Hard Knox
Amber Malloy
(Perfect Stats, #2)
Publication date: June 16th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
FROM POPULAR ROMANCE AUTHOR AMBER MALLOY
Book two in the Perfect Stats series
Everything comes easy to quarterback Gavin Knox—women, football, even money. However, the only thing he truly wants but can’t win is the beauty of his dreams, Remy Bell.
A simple favor to save the girl turns into the quarterback losing his heart.
As beautiful as she is fun, Remy Bell has only one problem—a psychotic killer with political power wants her dead. Always a ‘two steps ahead’ type of gal, she plans to outrun the maniac. Marriage and a sweet life in the football star’s hometown in Canada would give her the cover she needs, but Remy doesn’t stick around long enough to find out. She travels all over the world, photographing the most beautiful and devastating events, but her now-husband’s tabloid activities lead her to the one place she should avoid…back home.
Superstar Gavin Knox wins at everything. However, once he scores the girl of his dreams, he’s suddenly in danger of losing the one thing he has always needed. Before she can slip through his fingers, he offers her a deal she can’t refuse—marry him for Canadian citizenship, which will protect her, and after five years, they can divorce. Knox is positive that she will fall head over heels in love with him, but it doesn’t happen. After six years of marriage, two playoff titles and a third on the way, Knox is forced to contend with a successful wife almost more famous than he is.
Determined to get exactly what he wants, which includes having Remy and a family, he devises a stupid scheme that puts everything he’s worked so hard for in jeopardy.
Excerpt:
With less than a minute on
the clock, Gavin Knox faked right and threw the ball to his running back. His
teammate’s gravity-defying catch took place in the end zone, resulting in their
game-winning touchdown. As the band played the school’s fight song, the student
body of Michigan Institute of Technology flooded the field.
Letting out a ferocious howl,
Knox snatched off his helmet. For the second time in a row his team was headed
to the championships. With only one more year left in college, Knox looked forward
to the Heisman Trophy Ceremony and a single digit position in the professional
draft.
It may have seemed arrogant
on his part to assume that he had a right to any of those things, but he had
worked his ass off. He had mapped out his whole career since the age of twelve.
In his freshman year of high school, Knox had transferred to America from
Canada to secure his spot in the pros. He’d then followed it up with enrollment
at a Big Ten college.
Intending to get drunk off
his ass, Knox scanned the crowd for his best friend, Hawk. On his way past a
couple of his teammates, he slapped their heads as he moved closer to the
stands—and that was when he saw her. A chocolate-colored honey ran straight at
him. Her letterman jacket showcased her body-hugging, tight sweater and perfect
tits. Since she was focused on something over her shoulder, Knox felt safe to
peruse her banging-ass body without judgment.
However, once she turned
those big, almond-shaped eyes in his direction, his whole world came to a
sudden and glorious halt. Shiny black curls bounced up and down, framing her
heart-shaped face. Simple and utter perfection barreled straight at him.
As she licked her full lips,
instant wood clouded his mind. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t seem to stop
himself. Fate had other plans. Flashes of what life would be like if he didn’t
talk to her propelled him into action. Knox reached out to snag her around the
waist, bringing the beauty inches from his mug.
“Where did you come from?” he
asked her.
Confusion shuttled across her
stunning face before she tilted her head to the side and smiled. “Nowhere.”
“So you just fell out of the
sky?” It might have sounded lame, but he meant every word of it.
“Technically, you grabbed me.
So, what happened here?” She checked out the field. “Did you win something
big?”
“If the answer’s ‘you’, then
sure.” As he looked into her eyes, he almost forgot the last few minutes of his
life.
“Do you mind?” She glanced
down at the ground. “The air’s kind of thin up here in Giantsville.”
Though he was reluctant to
let her go, he set her down.
“So, what…? Are you like the
main guy?” she asked, looking totally serious.
Knox laughed. He couldn’t
help it. Obviously she didn’t care about football. “Something like that.”
“Which makes you a supastar,
right?”
Positive that she didn’t have
a bra on under her soft, cream-colored sweater, he desperately wanted to feel
her body against his one more time.
“Are you going to tell me
your name?” he asked abruptly. She glanced over her shoulder at something. For
a split second he wondered if she had a boyfriend, but, truthfully, he didn’t
care.
“And make it easy for you?
No, but”—she raised onto her tiptoes and Knox leaned down to meet her
halfway—“dream about me, okay? Then just maybe…” The warmth of her candy-scented
breath heated his cheek.
Tempted to tip his head down
a little farther to intercept her lips, he froze and hit the dreaded blue
screen.
“Hey, man,
congrat-u-fucking-lations!” His friend Hawk grabbed him in a big bear hug. When
the melody of her laughter kicked him into gear, he realized that the beauty
had disappeared.
Knox searched the crowd but
couldn’t find her. “Where did she go?” he asked.
“Who? What the hell are you
talking about? I didn’t see anybody.”
Positive that she’d given him
a hint to her name, he ran through the possibilities in his head.
“The press wants to talk to
you. Then we’re going out to celebrate.” Hawk patted him on the back and led
him toward the locker room. Still shell-shocked by his encounter with the
hottest girl he had ever laid eyes on, he reluctantly followed his friend.
Author Bio:
Amber Malloy dreamed of being a double agent but couldn’t pass the psyche evaluation. Crushed by despair that she couldn’t legally shoot things, Amber pursued her second career choice as pastry chef. When she’s not writing or whipping up a mean Snickers Cheesecake, she occasionally spies on her sommelier. Amber is convinced he’s faking his French accent.
Thanks for being on the tour! :)
ReplyDelete