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  He's ready to fight for love...

  Coming into a team in the middle of the season is never easy but veteran hockey player Will MacDonald is a tough guy. He's not afraid to drop his gloves in defense of his teammates and he's never met a woman who made his heart pound as hard as a good fight. Until he has a chance collision with a curvy brunette.

  Jess Gardiner has been around hockey all her life. Her dad, an NHL scout, taught her everything he knows about the game and she believes Will is exactly what the young Redtails team needs. He's just not what she needs in her life, even if he is huge, hot and hard-bodied.

  Will is used to fighting for what he wants but winning Jess's heart might be the toughest battle of his life.

  THE ENFORCER

  STEPHANIE JULIAN

  Copyright © 2017 by Stephanie Julian

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at [email protected].

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

  Chapter One

  Head down as she glanced over the contracts for the new promotional opportunities, Jessica Gardiner grinned at her own handiwork as she hurried through the hall.

  She had no doubt she’d get approval from the Redtails’ front office to go after sponsors. She knew exactly who she’d approach first—

  “Oh!”

  A huge, immoveable object suddenly appeared in front of her, and in the next second, her ass hit the floor and the papers in her hands went flying.

  “Holy shit. Damn, I’m sorry. Here, give me your hand. Let me help you up.”

  As pain started to radiate up her back, a large hand appeared in front of her face. Stunned, she stared at it for several seconds.

  “Hey, hon. You okay?”

  Hon?

  She looked up…and up…into eyes so dark, she wasn’t sure if they were black or brown. Or possibly navy.

  A face she didn’t know but that looked familiar.

  Scowling up at him, she shook her head. “Who are you?”

  His lips quirked into a grin that made his eyes narrow down to slits. “Will MacDonald. And you’re still on the floor. Come on, take my hand. You’re gonna get that skirt all dirty.”

  Her lips parted in surprise. Well, damn. That’s why he looked familiar. Coach had taken her recommendation seriously.

  She started to grin and noticed MacDonald’s eyes widen.

  “Uh, you sure you’re okay, miss? How hard did you hit?”

  For a split second, she wondered what the hell he was talking about. And then she remembered she was sprawled on the floor.

  Looking down at herself, she realized her skirt had ridden up almost to her hips and was damn close to revealing what color underwear she’d picked out this morning. Her legs were spread wide, and the few strands of hair falling in her eyes meant she’d lost a few of the pins holding it up in an already messy bun.

  Grimacing, she reached for his outstretched hand, knowing it’d be easier to accept his help than try to scramble up on her own.

  “Well, my skirt wouldn’t be dirty if you hadn’t body-checked me—”

  She gave a totally girly squeal as he ignored her hand, grabbed her under her arms, and lifted her off the floor.

  Holy crap. The guy had some serious muscle to have deadlifted her off the floor like she was a kid and not a full-grown woman.

  Duh, you work for a hockey team.

  And this was definitely a hockey player.

  Unkempt dark brown hair, curly and way too long to be civilized. At least a week’s worth of stubble on his chin. Broad shoulders and chest that filled her vision when she stared straight ahead. Even in four-inch heels, she knew the top of her head didn’t reach his chin.

  He wore a suit but no tie, but she could tell, even in dress pants, he had powerful legs. Again, not surprising considering what he did for a living.

  “Sorry, but I’m pretty sure you walked straight into my back. And since I don’t have eyes in the back of my head…”

  Okay, maybe she hadn’t been looking where she was going, but she was the one who’d ended up on her ass on the floor. He could be a little more sympathetic.

  Then again, he was a hockey player. As much as she loved the game, she’d been around the sport all her life. Most players were interested in only two things—hockey and sex.

  If it didn’t directly affect their game or getting laid, it didn’t register.

  And since she didn’t mix business with pleasure… Probably best to just keep walking.

  With a sigh, she decided to ignore him and turned to pick up the papers still scattered all over the floor.

  “Let me give you a hand with that.”

  Amazingly, he brushed by her to gather up her contracts scattered all over the floor.

  Okay, maybe he wasn’t a total prick.

  Bending over to reach the papers at her feet, she winced as pain shot up her hip.

  Sucking in a sharp breath, she rubbed one hand on her abused hip and shook her head. Yeah, that was gonna hurt. Maybe she’d go down to see the trainer about an ice pack.

  “You sure you’re okay? You must’ve gone down a little harder than I thought. Do you need a hand getting wherever you’re going? Where are you going anyway?”

  “I’m fine. Really.” Just need to get away from you before you accidentally put me in a full body cast. “I’ll take those.”

  She held out her hand and refrained from rolling her eyes when he didn’t immediately hand over her papers.

  Great. One of those.

  With a barely repressed sigh, she reached for calm and took another look at the man standing in front of her.

  If anyone asked, she might admit that she found him attractive. Okay, hot. The guy was totally hot.

