Dreaming of a Hero (Heroes Series Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Loved by the Linebacker by Lyssa Layne

  Other Books by Lyssa Layne

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author- Lyssa Layne

  Destiny's Child by Deb Julienne

  Other Books by Deb Julienne

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  About the Author- Deb Julienne

  Nine by KS Thomas

  Other Books by KS Thomas

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author- KS Thomas

  Safe to Love You by Jude Ouvrard

  Other Books by Jude Ouvrard

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Acknowledgement

  About the Author- Jude Ouvrard

  With Love; Now & Forever by RaeAnne Hadley

  Other Books by RaeAnne Hadley

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  About the Author- RaeAnne Hadley

  Desert Heat by D'Ann Lindun

  Other Books by D'Ann Lindun

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  About the Author- D'Ann Lindun

  Beach Desires by Melissa Keir

  Other Books by Melissa Keir

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Epilogue

  About the Author- Melissa Keir

  Holding a Hero- When things go wrong...

  Dreaming of a Hero

  Lyssa Layne, Deb Julienne, K.S. Thomas, Jude Ouvrard, RaeAnne Hadley, D’Ann Lindun, Melissa Keir

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction, distribution, or transmitted in whole or part in any form or means, or stored in any electronic, mechanical, database or retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

  Dreaming of a Hero

  Copyright 2017 (ebook and print edition) by Lyssa Layne, Deb Julienne, K.S. Thomas, Jude Ouvrard, RaeAnne Hadley, D’Ann Lindun, and Melissa Keir

  Cover Design: Kim Killion

  Loved By the Linebacker

  Lyssa Layne

  OTHER BOOKS BY LYSSA LAYNE

  The Right Pitch

  Loved by the Linebacker

  Fear of Striking Out

  Another At Bat

  Until You Fall In Love

  Everybody’s After Love

  My Favorite What If

  Catch My Heart: A Valentine’s Day Collection

  Love & Familgia: The DiDominzio Novellas

  Dip Deep

  Holding the Other

  My Calling

  Over the Fence

  Burning Lovesick Series:

  Love is a Fire

  Burst Into Flame

  Love Can’t Save You

  Loved by the Linebacker

  Copyright © 2016 Lyssa Layne

  All rights reserved.

  CHAPTER 1

  Evan

  When you’re six feet six inches, three-hundred pounds, and bald, it’s hard to blend in with the crowd, especially when you’re an NFL linebacker, but today it’s easy. Today, I�
�m crammed into the Arizona Lizards’ Football Stadium with eighty-thousand crazed fans for the football game of the year—the Super Bowl. Ahead of me, my brother, and fellow NFL linebacker, Blake, only three inches shorter and twenty-pounds lighter, waves his hand.

  “Come on, Ev! Keep up,” he yells back at me.

  I roll my eyes at his comment for two reasons. One, I’m heads above the crowd, as is he, so there’s no way I’m going to lose sight of him and two, it’s a little tough for a guy my size to barrel through a mob of people without leaving a few casualties in my wake. A few more twists and turns and I finally catch up to Blake, who is knocking on a suite door.

  The door swings open and in front of us stands our agent, Camila Lemos. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a Neanderthal and despise being represented by a woman sports agent, but Blake’s got four years in the NFL and swears she knows what she’s doing. I can’t complain too much about the nice signing bonus she managed to get out of the San Diego Seawolves for me last year and damn, she’s fine to stare at.

  “You boys coming in?” she asks, her long coffee colored hair hanging over her cream sweater. The shirt is a low V-neck and her dangly necklace hangs between her cleavage, which I can appreciate. Her shirt has large holes that display her camisole underneath, but still shows enough skin to let the mind wander. The sweater hangs over her nice ass in her skinny jeans and she stands only a few inches below me in her tan hooker boots.

  “Sorry, Cam, had to wait on this guy,” Blake says, pointing a finger at me and giving Camila a brief kiss on the cheek as he walks in. He swears nothing’s ever happened between the two of them, but the pair are practically inseparable that it makes me wonder.

  Camila holds the door open, her eyebrows lifted as she stares at me. “In or out, Evan?”

  I step past her, unsure how to greet her. I’ve only met the woman a handful of times, which kind of pisses me off. Word from her other clients is that they always see her at their games, she takes them out to dinner, sends their families birthday gifts, but me, I’m like the redheaded stepchild that she wants no part of. Like always, I’m sure it’s because I’m the “little” brother and never get the full attention I deserve.

  Surprising me, Camila kisses my cheek and with a smirk, says, “Too bad you boys couldn’t be playing today.”

  “Yeah,” I grunt, not exactly sure how to respond to that.

  Camila gives a light laugh and waves her arms around the room. It’s bigger than it looks from outside. There’s seating for about twenty-people, a buffet of food that smells amazing, and a fully-stocked bar with bartender. She leans in to me and speaks in a low whisper, “Help yourself and be sure to network. The owner and general manager from the Lancers are in our suite as well as some other special teams coaches.”

