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Trey Hardwick has always been one hard drivin' man to get what he wants—and he demands Jess Spencer in his bed for one weekend. And more…
Trey Hardwick has always loved his sister-in-law come rain or come shine. But now that she's a widow—and he fears some other man may sweep her off her feet, Trey's gonna drive one hard bargain with the only woman he's ever needed in his bed—and his life.
General Release Date: 13th September 2010
Jessica shoved the gear shift of her ten-year-old pick-up into ‘park’ and sat staring at the bright red door of Trey Hardwick’s sprawling Texas ranch house. Though her young brother-in-law had arrived home on leave from the Army two weeks ago, she hadn’t come over to visit. Couldn’t. Even though Trey had asked her to come to dinner last Friday, she had refused, not risking the chance she’d reveal to him how foolishly she craved his kiss-me-quick six-foot-six wall of masculinity in her bed. Inside her body.
Stop it, Jess. Your appetite for him is a widow’s hunger. Born in minutes of shared laughter with him over the decades. Born in moments when you thought he understood you better than Clint ever did. Killed by common sense, your age difference—and your decision to never seek another man to love.
She inhaled, summoning the courage she’d corralled back home this morning. This appeal would have been easier if she could have approached the ranch foreman hired by Trey and his dad years ago to run the place. But it wasn’t friendly Frank Harmon she had to face this morning. Damn it.
She flicked off the ignition and threw her keys on the dash. She hadn’t been to the Rocking H in nearly a year. Not since her father-in-law, Taylor Hardwick’s, wake. Still, she marvelled that the rambling Hardwick homestead looked as fresh as it had when she’d first seen it as a teenager. Then she’d been young, so very young, and so much more na�ve about how life would treat her. How she’d treat life. She’d had hope then. In love with the high school quarterback, she’d been honoured and amazed that Clint Hardwick loved her back. That the second son of the legendary Hardwick dynasty wanted her as his bride. Claimed her for himself before any other boy could. And Jess had welcomed Clint’s proposal. Needed him. Wanted him.
She snorted. And look how well that turned out.
She reached across the seat for her summer straw Stetson and jammed it on over her pony tail. But vanity and pride had her straining up to check out her face in the rear-view mirror. What she saw made her frown and question her simple approach. No make-up, no cleavage showing for the hunky specimen most females in town would drop their panties for. Is this the way to win Trey over? Or a sure way to fail?
She squinted at her reflection. The lines around her eyes came from years of sun-drying her skin as she rustled cattle on the range. Her lips, still full and pink, didn’t widen in laughter often. True, her cheeks were high and elegant, but her green eyes showed the weary strength of running her ranch alone since Clint’s death three years ago. She’d come far since then, freed from worry when she no longer had to worry each day about Clint’s preference for bourbon over her.
Forget that! She snapped away from her image. Ask for Trey’s help now—or never! On a small cry, she thrust open the cab door, slid down out of the truck and slammed the door.
Palms running down her denim-clad thighs, she strode up the circular drive towards Trey’s house. And what she needed.
What she had to have to survive.
And Trey, Clint’s younger brother, had to give it to her. Didn’t he?
She knocked. Folded her arms. Tapped her toe. Dug the heel of her boot into the floorboard.
No answer.
She tried again, banging the big brass knocker against the sturdy red wood with loud purpose.
“Hey, hey!” She heard Trey yelling from inside. “I’m here, Jess!” He swung the door wide.
What's a gal to do to if she lives deep in the heart of Texas, travels often everywhere, and adores Paris, Florence, London, Tokyo and all points east and west?
Ah.
She becomes an author who can write about those romantic places. With a passion for cowboys, spies, rakes, knights in shining armor and their gutsy women, Cerise DeLand is an author who adores an alpha male with a tender heart and a need for a smoldering erotic love affair with the right woman!
Cerise is a Top 20 Best Selling author on Amazon with more than three dozen works published in erotic romance, and she is also an award-winning author of mystery, mainstream and romance with St. Martin's Press, Pocket Books and Kensington. Her books are on numerous book clubs, including Featured Selections of The Mystery Guild, Doubleday and Rhapsody. And when she isn't dreaming up fiction or traveling? Cerise is a fabulous cook and an avid history buff.
Busy lady. Happy writer.
Visit her website for info on all her books.
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Go to her blog for headline news, ~ and email her at cerise.deland@ymail.com too! You can also follow Cerise on twitter
Reviewed by Whipped Cream Reviews
4.5 out of 5! There is a lot of heart and emotion in this little short story...Ms. DeLand has a true talent for creating and telling a fictional story but giving it life outside the pages...I highly...
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