Sidda Lee Rain's Blog, page 30

DON’T MESS WITH THE BULL

By Sidda Lee Rain (was supposed to publish yesterday but I messed that up. Ooops! Sorry.)

I’m just beginning to get back to my new normal following my dads unexpected death. There were a few weeks there where I didn’t write a word in any of my current projects. I’m slowly getting back into the writing chair with my fingers at the keys. And, I’m very excited about some of the new projects I have coming up.

Many of you know of Mizz Sable Hunter’s HELL YEAH Series. After all theres over 2o titles and growing in that series. Well, I’m beyond excited to say I was invited to write a title in the HELL YEAH Kindle World! (Seriously, how cool is that?)

30 awesome authors will be writing books in the HELL YEAH Kindle World – first launch is August 11th. My title will be releasing in November. Join the reader group and keep up with the authors, with Sable Hunter’s Hell Yeah! and with the new world to come.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1730952817180627/

The book that really inspired me was BADASS #5 in the HELL YEAH Series.

Blurb:

Isaac McCoy is every woman’s dream. He’s a cowboy, one of the Texas McCoy’s of Tebow Ranch – tall, dark, handsome and sexy as hell. To add to the mystery, he’s a biker – clad in black leather, riding a big Harley – he makes the girls swoon. To put it simply, Isaac is the black sheep of the family. And what his family doesn’t know is that he’s also a Dom. Always a little different from his brothers –Isaac has been into fast cars, fast women – and the kinkier side of sex. Until Avery. That’s right’s the Texas Badass has fallen for the angel of Kerrville County – the Baptist Preacher’s daughter – Miss Prim and Proper. And that will never do. As much as he wants her, Isaac pushes her away – sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

Avery has been in love with Isaac for years and she’s ready to make her move. But Isaac makes it clear that they come from different worlds, there’s no way she can fit in to his life. She’s not the kind of woman he needs. So, Avery decides to take matters into her own hands. What she intends to do is take lessons in how to be a bad girl. Avery is determined to learn what it takes to please Isaac in every way. She’s seriously after her Badass – and soon, he’s not going to know what hit him.

Link: https://amzn.com/B007MF8NGE

I LOVED both the hero and heroine in this story that they inspired me to write DON’T MESS WITH THE BULL…yup, that’s the title I’m working on for the HELL YEAH Kindle World.

Bull is a patch holder for the Ignition Infantry motorcycle club, bike mechanic and former adrenaline junkie…which included time served in the US Army, bull riding and motorcycle racing. He’s rough around the edges and not looking to settle down anytime soon but that might change when he meets Sasha aka Sissy.

Sasha is trying to reinvent herself, a new identity, a new her. But, she’s only got four and a half months to accomplish that. Isaac (hero from Sable’s BADASS) gives her a part time job at his bar Hardbodies where she meets Bull. Bull…far from the suit and tie men she’s usually attracted to that awakens her body in ways she can’t remember ever happening before.

But, she’s running from her past and trying to build a future-not only for herself but another. And, a sexy ass biker is a distraction Sasha just doesn’t need…there’s a big difference between need and want though.

Excerpt:

“Can I get you drink to go with that creepy stare you got going on or are you good?”

Lost in his own thoughts he hadn’t seen her watching him in one of the mirrors mounted on the wall. At least now he could see her face. Definitely wouldn’t be a burden doing her face to face. Oh yeah, he wouldn’t mind some good ol’ vanilla missionary position with Miss Lips and Hips. She was beautiful actually. A tiny feminine nose, big eyes that weren’t quite blue but they weren’t really green either. Gray, maybe? Pale skin, now he understood what people meant when they compared someones flawless complexion to milk. Full pink lips were the only thing that could’ve drew his attention away from her milky skin.

“Are you mute or just stupid?”

Sassy. Definitely sassy. “I’ll wait for Isaac.”

She dropped her gaze in the mirror and turned towards him. Sauntering the twelve feet like a walking talking wet dream. “So he speaks.”

“I do.” Bull let his eyes take her in from head to toe. Rarely had he had a physical reaction to a woman like this. By rarely? Next to never.

“Well, well, what do you know?” the corners of her mouth lifted slowly.

When she smiled at him Bull felt his breath hitch. That was new too.

Silence.

“Isaac is with the beer distributor but I’d be happy to get you a drink.”

Bull glanced up at her. “Wouldja now?” Maybe he sunk a little deeper into his Texas drawl but women tended to mop it up like sausage gravy to a biscuit.

Her blush was adorable. “Well, yeah it’s kinda my job.” she retorted with cloying sweetness.

He chuckled. “I suppose it is.”

Leaning forward Sasha rested her elbows on the high table where he sat. “What’s your poison?”

His eyes took in the deep line of her cleavage that was practically being served to him on a tray.

Snapping her fingers in his face. “Those aren’t being served on or off the rocks.”

“Shame.” Holding her glare he repeated, “I’ll wait for Isaac.”

Rolling her eyes she turned and walked away mumbling that she knew how to mix a drink. That’s not all she knew by the way she practically sashayed across the floor.

DON’T MESS WITH THE BULL…by Sidda Lee Rain coming this NOVEMBER in Sable Hunter’s HELL YEAH Kindle World!

I also have a biker/cowboy book already available in my DIRTY DENIM Series, STEEL HORSE COWBOY.

