Body Checked - After the Buzzer: The Renegades 9

*can be read as a standalone*

Matt had one talent – putting the smackdown on dirty players on the opposing teams.

If they stepped up on one of his guys, he was there to tear them right down.

Romance was not his forte. It wasn't even in his wheelhouse.

He was a professional hockey league enforcer. A fighter. A goon.

Matt enjoyed being at the top of his game, the Renegades' lead tough guy.

But years of fighting have taken a toll. His body is finally turning on him.

Only Matt isn’t ready to hang up his skates just yet; his heart is still in the game, and hockey is his world.

Women find the bad-boy on-ice aggression sexy, but they aren't prepared to deal with his after-game pain. Love has been cruel, redemption is out of reach, and Matt feels he doesn't deserve happiness. He's developed a talent for driving people away, never allowing anyone to get too close.

When his whole world starts to spiral out of control, someone unexpected finds her way past his tough-guy exterior. But is she strong enough to melt his icy heart and force him to let her in?

Keywords: hockey romance, hockey novel, fiction, sports romance, sports fiction, contemporary romance, series romance, athlete, athlete romance, bad boy romance, older man younger woman, May December romance, age gap romance, strong woman, second chance romance, Pittsburgh, the renegades series, retiring athlete