Her cowboy rival, p.26
Her Cowboy Rival, page 26
“From her or from them?”
That made them laugh again.
“I’ll take pity on you,” she said with a wink. She grabbed his hand. “Come on. There’s some people I want you to meet.”
“Who?” he asked as she led them away, her steps bouncy and the baby firmly tucked against her hip. She looked really good like that.
“Oh, everybody.”
And she pulled him toward the crowd, pulling him deeper into her world, setting the pace just like he’d asked.
Want more hot cowboy romance? Pick up Reunited with Her Cowboy, the next in A Cowboy of Her Own! Keep reading for a sneak peek!
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To meet the rest of the Moreno family, past and present, turn the page!
* * *
They created their painful past together—and together is the only way they’ll escape it…
* * *
Five years ago, Josh Merrill was a hard-driving, fast-living bad boy with only one good thing in his life: Leonora Harper. But one reckless night, Josh shattered both their lives. Now he’s back and determined to prove he’s a changed man.
* * *
Leonora has spent the past five years putting her life back together. Her family might be smothering her, but it’s a small price to pay for their help. After all, she would still be in pieces if it weren’t for them. But when Josh comes crashing back, he tempts her to see things differently. Can she really take back her independence… and him?
* * *
Everyone in town knows the damage they can do to one another, but Josh and Leonora can’t keep apart. Are their families right? Or is it finally time for the two of them to take a shot at redemption and lasting love?
* * *
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Reunited with Her Cowboy
The deep brown of her eyes went cloudy, her lips parting as her breathing turned erratic, and he felt her skin flush beneath his palm.
He knew that look of hers. He’d seen it hundreds, no thousands, of times before.
She wanted to be kissed.
He had no right, and this was the very last thing he should be doing, but he leaned forward anyway, crossing the space between them until they were the barest inch apart.
He didn’t actually touch his lips to hers—instead, he let his breath wash over her lips, let her breath wash over him, let the air from their lungs intermingle and pass from one to the other. Which was a thousand times more intimate than any kiss could have been.
But even though he’d once been reckless and a reprobate and a rebel, and irreparably hurt her because of it, he remained a selfish, greedy bastard at heart, so he caught her lips.
That first touch after so long apart was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. He’d imagined kissing her again—some days in prison, that seemed like it was all he did—but the imagining was nothing compared to the reality. Which of course he’d known, but imaginings were imaginings and this was reality.
The scent of her surrounding him, the soft, sighing noises she made as he kissed her, even the cadence of her pulse beneath his fingertips was all too familiar and all too new, all at once.
When had he first kissed her? He couldn’t quite remember, probably because he was in the middle of kissing her, and probably because that first kiss was nothing like this first kiss.
That other first kiss had just been two sixteen-year-olds fumbling together. Sweet enough, but it didn’t have the bite of history behind it.
This first kiss was forbidden. This first kiss held their entire past, heavy and terrible. And maybe, just maybe a hint of their future—light and sweet.
He wanted to kiss her like this all day, but he knew he couldn’t. Their hour was almost up.
But still he tempted fate and deepened the kiss, determined to taste as much of her as he could if this was the last chance he would have.
* * *
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* * *
When star crossed lovers end up in a shotgun wedding, they’ll have to fight for a love that was meant to be.
* * *
Jace Merrill has only ever hungered for one thing: a ranch of his own. After years of roaming, he’s found the place he’ll make his own. But he’s also discovered a new desire—a beautiful, unattainable rancher’s daughter.
* * *
Catarina Moreno wants only one thing: a home of her own free from her stifling mother. As a dutiful daughter, she can only do as her parents command, including avoiding all the men they deem unworthy. Until an American cowboy rides onto her father’s rancho and tempts her to forget her duty… and herself.
* * *
After her angry father catches them in a moment of weakness, they find themselves in a shotgun marriage. Soon, old family secrets surface, and they’ll find themselves battling to save their marriage—and their unexpected love.
* * *
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Summer Chaparral
San Jacinto Mountains, Southern California
Late summer, 1898
* * *
“Are you enjoying yourself, Señor?” She kept her voice low and husky. “You certainly attracted quite a bit of attention from the ladies here.” There—now that she’d said it so casually, he’d never guess at the irritation it caused her.
