Hoops Holiday by Kennedy Ryan on December 14, 2018
Pages: 184
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MacKenzie Decker was a question Avery never got to ask, much less answer.
They met when she was a young reporter fueled by ambition, and the ink on Deck's first NBA contract was barely dry. Years later, they've climbed so high and lost so much, but one thing hasn't changed. The attraction that simmered between them in a locker room before is still there. With success like theirs, everything has been possible . . .
except them.But that was then.
The only question is...what about now?
** Hoops Holiday consists of FULL-COURT PRESS, a HOOPS novella originally published in the TEAM PLAYER Anthology. It has been expanded with all-new, never before published content & epilogue.
It also includes Christmas-themed bonus material for LONG SHOT (Iris & August) and BLOCK SHOT (Banner & Jared).
I just love the Hoops series and this little novella was just icing on the cake.
Mack Decker and Avery Hughes first meet when she is interviewing him after one of his basketball games. While Deck tries to proposition her for the “…or something”, Avery’s focus is on her job and in a man’s world profession, she wants to be taken seriously, so she walks away, declining him but thankfully their story is not over.
Fast forward ten years and they are both in different places in their lives, and that spark—that connection—is still there, but is Avery ready for something more after everything she has been through?
Well, I won’t tell you what happens but I have to say that Kennedy Ryan never ceases to amaze me. She has packed so much story, so much angst, so much heat and feelings in such a short novella that I couldn’t help but want more and more selfishly. Mack’s patience and unwavering strength, feelings and sincerity truly shined through every page. Avery’s focus and determination, her need to grow from her situation and be the best person she could be was admirable. I just loved these characters so freakin much!
Kennedy Ryan has turned into a must-read author to me—she just grows and gets better and better with each book she releases. I can’t wait for what she has in store for us next!
Soft and fresh like petals.
I’m a jock. Not a dumb one, but a jock nonetheless. I don’t describe a woman’s lips as soft and fresh or compare a kiss to flowers. Besides the few years I was married to Tara, if it opened its legs and said yes or please, I fucked it. I always rushed it. A man’s got needs, but I got in and I got out. This woman, this kiss, I have to savor. I’d be a fool not to. It’s a first kiss. I understand the difference now between the first time you kiss someone, and a first kiss. This is a discovery of tongues and lips and heat. An introduction of our souls, if that doesn’t sound too pussy-ish. It’s how I feel, though. Like as our lips brush back and forth, as our tongues tangle, as I taste her, mouthful by delicious mouthful, I’m learning her secrets. I’m telling her mine. My hand slides from the door to flatten into the warmth of her back through the silk blouse, bringing her incrementally closer. The air shifts and takes the shape of lust; assumes the form of want. The sound of her moaning, the slight lift and fall of her breasts against my chest, testifies that she feels it, too.
The elevator dings, and our bodies go still even as we keep exchanging breaths and heartbeats through our clothes; even though my mouth is still poised above hers. I have her against the door, and every curve of her body is impressing itself on me, making sure I’ll never forget how right we fit together. I look over my shoulder toward the elevator. The doors open, but no one gets off. That interruption was enough to bring her back to her senses, though. God knows I can’t find mine.
“Um . . . you should go,” she whispers, a muscle rippling along the smooth line of her jaw.
I bend to breathe over her mouth, so she can taste our kisses lingering on my lips. “Or you could invite me in.”
Her scent and the warmth of her body take my senses hostage. I smell her and want to kiss her again so badly it stings my taste buds. Her eyes already regret the last few moments I thought were so perfect. I can’t calm my emotions or my body that quickly.
“You don’t want to come in, Deck.”
“I assure you I do.”
A short laugh, deceptively light, breezes past her lips. She glances down to the floor and shakes her head.
“I’d make the worst one-night stand ever,” she says.
“One-night stand?” I take her chin in hand and lift, forcing her to look at me. “I’ve waited a long time for this path to be clear. No conflict of interest. No other people standing in our way. I don’t know exactly what I want, Avery, but it’s damn sure more than one night.”
Start the Hoops series today!
Book 1 – Long Shot
Book 2 – Block Shot
Coming March 2019!
Add HOOK SHOT, Hoops 3, to Goodreads:http://bit.ly/KeLoGoodreads
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ANY Signed HOOPS Novel signed paperback!
About Kennedy Ryan
A RITA® Award Winner and Top 25 Amazon Bestseller, Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts.
She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but enjoys writing to raise Autism awareness most. A contributor for Modern Mom Magazine, Kennedy’s writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today and many others. The founder and executive director of a foundation serving Atlanta families living with Autism, she has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other media outlets as an advocate for families living with autism.