Maggie Rutherford jilts her too-perfect society groom at the altar and flees to the American West, where she turns her travels into dime novels that she writes under the pen name Lud Madison.
Civil War veteran Ben Morgan marries his childhood sweetheart and takes her to homestead on the Great Plains. Losing her in an Indian attack, Ben becomes a gambler. When he kills a cheating opponent in self-defense, the man’s gunslinger brother swears revenge.
Ben hides on a cattle drive and brings in a herd to Abilene, where a waiting Maggie interviews him for her next story. Sparks fly as they wind up living in the same household, running a general store east of Abilene. But with Black Tex Lonnegan on his trail, will Ben run from his growing attraction to Maggie and the gunfighter’s promise of death–or will he make a stand for his life–and love?
When dime novelist Maggie Rutherford interviews cowboy Ben Morgan for her next book, she falls fast . . . and then learns he’s actually a gambler with a gunslinger hot on his trail. Will Ben run from his growing attraction to Maggie and an outlaw’s promise of death—or will he make a stand for his life—and love?
Excerpt
Maggie looked at Ben. “Ready to give this a whirl?”
They danced to “Camptown Races” and “I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair” before he guided her out the open barn door into the cool September night. Stars sprinkled the night sky. They came to a halt under a scraggly tree, away from everyone else.
“You’re the prettiest lady I’ve ever seen, Maggie Rutherford.”
She blushed at his compliment. “Are you sure you’re not a ladies’ man?” she asked lightly.
He grew serious. “Maggie, I can’t guarantee you anything. I don’t know where I’ll be six months or six years from now. But we have this moment. Right now.”
“Then let’s don’t waste it.”
His mouth came down and touched hers. The kiss was sweet and long. It caused a yearning to rise in Maggie. Gently, he urged her lips apart, his tongue gliding along the seam of her mouth. She answered him in kind, tasting what was his essence, inhaling the scent that made him Ben.
His arms came around her. He pulled her close. She rested her hands flat against his broad chest, the muscles tensing at her touch. Her fingers tingled with the heat of his body and the pounding of his heart below them.
She knew this couldn’t last. What sparked between them was raw and real, but nothing permanent would occur. That thought didn’t stop her. She wanted to live for this moment, this now, for this man here at her fingertips. His mouth beckoned hers, as their tongues mated in a ritual as old as time.
He deepened the kiss. She clutched his shirt tightly, hanging on for the wild ride of passion rolling through her. The music fled. The darkness around them was forgotten. Only here and now were meant to be.
He pulled his mouth from hers, his breathing harsh. He trailed soft butterfly kisses along her cheek to her ear. A frisson of pleasure swept through her when his teeth found and tugged on her earlobe. Something built in her. Her breath quickened. Her pulse fluttered.
His hands spread on her back, dropping to her waist and below. They cupped her bottom and brought her even closer against him.
She gasped as the pleasant tingling grew. It started to spread through her as he stroked her with his hands and nibbled on her neck.
Then his hands came to her waist and after lingering a moment, he released her. The heat from his mouth felt torn from her. Desolation whipped through her as he took a step back. The desertion felt like a betrayal.
His eyes glittered, passion heightened. His voice was low as he reached and took her hand.
About Lauren Linwood
Lauren Linwood became a teacher who wrote on the side to maintain her sanity in a sea of teenage hormones. Her romances use history as a backdrop to place her characters in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire and yearning for one another grow into the deep, tender, treasured gift of love.
Lauren, a native Texan, lives in a Dallas suburb with her family. An avid reader, moviegoer, and sports fan, she manages stress by alternating yoga with five mile walks. She is thinking about starting a support group for Pinterest and House Hunters addicts.
Website: http://www.laurenlinwood.com
Blog: http://laurenlinwood.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laurenlinwood
Twitter: http://twitter.com/LaurenLinwood
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Linwood/e/B00CSSG8BC
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7091840.Lauren_Linwood
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