Love of the Game - The Complete Collection (Box Set) Read online

  Love of the Game

  *The Complete Collection*

  How you play is just the beginning.

  Shayne McClendon

  Love of the Game – The Complete Collection

  by Shayne McClendon

  Copyright © 2014 Shayne McClendon

  Published by Always the Good Girl LLC

  www.alwaysthegoodgirl.com

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  **PLEASE NOTE**

  This story contains explicit sexual scenes and language and is intended for mature audiences only. Do not read this novel if intense and graphically described sexual situations offend you.

  The author describes every sexual act and body part in thorough detail.

  Also by Shayne McClendon

  The Barter System

  Hudson

  Yes to Everything

  Damaged

  In the Service of Women

  Obsession - Endurance

  A Little Bit Country

  Being Delightful

  The Hermit

  The Great Outdoors Collection

  Gravity

  Quickies

  Roadside Assistance

  Compilations

  Just a Little Kilted – with Alexandra Andersen

  Just a Little Crazy – with Alexandra Andersen

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, I need to gush about my lead editor, Elizabeth Davis. Over the last couple of months, she’s gone above and beyond in so many ways to meet impossible deadlines. Neither of us is perfect – especially when I tell her I need something back in three days – but she catches things that would truly embarrass me and makes me think about the details.

  Elizabeth, you’re a rock star who is taking a big risk on me. I deeply appreciate your help and your encouragement when I start to freak out. I cannot wait for the day when I can change your life as much as you’ve changed mine.

  For helping me take my writing to the next (professional) level: thank you.

  Niki Hoffman also edits for me and is incredible about going through my work fast and shooting me a list of what she finds. What makes that awesome? She catches errors and sends them to me…through her phone. Blows my mind! I can barely text on mine and she edits a 140K word novel through hers. Props, darling.

  To my Street Team, I’d like to say: you kick righteous ass. I can’t keep up with how many times you talk about my work or me but you can damn well believe I won’t forget it.

  As always, love to my friend and writing partner Alexandra Andersen for getting me cover art and listening to me rant like a lunatic. I love you, girl!

  Much love,

  Shayne

  Dedication

  Naturally, all the hard work would be pointless without my readers.

  You’ve been amazing about telling me to take my time, take a breath, and take care of myself. I don’t always remember to do that. I’ve grown close to a few of you and I’m grateful. I can’t wait to meet you in person!

  For every book of mine you buy, read, and review…I cannot thank you enough. There are no words. You’re making my dream happen one word at a time. That isn’t a little thing.

  Lastly, I’d like to send some love out to my oldest and dearest friend, Sarah Benjamin.

  You’ve had a rough year – both of us have – but we’re on the road to better things and nothing is going to get in our way, bitch. Before you tear up at our usual term of endearment, let me also add that I love you, I appreciate you, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it.

  If we went that way, I’d totally make you mine. *snicker*

  Just for you, Max Grant in “Time to Make the Doughnuts” plays for the Steelers (and you know how mad they make me).

  XOXOX

  Shayne

  Author’s Note

  How you play is just the beginning…

  Welcome to “Love of the Game – The Complete Collection” – a five-part series of stand-alone novellas that feature a lead character involved in professional sports.

  Ready to Rumble – Wrestling

  Breaking the Ice – Hockey

  Time to Make the Doughnuts – Football

  Win, Lose, or Raine – Baseball

  The Three-Pointer – Basketball

  These are not sports stories with an erotic romance twist. They are erotic romances with a character who happens to be a professional athlete. So please don’t jump all over me if you catch a little technical mistake. I’m liable to have made some.

  I hope you like reading them because they were so much fun to write!

  Shayne

  Ready to Rumble

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Breaking the Ice

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Time to Make the Doughnuts

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Epilogue

  Win, Lose, or Raine

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilogue

  The Three Pointer

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  About Shayne McClendon

  Ready to Rumble

  Shayne McClendon

  Chapter One

  As the talent scout for her father’s small, mixed wrestling corporation, Demitria Stavos spent a lot of time traveling with the performers. When they’d introduced female wrestl
ers to their stable, Demi insisted on competing.

  Mikhail Stavos dubbed her “Dancer” and nervously sent his only daughter into the ring. She dominated and became renowned for her combination of ballet, gymnastics, and martial arts.

