Gray's Girl by Mina Carter Page B

mind. Behind him, the other players poured through the gap he’d created, the dark-haired streak that was her brother in the lead.
    Masculine shouts reached her, calls for the balls, positioning orders, most of which made no sense to her but obviously did to Gray. Another challenger came in, then another and another and even Frankie could see he wasn’t going to be able to avoid them all, no matter what fancy footwork he pulled.
    He didn’t even try. At the last moment he turned, throwing the ball to Damon in a slick move that said the pair had practiced it a million times, then dug his feet in. Half a second later he was tackled, a big hit that had everyone on the benches wincing.
    Frankie shot to her feet, her heart in her throat and her hand over her mouth; panic swarmed through her like a cloud of locusts, eating up every available resource until all she could think of was him. Her gaze riveted to the tangle of bodies and limbs where he’d hit the ground, one booted foot visible under a pile of bodies.
    Oh God, let him be okay. Please let him be okay.
    Her breath punched out of her lungs as the mound moved, Gray emerging from the bottom with a laugh. Relief flooded her, so strong she could taste it—
    A ball thudded into the turf in front of her feet.
    The sound of booted feet swiftly followed it; another player, one she didn’t recognize, swept her from head to foot with an interested glance.
    “’Ey up, sweetheart, come to see the best train?” His grin was so wide and charming that she couldn’t help but smile back. Catcalls and comments reached them as the other players registered their conversation.
    “Something like that,” she responded easily, which drew another grin. He didn’t get time to reply before a barked order from one of the coaches had him snatching the ball from the ground and sprinting back to join the rest of the squad.
    She didn’t bother watching him. Instead her gaze went straight back to Gray’s tall, wide-shouldered figure. Only to find him watching her with a steady blue-gray gaze. As soon as her eyes met his, he smiled, an expression full of lazy heat that made her heart turn over.
    The coaches called the team to order and another set play began. This time though, if there was an opportunity to get the ball onto her side of the pitch, it was taken, and she was treated to display after display of prowess as each player tried to one-up his teammates.
    A try was scored and she watched, waiting for the conversion kick. Instead of going between the posts, somehow the ball ended up sailing through the air to slam into the barrier just in front of her. She chuckled as the kicker, one of the smaller players on the team—which meant he could dwarf a normal-sized man—trotted over to her with an impish grin on his face.
    “Nice kick,” she commented, hearing one of the coaching team going ballistic in the background. “Must take some skill to kick behind you like that.”
    He didn’t get time to answer as a furious bellow echoed across the pitch. “Bryant, you get your arse back over here!”
    He winked. “Yeah, I got mad skills, on and off the pitch. Stick around, and I’ll show you.”
    Frankie chuckled as he ran off, only to hear him yell, “Fuck me, Gray. If I’d known Cross’s sister was that hot, I’da let me brother walk from the bloody airport. I’d—”
    Gray and her brother intercepted him, Damon punching the ball from his grasp and her man grabbing the newly named Bryant in a headlock before he could finish what he’d been saying.
    “Oh for fuck’s sake!” The coach sounded apoplectic. “Gray, put him down. Cross, don’t you fucking dar—”
    Gray reluctantly released the other man as ordered, but it seemed he couldn’t resist a little payback, shoving him hard toward the coach. Damon, though, took the opportunity to boot the ball back down the pitch. Right toward Frankie.
    Gray took off after it, a glare at the three other players who started running as