The Blade Kings Series by Ruth Stilling

How to complicate your rookie season in the NHL: fake date your former college rival and now teammate’s ex-girlfriend. It’s a bad idea, and I know it, especially since Kendra Hart has had a hold over me since our freshman year of college. She has no idea how I feel, and I have zero control over my mouth when her life goes up in smoke and she needs a friend, along with a place to stay... moreHow to complicate your rookie season in the NHL: fake date your former college rival and now teammate’s ex-girlfriend. It’s a bad idea, and I know it, especially since Kendra Hart has had a hold over me since our freshman year of college. She has no idea how I feel, and I have zero control over my mouth when her life goes up in smoke and she needs a friend, along with a place to stay. My coach, who also happens to be my stepdad, is warning me to stay away not only for the team's sake but to spare me from getting hurt. I should probably listen to his advice. However, taking the simple route has never been my thing. And with every “fake” look, touch and kiss I give her, I think she might be starting to like me for more than just my British accent. I’m starting to think this might be my best idea yet…. What to expect:. Pro Hockey MMC x Pro Soccer FMC. Golden Retriever x Black Kitten. Rival Teammate’s Ex. Fake Dating. He Falls First & Hard. Forced Proximity. less

The plan was simple: just me, my boy and hockey. I’m the unapproachable NHL captain with a reputation for chewing up reporters in interviews, forwards on the ice and shutting down anyone who tries to get close to me. And that’s how I like it—no feelings, no complications, and zero chance of reliving the grief I experienced when my wife passed away seven years ago... moreThe plan was simple: just me, my boy and hockey. I’m the unapproachable NHL captain with a reputation for chewing up reporters in interviews, forwards on the ice and shutting down anyone who tries to get close to me. And that’s how I like it—no feelings, no complications, and zero chance of reliving the grief I experienced when my wife passed away seven years ago. But sometimes the best laid plans go up in flames, and that’s exactly what Collins Mackenzie does when strolls into a bar one post-game night and gives me a taste of the cold shoulder I’ve bestowed on all those around me. The only person she doesn’t dismiss? My boy. In fact, she lights him up with her pink hair and perfectly winged eyeliner, leaving him fascinated and me infatuated. There’s only one problem: she’s nine years younger, convinced I’m not her type and doesn’t do relationships. She doesn’t even hang around in the same city beyond a few months. Trouble is, I want her permanence right next to me—on the couch watching movies and in my bed on lazy mornings. I’m ready to chase her, no matter where she goes or how quickly she hits the accelerator. This girl is a ride I never want to get off. less

Darcy, Darcy, Darcy. The name I should have wiped from my mind nearly two years ago. Her brother, and my assistant captain, has repeatedly warned she’s off-limits to a guy like me—a playboy bound to bed her one night and break her heart the next morning—an opinion shared by her stepdad, who also happens to be my coach. I can see why they don’t want their goalie anywhere near her. My reputation with women isn’t exactly unblemished... moreDarcy, Darcy, Darcy. The name I should have wiped from my mind nearly two years ago. Her brother, and my assistant captain, has repeatedly warned she’s off-limits to a guy like me—a playboy bound to bed her one night and break her heart the next morning—an opinion shared by her stepdad, who also happens to be my coach. I can see why they don’t want their goalie anywhere near her. My reputation with women isn’t exactly unblemished. Except, they shouldn’t judge what they don’t understand, and neither should my girl. Okay, she’s not technically my girl yet, but that’s just semantics, as are the things I’ll do to make her mine. Each time she’s visited from the UK, I’ve warred with the respect I have for my friendship with her brother versus pursuing a growing obsession for the honey-haired bombshell with blue eyes as big as the Ocean that separates us. That is, until everything changes and there’s nothing keeping me at a safe distance. She’s living in Brooklyn and looking for fun with guys, and I can no longer observe from the sidelines. Any chance—no matter how small—she gives me, I’m going to take it and say to hell with the consequences. Only, the opportunity I get isn’t small, and neither are the stakes that go with it. But again, that’s just semantics …. less

Once bitten, twice shy …. The mantra I live by so no one can hurt me in the same way my parents did. I’m Tommy Schneider, the most feared player in the NHL with a last name to match my bad boy reputation. Only, I’m the better, stronger, faster version of my estranged dad. Everything in my life I control with expert precision—from the hits I land in fights to the tattoos covering my body. Nothing and no one can get the better of me. I’m impermeable, a wall of steel that’s as cold as it is opaque... moreOnce bitten, twice shy …. The mantra I live by so no one can hurt me in the same way my parents did. I’m Tommy Schneider, the most feared player in the NHL with a last name to match my bad boy reputation. Only, I’m the better, stronger, faster version of my estranged dad. Everything in my life I control with expert precision—from the hits I land in fights to the tattoos covering my body. Nothing and no one can get the better of me. I’m impermeable, a wall of steel that’s as cold as it is opaque. So when my trade to the New York Blades is met with controversy, it’s fair to say I’m unbothered. The recently appointed General Manager expects a brutal enforcer, and that’s exactly what he’ll get. But what I didn’t expect when I landed in Brooklyn? Jenna Miller. And the way she unceremoniously turned me down. I shouldn’t let her rejection weave it’s way under my skin, and I definitely shouldn’t have punched her brother when he tried to defend Jenna’s honor. Instead, I should heed my mantra and walk away from the girl who hates my guts and grates on me with her bratty smile and backtalking mouth. If I don’t, I know someone will eventually get hurt. But each time I back off, I wind up standing outside her apartment door again. I’m in the fight of my life, with so much more at risk than just broken bones and bruises …. This time, it’s my heart on the line. less

Fresh out of a failed marriage and with an old injury threatening to resurface, I only have one priority right now: rebuild my life both in and out of the rink. At thirty-five, I know it won’t be easy, but hockey is all I have, and cutting my pro career short is not an option that I’m willing to take. Feeling down on my luck, I conclude my best move is to focus on the positives, including the good people around me... moreFresh out of a failed marriage and with an old injury threatening to resurface, I only have one priority right now: rebuild my life both in and out of the rink. At thirty-five, I know it won’t be easy, but hockey is all I have, and cutting my pro career short is not an option that I’m willing to take. Feeling down on my luck, I conclude my best move is to focus on the positives, including the good people around me. So when a close friend approaches me with a predicament concerning his twenty-one-year-old only daughter, Billie Quinn, I figure the least I can do is help his family out. After all, they’re practically my family, too, and being a decent friend always makes me feel good. Except, I’m not a good friend; I’m a bad one. While my initial intentions might’ve been innocent, my attraction to Billie when I see her for the first time in over three years definitely isn’t. Is she into me too? Or am I grasping at straws, interpreting fleeting glances from a stunning younger woman as more than friendship? We’ve always had banter, although there’s nothing funny about the burning tension growing between us and especially when my ex-wife is in the same room. My teammates are urging me to back off before it’s too late. But staying away from my best friend’s little princess is way harder than it should be … and now that she’s in my bed, there’s not a chance I’m letting Billie—or her baby girl—go. Even if us being together makes me the worst friend in history, it’s a price I’m willing to pay. less