Manhandled

MANHANDLED LAUREN BLAKELY WRITING AS L. BLAKELY CONTENTS About Manhanded More Books by Lauren Prologue: Meet Mister Morecock 1. A Good Tool is Hard to Find 2. I Dare You 3. A Triple Win 4. Highest Bidder 5. A New Playbook 6. The Spin Cycle 7. Try Me 8. Filthy Retaliation 9. Now You See It, Now You Don’t 10. All the Second Things 11. Do Be Chill 12. What If I Die Before We Fuck? 13. Sex Marathon 14. Coming to the Right Guy 15. Two Dinners 16. Nailed It 17. Mega Date Behavior 18. The Sex Playbook 19. The Pillow Smacker and the Ruthless Horndog 20. Smack Me Upside the Head 21. I Understand a Cat 22. Dick Reader 23. Cold Turkey Rules 24. Like a Champ 25. Little Green Thong 26. The Last Word 27. Unlucky Streak 28. Elevator Blitz 29. One Last Hurrah 30. Midnight Visitor 31. The Green Thong of Truth Epilogue: The Return of Mister Morecock Another Epilogue: The One Hundred Thousand Dollar Dare Excerpt - Scoring With Him Let’s Stay In Touch Acknowledgments More Books by Lauren Contact Copyright © 2023 by Lauren Blakely writing as L. Blakely Cover Design by TE Black, Photography by Michelle Lancaster, All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This contemporary romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. ABOUT My buddies made me do it. I swear. I didn’t plan to bid big on a date with my baseball player best friend at the auction. But he looked really good in that tailored suit, and I can't resist a dare. The media jumps all over the story – the city’s new quarterback nabs a date with the bigshot star shortstop. Not so fast – we’re just friends. Until we hit the links for the strictly platonic date I won. Suddenly I'm looking at my silver-tongued, devilishly handsome best bud in a whole new light–and it’s dark and dirty. We cross way over the friendship line at my place that night, but in the morning we agree it can’t happen again. Trouble is, we can’t keep our hands off each other, especially not when we’re stuck in the same hotel room at our friend’s wedding. But Tanner wants a real relationship, and I’m only serious about football. So when my second season as a starter begins next week, our late-night games (and talks, and sleepovers, and morning coffees) will have to end. Except, as the cutoff looms closer, I’m feeling a whole lot more than friendship and that’s a big problem for my career… MANHANDED by Lauren Blakely writing as L. Blakely Want to be the first to learn of sales, new releases, preorders and special freebies? Sign up for my MM VIP mailing list here! You’ll also get free books from bestselling authors in a selection curated just for you! PRO TIP: Add [email protected] to your contacts before signing up to make sure the emails go to your inbox! Did you know this book is also available in audio and paperback on all major retailers? Go to my website for links! MORE BOOKS BY LAUREN BY LAUREN BLAKELY A Standalone Novel in the Winner Takes All series PROLOGUE: MEET MISTER MORECOCK Tanner In my defense, I couldn’t resist. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. And Luke made it easy. Some men talk a big game, but when push comes to shove, they don’t put their money where their mouth is. My brash buddy Luke is not one of those guys. Case in point—the night the whole crew went to this club in Tribeca after my team had just destroyed the San Francisco Dragons in a three-game sweep at my home ballpark, thanks in part to six runs batted in by yours truly. A few drinks with the guys, some trash talk and adrenaline later, and, well, you know how things go. When Nate and his husband went to the bar for a refill, Luke leaned back in his blue velvet chair, tipped his chin toward the stage where the amateur dance contest was underway, and waved a hand carelessly at a trim, shirtless guy showing off a body roll. By all accounts, it was a damn fine body roll—not that I’m a judge of stripper moves. Luke had other opinions. “I’ve got better moves,” he declared. And then, right there, I had no choice. The dare formed in my throat as Luke crowed some more to the guys still at the table, Gunnar and Zane, who play for the Dragons. “Hands down, I can handle the dance floor,” Luke continued. Confidence, thy name was Luke Remington. As the new starting quarterback for the New York Leopards, he needed a healthy dose of it to face down opponents intent on damn near killing him on Sundays. “That so, Remington?” I asked, keeping the smirk I felt off my face. “Tell us. Are you a secret stripper?” Gunnar asked. “Or maybe not so secret,” Zane suggested, goading him too. Yup. The chorus was growing louder. This was going to be a fastball down the middle. “I’m more magic than Mike,” Luke said, squaring his shoulders. I cleared my throat and raised my voice, just loud enough over the thumping beat of the dance music that Body Roll guy was grooving to. “Why don’t you show us?” Luke ran