Hard Ball, the first book in the Stadium Series by S. A. Clayton, just went live.

Blurb

Hardball- Noun: A forceful uncompromising method employed to gain an end.
Meeting Harper Stevens was never my plan. She crashed into my life and knocked me on my ass.
The only problem? She wants nothing to do with me.
Josh Anderson is everything I didn’t want in my life. He was persistent, cocky and even worse? The star third baseman for the Hawks.
After my fathers death I swore I’d never be a part of that world again. And yet here I am thinking about a man who lives and breathes baseball. I can’t seem to shake him or the memory of the way his hands felt on my skin.
Can I set aside my fears or will my past ruin everything?

ExCerpt

When my eyes chance a glance at Josh, his sly grin is all I can see, and I breathe a sigh of relief. He steps closer and closer until his body is flush with mine and for a split second, I think he’s going to kiss me and for the life of me I can’t figure out a good reason not to kiss him back. But instead, he leans in, his lips against my ear as his breath cascades down my neck as my nerves go into overdrive.
            “Show me,” he demands as his lips lightly brush against the side of my neck, sending arousal coursing through my entire body.
I know I need to step away, I know this can’t amount to anything good or helpful, but fuck, the feel of his lips against my skin is addictive. He’s like a drug and I’m a recovering addict, needing to feel that high once more. I wordlessly agree as he slowly steps away and I take a deep breath as he lifts his shirt over his head in that sexy way that men do—pulling it from behind and lifting it right off in one fluid motion.
            “What are you—” I stutter because holy. Shit. All I see are abs. His abs and his tanned skin that I knew were there hidden under his clothes, I mean, he’s a pro athlete. If he didn’t look like this, I would question him, but seriously? He has those V-shaped indents at his hips.
            Who the fuck has those in real life?
            My tongue darts out as I lick my bottom lip, savoring the view. My legs clench at the thought of what that body could do to someone like me, and what that tanned skin would feel like flush against mine…
            A groan comes from Josh’s direction as my head whips up as his eyes soak me in. I shake my head, getting myself out of my daydream and turn around.
“You can sit there.” I motion to the chair opposite my desk.
He sits, his back muscles flexing as he does and again, my whole body responds to the point where I have to wait a few seconds before I put my hands on him.
            His entire body tenses when my fingers lightly touch his injured shoulder. The heat coming off his skin fills my palms and it takes so much self-control not to start caressing his entire upper body like a madwoman.
            “You’re tense,” I say matter-of-factly as I work his muscles beneath my palms. I’m trying to remember what I learned in school, but at this point, I don’t think that matters. I don’t think either of us are expecting what I’m doing to have any kind of lasting effect on his muscles. 
           “You could say that,” he says, almost low enough that I don’t hear him. His breath hitches as my thumb grazes the side of his neck and I soak up his reaction to my touch. It feels incredibly empowering.
            “I assume you let the trainer look at this after the game?”
He nods before wincing when I hit a nerve.
            “I did, they’re definitely not my favorite people in the organization, so I try and get out of there as fast as possible.”
I laugh, feeling Josh’s shoulders shake beneath my fingers when he joins me. As much as I hate to admit it, I love the sound of his laugh and I mentally slap myself for wanting to hear it more and more.
            “It feels like you have a knot in your shoulders, probably from all the tension you’re holding here.” I squeeze both shoulders before walking around the front of the chair and stand in front of him. I try not to notice the bulge in his pants, but the illicit thrill that runs through me when my eyes cast down tells me I’ve failed miserably.
            “That’s the text I got from Josie, my trainer, when I left. She told me to rest it as much as possible and she’ll re-examine me before practice tomorrow.”
I say nothing, stepping closer as his cologne invades all of my senses.
            “There’s one more thing I want to try.” I gently push him back into the chair, bending over and placing both my hands on his shoulder once more. His sharp intake of breath hits me as his eyes roam around the room, looking anywhere but me. As I work his muscle more intently, a groan erupts from his chest and when I look down, his eyes are trained on my chest. Or more importantly, my breasts.
            I follow his eyes and realize that the top button of my blouse is open, leaving him with an unobstructed view down my shirt. Thank God I wore a sexy bra today. The white lace against my pale skin looks fantastic and judging by the look in his eyes, Josh agrees. I smirk, kneading his shoulders and working the muscles as much as possible to distract myself from the fact that having his eyes on me is the hottest thing ever.
            “Fuck, that feels good,” he moans, making my thighs clench. The gravelly sound of his voice shoots straight through my body and right to my core.
            How does he turn me on with just four words?
            The more my hands work his muscles, the more sounds escape his mouth, making my nipples harden and my breath catch. His fingers lightly brush a trail up the back of my legs, making their way higher and higher. I close my eyes and stop what I’m doing because the way his fingers send tingles up and down my skin has blanketed my senses. And the moment those talented fingers of his reach the hem of my skirt, my head drops to his shoulder.
            “Jesus, Sunshine, what I wouldn’t give to have your hands on every part of me…”
I suppress a whimper as his fingers grip the backs of my thighs, bringing me onto his lap. Once I’m straddling him, my hands grip his shoulders for dear life.
            “W-What are you doing?” I stammer, my eyes pleading for him to stop, even though all I want is for his hands to grab every inch of my body and never stop. His fingers tighten as my core rocks against his growing hardness as a whimper escapes my lips.
            “I need to hear more of those sounds coming out of your fucking mouth,” Josh whispers against the skin of my neck. His hands begin to travel up my thighs and hold firm to the globes of my ass. “You’re the sexiest woman on the fucking planet, Harper. You have no idea what you’re doing to me with those sounds, do you?”
He pulls me flush against his chest, his erection sitting right where I need him most as my eyes begin to roll into the back of my head. I’ve never been this turned on before and the need for his hands to be against my body is so strong that I know I need to either back away now or let this moment happen.

Author links

Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/33kMQ6l 
Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/2CfymbT 
Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/33mLqJM 
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2PMh5iy 
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2ChQvpw 
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2CsKLtj 
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2SCQIvF

About the author

S.A. Clayton lives in a small town outside of Toronto, Canada with her husband and her scary large collection of books that seem to take over every room.
She has worked on both sides of the publishing industry, both in a bookstore and for actual publishing companies. Although she loved both for different reasons, she found that writing was her true passion and has spent the last few years breaking into the industry as best she can.
She is a lover of all things romance and began her writing journey in her late twenties. Since then, she has immersed herself in the romance genre and couldn’t be happier.
When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys binging a great Netflix show (Stranger Things anyone?), baking (because who doesn’t love cookies!), and spending time with her family.