For the next two days, I’m participating in a holiday-themed blog hop and I’m offering what I hope is a cool prize. One lucky winner will receive a free autographed print copy of my newest release Player’s Ultimatum and an ultimate Sportsman/Sportswoman gift basket.
To enter all you have to do is place a comment at the end of the post!
A look inside Player’s Ultimatum…
BLURB:
Yvonne Floyd’s best friend and gay soccer player Robbie Gutierrez proposes the impossible, pose as his fiancée until he can ink a lucrative contract. Hounded day and night by the media’s constant speculation over his sexual orientation, Robbie doesn’t want to run the risk of losing his career over who he sleeps with. Although Yvonne feels Robbie has lost his marbles, she takes one for the team.
While Yvonne is initiated into the fast-paced world of international soccer, she’s ill-prepared for a mutual attraction to Robbie’s teammate, Paolo Saito. And when the Japanese-Brazilian footballer discovers her secret and turns the tables on her, Yvonne loses sight of her goal and risks sacrificing more than just her heart.
****
Stacey, Sizzling Hot Book Reviews
Koko Brown has done a good job of incorporating soccer, lust, love and friendship in Player`s Ultimatum!
Why did she have to be so exasperating? He’d tried to soften the circumstances of their arrangement, but she’d thrown everything in his face.
Paolo wanted to release her from their bargain. He’d thought about doing it a half-a-dozen times during the past week and every time he talked himself out of it by putting the situation into perspective. He wanted to hurt Robbie Gutierrez for causing João’s death.
Even to his own ears, his excuse sounded weak. Fact was Yvonne Floyd had become more than a way to even a score, she’d become an obsession.
He’d meant to only seduce her, have a few pictures taken by Malfi, who would leak them to the press. His game plan should have been simple as a wall pass. Of course, like any play the execution turned out to be damn near impossible because he hadn’t anticipated the strength of the defense or taken into account his own weaknesses. And above all he was consistently breaking the cardinal rule: never take your eye off the goal.
Paolo frowned. Competitive, the idea of being out played by a woman stumped him. How did this happen and so fast? The women he’d slept with had always been as interchangeable as cleat socks. Extremely superstitious, he wore a new pair every single game for luck.
His involvement with Yvonne Floyd was complicated at best. Paolo found it harder and harder to remain detached. Every single emotion he’d never associated with a woman came into play with her: anxiety, aggression, jealousy and even neediness.
Even now when she sat so rigid and distant, he suffered this insatiable need to wring some kind of emotion from her until she lay raw and vulnerable beneath him. No time like the present.
Snatching up one of the chairs, Paolo placed it between her legs then plopped down on it. He grabbed hold of her booted feet and pulled her toward him, as he hiked up her knee-length skirt.
She’d come dressed like a librarian or a school teacher in a camel-colored sweater set, matching skirt, dark brown boots and a high ponytail. Paolo almost nutted on himself. Her scent, a combination of crisp wool, brand new leather and vanilla scented lotion, aroused him more than any one hundred dollar perfume.
Sure she’d chosen the outfit to appear unappealing, Paolo smiled. Her plan had backfired. Big time. She was his biggest fantasy come to life. With a certified I.Q. of one hundred and forty-seven, he’d spent just as much time in the reference section as he did on the pitch.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Paolo glanced up and caught her gaze. Her brown eyes contained a hint of vulnerability, and something else he’d seen many times over the years. Lust. She desired him, but was fighting it. Admiring her tenacity, he decided to entertain her, at least for the moment.
“Wondering if I’m hard as a rock right now?”
“No!”
“Want to know how long I’m going to keep you in my bed?”
Thoroughly exasperated, she sighed and poked out her bottom lip. Paolo resisted the urge to take it in his mouth and suck on it until she begged him to kiss her.
“You want to know why I have these beautiful Japanese features, even though I’m a third generation Brazilian.”
He must have caught her off guard because she frowned. “Actually that wasn’t my question, but since you brought up the subject.”
Now it was Paolo’s turn to be caught off guard. Every single woman he’d met had wondered about his heritage. Usually when people imagined Brazilians, they didn’t picture them with Asian features.
“Brazil has the second largest Japanese population outside of Japan. My great, grandfather migrated in 1912 in hopes of becoming rich. He ended up working for less to nothing on a coffee plantation. He survived, married my great grandmother and the rest is history.”
Paolo watched her eyes widen. And for some reason he experienced a feeling of affinity.
“So what was your real question?”
“It sounds sort of corny now.”
“Nothing is corny when it comes from your lips.” She rolled her eyes and Paolo chuckled. He should have known by now she didn’t buy his bullshit. It was one of the things he liked about her. He squeezed her ankle, and slid his hand up her calf as he said, “go ahead and ask.”
She stared at him for the several seconds, then lifted her shoulders and sighed. “I was wondering what you like to do for fun.”
