My schedule has been knocked wonky over the past few months and Chad's book, Embattled Home, has been bumped back a few months. I'm on a roll right now and under a traveling deadline, so I hope to have him done within the next few weeks. Fingers Crossed!
Anyway, I thought I would post the cover for those who haven't seen it and add a brand new, never before read excerpt!
And now the unedited, subject-to-change excerpt~~
“I
promise you I won’t turn around. Harper is outside, Flynn is in the barn and
Mercy is in the house with the family. Everybody is taken care of. You need to
take a few minutes for yourself.”
Lora
looked at the temptation. The water was steaming. She wondered if it was as hot
as it looked. Reaching out, she ran her fingers through the water. Oh, it felt
so good. She glanced at Chad’s broad back. She knew for a fact she could strip
naked and dance the tango and he would not turn around. He’d given his word.
The gazebo was enclosed, the shutters drawn. Nobody would see her.
Screw
it.
Before
she could talk herself out of it, she stripped out of her clothes, dropping
them onto a low bench along the wall. Cheyenne’s one-piece slid up over her
hips easily and fit her surprisingly well. A little gappy in the boob area, but
there was nothing to be done for it. She then unwound the Ace bandage from her
wrist, dropping it on top of the clothes. Crossing to the stairs she slid a
foot into the water, moaning at the warmth that welcomed her. Stepping all the
way into the tub, she lowered herself into the water and pushed to the side.
Shuddering with the sharp temperature, but relishing it, she settled into the
corner of the tub, her head resting on the back edge.
The
heat sank into her bones, chasing away the chill of the past few months. It was
the warmest she’d been in as long as she could remember. “This is heavenly,
Chad.”
He
chuckled quietly, but didn’t turn around. “I thought you’d like it. My mother
is a soaker too, bubble bath, the whole bit, so my dad got her this a few years
ago. She likes to take midnight breaks, when the ranch is completely quiet.”
“Does
your dad join her?”
“Mm,
sometimes. When she can talk him into it.”
Lora
swirled her hand through the water, restless.
“Chad,”
she hesitated.
“Yes?”
He
turned his head enough that she could see his face in profile, lit from behind
by the house lights, but he kept his eyes down on the ground. As he’d promised
he would.
“Are
we safe here?” she whispered.
“Yes,”
he answered firmly. “I wouldn’t have brought you out here if I thought
otherwise.”
He
faced the house, feet planted. Looking at him from behind, his back seemed so
broad, his legs so long. She wanted to explore him, to take her time and touch
every square inch of his body.
Lora
knew, though, that he would never make the first move. It would be up to her to
do that.
And
she didn’t know if she had the courage.
Cheyenne’s
challenging words came back to her, and her resolve solidified.
“Chad?”
“Yes?”
“Can
you turn around please?”
He’d
been still before, but now it was if he were frozen in time. For several long
seconds, she didn’t even hear him breathe. But then he swiveled on one boot
heel to face her.
Lora
sank down into the water until only her shoulders were exposed. His gaze
travelled over her as if he could see more, though.
“Would
you join me?”
Lora
actually heard him swallow from several feet away and it gave her courage that
he was nervous.
“I
don’t know if that’s such a great idea.”
“Please?”
He
took a step forward across the deck, then a few more, until he stood at the
side of the tub. “I’ll have to take the prosthetic off,” he admitted.
Lora
hadn’t even thought about that. “Okay.” She was struck with something, then,
and she grinned. “Want me to turn around?”
She
thought she’d been funny but he gave her the strangest look.
“If
you keep giving me smiles like that, you can look at anything you want.”
Her laughter faded at the
sincerity she saw in his shadowed face and her heart started to thud as his
fingers reached for the snaps on his shirt.
~*~*~*~
Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for a release date for Embattled Home!
