Most Desirable Player

  Most Desirable Player

  Jillian Quinn

  Contents

  Also by Jillian Quinn

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Face-Off Legacy

  Are you on the team?

  Dear Reader

  Also by Jillian Quinn

  About the Author

  Also by Jillian Quinn

  THE PLAYER AUCTION SERIES

  Most Desirable Player

  Most Valuable Player

  Most Eligible Player

  Most Unavailable Player

  FACE-OFF LEGACY SERIES

  Pucking Parker

  Keeping Kane

  Teaching Tucker

  Jocking Jameson

  Kissing Killian

  Defending Donovan

  FACE-OFF SERIES

  Parker

  Kane

  Donovan

  Jameson

  Ethan

  Dean

  For more information, visit JillianQuinnBooks.com.

  Copyright © 2019 by Jillian Quinn

  All rights reserved.

  Visit my website at jillianquinnbooks.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, both living or deceased, establishments, businesses, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Chapter One

  Briana

  I will do anything to get out of going to The Player Auction. My body trembles from the fear flooding through my veins, shaking me to the core. The thought of coming face-to-face with Julian Rivers again makes my insides knot. After two years apart, I have done everything in my power to avoid seeing Julian. Little things like switching classes and learning his schedule have helped aid in my efforts.

  The stupid jock auction is the last place I want to go.

  Sadie holds up the hot pink flyer for The Player Auction. My best friend waves the paper in front of my face as if being super annoying is going to change my mind.

  I shake my head. “Nope, I’m not going to the auction.”

  “You’re coming with me,” Sadie challenges. “We had a deal. You promised.”

  Every spring, Strickland University auctions off the hottest athletes on campus for charity. My ex-boyfriend, Julian Rivers, star hockey player, God’s gift to women (or so he thinks), and all-around pain in my ass, is one of the players being offered up today. And I have no desire to see him ever again.

  I shake my head and turn away from her. “Nope, I’m staying right here.” I pat the open space on the bed next to me. “I have tons of shows we can watch on Netflix and a quart of mint chocolate chip ice cream that’s calling my name.”

  A frown tugs at her mouth as she drops the flyer onto the desk in the corner of my small bedroom. “Seriously, Briana? You can’t avoid every place you might run into Julian.”

  I lean against the wall behind my bed and sigh. “Ugh, yes, I can. I’ve found ways to steer clear of him for the last two years. What are a few more months until graduation?”

  I roll my shoulders to show my best friend and roommate I don’t care when in reality I do. I hate having to plan my schedules around Julian. Even though we’re no longer together he still dictates my life. But it’s better than the alternative. The thought of speaking to him makes my stomach turn.

  “It’s my birthday,” she reminds me. “We agreed that we would kick off my birthday weekend with the auction.”

  “I was drunk at the time,” I point out.

  She blows out a deep breath and then sits at the edge of my bed. “You damn well know I want to bid on Cole Harker.”

  “You don’t need to ride the hockey hottie express. Just imagine how many girls have already done that.” I stick my finger into my mouth and make a gagging sound that causes her to roll her hazel eyes at me.

  “And I want to spend my birthday with my best friend. So, there’s that.”

  “We’re hanging out now,” I say with a smile. “We can just stay here.”

  “It’s not every day I turn twenty-two,” she coos. “Must I remind you it’s my special day?”

  “Oh, I know. Your dad sent enough presents to fill our entire dorm room.”

  “He always does.” She glances at the open door that leads into our shared living room, where there are piles of presents stacked along the walls.

  Bags from every designer from Christian Louboutin to Chanel started arriving at the beginning of the week. For Sadie, her birthday is like the Christmas I had dreamed of as a child except on a grander scale. But I was lucky if I got a pair of socks from my foster parents.

  “It’s the only way he knows how to show me he cares,” she says, her eyes downcast.

  My expression mirrors hers when she frowns at the ridiculous display. She has money and every advantage at her fingertips, but she doesn’t have her dad. After her mom left him for a French banker, he poured himself into his work. Her dad runs Stark Investments, a hedge fund in New York. The Starks are loaded, like most of the students on campus, but Sadie never acts as if she has money. I like that about her. She never makes me feel like the scholarship kid. Not once has she ever made me feel less than her for not having two nickels to rub together.

  When the deliveries started this week, I had braced myself for all of the boxes. I’ve shared a dorm room with Sadie since freshman year, so I knew what to expect. I’ve never received more than one gift for my birthday if I was lucky enough to get that. So, I have no idea what it’s like to wake up on my birthday and feel like a princess. But I know, from seeing the sad expression on Sadie’s face, that no amount of money or presents can make up for not having her dad here to spend the day with her.

