MY SHOULDER IS badly bruised but no lasting damage. My entire body feels like it was mushed beneath three-hundred-pound football players because it was. I enter the locker room after the physical therapist clears me. I have a large icepack wrapped around my shoulder when the team trudges in from the field.

Several players ask how I'm doing and I actually think they might care. Then I hear Kelson open his mouth to a few other players. "She had the ball between her tits; it's the only way she could hold on," he says and laughs.

Asshole.

Two players standing in front of me hear the exchange. Their damn eyes go straight to my breasts and it pisses me off. They turn away and listen as Kelson continues flapping his lips. Eyes shift away from me when I look to other players and that pisses me off even more. What the fuck do I need to do to prove myself?

I lift the ice off my shoulder and lay it on the closest bench.

"Now that we've been laughed out of the NFL by a pair of tits, we need to go back to what football is all about"

That's it. I've had it. Belligerent voices agreeing with Kelson take me over the edge.

"If you had tits like Givens, you might get further with your next contract, Reynolds," Kelson keeps shooting his mouth.

I walk up to Kelson.

"Oh shit," one of the players says. I can only imagine what my face must look like right now.

Oh shit is right. I'm fed up with Kelson's crap and he isn't saying anything the other players don't agree with. I take two more steps toward him, loop my fingers beneath the bottom of my jersey, and hook my sports bra as I lift the material up past my breasts. My shoulder hurts like a bitch but nothing will stop me from putting his dick in its place.

"You mean these, Kelson?" I do a quarter turn right and then left so each player gets an eye-full. The locker room goes silent. My eyes zero back to Kelson. "These are called breasts. Not tits, not boobs. They're breasts just like your mother has." A player or two chuckles until I stare them down. "These were made so women can feed babies. If I ever decide to have one of those in between seasons, you'll be seeing me in here before a game nursing my child." Kelson's face goes from red to purple. "You want to talk about my breasts, go ahead but you will damn sure use the proper terminology. You get me, Kelson?"

"That's enough, Jordan, pull your shirt down," Aiden says from behind me. He wasn't here when this started and I have no idea when he walked in.

I'm finishing this whether he likes it or not. "I will as long as these guys can move past my breasts and play like a team. Any time you boys need another view, just let me know." I pull the material over my chest and watch Kelson stalk toward the showers.

"Nice breasts," Bobby says as he collects dirty jerseys.

I look over at my friend. His face is slightly redder than usual. He gives me a large grin and then bends to pick up a towel.

"Come on, Jordan. Let's take a cool-down walk." Aiden places his hand on my good shoulder.

I ignore him for another few seconds and keep my eyes on Bobby. "Thank you, Bobby, I think they're pretty nice too." I turn, shake off Aiden's hand, and storm out of the locker room. We make it twenty feet down the hallway before Aiden starts bitching.

"Was that fucking necessary?" He's still in his uniform with his helmet swinging from his fingers. Unlike mine, his uniform is pristine because he didn't play today.

"I think it was." I nod toward the locker room door. "Those guys have some kind of fixation on my breasts and they need to get over it." I'm still angry but the adrenaline from minutes before is dropping. It's clear from Aiden's expression that he's about to go apeshit.

His jaw tightens even more, if that's possible. "Of course they have a damn fixation on your breasts. They're guys. What happens when their new fixation is your pussy?" He takes a step closer to me. "What the fuck happens then, Jordan?"

I'm not afraid of him and I inch forward until we're toe to toe. I tilt my head back and our gazes hold. "Then." I breathe in to try to calm down. It doesn't work. "I shave closely so when I show my hoohaa they see all that baby-smooth skin. Maybe the next time they go out on that field they'll think about protecting it. I bet if you shaved and showed them your dick they might want to protect it too. At this point it couldn't hurt."

His body jacks up, every muscle tightening, and red creeps up his neck. The pulse in his throat beats faster. God, his throat. I want to bite those damn corded muscles so bad it hurts. No man should be capable of taking my thoughts off the game like Aiden can.

He inhales deeply. His nostrils flare. I want him to kiss me even though we're standing in the hall and anyone could walk by. Who am I kidding? I want the entire world to see that Aiden Patrickson cares. About me.

His hot gaze sweeps my body. "You're too much, Jordan. Over the top, unpredictable, and definitely not a lady."

My heart drops into my stomach. Do I want to be a lady for Aiden? "Being a lady is highly overrated. I want to be a football kicker." The women he dates are high-society snobs. I couldn't be them if I tried.

"Then for the love of God, get the damn ball between the goalposts in the next game." He takes another deep breath and relaxes.

His words hurt because he has no idea what happened. "Then talk to Kelson and tell him the seam of the football faces away from the kicker when he sets up for a field goal." There's a decided chill in my voice.

"Is that what happened out there?" Aiden whispers.

He's entirely too close and I immediately regret telling him. "I'll handle it."

"That shit doesn't work on this team. He can take it up with the coaches. You stay out of it. How's your arm?" My stunt with my breasts seems to be over.

My shoulder is killing me but I don't say it. "Bruised. I'll live."

Aiden backs off. "I have no doubt. Come on, I'll take you to dinner after we shower."

"You will?"

"Yes."

I guess it's settled, because I no longer want to argue.