The Men of At Ease Ranch, book 2
by Donna Michaels
by Donna Michaels
Kissing the sexy soldier was a dare she couldn’t resist…
By-the-book event planner Beth Brannigan’s best friend dared her to kiss a cowboy. She should have said no. Instead, she said please…again and again. If her brother finds out she’s dating—okay, kissing—okay, sleeping with—one of his military buddies, he’ll kill her. Assuming he doesn’t kill his friend first.
Former Army Ranger Brick Mitchum isn’t a relationship kind of guy. But then he meets Beth and starts to wonder if maybe it’s time he settled down. She’s mysterious. Unpredictable. Curvy in every way he needs… And hiding something. He’s just got to figure out what.
The best damn fantasy Brick Mitchum ever had hit him in the middle of the Braxton fair, of all places…and he was in no hurry for it to end. The gorgeous, green-eyed woman from two weekends ago miraculously appeared out of nowhere and laid a lip-lock on him that sent all the blood storming straight to his crotch.
She had to be a figment of his imagination. How else could he explain how they were both back in Braxton today and happened to bump into each other at the fair in a town of over forty-thousand people? The odds of them being there at the same exact time was not only impossible, it was improbable. It sure as hell wasn’t a coincidence. He didn’t believe in them.
And yet, here she was.
The sweet little thing nibbled and tasted and let out a breathy sigh of pleasure that had him harder than the sledgehammer used in the strongman game down the fairway. Part innocence and part hot-as-hell in a lacey peach sundress, Beth was already halfway to ringing his bell. Doing his best to keep cool and let her run the show, he tried to concentrate on the fact Cord was waiting for him at the auction, but then she went and brushed his bottom lip with her tongue.
During the eleven years he was in the Army—the last eight as a Ranger—Brick had planned and carried out enough missions to know that if you wanted something to happen, you made it happen. And, hell yeah, he was making this happen.
With a low growl, he shoved his hands in her soft caramel-colored waves and held her head while he took over the kiss. Deep, long passes with his tongue brought her essence to him and a soft whimper to her throat. He loved how she clung to his shoulders, practically climbing his body in a show of need that rivaled his own. Brick knew from their hot weekend they had a killer chemistry, but the way this simple kiss morphed out of control in the space of a heartbeat shocked the hell out of him.
All too soon she drew back, staring up at him with heat smoldering in those incredible eyes he hadn’t been able to get out of his head the past two weeks. He’d tried. Oh, he tried. After all, they’d had a fun, no-strings-attached fling. Nothing more. Hell, they hadn’t even exchanged last names. No need. They’d kept it light. Fun. Hot. He might have broken his one-date rule with her, but he wasn’t sticking around Texas. Once the ranch was in the clear and the veterans’ barracks were completed, he was Vegas bound to work in his former commander’s security firm.
Didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the moment at hand, though.
“Well, hello to you, too.” He grinned as his hands made themselves at home at her waist. They certainly knew every inch of her delectable body. And itched for a reunion. “I’m not complaining, mind you, but what was that for?”
Color increased in her cheeks. “It was a dare.”
A dare?
He raised a brow. The woman was full of surprises. “Someone dared you to kiss me?”
“Sort of. I was supposed to kiss the next cowboy to walk through the gate. I’m just grateful it was you.”
Well, hell. “You were willing to kiss a stranger?”
“No.” She released him completely and stepped back, a flicker of unease clouding her gaze. “I refused until you strode in and I saw an opportunity to make this work to my advantage.”
Former Army Ranger Stone Mitchum doesn’t have time for sex. Since starting a company with his brother and two buddies, he’s had more important things on his mind. Like transitioning veterans back into society. But when his curvy new tenant falls into his arms—literally—his libido snaps to attention.
Jovy Larson has four weeks to prove she’s worthy of taking over the family business. Her challenge? Sell gluten-free, vegan food—in the middle of cattle country, Texas. It’s a tough task, but not half as tough as fighting her attraction to her sexy, surly landlord.
Before she knows it, Jovy’s tangling sheets with the hot cowboy, stalked by a jealous cow, and strategizing ways to help Stone’s ranch. But by the time her lease runs out and the test is over, she’s faced with a new challenge…competing against Stone’s sense of duty to win his heart.
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