  After having nothing and no one for most of my life, the decision is simple. Sadie has been here for me for the last three years. She needs me today. So, I have to put my stupidity aside and forget about Julian Rivers. He’s not the reason I’m going to The Player Auction. I can go and forget he even exists.

  I slide across the mattress and cup her shoulder. “Let’s go to the auction.”

  Her face brightens, her pink cheeks popping against her pale skin and long black hair that sweeps over her shoulders. “Really? You’re not just saying that?”

  I nod and then glance down at my long-sleeve Captain America pajama shirt and matching red, white, and blue-toed pants. Yep, I have footie PJs because I’m so cool. Not.

  “Just give me a few minutes to change into something… decent.”

  She squeezes my hand, a smile stretching across her face.

  * * *

  When we reach the event center on campus, my throat closes up. My skin burns from the fire brewing inside me, the nervous energy shoo
ting throughout my body taking on a life of its own. The seats are packed with hundreds of people, the auditorium coming alive with excitement. While some of the students in the audience are male, most of the crowd is filled with rows of eager girls with numbered paddles in their hands.

  “We have to sign in,” Sadie says, leading me toward a long table where five sorority girls are sitting behind it handing out wooden paddles to the hordes of girls in front of us.

  Paralyzed by the fear of participating in the auction, I stand next to Sadie, stiff as a board and unable to move. This is the last place on earth I want to be today. What if I run into Julian? The thought numbs me to the core. For years, I’ve found ways to dodge him and every other hockey player on campus. On occasion, he’s made attempts to apologize for the past. Every time he does, I walk in the opposite direction and go back to avoiding him. I’ve even gone as far as switching classes before the drop period just to maintain my distance.

  But the auction is not about me. I promised Sadie, after one too many bottles of wine last weekend, that I would set aside my issues to make her birthday special. She’s talked about The Player Auction non-stop for the past week, telling me how much she hopes to score Cole Harker, who happens to be Julian’s teammate and best friend.

  Sadie taps me on the shoulder, urging me to move up with the tip of her head. A few seconds pass before my brain and body start working in conjunction.

  “So, how does this work?”

  “We get assigned a number.” Sadie points at the numbers at the top of the wooden paddles. “And then we have to find a seat. I was hoping to get here sooner. We’re gonna be in the rafters with no view at the rate we’re going.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your birthday. It’s just…”

  “You’re a total weirdo.” A bright smile illuminates her beautiful face. “But I still love you so don’t worry about it.”

  “I’m not bidding on anyone,” I shoot back.

  “You don’t have to.” Her words say one thing, but the evil grin on her lips sends a chill down my spine.

  After we get our paddles, we head back into the crowded auditorium, where we luck out and find an open space in the front row. Well, it’s lucky for Sadie. Not so much for me. Because now, I have the perfect view of every single player on stage—Julian included. And the second I look in his direction, his eyes find mine as if he were staring long before I noticed him.

  His dark, spiky hair sticks up in different directions, a messy on purpose look that I know firsthand is very much intentional. I used to run my fingers through his hair before he added gel to it. I loved the feel of his thick waves in my hands. Even after years apart, I can still recall simple things about Julian. He’s the kind of guy you never forget.

  A smile reaches up to his deep green irises as he stares at me, appraising me with a strange look on his handsome face. We never made sense together. Julian is gorgeous beyond words, his muscular body all hard lines and smooth edges, every inch of him sculpted like a Greek god. With my curves and average looks, I always felt self-conscious with him. Knowing he could have the rich model types on campus made me constantly fear I would lose him. And I did.

  He stares at me with so much intensity that I find it hard to stop looking at him. For a split second, I remember what it felt like to be held in his strong arms. How warmth would spread throughout my body from each carefully placed kissed he would leave on my skin. Julian used his body like a weapon, one that made me weaker with each second I spent with him. My heart aches at the thought of him walking out of the event center with another girl on his arm.

  Julian rolls his tongue across his bottom lip, leaning forward in his chair with his elbows on his thighs. I suck in a deep breath, my chest heavy from how quickly he’s making my heart pound. It feels like rocks are weighing me down, making it harder to breathe when he looks at me like… How do I even describe the look on his face? Desire, maybe, which makes zero sense. He was the one who broke up with me.

  Wearing a black suit, a crisp white shirt, and a silky red tie, the fabric molded to his frame fits him so well it must have been handmade for him. Nothing but the best for Julian Rivers. He’s a spoiled rotten trust fund kid who never had to work a day in his life. I know I can’t hate him for having a much better life than me, but I can still hate him for being too perfect, too polished, too in my face right now.

