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  On automatic pilot, Ty started running the warm-up laps they always began their training session with before switching to drills.

  A chill wind whistled over the floodlit field, the promise of rain heavy on the air. Underfoot, the ground was spongy with water from an earlier shower. Mud splattered up when Ty sprinted around cones and passed a couple of his other team members.

  “Is that all you got?” Ty taunted.

  “I can beat you in a race any day, Hamlin,” Steve, the halfback snapped back.

  “Put some pep in it, ladies. We have a lot of work to do tonight,” the coach hollered.

  “What crawled up his butt?” Steve asked after they hauled ass and increased their speed.

  “Dunno.” Ty didn’t care. A hard training session would help take his mind off Darcy Nichols. He put on an extra burst of pace in an attempt to outrun his contentious thoughts. Unbidden, his gaze drifted to the men running in front of him. Darcy ran alone, Ty’s rapid speed closing the gap between them. Darcy wore shorts and a T-shirt bearing their sponsors’ labels like the rest of them, yet the play of firm muscles mesmerized Ty. He ran into a puddle, the splash of icy water giving him a rude jolt of reality. He couldn’t perv at a man and especially an openly gay man.

  His father would never speak to him again if he landed himself in the middle of a scandal and loused up his chance to score an All Black cap for the upcoming test against Australia.

  The promised rain arrived halfway through running their training drills, but they continued their session, splitting into backs and forwards for specialist training. The assistant coaches went to work, pulling apart their first game of the season—the one they’d lost. Ty snorted. Maybe that was the reason the coach was bellyaching. The grizzled ex-player hated defeat.

  Two hours later, wet, tired men filed into the changing room. Groans and complaints ran rampant because they were soaked to the skin. Ty dragged his wet T-shirt over his head and sat on a bench to remove his boots. He stripped off the rest of his sodden clothes and, after grabbing his towel, headed for the shower.

  Normally there was a fight for the showers, but not today. When Darcy Nichols prowled into the changing rooms, everyone fell silent.

  From the corner of his eye, Ty watched Darcy scowl. “Damn, I don’t have cooties,” he growled. “I’m here to play rugby.”

  “You’re gay,” someone said.

  Ty stepped under the shower. He’d promised to meet Amanda for a late dinner but found himself lingering to listen to the conversation.

  “That doesn’t mean I intend to jump you in the showers. If I’m interested in sex, I’ll go to a club. The men there don’t have busted noses and cauliflower ears.” Darcy’s face tightened with irritation. “I want to play rugby and do my best to get a call up for the All Blacks.” When no one commented, he rolled his eyes. “Look on the bright side. With me around, you won’t have to worry about your girlfriends and wives at the after-match functions. Despite my ruggedly handsome face, they’re safe with me.”

  Not a man commented.

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  About Shelley Munro

  Shelley Munro is tall and curvaceous with blue eyes and a smile that turns masculine heads everywhere she goes. She’s a university tutor and an explorer/treasure hunter during her vacations. Skilled with weapons and combat, she is currently in talks with a producer about a television series based on her world adventures.

  Shelley is also a writer blessed with a VERY vivid imagination and lives with her own hero and a rambunctious puppy in New Zealand. She writes erotic romance in the contemporary, paranormal and historical genres and has several self-published titles. You can learn more about Shelley and her books at her website, or keep up to date by joining her newsletter. You might even find her lurking at Facebook or Twitter.

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  Other Works by Shelley Munro

  Gay Romance

  Fallen Idol

  Eye on the Ball

  Lone Wolf

  Seeking Kokopelli

  Curse Across Time

  No Defense

  Contemporary

  Playing to Win

  Stranger Things Happen

  Wild Child

  One Night of Misbehavior

  Blindside

  Fringe Benefits

  Lovers at Last

  Paranormal

  Price of Love

  Lynx to the Pharaoh

  Curse of Brandon of Lupinus

  Sci-fi/Futuristic

  Sex Idol

  Fallen Idol

  Interplanetary Love

  Middlemarch Capture

  Snared by Saber

  Favored by Felix

  House of the Cat series

  Captured & Seduced

  Claimed & Seduced

  Merry & Seduced

  Stranded & Seduced

  Seized & Seduced

  Historical

  Mistress of Merrivale

  Unforgettable

  Copyright

  Best Man

  Copyright © 2015 Shelley Munro

  ISBN: 978-0-473-31546-7

  Cover Art by Premade Ebook Cover Shop

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  www.ShelleyMunro.com