  She held the female title for almost two years before an injury required surgery on her shoulder and her parents barred her from competing.

  They’d begged her to stay with the company, help them find new talent, and work as their ‘fixer’ when problems came up. Her new position with Stavos Wrestling had proven to be more ferocious than fighting. She rocked at it.

  This week their wrestlers were competing in Tulsa against several other mid-size companies.

  Over the years, the major wrestling companies tried to buy Mikhail out, but he liked it small. He wasn’t greedy and staying ‘mom-n-pop’ allowed him to keep the wrestlers honest and the fighting closer to the UFC than a choreographed action movie.

  It also kept the entire Stavos clan employed.

  Demi’s older brothers, Yanick and Elias, handled the finance and operations of the back office. Her younger brother, Oscar, worked as a trainer and coach.

  Their mother, Anastasia, was the marketing maven, often appearing with her father and still impressing reporters with her Norwegian good looks.

  Countless cousins and uncles held positions throughout the company.

  As the only girl, her brothers and father tended to be over-protective. She was close to her family but every boyfriend she dated eventually ran screaming. Every man she slept with was harassed about ‘his intentions’ until he broke up with her.

  Two years ago, she’d been in the back of a limo with Dean Swift, one of their wrestlers and her boyfriend at the time. Oscar, his timing impeccable, managed to open the door just as Dean groped her tit.

  The reporter who’d stealthily followed her brother had excellent instincts and caught the photo perfectly. The tabloids ate it up.

  The media frenzy eventually died down but Demi was done. Finished. Sick to death of trying to have relationships with overbearing alpha males for relatives. Besides, she was a pariah to the opposite sex now.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a date.

  Since she was little, it had been obvious she would be a carbon copy of her mother. She stood tall and shapely at five-eleven, with thick blonde hair and ice-blue eyes. Her golden skin she received from her father, who had emigrated from Greece in his teens.

  Over the years, modeling agencies and magazines urged her to pose but she stuck with the fitness and sports publications. She wasn’t interested in appearing in some skin mag and she was healthy and happy at one hundred and sixty pounds. Tight with muscle while retaining her feminine curves, she refused to scale down to some bullshit weight for anybody.

  She spoke Dutch and Greek, worked for and received an online degree in business, and was great at her job. Her parents agreed she had a knack for finding the best, most marketable, talent.

  Too bad she was bored to tears with her personal life.

  Claire, her assistant and closest friend, brought Demi articles related to the company every morning. The positive ones ended up forwarded to her mom for the archives and marketing use.

  The negative crap she dealt with herself.

  The latest online rag-mag asked, “Has Demi Taken a Vow of Celibacy?” and she growled in annoyance. She only managed to get madder with each sentence.

  Media darling and wrestling industry icon, Demitria Stavos was known for her wild child teens. After a naughty on-camera grope by one of the Stavos wrestlers two years ago, she appears to have dropped out of sight. All work and no play, Demi dear!

  Linked romantically to the top wrestlers in the industry, Demi impressed the world as a female competitor for Stavos known as Dancer before injury sidelined her career. Where is she? Who is she dating? Why doesn’t anyone have juicy pics? Someone that hot should never sleep alone. We’re rooting for you, honey! Get out there and snag yourself a piece of beefcake!

  Demi was furious. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

  Claire stepped out on the balcony and paused when she saw Demi’s face. “I know you’re upset, but who cares what they say? Really, Demi…they come at you every few months and they all go away eventually.”

  She set down a tray with hot coffee and a bowl of fresh fruit. “Don’t let the vultures get to you. We have the recruiting trip at the biggest gym in Tulsa today. I’ll have the car brought around an hour after your workout.”

  Demi nodded absently and glanced through other articles while she sipped her coffee. One in particular caught her eye and she sighed.

  A feature from a local newspaper, Demi ran her fingers over the man pictured, reading the glowing article about unlikely sportsmanship from one of the biggest wrestlers in the industry.

  Nikolai Sascha Petrov.

  Known as ‘Granite’ in the wrestling world, and it was easy to see why…the man was seven feet tall and almost four hundred pounds of pure muscle. His black hair fell to his shoulders and his black eyes looked right through her every time they were in the same vicinity. He’d been with her father for years, always holding one title or another.

