“You put a fucking advertisement in the paper? Damn it, Trevor! I told you if being captain required me to jump through some crazy hoops, I wasn’t interested.” I dropped the newspaper on my manager’s desk and started pacing the room. I was a hockey player, not some damned circus elephant.

“You want to be captain, don’t you? The general manager of the team wants a family man at the helm. You have a reputation for being uncommitted. You have never had a serious relationship in all the years you have been a player.”

“It’s not like I have a new girl on my arm in every picture. I’m usually solo. I train harder than anyone else. I have the most saves of anyone in the league, and I am in bed every night before eleven when the rest of the team goes out drinking and whoring around. I am the fucking poster boy for commitment. I am married to my damn job. I don’t see how showing up with a trained female monkey shows my commitment more than what I already do.”

“Well, it may not happen. I haven’t seen any girl who is good enough for the role. She has to be a knockout but also look like someone who bakes pies on a Friday night. These girls coming in all look like puck bunnies. There is one more girl scheduled, and she should be here in a few minutes.” As if on cue, Trevor’s door opened, and the hottest damn woman I had ever seen came inside. I felt my pants get tight with just one glance at her. I couldn’t help but take her in from head to toe, from her long dark hair to her shoes, low-heeled, pretty but practical.

She was wearing a dark suit tailored to accentuate her delicious curves, but instead of pants that would make her seem all business, she had on a knee-length skirt that was fitted and tight. I smiled, knowing this girl had brains to go with that sexy outer layer. She knew the perfect candidate needed to be someone modest and presentable, but she also needed to make cocks hard. And she had definitely succeeded because my cock was hard as a rock right now. If I were a barbarian, I would have taken her right there on the fucking floor and made her mine.

“Miss Thompson, please come on in. My associate was just leaving.” I ignored Trevor’s words and stood by the chair across from his desk. No fucking way I was leaving her alone with him. I knew Trevor’s reputation; he was charming but had a slew of female companions. This woman would only be falling all over me.

“Oh no, Trevor. I believe Miss Thompson’s business has to do with me, so I will be staying.”

“As you wish. Miss Thompson, please meet Bryant Sommers.”

“The goalie for the Renegades, right? Nice game the other night.” She offered her hand to me, and I shook it. Sexy as fuck and a hockey fan, I was impressed.

“You’re hired,” I stated matter-of-factly. “Trevor, write up her contract.”

“Hired? I am not even sure if I’m suited.” Suddenly, she looked frazzled, and I wanted to kiss the shock right off of her face. I walked over to her chair and leaned in, closing the space between us. I was just a few inches away from her face, and it still felt like I was too far. Her scent was like rose water and chocolate; she was giving me a toothache. As if it had a mind of its own, my thumb brushed against her delicate, delectable lips. I wondered if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.

“You look like a sexy librarian, you smell like cotton candy, and from the moment you walked in here, you got my dick hard and ready to go. I would say you are exactly what we are looking for.” I knew I sounded like an asshole, but I didn’t care. Being so close to her made me feel senseless. The way she made me feel was preposterous, I was insane with this desire building and burning inside me. Her breathing was getting heavy, I could see her shifting on her feet as if she was nervous. And I’m sure she was. Yet, she didn’t leave, didn’t tell me to fuck off for being blunt and crowding her personal space. Instead, she stood there allowing my touch on her silky-soft skin.

Yes, if I was going to go along with Trevor’s asinine idea, then I was going to do it to spend time with her. God knew, in my thirty-four years on this planet, I had never met anyone who made both my mind and body react the way she did.

“Whoa, whoa. I don’t know what you’re looking for, buddy, but I am not a hooker,” she blurted out, her voice slightly shaking as the blush rose to her beautiful face.

“I said you got my dick hard. I didn’t say anything about paying you for sex. Baby, when I get you naked, it’s going to be because you beg me for it, not because my manager gave you some money. The payment is for a job. The job requires the girl to look like someone men would want. You are definitely someone I want, and I never want anything.” I watched as she went from blushing to becoming full-on red.

Holly

Bryant Sommers was intense.

The way he leaned his body into mine was unsettling and had all my senses on high alert. His cologne was woodsy and made him smell all-man. I could feel his breath by my ear, and the heat rushing through me was unnerving. That was what he wanted…to make me come undone. His vulgar language should have turned me off. Any sane woman would be running away, but here I was, glued to the spot, his brutish nature arousing me. I didn’t even know that part of me worked anymore, but this man with his domineering nature had me all kinds of turned on.

“Well, Miss Thompson, if you’re interested, the position is yours. We can start immediately with the training. What are your hours like?”

“We need her in the evenings,” Bryant interrupted, his ice-blue gaze never leaving my face. He looked like a feral, hungry wolf who had finally found the perfect meal.

“I have commitments. I can’t be free in the evenings until after seven. I have dinner with my family.” At the word family, Bryant moved quickly away, as if being anywhere near me was abhorrent.

“She isn’t right. I changed my mind,” he stated abruptly as he walked over to the giant window in the office. I started to panic. I needed this money. I didn’t know what I said to make him change his mind.

“I can be free whenever. If you need me earlier, that isn’t a problem. I’m sorry. I just really like eating dinner with my daughter. It’s been just the two of us for four years, and dinner is something we always take time to do together.” I heard the tremor in my voice, and it disgusted me. Desperation poured out of my mouth like thick syrup. I felt my eyes start to form tears. Bryant turned and faced me, and after a second, started walking toward me, his gaze softening. I was sitting in a chair across from the desk, feeling nervous and worried and knowing I couldn't screw this up when it was so close to being mine. He kneeled so he could be at eye level with me, and I felt shock move through my body. He lifted his finger and gently wiped the one tear that had managed to escape.

“After seven is fine.”

I couldn’t help but wonder what was with this guy, because his reactions were giving me whiplash.

“Oh, you have a daughter,” Trevor said, and I glanced over at him. “Maybe we can use her in this.”

“Absolutely not,” Bryant said firmly. “The kid stays out of this.”

When I heard his voice say those words, I felt a wave of relief wash over me, and my shoulders relaxed.

I don’t know what it was about this man, but he made me feel conflicting emotions, aroused and safe and a whole host of other things I had never felt before.

And that scared me most of all.