Wild Card: Boys of Fall

by Mari Carr

  Glen had actually purchased the ring two weeks ago after securing Coach’s permission to ask for her hand. And since then, he’d been looking for the perfect time.

  Earlier, sitting with her dad in the bleachers at the high school football game, surrounded by all their friends, and with plans to hit Pitchers afterwards, he’d decided there was no better time.

  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the box. Lorelie’s eyes widened with surprise.

  “Glen,” she whispered.

  “I’ve been racking my brain for a romantic way to do this, Lori, but the truth is, every single day I spend with you is the best day of my life. This proposal is greediness on my part, pure and simple. Because I want a lifetime of you. You’re everything to me. Every song I’ve ever played, every word I’ve ever spoken, every step I’ve ever taken. Everything has led me to you. I love you. I want to marry you, make babies with you, and get old and gray and grumpy with you.”

  He used his free hand to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. “Crying?”

  The tears she shed at moments like this always embarrassed her. When she was overwhelmed by happiness. He could never convince her this was when she was the most beautiful to him.

  “Yes,” she said begrudgingly.

  “Yes, you’re crying, or yes, you’ll marry me?”

  She laughed. “Both. And damn you, what the hell can I say to top that? You always steal the most perfect words and then I’m left with the same three.”

  “Say them anyway. They’re my favorites.”

  “You’re not bored with them?”

  He shook his head. “Never.”

  “I love you.” She kissed him, hard. “I love you. I love you. God. I love you so much…”

  He returned her kiss and slid the ring on her finger.

  Lorelie admired it for a few seconds, and then she grabbed his hand, tugging him out from under the bleachers. “Come on! I want to tell everybody.”

  He let her drag him willingly toward the rest of the gang, as anxious as she was to share their good news.

  It took a moment for that to soak in. He wanted to share his life with all these people. All of them.

  The rambler had found his home.

  At last.

  Boys of Fall

  Don’t miss the other Boys of Fall!

  Free Agent

  Tucker had only one aspiration in high school - to get the hell out of town the second that diploma was in his hands. The only way out was his talent as quarterback on the gridiron. And his plan worked. He turned pro his sophomore year of college and never looked back. Never had any regrets.

  Except her. Lela and Tucker's romance had been like a force of nature - steamy, unstoppable and tempestuous. He had always turned to her to forget about how bad things were at home, but when things took a turn for the worse, he broke it off and ran. For twelve years he's stayed far away, unwilling to deal with his drunken father, his mother’s death, and unable to face the girl he never stopped thinking about.

  When Tucker gets a call that his high school coach has suffered a heart attack and needs help, he has to make a decision. Does he return with his teammates to help his beloved coach? Does he take the risk of running into his father? What does he say to Lela about the way he disappeared so completely?

  And what if the spark that flared so hot between them still exists?

  Red Zone by Mari Carr

  Unlike so many of his teammates, Joel never left small-town Quinn after high school. Coach Carr offered him a full-time job on his ranch, and Joel was more than happy to stay near family. In his downtime, Joel good-naturedly competes with his best bud Oakley for the sexy local bartender's attention, but Sadie repeatedly turns down their frequent requests for dates. She doesn't want to come between the two friends...until a little too much champagne at a wedding reception leads to a sizzling encounter. In that moment, Joel and Oakley know they'll never make Sadie choose -- she can have them both.

  A no-strings affair between the trio turns complicated when it becomes clear there's nothing casual about their feelings. Add in a sensual, accidental touch between Joel and Oakley, and those feelings become intense times a thousand. It's an emotional game of chance, one they may ultimately lose...but if they can reach the Red Zone, Joel, Oakley and Sadie have a chance at the biggest score of their lives.

  This is a full-contact story with scenes of m/m/f sex.

  Out of Bounds by Erin Nicholas

  As star running back for his high school team, Jackson Brady led a charmed life—until the wild child pushed a little too far. And thanks to snitching goody two-shoes Annabelle Hartington, Jackson endured scandal, shame, and suspension from the team before the championship game. His ensuing downward spiral would have been far worse if not for Nicholas Carr, his high school coach and mentor.

  Now, twelve years later, Jackson doesn’t think twice about returning to Quinn, Texas, to help out when Coach suffers a heart attack. It’s an opportunity to atone for past sins and prove he’s ready to give back to the close-knit community. And he knows just the person to help him—the same woman who brought him down all those years ago. A respected and beloved teacher, if Annabelle is willing to take a chance on him, everyone

  will know Jackson’s a new man.

  But he’s not the only one who’s changed. Though she’s just as smart as he remembers, Annabelle is also sweet, kind, loyal—and hiding a surprisingly passionate woman behind her staid schoolteacher clothes. Suddenly proving himself to the town might be more difficult than he’d thought. Because while Jackson may have shed most of his wild ways, turns out nothing stirs his inner bad boy quite like Annabelle.

  Illegal Motion by Erin Nicholas

  Carter Shaw isn’t a man anyone would mistake for a good guy. He’s has always been intense, up for anything and fearless —on the football field, when wearing his badge and in the bedroom.

