Title : Stadium of Lights
Author : Tia Lewis
Genre : Steamy Sports Romance
He can’t help claiming her. But can he love her?
Max Anderson enjoys all the perks of being a star NFL quarterback―including the women. He has no intention of changing his carefree, hard-loving lifestyle … until a twist of fate reunites him with the girl he knew growing up.
Abby Morrison has worked hard to become a physical therapist. She knows she needs to keep things professional with Max -- but the truth is, she’s always loved him. Back then, she hid it. Now, it’s not so easy.
As they rekindle their friendship, the heat between them is impossible to ignore. Soon it flares out of control, and the fallout threatens to ruin everything. Can they salvage a future together ... or will the consequences wreck their lives?
The time came around nine o’clock when we’d all stuffed ourselves. Abby stood up from the table, a little wobbly. I swooped in, waiting for her to decide it was time to go.
“Come on. I’ll take you home,” I murmured, taking her by the elbow. She looked up at me.
“No,” she murmured.
“What?”
“No. I don’t want you to take me home. Now will you move?”
“Wait. Slow down.”
“I want somebody else, Max. Now move.”
“Who?”
“Anybody. It doesn’t matter. Just not you.” She shook me off—thank God we’d both been whispering, or practically, because it didn’t seem like anybody else noticed. I followed her out the door to the restaurant’s entrance.
“You can’t drive in this condition,” I warned her.
“Then I’ll get a cab. You can leave now.” She glared at me, her cheeks flushed.
“What?”
“You ruined it. You always ruin it.”
“How the hell did I ruin anything?”
She looked back into the restaurant, frowning. “I was having fun. People were talking to me, seeing me, liking me. And you had to take over like you always do.”
My car pulled up in front of us, and I took the keys from the valet. “Come on. I’ll drive you home, and we can talk about it on the way.” I practically threw her into the car before she could curse me out, then got in myself. Once I locked the doors from my side, she couldn’t open them.
“What the fuck Max!” She slapped the dashboard, then sank into her seat with a groan. “I was having fun. I was about to get laid, damn it!”
I bit my tongue until I calmed down. “By whom?”
“I don’t know! What did it matter? I was gonna get some for me, for once. And you won’t let me. I have to always be there for you, but you can never be there for me. You couldn’t just let me enjoy myself. No, you probably wanted to tell me all about your stupid fucking cheerleader girlfriend and ask me what you should do about her!” There was so much venom in her voice. She hated me.
I pulled over to the shoulder of the road. “What are you doing?” she asked. I unbuckled my belt without saying a word, then turned to her.
“You wanna know why I wanted to take you home?” I reached out, grabbing her by the shoulders. I pulled her to me before she could push me away and crushed my mouth against hers.
She only fought me for a split second before giving in. She sighed, relaxing, and I wrapped my arms around her. Her lips were so sweet, soft and yielding. When I slid my tongue between them, they opened to give me better access. I tasted the inside of her mouth, taking my time. This girl who had been my friend for so long, and she was right—I’d used her in a way. This girl who was always there for me without asking anything in return. This sexy, incredible girl.
The kiss deepened, with her tongue dancing alongside mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck, almost growling. Sounding hungry, desperate. I ran one of my hands over her body, listening to the way the breath caught in her throat. She whined a little, pressing against me, and when I made contact with her tits she moaned into my mouth.
By the time the kiss ended, we were both breathless. Her eyes were wide, stunned.
“That’s why,” I whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Come on. I’ll take you home,” I murmured, taking her by the elbow. She looked up at me.
“No,” she murmured.
“What?”
“No. I don’t want you to take me home. Now will you move?”
“Wait. Slow down.”
“I want somebody else, Max. Now move.”
“Who?”
“Anybody. It doesn’t matter. Just not you.” She shook me off—thank God we’d both been whispering, or practically, because it didn’t seem like anybody else noticed. I followed her out the door to the restaurant’s entrance.
“You can’t drive in this condition,” I warned her.
