Never date a player.

Football god Callahan O’Reilly can keep his blazing blue eyes to himself. I have a scholarship to maintain, and I do not have time to babysit a jock through a make-or-break class project. Even if one smoldering glance from him sets my panties on fire.

Time to change her mind.

Jamaica Winslow opens her mouth and spews sass like a volcano. One look at her uptight package and I want to coax the genie from the bottle, unleash all the passion she hides beneath a mop of unruly curls and a smart-ass attitude. She’s not my type, she doesn’t know one damn thing about the game that rules my life, and I can’t stop thinking about her.

Who said anything about love?

Jamaica does her best to keep me at arm’s length, but I’m not a pro prospect because I let the plays come to me. With the game on the line, I always want the ball. When an alum with deep pockets and delusions of grandeur makes demands that threaten my NFL chances and Jamaica’s scholarship, I have no choice but to man up and do the right thing no matter the cost.

It started as fun and games. Now I’m playing for her heart—and my own.

Game time.

Excerpt

Sorry I’m late. A group of girls from the freshmen dorm rolled in at ten minutes to close and spent twenty minutes deciding to buy one bag of sour gummy worms and a couple boxes of Red Hots.”

Without acknowledging my outlay on the table, she began extracting notebooks, folders, and books from her bag as though it were Hermione’s magic purse from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. At last, she set her pack on the floor beside her chair, pulled a pen from somewhere in her curls, and opened one of her notebooks. “I’ve outlined a list of themes we could explore. I’m sort of partial to exploitation in Hardy’s novels.”

“Hello, Jamaica. How was your day?”

When she glanced up at me, I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. She might have ideas about how this partnership was going to go, but I had ideas too.

“What?”

I jacked a brow. “How was your day?” Letting a little grin slip out, I shrugged. “Aside from annoying freshmen at closing time.”

Her head tilted to the side as she finally looked at me, a puzzled expression on her stunning face. “Um, it was fine. Good, actually. Yours?”

“Better now.” I leaned my forearms on the table and dropped my voice half an octave. “I’m looking forward to pairing up with you.”

She scolded me with her face. “Partners. We are project partners.”

I coughed into my hand to hide my laughter at her expression and her schoolteacher tone. “The difference is—what?”

“We aren’t ‘paired up’ as in getting together. We are partners preparing a class project for our mutual advancement.”

“Is that what we are?” I drawled.

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About the Author

Tam DeRudder Jackson is the author of the paranormal romance Talisman Series and the contemporary romance Balefire Series. Her favorite “room” in her house is her patio where she dreams up stories of romance and risk. When she’s not writing her latest paranormal or contemporary romance, you can find her driving around in her convertible or carving turns on the slopes of the local ski hill. The mom of two grown sons, Tam likes to travel, attend rock concerts, watch football and soccer, and visit old car shows with her husband. She lives in the mountains of northwest Wyoming where she spends most of her free time trying to read all the books. Her TBR piles are threatening to take over her office, and she’s fine with that.

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