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Pairing: M/F
Heat Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Scorching
Tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, Fake Dating, Workplace Romance, Secret Blog, NHL Enforcer
He’s the NHL’s most terrifying enforcer. I’m the social media manager who just walked in on him naked.
Elias Thorne. The Anvil. A six-foot-six wall of muscle and bad attitude who hasn’t smiled since his rookie season. He’s pure violence on skates, and Sloan is just trying to survive her first month working for the Seattle Kraken.
Her plan was simple: do her job, avoid the players, and definitely don’t get involved with the grumpy giant who hates social media. That plan died the moment she took a wrong turn and found him in the showers. Wet. Naked. And looking at her like she was a problem he hadn’t decided how to solve yet.
Now, thanks to a PR nightmare and a viral video, the team has a brilliant idea: fake date. Show the world that the beast has a heart. But the way Elias looks at her when the cameras are off doesn’t feel fake. And the way he touches her—possessive, rough, demanding—is definitely not in the contract.
She’s supposed to be fixing his reputation. Instead, she’s falling for the man behind the scars. But when her secret blog about the team gets exposed, their fake relationship faces a very real threat.
You’ll Love This Book If You Enjoy…
- ✅ Massive, scarred enforcers who are soft for exactly one person
- ✅ “Walked in on him naked” meet-cutes
- ✅ Fake dating that becomes devastatingly real
- ✅ Workplace romance with forbidden tension
- ✅ Secret blogger heroines and the men who discover them
Chapter One
The Climate Pledge Arena is a maze designed by sadists. I’ve worked here for three months, and I still get lost twice a week.
I push open a heavy metal door marked STAFF, hoping it’s the shortcut back to the media offices.
It is not a shortcut.
The air hits me first—thick with steam and the clean, sharp scent of expensive soap. Sandalwood. Cedar. Something woodsy and male.
The sound of running water stops. I freeze.
The steam clears, and that’s when I see him.
Elias Thorne. Number 57. The Anvil. Six-foot-six of pure violence wrapped in a reputation for breaking jaws and never, ever smiling for the camera.
Also currently: completely naked.
Water drips from his dark hair, sluicing down black ink tattoos—geometric patterns on both arms, a snarling wolf across his chest. His shoulders are obscenely broad. There’s a scar through his left eyebrow, another across his ribs.
He’s not even trying to cover himself. Just standing there. Dripping. Staring at me with bored gray eyes.
“You lost, reporter?”
I try to speak. What comes out is a squeak.
“Door’s behind you,” he says.
I spin so fast I nearly trip. “NOPE. No. Nothing. Sorry. Bye!”
Later, my phone buzzes. Unknown number: Next time, knock.
Elias Thorne has my number. He went out of his way to text me.
My thumbs type before I can stop them: Next time, lock the door.
His reply: Noted.
This job is going to kill me.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is this book spicy?
Yes! Roughing The Reporter features explicit intimate scenes between consenting adults. Heat level is scorching (🌶️🌶️🌶️).
Is this a standalone?
Yes! Roughing The Reporter is a complete standalone romance with a guaranteed happily ever after. No cliffhangers!
What tropes are in this book?
Grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, workplace romance (she works for the team), secret blogger, “walked in on him naked” meet-cute, NHL enforcer hero, and he falls first.
Does this book have a happy ending?
Absolutely! All Fractal Enigma books guarantee a satisfying happily ever after.
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