Free Backfield in Motion by Boroughs Publishing Group

enjoy this night while it lasted. Cinderella at the ball
with Prince Charming and all that.
    Only there was no glass slipper and her
Prince Charming wasn’t looking for a happily ever after. Or
anything beyond a one-night stand, and not with Mac. She’d fallen
for the most impossible guy in the world.
    That’s what made him safe.
    * * * * *
    Tyler finished his joke with his usual
asshole panache, sending the crowd of people into raucous laughter.
Bruiser faked it, even though he had no flipping clue what the
punch line had been. The attention-whore quarterback had been
entertaining the troops for about a half hour, thoroughly enjoying
himself. Usually Bruiser vied for the center of attention along
with Harris, but not tonight. He had a—uh—distraction.
    Mac stood with Kelsie, Rachel, and Lavender,
looking like a woman plotting her escape from tyrants. He would
know; he’d hardly taken his eyes off her the entire evening.
Something about this version of Mac did it for his dick. Or had he
been in denial for a while now? After all, he’d been having these
erotic daydreams about her for the past couple weeks way before
this makeover. He couldn’t quite put his finger on when he started
seeing her as a woman, not just a buddy. But he had and now he
couldn’t let the images go.
    Shit.
    He didn’t date women he worked with. The
added complication made the inevitable breakup way too messy.
Bruiser liked to keep his breakups quick, tidy, and amicable. Not
only did this weird attraction to Mac not work for him on so many
levels, it wouldn’t work for her. Brett was interested in her.
Brett, the only true friend he really had.
    Dammit.
    Even so…
    What harm could one little dance do?
    A band started playing as a deep red sun set
to the west. Colored lights lit up as darkness settled, the alcohol
flowed freely, and the party showed no signs of stopping.
    Despite his best intentions, Bruiser found
himself drawn to Mac’s side. At five-foot-eleven Bruiser wasn’t
tall, but Mac was only five-three or -four. She made him feel like
a big guy. He liked that a lot more than all those models he dated.
A guy’s ego could take a hit when he had to look up at a woman.
    Mac glanced up at him through lowered lashes
as he stepped up beside her, in an oddly feminine display of
shyness. The relief in her brown eyes sent satisfaction surging
through him. She’d missed him at her side, or those three friends
of hers were just that scary. Either way, he’d take it.
    He smiled down at her, and she smiled back.
His stomach did a triple axel with a twist, leaving him fighting to
breathe. Women did not affect him this way unless it had to do with
sex. He couldn’t quantify his feelings for Mac; they were different
and not going in a direction he intended to travel. It would be
smart to fake some sudden illness and get the hell out of here, but
he wasn’t that smart.
    Next thing he knew, his mouth took over for
his brain, while his heart and his dick applauded. “Excuse me
ladies, but I’d like to take a whirl on the dance floor with the
most beautiful woman in the room.” Before her friends reacted and
Mac could shoot him down, he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto
the dance floor.
    “You do dance?” A little late now to be
asking that, but what the hell. She could step on his feet all
night, and he doubted he’d notice. Not with that nice little body
close to his, and those brown eyes holding him captive.
    “Only a little, but I’m athletic and a quick
learner.” Her eyes twinkled brighter than stars in the night
sky.
    “So let’s give it a try.”
    “Can I take off my shoes?”
    “Sure, other women have.”
    It was a two-step to a country song, and Mac
had no problem keeping up with him. She twirled and wiggled that
cute little body all around him, anticipating his every move until
he was panting after her like horny old dog. Bruiser was having a
damn good time, which surprised him. In fact, it’d been a while
since he’d