Seduced by the Game by Catherine Gayle, Cassandra Carr, Toni Aleo, Jami Davenport, Cindy Carr, Nikki Worrell, Jaymee Jacobs, V. L. Locey, Bianca Sommerland, Lisa Hollett

me in to a billion pieces, and I’m just now
putting that all back together. Picking all those pieces up again would be the
hardest thing I would ever have do, so please don’t break me.”
    Cupping her face, he
leaned in, running his nose along hers before he whispered, “There won’t be any
pieces to pick up because I’m not breaking you. I’ll hold you together. You’ll
never face anything without me right there. I’ll be there until the end. I
promise you that.”
    “I trust you.”
    That was all he needed to
hear.
     
    You’re beautiful.
     
    Their relationship was on
the fast track from that moment on. It was intense and maybe a little insane,
but Lacey wouldn’t have it any other way. She was falling madly for him, and
she wasn’t the least bit ashamed of it. Wherever Karson was, Lacey was, and
vice versa. They were constantly together, studying, going out, and just
enjoying each other. She had never felt so free in her life, and she knew it
was because of him. He made her feel alive, like the most beautiful girl in the
world, and he continually told her that. She had never felt so strongly about
someone and, despite Rachel and Grady telling her she was nuts for falling for
him so quickly, she still allowed herself to do so.
    It was just that Karson
made everything feel so right, so perfect, as if it was meant to be. He made
her feel as if there was nothing but them, and she loved that about him. And
boy, could he make her hotter than anybody ever had before. Lacey wasn’t a
virgin, not by a long shot. Growing up around nothing but Grady’s friends,
she’d lost her virginity when she was sixteen, but there was a difference
between fooling around with boys and being with Karson.
    He made her feel so
special with each touch. They hadn’t had sex, but there had been heavy touching
and rubbing because he said he wanted to wait. What twenty-year-old guy wanted
to wait? Karson King did because he wanted her to be completely ready and trust
him. It was night and she was thankful, because every time they fooled around
and things got hot and heavy, her anxiety was always high when his hands
gravitated toward her breasts. She knew she needed to tell him about them, but
she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She loved their relationship and didn’t
want to feel the sting of rejection if he felt he couldn’t deal with it. In her
heart she knew that wasn’t true, but still, it made her nervous.
    Along with spending every
waking moment together, they never missed an event for the other person either.
Every game, Lacey was there, Karson’s number written on her cheek with Rachel
right beside her, Grady’s number on her cheek. Grady still wasn’t okay with
Karson and Lacey being together, but at least he hadn’t tried to swing on
Karson in the last two months. When Lacey performed with the Catappellas,
Karson was front row, watching every moment, and the loudest person cheering
when they finished a set. They had a routine; Karson walked her to every class
and was always there at the end to greet her before rushing off to his own. She
wasn’t sure how he got away with missing so much, but he guaranteed her it
wasn’t a big deal, that he was passing. She was fine with whatever he was doing
as long as she got to see him. Call her selfish, but she valued the time she
got to spend with him since, more than likely, he’d be going into the draft.
After being picked for a team, he’d be shipped off to whatever team chose him.
He had been flying out a lot, interviewing with all kinds of teams, and it was
nerve-racking, but she was so proud of him.
    While she prayed every
night that the Blackhawks chose him, she knew that was probably not going
happen since they were on the road to the Cup, and they wouldn’t get the first
draft pick. Karson wasn’t sure but he promised, no matter what, she would
always be the keeper of his heart. She was grateful for that and trusted him,
but she also knew that her man would