  Turning away from him, I catch a sideways glance from Sadie that says she saw me gaping at Julian and him at me. My cheeks flush, the heat spreading down my chest and arms. I look down at my beat-up Chucks and cross my legs at my ankles. I’ll do anything to avoid looking at Julian or Sadie. After fighting her to come to the auction, I hate that a part of me, no matter how small, secretly wants to bid on Julian. But I won’t. I would never raise the paddle in my hand for any man gracing the stage, no matter how hot all of them are.

  “I hope I win a date with Cole,” Sadie says, nudging me in the arm with her elbow.

  I peek up at the broad-shouldered, blond-haired hockey stud seated several chairs down from Julian. His arms are crossed over his thick chest, his navy suit fitted tight against his big body. Sadie’s had a crush on him for years. And for the last three years, she’s come to The Player Auction, hoping to bid high enough to win a date with him. Every year, she comes home disappointed that she didn’t react fast enough to win.

  “I hope you do, too,” I admit. “Maybe this will be your year.”

  “Fingers crossed.” She takes a tube of pink gloss from her purse and dabs her lips with it, smearing it into place as she rubs her lips together. “I would give my left arm for one night with Cole.”

  Sadie is gorgeous, popular, rich, and thin but with just enough curves to catch Cole’s attention. I could never get a guy like him. But Sadie totally could. Except she chickens out any time she gets anywhere near him. Even at parties, when they were both drunk and their inhibitions were low, Sadie still found reasons to disappear anytime he was in her line of sight. Instead of throwing herself at him, like most of the girls on campus, she would lurk from the shadows, sipping her beer and watching Cole dance and kiss other girls like some stalker.

  “Welcome to The Player Auction.” A pretty blonde girl dressed in a white and green Greek-lettered shirt speaks into the microphone attached to the podium at the center of the stage. “Thank you all for coming today.”

  The Greek community on campus hosts the auction. All of the girls helping out with the event are sisters in a sorority. She continues her spiel, announcing the first player, Finn Mercer, the star running back on the football team. Paddles raise. Hands fly into the air with aggressive bids for the hotshot player.

  My heart thumps in my chest when my eyes fall to Julian once more. Why is he still staring at me? It’s driving me insane. We haven’t spent this much time near each other since our breakup sophomore year, and I was perfectly content with keeping it that way.

  Until today.

  Damn Sadie for wanting to come. Who would want a date with a dumb jock for their birthday? Cole Harker is, no doubt, even more of a pig than Julian. Why Sadie would want to touch him, let alone go on a date with him, blows my mind.

  He should be paying to date her, not the other way around. Even if I wasn’t flat broke and making it through Strick U by the skin of my teeth, I would never pay for a man’s attention. But Sadie is used to a man who pays for hers. Her father sets such a poor example that money buys happiness that she doesn’t even see that the guys who are truly interested in her have been right under her nose all along. And she doesn’t have to spend money to get them to spend time with her. Instead, she’s friend-zoned several of the cute guys she met in class.

  Girls scream when the final bid is announced for Tristan Hale, the quarterback for the football team. Some of the women in the crowd even resort to hair pulling and fist fighting with each other. What a shit show. Not long after that fiasco, campus security steps in to break up an argument between two girls engaged in a bidding
war over one of the soccer players.

  I laugh at the ridiculousness of the entire event. I honestly don’t understand the appeal. Although, I love that one hundred percent of the proceeds go to charity. But the bidding on men part gives me an icky feeling that sends a shiver down my arms.

  Several more players are introduced, leaving only a handful of hot men left on the stage. The women in the crowd are starting to lose their shit, all rational sense going out the window. Not until Julian Rivers is announced, and the auditorium erupts into a fit of cheers and whistles, do I begin to pay attention again.

  My ex is all smiles, his cocky smirk in place. The adorable dimple in his left cheek creases his tanned skin. When the overhead lights hit his emerald irises just right, it looks like his eyes are twinkling. One look at him quickens my pulse, my heart beating so fast I can barely catch my breath. And when he looks at me, as if I’m the only person in the room, I swear my knees almost buckle beneath me.

  The bidding starts.

  So many paddles are raised in the air I have trouble keeping track of them. A sea of numbers surrounds me. Why do so many people want to date him? If only they knew what was hidden behind those vicious smirks. He’s perfect on the outside and a cold-hearted jerk on the inside. He dumped me like yesterday’s trash without even looking back. I don’t care if he tried to apologize. What he said in the past cannot be undone.