Intercepted by Love: Part One: A Football Romance (Playing the Field Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

had she said that out loud?
    The man’s heated presence unnerved her, sending her pulse skyrocketing, but so far, he was more interested in Gollie than he was of her.
    “Sounds like someone has her panties in a wad.” He grinned and took the book from her hand, flipping it open. “I’m a responsible man, and I like to get things taken care of. Not let them go.”
    “Yeah, sure. My mom’s taking her this afternoon.”
    “Send me the bill.”
    “I will.”
    Awkwardness clutched her as she swayed on her feet and grabbed another book from the cart. Once this dog business was over, she’d never see him again. Which might not be a bad thing since he’d distracted her from digging deeper into King David’s relationship with the Philistine king, one that could have been viewed as traitorous, since the king was a sworn enemy of King Saul and coveted Israeli territory.
    “Care to have lunch with me?” Cade’s voice broke her from staring at his feet, encased in nicely oiled Timberland boots.
    “Sure, why not?”
    Oops, that had been too eager. Half the town of Itasca would be eager to have lunch with the traveling stud, er, Irish setter owner. And goodness, when he turned on the charm, and his eyes twinkled under his furrowed brow, she and every woman in the library could just as well melt into a puddle of slush.
    “I don’t make you nervous, do I?” Cade grinned, lumbering above her.
    “No, not at all.” She heard herself squeak. Warm shivers tingled over her shoulders at how close he was between the narrow shelves. Face it, she was helpless in the face of his rugged magnetism, and she yearned to sample those strong lips and run her hands over his hardened physique. And if he humped anywhere as eagerly as his dog … Oh my, the global warming caused by one Cade, dog breeder, would thaw the icicles off all the windows in Itasca.
    “Great.” His lips curled up. “Let’s grab a bucket of red hot wings and go back to my place.”
    “Your place? I only have an hour for lunch, I mean, it’s probably too far, and I usually eat at one of the cafeterias here.”
    “I live in College Town, above the Big Red Bar.”
    “How fitting. You have a big red dog, you live above the big red bar …”
    She stopped herself, biting down on her tongue, wondering what else was big and red about him.
    As if he could read her dirty mind, he smirked. “Big and red go together, don’t you think? I’ll meet you out front around noon.”
----
    C ade hadn’t come to Itasca to score women. As a professional football player, he was well aware what targets they presented. Everyone assumed athletes were vulgar and violent, sex studs who couldn’t keep their jockstraps on, and for the most part they were right, except for the violent part—that was reserved for the playing field.
    Most groupies would bare any part of their body to get a selfie taken with him to post on social media, and woe to the man who accidentally impregnated a stripper. These days, paternity could be easily proved, and a man hit up for twenty years of child support without access or shared custody.
    So why was he flirting and inviting Andie, librarian and King David groupie, back to his place?
    It wasn’t like she came on to him, or even had a clue who he was. She assumed he was a dog breeder. He’d given everyone in town his alias, Cade Preston, close to his real name Cade Prescott, but no one had even narrowed an eye and looked at him sidewise. His head was shaved bald, and he’d never worn a beard before, so he was safe there. Best of all, the brown colored contacts took the blue right out of his eyes. Nope, no one would recognize him, especially in a town where cross-country skiing took precedence over team sports.
    He hurried home and took Red out for his walk before returning to the library. His pulse thudded under the thick jacket, and he rubbed his gloved hands on his pants. What would it feel like if she stood him up?
    He checked his watch and walked