Blurb:

Chelsea hadn’t been living her life to the fullest…until her beloved Grandmother Rosie past. A letter she left her granddaughter inspires Chelsea to walk away from the life she had and start living the life she wanted. Even if she wasn’t sure what that was. Leaving her condo in Colorado, stepping down from her high paying job and walking away from her fiancé was just the beginning on her journey to find her true self. Thinking she’d find answers on the road Chelsea found herself following the rodeo circuit.

Scotty had never seen a more gorgeous creature before the day he saw her ride up on a horse next to his sister. Auburn hair shining in the sun, skin tight jeans that looked like they had been painted on and sassy, sexy as hell red cowgirl boots in the stirrups topped off her smokin’ country girl appeal. Just so happens a couple months later he would have a chance to get his hands on her as he escorted her down the aisle…of his sisters wedding. Sharing a dance at the reception wasn’t enough of her or her whiskey colored eyes.

Not understanding the draw she had to him was confusing. The man was as far from a cowboy as you can get-yet Chelsea still found him to be the sexiest man she’d ever seen. One night of unadulterated passion would haunt her for far longer than she had ever guessed. Living with the longing, the pain and sadness on her own was her doing but would caving into Scotty again leave her healed or leave her hurting once more?

Could a motorcycle bring them back together and is it their journey now and not just her own?

Warning: This novel contains one certified cowgirl searching for her cowboy but stumbling across a hot ass biker man instead. He gives her the road trip of a lifetime and she rides him like a Harley on a bad piece of road! 

This book is part of a Series but can be read as a stand alone

Link: https://amzn.com/B00FCC1VRM

 

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Sidda-Lee-Rain/e/B00DAHV1SK/fblink/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_nu_dE1Ztb0F5MS6G

FaceBook:

https://www.facebook.com/Siddaleeraindirty

My website:

Siddaleerain.com

Always remember…
    “If your knees ain’t dirty…
                 You ain’t doin’ it right!”
                                                  Sidda

Trouble in Disguise by Gem Sivad

This week I’m sharing a snippet from Trouble in Disguise, my Eclipse Heat title releasing tomorrow. I hope you get a chance to pick up a copy and enjoy.

Deacon waited until the other man disappeared down the steps. Then he fitted the key into the lock, entered and relocked the door before he faced the woman who’d been sent to entertain him.

Shock coursed through him. Lydia’s promise of someone special had for once been fulfilled. Deacon crossed the room and stood before the waiting girl. Women rarely reached above chest high on Deacon since, even barefoot, he dwarfed most men. But his night’s companion met his gaze without tilting her head or craning her neck.

Sooty lashes framed gray eyes flecked with silver, making her appearance strangely exotic. Charcoal brows contrasted with both her pale skin and the white-blonde hair hanging in a silken mane down her back.

“You work for Lydia?” His astonished words were out before he could stop himself.

“Tonight I work for you.” She laughed and touched his sleeve.

Surely she remembered him. But she didn’t mention that the last time they’d met, he’d been staked out over an anthill with strips of flesh torn from his back. Was it possible she’d never gotten a look at his face?

That was the first surprise. Her clothes or lack thereof was his second. Usually Lydia had her girls decked out in transparent costumes that left nothing to the imagination.

This woman wore a ruffled white shirt buttoned from shirttail to neck. It revealed little but what he could see made his breath catch in his throat. His gaze trailed upward, enjoying the shape of her bare feet, defined calves, not quite bony knees and pale columns of sculpted muscles. His gaze stalled on the tail of the shirt where it touched the top of her thighs.

She brushed her hands down her front as if trying to make the material cover more of her. The gesture served only to mold the fabric to her plump breasts, marking the white shirt with dents from the stiff peaks of her taut nipples.

She glanced at her chest and unexpectedly chuckled, the husky sound making its way straight to Deacon’s groin. He forgot about his mission to save Beauregard and ended all thoughts of spending the night alone.

Matter-of-factly she raised her arms to divide the thick mane hanging down her back. When she pulled two thick strands over her shoulders, her shirt pulled taut, displaying puckered nubs. He wanted her.

“I need to clean up,” he said abruptly. She gestured at the tub in the middle of the floor. He shook his head. “Shave first, then bathe.”

He scrubbed his hands and then made short work of lathering his face. He didn’t want to get dirty prints on the white material when he removed it. Excitement rippled through him. “Unbutton your shirt so I can look at you while I scrape off this beard.”

Absently he palmed the soap, rubbing it into lather while he surveyed her. The pale skin and light hair should have made her appear drab or dull but instead they served as a creamy landscape framing each vivid splash of color in her features.

Apricot blush tinted her cheeks as she obediently reached for the shirt plackets closest to the bottom. Long tapered fingers unfastened the lowest four buttons and stopped. The sight of her calloused palm and strong wrist startled him but he forgot about it when he glimpsed the soft nest of curls on her mound.

His glance traveled over the ruffles on the linen shirt past the full swell of unfettered breasts, up the elegant line of her neck. He paused and watched her use the tip of her pink tongue to wet ruby lips. His gaze continued upward until he stared into her eyes. He’d been wrong. They weren’t gray but dark silver, the color of pewter. Laugh lines crinkled at the corners as she lifted a brow inquiringly.

“You don’t remember me?” He tensed, waiting.

“Of course I remember you,” she laughed, her tone husky when she added, “Beau said you needed rescued so there was no way out of it. You owe me a honeycomb. I’m glad to see I didn’t waste it doctoring you.”

“You let Beauregard talk you into going into that camp. That was crazy.”

“Well now,” she drawled agreeably, “we could talk about that. Or—we could play.”

