Ruth Stilling

My whole life I’ve come out on top. One of the finest players ever to grace the NHL? Check. Most prolific playboy with an enviable reputation between the sheets? Check. Award for the cockiest athlete in America? Also check, and well deserved I’d say. So why does my life feel anything but the perfect image I project? And why won’t the one woman who came crashing into my life and knocked me on my six-foot four ass take me seriously? She doesn’t even recognize me, let alone worship the ground I walk on. I’m in uncharted territory, tearing up my rule book and unearthing buried demons in my pursuit of her affection. I always get what I want in life but apparently Felicity Thompson didn’t get the memo. I want her in my bed, but all she offers me is her witty British tongue and no-nonsense attitude. It isn’t supposed to be this way. She’s supposed to unravel for me. Yet the harder I pursue her, the more my own layers peel away. Felicity Thompson is fast becoming not just what I want but the very woman I need in my life, and I’m terrified to admit that when it truly matters, I might not be coming out on top after all.

She can’t stand me. She also thinks she’s got me all worked out. My Princess is determined to stay as far away from me as possible. Eighteen months ago, she wanted me, but now she’s convinced I’m bad news. The thing is, an attraction like ours doesn’t just fade, and my need for her has only grown stronger no matter how many times she offers me a scowl instead of her beautiful smile. We’ve been playing a game of cat and mouse since the day she wore my jersey, and fortunately for her, I love the chase. I love to watch the way her body reacts to mine. I’d fall to my knees in front of her if I didn’t think she’d kick me while I’m down and unearth painful memories from my past that I’ve worked to keep hidden for so long. I’m not the only one with secrets and a hurtful past, though. The walls she’s built around her are so high that I doubt anyone can see the real Kate. But I can; I see it all. I know what makes my girl tick and what she truly wants from life. I was just waiting for a chance to prove it. And now that it’s here, I’m going all in to make Kate Violet Monroe fall in love with me.

After the way she broke me, I’ve made one promise to myself: never again will I put my heart out there. Apparently she loved me, but that still didn’t stop her from doing what she did and frankly, I’m done with relationships, and I’m done with searching for love when it has no interest in finding me. After the hit I took last season, I plan to focus on rehabilitation and getting my mind back into the game I’ve loved for so many years. I don’t need distractions, and I don’t need another woman in my bed or my head. I’ve got enough complications to last me a lifetime. But I didn’t expect her sunshine, and I wasn’t prepared for the way Luna Johnson has worked her way into my heart and thawed its frosty state. I keep trying to resist her, knowing this will only end badly—she’s one of my oldest friends, and I have to keep it that way. But man am I attracted to her, and the more we reconnect, the more I feel the happiness that’s been missing from my life for so long. Luna wants more, I know she does. And dammit I want to give her everything and not just the broken pieces I have to offer—it’s what she deserves. If only I wasn’t so scared of getting hurt again or, worse still, pulling her down with me. I’ve got baggage and people in my life who want anything but my happy ending, and I know they aren’t afraid to hurt Luna to get to me. I’d convinced myself the stars will never align, and slowly, I’ve accepted that too. But perhaps my heart is safe this time, and maybe I can take a chance on love again? If it’s going to be with anyone, it has to be with Luna Johnson.

They think my greatest gift is my ability on the ice. But they’re wrong. I’ve been hailed as the guy who has it all when it comes to hockey. Powerful people have invested their time and money, determined to turn my potential into their reality. The most influential of those people? Graham Jenkins—former NHL player and the General Manager of the Dallas Destroyers. The second he set eyes on me in the little leagues, he piled all his resources into my success. And when the Destroyers were awarded the first-round draft pick, he didn’t hesitate to snap me up. He thought I was the golden boy, the star that would make his team as successful as his playing career. Only I wasn’t. Instead of unleashing my potential in front of the goal, he discovered my real talent—secrets. And I have many that I will never share. One for every scar disguised beneath the tattoos painting my body, along with the childhood memories either buried deep inside my broken mind or drowned out by empty bottles lining my kitchen counter. There’s only one secret I wish I didn’t have to keep. She’s also the addiction I know I’ll never kick. A detox my heart could never survive since it only beats for her. And even years after we were torn apart, my fixation hasn’t changed. Although neither have our circumstances—I’m still the broken boy, suffocated with trauma. And she’s still Mia Jenkins, the good girl, and daughter of the man who offered me everything except his blessing to date her. But one thing about addiction? It never seeks permission. Genres/Tropes: Broken Boy x Good Girl Second Chance Forbidden Love GMs Daughter He Falls First He can't stay away Spicy Lessons Found Family Virgin FMC Mental health (PTSD) rep TW include: Abusive parents, domestic violence, substance abuse, off page child loss (not involving the main characters) mental health rep namely PTSD, off page discussion of self harm.