Stronger (The University of Gatica Series Book 4) Read online

  STRONGER

  The University of Gatica Series

  By

  Lexy Timms

  Copyright 2015 by Lexy Timms

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2015 by Lexy Timms

  Cover by: Book Cover by Design

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

  Contents

  UNIVERITY OF GATICA SERIES

  DESCRIPTION:

  Prologue

  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

  Want To Find Me?

  More by Lexy Timms:

  COMING SOON

  FIND LEXY TIMMS:

  Website: https://www.facebook.com/SavingForever

  Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FdSZUaJ2q0

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  Amazon Author Page:

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  UNIVERITY OF GATICA SERIES

  Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FdSZUaJ2q0

  The Recruiting Trip

  Book One is now available!

  Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/ B00PWL3X92

  Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/ B00PWL3X92

  Faster

  Book Two:

  Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/ B00R9RQ4AM

  Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00R9RQ4AM

  Higher

  Book Three:

  Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TOJ0T8Q

  Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TOJ0T8Q

  Stronger

  Book Four:

  US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X5W550U

  UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00X5W550U

  Dominate

  Book Five:

  Coming October 2015

  This is Book 4 of a 5 book series

  (with more to come!)

  DESCRIPTION:

  Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FdSZUaJ2q0

  When multi-eventer Chrissy is injured, she has to sit out a season of track in order to regain her strength. Focussing on getting stronger, she begins working out in the weight room and meets injured hockey star, Ryan Phillips.

  Will both of them recover physically and will their attraction to each other help fix the confidence mentally broken down inside of them?

  * This is NOT erotica* It is a new adult & college sport romance. *

  Prologue

  Chrissy was up next.

  It was now or never.

  A loud roar washed across the expanse of the indoor track stadium. Her brother, Jason, caught her attention. He and a few of the hockey guys had taken up a small spot at the bottom of the stands nearest her event. He yelled loudly, his arms waving above his head as his friends joined in the disruption. An official turned to walk toward them, the poor man only seeming to incite their excitement.

  Chrissy shook her head, a smile lifting her mouth. Her older brother was all she had in the world. Their parents had divorced when they were younger, their mother taking custody of the two of them. Thanks to wild living and being too young to raise kids, she and Jason had raised each other. She walked to the edge of the thin path of Mondo that would lead to victory or failure. Turning over her shoulder to glance at him once more, she chuckled. Half of his face was painted in burgundy red. The rest was part white, part navy blue. He was in full school spirit if nothing else.

  "Focus," she whispered to herself, turning and squatting up and down a few times.

  "Okay, kiddo. Let's see if the hard work’s paid off." Coach Anderson stood beside Coach Maves, the older man more attractive than he should be. Chrissy turned her thoughts to the task in front of her, the world stilling for a moment.

  Nothing else mattered.

  It never did.

  Chrissy pushed off. With laser focus on the path before her, she pumped her arms and legs as hard as possible, her speed being the propellant she would need for a proper jump. A soft voice counted her steps before she whispered in her head now as she approached the sand pit. Shifting slightly she lowered her center of gravity and lengthened her stride. Two long steps later she was airborne, her leg kicking powerfully as she had trained to do over and over.

  A shift of her gaze to the left caused her to turn slightly, the ground coming too fast to right herself. A yelp escaped her as she plowed into the sand. Heat sprung up from her right thigh, her knee bending too far upon impact. This miscalculation caused her head to snap back, hitting the ground hard. She rolled over on her side, reaching down and forcing her legs to bend. Another cry left her, hot tears rushing to cloud her vision. The sand stuck instantly to the wetness on her face.

  Something was wrong.

  "Chrissy. What hurts?" Maves ran toward her, dropping down to kneel just beside her.

  "I think I pulled something. It’s my quad, my hamstring and calf.” She spit sand out of her mouth. “It’s my knee." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, the tendrils of discomfort roaring to life as pain slammed into her. She pushed at the coach and turned onto her good knee, her other leg awkwardly out to the side. "I'm going to be sick."

  She barely got her words out before her lunch ruined the small white pail sitting beside the pit, as if perfectly placed there just for her. The sound of Coach Maves yelling washed over her, but nothing registered properly. Closing her eyes for a minute and trying like hell not to roll in agony, Chrissy screamed as a large man pulled her into his arms. He lifted her from the ground and moved toward the sidelines.

  "It's okay. I gotcha. It's probably a sprain. Nothing serious. Just hold on to me. I'm right here." Her brother pulled her closer, his large arms under her as he smiled down at her.

  "It must be bad."

  "Why d’you say that?" he asked, nodding toward the field doc that walked toward them.