It had been a long time since Deacon had played. A growl of pleasure rumbled in his chest. Though his hands were covered in lather, he touched the ruffled shirt’s neck, ran his finger down the front placket and paused when her breasts swelled on either side of his fingers.

“To here,” he said, leaving a wet mark that clearly defined where she could stop. He resumed shaving, staring at the reflection of his jaw in the mirror instead of at her. Deacon concentrated on keeping his hand from trembling as he scraped away dark whiskers.

“Want me to use that on you?” She gestured at the straight razor, stepping closer to him so he could see her reflection.

The button marking the wet spot he’d left in the middle of the shirt kept it from falling open. Lust roared through him.

“No, you do sloppy work.” He rinsed the razor in the bowl of water, flicking the excess water from it before slicing through the threads holding the last button in place. “You missed one.”

Trouble in Disguise © Gem Sivad 2016

Since both his partners have married and retired from the hunt, Deacon McCallister is alone when he visits the Pleasure Dome, an infamous brothel in Fort Worth’s Hell’s Half Acre. He’s tracking a counterfeiter but what he finds is TROUBLE—dressed in a man’s ruffled shirt and nothing more.

Bounty hunter Miracle Beauregard calls herself Beau and for years has fooled the general public about her gender. But underneath Miri’s disguise, beats a feminine heart in lust for Deacon McCallister. Though she spends a lot of time dreaming about her rival, she never expects to act upon her longings.

When Miri follows an outlaw to the fanciest whorehouse in Texas and crosses paths with her heart’s desire, she trades her buckskins for bare skin to play the part of Deacon’s paid companion. But, she’s wrong when she thinks her time with Deacon will be just once. After she leaves her bounty hunter rival behind, she discovers he’s so enthralled by his one night lover, he’s on the hunt to find her again—and he’s got forever on his mind.

Trouble in Disguise @ Amazon 99¢ Pre-Buy Now





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Vote for Your Favorite Series for a Chance to Win a Signed Paperback

I’m ready to organize my writing schedule for the last six months of 2016! I have a long, lovely list of books that I want to write, but I’m not sure what you, my wonderful readers, want to see first. Here’s your chance to vote for your favorite series, plus one vote will win a signed paperback from that series. Ready?

The Double Seduction Series (Double Her Fantasy, Double Her Pleasure, Double Her Temptation, and Double Her Destiny)

If you recall, when we left Trey, Megan, and Garret, we were “expecting” a surprise. The series will continue to watch these characters, but will focus on Jeff, the bodyguard that followed Ms. Megan around in the last books. Jeff has a hot cowboy cousin who is dating Megan’s lovely doctor, and when Jeff meets this doctor, things get sexy in Texas! If you’ve been waiting to read these stories, leave a comment and vote for more Double Seduction.

The Hot Country Series (Chase and Seduction, Heart of Steele, and Rough Ryder)

In the last book, Rough Ryder, we got to meet three smart, talented country music stars, Hope, Summer, and Dixie. Each of these fascinating women gets their own book! Do you remember Schmiddy, Ryder’s strong, silent, mucho-macho bodyguard? One reader suggested he and Dixie would make an awesome couple, so that will be fun to write. If you’re ready for three more Hot Country books, leave a comment voting for that series.

The Diaries of a Casanova Series (Legend Awakening)

This is the very sexy series I’m writing with a man who has been in the music industry for decades. We’re working on the second book, Twisted Angel, and it’s just as hot and amazing as the first book. I need to write some scenes, then pester my famous co-writer to help with the rest, but I’m ready to finish and publish this one and get started on Book 3, Rising Redemption. If you’re a fan of The Diaries of a Casanova Series, please comment with your vote.

Everyone who comments will be entered to win a signed copy of a paperback from their favorite series. Thank you for voting, and good luck!

Randi

“Rode Hard and Put Up Satisfied”

RandiAlexander.com

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All I Want for Christmas?

No, you aren’t hallucinating! While the lawnmowers are going outside (Literally!) and the scent of chlorine from the neighbors new above ground pool wafts through the air, I’ve been plugged in (barefoot and sporting noise-canceling ear buds) to Youtube listening to hours of instrumental Christmas music! Why, you ask?

Inspiration. Yep, I’m in the throes of penning a brand new Kinnison Legacy Holiday story, which is slated for Sept. 2016!  This story revisits Rein and Liberty (RUSTLERS HEART, Book II, Kinnison Legacy ) and what has transpired in their lives since the fire out at the Kinnison ranch almost two years ago!

Wow, has it been that long? Its a heart-warming story,  laughter, tears and of course, its Rein and Liberty–there will be steam! But most of all it exemplifies the magic of the season and that no matter what, love will find a way!

Here is a tiny sneak peek  at ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS!!

EXCERPT: * unedited* set-up; Rein and Liberty agree to take in a young five-year-old boy as foster parents as the boy’s mother awaits trial on drug charges….

Rein watched Liberty do her nightly routine—she washed her face, brushed her teeth—everything she’d done nightly since they’d married. He knew she’d pull back the covers, then as an afterthought, go check to make sure the windows were locked before coming to bed. Tonight, however, she stood at the window staring at the snow falling softly outside.

“What is it sweetheart?” He climbed out of bed, walked to her, and pulled her close.

“I know it’s only temporary, but it feels right having Cody here,” she said. “Is that weird? We’ve only had him a few hours.” She leaned into him, holding onto his arms around her.

He kissed the top of her head. “He’s a cute little kid. A shame to have to grow up in that kind of environment.”