  But she’d been around professional athletes all her life. She was used to handsome faces and ripped bodies. And huge egos.

  She had to admit that even the less…attractive players still had that certain something that made them irresistible to most women.

  Most women being other women. Jess had made the mistake of dating a few hockey players in her time. But she’d learned her lesson by the time she was twenty, when the last one had packed up his bags and moved to a team in Europe without so much as a good-bye.

  That had been eight years ago.

  This one…

  Going through the files of hockey stats in her brain, she searched for Will’s. She knew he was older than most of the guys on the Redtails. Close to mid-thirties. Somewhat unusual for the AHL, but he still had several good years in him. At least that’s what she’d told Coach at the staff meeting last month.

  Coach Scott always listened when she spoke up about players. She didn’t do it often, but when Coach had been talking about possible replacement players at the monthly staff meeting a few weeks ago, she’d piped in with her two cents on MacDonald.

  The guy’s stats spoke for themselves, but for some reason, the Colonials talent scout had put MacDonald low on the list of potentials, far below players she wouldn’t have given a second glance.

  Okay, yeah, the NHL scout had a few decades of experience on her, but she knew her team.

  And MacDonald was the perfect fit.

  But she didn’t have to personally like the guy.

  “Do you think I can have my contracts back now?”

  He blinked and looked down at his hands, as if he hadn’t reali
zed he still held them.

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. And about knocking you on your ass.”

  Then his gaze slid down her body and her eyes rolled again.

  What did you expect? Hockey player.

  The voice in her head was her mom’s and she had to grit her teeth against the urge to growl. Like, seriously, she wanted to growl.

  Then again, her mom wasn’t wrong. Which just pissed her off even more.

  Forcing a smile, she held her hand out. “Not a problem. I just need those.”

  “Sure.” He held them out with another smile.

  Okay, maybe he had a nice smile. Maybe better than nice. He didn’t look so…arrogant when he grinned like that. It also made him look younger than he was.

  No. Nope. Not a chance in hell.

  Taking the papers, she nodded and started to walk past him.

  And damn if the man didn’t start to walk along with her.

  “So, any chance you’re heading to the main office? Just got here and not exactly sure where I need to be.”

  Looking up, she found him grinning down at her, that smile getting more attractive by the moment.

  And, oh, that was so not good.

  She stifled a sigh. “Sure. I’m headed there anyway.”

  “Great. Thanks, Miss…”

  “Gardiner. Jess Gardiner.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shoot her another glance, and when she looked up, his eyes were narrowed, as if he was thinking really hard.

  “Any relation to Doug Gardiner? The NHL scout?”

  So he did know her dad. “Yep, that’s my dad.”

  “Ah.”

  She snuck another glance his way and noticed his easy grin had been replaced with a bit of a scowl.

  Okay, not a fan of her dad’s. Well, he wasn’t the only one.

  “So, what do you do for the Redtails?”

  Small talk. Lovely. Luckily, the office was just down the hall.

  “I’m the marketing and promotions manager.”

  “Nice. I guess.”

  Now an awkward silence fell and Jess almost wished he’d continue to talk. He had a nice voice, deep and rough, like he had gravel in his throat.

  And what the hell does that matter?

  Shit.

  “So, Jess the marketing and promotions manager, do you like working here?”

  Because answering was easier than an awkward silence, she said, “I do.” It just wasn’t where she wanted to spend the rest of her career, but he didn’t need to know that. “The organization’s great, we’re drawing well, and the team’s playing well. You’re coming in at a good time.”

  “So I’ve been told.”

  Something in his tone caught her ear and she looked up again to find him grimacing, though his expression quickly cleared.

  Curiosity made her ask, “I haven’t heard of any trades lately so how did you get here?”

  She wanted to take the words back when he looked at her with another one of those smiles. That smile said, Hey, I know you want me.

  Though it took some effort on her part, she refrained from rolling her eyes.

  “Picked up off waivers yesterday from the Roadies.” He shrugged. “Been riding the bench for a month there so hopefully I’ll see some ice time here. Heard good things about Coach Scott. Looking forward to playing for him.”

  Her smile was genuine now. “Coach is wonderful. The team’s having a great year, even though we recently lost two of our best players to call-ups.”

  “Not a bad way to lose them.”

  “It’s great for them. CJ will probably be back at some point, but I don’t think Riley will. CJ’s offensive game is tight but his defense needs some work to play at the NHL level. Riley’s a damn good grinder and the Colonials need a player like him to get them going.”

  “Sounds like your dad rubbed off.”

  Now why didn’t that sound like a compliment?

  Slowing to a stop outside the door to the front office, Jess turned to look up at Will. He’d stopped beside her, watching her with raised eyebrows. Kind of seemed to Jess that he was daring her to say something.

  Or maybe she was totally reading something into his expression that wasn’t there.

