Sharks Football

  First Down

  Red Zone

  Touchdown

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, APRIL 2021

  Copyright © 2021 Relay Publishing Ltd.

  All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Leslie North is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Romance projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.

  Cover Design by Mayhem Cover Creations.

  www.relaypub.com

  Blurb

  James Sullivan, quarterback for the Savannah Sharks, never thought there’d come a day when football wasn’t his priority. But finally finding his feet after his divorce and with a nine-year-old daughter to raise by himself, he has new priorities. And it shows on the field.

  Newly hired conditioning coach Daisy Katrakis has pointed out his less-than-stellar play, and that rankles James. He’s known Daisy for years—she’s his best friend’s little sister—and more annoying than her criticism is how attractive she is. When did Daisy get so hot? Though he reminds himself that she’s his coach, it’s hard to ignore their mutual attraction. And harder still to ignore what Daisy is starting to do to his heart.

  Being hired by the Sharks is a dream come true for Daisy. The last thing she needs is to complicate things by getting into a relationship with the terminally sexy James Sullivan. Her obsession is football, not a gorgeous quarterback with muscles that have muscles.

  Daisy’s never been a girly-girl, but there’s something about James that brings out her softer side. Something that makes her think there could be more. But a coach dating the quarterback is fraught with complications, and Daisy knows her priority has to be her job. Which leaves her with an impossible decision: live her dream or break her own heart.

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  (Sharks Football Book Two)

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  Contents

  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

  Epilogue

  End of Red Zone

  Thank you!

  Make an Author’s Day

  About Leslie North

  Sneak Peek: Touchdown

  Also By Leslie

  1

  “Get it, Sullivan!”

  James grinned at the good-natured encouragement from his teammate, Mark Coleridge, as he completed his last rep on the bench press. It was the Monday after a game, so everybody was taking it easy. But since they’d lost yesterday’s game, they’d be working a little extra today as punishment.

  “Thanks, Coleridge,” James said as he replaced the bar. He’d barely broken a sweat after twenty-five reps. He sat up on the bench, looking around the weight room. The entire team was here, getting in their light weight training early in the morning, per usual. Everyone looked good. But what wasn’t good was the losing streak James felt the Sharks were embarking on.

  It’s only two losses in a row. It’s not a streak yet. This Sunday will be different.

  But as the quarterback and oldest player on the team, it was hard for him not to worry. He’d been in the NFL longer than practically anybody. Sometimes he liked to think he had a sixth sense for shit like this. But this season, none of his senses worked quite right.

  Maybe after fifteen years in the game he was just tired.

  His phone vibrated in the pocket of his mesh workout shorts. His daily alarm for 8 a.m., to remind him to call his daughter. By this time, nine-year-old Emma was usually arriving at school after the nanny had dropped her off. With his grueling season schedule, the only day of the week he ever got to personally take her to school was Tuesdays. He headed for the door of the weight room as the phone rang. She picked up on the third ring.

  “Yes, Dad—I made it to school,” Emma answered, sounding unamused.

  It was true—he called every morning at the same time to make sure that she’d made it in okay. But he was a dad. This was what he was supposed to do.

  “I just gotta check on you, you know.” He hated the way his chest got tight whenever she acted annoyed by his questions. Ever since her mother had followed her career halfway around the world, James was extra conscious of making sure Emma felt supported and loved. But it was hard to do much of anything during the season, much less be the doting father he liked to think he was in the off-season. Truth was, everything had gotten harder since his transition to single parenthood. Especially figuring out if his daughter was doing well in the areas where it counted.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  “You haven’t had your friends over in a while,” he said. “Why don’t you invite them over after school one day?”

  “Yeah. Maybe. I’ve been busy.”

  He frowned. “Busy? With homework? Are your teachers giving you too much?”

  “No, Dad—” She sighed. “It’s nothing.”

  He heard the chatter of voices in the background, and he could imagine she was caught up in the throngs of students entering the school. He wouldn’t press, even though he wanted to.

  “Fine. We can talk later today. Invite your friends over if you want, though. I’ll be home early, and we can order from Camilo’s Pizza.”

  “Okay. Gotta run. Bye.”

  The line went dead, and he pocketed the phone. These days, it seemed she was nine going on fifteen. His normally happy, forthcoming girl had been strangely withdrawn and quiet the past few weeks. He wasn’t home enough to truly dig deep and get her to open up to him. With her mother out of the picture, he feared they were heading for a stressful second half of the season.

