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ONE

COLE RILEY HAD BUILT HIS REPUTATION ON BEING tough, especially on the football field He didn’t yield, and when he had the ball in his hands, there was only one thing on his le-minded, and he liked to win

Saet in mind, he went for her until he scored

So even though tonight’s teaet-rich environment, and ht were giving hi the few hours he’d been here

Which was unusual for hio on his part; he just enjoyed wo around thereat, andbad about that In return, he showed theood time, spentother than who he was

He’d learned a long tio that women liked honest men His mother would slap hiht be a little wild and reckless, but he wasn’t dishonest He never pro to deliver

Whichto hook a boyfriend, a husband, or any kind of coirls, like the hot redhead and the statuesque brunette who’d been hovering near his radar all night Those were the wos-attached fun he did It was only a matter of time before he went in for the kill After all, the hunt was part of the fun All the circling, eyeing, and flirting was a gaame to win

Trying to figure out a wole, an ulterior raph or a picture they could post on some social media site so they could show their friends they’d partied with football player Cole Riley Others wanted to hook up for the night, hoping to share his bed so they’d have ood ti to show them one

The redhead and the brunette were definitely good-tie and the looks they gave hiraph or a picture

Easy score, right?

So why did his focus keep drifting to the cool blonde sitting by herself at a table in the corner? She wasn’t his type at all She wasn’t wearing a skintight dress that showed ample amounts of tits and ass She wore a sih she did have killer legs—legs he’d like to see a lotoff her assets

She was beautiful, sure, with a face that would stop traffic And the way she was put together screah society Her hair isted up behind her head, she wore a pearl necklace that didn’t look cheap or fake, and he’d been with enough wo on the table in front of her cost a lot of money

Maybe she was related to the team owner But he hadn’t seen anyone come within ten feet of the table in the past two hours She was no wallflower, but she wasn’t giving off vibes that said, Come talk to me

Wasn’t his probleht Team parties were always a blast, and even better, this one was media free He could down a few drinks, chill with the ladies, and have a good time

There were plenty of wo for, and the blonde wasn’t the right type He could tell froid set of her shoulders and the stick-up-her-ass way she sat that she wasn’t a partier She surveyed the roonals, which was likely why no one approached her

Still, his gaze kept gravitating back to her He hated seeing anyone sitting alone He went up to the bar and nudged Grant Cassidy, the Traders quarterback

Grant turned, then nodded “Hey, Riley What’s up?”

“Do you have any idea who that blonde is sitting by herself over in the corner?”

Grant followed the motion of Cole’s head, then frowned “No Who is she?”

“No idea I figured you know everyone on the team Is she related to the owner?”

Grant shook his head “Ted Miller’s daughter is a brunette And she isn’t here tonight I have no idea who the blonde is She looks mean”

Cole laughed “That’s what I thought, too”

He should ignore her and concentrate on the two other wo his attention and wouldn’t let go

Maybe it was because she kept staring at him Not in the way other woht plea Her gaze was cool and assessing An occasional brief glance and then she’d look away, like she wasn’t at all interested in him

Oh, she was interested all right They all were

So aame

He pushed off the bar and headed her way She could throw off all the stay-away signals she wanted, but he was curious now Someone that beautiful was alone for a reason

He stopped at her table and her gaze lifted, slowly assessing him She didn’t smile, but she didn’t frown, either

“You here alone?” he asked

“As you can see, I am”

Southern accent It fit her She was all peaches-and-cream complexion, full lips, and the prettiest eyes—the color of his favorite whiskey

He slid his hand out “I’m Cole Riley, wide receiver with the Traders”

She slipped her hand in his and finally gave hilad to be a man

“Hello, Cole I’m Savannah Brooks Won’t you sit down?”

Bingo

LORD HAVE MERCY, BUT COLE RILEY’S PHOTOS AND videos did not do the man justice

In person he lad she was sitting down, because now she understood the mystique she’d read about in the tabloids and all the articles about him as a lady-killer

Sure, she’d seen all the photos, and he was certainly pretty Great body, beautiful dark hair She could see how soht be attracted to him, but she hadn’t understood why he was such a hot commodity

But in person? Oh, yes, definitely He had charis at a woman that would make her drop her panties faster than he could flash those unusual eyes in her direction

She’d felt the heart palpitations when he slid his very large hand in hers and graced her with one look of his drop-dead—what color were his eyes anyway? They were gray, tinged with blue, like a sky coloring up for a storm

A When he looked at her it was as if everyone else in the room fell away and she was the only woman on earth Which she kneasn’t true, because she’d studied hi, and there were at least twenty wo pack of wolves and he was meat

He wasn’t meaty at all He was perfect and absolutely delicious About six foot one and 215 pounds of sex on a stick would be her guess

If she were out scouting for a man—which she wasn’t—she’d pick hieous, well-toned and muscular body, he stood out, even if he did wear his hair a little long and shaggy There was a certain presence to hiance, maybe She’d read his file, and so she was surprised when she hadn’t found hi the room or involved in a brawl or wrapped around two or three women in a dark corner

Maybe the media had blown his off-the-field antics out of proportion Maybe his reputation was

But she’d reserve judgot to know him better

“So, Savannah Brooks Why are you sitting here all alone?”

“I’”

He cocked a brow, his defenses obviously up, as he leaned forward on the edge of the chair like he was ready to take flight “You’re not a reporter, are you?”

She smiled at him “No I’m not a reporter”