COMING FRIDAY 7 PM PST. KELLY JAMIESON AUTHOR OF: SHUT OUT

COMING FRIDAY 

7 PM PST.

KELLY JAMIESON

AUTHOR OF:

From the bestselling author of the Heller Brothers Hockey series comes the first novel of a new hockey romance series featuring a college team whose players are heating things up both on and off the ice.

The Bayard College hockey team isn’t where Jacob Flass thought he’d be a season ago. He was a rising star in the Canadian major junior league, cruising toward a spot on an NHL roster—until a single disastrous night on the town brought it all crashing down. Now he’s out of options, except for playing well, studying hard, and staying away from girls. He’s not supposed to be flirting with the hottest, sweetest chick he’s ever met. But how could he possibly stay away?

Skylar Lynwood knows that Jacob is out of her league. She’s just trying to go with the flow, which isn’t easy when six feet and four inches of total hockey hunkiness is making a play for her one moment, then giving her the cold shoulder the next. Skylar’s head tells her that this rugged athlete isn’t worth her time, but her body says something altogether different. Risking her heart for Jacob may be the craziest thing she’s ever done . . . but she won’t let him shut her out.

I step outside the bathroom and close the door behind me. I lean against it and smile at the girls standing there. Tiffany, Amy and another girl I recognize but don’t know her name. “Hey. Jacob’s just finishing up. Be warned—the lock on the door doesn’t work.” I wrinkle my nose.

The waves of hostility coming off them are palpable despite their phony smiles.

Holy shit. He wasn’t kidding. These chicks are seriously annoyed I was in that bathroom alone with him. Tiffany gives me an icy glare. She’s never even noticed me before. She’s definitely one of the women who goes to all the games and has probably slept with most of the players on the team. I’ve never seen Jacob around before—because God, I’d definitely remember that—so I assume he’s new this year. For a freshman, he seems pretty cocky and confident.

He’s good-looking, there’s no doubt about that. His face has a sculpted bone structure with high cheekbones and a strong jaw with a hint of a cleft in it. His eyes are dark and intelligent, his nose a strong wedge and his mouth . . . wow. The corners of his mouth seem to be perpetually deepened as if he’s always amused. It’s stunningly attractive. There’s something about him . . . if my roommate Natalie were here, she’d probably say he has a strong aura. It’s like a magnetic force field that surrounds him, throwing off a glow that makes everyone turn and look at him, not just girls but guys too.

His egotistical, bragging comments should be repulsive, but when I looked into his eyes and saw the twinkle there, the corners of his mouth lifting in that sexy way, I . . . melted. He clearly doesn’t take himself seriously, and the glint in his eyes and almost self-deprecating smile make me suspect his bravado is more an act than real.

I hear water running and take a step forward just as the door opens behind me. Jacob emerges and, shockingly, slings an arm around my neck. “Hey. Let’s find another drink, Rapunzel.”

The glares I’m getting from the girls in the hallway could freeze lava. I don’t really care; none of these girls are friends of mine. It’s kind of funny, actually, because I’m no threat to them. I don’t think I’ve ever been the recipient of envy like they are clearly feeling. It’s kind of a little boost for my own ego, which is about one five-hundredth the size of Jacob’s.

We pass the girls and start down the stairs. Halfway down I can’t stop the chuckle that rises to my lips.

“Something funny?”

I turn to glance at him over my shoulder, ready to say something about how hilarious it is that the girls upstairs would actually think I’m some kind of rival, but my foot misses the next step and I pitch forward. My stomach leaps and my blood flashes hot as I give a squawk, anticipating the pain I’m about to feel. But Jacob reaches out and grabs me, stopping my headfirst tumble. “Hey there.”

Pulled up against him, my back to his front, his arms around me, my heart thudding, I give an embarrassed laugh. But I can smell his aftershave—or cologne, I guess, since he’s got a nice layer of stubble—and it’s so freakin’ sexy I inhale a big breath of it, then let it out. “Thanks,” I say breathlessly. “Thought I was a goner there.”

“You okay?”

“Oh yeah. Just red-faced.”

“Let me see.” He steadies me and turns me on the stairs, studying my face with intent eyes. “Yep. You’re cute when you blush.”

Yeah, that doesn’t help. My cheeks grow hotter. Also other parts of me get hot. Melting hot.

This is really . . . weird.

I haven’t felt this way for a while. It feels good, but scary.

I don’t know why this beautiful guy is paying attention to me, flirting with me. I mean, I’m not a total troll. I’ve gone out with some guys at Bayard, and I had a high school boyfriend. But this guy is way out of my league.

For some reason, this relaxes me. Nothing’s ever going to come of it, so I might as well have fun. A sexy athlete telling me my hair is gorgeous and I’m cute when I blush? I laugh out loud, despite the lust curling deep inside me.

“That’s funny?” He lifts an eyebrow.

“No. Never mind. Come on. I need a drink.”

Shut Out and the Heller Brothers series.

Ella Verran has three goals this semester: get off academic probation, repair her relationship with her friend Skylar, and take some responsibility for her life. All of which are hard enough without hot, snobby hockey player Ben Buckingham around to distract her. Ella can’t stand Ben, and she knows the feeling is mutual. But he’s best friends with Skylar’s boyfriend, so he’s always around—taunting and tempting Ella in ways she never thought possible.

As the star forward of the Bayard College hockey team, Ben has goals too, like playing well enough to land a spot on an NHL roster. Ben is perfectly poised on the ice, so why can’t he keep his cool around Ella? Her wild behavior rubs him in all the wrong ways—and a few of the right ones. But as they skate around each other, Ben learns that there’s more to Ella than her bad reputation. And when the line between love and hate starts to blur, he can’t resist crossing over and sweeping her off her feet.

Kelly Jamieson is a USA Today best-selling author of over forty romance novels and novellas.  Her writing has been described as “emotionally complex”, “sweet and satisfying” and “blisteringly sexy”. She likes her coffee black, her wine white (mostly!) and her heels high! She also enjoys cheering on her Winnipeg Jets during hockey season.

Cross Check is Bayard Hockey Book 2 and it is coming out July 25, so will already be out by the time you run this. I've attached the cover for it too and here's the blurb for it:

A party girl and a clean-cut college hockey player discover that they’re not so different in this sexy, soulful Bayard Hockey novel from the USA Today bestselling author of the Heller Brothers series.

Ella Verran has three goals this semester: get off academic probation, repair her relationship with her friend Skylar, and take some responsibility for her life. All of which are hard enough without hot, snobby hockey player Ben Buckingham around to distract her. Ella can’t stand Ben, and she knows the feeling is mutual. But he’s best friends with Skylar’s boyfriend, so he’s always around—taunting and tempting Ella in ways she never thought possible.

As the star forward of the Bayard College hockey team, Ben has goals too, like playing well enough to land a spot on an NHL roster. Ben is perfectly poised on the ice, so why can’t he keep his cool around Ella? Her wild behavior rubs him in all the wrong ways—and a few of the right ones. But as they skate around each other, Ben learns that there’s more to Ella than her bad reputation. And when the line between love and hate starts to blur, he can’t resist crossing over and sweeping her off her feet