Liberty nodded. There were times growing up the daughter of a wealthy Vegas businessman, that she saw things that even to her young way of reasoning didn’t seem right. That would be verified later when she’d witness his rage taken out on her mother. Thank God she’d found Rein. He’d changed her view of men, softened her heart to risk loving again, and solidified in her a belief in family. “You’ll make a great daddy one day.” She swallowed the lump in her throat, heartsick that she’d not yet been able to carry a child to term.

He nuzzled the curve of her neck. “We could work on that, darlin’.”

She cradled his head against her shoulder. “What if Cody wakes up?”

“He seemed pretty zonked in the car. And that monitor thing you got should alert us.” He started drawing her toward the bed.

“Maybe we should shut the door.”

Rein considered the comment, then shrugged. “Okay.” He bid her request and turned to find his wife perched on the bed in the next-to-nothing nightgown that he’d been fantasizing how to peel off her for the last hour.

“Wait,” she held up her hand, “maybe we should leave it open just a bit. So we can hear…just in case.”

Rein eyed her, finding this new side to his wife-usually uninhibited about their lovemaking—quite interesting. “If it makes you feel more comfortable…” This exercise in how far to keep the door open was the strangest foreplay Rein had ever experienced. “How’s that?” He positioned it for yet a third time. He studied the small opening, satisfied himself with the door ajar. Hoping like hell it pleased his wife. He glanced up. “How’s this?”

Liberty lay on her side, wicked smile painted on her face. He’d been royally played and his wife had been holding the bow. He hooked his thumbs in his boxer briefs and stripped before climbing onto the bed. “Two can play at the position game, sweetheart.”

*~*~*

Thanks to everyone who’s picked up my current related series NO STRINGS ATTACHED (Book I, Last Hope Ranch) and have expressed through your emails how much you’ve enjoyed reading more about the folks in End of the Line , Montana! There is more to come!!  Be sure to write and tell me whose story you’d like to see! I’ve even had one request for a grown up Emilee Kinnison story! Wow! That would be awesome, I think!

COMING NEXT MONTH:  Watch for my great Cupcake Battle contest coming up!

Blessings & Cowboy dreams~

Amanda

 

Justice Burning by Elle James aka Myla Jackson

Justice Burning

Hellfire series Book #2

FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!!!

Amazon | AmazonUK

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Elle James’s Newsletter

Blurb:

Her groom was a no-show at her wedding, and Dallas debutante Phoebe Sinclair isn’t going to face her family and the hundreds of guests with the news. Taking nothing but her wedding dress, her grandmother’s locket and her fiancé’s rented convertible, she leaves the church, determined to get away and start a new life free of her society status. Foiled by a flat tire near Hellfire, Texas, she opens the trunk for the jack, only to discover a deadly secret, just as a sheriff’s deputy pulls up behind her.

When sheriff’s deputy Nash Grayson, lends a helping hand to a runaway bride, he doesn’t know half of what he’s getting himself into. Not only is she sassy and independent, she’s beautiful, sexy and wriggles her way past the protective wall he’s built around himself since he returned from the war. When she’s targeted by a shooter, he’s assigned protective duty until the culprit can be caught. Close quarters and hot Texas nights bring the unlikely pair closer to the truth about her ex-fiancé and their own burgeoning desires.

Warning: All hell’s breaking loose in Hellfire, Texas

Excerpt:

“The bastard!” Phoebe Sinclair’s usual easy-going demeanor had taken a major hit. She checked the rearview mirror, couldn’t see anything past the train of her wedding dress flying out behind her. When she’d discovered her fiancé had skipped out on the wedding just seconds before she was due to walk down the aisle, she’d practically jumped into the convertible. He’d left the church, no explanation, no excuses. Which meant Phoebe would have had to face her parents and their guests to break the news alone. There wouldn’t be a wedding. The groom had run out on her.

Jilted.

Never mind she’d already been having extremely cold feet. Two hours earlier, she’d been a nervous bride, convinced she was making a huge mistake by marrying a man her father had selected as perfect husband material for his darling daughter. Her mother had argued that Ryan would help elevate her social status even more. Not that Phoebe cared two hoots about status.

Phoebe, the dutiful daughter who’d always done what her parents wanted, who never had anxiety issues, could have used one of her mother’s anti-anxiety pills. On the very verge of walking down the aisle of the church to promise to love, honor and cherish Ryan Bratton, a colleague of her father’s, she’d asked herself why? Why was she marrying a man with whom she didn’t have much in common? Why was she allowing her parents to choose her husband? Why had she let herself be swept into the whole wedding experience?

The pathetic answer was that all of her Dallas debutante friends were either engaged or married. Some were pregnant with their first babies.

Tick tock, tick tock.

Her damned biological clock had been ticking pretty darned loud when her father proclaimed it was time to get married and produce heirs. He wasn’t getting any younger and he wanted to know he’d have someone to pass the oil speculation business to when he was gone.

Phoebe slowed behind a tractor hauling a large round hay bale. Wisps of straw flew over the top of the convertible’s windshield, tangling in her hair. Swerving toward the center of the road, she peered around the big green John Deere. The lane was clear and she sped past.

Her father could sell the damned business for all she cared. Phoebe had never had a head for business, preferring to hang out with the horses on their ranch. She hadn’t really been that interested in dating, finding most of the men in her parents’ circle either old like her father, greedy or lazy. When she went out on dates, many of the men were more interested in her father’s assets than in her own.

She’d stared into the full-length mirror, her heart pounding, perspiration popping out on her forehead and upper lip, after her mother had applied makeup to her face. Phoebe couldn’t do it. She didn’t love Ryan. Though her father thought highly of him, his opinion of Ryan wasn’t enough.

