Virgin Territory
Lia Riley
Hellios Angels #3
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Publication Date: March 6, 2018

Practice Makes Perfect

Patrick “Patch” Donnelly has what it takes to be the best goalie in the NHL…if only he could learn to control his temper. When Coach orders him to get his head in the game with private yoga classes, Patch isn’t having it. There’s no way this tough Boston guy would be caught dead downward dog-ing his way to inner peace. But if he refuses, he risks his starting position and the dream he sacrificed everything for, including joining the priesthood.

Yoga instructor Margot Kowalski is over men. After yet another toxic relationship, she’s eager to forget love and focus on growing her business. Doing the Hellions head coach a favor by helping out a troubled player can’t hurt, and it might give her career a high-profile boost. But free-spirited Margot is soon charming the pants off Patch. Literally. Her sassy combination of sweet and sexy proves irresistible to the goalie. Before Patch can give into temptation though, he’ll have to confess his biggest secret:

He’s a virgin.

But Patch is hiding more than sexual inexperience, and his dark past soon threatens to destroy his shot at true love.

Grab your copy of Virgin Territory today!

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I loved this book! Virgin Territory was a story I had some expectations of and it exceeded them all.I am a big Riley fan and I was SO excited to learn that the heroine of this story was Margot. Seeing a bit of crossover is always something I enjoy. 

Virgin Territory was a fun flip on a trope many romance readers know and love. This is my first story in which the hero is a virgin. While I love Lia’s writing, I was nervous about how she was going to make the story believable with a sexy hockey player as a virgin. It sounded to silly to be true. Well, my unease was all for naught, because Riley delivers! Patch was brilliant. He embodies the alpha hockey player you want to read about and his vulnerability enhances who he is. When you put Patch and Margot together, it is a wild ride. The tension between these two is delicious and their chemistry is off the charts! 

While I loved the premise of the book and the fun and flirty interactions between our hero and heroine, what I loved above all was Margot herself. She is a brilliant and relevant woman, one who you cannot help but admire. There were some political influences in the story, things that are pertinent to our world today, and somehow Riley made it work beautifully. That is what made the story so beautiful for me. Margot is a woman who knows what she wants and lives life unapologetically. She is kind and hard working. She does not allow those in her life to shame her choices and she embraces life. She is a woman to be admired, someone who embraces her life and never stops moving forward. She has a strength that is commendable and it clicked deeply with me. 

Riley has always been a brilliant writer and her stories keep me coming back for more. Her characters are among some of my favorite of all contemporary stories! This story was a quick and powerful read, one I am sure to enjoy again! 

Margot stood on tiptoe, both hands clutching the front of his t-shirt, and kissed him full on the mouth. Their ragged breaths mingled a moment. He tasted the brown sugar in her lipgloss before she broke free, pressing a quick second kiss to the tip of his nose.

“Go to bed,” she whispered, clearing her throat and stepping back. “And have a great game tomorrow.”

It took every last shred of Patch’s willpower not to close the space again, to consume her. “There’s something else you should know.”

“Shoot.”

“I’m not going to get a lick of sleep if you leave.”

“If I stay, you won’t sleep either,” she shot back, shrugging into her jacket.

“I’ll take those odds.”

She shook her head slowly as if with reluctance. “I’ve got to fold. “Goodnight.”

He took her hand and held it between his own. Her skin was cooler than his. He didn’t like that. He wanted to tuck her against him, warm her up. “Do me a favor and call when you get home. I want to know you got back safe, especially driving on that spare.”

“It’s been a long time since anyone has cared if I got home,” she said with a smile. “Careful, you might be turning into a gentleman.”

“Don’t get carried away. The things that I want to do to you are far from gentlemanly,” he said in a husky tone.

She rocked her head back and unleashed a frustrated moan. “Quit leading me into temptation. I’m trying to respect your virtue here.”

“My virtue can take a long jump off a short fucking bridge.”

“That might be. But . . .if we end up taking that jump. I want it to be special. That’s important. I want you to feel special.”

Blood rushed to his ears. “Funny, I feel the same way about you.”

“Then we’re in agreement and I’m leaving.” A wicked gleam entered her gaze. “But while you wait for my call, slip into something more comfortable.”

“Like?”

“Nothing at all.”

She blew a kiss, pirouetted, and was gone.

From VIRGIN TERRITORY.  Used with permission of Avon Impulse. Copyright © 2018 by Lia Riley.

After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling fourex with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

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