Excerpt of Under the Spotlight by Kate Willoughby

They stared at each other for a long moment. She realized
that he’d shaved. She wanted to touch his face and feel
the warm skin under her fingertips. He had kind eyes, but
his nose had obviously been broken more than once.
Wearing next to nothing onstage couldn’t even compare to
getting beat up on the ice night after night. After all,
his fat lip still looked pretty painful. She kind of
wanted to kiss it better.

Maybe more than kind of.

She met his gaze. His deep-set eyes narrowed slightly as
he took a very slow step toward her. They were a warm
brown, made sexy with thick lashes and faint laugh lines.
She wondered how old he was.

“Christine.”

Suddenly, he seemed a lot larger and she became aware of
a raw masculinity and strength that only seemed to be
coming out now, as if he’d been shielding it until just
the right moment, like a secret weapon. Her limbs felt
heavy, as he reached out and cupped her elbows, tugging
gently.

This time she was the one who took a step forward.

“I shouldn’t be doing this,” she said in a low voice. She
clasped his forearms. They were corded with muscle.

“Doing what?” He sounded amused.

She looked up, took a chance. “Letting you kiss me.”

A chuckle rumbled out of his chest. “Is that what you’re
doing? We’re doing?” His hands traveled up her arms, her
neck, until his fingers snaked into her hair. She
shivered.

“Yes.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe I just wanted to massage
your head.”

She laughed softly. “I like your hands on me, Joe
Rutherford.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and
leaned against him. And I’d like your lips on me even
more.