Sure, he’d had her grandmother’s locket professionally reworked by a jeweler, with a brand new chain and a picture of her grandmother inside. The extremely thoughtful gift had almost convinced her he was the man she needed. But standing in front of the mirror, staring at the stranger in the white dress, about to marry a man she really didn’t know, she’d started into a full-on panic attack.

Her mother had entered the room, slapped a paper bag into her hand and told her to breathe into the bag. Then her mother had straightened her veil, patted powder on her face and turned her toward the door with a parting comment, “Don’t embarrass me.” Her mother moved inside the sanctuary to take her seat.

Phoebe stood outside the door, waiting for the cue for her bridesmaids to make the long trip down the aisle ahead of her. Something had held up the ceremony. Five minutes turned to ten but her cue didn’t come.

One of the groomsmen ducked out of the sanctuary, spotted her and waved her back toward the anterooms.

Phoebe handed her bouquet to her maid of honor, a silly society girl her mother had chosen since Phoebe didn’t have many girlfriends suitable to wear the ridiculous bridesmaid gowns. “I’ll be a moment.” Phoebe hurriedly joined the groomsman.

He glanced over her shoulder at the others watching and then leaned close to whisper, “We have a problem.”

Her heart had fluttered, her stomach roiling. “What’s wrong?”

The man tugged at his collar as if the tie constricted his vocal cords.

Phoebe wanted to take a hold of the tie and tug on it herself. Hard. “Spit it out,” she finally said.

He took a deep breath and blurted, “Ryan disappeared.”

“What?” And her mother had been afraid Phoebe would embarrass her. “He ran out? Did he say anything before he disappeared?”

The young man’s face turned a bright red and he shook his head.

“You have got to be kidding.” Surely Ryan had only gone to the restroom or outside to catch a breath of fresh air. Phoebe stormed off toward the room the groom was supposed to use for wedding preparations. Flinging open the door, she marched in. “Ryan, you better get your scrawny ass up to the altar…”

The room was empty. Ryan and his tuxedo were gone.

“Really?” she cried. “You got cold feet?” Blood pounded in her ears. She stared around the room, hoping he was hiding somewhere and going to spring out and say surprise!

With a sanctuary full of five hundred of her parents’ closest friends waiting for the wedding to start, Phoebe didn’t know what to do. She’d agreed to marry Ryan, not because she particularly loved him, but because no one else had come along in her thirty-one years who inspired the soul-defining passion she had expected to come with falling in love. Ryan could kiss okay and he’d tried to please her when they’d been more intimate. Still…nothing. No sparks, no earth-shaking anything. Surely all those romance novels she’d read late into the night weren’t all pure fantasy.

Phoebe had begun to think she didn’t have the romantic gene in her body, so she’d settled for Ryan. Now, he’d skipped out. Jilted her at the altar and left her with the task of telling all the five hundred strangers her fiancé hadn’t wanted to marry her after all. “I could kill him,” she said.

“Excuse me?” a voice said behind her.

With a little scream, she spun to face Ryan’s best man, Warren Ledbetter. “Did you know he was thinking of backing out of this circus of a wedding?” she demanded.

He shook his head. “He told me to go on to the sanctuary, that he’d be there momentarily. That was fifteen minutes ago.”

“Well, I’m not telling all those people this event isn’t happening.” She waved a hand toward the church. “I’m not taking the rap for it. My father and mother will be livid after spending a small fortune on this show.”

Warren’s eyes widened. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” She glanced around the room and over her shoulder at the hallway. The choice had come down to either face her parents and the sanctuary full of people, or leave and hoping her parents didn’t hate her for eternity.

Phoebe’s feet, in the white satin pumps, took her toward the door. When the dutiful daughter should have turned left to go to the sanctuary, she turned right. Rather than face her parents, Phoebe opted to run. Yes, leaving was the coward’s way out, but she’d had enough of her parents running her life, choosing her clothes, her friends and her husband.

She’d run out the side door of the church nursery to a playground where she hurried past the swings and play fort. Out in the Texas sunshine, she lifted her skirts and ran, breathing in the fresh taste of freedom. If Ryan could skip out of a wedding neither of them really wanted, so could she.

Phoebe dared to dream of a life she chose to live. She could get a job, pay her own way, make her own friends and really live. The faster she ran, the better she felt until she kicked off her heels and sprinted toward the parking lot out front.

Before she reached it, Phoebe ground to a stop. She’d arrived in her parents’ chauffeur-driven town car. The church was off the usual routes of taxi drivers, and she didn’t have any money to pay a driver. Nor did she have a cell phone to call for a pick up. Her newfound freedom took a turn for the worst.

Then she spied the wedding car, a sleek black Cadillac convertible with specially decorated cans tied with silk ribbons beneath the bumper, parked outside the door to the church’s banquet hall where the reception was to be held after the wedding. A banner affixed to the trunk read JUST MARRIED. Daring to hope, she inched up to the driver’s side of the vehicle and looked inside.

Hope flared in her chest at the sight of the keys in the ignition.

Gathering her skirts, she jumped in, twisted the key and drove away from the church, leaving behind what would be her disappointed, embarrassed parents and a life she never seemed to fit into.

Crushing on the Cowboy by Sarah M. Anderson + Bonus Giveaway!

Hi everyone! Summer is here! (Okay, maybe not meteorologically–we still have a few weeks.) But School is out  and it’s Summer Vacation Day 13. I know that for a fact because we decided to forgo summer day camp this year.

