The Athlete Read online

  Books in this series

  PLEASE NOTE

  DEDICATION

  Prologue

  Chasing the Dream

  CHAPTER 1

  Mixed Teams

  CHAPTER 2

  First Training

  CHAPTER 3

  Night Life

  CHAPTER 4

  Tension

  CHAPTER 5

  Team Building

  CHAPTER 6

  Stupid Pride

  CHAPTER 7

  Female Touch

  CHAPTER 8

  Roommate

  CHAPTER 9

  The Questions

  CHAPTER 10

  Shelly and Marco

  CHAPTER 11

  Hunter’s Secret

  CHAPTER 12

  Club Experi

  CHAPTER 13

  The Sensory Room

  CHAPTER 14

  Why?

  CHAPTER 15

  Jonah’s Style

  CHAPTER 16

  Hugging Willow

  CHAPTER 17

  Meeting Pearl

  CHAPTER 18

  Culture and DNA

  CHAPTER 19

  Under the Stars

  CHAPTER 20

  Game Over

  CHAPTER 21

  Breakfast

  CHAPTER 22

  Shower

  CHAPTER 23

  Paternity Test

  CHAPTER 24

  Sperm Spoilers

  CHAPTER 25

  Dark Secrets

  CHAPTER 26

  One Mad Motlander

  CHAPTER 27

  Control

  CHAPTER 28

  Publicity

  EPILOGUE

  The Northlands

  About the author

  Copyright © 2018

  By Elin Peer

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, excepting brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

  The Athlete – Men of the North #8

  First Edition

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons or organizations is coincidental and not intended by the author. Recommended for mature readers due to adult content.

  Cover Art by Kellie Dennis: bookcoverbydesign.co.uk

  Editing: www.martinohearn.com

  Books in this series

  The Men of the North series can be read as stand alone books – but for the best reading experience and to avoid spoilers this is the recommended order to read them in.

  The Protector – Men of the North #1

  The Ruler – Men of the North #2

  The Mentor – Men of the North #3

  The Seducer – Men of the North #4

  The Warrior – Men of the North #5

  The Genius – Men of the North #6

  The Dancer – Men of the North #7

  The Athlete – Men of the North # 8

  The Fighter – Men of the North # 9

  The Pacifist – Men of the North #10

  To be alerted for new book releases, sign up to my list and receive a free e-book as a welcome gift. www.elinpeer.com

  PLEASE NOTE

  This book is intended for mature readers only, as it contains a few graphic scenes and some inappropriate language.

  All characters are fictional and any likeness to a living person or organization is coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To all the Men in My life

  As a female author writing books where I’m often portraying things through the eyes of a male character, it’s inevitable that I end up with questions.

  Fortunately, I have male friends in my life who like me (or tolerate me) enough to take one for the team and answer my often weird and sometimes very intimate questions.

  I want to give special thanks to Layton, Eric, Andy, Zach, Ricco, JD, and above all my patient husband Ian for all the great insights you have offered me.

  My questions might be obscure at times and cause a bit of head shaking or momentary silence on your part, but they have also led to some wonderful discussions full of deep reflections and lots of laughter.

  My books are better and my life is richer with all you amazing and opinionated men in it.

  Elin

  Prologue

  Chasing the Dream

  Hunter

  No one wants to leave this world with no trace that they ever existed.

  The genetic disposition in humans to feel that way is the reason why generations of Nmen have fought and given their lives for the biggest dream of all: to win a bride and experience the privilege of fathering sons and daughters.

  Like my ancestors before me, I grew up wanting that dream with every fiber of my body. But with one hundred thousand men for every woman I knew early on that it was an elusive dream that rarely came true in real life.

  In some ways, I was double cursed because I was one of the few who had witnessed the rare phenomenon of true love between a man and a woman.

  At the age of twelve, I’d been selected for an experimental school where I’d witnessed my mentors falling in love. Kya and Archer had gone from tolerating each other to sending long heated gazes across the room and sneaking in kisses when they thought we students weren’t watching.

  My strongest memory was from a few months before I left the school at the age of fifteen. All we kids were down at the lake swimming and playing under the supervision of the assistant mentors. Kya and Archer were often in disagreement about how to raise us, and that morning they had been arguing. That’s why I was so surprised to see them making out in the teacher’s office when I came back to get a fishing rod. Like a thief stealing a glimpse of something precious, I watched through the open window and soaked up the loving looks between them and the words of affirmation they shared. Archer hadn’t won Kya in a tournament. She had chosen him because she loved him, and there was something pure and magical about their being able to argue and still want to kiss and touch.

  Those few minutes that I watched them through the open window left a deep and lasting impression on me. From that moment on I knew that I wanted the kind of love that they shared.

  That’s why I was so excited when, four years later, I met Alice. She was a friend of my twin sister, and we met every time I came to visit Willow in the Motherlands.

