HE'S THE COCKY ROOKIE NEXT DOOR. SHE'S THE WOMAN HE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO WANT.

Marshall Hayes came to Boston for one reason ? to play hockey. As the Enforcers' newest first-round pick, he's got everything to prove and nothing to lose. He didn't move into a quiet gated cul-de-sac to deal with a sharp-tongued interior designer and her Great Dane.

And he definitely didn't plan to kiss her against the front of his house at midnight.

Lillah Winters left Texas to start over. New city. New career. New rules ? and the most important one is: never, ever date another athlete. So when her infuriating new neighbor pounds on her door at eleven at night accusing her dog of trespassing, she does what any self-respecting Texan would do. She puts him in his place.

Then she lets him kiss her.

Now Marshall is everywhere ? in her driveway, in her arena box, in her bed ? and the spark between them is hotter than anything either of them has ever felt. But Lillah's past isn't done with her, and when her dangerous ex shows up uninvited, Marshall is going to have to decide whether some fights are worth picking after all. Even the ones that could cost him his entire career.

Checking from Behind is a steamy, scorching enemies-to-lovers next-door-neighbor hockey romance with: a small-town hero with a heart of gold, a sassy heroine with a healing arc, an absolute sweetheart of a Great Dane named Cooper, on-page heat, an HEA, and absolutely no cheating.