Day 13! WE CAN DO THIS!

Before I forget, last month’s winner was lacombejc! To get your eARC of Crushing on the Cowboy, lacombejc, email me at message@sarahmanderson.com!

So, yeah–I have the Kid home with me this summer. I’m trying to keep him busy–there’s trumpet and guitar lessons, the summer library reading program and, at leas for now, plenty of scootering up and down the sidewalk because the weather is lovely. The big highlight (of my summer, at least) is the two full weeks of Boy Scout Camp–yah! The other main thing we’re doing this summer is volunteering at our local Humane Society. Every afternoon, we head over for the last walk of the day. We take puppies on a lap around the play area and through a field. It’s good for him to start thinking about people and creatures outside of himself and his family (dogs included) but…the odds of us coming home with a third dog at some point during the summer are good. Really, really good.

Basically, if the dachshund of my dreams shows up, it’s all over.

Okay! Onto the books!

First off, I want to mention that NotMy1stRodeo.com is back! Jenna Bayley-Burke, Donna Alward and I have teamed up for another anthology of second-chance romances!

First up is Captivating the Cowboy by Jenna! It’s out now!

She’s the last think he needs…but everything he wants. 

Fourth-generation cattle rancher Slade Weston wants a forever love but no matter how often he tips his hat on NotMyFirstRodeo.com, he can’t find anything he sees lasting longer than first-date flowers. Fashion designer Jules O’Connor isn’t looking for a relationship because she’s not a daisy-duke cowgirl and that’s all most men are looking for in Opal Creek. Plus, she’s moving across the country as soon as her sister graduates.

When Slade’s string of internet first dates gets comical, Jules offers to be his wing-woman, which leads to some horizontal schmexytimes. She doesn’t want to be a wife and mom, he doesn’t want to move to New York City. It’s just for now. Until they can’t seem to see a future apart…

Captivating the Cowboy Buy Links: Amazon    Barnes and Noble    Kobo     All Romance Ebooks

Then, downloading on June 10 (3 days!) is Donna’s Seducing the Sheriff!

Saddle up for another go-round…

When Cassidy Strong signs up for NotMy1stRodeo.com, she never expects it’ll put her in the middle of a bank robbery—or that she’ll be the key to breaking the case. Her first foray into online dating after her divorce is an unqualified disaster.

That is, until Sheriff Joe Lawson walks in, ready to solve the case and do whatever it takes to protect her. Even if that means hiding her away in his mountain cabin.

Joe has a job to do, and acting on any attraction would go against everything he stands for. Then there’s Cassidy’s volatile ex to consider. But sometimes doing what’s right isn’t as important as following your heart…

Seducing the Sheriff Buy Links Amazon   Barnes and Noble    Kobo

Then, in a mere five weeks (AHHH!), Roping the Rancher comes out!

How far will he go to give her what she wants?

Tommy Tucker doesn’t know what he wants. All he knows is that the girls his own age that he asks out don’t quite do it for him. Until he meets Carly, the manager at a local restaurant.

Carly can’t believe a young buck like Tommy would even look twice at her and she has no interest in being anyone’s cougar. The last time she got involved with a customer, she wound up in a horrible marriage.

Still, when Tommy tells her that he’ll do whatever she tells him to…Carly can’t resist the chance to take what she wants from a man with no strings attached. But no one said anything about scarves…

When Tommy graduates, will Carly let him go—or will she keep him for herself?

Warning: Contains an older woman in charge, a younger man eager to please and a silk scarf tied to a headboard.

Roping the Rancher Buy Links: Amazon    Barnes and Noble     Kobo

So be on the lookout for those exciting books! Now it’s everyone’s favorite time here on Wild and Wicked Cowboys–the exclusive, super-steamy excerpt from the next release, Crushing on the Cowboy! This is my first foray into M/M cowboys, but Mitch and Paulo just demanded that their story be told. So here it is!

Mitch propped himself up on his forearms as he kissed Paulo, his tongue sliding deep. On some level, this was ridiculous. It was the middle of the night, less than five hours since the last time he’d gotten off. But that didn’t stop him.

He needed this man—needed the way Paulo made him feel. Suddenly, after twenty-one years of not having a man to kiss, Mitch couldn’t go another twenty-one hours without touching Paulo.

Paulo let him kiss him for a minute, just lying there and letting Mitch work over him. Then, almost against his will, Mitch shifted and his cock came into contact with Paulo’s. Mitch groaned at the touch, hard and soft and hot—so hot—all together and focused on the point where his cock lay against Paulo’s.

“Sim,” Paulo whispered as Mitch tried to keep himself from thrusting against Paulo, tried to keep himself cool calm and collected. “Ó, Mitch,” he moaned, his own hips lifting to slide his cock up and back against Mitch’s.

“Yeah?” Mitch asked, his breath coming in shorter and faster bursts as he moved over Paulo. What they’ve done before—the way Paulo had gotten him off—that hadn’t been that different from how he normally got off.

Okay, that was a lie—it’d been wildly different—wildly better. But it was still the same basic mechanic motion of getting off that Mitch had been doing since he was thirteen.

But this? This was something entirely different. Mitch was thrusting against Paulo, his cock sliding over the throbbing erection. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, really. He just knew he couldn’t stop.

He leaned up on his hands so he could look down and see where they were touching. “Paulo.” It was more a sound that pulled itself out of his chest than one he chose to speak.

