Hey, Red, ’bout time you got here.” Martinez, the wide receiver from LSU who couldn’t run a simple route to save his life, but could catch a ball with his pinky, shouted at her from his locker. “Ooo, LeBrun’s in trouble now. Look how pissed she is. Ow!” he howled.

  She breathed a sigh of relief that the men weren’t going to razz her about her sexy dress. About Alec, yes, but that she could handle. Glancing in his direction but keeping her gaze aimed high, she waved at Martinez. “Be glad it’s not you I’m after,” Ruby said with a smirk.

  Several of the boys chuckled. Notably, both quarterback Kyle Young and wide receiver Heath Dawson, Alec’s best friends, were absent, as was Connors, the player Alec had fought with. Were they with him in the medic room? Ruby had already texted Richard James, Connors’ publicist, and would be meeting with him after talking to Alec. As for Young and Dawson? They’d probably cleared out to meet their girlfriends. The men had recently found the loves of their lives and while they, unlike Alec, weren’t letting their football careers suffer, they also made sure the women in their lives were given equal priority.

  “We missed you at tonight’s game, Red. We’re used to you being in the stands but looks like you had bigger plans.” That came from Plough, the left offensive end from Ohio State, who needed to get his hands up or he’d be knocked on his ass all season. “I think you’re right, Martinez. She don’t look too happy. Gorgeous but not happy.”

  “Hey, Red, how come you never come just to see us? Why it always gotta be LeBrun, LeBrun, LeBrun?” That was Hewitt, rookie quarterback the Bootleggers drafted first round from Stanford. Denser than a bag of bricks, but basically a nice guy who threw beautiful spirals to Alec every time.

  “’Cause he’s the only one who needs reprimanding, gentlemen.” Her mind wandered, as she thought about all the ways she wished she could reprimand Alec for his misbehavior. In another world, another lifetime, where publicists and clients ravaged each other as post-game punishment.

  None of that, Ruby. Keep it together. Alec just asked you out to fill in the space Colleen left behind when they broke up that first time at the end of the summer. As soon as he had the opportunity to get back together with her, he couldn’t forget about Ruby fast enough. Hell, they’d never even discussed the fact he’d asked her out and she’d accepted—when she’d seen him again, she’d simply congratulated him on his engagement. And though he’d looked tense, like he wanted to say something more, in the end he’d simply said, “Thanks, Ruby,” and walked away.

  It hurt. Like a mothereffer. But Ruby was great at moving on, and so she did. Chin up and all that. She never should’ve agreed to a date in the first place.

  Past the hoots and hollers, past the ass-staring—she knew they were doing it even with her eyes facing forward—past the not-so-clever quips, Ruby made her way to the medic room where she spied a man sitting on the exam table through the cheap, bent blinds. He faced away from her, as the team doctor dabbed a cotton swab to his cheek. She’d know that strong back anywhere—the twitching ripple of his muscles, the width of his shoulders, the expanse of his delts, the thickness of arms that would never, ever, wrap around her. There he was—Alec LeBrun in all his hot mess glory.

  Time to put him in his place.

  But then, Dr. Kelstrom—who everyone called Dr. K—turned away from

  Alec, revealing his exhausted figure slumped on the table. From the way he ran both hands over his face and shoulders, every line of his body defeated, she knew she couldn’t be ruthless. Crap, this guy needs compassion, not a tongue-lashing, she thought.

  When he turned his head slightly, she caught a glimpse of his profile and gasped. Not because Alec’s left eye was swollen and bruised around the butterfly bandage covering what was surely a nasty gash. Not because his bottom lip—such a beautiful mouth—was split.

  But because his whole being radiated pain.

  And an answering pain began to squeeze her chest.

  Despite the fact Alec was obviously mourning the loss of Colleen—it was a safe assumption given the timing of their breakup and Alec’s recent behavior—Ruby wished she could console him. Not as his publicist, but as a woman. Just wrap her arms around him and tell him it’d be okay.

  But she couldn’t give into her stupid fantasies. She was here to protect Alec’s career and nothing else. She could talk to him, figure out what was in his mind and heart, but only to do her job. After a deep, long breath, Ruby shoved the door open.

  Alec straightened, shoulders stiff. “Is that her?” he asked, peeking over his shoulder. His melodramatic tone clued Ruby in that, despite the hurt she’d witnessed on his face just seconds ago, he was going to play this off as cool.