“No more attention than you yourself got from the men.” So he had noticed. “You were watching me, hmm? I got the impression you didn’t care.”
“Where would you get an idea like that?” She kept her tone as falsely casual as his had been. “You seemed to be ignoring me as hard as you possibly could.”
He smiled at that, the white flash of his teeth an echo of the moon’s glow behind him. “Now why would I ignore a lady who was obviously trying so hard to get my attention? Especially when she’s the prettiest woman in Cabrillo.”
She seized on the compliment, while ignoring the suggestion she’d appeared desperate. “If that’s true, why didn’t you ask me to dance?”
“How was I supposed to make my way through all those beaux you had by your side? I’d have needed a stick to fend off all those men.”
As if it were her fault she was so popular. “So you passed the time by dancing with every other woman in town. I see.”
His head lowered to hers. “Darlin’, I don’t think you do.” His voice was a velvet growl, softer than the evening air. “If I so much as glanced sideways at you, your pa would be on me like a coyote on a chicken. But I got you out here, didn’t I?”
She gave him her slow, sidelong look, her very bones vibrating with anticipation. “Only to ask for your handkerchief back, correct?” she dared him.
“I don’t want the damn handkerchief. But you wanted my attention.” He spread those large hands wide. “You got it.”
He admitted that she’d won the field, and in doing so scored a victory for himself. Such gestures weren’t in the rules of the game—she set the rules and the men followed. She was in fast-rising water with this man, but having his attention was a thrill too heady to relinquish.
“And what should I do with it, now that I have it?” she asked breathily.
“Well, a man does like a compliment now and then.” His smile gleamed again.
“Oh, I don’t need to tell a man like yourself just how strong and handsome you are. Or didn’t Margaret and Lily and Agnes tell you that already?” She pushed her inflection toward playful, to remind him that she would set the tone. “No, I suppose those silly girls botched the whole thing. Thankfully, I’m quite accomplished.” She took in the outline of his well-shaped head, the broad lines of his labor-hewn shoulders, his lean hips sliding into long, strong legs.
There was so much to compliment on this man; too much, really. An abundance of masculine riches.
I want more.
“Shall I tell you I’d love to run my fingers through your hair, to test if it’s as thick and soft as it appears? Would that do for a compliment?” She’d never in her life been so forward, so bold with a man. The kisses she’d stolen had been silly, giggling affairs, no more serious than a wink across a room.
“I think that’d do just fine.” His head dipped a fraction closer to hers, his voice lowering to a rough whisper. “And that could be arranged, if you’d like.”
Slowly, she threaded her fingers in his thick hair. Amazingly, it was even softer than it looked. She stroked gently, the strands entangling her fingers as if reluctant to release her, her fingernails lightly raking his scalp, in thrall to the moment and her own boldness at touching a man in this way.
In the silence of the rose garden, his breaths grew deeper and slower, her own breathing slowing in response, matching his. His head dipped, allowing her access to the warm, smooth skin of the back of his neck. As she caressed this new frontier, his head moved lower, as if compelled by her touch to crowd closer to her lips.
With one last dip he was there, his mouth brushing hers, his mustache tickling her upper lip. His lips were smooth, warm and firm—very different from the bristly mustache above them. The contrast sent those delicious shivers running up and down her spine.
But it wasn’t enough.
I want more.
* * *
Available Now!
Also by Genevieve Turner
Las Morenas
Summer Chaparral
Autumn Sage
High Country Spring
The Farmer Takes a Wife
The Sheriff Takes a Bride
Las Morenas: The Complete Series
A Cowboy of Her Own
Reunited with Her Bull Rider
Her Billionaire Rancher Boss
Her Bull Rider’s Baby
Rescued by Her Fire Fighter
Her Cowboy Rival
Reunited with Her Cowboy
A Cowboy of Her Own: The Complete Series
Always a Cowboy
Forever a Soldier
Forever a Maverick
Forever a Heartbreaker
Forever a Bad Boy
Los Caballeros
The Gaucho’s Lady
The Hidalgo’s Wife
About the Author
Genevieve Turner is a USA Today bestselling author of western romance. She loves cowboys, the rural life, and happily ever afters. She lives in beautiful Southern California with the perfect number of kids, dogs, and turkeys—and probably too many chickens.
You can find her on the web at www.genturner.com.
Genevieve Turner, Her Cowboy Rival