  And between the demands of keeping his team together, reviving his own flagging passion, and keeping his daughter on course, it felt like he was being pulled in so many directions he’d rip into pieces.

  “All right, boys!” Coach Scooter strode into the weight room, looking spry and maniacal, as he did most days after a loss. “Feeling good and loose yet?”

  “On our way,” Maxwell, one of James’s good buddies, muttered as he worked the rowing machine.

  “I’m hoping so, because we’ve got plenty of tape to review,” Coach went on, his voice booming through the weight room. “Gotta figure out what went wrong yesterday, and how we can fix it for next week. But before we do that, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

  James crossed his arms, leaning against the doorway as Coach stood at the front of the weight room, his hands on his hips.

  “You all know we had to let Brad Jones go a few weeks back due to some personal issues. Well, I’m happy to announce that we’ve found our replacement strength and conditioning coach. Boys, meet Daisy Katrakis.”

  Coach gestured toward the back of the room, where James stood, and he turned to look behind him. Confusion piled up. Daisy Katrakis. He knew that name. Knew it really well. But could it be…?

  A Grecian beauty strode forward, her nearly pitch-black hair pulled back into a sleek and perfect ponytail. Her chocolate gaze zeroed in on him, a smile of recognition curling her lips.

  “Hey, James,” she said softly as she passed, leaving a pleasant trail of perfume behind her. James could only stare after her.

  Daisy was his high school best friend’s little sister. The loudmouth track nut who’d always been critiquing his football performances and egging him and her brother on.

  And now? Strength and conditioning coach for the Sharks. He could only blink dumbly as she took her place next to Coach Scooter and greeted the team. All eyes were on her, and for good reason. The strength and conditioning coach was a cornerstone of the team, and James had been wondering if the missing coach had been partially to blame for their recent losses.

  But James watched her for another reason, too. She wasn’t the high school health nerd he remembered. No, she’d transformed into an elegant but powerful beauty. Her dark, perfect brows, lush eyelashes, and full lips topped a svelte body, which even her teal polo and black shorts couldn’t hide. Powerful thighs snagged his attention next, followed by the graceful curve of her calf. He didn’t remember Daisy looking so yummy back in high school.

  “So I’d like you all to help make Daisy feel welcomed here,” Coach continued, which meant James had missed his speech about Daisy while he’d been busy ogling her. “Let’s show her what being a part of the Savannah Sharks is like.”

  The team applauded, and James righted hims
elf, joining them. Daisy was all smiles as she thanked Coach, and he could see some of his teammates sharing appreciative looks amongst themselves. He was sure that she’d be welcomed more than warmly, with an extremely attentive team at her disposal.

  Himself included.

  “I want to let you all know that I’m thrilled to be a part of this team,” Daisy said, her voice feminine but unwavering…and just as loud as he’d remembered from high school. Her grin sparkled as she spoke, and it seemed like the entire room had gone deathly silent to hear her every word. “Joining the ranks of the most gifted performance athletes such as yourselves is a dream come true. I can’t wait to start working to get you all stronger, faster, and even more impressive.”

  Someone whooped, which made Daisy laugh. The team broke into applause again, and James found himself swallowed by the sparkle of her chocolate eyes, her captivating grin, the way she looked both like someone he’d known for his entire life, and a gorgeous stranger.

  Snap out of it. You’ve been alone too long.

  That had to be it. Two years post-divorce meant freedom and sowing wild oats for some men. But not for James, whose every spare second went to his daughter and trying to make sure she had as normal a childhood as possible given the insanity of his NFL lifestyle.

  Coach commanded everyone to finish up their workouts while Daisy went around the room and got acquainted with them. They had a half hour until break, when they’d be moving into tape review. James found himself walking toward her without even deciding to.

  “Daisy Katrakis,” he said, unable to contain his grin. She propped her hands on her hips, returning his smile.

  “James Sullivan. It’s good to see you again.”

  “I should have known you’d make it to the big time,” he said. “Last I heard from your brother, you were working for the OSU football team.”

  “It was an awesome job, but you know I’ve always set my sights as high as possible,” she said.

  He nodded, lapping her up. Strange how good it felt to see her again, especially here, in the middle of this shiny, state-of-the-art weight room that existed as his professional sanctuary. It had been years…maybe over a decade…since they’d last crossed paths in their hometown of Atlanta. But he still recognized the warmth in her voice, still felt like they could pick up right where they’d left off.