  Either way, she didn’t have time for this. She had several businesses to contact about future events, needed to get started on the design for next season’s Ugly Christmas sweaters and giveaways, and had several phone calls to return about an upcoming affiliation night program. They had two well-known Colonial alumni coming to sign autographs at next Friday’s game and she needed to smooth some ruffled feathers over billing.

  Ugh.

  She loved the game of hockey. Always had, always would. It was in her DNA. And growing up, she’d idolized the players. They’d been her heroes, her idols. Her first crushes.

  But she’d learned quickly that those heroes didn’t always measure up to the public image.

  “Here we are. Welcome to the Redtails, Will.”

  He nodded, watching her with sharp eyes. “Thanks. Nice to meet you, Jess. I guess I’ll see you around.”

  She nodded. “I guess you will.”

  * * * * *

  Will opened the door for Jess and watched her walk through.

  And yes, his gaze might have fallen to her ass. The girl had some curves, even though she couldn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds soaking wet and she probably only stood about five-two, more than a foot shorter than him.

  Not his typical type. He usually liked them tall, stacked, and exotic. Blonde, brunette, redhead, didn’t matter. What did matter was that they were beautiful.

  He’d never been attracted to the girl next door. Not even in high school. College had been a blur of hockey, classes, and parties. And a whole lot of girls.

  And even if certain parts of his body wanted him to lick her up like ice cream, he certainly didn’t have time for Doug Gardiner’s daughter now.

  Damn, that name always managed to make him want to punch something. Jaw tightening, he took a deep breath and followed Jess through the door.

  She’d stopped in the office to the right of the door, glancing over her shoulder at him before nodding and walking farther into the office.

  Looking at the sign on the open door, he realized this was the office he’d been looking for.

  “Will! It’s great to have you here. Come on in.” The former player behind the desk stood and held out his hand. “I’m Greg Bell, VP of hockey ops. Welcome to Reading.”

  Will took Greg’s hand and shook. “Thanks. I’m happy to be here.”

  “Well, we can certainly use a guy with your skill. We’ve got a great team, but they’re young and they need a leader. We’re hoping you’re the man to step into that role.”

  Will had heard all of this from the coach when he’d talked to him last week so it wasn’t a surprise. So he nodded and smiled.

  “I’ll do my best. Just glad to be playing.”

  “I know you weren’t getting a lot of ice time before but that shouldn’t be a problem here.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Good, good. I’m sure you’re tired from your trip so why don’t we head downstairs and you can meet Coach Scott then get to your apartment and rest up for tomorrow.”

  As he followed the GM through the empty arena, Will took a cursory look around, but if you’d played in one arena, the others were pretty much the same.

  And he’d played in hundreds since starting hockey when he was five and traveling for the game since he was ten. He’d grown up in Saskatchewan, where hockey was a religion, not a sport. And his parents had been more than eager to help him achieve his goals.

  That’d been when he’d been young, bigger, and better than every kid in his small town and on the path for stardom.

  And when that fame didn’t pan out…

  Shoving those old, damaging thoughts out of his head, he tuned back into the GM’s talk about the team and the area and how great the fans were
. He’d heard this spiel before from the previous GM, who’d wanted to sign him a few years ago. That deal hadn’t worked out, and not much had changed apparently.

  The Redtails had been around for more than four decades, had a long streak of winning years and Calder Cup trophies, and were coming off a Calder Cup win last year. They still had more than half the team intact from last year, but a few call-ups had hurt their roster.

  Yes, Will was happy to be here. But secretly, he was surprised as shit that he’d gotten the call. At thirty-three, he was almost a decade older than most of the Redtails players. So yeah, it made sense that Coach Scott would want someone with a few years under his belt to help anchor his young guys.

  But Will had been starting to wonder if he’d be stuck in a downward spiral until he finally decided to retire. He was sure he’d been on his way down to the ECHL when he’d gotten the call from Coach Scott. It’d been unexpected and exactly what he’d needed.

  “Will, good to see you. Welcome to Reading. Hope you had a good trip from Minnesota.”

  Smiling, Will reached for the hand of the man he’d only met a few times but had heard great things about. Coach Scott was a league legend. A former player with a couple NHL seasons as an assistant coach under his belt. No Stanley Cups, but he’d been a member of the Redtails’ Calder Cup-winning team in the mid-90s and had been the coach here for more than ten years. Rumor had it he was in line for the Colonials head job when Angstadt retired. And that Cary Lenville was in line for Scott’s job.

  Which was another reason Will had been surprised to get the call.

  “Good to be here. Thank you for the opportunity. I’m really looking forward to playing.”

  While it was something he’d say to any new coach, Will had to admit that the words meant more this time.

  “That’s good to hear because we’re going to be expecting a lot of you.”

  Waving Will into a seat on the other side of his desk, Scott nodded to Bell, who excused himself and shut the door behind him.

  “You probably haven’t heard because we haven’t made an announcement yet but Coach Novak is leaving for another position and we’re pulling Lenville up to take his place.”