Illegal Formation

When I make the cheerleading team for Seattle's pro football organisation, there are many rules.

Most notably?

Stay away from the football players.

Everyone on my squad takes that warning to heart. I, on the other hand, take it as a challenge. Especially after I meet Braden Lock. With his easy smile, endless patience, and heart-of-gold reputation, the star receiver is everything I'm not—soft where I'm sharp, steady where I'm mayhem. Braden Lock has always played by the rules.

Unfortunately for him, I'm very good at breaking them. And after one unexpected turn of events leaves me spiralling, I convince the league's golden boy to indulge in one very forbidden distraction: me.

What starts as secret hookups and harmless fun quickly turns into something far more dangerous—because the more time we spend sneaking around behind closed doors, the harder it becomes to pretend we're not already in too deep.

But our organisation has one ironclad rule: players and cheerleaders are strictly off limits. If anyone finds out about us, Braden's contract—and my spot on the squad—could disappear overnight.

We knew the risks of our illegal formation. We just didn't realise the real danger wasn't getting caught. It was how badly we'd destroy ourselves trying to hold on.