  But pleasure is never mixed up with love. His unstable upbringing was more than enough to scare him off commitments for good.

  Until he meets Lacey Andrews.

  A true do-gooder, heart and soul, Lacey is the only woman to ever make Carter wish he was a better man.

  It’s probably a good thing his best friend fell in love with her first.

  Even when Garrett is shot and dies in the line of duty, Carter knows he can’t give her everything she wants and needs. Until she shows up on his doorstep in nothing but a trench coat and pink lingerie. Now there may be a few things he can offer…

  Losing her fiancé has only proven how short life is and Lacey doesn’t want to miss another moment of happiness. Carter might have turned down the chance at the long term threesome she and Garrett wanted, but she knows he hasn’t forgotten the deep friendship or the one hot night the three of them shared. Carter is the only one who can make her feel alive again. And while her heart will always hold Garrett’s memory, Lacey is ready to prove Carter will never have to share her…even with the ghost of another.

  Full Coverage by Erin Nicholas

  You can take the boy out of Quinn, Texas, but you can’t take the love for sexy cowgirls out of the boy. Evidently.

  Nolan Winters left his hometown after high school, wanting bigger things than Quinn could offer. Years later, he’s a popular journalist, reporting stories that stir him, and also a bestselling author to boot, working on his second book—a biography about one of Texas’ most beloved football coaches, Quinn’s very own Nicholas Carr. Now Nolan’s finding himself home a lot more often. For research. Yeah. That’s the story he’s sticking to. He’s not coming home for sexy, sweet local mechanic, Miranda Doyle. Nope. Not at all.

  Randi’s a born-and-bred Quinn girl, more than content to stay there forever. Football, steady work, football, family and friends, football…the small ranching town has everything she needs. And lately, something she wants—Nolan Winters. Never much of an athlete, he’s asked football fanatic Randi for help on the sports details of his new book about Coach. The ins and outs of
the game. It isn’t long before Randi would rather help the hot scholar in and out of other things…like her bedroom, and definitely his clothes.

  She’s a small-town, C-average ex-cheerleader. He’s a big-city, A-plus bookworm. Their differences could keep their engines running hot…or steer them straight toward a crash and burn.

  To read more about Out of Bounds, Illegal Motion and Erin Nicholas’s other work, visit her website at www.erinnicholas.com.

  Going Long by Cari Quinn

  This time, he’ll need to hit all the right notes to win the woman he’s always loved…

  Wade Bennett is used to coming in second to his seemingly perfect older brother. In high school, Colt was a star linebacker while Wade was the punter, an important job without all of the glory. When Charlene Martinez—the only girl Wade ever truly wanted—fell for Colt, Wade decided to take his chances with music and went on the road. Leaving behind his family, his best friend, Rafe, and Charlene, who had feelings for Wade she never allowed herself to feel.

  Years in Nashville quickly hardened the dreamy guy who just wanted to sing and hang out with his dog. His success has given him more than enough money, even if he knows he’ll never be able to compete with his hometown hero big brother. But after Coach Carr’s heart attack, Wade comes home to help the man who helped him make the decision to chase his dreams all those years ago.

  Now Wade wants to chase a new dream in his old hometown, especially since Charlene is single again after divorcing Colt. And Wade is no longer a boy unwilling to fight for what—and who—he needs.

  Going Deep by Cari Quinn

  Two is hot…three is explosive.

  The last wedding former high school linebacker Colt Bennett attended was his own—to the woman his brother is now marrying. But tequila, romance and regrets make a bad combination, and the next thing he knows, he’s half passed out in his ex’s best friend’s truck.

  That Paige Wilcox hates the sight of him is incidental, right?

  At least until Colt calls his best friend and business partner, Drake, to give him a ride home, and somehow the three of them end up in Paige's bedroom. There’s absolutely no reason why he should consider having a threesome…

  Other than he’s been denying wanting both of them for months.

  With Coach Carr on the mend and the rest of his high school football team back home, Colt’s starting to find his true place in his hometown. Except now he’s got even bigger problems than recriminations about the ex he’s long over. He’s falling for her best friend, and maybe even for his own…

  Oh, and boys—and a girl—touch in this book. A lot.

  Going Hard by Cari Quinn

  Librarian Hollie Bennett is used to being overshadowed by her older brothers. One’s a country star, one’s a former football star…and she’s just a sedate librarian with a secret thing for high-end lingerie and fast sports cars. One person she doesn’t have a thing for? Obstinate, rule-abiding, stupidly hot Rafe Martinez—her older brother’s best friend.

  Until the night he saves her from herself, after she decides to go a little wild at a party. And the guy she ends up going wild with is the one she hates during the day—Rafe. Accountant. Suit. Man with an amazing skill with his tongue that can’t be un-known no matter how hard she tries.

  And he’s not ready to give up his wild-woman-in-librarian’s-clothing…even if he has to dig out every trick in his arsenal to prove she’s not the only one with a hidden naughty side.

  To read more about Going Long and Cari Quinn’s other work, visit her website at www.cariquinn.com.

  Sparks in Texas

  Want more steamy Southern romance? Check out Mari’s Sparks in Texas series.

