nora

cked behind an unmarked steel door in the West Loop, sme

eached. Masks mandatory. No recording devices. It was paranoid, but understandable for an NHL sup

ded me through a heavy velvet curta

harcoal wool coat over a crisp black shirt, his broad shoulders and thick chest unmistakably those of a professional athlete. His face wa

posture straight as an arrow as I to

nt authority that vibrated straight through the table. "You have five min

imatum before the season opener: settle your personal rumors or lose your contracts. You need a wife who looks respect

ing one long leg over the other, swirling a glass of neat bour

y mother liquidates the estate and hands my father's shares in the Chicago Lions to outside vultures. Marry me, and we solve each other's problems. A strictly contractua

e just watched me, those jade eyes tracking the pulse beating at the base

t work for me,"

nk. "What d

teel over ice. "A divorce announcement during the playoffs would cause more media chaos than the rumors I'

y eight to nine months, depending on

said. "Any

, an overwhelmingly masculine scent that felt entirely incompatible with a man hiding his sexuality. "No prenup that looks like a corpora

back down. "We sign the civi

ix-foot-three, towering over me as I scrambled to my feet. "City Hall has an emerge

ing black SUV. The drive to the Cook County Municipal Building passed in complete silence. He di

the fourth floor, the elderly clerk adjusted his sp

e clerk droned. "And take those foolish things off.

etting the black lace fall away. I slid my

lloused fingers caught the edge of the

throat. The room seem

ramed a rugged, impossibly handsome face, punctuated by a small, pale scar just along the edge of his le

nicked second-

Beckham

the NHL. The heir to the Waller sports and real estate dynast

f-step back, my hand flying to my

id, his lips curving in

in North America!" I reached out to grab my license off the desk, pure

hand shot out, his fingers wrapping firmly around my

o force a merger marriage with an oil heiress from Dallas. And Andrew... a close friend on the roster... is the one the

," I breathed, my heart hamme

on of a second before locking back onto my eyes. "And unlike the women my father parades in front of me, you do

ly. "Are we signing or not? I hav

ce's lawyers have drawn up the pre-marital settlement.

t here, holding my wrist in an

y wrist," I

me, though his ey

k. With steady hands, I wrote my name across the

fingers, his knuckles brushing mine, and signed

ng thud of brass on parchment, slid the certified cop

e clerk said flatly.

und my waist, pulled me flush against his hard frame, a

red, his breath hot against my hairlin