Showing results by publisher "Tantor Media" in Sports

When I met Greg Foster, the straight tight end for the Portland Pirates, the rookie needed a friend to bring him out of his shell. There was more to the shy twenty-two-year-old bookworm than met the eye, and I was the perfect person for the task. My roommate and best friend, Christian, was involved with the Pirates QB, so a new friend to hang out with was good. I pushed down my attraction to him and became the best friend he ever had. We bar-hopped all over Portland and played video games in our apartments. We even loved the same indie band from Seattle.

After a divorce from her cheating football player ex, PR whiz Kim Matlock would rather drive a pine tree through her walled-off heart than work at the Seattle Wedding Expo. And the last thing she expects is to be grabbed and kissed breathless by a hot giant of a man looking to fend off a stalker. She doesn't want emotional entanglements, but she can't say no to one scorching night with the sexy stranger. To her shock, she finds out afterward that a) he's a pro football player, a.k.a. her kryptonite, and b) she's pregnant.

Ten years ago, I was trapped between the boy I grew up with and the most forbidden man in my life. The comfort and familiarity of my best friend versus a 'once in lifetime' kind of love with a boy bound for greatness. I chose wrong. When a tragic accident and a manipulative man took away my free will, I fought to retain my identity. Bit by bit, he erased it. Erased me. Drowning us both in shared misery. His abrupt death should have freed the bonds, but instead they continue to tighten.

Violet Vasquez never met her biological father, so learning he left his hockey franchise—the Chicago Rebels—to her is, well, unexpected. Violet is determined to make the most of this sudden opportunity. Except dear old dad set conditions that require she takes part in actually running the team with the half-sisters she barely knows. Working with these two strangers and overseeing a band of hockey-playing lugs is not on her agenda . . . until she lays eyes on the Rebels captain and knows she has to have him.

What does the most notorious playboy on the Minnesota Caribou professional hockey team do when everything blows up in his face? Right, I've sworn off women because my multi-million-dollar NHL contract is on the line. If I lose my dream because of my own screw-ups, I might never recover. I've never known a goal I couldn't score—or a girl I couldn't score with. Until she tumbles from a ladder and straight into my arms. Sue-Ann Johnson is lush, smart, more determined than I am, and one hundred percent taboo. For the first time in my life, I want someone who's not a sure bet.

Bad is the new good. Unless you're the most hated man in New York. A bad-boy quarterback who can't perform is one thing, but Liam Sharpe's on a special kind of downward spiral. But it's not a spark when our eyes meet; it's a forest fire - all consuming, sucking the very breath from my lungs. And I'm crushing hard. I'm an up-and-coming popstar about to make the big time. We shouldn't be together. He's an old soul. I'm...well, nuts, but worlds collide when we come together. And between the sheets? Sweet, sinful skills, and stamina galore.

Theo Kline: I know everything there is to know about hockey. Right now, I'd give everything just to understand her. Charlotte Mabry is a curvy little goddess with the sweetest smile. She's also my mother's boyfriend's favorite niece. Dating her is off the table so I hired her to work for me instead. I never expected to find her asleep in my bed. Or for our first kiss to hit the news. But I don't care who knows about us. She's mine now.

Harrison Miller is making waves on the Brain Injury Ward, and as his therapist, I have close, intimate access. Amnesia is a rare and sometimes dangerous condition, even for an alpha male. But the more time we spend together, the further I fall into his orbit, connecting on a level far deeper and private than I ever imagined. I said I wouldn't date a guy like this again, that I'd keep my clean slate and simple life. That's to say nothing of the ethical issues at play. But every time those upturned icebergs look my way, I'm lost, worried if I let myself drift to him I'll go down.

Beautifully, wonderfully, toe-curlingly complex. That's Killian O'Sullivan—running back for the New York Vulcans—complete with lucky green jockstrap and an appetite for trouble. A smart woman would steer well clear, but I've decided to head right for the pretty blue eyes of the storm. I find him one night half-naked in an alleyway (long story) short on pants but definitely not short on something else. Helping a stranger in need is one thing, but dating a Vulcan is quite another. He lives on a knife's edge. Me? I've got...complications (even longer story).

