Out Of Bounds (Brit Boys Sports Romance Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Out Of Bounds

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue - Zoe

  Epilogue - Ethan

  The Play

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Epilogue

  Big Win

  Excerpt: Play Me by J.H. Croix; all rights reserved

  Find My Books

  About the Author

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Out Of Bounds

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue - Zoe

  Epilogue - Ethan

  The Play

  Copyright

  The Play

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Epilogue

  Big Win

  Copyright

  Big Win

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Excerpt: Play Me by J.H. Croix; all rights reserved

  Find My Books

  About the Author

  Out Of Bounds

  Brit Boys Sports Romance

  By J.H. Croix

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 J.H. Croix

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 9781546562535

  ISBN-10: 1546562532

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Out Of Bounds

  Player meets virgin.

  Game on.

  I’m a player. In more ways than one.

  I love women and they love me.

  The second I lay eyes on Zoe, I know I want her.

  Like mad.

  She’s nothing but curves, but she hides them behind her oh-so-proper clothes.

  That only makes me want her more—and I’m used to getting what I want.

  Problem is…she’s supposed to get me out of a bit of a legal jam.

  F*cking my attorney is a definite no-no.

  Or so Zoe says.

  She also says a few other things…

  My prim, professional, smoking hot attorney is a virgin.

  Game. Set. Match.

  I will have her.

  Only one thing I didn’t count on.

  She might have me too.

  *This is a steamy, full-length standalone sports romance with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. No cliffhangers. Nothing but steamy romance & HEA!

  Reader’s note: For a limited time, as a thank you to my readers, all three books in the series are included with Out Of Bounds! Each title is a full-length, 60K plus standalone novel.

  Dedication

  To DBC. All ways. Always.

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  Chapter 1

  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, I was a tad sloshed from a few too many beers. I wasn’t prone to drink much as a rule, so when I did, I tended to get fuzzy fast. Hence, I’d been making my way outside and didn’t even notice the 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 from 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 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 drunk to boot, so he’s not listening to reason. 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, fucking 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. Friendly though the officers were, the arse whose fist bounced off my face was none too happy about his bloody nose. I made quick call to Tristan, my flat mate who’d 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 I don’t mind 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 solid pro start 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 almost knocked my chair over when I saw Zoe Lawson in the doorway

  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 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. Her gorgeous hair was paired with hazel eyes and fair skin. The only thing that softened her was her face—she had a wide, full mouth, eyes that tilted at the corners and rosy cheeks.

  Oh, and the last time I saw her, I’d kissed her. I’d encountered her by chance when I was leaving a restaurant. I’d had a few beers and didn’t give a damn about her standoffish attitude at that moment. I’d taken full advantage of how surprised she looked when she saw me and just kissed her right there in the hallway of the restaurant. For a flash, her mouth had softened and she’d arched into me. Sanity must’ve hit her, but not before our tongues did a quick dance. Definitely not before I’d felt every inch of her flush against me. That brief taste had ended with her shoving me away and glaring at me before she stalked off. I hadn’t seen her since.

  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 commanded any room she stepped into. She exuded brilliance and confidence and wasn’t the slightest bit intimidated. It was no wonder 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 and asked me to come meet with you.” She paused and glanced pointedly at her watch. “At 1:30am.” Her gorgeous hazel eyes—layers of green and nutmeg swirled together with flecks of gold—lifted to mine again. Her gaze ensnared me, and 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. No, rather I loved getting under her skin like I had with that kiss. 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, thinking I didn’t really want to keep talking about this. I knew it sounded bloody ridiculous, but it was the truth.

  Chapter 2

  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 should be tired and cranky. Instead, I was on fire inside. All he had to do was look at me, and it was a direct shot of lust straight in my veins. To make matters worse, the last time I saw him, he kissed me. Inside of a few seconds, he’d left me hot and bothered. I hadn’t forgotten that kiss, no matter how hard I tried. 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 nicknames in the press were Golden Boy Brit and Magnum.

  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. The lower side of h
is jaw was slightly red. I presumed that was from the fist he allegedly walked into.

  “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 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. With the exception of that out of the blue, knee buckling, body melting kiss. Well, that was brief too, yet so memorable it was seared into my brain and body. If he were actually charged with something over this silly bar fight, I’d have to spend much more time with him.

  Potential epic disaster in the making as far as my sanity was concerned.

  I opted to completely ignore my body’s reaction to Ethan. Kind of hard to do seeing as my belly was doing somersaults, and I was getting so hot I needed a fan. But hey, I loved a challenge.

  “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.