  I nod as she walks away, sliding her arm around the shoulders of the Lancers’ GM, her bracelets jangling while she introduces Blake. I scoff. Of course, he gets first dibs, but what do I care? The Lancers are in Chicago and it’s fuckin’ cold there. I’m happy with my team in San Diego, where it’s sunny and warm and the women wear hardly any clothes. I don’t need to waste my time schmoozing with any of them.

  I pile my plate high with chicken wings, sliders, and a few slices of pizza. I’m officially in the off season now so I can be lax in my eating habits for a couple weeks. Grabbing a beer from the bartender, I take my seat in the front of the box. It only takes a few minutes for my plate to be cleared and when I turn around, I see Blake’s hand resting on Camila’s back as the two fake laugh at some horrible joke the Lancers’ owner just told. I shake my head, I didn’t pick this career to be fake and stick my nose up people’s asses. I picked it to play football, my passion.

  Rolling my eyes, I stand to refill my plate. Before I am on my feet, a blonde in six inch stilettos and a ridiculously short dress places her hand on my shoulder. Seriously, who wears dresses like this to a football game? I take my time checking her out, letting my eyes drift from her heels all the way up her legs and over her obviously fake chest until I reach her face.

  Grinning, she flips her hair to the side. “You’re Evan Purser, right?”

  I nod and sit up a little straighter, finally someone’s giving me the time of day. “Yeah, I am. Who are you, sweetheart?”

  She giggles and takes a seat beside me. “I’m Maddie and I’m a huge fan!”

  She grabs my thigh when she says this and I smile, placing my hand over hers. “Well, Maddie, why don’t you tell me a little more about yourself?”

  The pitch of her laugh hurts my ear, but her hand slides higher up my leg and I figure I can handle a little earache since I have a good idea how this game is going to end.

  Camila

  “Mr. Feiser, you know Blake led the Seawolves in sacks this season and his contract is up for negotiation this spring,” I inform the owner of the Chicago Lancers. There’s no way in hell that I’ll let Blake go to Chicago, despite what he wishes. It would be a total career killer, but the more he’s wanted, then the more the Seawolves will offer.

  “Yes, Miss Lemos, I’m fully aware and hoping that Mr. Purser might be open to the idea of the Midwest,” the pot-bellied man says with a wink. His comb over is one of the worst hairstyles I’ve seen in a while and I have to force myself to stop staring at the cheese dip he dropped on his shirt during the first quarter.

  I pat Mr. Feiser’s arm and smile. “Blake always likes to leave his options open.” Blake’s hand tightens on my waist as he moves his head, agreeing with me.

  Mr. Feiser makes his way to the next crowd and I turn to Blake. “That went well. Now, we just need to get him to talk to Evan.”

  Blake lets out a laugh and his dark eyes sparkle as he shakes his head. “Cam, you might need to work with Evan a bit more before you actually let him talk to anyone like Mr. Feiser.”

  Blake is right, I didn’t spend nearly enough time with Evan last season to coach him so that he’ll be prepared come negotiation time. My boss at Netsports decided to take early retirement, therefore, dumping all of his clients on me as well as my own. Not to mention I had to do everything I could to keep one of my clients’ reputation from going down the drain due to an attack on his wife’s ex-husband. Needless to say, it was a busy year and knowing Evan is Blake’s younger brother, I definitely dropped the ball on refining him.

  I sigh and pat Blake’s chest. “Alright, we’ll keep him away from Mr. Feiser tonight and I’ll make a point to work with him before Combine.” NFL Scouting Combine is the end of this month and every team will have a representative there. It’s primarily for undrafted and college players, but it’s also a chance for current players to make the rounds as well.

  Blake kisses my cheek. “Thank you, Cam.” He guides us to the bar where he orders for both of us as he always does.

  My relationship with Blake goes back years ago to when we were in college. He was an all-star trying to break into the big leagues, I was a business student with no idea what I wanted to do. When our paths crossed in biology class, we found out that we were a business, and friendship, match made in heaven. Later, we discovered that we were definitely not suited for anything more than that, but we’ve always been loyal to each other and had each other’s back through thick and thin.

  The bartender hands me a glass of Merlot, my drink of choice, and I glance around the room. Bringing the glass to my lips, I stop when I notice Evan is nowhere to be seen. I set the glass down and spin around, trying to find him.

  “What is it, Cam?” Blake asks, taking a long pull from his beer.

  Luckily, I spot Mr. Feiser in the front of the suite, chatting with a leggy redhead, but my stomach sinks as I still don’t see Evan. I turn to Blake. “Where is your brother?”

  As soon as our eyes meet, my question is answered by stifled moans coming from behind us. Blake is on my heels when I turn and make my way to the back of the suite. I fling open the bathroom door that wasn’t even locked and we’re greeted by the sight of a blonde with her dr
ess around her waist while Evan pounds her from behind. The two glance over at us, the blonde not bothering to stop moaning while Evan grins proudly.