.jpg)
Tour wide giveaway for a digital bundle including: RODEO QUEEN, THE COWBOY & THE ANGEL and LEARNING THE ROPES
Runaway Cowboy
Rodeo #3.5
By: T.J. Kline
Releasing February 3rd, 2015
Avon Impulse
”You had your chance, and you threw it away…“
Five years ago,
Jen woke up with a ring on her finger and her fiancé nowhere to be found. She
swore she’d gotten over the betrayal, but when Clay unexpectedly hires on with
the rodeo for a week, she finds herself torn between passion and regret.
Clay left
intending never to see Jen again. He’s been running from his troubled past for
far too long, and it’s not a life he wants for her. But it’s hard to run from
the past when the past is your own family, and Clay finds himself thrown back
into the chaos he thought he’d finally left behind.
Will the truth
drive Jen away, or is there a second chance at happily ever after for this
runaway cowboy?
“I was hoping to find you
out here.”
Jennifer stared at him,
silently, not sure whether she wanted to move toward him or run away. It didn’t
really matter, since she couldn’t seem to get her feet moving anyway. His eyes
seemed to glow from within, but she didn’t want to name the emotion she could
easily read on his face. Her brain finally connected the synapses to get her
legs to react, and she took a step backward.
Where are you going?
She didn’t know and she
didn’t care. Right now, all she wanted was to not be caught by the longing in
his eyes that warned her he was about to kiss her again.
“Jen, don’t. Don’t run
away from me.” She heard the pleading note in his voice, but instead of feeling
sympathetic, something in her snapped.
“I’m not the one who runs,
Clay. That’s you.”
She was grateful for the
horse tied in the aisle and ducked behind the mare, putting more distance
between them. She set the bucket on the ground and reached for a curry comb,
rubbing the animal down. “I don’t have anything to run from. You’re the one
with one woman waiting in the house for you while you chase me down in the
barn.” She hoped he could see the fury in her eyes, the pent-up anger at his
betrayal that was flooding her body.
He moved around the back
of the horse, as quick as a rattlesnake strike, and grabbed her hand, turning
her to face him. “I left because I had to. I wasn’t running.”
“Bullshit!”
She didn’t want to hear
his excuses or his lies. The venom that had been festering in her for the last
five years poured into her blood, seeping from the wound that had never healed
in her heart. She threw the comb into the bucket and shoved him away from her.
The movement did little to give her the space she needed to move away, and Clay
grasped her other wrist, holding her immobile. She thrashed against him, her hands
slipping away from his, fists pounding against his chest and shoulders until he
wound his fingers through hers, holding her hands trapped behind her. Clay
pulled her against the wall of his chest. Her breath came in short pants. Tears
she hadn’t realized were falling wet her lips as he held her hostage. She
gritted her teeth together, trying not to notice the heat emanating from his
body, scorching hers. Regret for the past replaced the anger; need made way for
a new kind of agony. She didn’t want to feel his thumbs loosen their hold and
begin tracing circles against her palms, which were still held behind her back.
She didn’t want to see the way his eyes had turned dark and hot, pained, and
tortured—the same way she felt inside.
WHAT MAKES A WOMAN LOVE A COWBOY?
There are so many
different types of heroes for romance readers to choose from – billionaires,
bikers, firemen, military, dukes – but one man has stood tall in romance-land
for many years, a ten-gallon hat above the rest. From historical romance to
contemporary, cowboys fascinate and inspire fantasies around the globe.
A cowboy is a man’s man.
They might range from a take-charge Alpha hero to a sweet, charming Beta or
anything in between but one fact always holds true – he’s a manly man. Able to
mend a fence and rope a steer just before heading home to tenderly make love to
his heroine. He can hold his liquor of choice, usually whiskey or beer, and can
hold his own in a bar fight or watching football with the guys. A cowboy
embodies the manliest pursuits and practically oozes testosterone.
He’s capable and fearless.
There’s something about a man who can do anything to protect the woman he
loves, whether it’s fighting for her, shooting a gun, or climbing on a wild,
bucking horse. Because his livelihood depends on getting the job done, and done
well, a woman knows a cowboy isn’t going to rest until every need is met
whether on the ranch, in the rodeo, or in the bedroom.
Don’t forget the scruff,
the dust, the boots and those butt-curving jeans. There’s something about a
cowboy’s “uniform” that is just sexy. Since he is such a manly guy, he doesn’t
need to shave daily and that five o’clock shadow, that raspy scruff reminds you
that there is a rough, rugged side to this man. You expect to smell outdoors on
him when he pulls you into his arms. You expect to feel delicious callouses on
his hands as they touch you.
Finally, there is
something about watching a man in the saddle. The way his hips rock, moving
instinctively. They say dancing is an indicator of a man as a lover but a woman
can tell more about a man as a lover by the way he rides a horse. Are his hands
gentle or demanding? Does he move with the animal or force it into submission?
That’s a reason, if I’ve ever heard one, to “save a horse, ride a cowboy.”
There will be many types
of heroes as long as romance novels are written but as long as men continue to
work ranches, ride the rodeo or embody the wildness of the Western frontier,
the cowboy will always be there to make our hearts beat like the galloping
hooves of the horses they ride.
T. J. Kline was raised competing in rodeos and
rodeo queen competitions since the age of 14, She has thorough knowledge of the
sport as well as the culture involved. She has had several articles about rodeo
published in the past in small periodicals as well as a more recent how-to
article for RevWriter. She is also an avid reader and book reviewer for both
Tyndale and Multnomah.
Thank you for hosting RUNAWAY COWBOY today!
ReplyDelete