Hard
Stick
A
Breakaway Novel
By L.P. Dover
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: June 13, 2017
Publisher: Random House/Loveswept
He
carries a big stick. And he’s not afraid to use it.
On the
ice, I’m Kellan Carter, powerhouse enforcer for the Charlotte Strikers. Off the
ice, I’m just a regular guy. The last thing I want is to get mobbed by a bunch
of groupies who are only after me for my fame and money. My ideal woman knows
how to enjoy a little good, clean fun—and maybe some not-so-clean fun too.
That’s the kind of girl I’d never let go.
When
Kristen Robinson, the gorgeous, down-to-earth bartender I’ve been crushing on,
agrees to let me take her out, I’m thrilled. We have an amazing night together,
culminating in the most electrifying kiss of my life—and that’s it. Kristen
tells me we can’t see each other again, but I know that kiss meant as much to
her as it did to me. What I don’t know is that Kristen has a dangerous secret.
. . .
I’ve
proved to Kristen that she can trust me with her body and her heart. But when
her past comes back to haunt her, I need to prove that she can trust me with
her life. And I might have to get my hands dirty after all.
** Hard
Stick is an action-packed romantic suspense. Just to warn you, the story line
does NOT center around hockey. The main character plays but a lot of the book
is set outside of the rink. **
“So
what happened to Maddox? I couldn’t help but notice his face.”
Dallas
and Braeden glanced at each other and chuckled. “Kellan fucked him up in
practice,” Dallas replied.
I
gasped. “Why?”
He
finished off his beer, and I could tell he was feeling it by the lazy smile.
“It’s what he does. Maddox was being a dick and Kellan put a stop to it. It’s
why he’s our captain.”
“Wow,
that’s craziness.”
I ran
his card and held it out to him, but he grabbed on to my hand. “You haven’t
agreed to go out with him, have you?”
“Who?
Kellan?” I asked. The girls gawked at me and snorted.
He
nodded. “Yeah.”
“No,
why?”
“Just
asking,” he said with a shrug. He put his arm around the blonde and they
started for the door. “It’d be nice to get the five hundred dollars.” They
stopped and he smiled at me over his shoulder.
“What
are you talking about?” I demanded.
Braeden
sighed and smacked Dallas on the back of the head. “Stop fucking with the
girl.” Then he turned to me. “It was just a stupid bet.”
“Stupid?”
Dallas laughed. “You put three hundred on it, so I don’t want hear that shit.”
In a drunken haze, he smiled over at me. “Just do us a favor and don’t go out
with him until after the weekend. We made a bet that he couldn’t get you by the
end of the week.”
Braeden
hit him again. “What the fuck? Shut the hell up.” He pushed Dallas out the door
and they all followed him. So Kellan agreed to the bet? That was mighty bold of
him.
I could
hear steps on the hardwood floor behind me. “You all right?” Chris asked.
Turning
on my heel, I smiled. “Yep.” If Kellan was trying to win the bet, he wasn’t
trying very hard. But then again, maybe five hundred dollars was nothing
compared to the money he earned. I used to make a good living, but at least I
was able to retrieve the money I had in the bank before my supposed death.
Having that money helped, especially since I didn’t make nearly as much working
at the pub. Hopefully soon I’d be back to doing what I loved.
“Why
don’t you go home? I can finish up here,” Chris offered.
“You
sure? I don’t mind staying.”
He
shook his head. “Go. You do enough here as it is.”
I
hurried behind the bar and grabbed my purse. “Thanks, Chris. After all the
training Aylee puts me through, I’m exhausted by nine o’clock.”
“I can
imagine.” He laughed. “I know not to mess with you now.”
Aylee
taught me many self-defense techniques and how to fight. Before, I had no clue
what to do if someone attacked me. After everything that happened with Mitchell
and Cole, I had to make sure I was ready for anything. At least now, I wouldn’t
have to worry about it anymore.
I waved
goodbye to Chris and then walked out the door. The night was cool and I
breathed in the clean air; the smell of rain was near. We needed it after the long,
dry summer we had. Looking over at my car, I didn’t realize there was a truck
parked next to me with someone leaning against it. It wasn’t just anysomeone,
either.
“Where
were you tonight?” I asked, looking straight at Kellan’s smiling face. He had on
a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips with a snug green T-shirt that showed
off his perfectly sculpted arms. Why did he have to be so sexy? Not to mention,
he had perfectly straight, white teeth, which I thought would be a rarity among
hockey players.
“So you
missed me, huh?”
His
smile was infectious and I caught myself smiling back. “I wouldn’t say missed,
but I was curious where you were. I saw what you did to Maddox.”
He
shrugged. “It had to be done. Maddox has a large fucking head and needed to be
brought down.”
I held
up my hands. “You don’t have to explain. I, of all, people know what kind of
head he has.” It was the size of the entire country.
Chuckling,
he stepped forward, his gaze roaming over my body. “You seem different tonight.
It’s not very often you smile.”
I
hadn’t had a reason to, but I couldn’t tell him that. “Maybe it’s because I
know something you don’t.”
“Oh
yeah? What’s that?”
“Uh, I
don’t know, perhaps something about a bet?”
New York Times
and USA Today bestselling author L. P. Dover is a southern belle living in
North Carolina with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she began her
literary journey she worked in periodontics, enjoying the wonderment of dental
surgeries.
She loves to
write, but she also loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes and white water
rafting, and has a passion for singing. Her two youngest fans expect a concert
each and every night before bedtime, usually Christmas carols.
Dover has
written countless novels, including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances
series, the Gloves Off series, the Armed & Dangerous series, the Royal
Shifters series, the Society X series, the Circle of Justice series, and her
standalone novel Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read and
write is romantic suspense, but if she got to choose a setting in which to
live, it would be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.
L.P. Dover is
represented by Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency and Italia
Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management for dramatic
rights.
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