Wilmington Juggernauts Series by C.B. Alice

I have to let her go. But I'll stop at nothing to get her back.In the glittering world of college football, Evan Allore has always been the golden boy, an all-star with a magnetic charm that captivates everyone around him. But there's one person he's been obsessed with since high school—Keira Hughes, the head cheerleader who's always resisted his advances, wary of becoming just another conquest in Evan's glamorous life... moreI have to let her go. But I'll stop at nothing to get her back.In the glittering world of college football, Evan Allore has always been the golden boy, an all-star with a magnetic charm that captivates everyone around him. But there's one person he's been obsessed with since high school—Keira Hughes, the head cheerleader who's always resisted his advances, wary of becoming just another conquest in Evan's glamorous life.On a fateful Christmas Eve, an encounter in the gym leaves Evan hopeful that this time, he might win Keira's heart for good. Their tryst takes an unexpected turn, however, when Keira mentions that she's moving overseas where she'll finish her last semester before pursuing the opportunity of a lifetime.Determined to keep her in his life, Evan proposes a daring a week of romance before she leaves. For Keira, it's an opportunity to have an affair to remember now that she's about to start a new life and doesn't need to worry about her reputation on campus. For Evan, meanwhile, it's a time for desperate measures.Keira is halfway across the world when she discovers the depths Evan has sunk to in order to snare her — and the extremes to which he'll go to keep her.Christmas Cheer is an enemies-to-lovers college football romance with some dark themes and TWs including b/c tampering, mild stalking, and pregnancy. But mostly Evan's just a golden retriever who's big of heart but dumb of brain. less

I’m the responsible guy. The polite guy. The guy my teammates on the Wilmington Juggernauts, the NFL’s newest expansion team, rely on to keep things running smoothly.When I’m sent to a local quilt shop to pick up a donation for an upcoming fundraiser, I realize I'm something else: the guy who's going to marry Joss Paige, the self-proclaimed but wildly successful quiltfluencer... moreI’m the responsible guy. The polite guy. The guy my teammates on the Wilmington Juggernauts, the NFL’s newest expansion team, rely on to keep things running smoothly.When I’m sent to a local quilt shop to pick up a donation for an upcoming fundraiser, I realize I'm something else: the guy who's going to marry Joss Paige, the self-proclaimed but wildly successful quiltfluencer.Joss is a hermit, hiding in her shop and online community, but I won’t let that stop me from taking her to the fundraiser. There, I learn she’s been shunned by Wilmington high society because of crimes committed by her ex-husband.I don’t care about her past or her ex. I only care about keeping her by my side, no matter what it takes. White lies and gentle manipulations—they’re for our happiness. The greater good and all that.But then I find out what her ex-husband did, what it did to her, and what my tiny white lie will do to her.And it turns out I’m not the good guy after all. less

I was once a god, an NFL quarterback at the top of the game, two Super Bowl wins under my belt. Now, I'm basically geriatric, starting over with in second string at a new team, unable to convince my girlfriend to move across the country with me, my kids staying with their grandparents while I figure my new life out. The last thing I need is a whirlwind romance with a woman barely out of her teens.Until the Manic Pixie Mid-Life Crisis Younger Girlfriend of my dreams sidles up to me at a bar... moreI was once a god, an NFL quarterback at the top of the game, two Super Bowl wins under my belt. Now, I'm basically geriatric, starting over with in second string at a new team, unable to convince my girlfriend to move across the country with me, my kids staying with their grandparents while I figure my new life out. The last thing I need is a whirlwind romance with a woman barely out of her teens.Until the Manic Pixie Mid-Life Crisis Younger Girlfriend of my dreams sidles up to me at a bar. She asks why I've got a baby bird in a Dixie Cup. She calls my kids brats—but in a loving way. She gets on the stage and plays the fiddle like she's been challenged by the devil and laughed in his face.When I find her camping in the woods, on the run from a cult although she says they don't care that she escaped, I bring her home.I'm should keep my distance. I'm supposed to be working on myself, taking a break from women to figure out who I really am, but Cadence is relentless. Immediately, I find myself testing both our boundaries with a kink so absurd it feels like a dare. I tell myself it will end here, so it doesn't matter.Except it doesn't end.The closer we get, the harder it is to ignore the questions swirling around her—why she ran, what she’s hiding, and why the shadows seem to follow her every move.She’s in danger, and it’s not just her past forcing her away—it’s mine too.Dad Bod Dom is a technically full-length dark-ish sports romance that includes potentially sensitive themes including cult activity, domestic abuse from previous partner, age gap, pregnancy, and just, like, a REALLY weird free-use-adjacent kink. Not kink-shaming, and nothing that would be considered unsanitary or unsafe, but definitely not one that shows up in books. less