  Alice was gorgeous with her honey-colored hair, blue eyes, and that breathtaking smile of hers that lit up her whole face. She was a dancer like my sister and curious about me and the Northlander culture. Within six months I visited Willow four times in the Motherlands and every time I fell deeper in love with Alice.

  When Willow and I turned twenty, she threw a party for us. I was beaming all night from the attention that Alice gave me. She hugged and kissed me when she first saw me and later when everyone was dancing, she convinced me to let her teach me. Alice was funny, easy to talk to, and when she laughed she often placed her hand on my arm or leaned against me. Each time it made my spine tingle and for every minute in her sweet company I fell deeper in love. We flirted all night sending long smiles and heated gazes at each other, and when I insisted on a break from the dancing to get some fresh air with some of the others, she came with us. I took it as a sign that she wanted to be around me as much as I wanted to be around her.

  Later that night, Alice offered to stay and clean up after the guests had gone home. With Willow asleep in the bedroom, Alice and I stayed up and talked until two a.m.

  Raised to pursue what I wanted in life, I took my chance when I saw it and with a racing heart, I leaned in to kiss her.

  Alice didn’t push me away. Instead she kissed me back and whispered that she liked me. It caused an explosion of butt
erflies in my stomach and made me go straight for the claiming part. I seduced her on a rush of ecstasy, undressing her and bonding through silent lovemaking. Alice was a heaven-sent angel with the power to make me the happiest man in the world, and she did. We exchanged long glances carrying silent promises of a shared future and eternal love. And after our bonding, the delicious feeling of orgasmic bliss made me turn and look at her with deep admiration. I didn’t hesitate for a second before asking her, “Alice, will you marry me?”

  At first she gave me a funny look but then her face split in a grin that made everything freeze up inside me.

  “Marry you? What are you talking about? Why would you think that I want to marry you?”

  I sat up, confused by her unexpected rejection of my proposal. “But you made love to me.”

  Alice pushed her blonde hair back and sat up to cup my face. “Yes, and it was fun, but there’s no way I would ever marry a guy.”

  I jerked back, suddenly unable to stand her touch on my face. I wasn’t some random guy, I was the man she had given herself to, and now she made it sound like it was no big deal. It was a fucking huge life-altering deal!

  “Hey, don’t get mad. We can’t marry; that’s just ridiculous, Hunter.” She was still laughing, and what had sounded angelic before now sounded like an awful cackle.

  Avoiding eye contact, I got up and began dressing with harsh movements.

  “Hunter, come on, don’t be like that. We had fun, didn’t we?”

  My pants were inside out and I tore at the fabric feeling desperate to get dressed, as if somehow my garments could shield me from the complete humiliation of her rejection.

  “Hunter?” Alice sat up and reached for her shirt.

  “Let’s just pretend this never happened.” My voice was tight as I gathered my few things and threw them in my overnight bag with the pieces of my wounded pride. “Tell Willow that I had to go back home sooner than expected.”

  “You don’t have to leave.”

  “Yeah, I do.” My chest was like a heavy tank of gasoline – all I could think about was getting to a safe place before she threw a match that would set off a major explosion in me.

  “I’ve never seen this side of you before. I mean, Willow told me you could be like this, but it’s weird to see it.”

  Closing my bag, I went to get my jacket.

  “She said that you have a temper and that you shut down when she talks to you about emotions. She says that you Nmen are lousy at it in general.”

  Provoked by the word “lousy,” I stopped and turned to face her. “Just because we don’t like to discuss our feelings for five fucking hours doesn’t mean we can’t express ourselves. Right now, I’m pissed off. Is that expressive enough for you?”

  “I don’t understand why you would get angry at me for not wanting to marry you. You should have known there was no way I’d ever…”

  Closing the front door behind me, I was spared Alice’s last words. I had just proposed to the woman I was in love with and it had been the most humiliating moment of my life. Not only had she called the idea of marrying me ridiculous, she had also laughed in my face.

  After that failure, I stayed away from the Motherlands for almost three years.

  CHAPTER 1

  Mixed Teams

  September 1st, 2447

  Hunter

  I stared at the large stadium. Or rather, I stared at the massive screen on the building that showed eighteen players grinning down at me while making funny faces.

  My image was on plenty of advertising for soccer in the Northlands but where I came from, we players were always scowling to look intimidating. These players looked like they were advertising for a fucking comedy club.

  My deep groan made Finn chuckle next to me. “What do you think?”

  “I think there’s a reason I haven’t been here in years. I want to go home.”

  “Don’t be so negative. I can spot at least three or four beautiful women on that screen and if you’re lucky, whoever dressed up as that dolphin mascot might be even hotter.” He pointed to the screen, where a human-size dolphin was being carried by the players.

  Finn had been amused since he picked me up at the border, but my sense of humor had taken a real downturn when I was forced into this shitty situation.

  “It’s not funny! I’ve played for the Dragons, the Panthers, the Cobras, and last week I was playing for the Warriors. I don’t want to play for a team called the fucking Dolphins.”