“Sim,” Paulo said, and then he was touching Mitch, running his hands through Mitch’s hair and tilting his head up so Paulo could kiss him again. He didn’t stop there and Mitch didn’t want him to. His hands drifted down over Mitch’s chest, where he gently tweaked his nipples. He leaned forward and put his teeth on Mitch’s skin, dragging them down to the point of his nipple. He began to suck.

That was enough to make Mitch lose his rhythm. All he could do was hold himself up and feel Paulo’s lips on his body. He had not expected that to be so overpowering, but it completely short-circuited his brain. The only thing he could think, feel, was Paulo tugging on his nipple. Who would’ve ever guessed something as useless as a man’s nipple could feel so wonderful?

 I love those crazy bull riders! Mitch and Paulo are so good together and I’m so happy they get to tell their story (YAH CARINA!!)



Crushing on the Cowboy buy links: Amazon | B & N | iBooks | Kobo | Harlequin

This month’s giveaway is a Super Special Prize–a Billionaires Box from Ever After! I contributed to the box and I get to give one away as a prize! EverAfter is a monthly subscription box designed by and for romance readers, complete with books, swag and goodies!

Winner will be drawn by June 20th, so be sure to leave your email in your comment (or email me separately at message@sarahmanderson.com) to be notified if you win!

How can you enter? Easy! Just leave a comment (with email!) telling me your go-to summer vacation boredom beaters! Please! I’M GETTING DESPERATE! (Kidding) (Sort of).

See you next month and have a great summer!

 

News from VICTORIA VANE!

Hi Everyone!  I can’t believe it’s June already! May passed like a blur, partly because I spend two whole weeks traveling! On May 5th, hubby and I drove from Florida to South Carolina to visit our sons and then to Wilmington NC to celebrate our 33rd anniversary where we stayed at a gorgeous historic bed and breakfast. It was a wonderful time!

After our weekend together, hubby returned home and I drove on to Nashville for a fantastic author/reader weekend that Sandy Sullivan put together.  We all had such a blast! I hope to return again next year.

For more pictures, here’s a link to my Facebook photo album Weekend with the Authors Facebook album .

After all the fun, it’s been really hard to catch up and get back to work! But I have three newsworthy items to share with you all. The first is that HELL ON HEELS (Hotel Rodeo #1) is currently on sale for only $.99. It’s hot and sexy and tons of fun so grab it while you can!

Buy now $.99

 

Secondly, SADDLE UP releases in only 4 days! This is the final title in my HOT COWBOY NIGHTS series but can be read as a standalone. I think it’s one of my best books ever. I hope you’ll give it a try.

Lastly, I have a fabulous giveaway to celebrate my release! (Click the image below for the Rafflecopter link)

 

Pick the gender–Rhonda Lee Carver

Hi, y’all. Rhonda Lee Carver here. Happy June 1st. Can you believe June is here already? What happened to May? Before we know it I’ll be saying, “Happy July.” Let’s not rush it too fast, though.

As an author I find inspiration in the oddest things. This tire swing, well, it’s what inspired me to write The Lawman’s Promise.

If you didn’t have a tire swing growing up, I bet you wished for one. We had one that swung out over water and we spent hours and hours on that thing until we decided we’d try to see how many could fit on it at once. Let’s just say, it didn’t turn out pretty.

To find out how this tire swing is my inspiration, you’ll have to read this book when it releases (soon, very soon).

I need your help. I have a story rolling around in my head and one of the secondary characters is a child, around 5. So, I want you to name the gender. Just post boy or girl in the comments.

Connect with me:

Newsletter  Facebook Author Page  Website  Rhonda’s Rowdy Readers  Twitter  Amazon  B&N

May Happenings

May went faster than a blink for me.  It’s been an up and down busy month, and that always makes the days go really fast.

Good news – I’ve signed a 2 book contract with the Wild Rose Press for my Doms of the Silver Screen books.  I don’t have any dates on them yet, but I’m happy to be under contract for them.

The other good news is back in March I was writing my little finger off for a call – Harlequin put out a call for their Desire line.  Now I’ve always wanted to write for them so it gave me the opportunity to dust off an old cowboy book, polish up three chapters and send it to them for this call.  I had to wait until the end of April to see if they wanted to see more….and they do.  Happy dancing.

This is very exciting for me.  So I need to finish polishing up the original manuscript since I’ve learned a lot since I wrote the book originally.  So we’ll see how it goes, but it does feel good to get back to some cowboys.

And lastly, I’m still working on my Real Men Wear Kilts book – this is a call from the Wild Rose Press.  I’m calling it my book that will never end, it’s over the word count I thought it would be, but its fine.  I have plenty of room to write it as long as I want.

I’ll report back at the end of June.

The other exciting news is I released a short story His Game, His Rules.  Its available right now only on Amazon for .99 cents or you can get it on Kindle Unlimited for free.

So I’ll leave you this month with a little cowboy eye candy.

Donna Michaels – Cowboy Lawe released this month!

Howdy! It’s Donna Michaels, and I’m excited about the release of my contribution to the Cowboy Justice 12-Pack as a single! Some of you may have already read COWBOY LAWE in the 12-Pack, which hit the USA Today list! Thank you! For anyone who missed it, or wants to have the single, it is now available at all outlets, and even in print!

Cowboy Lawe is the fourth story in my Dangerous Curves Series, a series featuring strong, former military heroines, and the alpha men who capture their hearts. These stories are hot, with a dash of danger, and a hint of humor!

More than curves make these women dangerous…

Blurb:

In order to keep close to an alpha cowboy her boss wants protected, Knight agent Tara Lynch draws on her acting skills to play a scared schoolteacher who witnessed the murder of a hitman, and on her restraint to resist falling for the sexy cowboy.