  Chrissy laid her head back and closed her eyes, dizziness washing over her. "You're being sweet."

  "I'm always sweet."

  "You're an ass usually."

  "A sweet ass?"

  She wanted to chuckle, but nothing came out. The scene before her faded as her brother laid her on a stretcher.

  His hand p
ressed to her stomach as he leaned over. "You're going to be fine, okay? Just need to get an X-ray of that leg of yours. Too much adrenaline and the injury are causing you to feel like shit. Just go with it and rest."

  "Don't tell me what to do." Her words slurred as Jason smiled.

  "Never."

  She tried to smile back as darkness rushed in and gave her rest.

  Chapter 1

  "Hey, superstar. You finally waking up?"

  Chrissy licked at her dry lips, her eyelids heavy with sleep. She turned toward the sound of Jason's voice and finally got her eyes to focus on him.

  His grin was huge and cheesy as hell.

  "Why are you smiling like that?"

  "Like what?"

  "Like creepy," she whispered, turning her head back straight and closing her eyes. "What happened?"

  "Creepy..." he muttered. The sound of him moving caused her to look around again. A sharp pain ran down the base of her head through her back. She cried out softly, reaching up to touch the side of her head.

  "Hey, take it easy." Coach Maves approached to her right. Chrissy turned her head slightly and worked to appear fine. "You hit your head pretty hard. No concussion, but you're going to be a little sore. You have the pleasure of taking it easy for the next week, just in time for exams."

  "Sure, Coach.” Chrissy said the words automatically, knowing full well she planned on training as soon as she could. Like tomorrow. “How’d I do?"

  "You came in second, but you've hyperextended your ACL. You're going to be out for a couple of months at best, the indoor season for sure, the outdoor season at worst."

  "What? No. I can't do that." Chrissy moved to sit up, the world spinning. Maves reached out and Jason, on the other side of the bed, carefully pushed her back down.

  "Chill out, lil’ sis. You hit your head. Just because the doctor’s not calling it a concussion doesn't mean you don't need to take it easy," he growled softly.

  "What does that mean for my scholarship?" The small machine next to her beeped loudly as her heart began to race. Chrissy pulled up her left hand and tugged the small contraption off of her. The beeping got louder. Maves moved to the small box and hit a few buttons before scowling over her shoulder.

  "Your scholarship’s fine. If the injury takes out your indoor and outdoor season, the Board of Athletics will look into it. But don’t worry. You can do it. Just need to follow closely the rehab regimen that the doc, physio and athletic therapist come up with."

  "Two months of no meets? No training?" She sighed loudly, nothing making sense. It was one jump. First meet of the season. Pre-season really. Indoors didn’t officially start till January. “How far did I jump?”

  Maves grinned. She knew Chrissy’s determination. “It doesn’t matter, but it was pretty close for qualifying for indoor NCAAs.”

  “I’m not sitting out for two months. It’s too long.”

  Her brother scoffed. "We're out for Christmas for some of that, so stop bitching. You need to get your legs stronger anyway. Remember when you did this in junior high?"

  "So this isn't the first time?" Coach Anderson walked in, his voice loud and filling the small make-shift clinic.

  "No!” She glared at Jason. “It was nothing, and it healed quickly. It wasn't a big deal at all." Chrissy reached for her brother. Jason moved in close and helped her sit slowly. Her right knee was swollen, like a grapefruit sat under the skin. Blue and puffy, it wasn't looking good. An ice bag sat under it. "Shit..." She reached down and touched the flesh, the doctor walking back in and clearing his throat.

  He set another small ice pack down on top of the tender spot.

  Chrissy sucked in air between clenched teeth.

  "You're going to need to keep ice on it for the next three days. Rotate it every two hours. Even at night." The doctor shifted his gaze toward Jason. "Make sure you set an alarm and change your girlfriend’s ice pack. I'll give you three so you have enough."

  "She's my sister, dude." Jason rolled his eyes and sat down in a nearby chair.

  "Oh, sorry. Either way, someone is going to have to stay with her and help for three days. She’s off of it completely until Tuesday at the earliest. After that you're looking at crutches for three days. Maybe, possibly, by next weekend you can get around with one crutch. Do not overdo it. You're on the edge of a massive tear in your ACL. If you don't heed my warning and take good care of yourself, you'll be down for a semester or two with surgery."

  Tears filled Chrissy's eyes again. She reached up and pushed them away as Maves reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "If I take care of it... will it heal?" She reached down, pulling her shirt up as she bent over and finished wiping her eyes.

