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Full Court Seduction
Synithia Williams
Playing for keepsStraight-laced conservationist Danielle Stewart is known for passionately protecting the Florida coastline. Only one man knows about the other side of Danielle, the one she keeps concealed behind prim cardigans and glasses. Back in college, Danielle shared a sizzling night with Jacobe Jenkins.Next day, he left for the NBA draft, and his talent for trouble making has made him as infamous as his on court skills. Now chance has thrown them together again, and Danielle sees a perfect way to boost awareness for her favourite cause.He’s older, wiser, and a lot more notorious, but one thing about Jacobe hasn’t changed: his deep attraction to Danielle. Supporting her conservation efforts could improve his public image—and give him a second chance with the woman he still regrets leaving behind. But the lasting kind of love takes more than a trick shot. Will he overcome his bad-boy reputation and put his heart on the line for what could be the biggest play of his life?
Playing for keeps
Straitlaced conservationist Danielle Stewart is known for passionately protecting the Florida coastline. Only one man knows about the other side of Danielle, the one she keeps concealed behind prim cardigans and glasses. Back in college, Danielle shared a sizzling night with Jacobe Jenkins. Next day, he left for the NBA draft, and his talent for troublemaking has made him as infamous as his on-court skills. Now chance has thrown them together again, and Danielle sees a perfect way to boost awareness for her favorite cause.
He’s older, wiser and a lot more notorious, but one thing about Jacobe hasn’t changed: his deep attraction to Danielle. Supporting her conservation efforts could improve his public image—and give him a second chance with the woman he still regrets leaving behind. But the lasting kind of love takes more than a trick shot. Will he overcome his bad-boy reputation and put his heart on the line for what could be the biggest play of his life?
The porch light flickered, casting the area in shadows. She’d been meaning to change that bulb.
“Thanks again,” she said, getting her keys out of her purse.
Jacobe took her elbow in his hand and turned her to face him. He stood so close that she had to tilt her head even farther back to meet his gaze. In the flickering light of the porch, she couldn’t make out the expression in his eyes.
“I respect your honesty, Danielle.” His other hand came up to brush across her chin. “Don’t think this kiss means otherwise.”
Her heart fluttered and anticipation tingled every inch of skin on her body. “Who said you could kiss me?”
His dark eyes met hers and the corners of his mouth tilted up in a sexy smile. “Tell me I can’t and I won’t.”
The air crackled around them. Sparks of heat filled her chest. Her eyes lowered to his lips. Full and soft. Based on the smoldering heat in his eyes, his lips desperately wanted to touch hers.
“One kiss,” she whispered.
Dear Reader (#u27c5340a-5bde-5b23-b15b-9c6c2b5350ad),
I’m no sports expert, but since I live in a house with an avid sports fan—my hubby—it’s no wonder I got the idea for a sports romance. Once that idea hit, I immediately wanted the story to be a basketball romance. Maybe because my favorite sport in high school was basketball and my first professional-athlete crush was a basketball superstar.
Full Court Seduction is the result of that inspiration. Jacobe Jenkins is a basketball star who needs to improve his reputation. Danielle Stewart is an environmental activist who needs publicity for her cause. They knew each other in college and shared one night neither one of them can forget. They come together for mutual benefit, yet their chemistry is hard to ignore.
Hope you enjoy Jacobe and Danielle’s journey to their happily-ever-after.
Sincerely,
Synithia W.
Full Court Seduction
Synithia Williams
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
SYNITHIA WILLIAMS has been an avid romance-novel lover since picking up her first at the age of thirteen. It was only natural that she would begin penning her own romances soon after—much to the chagrin of her high school math teachers. She’s a native of South Carolina and now writes romances as hot as their southern settings. Outside of writing, she works on water quality and sustainability issues for local government. She’s married to her own personal hero, and they have two sons who’ve convinced her that professional wrestling and superheroes are supreme entertainment. When she isn’t working, writing or being a wife and mother, she’s usually bingeing on TV series, playing around on social media or planning her next girls’ night out with friends. You can learn more about Synithia by visiting her website, www.synithiawilliams.com (http://www.synithiawilliams.com), where she blogs about writing, life and relationships.
