Free Dirty Brawler: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (with bonus novel!) by Teagan Kade, August Dimuro Page A

mine. I opened my eyes and saw him watching me intently. “Tell me again you don’t want this.”
    God help me. It was as if he wanted me to beg, and fuck me, but I wanted to do it. The heat in his eyes mirrored every emotion I felt inside of me.
    But I had to resist him. I had to, if for no other reason than to save my career. I couldn’t let him destroy everything I worked so hard for the way he seemed so intent on destroying his own.
    “Shaun, I can’t,” I stammered.
    He pushed away from me with an expression that made me want to shrivel up in my seat.
    “Can’t or won’t?” he said. His voice rippled with undeniable tension and frustration.
    “Does it matter? It’s the same result in the end.” My voice was breathless and uneven.
    “For the record, I don’t force women into my bed,” he said. “Regardless of what the press says, every woman in my bed comes willingly... and often.” He picked up his drink and slammed it down in one gulp. He motioned to the waiter he wanted another. I realized the drinks had appeared during our mini make-out session, and it hit home again I was playing with fire in more ways than one.
    My brain felt as if it had been fried, but I needed to find a way to get through to him. He was angry with me, and although I understood the reason for it, we had far larger issues to deal with.
    “Shaun, I think Nigel might be part of your image problem.”
    He looked at me as if I had just told him that the sky was red instead of blue. “Nigel? What the fuck are you talking about?”
    “He and I seem to be disagreeing quite a bit on what’s best for your image,” I said, trying hard to pick my words carefully. “The incidents that have been happening look random on the surface, but a couple of them could only have happened if someone tipped the paparazzi off to where you were those nights. That narrows it down to only a few people on your team.”
    “So, let me get this straight. You think my manager, the guy who is the one fixing all the problems with my sponsors right now, is the one who is causing all the problems that are getting my sponsors pissed off to begin with?”
    “I know it sounds crazy, and I don’t understand why, but Nigel is either involved or looking the other way.”
    Shaun’s expression told me he thought I was crazy. “What proof do you have?”
    “My gut tells me something is off.” I knew it was lame, but it was the only explanation that made sense.
    “That’s not good enough, Tori. Not by a long shot.” As soon as the drink was down on the table, he’d swallowed it again. There was only ice there when he looked at me after that. It was the look that he used to plow down his opponents, and I recognized it. “Nigel has been my manager since the beginning of my career. He’s a good guy. I trust him. He’s had my back. You’ve been around for a couple of weeks and I’m still getting kicked in the balls every time I turn around.”
    He got up out of the booth and threw a hundred-dollar bill down on the table. “I’m on the road in three days. I assume you’re tagging along, but just stay out of my way, yeah? Oh, and unless this little dog and pony show you’ve been selling me starts to pay off, I’m firing your firm at the end of the month.”
    He stormed out of the room. I was left with my mouth hanging open. I couldn’t believe he would question my integrity just because he was pissed off I wouldn’t sleep with him. The entire ride home I alternated between being annoyed and sorely sexually frustrated as my body kept recalling what it felt like to be pressed up against him.
    “He’s an asshole,” I kept reminding myself, but I knew I didn’t believe it. I was an idiot for bringing up my suspicions right after rejecting him again. Shaun didn’t strike me as the type of guy who let those kinds of blows to his ego go lightly. And he wasn’t wrong about the fact that I was incredibly attracted to him. I just couldn’t sleep with him. I