Cade Hall has always been the golden boy of the gridiron. Because of his talent at football, coupled with his father's wealth, he's always gotten his way. But when a night of drunken debauchery lands him in hot water with the college athletic board, neither his influential father nor his charming grin can save him. Cade finds it a total buzzkill when he is sentenced to community service with troubled youth at an inner-city shelter.

NFL tight end Andrew McAdams isn't thrilled to be sidelined with an injury. He's even less thrilled about his legal troubles. Community service is the only thing standing between him and jail. It's not all bad news, though. He gets to work with Jesse Fox, who is as gorgeous as he is guarded. And there's no rule saying he can't do his hours and have a little fun. Right?

They call me the Ice Queen. I take it as a compliment, because owning a pro hockey team requires a certain ruthlessness. But my penchant for ball busting has made me political enemies, and one of them has the clout to get me deported back to my home country of Russia. There's only one solution: I have to get married, and fast.

I'm the nerdy reporter. He's the hotshot diver. We're complete opposites. There's no way this will ever work. My entire life, I've had one dream. To be the best reporter I can be and tell stories that matter. When the opportunity to shadow an Olympian lands in my lap, I'm determined to rise to the occasion. But nothing can prepare me for Wes Cooper in all his glory. Wes is the cocky athlete who has no interest in having a green reporter standing in his way. Or asking too many questions. Which is fine. I'm here to do my job, not be his friend.

• Entertainment columnist Paige Turner is known for getting under the skin of the people whose books she reviews on her popular blog. When her criticism of NFL standout Torrian Smallwood's cookbook/memoir goes viral, it sparks an online war between the city's most beloved blogger and one of football's hottest stars.

Gil Sanchez was once rodeo's biggest and baddest hotshot. Now he's thirteen years sober and finally free of the pain that ended his skyrocketing career. Given one last, near-miraculous shot to claw his way back to rodeo glory, he can't let fantasies of happily-ever-after dull his razor edge . . . but Carmelita White Fox is every dream he's never let himself have. And from the moment he saw the spark of challenge in her eyes, he hasn't been able to look away.

It was supposed to be one night. But one night turned into two, and before they knew it, those two nights became every night. Sierra thought that she had it all figured out. Back before Braden started throwing wrenches in her perfect plans and inserting himself into parts of her life that he had no business being involved in. With that familiar, arrogant grin, he dug himself under her skin too far to be pulled out. But that was before he let her go. Before he broke whatever they had spent months building together.

Roan Ellis never expected to take custody of his cousin's daughters, but that didn't stop him from opening his heart and home in their time of need. When his lawyer warned him that their dead-beat dad's sister wanted custody, he vowed to do whatever it took to protect the girls. Then he met Ava Cromwell and realized she was nothing like her brother. She loved the girls as much as he did . . . and he wanted to be more than just a coparent with her. He was determined to win her heart.

Michael Reiner has the new start he's been craving, where no one knows about his past. He can't play hockey anymore, and life without hockey seems daunting. But when he gets the chance to intern under the Central State hockey coach, he couldn't be happier. Until he finds out the mysterious hottie he met at the bar is the coach's daughter.

Publicist Aubrey Cooper never should have crossed the line. After all, pro football player Flynn Foley is her client. But something about this mouth-wateringly-hot, clean-cut athlete makes Aubrey imagine all kinds of X-rated fantasies. And it only takes one game-changing play-and one night-to turn the tables from strictly business to very, very personal....

Abigail Darlington will never be "that" girl. You know the one: that girl on campus, confident in her own skin. Always saying the right things. Putting herself out there. Knows how to talk to a guy without stammering. Abby is fine being the wallflower in her circle of outgoing, beautiful friends; she would rather read about a sexy book boyfriend than actually have a live, breathing one. Star goaltender for the university's hockey team, Caleb is quiet and broody, preferring the solitude of his orderly, regimented life. He doesn't like or need people—and plans to keep it that way.