Sun warmed Tess as she and Gage stood against the railing of the cruise ship and watched the crystal waters of the Bahamas pa.s.s by on their way to the ship's next stop.

They rested their forearms on the railing, their hands clasped. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"It's been a wonderful week." She tilted her head to look up at him.

He lowered his head so that he could brush his lips over hers. "The week's not over yet."

"I'm glad." She gave a happy sigh. "I love having you all to myself."

He brought her around to face him, his expression serious. "I'll never allow anything to come between us and I won't let anyone ever hurt you again."

She gave him a soft smile. "I'm not worried."

"So when do I get to read the first chapter of your book?" he asked. "You've been keeping it to yourself since you started writing it."

"I wanted it to be a surprise." She beamed at him. "I finished the first chapter before we left."

He rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "I'm so glad you're following your dream. Everyone should have that chance."

"It's all thanks to you." She looped her arms around his neck. "If you hadn't encouraged me, I don't know if I would ever have had the courage to try."

"I think you would have." He settled his hands at her hips. "It's been inside you all along."

She reached up and kissed him, her heart swelling with her feelings for him. "I love you. I love everything about you."

He grinned. "Everything?"

She nodded. "The good, the bad, the beautiful and every other little thing there might be."

"I love you, Tess." He caught her face in his hands. "When I saw you for the first time behind the bar in Nectars, I knew you'd be mine."

She rested her head against his chest. "You belong to me, too."

He kissed the top of her head. "Forever."

Also by Cheyenne McCray

"Riding Tall" Series Branded For You Roping Your Heart Fencing You In "Rough and Ready" Series Silk and Spurs Lace and La.s.sos Champagne and Chaps Satin and Saddles Roses and Rodeo Lingerie and Lariats Lipstick and Leather "Altered States" Series Dark Seduction "Dark Enforcers" Series Night's Captive Lexi Steele Novels The First Sin The Second Betrayal The Temptation From St. Martin's Press: "Night Tracker" Series Demons Not Included No Werewolves Allowed Vampires Not Invited Zombies Sold Separately Vampires Dead Ahead "Magic" Series Forbidden Magic Seduced by Magic Wicked Magic Shadow Magic Dark Magic Single t.i.tle Moving Target Chosen Prey Anthologies No Rest for the Witches Real Men Last All Night Legally Hot Chicks Kick b.u.t.t Hotter than h.e.l.l Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romances Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romances

Excerpt... Roping Your Heart

Cheyenne McCray "I guess that will have to do for today." Cat brushed her hair out of her eyes as she started to organize the papers on Blake's desk. "We can work on this more another day." She glanced from the papers to him. He was sitting in the chair beside her now, in front of the desk. "My schedule is still pretty open," she said. "When is a good time for us to get together again?"

He was studying her, his gaze so intense that she felt the heat of it on her skin. "Friday night at seven," he said.

"Friday night?" It took a moment to register that he was asking her out. "Oh." She hesitated and he kept looking at her with that same dark look. "I-sure."

She felt warning bells going off in her head, but too late. It wasn't good to spend so much time with the man. She was going to fall head over heels for him again.

If she hadn't already.

She looked away from the intensity of his gaze and got to her feet. From her peripheral vision she saw him stand, then felt the heat of his body when he moved closer to her.

"I think we made pretty good progress." Her heart pounded faster and she busied herself with making each stack on the desktop perfectly neat. "We might be able to get everything done in one more meeting." She rushed her words, feeling like she was babbling.

"KitCat." His voice was soft and she went still at the low, throbbing quality of it.

Slowly, she lifted her eyes to meet his. He was looking at her intently. Her lips parted, but she couldn't think of a thing to say.

He took her by the shoulders, bringing her face to face with him. "d.a.m.n, Cat. I don't know how much longer I can be around you without having you."

Her eyes widened and her lips parted. He wanted her?

He gripped her upper arms tighter, the pressure of his fingers almost hurting her. "d.a.m.n," he said again before he jerked her up against him and brought his mouth hard down on hers.

She gasped as he took control of her mouth, kissing her hard. It was more primal than the night before, almost wild. She didn't remember him kissing like this before. It was as if the man he had been before had matured, becoming more dominant and decisive. She knew he'd decided he was going to have her. If she said no, he'd let her go, but she didn't want to say no. She wanted him.

A groan rose up in him and she followed his lead, letting him take the kiss to a level of pa.s.sion she'd never experienced before. He released her shoulders and slid his hands over her blouse to her waist then cupped her a.s.s and pulled her up tight to him. The feel of his erection against her belly sent fire through her straight between her thighs.

She breathed in his clean, masculine scent and reveled in his taste and the feel of his hands on her. She moved her hands up his chest, feeling the soft cotton of his T-shirt beneath her palms, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against him.

When he broke the kiss, he moved his lips along her jawline to her throat. His stubble felt rough against her skin but something about the sandpapery feel of it made her even more excited.

"I'm not going to be able to help myself with you." He groaned as he pulled her short skirt above her a.s.s and felt the silky panties underneath. The heat of his palms burned through the thin material to her skin and it almost felt like she was wearing nothing at all. "h.e.l.l, you'd better tell me now if you want to stop."

"Don't stop." She moaned, as he trailed his lips and tongue from the hollow of her throat to the V in her blouse.

