The St. Louis Lions

He was a wall. She was a whirlwind. Their love was the perfect defensive play. Mitchell "The Wall" James is the heart and the hard stop of the St. Louis Lions' defense. A veteran linebacker and team captain, he lives by a strict code: protect his brothers on the field, and build an impenetrable wall around his life off it. Still haunted by a past betrayal, he trusts no one outside his inner circle, especially not a bubbly intern with a microphone. Chloe Sloan is a force of nature—a walking disaster with a heart of gold and a fierce dream to make it in sports journalism. When she lands the coveted internship with the Lions, she's not just stepping into the big leagues; she's crashing directly into Mitch's meticulously ordered world. She's also the little sister of the star quarterback's wife, making her completely, utterly off-limits. Mitch lays down the law: no personal questions, no familiarity, stay out of his way. Chloe, with her relentless sunshine and perceptive kindness, cheerfully ignores every single rule. She sees past his granite exterior to the pain of a hidden injury and the weight of a fading career. After a devastating knee injury shatters Mitch's world, Chloe is the first person at his hospital bedside. In his moment of greatest vulnerability, the walls finally crumble. But falling for her means breaking every rule in his personal playbook. It means risking his unbreakable bond with his best friend, Carter, and the respect of the team that is his family. Now, Mitch must make the toughest call of his life: cling to the defensive strategies that have always kept him safe, or launch a daring, all-out blitz for the one thing worth more than the game itself. Set against the high-stakes, gritty backdrop of professional football, The Defensive Play is a sizzling, emotional story about sacrifice, second chances, and the courage to let love in when you're used to shutting everyone out. ---