How random! “I like making love to a beautiful woman.” Her brown eyes narrowed and for some reason Paolo knew if he didn’t come clean, things might not go so well later. “I like playing football…and I love working the earth. The garden. I designed and planted all of it by hand.”
She turned her head and gazed out at the five or so acres behind his estate. During her silence, time stood still. Paolo suddenly realized he actually anticipated her feedback to his hard work. So much so, he could hear the blood pounding in his ears.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured.
Paolo couldn’t prevent the smile forming on his lips even if he tried. “Do you have any interests or hobbies?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Cooking and traveling, you know the usual, but also doodling, especially when I’m stressed out.”
Paolo frowned. Doodling? Was that some kind of fetish? Deus, he hoped so! “What’s doodling?”
“Doodling is like sketching or drawing. I’ve always wanted to learn how to paint. What about you? Anything of interest you’ve wanted to learn for some time now?”
Paolo answered automatically, “you.”
Tipping her head back, she laughed. Infectious and slightly husky, her amusement had to be the sexiest thing he’d heard since…well, Paolo couldn’t quite remember. Her laughter made him think of rumpled sheets and half-smoked cigarettes.
Turned on, Paolo scooted forward. He ran his nose against the inside of her leg and she trembled. Good, his insides weren’t any better.
“Since you’ve already eaten I hope you don’t mind if I do.” Paulo reached inside her skirt and latched his thumbs around the band of her panties. He pulled them down her thighs and over her booted feet. They were black and silky to the touch! Bringing them to his nose, he inhaled. Paolo’s eyes fluttered to half-mast. She smelled better than he’d imagined!
“What are you d-doing?” She asked, glaring down at him between her legs. If it was remotely possible, Paolo thought she couldn’t look more beautiful if she tried even with a tiny frown marring her brow.
“Exactly what it looks like, I’m smelling your panties.”
28 comments
He would really make me change my mind about soccer players! This is a great giveaway prize!
Karen
kmoaton@Hotmail.com
Wow! Thanks for participating and for the well wishes and kind words of support!
Fabu prize KoKo! Im just hopping in under the wire!
jslindzy@hotmail.com
thanks for the giveaway. what a fun hop.
Awesome giveaway! Congrats on your new release! It sounds awesome! I love books with sports in them. Or i should say i love the players. There yummy! 😉 Thank you! Happy holidays!
shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com
Love the cover and the excerpt, thanks for joining in the blog hop fun, Koko!
emmasmom AT wi DOT rr DOT com
Awesome cover, Koko, and thanks for the terrific excerpt! Adding this to the TBR one way or another!
f dot chen at comcast dot net
Wow!!! Merry Christmas!! I’ve always been a sports fan <3
bakinstuff@yahoo.om
Love sports and I would love to read your book. Thanks for the excellent giveaway.
seriousreader at live dot com
Hot cover. I could handle him for a Christmas present. Thanks for being part of the blog hop.
Great excerpt! Thanks for sharing and for being part of the Hop, Happy Holidays to you 🙂
Hi Koko, it would be a really nice Christmas if I got Player’s Ultimatum and the gift basket; but, it would be a fantastic one
if you sent Robbie Gutierrez with it. Just saying!! LOL
Wishing you the best this season has to offer, and looking
forward to more great stories in the new year!
Loray
sweetpea122 at rocketmail dot com
fabulous prize koko , happy holidays
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
whoops ment to put my emai! lol
-Amber
goodblinknpark@yahoo.com
Hellooo salty goodness!!! LOL Hot cover! Would love to read!
-Amber
denb1XU2vlZd
Hopping right along! Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays & thanks for the excerpt & giveaway!
elizabeth@bookattict.com
Loving the excerpt but then you never disappoint. Also gotta agree with Cassie about the cover.
What a nice giveaway. I love the basket 🙂
Players Ultimatum is on my wish list. Can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the giveaway.
e.balinski(at)att(dot)net
Hi Koko, I just saw the message. I hope all your books are doing well. “Player’s Ultimatum” looks good too. The cover is really nice. Keep up the good work. I’ll be honest; I haven’t unfortunately gotten a chance to read any of your work, unless you count blurbs/excerpts. However, I’ve only heard good things. Good luck with your future endeavors and books.
Love the blurb smoking cover
I am so going to buy this book right now! That excerpt got me a little hot and bothered lol
Love international soccer! The songs they sing. All the hotties in high school were soccer players — our friends always do it up for the world cup. They make a cake with the thickest greenest frosting I’ve ever seen that’s made to look like a soccer field with players and it’s a chocolate cake paradise!
Great idea for a book — best of success and luck to you!
I like the cover. I am looking forward to reading this book. The excerpt really got my attention.
Awesome cover, looking forwarding to reading this. Loved the excerpt. Happy Holidays!
Now I could learn to love sports if they all looked and was half naked like him! YUMMY Thank you so much for the wonderful giveaway! I hope you have a very safe & happy holiday season!
June M
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
Beautiful cover:)