Roughing

An Enemies-to-Lovers MM Hockey Romance (Sin Bin Secrets #1)

By: Casey Whitlock

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Dylan Brooks doesn’t lose control.

Chicago’s top-pairing defenseman built his career on structure, discipline, and clean hits that hurt without crossing the line. He doesn’t chase. He doesn’t spiral. He doesn’t let anyone inside his game.

Marcus Reed is everything he isn’t.

Boston’s resident villain. Fourth-line enforcer. League leader in penalties and highlight clips. He knows how to bait a fight, sell a rivalry, and make the cameras linger.

When Dylan levels him on national broadcast, Marcus answers the only way he knows how.

Gloves drop.
Crowd explodes.
The league eats it up.

But what happens in the penalty box — breathing too close, voices too low — doesn’t look like hate.

The rivalry becomes ritual.
The ritual becomes contact.
The contact becomes leverage.

Soon the league is marketing their fights. GMs are hinting at keeping it visible. Analysts are building segments around their “chemistry.”

And somewhere between staged violence and late-night collisions that have nothing to do with hockey, the line shifts.

Because Marcus doesn’t mind desire.
He minds being managed.

And Dylan doesn’t mind control.
He minds losing it.

When trade rumors threaten to end the rivalry for good, Dylan has to decide what matters more: reputation, control, or the man who refuses to be hidden.

This isn’t about softening.
It isn’t about quitting the fight.
It isn’t about choosing love over hockey.

It’s about two men who still compete.
Still hit.
Still test each other.

But stop pretending it’s only about the game.

ROUGHING is a high-heat, story-driven MM hockey romance featuring enemies-to-lovers tension, intense on-page intimacy, professional league realism, and two men who refuse to dilute their masculinity to make their love easier.

The rivalry didn’t end.

It changed ownership.

SIN BIN SECRETS SERIES

In a league built on image, analytics, and monetized aggression, rivalries drive ratings.

But sometimes the real game starts off the ice.

Each book in the Sin Bin Secrets series is a standalone MM hockey romance featuring:

• Elite professional hockey realism
• High-heat intimacy that shifts power
• Public rivalry / private tension
• Masculine, competitive heroes
• Real league pressure and reputation risk
• No melodrama. No soft clichés. No easy outs.

Love isn’t fate here.

It’s a decision made under pressure.

BOOK TWO: HAT TRICK

A media-trained captain in a contract year.
A fearless rookie who refuses to be handled.
Authority clashes with arrogance, and leadership becomes personal.
Sleeping with the rookie could cost him the C on his chest.
Not touching him might cost him more.

Tense. Controlled. Addictive.

BOOK THREE: OFFSIDE

A league golden boy protecting a carefully constructed image.
An openly gay grinder who refuses to be hidden.
One road trip mistake becomes something neither man can ignore.
Endorsements, headlines, and locker room politics close in.
Control or truth. He cannot keep both.

Private. Intense. Reputation on the line.

BOOK FOUR: POWER PLAY

Two teammates chasing the Cup.
Stress relief turns into something neither of them planned.
No labels. No promises. No feelings.
That agreement does not survive the playoffs.
And chemistry that wins games might destroy the locker room.

Physical. Charged. Obsessive.

BOOK FIVE: SUDDEN DEATH

Eight years of playoff battles.
Two franchise icons.
One night they buried and never spoke about again.
Now it is the Cup Final.
Legacy is on the line. So is everything they have avoided.

Slow burn. Years of tension. Final choice.

The league never forgets a rivalry.

And neither do they.