Prescott (Ford)

Who needs love? Not Anna Prescott . . . she says. A smart, successful woman of substance, she is willing to be a friend to Gavin Mathis, who plays pro football for the Detroit Lions and is the finest specimen of the African-American male she's ever laid eyes on. Gavin's been tight with her brother Wesley for so long he's almost family. So Anna's happy when she can help Gavin out of a personal jam -- and the fact that he's setting fires inside her has nothing to do with it. Gavin feels the heat too, but he can't trust himself to love Anna. Her folks, who've always been good to him, would be enraged. Besides, if he marries, he's afraid he'll become an irresponsible deadbeat like his dad, who just dumped Gavin's little brother on the ballplayer's doorstep. But sparks are definitely flying and this sexy lady's got his heart pumping like mad -- and it's telling him to go for it . . . and to hell with the consequences.

A sexy NFL star reunites with his lost love and finds a family he never knew existed in this exciting new contemporary African American romance. Brynne Armstrong, a counsellor at a Detroit women's center, returned to Detroit after an abrupt break-up with her boyfriend Devin Prescott, star NFL quarterback. For the past four years her life has revolved around work and her 3-year-old daughter Shanna, but that changes when Devin suddenly reappears. Devin is shocked to run into Brynne at a party. His old pain returns as he remembers how Brynne left him without any explanation. But he finally gets his explanation, or at least part of it, when Brynne tells him she left because she was pregnant. What she doesn't tell him is that she became pregnant after being raped, and doesn't know if the baby is Devin's or her attacker's. She has never tried to find out Shanna's father's identity out of fear that it would be the attacker, but now she must know the truth and asks Devin to take a paternity test. They discover that he is the father. Not knowing about her attack, he's furious and hurt that she was cheating on him, and that he missed the first years of his daughter's life. As he spends time with Shanna he feels confused about Brynne. He still loves her but thinks he can't trust her. Brynne also still loves him, but she's never told anyone about her attack. She is afraid of what he will think, or if he'll even believe her. But they know they want to be a family, and that will mean taking risks and learning to trust each other again.

Funny, sexy, and hot, ex-NBA star Ralph Prescott is Vanessa Grant's dream lover. He's also a notorious, no-good player-the wrong kind of man for a woman with big responsibilities. But at a mutual friend's lavish wedding, passion and curiosity get the best of maid of honor Vanessa, and Ralph reveals himself to be the best man in more ways than one. Ralph has had more than his share of women, but none has captivated him like Vanessa. To convince her that his player days are behind him, he'll have to show her what kind of man he truly is. He'll have to fight every inch of the way to break through her defenses and claim the blazing ecstasy they both want . . . and show her why she can't-and shouldn't-say no.