  “I’m proud of ya, kid,” he said, gently knocking her shoulder. “I bet your brother is pumped beyond belief.”

  “Oh, he was the first to find out.” She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her black shorts, which made the mounds of her breasts jut out beneath her shirt. He fought not to notice. “I made him swear not to tell you. I wanted you to find out with everyone. It happened so fast, and, well…” She glanced around, some of that confidence falling from her face, “I didn’t want anyone to think it was because I knew you.”

  “Of course. You won this fair and square.” There were a million other things he wanted to dive into now that she was here in front of him, but she was supposed to be meeting the team and getting acquainted. He couldn’t hog her.

  “And I don’t plan on going easy on you,” she warned, that glint returning to her eye. “I’ve seen your last few games. I know exactly what we need to work on.”

  “So you’ve been studying me,” he said, unsure if he should be impressed or worried.

  “Studying all of you,” she clarified with a mischievous grin. “But don’t you worry. I’ll be able to help you step it up.”

  “Oh? I need to step things up, huh?” He meant it jokingly, but her observations struck a deeper chord. One that he’d been too scared to really think about head-on. Was his waning passion that evident already?

  Mark and Maxwell approached, eager to introduce themselves, so James let her make the rounds as he stewed over the unsavory facts.

  Daisy wasn’t just hot enough to melt focus. She was skilled enough to call him out on the one thing he’d been desperately trying to hide from everyone this season.

  Including himself.

  2

  Daisy’s head was spinning, and there was only one remedy she knew: head to the gym.

  After an intense and fast-paced on-boarding process with the Sharks, she was in full swing with the team after only three days. Not just that, but mid-season. Any way she looked at it, she was at a disadvantage. Not just from coming in as a coach halfway through a shaky season; not just because everything was happening so quickly, either.

  Because at the end of the day, she was a woman in a man’s world. And this knowledge burned at her feet with every step forward she took.

  She burst through the front doors of the health club right at five o’clock, trying but failing to hide her giddy smile. Despite all the setbacks, she was riding high. How could she not be? She was one of few women to grace the ranks of the NFL as a coach. And she’d just turned thirty-three.

  Yes, she needed to gloat a bit. Gloat, fret, and work, and then start the cycle over again.

  And all the gloating and fretting needed to happen on the treadmill. Along with expending all the excess energy that had somehow got wound up inside her whenever she happened to catch a certain James Sullivan working that gorgeous body of his.

  Stop it, Daisy. He’s your colleague now, not just an old friend with insane abs and the best biceps you’ve ever seen.

  But it didn’t matter. James had been hot since day one of high school, which she knew all too well from watching him and her brother pal around after school most days of the week. She’d been around her fair share of hotties in the world of buff athletes, but she’d never seen a man like James, even after all these years.

  That didn’t change things, though. She was used to admiring that man from afar. It was what she’d always done—and probably what she’d die doing. The only difference now was that it wasn’t because she was the annoying little sister. No, now she was a coach with a lot to lose if things got weird with one of the star athletes. And she’d never compromise the success of this team—or her career—by mixing personal and professional.

  After registering at the main desk, she was given a quick tour and shown the locker room. This was a new-to-her gym, just like the city of Savannah. She’d been staying at her brother’s house in Atlanta and commuting for interviews over the past few weeks. But now, she was apartment hunting while tucked inside a cute little short-term rental.

  She’d officially started job hunting in the fall, knowing that she wanted to take her career higher. She’d courted a few positions at other universities across the country, but her heart was with the big leagues. So when Coach Scooter had contacted her about an immediate opening, she snapped it up. Details like living arrangements could come later. This opportunity to reach for the stars didn’t come around every day.

  In the locker room, she changed clothes and headed for the weight room. Using the team weight room was an option, of course, but she knew she needed some separation between personal life and work life. Even if all of her time eventually ended up going to working, she wanted to at least pretend there was a division.

  A healthy mix of men and women lingered around different machines or utilized exercise balls in the corner of the space. She headed for the yoga mats to start with some warm-up stretches. As soon as she started, her mind began to wander—going over that day’s training session with the team, thinking back on the conversations she’d had with Coach Scooter about what the previous strength and conditioning coach did well and did wrong. She wondered if her strength plans for the team were going to be viewed differently just because she was a woman, wondered if she should use the old coach’s training plan at first, just to have her defenses ready once the inevitable attacks on her experience or knowledge began.