Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
Bad Pucking Timing
By Michele Lenard

Colorado Bulldogs, Book 1

The ice is my happy place. My sanctuary. The source of my happiest memories, and the promise of my future. It’s also the reason I’m living a lie.

As a kid you don’t think about the sacrifices you’ll have to make for your dreams. After all, dreams are supposed to be happy, so all you see is the finish line, not what you’ll have to give up to get there.

I surrendered a carefree childhood to hours upon hours of grueling practices. Abandoned life with my family in favor of a boarding school that would hone my skills to perfection. But my biggest sacrifice, the one I couldn’t predict I’d have to make as a little boy, is denying who I am.

To the world I’m the top rookie in this year’s NHL draft. The most promising defender the league has seen in years. For years that’s all I wanted to be, and now that I’m here…

I knew my career would intersect with my personal life at some point, I just didn’t expect it to happen before I played my first pro game.

That’s why he is so dangerous. My lifelong dream is within reach, and now there’s another I want to pursue. If only it weren’t such bad pucking timing.

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Excerpt:

There are at least half a dozen guys out here, coasting effortlessly over the smooth concrete, but none of them are as graceful as my dark angel. And I’m not even ashamed to call him that because it’s true.

Xander may be prickly on the outside, but inside he’s sensitive. Fragile almost. Yet he’s making himself vulnerable to me. If only he wasn’t stuck on this whole ‘I’m not out’ thing.

It’s not that I don’t empathize with his reasons for keeping me in the friend zone—I do. I can appreciate the challenge of being out and sleeping with someone who isn’t, and I realize it’s not fair to ask him to hide when that hasn’t been his lifestyle for years. But I also feel like it’s short-sighted to ignore the pull between us just because we’re in two different stages of life, especially since I already admitted I was open to coming out if it makes sense.

It must be twenty minutes or more before Xander spots me, and when he does his mouth curves into a seductive grin—an actual, legitimate grin—as he stomps on the end of the board so that it snaps up and into his hand. Pretty sure I haven’t been this turned on in…ever.

“Did you pass?” His lean stomach ripples as he walks toward me.

“What?” I force my eyes to his, but not before he guesses where they were. Busted.

“The driving test we came here for. Did you pass?” He drops his board to grab the shirt from the waistband of his shorts.

“Of course.” I grin proudly.

“Well, if you don’t mind sitting in the car with me while I’m all sweaty, we can do your first drive. Once I get us to a more secluded spot.”

I shift uncomfortably on the bench. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t your intent, but my dick heard the words sweaty and secluded in the same breath, and now we’re gonna need to hang out here for a few minutes until I can walk straight.”

“Jesus,” he mumbles.

“I did just watch you ride around shirtless looking like some sort of skateboard god. Do you have any idea how hot you look on that thing?”

Xander shrugs his shirt on, robbing me of the incredible view. “Probably as hot as you look on ice skates.”

“You’ve seen me on ice skates?” There’s a pull at the corner of my lip, but I fight the urge to put him on the spot with a proud smile.

“I’ve seen you all skate. My dad has film of everybody.” He’s looking everywhere but at me as he talks himself into a hole. “If the TV is on at his house, it’s playing some game.”

“And you expect me to believe you’ve watched that film? The guy who doesn’t like sports?” I can’t stop it. A full-fledged grin spreads over my face.

“Not by choice. Hockey is the only language my dad speaks so it’s basically an unavoidable subject.”

“Of course. Dinner table conversation is all hockey—I buy that. It still doesn’t explain why you’ve seen me skate, unless your dad forced you to watch my college games, since I’ve never played a pro one.”

His mouth opens and shuts three times before any words come out. “Fine. I looked you up. Stop gloating.” He picks up his board and stalks away. “Meet me at the car when you’re decent.”

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About the Author

Michele is a tomboy who writes contemporary romance (usually sports themed) that is both sweet and steamy. Her goal is to make you fan your face as you wipe a tear from your eye. Her books are part of a series but there are no cliffhangers so each can be read as a standalone. When she isn’t reading or writing she enjoys the outdoors, something that pops up in her books from time to time.

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