For Ashley and Toya, my ride-or-die sisters since forever.
Acknowledgments
The biggest thanks to Farrah Rochon for organizing the Destin Divas Retreat. I plotted Full Court Seduction at that retreat and made a few new writing friends. I have to give special thanks to Destin Divas Jamie Wesley, Carla Freed and Lena Hart for helping me define a “Hollywood ending” for Jacobe and Danielle, and divas K. M. Jackson and Kaia Danielle for your valuable feedback on the draft. Finally, to my wonderful hubby, I truly appreciate you watching our two boys while I’m off in the writing world. Writing would be much harder without your support.
Contents
Cover (#u7d2f67bc-3551-589c-a8b3-7d4a3de5758d)
Back Cover Text (#ubf7c3136-e10f-50fe-9a80-077f3295c9ac)
Introduction (#u5d116700-0318-55c5-ae1a-dece5c43c06c)
Dear Reader (#u4503e943-c112-5a29-9c70-505b07cab1f9)
Title Page (#u73411a79-231d-596d-af9a-0dc831d9cd7c)
About the Author (#u22c13b84-4f4d-533b-a437-4e846cce3e82)
Dedication (#u979a8575-12ca-5e77-aa49-cec6d98f11b2)
Acknowledgments (#u0fa61751-3eab-5ce9-925f-e49027e7471c)
Chapter 1 (#u20f24e52-db80-5d87-a971-a93b52a0a407)
Chapter 2 (#ud9f53e0c-d877-50c0-b017-0efbdc4e7dbf)
Chapter 3 (#u0435e1c2-80d5-53c7-b882-fdc328174b8c)
Chapter 4 (#ub8386b29-4ef4-5539-9861-986d43a12d49)
Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#u27c5340a-5bde-5b23-b15b-9c6c2b5350ad)
Event planning would be the death of her.
Which was why Danielle had taken a break from planning the next few events for the St. Johns River Watchers to get a cup of coffee. She was pretty sure that if she hadn’t taken the break, her heart was going to wave the white flag and go on permanent strike against the stress she put herself through.
The sound of footsteps running toward the kitchen of the small beachfront cottage that served as the River Watchers office preceded the appearance of Danielle’s education-and-outreach coordinator, who was rushing toward the door.
“Danielle, have you heard?” Debra said between huffs. Her cheeks were red from the sprint. She pushed her thin jet-black hair behind her ears, making her gothic-inspired cross earrings swing against her pale neck. Her black pants, boots and Nightmare Before Christmas T-shirt were splattered with glitter, a leftover from a presentation at a kindergarten class earlier today.
“Heard what?”
Debra looked to the ceiling and shook her head. “You’re not angry, so I’m assuming you haven’t heard. I spoke with Mr. Springfield today—the state hasn’t automatically denied the permit allowing Clear Water to discharge into Springfield Creek.”
Danielle set the mug on the counter, coffee and gala temporarily forgotten, and crossed to the small wooden dinette table. “What? They should be shutting down, not expanding.”
She’d fought on behalf of the River Watchers all last year to get Clear Water’s permits revoked. The small wastewater provider couldn’t handle the sewage from the rapidly growing area coming to them and had exceeded their permit limits for pollution levels going into a tributary of the river. The state had agreed and ordered Clear Water to come up with a plan to reduce pollution or shut down.
“They think that expanding their operation and adding another discharge point will make them meet our demands.”
“The creek can’t handle that.”
Debra nodded. “I know that. Mr. Springfield certainly doesn’t want it going into the creek. He worked too hard with us to put the easements in place that will stop it from future development. Now all those efforts are threatened if this happens.”
Danielle’s brain buzzed with a variety of ideas. They needed to do something. “We need to get in front of the county commissioners at their next meeting. Get them to deny any permits for the expansion. If this goes through it doesn’t just hurt Mr. Springfield, it had the potential to hurt everyone living in the Crescent Acres community.”
Crescent Acres was a low-income neighborhood in an area just south of Jacksonville, Florida. Springfield Creek flowed right through the neighborhood before it entered Mr. Springfield’s property. Many of the people who lived there fished and played in that creek. If a sewer provider that already couldn’t meet their current permit limits started dumping poorly treated wastewater into the creek the effects could be devastating.