  Finn grinned. “Careful my friend, you’ve got to tone down the F word or someone will report you for improper communication.”

  “I don’t fucking care.” I figured that if the Motlanders couldn’t deal with my language, they were welcome to send me back home. I didn’t want to be here in the first place. “I blame Pearl for this,” I grumped and crossed my arms as I turned to Finn. “How the hell am I going to play on a mixed team? Soccer is a rough sport and I’m a six-foot-four, two-hundred-and-thirty-pound athlete. If I play it’s inevitable that I’ll end up hurting them.” I swung my hand to the image of the players on the wall. “Look at them. Some of those women are the size of children. For Pearl to think I can play with them is ridiculous.”

  He shrugged. “The women will expect you to treat them just as you would treat a man. Gender isn’t a big thing here.”

  I snorted. “Am I the only sane person who can see that this is a fucking bad idea?”

  “Ahh, come on. Don’t be such a drama queen. When I moved here ten years ago most people were scared of us Nmen. Things have changed and now their fears have turned into curiosity. You’ll be fine.” He began moving toward the entrance of the training facility and I followed with heavy steps.

  Inside, soft music played, and there was a fresh smell of oranges. My eyes were drawn by a purple sculpture formed as an upside-down tear with steam coming from the top. Walking closer to inspect it, I sniffed and realize that the scent of oranges was in that steam.

  “Essential oils.”

  I turned to Finn. “What?”

  He nodded to the sculpture. “The scent. It’s coming from essential oils, which is something the Motlanders use all the time.”

  I sniffed again. At least the scent in here was better than at my last training facility, where the smell had been a mix of leather, wet grass, and man sweat.

  “Hunter Hercules?” The sound of a female voice made me turn around to see a small woman standing ten feet away with a curious smile on her face.

  I recognized her from the photos I’d seen. She was the team captain and her name was Emanuela Cervicci. Her agent, Ben, had told me about her and praised her as one of the best soccer players in the world, but it was impossible for me to think of us playing together on the same team. I had about a foot on her in height, not to mention raw muscle mass.

  “Welcome.” With a smile, she stepped forward holding out her hands to me, and maybe it was because I had such a dislike of being here that I stuffed my hands into my pockets.

  Her open expression changed to a more guarded one as she lowered her hands. “My name is Emanuela. I’ve been with the Dolphins for four years and I’m the team captain. I’m here to show you around.”

  “Okay.” Keeping my hands in my pockets I nodded to Finn. “This is Finn MacCumhail. He’s… ehm…” I hesitated calling him my friend only because Finn was someone I had looked up to my whole life, and it seemed presumptuous of me to assume he’d go along with that title when he was at least twenty years older than me and best friends with our Ruler and his brother, Magni.

  “I’m what?” Finn leaned back with an amused glance in his eyes.

  I straightened up and found my voice. “Finn is a doctor.” It was a lame introduction but Emanuela gave him a warm smile and held her hands out to him. “May peace surround you, Doctor.”

  Unlike me, Finn took Emanuela’s hands without hesitation.

  “Oh, you know our formal greeting.”

  He nodded. “I married my wife, Athen
a, ten years ago. She’s one of your priestesses so I know about your customs.”

  Emanuela’s head tilted to one side. “Ahh, I see. You’re the doctor. I’ve heard of you, of course. My apologies for not recognizing your name.”

  Finn was still smiling. “That’s okay. I’m honored to meet you. I’ve seen you play and I have to say that you’re a spectacular soccer player.”

  I shoved my hands even deeper into my pockets. Why the hell was he charming her like that? Finn was a married man, and it rubbed me the wrong way to see him hold the hands of this woman and smile at her.

  “That’s very kind of you to say.” Emanuela finally released his hands and turned to me. “I was warned that you may not know our culture very well but don’t worry, I’m here to teach you.” She walked over to stand in front of me, leaning her head back and looking straight into my eyes. “The first thing you should know about us is our way of greeting. It’s considered polite to take a person’s hands and keep eye contact for at least ten seconds while wishing them peace.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “I know that. My sister is a Motlander.”

  “Your sister?”

  “My twin sister.” Mentioning Willow made the knot in my stomach larger. A few weeks ago we’d had a huge falling out and I hadn’t spoken to her since.

  Emanuela’s eyes lowered to my hands in my pockets. “If you know about our customary greeting, then I have to conclude that your choice to ignore my outstretched hands was a simple act of rudeness.”

  Her willingness to confront me made me straighten up. I hadn’t expected that from a Motlander. They were known to be polite to the bone and afraid of conflict.

  Finn stepped in. “I’m sure Hunter didn’t mean to be rude. He just needs a bit of time to get used to things here. You might not know this but touching a woman isn’t allowed in the Northlands.”

  Emanuela stared at me with disbelief. “Does that mean you’ve never touched a woman?”