He whirled her so that she was backed up against the desk and she had to brace her hands on the stacks of papers to either side of her in order to balance herself. She arched her back as he moved his hands to the b.u.t.tons on her blouse. His big fingers fumbled with the b.u.t.tons and he gave a low growl and grasped the material.

b.u.t.tons flew and she gasped as he tore the blouse open. She heard the ping of b.u.t.tons but was barely conscious of them as he pushed her blouse over her shoulders and down her arms before she shook it the rest of the way off.

Excerpt... Branded for You

Cheyenne McCray The afternoon was cooling off as it turned to dusk and then darkness descended on them. They each grabbed a light sweat jacket from the camper and slipped them on.

Ryan took a couple of steaks out of the cooler to cook over the fire. Megan sliced the potatoes and wrapped them in foil with b.u.t.ter and seasonings and put them in the coals first. Ryan b.u.t.tered, salted, and peppered the corn on the cob and wrapped them in foil, too. When it was time, they placed the corn along the edge of the fire. Ryan had cored out the onion and put b.u.t.ter in the center and wrapped it in foil and put it in the coals, as well. The steaks went on last, when everything else was just about finished cooking.

When it was ready, they sat on the camping chairs in front of the fire and ate dinner.

"This is unbelievable," Megan said with a smile.

Firelight flickered on her pretty features, casting shadows in the darkness as they ate. He thought about what he'd said to her earlier.

"I might be falling for you, Meg."

He didn't regret his words. He'd dated a lot of women in the past but there'd just been something missing. Something intangible that he hadn't been able to name.

He'd never been a love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy, but some thought so. He just wasn't going to hang in there with someone if he knew she wasn't the right one.

He'd never felt the same way with anyone that he did with Megan.

Last night he'd taken her hard and rough, and the memory caused his groin to ache. d.a.m.n she'd been amazing. But she needed to know that he wanted more from her than a night of good, hard s.e.x.

When they finished dinner and had cleaned up, he brought a blanket from the camper and handed it to her before he put out the fire. After he extinguished the fire, he lit a candle within a gla.s.s and metal hurricane lantern.

He took her by the hand. "I've got something I want to show you." Her hand was warm in his.

She smiled up at him, her smile causing something deep inside him to stir. He led her into the forest, candlelight from the hurricane lantern lighting the way. The candlelight was much gentler than a regular camping lantern and the shadows from it bounced from tree to tree.

"I saw a place somewhere over here," he murmured as they walked through the forest then came to a stop. "Here we go."

A small clearing lay on the other side of a fallen tree, a bed of leaves at the center of the clearing. They stepped over the tree and then he found a st.u.r.dy place to set the hurricane before taking the blanket from Megan and spreading it out on the leaves.

He slipped out of his jacket and set it on the fallen tree. "I'll keep you warm," he said as he held out his hand.

She looked up at him, slid off her sweat jacket, handed it to him and he set it on top of his own.

He sat on the blanket and beckoned to her. She eased onto her knees beside him and he cupped her face in his hands and lowered his head and kissed her.

Her kiss was sweet and his desire for her kicked into full gear. He wanted to take her hard again, right now. But more importantly, he wanted to show her that it wasn't only about rough s.e.x with him. It was all about her.

When he drew away from the kiss, her lips were parted, hunger in her pretty green eyes.

"You're an incredible woman." He brushed his thumb over her lips, which trembled beneath his touch. "I've loved every minute of this weekend."

"So have I," she said, her voice just above a whisper. "I wish it didn't have to end."

"It doesn't." He nuzzled her hair that was silky now that it had dried. "When we return, we just pick right back up where we left off."

She smiled and he kissed her again. She felt so soft and warm in his arms. He slid his hand under her T-shirt, pleased she didn't have her bra on as he cupped her bare breast and rubbed his thumb over her nipple. He watched her expression as her lips parted and her eyes grew dark with need.

He drew the T-shirt over her head and set it on the fallen tree. Candlelight flickered, gently touching her bare shoulders and chest.

"You know how much I love your body and how beautiful I think you are," he murmured before stroking her nipples with the back of his hand.

He cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, feeling their weight in his hands before he lowered his head and sucked a nipple.

She gasped and leaned back so that her hands were braced behind her on the blanket, her back arched so that he had better access to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He pressed them together and moved his mouth from one to the other, sucking one nipple before moving his mouth to the other one. Her nipples were large and hard and he loved sucking on them.

"I want you on your back, looking at me." He adjusted her so that she was lying on the blanket. Her eyes glittered in the light, desire on her features.

He was surprised at how she made him want to go slow with her, to be gentle and show her how much he cared. She stirred things inside him he'd never felt with another woman.

Excerpt... Lingerie and Lariats

Cheyenne McCray When they'd finished dinner and washed up the dishes, she walked with him to the living room. They paused and stood in the center of the room as he studied her and she met his eyes. Her belly flip-flopped at his intense gaze. He looked her as if she was a treasure he wanted to protect.

But at the same time he looked at her like a man who wanted a woman. A look of pa.s.sion and need was in his gaze that couldn't be disguised.

He reached up and ran strands of her long hair through his fingers. "I want to kiss you, Renee."

She bit the inside of her lip as her own need expanded inside her. She slid her hands up his chest to his shoulders and offered him a smile. "I want you to."

His warm breath feathered across her lips as he lowered his mouth to hers. The intensity of the moment was filled with a kind of fire that made her burn inside.

Her eyelids fluttered closed as he brought his mouth to hers, and it was like magic sparked between them when their lips met. She felt as if her mind was spinning and stars glittered behind her eyes. She fell into the kiss, her head whirling, her heart pounding.

His taste made her want more of him and she made sounds of need and pleasure. He deepened the kiss and she gave a soft moan.