“I’m already talking to the commissioner’s clerk to see about getting on the agenda,” Debra said.
“Any idea what stance the county wants to take?”
Though the county leaders sometimes voted to preserve the areas going into the river, they also rarely took a huge stance on environmental issues.
Debra shook her head. “No idea.”
Danielle slapped her fist into her opposite palm. “We’ve got to get them to fight this.”
Debra chuckled. “I think they’re already expecting your call. The clerk remembers how much you hounded the state to go after Clear Water last year.”
“I only scheduled a small press conference.”
Debra smirked. “You put out a rally cry to our supporters to show up in front of the Clear Water gates with old toilets and signs that said ‘Poop in the toilet, not our river.’”
Danielle shrugged and smothered a grin. She was pretty proud of that idea. “It got everyone’s attention. We’ll need something equally big to get people paying attention again. That was just a year ago, but no one is watching what Clear Water is doing now. I can’t believe they have the nerve to try and dump into Springfield Creek.”
“They’ll be ready for battle after you gave them so much grief before.”
Danielle had been with the River Watchers since graduating from the University of Miami five years ago. When her sampling efforts proved Clear Water was dumping catastrophic amounts of pollution into the river, she’d spearheaded a movement against the provider. Her actions quickly turned the small organization into the most well-known conservation watchdog in the community. She’d gone from organizing their monitoring program to an executive director in a record five years.
“Does it look like I can’t go to battle with them?” Danielle turned, picked up her coffee mug off the counter and took a sip.
“Of course you don’t look like you’re ready for battle. That’s why you win. You surprise people with ferocious tenacity beneath your girl-next-door exterior.”
“I do not.”
“Yeah. You do.” Debra eyed Danielle from head to toe.
Danielle straightened her glasses and smoothed the front of the white cardigan she wore over a navy sundress. “Maybe I use that as a slight tactical advantage.”
“You’re never afraid to do battle with anyone, which is why I love working with you.”
“Don’t try and butter me up for a raise,” Danielle teased. “I won’t be able to cover the part-time salaries of the interns next fiscal year if we can’t get any more donors.”
“I’m not worried. Since you became executive director a year ago the donations have improved. The idea for the River Gala and silent auction this year was smart. I’m sure that’ll help raise some funds.”
Debra nodded and looked at Danielle like she was the great black hope. Danielle’s earlier freak-out about the success of the events she planned came back full force. They would need several successful events, not just the gala in a few weeks, to keep their doors open.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Debra said. “I think Mr. Springfield knows this is going to be a huge battle for us. He gave us a gift to thank us for our efforts.”
“A gift?”
“Two tickets...wait let me start over. Two—courtside—tickets for tonight’s Jacksonville Gators game.” Debra pulled the tickets from her back pocket. “He said to go, enjoy and relax before the fight. I know you’re a huge fan. I figured you’d be excited.”
Danielle rushed over to Debra’s side to snatch the tickets. “Are you for real?” She scanned the tickets to confirm the unbelievable news.
“Yep. Mr. Springfield has to go out of town tonight. He said he couldn’t think of two more deserving ladies than us.”
“Tonight’s game is a big one for them. They’re playing Miami.”
“Ooh, double the eye candy. Miami has some sexy players.” She bumped Danielle with her elbow.
“I wasn’t thinking about the sex appeal of the players. If this game was after the gala it would’ve made a great prize for the auction.”
Debra poked Danielle’s shoulder. “Will you stop thinking about the gala for a second and accept this completely fantastic gift?”
Danielle rubbed her shoulder even though the spot didn’t hurt. “I don’t always think about work. And we had drinks a few weeks ago.”
“Drinks with the other river rats a month ago doesn’t count,” Debra said, referring to the other conservation leaders in the area.
They’d gotten the nickname after a snarky reporter accused the environmental community of “scurrying around the river looking for problems” like rats. Instead of getting offended, Danielle insisted they accept the nickname. They did look for problems, and they made sure the problems were fixed.
