Deep Inside: A Forbidden Client Sports Romance

Loving him could end her career but losing her might break him for good.

Ruby O’Brien lives by three rules:

Never date a client.

Never sleep with a client.

Never fall in love with a client.

Then there’s Alec LeBrun.

Cocky, talented, and a PR nightmare, the star tight end of the Savannah Bootleggers refuses to take no for an answer. Ruby shocks herself when she finally agrees to one date—only to watch Alec get engaged to someone else less than twenty-four hours later.

Lesson learned.

Or so she thinks.

Two months later, Alec is single again and under Ruby’s close supervision. What Ruby doesn’t know is that Alec wanted her long before circumstances forced him into a public engagement he never wanted.

Now Alec is done waiting.

As attraction reignites and misunderstandings mount, Ruby must decide whether protecting her career is worth denying what feels real. And Alec must prove she was never second best—she was always the only woman he wanted.

A sexy, emotionally charged sports romance about forbidden attraction, professional boundaries, and risking everything for the right kind of love.

About the Going Deep Series

Going Deep is a contemporary sports romance series about professional football players navigating love under pressure. Each book blends career ambition, emotional vulnerability, and second chances into passionate, feel-good love stories.

⭐ What readers are saying

“If you’re looking for a hot, sexy, emotional read, Virna DePaul delivers!”

“This is an author whose work continues to delight.”

“…intense, intricate, and insomnia-inducing.”

“Steamy, heart-warming, and action-packed!”

“The twists and turns of the fast-paced plot are delightful.” 

--Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)

📚 Going Deep Series

Each book can be read as a standalone, but the series is best enjoyed in order.

Down Deep

Royally Deep

Deep Inside

Deep Desire