Tackled: A Sports Romance Read online

  Tackled

  A Sports Romance

  Sabrina Paige

  Edited by

  Daryl Banner

  Photography by

  Michael Stokes

  Contents

  Copyright

  DEDICATION

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  1. Cassie

  2. Colton

  3. Cassie

  4. Colton

  5. Cassie

  6. Colton

  7. Cassie

  8. Colton

  9. Cassie

  10. Colton

  11. Cassie

  12. Cassie

  13. Colton

  14. Cassie

  15. Colton

  16. Cassie

  17. Colton

  18. Cassie

  19. Colton

  20. Cassie

  21. Colton

  22. Cassie

  23. Colton

  24. Cassie

  25. Colton

  26. Cassie

  27. Colton

  28. Cassie

  29. Colton

  30. Cassie

  31. Colton

  32. Cassie

  33. Colton

  34. Cassie

  35. Colton

  36. Cassie

  37. Colton

  38. Cassie

  39. Colton

  40. Cassie

  41. Colton

  42. Cassie

  43. Colton

  44. Colton

  45. Colton

  46. Cassie

  47. Colton

  48. Cassie

  Acknowledgments

  Author’s Note

  Other Books

  Mailing List

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2016 by Sabrina Paige

  Cover Design by Cormar Covers

  Cover Model Colin Wayne

  Photographer Michael Stokes

  Editor Daryl Banner

  Proofreader Sue Banner

  Formatting Vellum

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real events, people, or places is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without the permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used for review. If you have not purchased this book from Amazon or received a copy from the author, you are reading a pirated book.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status of products referred to in this book and acknowledges that trademarks have been used without permission.

  This book contains mature content, including graphic sex. Please do not continue reading if you are under the age of 18 or if this type of content is disturbing to you.

  NOTE: All characters in the book are 18+ years of age and all sexual acts are consensual.

  To check out the rest of Sabrina Paige's catalog on Amazon, CLICK HERE!

  To my patient husband - I'm glad it's been you. Sorry about all the takeout.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  I was supposed to be working on the fourth book in my West Bend Saints series, Killian (don't worry, that one's coming soon). But then Colton King barged his way into my head. I thought I'd write out the couple of scenes that were rattling around in my brain and then set the book aside, but he refused to shut up.

  I hope you enjoy these characters as much as I do.

  Please forgive any grievous sports errors (there’s a reason the heroine is a nerdy girl who doesn’t know anything about football), and if you can't forgive them, blame my book consultant (my husband), who's a former college football player. Address all complaints to him.

  The school, location, and team in this book are entirely figments of my imagination and are not meant to resemble any existing team or school. This book takes place somewhere in the state of Texas.

  1

  Cassie

  Some job. This is probably the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, Cassandra Rae. The warning voice in my head sounds like my mother’s. I should listen to that little voice, but I don’t.

  Instead, I take a deep breath and step through the front door of the house, a plain-looking thing with white siding and a concrete pathway that winds up the lawn. It looks like a regular house in this just-off-campus neighborhood, except for the fact that there are about fifty cars lining either side of the street nearby.

  This is a house where a bunch of football players live. I don’t know how many or who exactly lives here. All I know is that this is supposedly where I can find Colton King, the dumb jock I’m going to be paid a lot of money to tutor.

  He didn’t show up for our first tutoring session this afternoon — something the assistant coach said I should expect. My new employer also told me that if Colton didn’t show, I could find him here.

  I look down at the photo of him from the website I pulled up on my phone.

  Colton Is The King Of College Football

  Underneath the headline is the player, smiling broadly at what I take to be the end of a football game here at the school.

  I don’t know the first thing about football. But I do know that graduate school is expensive, and the Sociology department’s funding just got unexpectedly cut. Tutoring an athlete sounded a lot cushier than a lot of the other teaching assistant jobs available on campus. I mean, how hard could it be, right?

  I stand there stupidly in the doorway in my straight black skirt and blouse, far too overdressed for this place. Really, I was just trying to make an attempt at looking at least halfway professional. It’s three in the afternoon and the house is crowded with bodies – guys walking around shirtless and girls wearing postage-stamp-sized bikinis. Music thumps so loudly I can’t hear myself think and too many people are doing body shots to even count.

  A bikini top lands on my head.

  I exhale heavily as I pick it off and pinch the fabric between my fingers, making as little contact with the garment as possible as I dangle it to the side like it’s covered in STDs. It probably is. In fact, I probably should douse myself in bleach when I get home.

  The owner of the bikini, a topless blonde a few feet away from me, raises a hand in the air and hollers, “Whoo-hoo!” as she grins.

  I can feel my IQ dropping already.

  A guy sidles up beside me and puts his arm around my shoulder, his red plastic cup of beer dangerously close to my face. The smell of stale beer makes me want to vomit. Cheap beer and partying at three in the afternoon? If this is what being a cool college student is like, I’m grateful to have missed that phase of life. Being a nerd has its perks.

  “You’ve got too many clothes on for this place,” the guy yells, his mouth too close to my ear.

  I shrug off his arm. “Where’s Colton King?” I yell back.

  “You’re not his type,” he says loudly as his eyes roam my body from my toes to my head. “But you do have a sexy-nerd-thing going. I’d even let you get with this,” he adds, gesturing to his body. I think he must be joking, but he looks at me like he’s totally serious.

  I see. Because he thinks he’s doing me a favor.

  “Thanks for the generous offer but I’ll pass,” I say. “Are you going to tell me where Colton is?”

  “Do you know who I am?” he yells.

  “No fucking idea,” I reply, turning around and slipping between a couple of co-eds dancing with plastic cups held high over their heads.

  I walk into the kitchen with zero idea where I’m going, but at least it’s quieter in here. Another athlete stops me. “I’m going to need your shirt,” he says.

  “That’s not going to happen,” I tell him. “I’m looking for Colton King.”

  “Price of admission,” he says, then swallows half a cup of beer.