“Then I’ll get a cab. You can leave now.” She glared at me, her cheeks flushed.
“What?”
“You ruined it. You always ruin it.”
“How the hell did I ruin anything?”
She looked back into the restaurant, frowning. “I was having fun. People were talking to me, seeing me, liking me. And you had to take over like you always do.”
My car pulled up in front of us, and I took the keys from the valet. “Come on. I’ll drive you home, and we can talk about it on the way.” I practically threw her into the car before she could curse me out, then got in myself. Once I locked the doors from my side, she couldn’t open them.
“What the fuck Max!” She slapped the dashboard, then sank into her seat with a groan. “I was having fun. I was about to get laid, damn it!”
I bit my tongue until I calmed down. “By whom?”
“I don’t know! What did it matter? I was gonna get some for me, for once. And you won’t let me. I have to always be there for you, but you can never be there for me. You couldn’t just let me enjoy myself. No, you probably wanted to tell me all about your stupid fucking cheerleader girlfriend and ask me what you should do about her!” There was so much venom in her voice. She hated me.
I pulled over to the shoulder of the road. “What are you doing?” she asked. I unbuckled my belt without saying a word, then turned to her.
“You wanna know why I wanted to take you home?” I reached out, grabbing her by the shoulders. I pulled her to me before she could push me away and crushed my mouth against hers.
She only fought me for a split second before giving in. She sighed, relaxing, and I wrapped my arms around her. Her lips were so sweet, soft and yielding. When I slid my tongue between them, they opened to give me better access. I tasted the inside of her mouth, taking my time. This girl who had been my friend for so long, and she was right—I’d used her in a way. This girl who was always there for me without asking anything in return. This sexy, incredible girl.
The kiss deepened, with her tongue dancing alongside mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck, almost growling. Sounding hungry, desperate. I ran one of my hands over her body, listening to the way the breath caught in her throat. She whined a little, pressing against me, and when I made contact with her tits she moaned into my mouth.
By the time the kiss ended, we were both breathless. Her eyes were wide, stunned.
“That’s why,” I whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
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Tia Lewis is a romance author from the Midwest who writes about smart, sexy, sassy women and hot, possessive alpha males. Her favorite bad boys to write about include sports players, mafia, bikers, billionaires and the bad-ass next door. You can find her cooking, reading, or traveling when she’s not busy working on her next release.
Want to be kept up to date on new releases? Text LEWIS to 31996!
I've always been a creative individual. Writing is just a facet of that creativity...
My careers in public relations in and around the entertainment industry, photography, editing, artist management, modeling and special event planning all elevated my passion for writing, not to mention gave me a treasure trove for story lines.
I write women's fiction; contemporary romance (as Jamie Salisbury) and historical romance (as JR Salisbury) which is ever evolving. I am fortunate enough that writing (and marketing of said product(s)) is my full-time job, although I always have one or two other projects going at the same time.
I now live in a suburb of Atlanta. Some of my other interests include photography, equestrianism, reading, and of course, travel.
I sincerely hope my writing will entertain, enlighten, and inspire others to pick up the pen and pursue their own dreams. I love to be contacted by readers, writers, and history buffs.
From New York Times Bestseller, Corinne Michaels, comes a new friends to lovers standalone romance.
There's no way I'll fall for Wyatt Hennington.
He can keep his Southern drawl, irresistible smile, and those pick up lines all to himself. It's bad enough that I made the mistake of sleeping with him once. It will never happen again. I don't want nor need some cowboy complicating my life.
But I don't always get what I want.
Whether I like it or not, our lives are intertwined. Trying to keep him out of my heart is futile. He'll find every loophole and embed himself there.
The problem is—I don't know if he even loves me. And when the ground crumbles beneath us and our world shatters, I'll finally know if he truly wants me or if we are only fooling ourselves . . .
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Corinne Michaels is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of The Salvation Series and Say You'll Stay. She's an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife. After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness.
Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians, which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short stories, she couldn't ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her alpha heroes are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.