  Reporters often asked him why he didn’t make the move to a bigger company.

  During his last interview, he’d replied in his heavy Russian accent, “No one would ever treat me as good or offer me as much of what matters as Stavos. I go nowhere unless it is for Stavos. Ask me this question no more.”

  Her father liked and respected the big man more than any of their other wrestlers. At dinner one night, he told her, “He doesn’t drink, smoke, or act stupid. He trains every day and refuses to talk trash, even in front of the cameras, which works better for his rep, I might add. He rarely dates and there are no crazy tabloid stories. He brought his mother to the States and bought her that little house in Florida.”

  With a small grin, he added, “He also doesn’t pant after you, Demi.” Seeing the small flinch she hadn’t been able to control, Mikhail’s smile turned predatory. “Aww, are you feeling slighted? I like that he doesn’t fall all over you. He’s the only straight, unmarried wrestler who doesn’t.”

  She managed to change the subject to a less volatile topic for her. For the rest of the evening, she’d steered every conversation away from Nikolai because everything her father had said was true.

  He was perfect.

  With a small shake of her head, Demi put the photo aside and finished her coffee as she separated the packet for her mother. She handed them off to Claire and went to dress for her daily workout.

  She threw on boy shorts and a midriff tank bra with sneakers and took the back stairs to the gym in the hotel. The plan was to run her usual ten miles. She’d warmed up and started to increase her incline when Nikolai appeared on the treadmill beside her.

  The sight of him almost made her fall, but she regained her focus and picked up her speed. After a few minutes, she realized he was pacing her. Slowing when she did and increasing his incline and resistance as she increased hers.

  They were both drenched with sweat by the time they brought the speed and incline down. After the cool down, he wiped his neck and shoulders with a towel. She did the same.

  The sound of his voice stroked over her body like a warm caress. “I have not worked that hard in a long time, Demitria. You are very good for me, I think.” She was humiliated to feel a blush creeping up her face. “I have noticed that – for a beautiful woman – you do not take compliments well. You lack arrogance. It is unique.”

  She wasn’t listening.

  Nikolai ran the small towel over his massive arms and her mouth went dry. Never in her life had she felt the urge to lick someone. She felt it now.

  The silence drew out and she jerked her eyes back to his. He waited for her, his expression unreadable. “I…that is, thank you, Nikolai,” Demi murmured quietly.

  Dear lord. His voice, his accent, his body…just him. She had to
get away.

  Demi headed to the circuit for strength and toning. She felt more than saw him behind her and her body clenched in primal awareness. Nikolai patiently waited for her to finish each machine before taking her place.

  Hyperventilation was a definite possibility.

  She knew she was being completely juvenile with her inability to focus with him beside her. He added hundreds of pounds to each machine she vacated, waving her off when she tried to wipe down the pads before he sat.

  He offered her one of his rare smiles, which changed the rugged planes of his face much as it did in her dreams. “An opportunity to touch your sweat is highly valued by half the male population, Demitria. You can leave it and I will wipe the machine when I have added my own.”

  She couldn’t control her mad blush this time as the thought of their combined sweat sent a punch of sensation to her womb. She must have imagined the soft chuckle behind her.

  His body was unreal – sculpted and defined. There was a tribal tattoo around his right bicep and it flexed maddeningly with every movement. She watched it tighten, release, tighten, release in what she suddenly realized was a hypnotic state.

  Off balance, she gave herself a firm mental shake. The moment she finished on the last machine, her only thought was getting back to her room.

  It wasn’t going to happen.

  Two male fans staying at the hotel recognized her before she made it to the exit and both men were practically drooling at the sight of her sweat-slick body. She gave them autographs and posed for a photo between them, their arms circling her damp waist.

  Anxious to escape, she excused herself politely.

  Demi was nearly running as she entered the stairwell outside the gym. Grabbing the rail leading up, she was shocked to see Nikolai behind her yet again. Avoiding his eyes, she jogged the ten flights with him and wanted to sob with relief when she reached her floor.

  The temptation to touch him was becoming overwhelming.

  She quickly headed in the direction of her sanity. There was a small pressure on her shoulder and she turned to find him right behind her. His face gave away nothing.