Former SEAL Callahan ‘Rook’ Lawe agrees to help his old commander, but with his hands already full investigating accidents on his training ranch that put his brother in the hospital, his attraction to the beautiful woman is a distraction he doesn’t need.

Excerpt:

“I’ve got another job for you.”

Tarah’s head jerked back. Knight was sending her back out into the field?

Steel blue eyes narrowed briefly, but he passed her and TJ a file without acknowledging her surprise. “Brooke is coming in to fly you to Texas to help Rook.”

Rook?

She frowned. “I thought he was on leave or something.”

A former SEAL, Rook was a buddy of Sam’s who’d recently joined the agency, but, so far, he and Tarah had yet to cross paths. Last she’d heard, the cowboy had headed back to Texas to help his brother.

“Sort of.” TJ drummed his fingers on the file. “He went home because his brother took an unexpected swan dive off the barn. Right, bossman?”

Knight nodded. “Yes. The two of them own a ranch that trains agents from all walks of law enforcement. His brother Remy runs the place, and last week, he suffered a broken shoulder and concussion when someone knocked a ladder out from under him.”

That would explain her brother’s unexpected remark. She flipped open the file and stared at a snapshot of a handsome man with brown hair and an easy grin that never reached his brown eyes.

Remy Lawe. Rook’s brother.

Former Green Beret. Former CIA. Thirty. Single. His features were almost chiseled. He’d obviously been through hell. She flipped to the next page, and breath caught in her throat at the photo of the Knight agent she had yet to meet.

Callahan “Rook” Lawe.

Damn, Rook was handsome. Jet black hair, high cheekbones, gorgeous blue eyes, and a strong jaw she’d wager always needed a shave. Former SEAL. Thirty-two. Single.

A fact she’s already known, but it still sent warmth to her heart.

Stupid heart.

He was her coworker. And judging by the width of his shoulders and set jaw, he was a force to be reckoned with.

If someone was targeting Remy, then Rook was more than qualified to protect his brother. The former SEAL’s presence, even in a photo, was imposing. It didn’t quite make sense why Knight was sending her, unless…there was more.

“What else has happened, sir?” She raised her chin.

A slight twitch to Knight’s lips was an indication he appreciated her astuteness. “Besides missing mail, power outages, and kittens mysteriously showing up at the ranch, yesterday, Rook’s truck blew up.”

TJ lurched forward. “What?”

“Is he all right? Was anyone injured?” she asked, her heart strangely lodged in her throat.

Knight shook his head. “No one was inside. It was parked in the driveway.” A line etched between his brows. “I offered help on several occasions, but the stubborn fool turned me down. I was prepared to let him handle his family’s business, but not now. Not when one of my agents is threatened. That’s why I’m sending you, Tarah.”

She straightened in her seat. “Yes, sir. What do you want me to do? Help him investigate? Protect him and Remy? Does he have a list of names I can start on?”

“No.” Knight stared at her. “He doesn’t know you’re coming. Exactly.”

She cocked her head and frowned. “What do you mean?”

Instinct told her she wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Rook doesn’t want any help, but he’s getting it anyway.”

“I don’t understand.” But she tensed her shoulders because she had a sinking feeling she did.

“I got him to agree to help me with a protection detail.”

Shit.

“Today, at noon, he’s expecting Tarah Swanson, witness to a mob hit.” He thrust his finger toward her file. “It’s all in there.”

“Oh, look, sis, you’re a schoolteacher from D.C.” TJ flashed her a grin. “Wow, you really are tough. Some of those districts are rough.”

She ignored her brother and skimmed the next page in the folder. Her page.

“Memorize your profile,” Knight said. “Rook has never met you, and you need to lay low until we can assess the fallout from Serrano, so this is a win/win.”

TJ’s snicker echoed through the empty warehouse. “No, bossman, it’s priceless. Rook thinks he’s protecting Tarah from mobsters, when Tarah is actually there to protect Rook from this unknown bomber.”

“Protect, and investigate.” Knight sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “I need you to equip Tarah with a burn phone, and one of those bracelet communicator things you gave Nikki.”

“Will do.” TJ sprang to his feet and disappeared into his pit.

She was thrilled to have an assignment, but hated being dishonest to a fellow agent. With determination setting her shoulders, she turned back to her boss and opened her mouth.

“No, Tarah. It has to be this way.”

Damn man was a mind reader.

He leaned closer. “Rook made it very clear he didn’t want help. But he’s getting it anyway.”

“Surely, once I arrive and introduce myself, he wouldn’t turn me away.”

Knight’s lips split into a grin as he barked out a laugh. “The man is stubborn as hell. And a former SEAL used to relying on himself. He’s damn good. I trained him that way. So, no, he would not think twice to toss you over his shoulder and carry you back on the plane.”

She’d like to see him try.

But kept the comment to herself.

“I’m sorry to put you in this position, Tarah, but you’re going to have to pretend to be that schoolteacher, do what Rook tells you, all while guarding his six.” His brows drew together. “Can you do that?”

She lifted her chin. “Of course, sir.”

 

_________________________________________

Amazon | iTunes | B&N | Kobo

Dangerous Curves Series:

Book1 : Knight’s SEAL (KW)

Book2:  LOCKE and Load

Book 3: A Daye with a SEAL (KW)

Book 4: Cowboy LAWE (Intro’d in Cowboy Justice 12-Pack)

Thanks for reading,

~Donna