Joanne Rock - Her Man Advantage

“I tried to avoid this,” Axel reminded her.

“I … um.” Jennifer wrestled the urge to fling her arms around his neck and kiss him breathless. “Maybe avoidance was a smarter policy than I gave it credit for.”

“You called. I came.” He stepped closer, backing her neatly into the wall.

She swallowed hard. “Sometimes I don’t know what’s best for me,” she managed to say.

He reached out and skimmed his fingers beneath her hair to encircle the back of her neck, one thumb resting on the pulse point at the base of her throat.

“Axel,” she murmured, her sensitive skin registering every callus.

“Mmm?” He never paused the seductive caress.

Jen tried to reminder herself of all the reasons she shouldn’t be fraternising with someone she’d be filming. “This may be a bad idea,” she warned, her fingers twisting in the fabric of his shirt.

“There’s no maybe about it.” He lowered his head and inhaled a deep breath. “This will only lead to complications.”

And then his mouth descended on hers. Axel filled her senses from the minty stroke of his tongue to the silky slide of his lower lip along her mouth. And she realised that bad idea or not, she was in for one wild ride!

Dear Reader,

Hockey players amaze me. Their season is long, their sport can be brutal, and they play multiple games per week—unlike the sweet schedule of the guys over in the NFL. Best of all, you never see them beating their chests and carrying on about their prowess in post-game interviews. They work hard and get the job done without a lot of fuss.

That’s one of many reasons I couldn’t wait to write about hockey players. I also like the strong camaraderie of hockey clubs who, like baseball teams, spend a lot of time together on the road. There is a real brotherhood forged in that long season.

In the case of Axel Rankin and Kyle Murphy, that brotherhood is even stronger, since Axel was fostered by Kyle’s family during his teenage years. He made a great addition to the Murphy family with his fierce competitive streak. And while he’d like to think he’s put his past to rest and is ready to move on with his life, the arrival of filmmaker Jennifer Hunter makes that impossible. The trouble is, he can’t let her go no matter what the cost …

Happy reading,

Joanne Rock

The mother of three sports-minded sons, JOANNE ROCKhas found her primary occupation to be carting kids to practices and cheering on their athletic prowess at any number of sporting events. In the windows of time between football games, she loves to write and cheer on happily-ever-afters. A three-time RITA ®Award nominee, Joanne is an author of more than fifty books for a variety of series. She has been an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award nominee and multiple Reviewers’ Choice finalist. Her work has been reprinted in twenty-six countries and translated into nineteen languages. Over two million copies of her books are in print. For more information on Joanne’s books, visit www.joannerock.com.

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“I’M NOT SIGNING THE WAIVER.” Hockey defenseman Axel Rankin placed the sheet of paper on the desk of the Philadelphia Phantoms’ head coach, Nico Cesare, hoping like hell his refusal wouldn’t be a big deal. He couldn’t be a part of the TV documentary series that would follow his team over the next month. “There are enough guys on the team to film. Besides, I’m the defensive goon, not some big headliner.”

The native Finn kept the real reason to himself. Axel couldn’t afford to have his personal life broadcast to the world, the details of his day-to-day in the U.S. available to old enemies back in Finland. He’d worked too hard to put that past behind him. Having a camera crew follow Phantoms players around day and night would only resurrect old problems.

“Bowing out is not an option.” The coach, a former goalie and one hell of a leader, passed the waiver back to Axel, not even looking up from a competing club’s roster filled with margin notes. “The league needs the publicity and the Phantoms need the exposure. The dictate from corporate is that everyone participates.”

Win as a team, lose as a team. Axel had been hearing the same mandate since arriving in Philly on a trade six weeks ago. Cesare’s refusal to back off that policy had helped his hockey club earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which would start next week, but that die-hard commitment would make it tough for Axel to cut loose from the group now.

Shit. He ground his teeth, sweat dripping down his forehead from the morning practice session where he’d gone hard from whistle to whistle.

“I’ve got personal reasons, Coach.” He hated to go there. Waving the “it’s personal” flag felt like a cop-out.

Cesare finally looked up, his dark eyes meeting Axel’s in the austere office decorated with pictures of his two kids and hot, blonde lawyer wife. Other than that, the space was like a computer geek’s ode to hockey, full of stats and charts, roster breakdowns of twenty different varieties.

“Then you’ll fit right in with the rest of us, Rankin.” He tossed his ballpoint onto the desk and threaded his hands together as he rested the palms on his head. “I’ve got two players who didn’t want to sign because they’re afraid their wives will get wind of their extracurricular activities on the road from watching the show. I have three guys who don’t want their kids referenced in any way, including me. I’ve got a superstitious player who thinks the cameras will mess up his game rituals. The documentary is shit. I get that. But we’re all doing it and we’re all signing.”

Axel heard the unspoken ultimatum. Sign now or you’re not a team player. Or worse—benched.

He hadn’t risen up out of a Helsinki ghetto to play on a championship-quality team only to be sidelined now. He’d have to find a way to protect his Stateside foster family from his past if—when—it came calling. Swallowing hard, he picked up the pen his coach had cast aside.

Carefully, he inked his Anglicized name on the appearance waiver, knowing damn well that Axel Rankin wasn’t far enough from Akseli Rankinen to fool anyone back home. He was sure his old motorcycle gang kept tabs on him. Waiting for the right moment to call in a favor or blackmail the hell out of him. He figured the only reason they’d waited this long was to ensure his net worth went up along with his newfound success.

“Good man,” Nico Cesare assured him, snagging the signed agreement before Axel changed his mind. “You did well in practice this morning. I’ve got you on the starting line tomorrow night.”

Hard-won praise from a notoriously tough critic. Too bad Axel’s gut was too full of lead to enjoy the props.

“I won’t let you down,” he promised, always willing to sacrifice his body to the game. Hockey had helped haul his ass out of the crap life he’d had back home, so he gave it one hundred percent in return.

He just hoped the filmmaking didn’t steal his focus, because now he’d have a whole lot more to think about than lofting the Stanley Cup over his head. Stalking toward the exit, Axel planned to head home and make a few inquiries right away. But as he pulled open the heavy glass-and-steel door, his coach called to him.

“Axel?”

Turning, he paused with one foot out in the hall.