  Waiting for You

  Sparks in Texas, book 1

  How do you protect the woman you love…when the greatest danger is sleeping in her bed?

  Sydney Sparks can’t remember a time when Chas wasn’t part of her life—from childhood playmates, to high-school sweethearts, to long-distance friends. Now, after twelve long years, Chas is leaving the Marines and coming home. Sydney’s thrilled to have him back on American soil, safe and sound, even if his return is doing funny things to her heart.

  The second he stepped off the plane and locked gazes with Sydney, Chas refused to waste a minute more on their “just friends” status quo. Together again, it feels as if they were never apart, the love they’d shared as innocent teens now vastly more intense as adults—with a sexual hunger to match.

  However, despite his newfound happiness, Chas can’t seem to shake the memories of his tours in the Middle East, of the firefights, the killing…the deaths of his friends. When the flashbacks grow stronger, Chas struggles to hide his increasing lack of control, terrified of losing everything he’d just regained—including Sydney.

  Something Sparked

  Sparks in Texas, book 2

  Jeannette's life is...nice. Great job in the family restaurant, cute house, sweet cat. All very nice...and boring...and maybe a little lonely. But she'll suffer that price for the safety she desperately covets. Now, if only something could keep her safe from the temptation that is Luc and Diego. The gorgeous firemen are a danger to her libido, if not her heart.

  Lovers Luc and Diego have had a hunger for the pretty cook at Sparks Barbecue since they rolled into town three years ago. But everyone knows Jeannette doesn't date, so the men's lust seems destined to go unslaked, no matter how much they want her in their bed. If friendship is all she's willing to offer, Luc and Diego will greedily take it.

  That changes quickly when an arsonist throws Jeannette in harm's way, forcing her to find security and comfort in Luc and Diego's arms. But the trio's simmering heat is barely a flicker before the men learn Jeannette has secrets that run dark and deep...presenting them with a challenge unlike any they've yet to face.

  Note: This book contains a scene of abuse from 16-year-old Jeannette's past.

  Excerpt from Something Sparked…

  Throughout the dance she’d shared with Luc, she had been aware of Diego’s eyes on them. Somehow knowing he’d been watching had excited her, though she was hard-pressed to understand why. It was as if she wanted Diego to know how Luc was making her feel…because she sensed that made Diego happy.

  Which was bizarre, because she had no idea if that was true or not.

  Diego took her into his arms, tugging her until her breasts were pressed firmly against his chest. He didn’t ask, didn’t hesitate. He simply took. While that idea should terrify her, it didn’t. Instead, he had a way of making her feel cherished, safe, protected.

  Like Luc, Diego was a skilled dancer. With subtle pushes and pulls, he guided them, taking over so that she could just enjoy the moment.

  “You liked Luc’s kiss.”

  It wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway. “Yes.”

  “I liked watching it.”

  “I know,” she whispered.

  “Do you understand now?”

  It was a vague question, but Jeannette didn’t need clarification. She knew what he was alluding to. She nodded.

  “You feel it to. I can see it in your eyes. Even though you’re dancing with me, focused just on me, you know he’s there watching us. It makes you hot and shivery inside, doesn’t it?”

  She swallowed, struggling to find her voice. “It does, but—” She tried to stop herself, tried to beat back the fears. It appeared Nettie refused to go down without a fight.

  “But nothing.” Diego tightened his grip. However, this time she couldn’t sink into the embrace. Her back stiffened as self-preservation and years of running away ganged up on her.

  He loosened his hold, tipping her chin up, forcing her to face him. “We’re going to take this nice and slow, Jeannette. But we’re not stopping.”

  “I can’t…do…” Again, the words died. She couldn’t go where they wanted to take her. But damn if she didn’t want them to try anyway.

  “You can’t tonight. I can see that. But we’re not going t
o stop trying. We’ve got as many nights as we need, all the time in the world.”

  She frowned and asked the question that had tormented her since they’d pulled her into the park and insisted on this date. “Why would you go to all that trouble?”

  “If this weren’t our first date, I’d take you home and turn you over my knee for that. Even now, I’m sorely tempted.”

  Had he seriously just threatened to spank her? And was she honestly disappointed he was resisting? God, this whole night was confusing. And maddening. And sexy as hell.

  Regardless, her spine stiffened. “All I’m saying is, you and Luc could basically have your pick of women around here. I’m not sure why you’d want—”

  Diego placed his finger over her lips. “I’m going to advise you to stop while you’re ahead. If I hear one more self-deprecating comment come out of those pretty lips of yours tonight, I won’t be held responsible for my actions. And believe me, angel, as much as you might want to tempt me on that, you aren’t ready for it.”

  Jeannette wasn’t sure how to reply. Diego’s thumb stroked her lower lip, his gaze glued to her mouth like a starving man eyeing a steak.

  Though the slow music continued to fill the air, couples swaying back and forth around them, neither of them moved. Instead, they stood there, on the edge of the floor, and looked at each other.

  Diego didn’t seek to close the distance between them. In fact, it seemed as if he were waiting for something. Waiting for her.

  “Kiss me,” she whispered.

  He smiled at her request. He had been waiting for an invitation. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”