Showing results by author "CE Ricci" in All Categories

Madden Hastings has been my nemesis since the day we met. A divide was born from the age-old rivalry between our universities, but this year, another layer developed. It became personal. Because the captain of Blackmore’s baseball team? He’s also my new step brother. My disdain for the sudden blending of our families leads to more conflict, and despite their efforts to force us together, coexisting proves impossible. But something else starts burning beneath my bitterness and resentment; an attraction as unexpected as it is potent.

It was never meant to be more than a dare: A party game. A dare. A single kiss. That’s all it took to flip my world upside down. I’ve always classified myself as straight, and as far as I can tell, so has he. I didn’t think one kiss would change that, but I was so wrong. Now, I can’t stop thinking about him. My best friend. Aspen. His taste is branded in my memory, his touch seared in my skin. And I want more. Which is why I start tossing out new dares. Riskier ones that toe lines we never thought we’d cross. But there’s so much more at stake here. Like my heart.

Let me tell you how Holden Sykes operates. As the campus playboy and one-and-done king, he doesn’t do strings. Or repeats. Or names, for that matter. So when he tries making my best friend the next notch on his bedpost, I react poorly. Some would call it jealousy or an unrequited crush, but friends protect each other from making mistakes. The same ones I’ve already made. Which is why driving Holden away seems like my only option. Too bad he’s not giving up without a fight.

My path to success never included an enemy as a teammate, especially one as infuriating as Quinton de Haas. Clawing under my skin is his favorite pastime, only feeding the animosity between us as the years pass. We’re as completely opposite as two people can be; the golden boy and the black sheep. Constantly at odds or at each other’s throats. The only thing we can agree on is hockey is our true love, and we’ll do whatever it takes to come out on top. I never imagined that drive would lead me to do the unthinkable: falling into bed with my not-so-straight rival.

Catching feelings was never part of the plan. Taking in Kason Fuller as roommate is meant to be a favor; one I regret immediately. The bumbling, virgin football player drives me to the brink of sanity—stealing my food, my sleep, my peace, and solitude. My solution? Call a ceasefire.

He's the one I swore I'd never ever fall for. A teammate’s betrayal. A banishment. A secret revealed. That’s all it took to unravel my life at the seams. The punishment for my past mistakes goes further than expulsion,and penance can only come from the worst hell imaginable: Summer camp. Ten weeks spent wrangling a bunch of kids is bad enough,only to get worse when I meet my new co-counselor. The back-stabber himself. Kaleb LaMothe. Being forced to coexist adds more tension to our already shaky foundation,but it also pushes us to uncover deeper parts of each other.

Grief. I’ve never battled with the raw, debilitating pain that comes with it. Then a twist of fate hits me out of nowhere, and I can barely keep from drowning. It’s like weights tied to my ankles in the middle of a raging ocean. I’m helpless, with no way to swim back to the surface. But fate is crueler still, bringing my stepbrother back for the first time in years.

Duty, honor, and sacrifice. Dedicating my life to these elements, for family and country, leaves little for myself in return. It's why I indulge in a no-strings hookup with a handsome stranger mere days before heading half-a-world away. Except one night turns into a week-long fling, creating a connection at the most inopportune time. And neither of us want it to end. Staying in touch is easy at first, but dwindles to radio silence and distant memories as time passes.

Cela ne devait être qu'un défi. Un jeu en soirée. Un simple baiser. Et c'est tout ce qu'il a fallu pour faire basculer mon monde. Je me suis toujours considéré comme hétérosexuel, et pour autant que je sache, lui aussi. Je n'aurais jamais pensé qu'un seul baiser changerait la donne, mais j'avais tort. Maintenant, je n'arrête pas de penser à lui. De bien des façons dont je ne devrais pas. Mon meilleur ami. Aspen. Son goût est gravé dans ma mémoire, son toucher a marqué ma peau. Et j'en veux plus.