  "If you take great care of it and work hard to strengthen the muscles around it." He walked toward a long counter that ran the length of the wall. "I'm going to prescribe you something to take for the pain and to get some rest. Come back on Tuesday and see me. We'll talk about the progression of exercises that I'm going to prescribe."

  "We have ice baths, ultrasound, and everything else at our disposal,” Coach Anderson said. “I assume you're going to want her in the weight room? Doing some non-weight bearing activities?" Coach Anderson slipped his hands into his suit pants, the look on his face pensive at best. He always wore a suit during home meets. It was a running joke with the student athletes.

  "Yes. I’ll make sure everything’s all organized for you. I can let the weight room coach know.” The athletic doctor checked his charts. “I’ll tell Jamie that Chrissy will be coming his way."

  “I’ve only got three exams so I can come in all this week and next,” Chrissy offered.

  "It’s a good idea,” the doctor said as he nodded. “We have another student who will be involved in rehab for the winter season. It’s Coach Phillips’ son."

  "Coach Phillips has a son?" Jason moved forward, pressing his elbows to his knees as the information grabbed his attention.

  "Yeah. He doesn't talk much about him. The boy has a temper and decided to go to Boston for his hockey scholarship, which made no damn sense. He's an incredible athlete, but let’s just say he doesn't get along well with his dad. I think his choice of schools was a big 'up yours' to Phillips." Anderson shrugged and then straightened, probably surprised at himself for mentioning Coach Phillips’ son. He never said a word about other athletes.

  "Wait a sec! So I'm stuck in the smelly gym over the Christmas holidays with this guy?" Chrissy reached up and pulled her hair out of her messy ponytail, combing her fingers through the dirty blond hair. She could feel sand fall over her fingers. She needed to shower.

  "It would seem as such." The doctor moved up, ripping a few pieces of paper from his pad. He extended them to Jason and pointed to the door. "All right, you guys wait out there. I'm going to wrap her knee. I doubt she wants any of you to see her in pain."

  "I'm staying." Jason stood and moved to the bed, reaching down and touching her hand.

  Chrissy forced a smile. "Get out of here. I want to go home. Wait in the hall and I'll be right there."

  "You sure?"

  "Go, before I have him wrap you up too."

  "Full body wrap for the hockey star of Gatica?" Coach Maves laughed and nodded toward the door. "Come on Jason. Let's wait out here."

  "All right, but if I hear her scream..."

  "Hush. Brute." Chrissy smiled again and relaxed against the table as the doc leaned over her.

  "This is going to hurt like hell. Just grit your teeth and I'll work fast."

  "Just do it." She closed her eyes, her back arching hard as he lifted her leg to wrap it. She had sustained a similar injury as a kid, but no way did she remember it hurting so badly. Slow shallow breathing helped. Diving into her imagination, she pictured the injured hockey guy, his name never being spoken. Hopefully he was hot. She could ignore his attitude if he was a bit of eye candy to enjoy. Boys were far from her list of things to do. After Jani, her best friend’s, troubles almost losing her scholarship over the
campus bad boy, she was less than interested.

  That didn't mean she wasn't willing to indulge in fantasies linked to what ifs. She just never had time… until now.

  CHAPTER 2

  Chrissy's best friend, Jani, stood at the door to Chrissy’s dorm room, a frown on her face. Jason slipped by her, squeezing into the small space. Elizabeth, Chrissy’s roommate, jumped from her bed and rushed toward them.

  "So, what's the word?" Jani asked, moving back from Jason as he toted Chrissy to her bed and carefully put her down.

  She groaned at the pain and bit her lip.

  Jason turned and sighed softly. "She's over extended her ACL. Looks like Christmas in the weight room."

  "Ahhh, that sucks," Jani spoke and moved to sit down on the edge of Chrissy's bed. "You okay, pain manageable?"

  "Yeah, just didn't expect to get hurt. It's three days of ice and then crutches for a few weeks."

  "When do you think you'll be back up and at it?" Elizabeth moved around Jani, sitting down on her own bed and leaning forward, her elbows on her knees.

  "I'm hoping by mid-January. I redshirted indoors my first year here so it’s not like I can redshirt it again. My luck, the scholarship committee will tell coach to scratch me. That would be the cherry on the shit sundae." Chrissy laid back and let her eyes move across her brother, her roommate and her best friend.

  Elizabeth reached up and tucked a long strand of chestnut hair behind her ear, the concern in her dark blue eyes easy to recognize. “That’s not going to happen. They’d never do that.”

  "Well, we're going to take it easy.” Jason’s hands went to his hips. “No rushing anything or you can kiss the rest of your athletic career goodbye." Jason turned to Elizabeth and extended his hand. "I'm Jason, Chrissy's brother. I don't think we've met."