He’s Fire on Ice and she’s afraid to get burned again…
“You always think a guy is going to be different until he’s not.”
Firestorm Center Kian Kavanagh dominates the ice like a rock star dominates the stage. He’s the hottest new player to be recruited for the Firestorm, a newly established professional hockey team in Northern Arizona.
After Taylor Thompson’s heart was completely shattered by her high school’s most popular jock, she vowed never to date another athlete. And she keeps that promise through her first three years of college by putting up impenetrable walls to protect her from heartbreak.
But after a chance meeting with the charming and irresistible Kian Kavanagh, Taylor’s carefully constructed walls are in serious danger of being burned down by Mr. Fire on Ice.
“You always think a guy is going to be different until he’s not.”
Firestorm Center Kian Kavanagh dominates the ice like a rock star dominates the stage. He’s the hottest new player to be recruited for the Firestorm, a newly established professional hockey team in Northern Arizona.
After Taylor Thompson’s heart was completely shattered by her high school’s most popular jock, she vowed never to date another athlete. And she keeps that promise through her first three years of college by putting up impenetrable walls to protect her from heartbreak.
But after a chance meeting with the charming and irresistible Kian Kavanagh, Taylor’s carefully constructed walls are in serious danger of being burned down by Mr. Fire on Ice.
Try an Excerpt!
Runt stamped
out his cigarette and glared at me.
“You really
want to go into this place?” he muttered, already half drunk.
At only
5-feet 7-inches, Runt was the smallest recruit on our team. But what he lacked
in size, he made up for in speed on the ice.
He crossed
his arms over his chest. “This place is for all the rich kids over at the U.
Why don’t we head over to O’Sullivan’s instead? Sheree said she’d be there
after work.”
Sheree was a
dancer that Runt liked to hook up with. She worked at a strip club on the other
side of town.
“I’m sure
she’ll have a few friends with her,” he offered.
I shook my
head. I was tired of the whole scene. Easy girls with daddy issues were just
too easy sometimes. Where was the challenge? The thrill of the chase? Those
girls would be on their backs the minute I got into their apartments. And there
were always plenty of puck bunnies around—fan girls we could count on for a
good time.
“Can we just
go in and have a drink?” I suggested. “One drink isn’t gonna kill you.”
Runt exhaled
loudly. He loved to give me exaggerated teen-age girl sighs just to get under
my skin, especially when he didn’t get his way. Runt and I had known each other
for years. We kicked around the same neighborhood growing up and when I started
playing hockey, I dragged him along with me. I was tough, the player that no
one ever messed with, but Runt was fast and could handle the puck. Sometimes
his talent was the only thing that saved him from getting his teeth knocked out
because he could be kind of a jerk.
“If we’re
going to go in, let’s do it,” Runt insisted. “And quit standing out here like
idiots.”
Everywhere we
went in town, people knew we played for the Firestorm. We were like celebrities
in a town where not much else happened on Saturday nights but hockey. We never
had to wait in line or pay to get into even the hottest clubs in town and we
always had the pick of the crowd when it came to getting laid at the end of the
night. I hadn’t learned very much in my first 21 years on earth but two things
I did know about were women and hockey. I had plenty of experience in both
arenas. And I knew most girls fell over themselves to date hockey players, even
smart college girls.
Just as I
expected, heads turned and eyes followed us as we entered the already crowded
club. The Twisted Kilt was known for being one of the most popular places for
kids from the U to hang out, probably because they were extremely lax with
their carding policy, which could be summed up in two words: looks legit. As
long as you looked even close to 21, you were in. I had a feeling the owner
must have known some high rankers in city government or paid off the right
people, maybe both. The place never got shut down despite the fact that
probably half the people in there at any given time were underage.
Runt ordered
us the usual: two pints of Guinness.
“One drink
and we’re out of here,” he reminded me. “I don’t want to keep Sheree waiting.”
What he really meant was if he didn’t catch her before her third drink, Sheree
would probably be out the door with somebody else.
As I glanced
at the sea of college kids drinking and laughing, I had a sudden twinge of
regret. They were experiencing something I would never have the opportunity to
experience. My life was all about the ice. It seemed like my entire life was
predetermined the moment I first set foot in a hockey rink and showed so much
promise. I knew I was destined to play pro hockey and that had been my focus
since I was a kid.
Not that
college was ever an option anyway. I barely made it through high school. I was
smart enough to get good grades but my life was so messed up that I only made
it to school occasionally and when I did, I was usually so far behind, it
wasn’t worth trying to catch up. I finally ended up earning a GED instead of a
diploma.
Meet the Author!
Dakota Madison has been writing since she learned to read and fell in love with books. When she's not at her computer creating spicy new romances, Dakota is traveling to exotic locales or spending time with her husband and their bloodhounds. AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Ice-ebook/dp/B00DZTY5O0/ SMASHWORDS: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/337619 FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/DakotaMadisonAuthor BLOG: http://12novels12months.tumblr.com/ GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/DakotaMadison TWITTER: https://twitter.com/shortontimebook
Dakota will be awarding a backlist eBook to three randomly drawn commenters during the tour, and a grand prize of a print copy of After Alex Died (US ONLY) to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog! Please let me know if you have any questions.
ReplyDeleteDakota Madison