  Let the games begin…

  Dr. K winked at Ruby then turned back to Alec. “It’s her.”

  “Does she look mad?”

  Ruby crossed her arms.

  Dr. K glanced at Ruby, gauging her expression. “Oof. Very.”

  “Worse than when I got fined for celebratory salsa dancing with that Eagles’ cheerleader in the end zone last week?”

  Ruby rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, yes. Much, much worse than that, Mr. LeBrun,” Dr. K said with a severe tone.

  The giant man with amazing dimples on the medical table shivered. “Worse than two weeks ago, when I took the Ferrari for a test drive a little too long the day before the big game?”

  Ruby blew out an impatient breath. She’d almost forgotten that one. The man drove to Miami on a test drive. From Savannah. Georgia. To Miami!

  Dr. K nodded. “Oh, yes. I would say five hundred percent worse than that.” The doctor removed his gloves and tossed them in the garbage. He threw away the bandage wrapper, patted Alec on the shoulder, then gave Ruby his customary kiss on each cheek. “Give him hell,” he whispered.

  Ruby pursed her lips into a smile. “You know I always do, Dr. K. Connors?”

  “Already been cleaned up and is meeting with his publicist as we speak.”

  “He look as bad as Alec here?”

  Dr. K winced and shrugged, which meant Connors looked worst.

  Great.

  Dr. K slipped out of the examination room. As soon as they were alone, Ruby walked to Alec, heels clicking on the linoleum floor. She rounded the table, finally coming face-to-face with her battered target. She opened her mouth to speak but froze when Alec’s eyes widened, raked over her, then widened again.

  “Damn, woman. I know this means a lot to you, but you didn’t have to dress up for me.”

  Her lips tightened. “I didn’t dress up for you, Mr. LeBrun. I just came from…somewhere else.” She avoided the truth, fearing it might prompt all sorts of intrusive questions, and frankly, her date was none of his concern.

  “Was it a date?” He flashed that pretty smile, the one that rendered all the ladies useless. The one that had no effect on her tonight. Mostly. Partially. “Come on, you can tell me.”

  She ignored the question. “Would you mind telling me why you got into a bit of fisticuffs with Connors? You have a press conference in ten minutes, and you need to say something.”

  “You were on a date, weren’t you?” His smile dampened a bit. Was he mad about her being on a date? Because he had no right to be after he’d had the chance with her then blew it!

  “If I answer your question, will you answer mine?”

  His brown eyes disappeared into a narrow-eyed smile. “Always loved your deal-making ways, Red. Yes, I will.”

  “Fine. Yes, I was on a date. Was being the operative word. But now, I’m here. Dealing with a big baby who can’t seem to stop getting in trouble.”

  “I don’t know about baby,” he sai
d, jumping off the table, hovering near her at his full six-four height. “But you got the big part right.” There was that smile again.

  Ruby looked away, biting her bottom lip. She couldn’t look straight at him, especially while he was half-naked, lower half wrapped in only a towel. She fished through her briefcase for a pad of paper and pencil, mostly to keep her eyes busy. “It’s your turn, LeBrun. Spill. Why did you get into a fight? Can’t make love to the woman you want so you’ve decided to make war—even with your own teammates now?”

  He flashed her a dark look.

  Ouch. That might’ve hit below the belt, but if he could give her a hard time about her date, then she could do the same about his breakup.

  “Look, Red, I know things have been…weird. I know I’ve done a few wild things here and there. But I’m not sorry I hit Connors. Fucker deserved it.”

  “For what? What did he do?” Ruby asked.

  “What did you eat at dinner? Was it lobster? Filet mignon?”

  “Why are you being difficult?”

  “Why are you interrogating me?” Alec countered, leaning on the desk right across from her.

  She felt uncomfortable with him so close, and moved away and into a chair, pretending like it’d been her plan all along. “Because it’s my job to find out why you’re having tantrums in public, Alec. Now answer my question,” she demanded.

  He ran his hands through his hair before they fell at his sides. “Look, I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t seem sorry. You seem to want to make my job as difficult as possible. I know you’re upset about…things…about Colleen. But this isn’t the way to handle it.”

  At the mention of Colleen’s name, Alec’s expression immediately went blank. They stared at one another. And as the moments ticked by, she wondered if she’d suffered some kind of seizure and imagined the pure lust and near-uncontrollable desire that flashed in his eyes just then.