Desert
Blood by Anna Lowe
The
Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch Book 2
Genre:
PNR
Publisher:
Twin Moon Press
Date
of Publication:
April 2, 2015
ASIN:
B00TIUEVL2 / Number
of pages:
117 / Word
Count:
approx 31,000
Cover
Artist:
Fiona Jayde
Book
Description:
Heather
Luth knows nothing about the paranormal world until one awful night
changes everything. Now she’s on the run―straight into the arms
of forbidden love. Her mind knows better than to fall for Cody
Hawthorne’s sunny smile and mesmerizing voice, but her heart―and
destiny―have other ideas.
On
the surface, Cody is warm, witty, and fun, but beneath his carefree
facade, Heather sees a real man struggling to break free. Day by day,
Heather and Cody grow closer and closer, unable to resist their
simmering passion―while day by day, a serial murderer closes in on
his prey. Duty fights desire; fear wrestles trust as the human world
clashes with the paranormal in a tale of forbidden love.
There’s
more than meets the eye on Twin Moon Ranch, home to a pack of
shapeshifting wolves willing to battle for life and love.
Available
at Amazon
Excerpt:
Cody’s
gaze flicked to the fireflies in the bush, and she swore his eyes
danced in the same way. “We used to count them when we were
little,” he chuckled. “Well, we tried.”
Heather
tried it, just to silence the voice inside. One, two. Three. Four?
Hard to tell, the way they disappeared from one place and reappeared
in another. She noticed Cody slipping closer then noticed something
else. That Cody was the only man who could do that without setting
off a galloping fear. Ever since she’d been attacked, a man
stepping into line at the grocery store behind her was enough to make
her flinch. But Cody…the closer, the better.
Get
away! Just keep him in your dreams. Nice dreams. Intimate dreams,
where he’ll always be gentle and kind. Don’t let him close!
But
he was close. Closer now. Power glinted off him like the sun off the
ocean—power and something more. Not greed, not lust. Just…a
yearning. That was it.
Heather
searched for something, anything to say. “Guess I better go.” She
spoke the words, but her limbs refused to move. Not when he stood so
near.
“What’s
the rush? Got a date?” With his fair hair backlit by party lights,
he looked like the son of Apollo and not a mere mortal.
Heather
shook her head. “No rush.” Definitely no date. But didn’t he
have one—the dark-haired beauty? “You’re a good dancer,” she
blurted as the image swung through her mind.
“Only
with my sister. With anyone else, I’ve got two left feet.”
His
sister? Heather’s mind pulled up the image of the woman. “That’s
your sister?”
“My
half sister, Tina.” Cody cracked a smile. “Doesn’t mean she’s
only half bossy to her poor, innocent little brother.”
“Innocent?”
Little? Sweet, sensual, yes. But not innocent. And nowhere near
little.
The
golden smile of a guilty man flashed. “Absolutely innocent.”
“Why
do I doubt that?” she managed.
“I
don’t know. Why?”
“Oh,
just because.” Because I see the laughter in your eyes. Because
of the way you hide behind your smile. Because that nick in your ear
tells a different story.
She’d
been watching him the past few days. At first, she fell for that
happy-go-lucky cowboy persona. But every so often, she’d catch his
mask slipping, as it had when he watched his brother dance.
Underneath, Cody’s eyes flashed with fierce determination—to do
what, she couldn’t tell. Then he’d catch himself and paste the
smile back on. How often had she seen that in her students? Once a
child assumed a role—class clown, science nerd, beauty queen,
whatever—it was hard to let it go.
Cody.
Little boy, lost and lonely, or grown man, tough and unassailable? He
hadn’t quite found his balance between the two.
Right
now, the mask was firmly in place. “I was a very good boy!” He
winked. “If you leave out the time with the skunk and the glue on
the chair...”
She
knew the type exactly. And how hard it was to break out that
self-imposed persona. She turned to the car. “I really should get
moving.”
“No
dancing?”
Heather
shrugged. Not invited. She was an outsider here, just as she’d been
everywhere else.
“What’s
the hurry?”
“They
said I shouldn’t stay after dark.”
His
voice dropped, face earnest. “One dance before you go?”
She
tilted her head at him. “I thought you had two left feet.”
A
grin, small but sincere. She wanted to reach out and grab hold of
him—the real Cody, now. “Let me prove it.” The way the words
hit the air made Heather wonder what else he had to prove.
He
put his hand out, and the gesture brought her to a different place, a
different night. The night she nearly died. For a moment, all her
muscles threatened to shut down. Heather swallowed the scream,
blinking the panic away.
His
eyes narrowed on hers, and she caught her breath. Unlike the eyes of
that terrifying night, these were brown, tinged with gold. Safe eyes.
“Everything okay?” His voice was soft, coaxing her back from the
edge of a cliff. Heather nodded robotically. She could do this.
“I’m
fine.” Right. Now she was the one wearing a mask.
Slowly,
carefully, like a man handling a spooked filly, Cody led her to the
small space between her front bumper and a hitching post. His hands
were callused and strong. Comforting, even.
The
spinster’s voice was back in Heather’s head. Not so close!
But only her ears got the message; the rest of her was melting fast.
Cody
stepped into a slow dance. Not too close, not too tight, just…nice.
They fit together just right, her chin just over his shoulder, his
arm around the curve of her waist.
Get
away! Get home!
Home?
Home felt like right here.
Heather
promised herself she wouldn’t get carried away. She’d head home
soon. She’d—
Snuggle
her cheek against his? The salty scent of the sea was there, so crisp
and fresh she knew it wasn’t just cologne. Music drifted past,
maybe on the same magical ether that made her feet so light. Her head
felt light, too. The man who had turned down all of those women
wanted to dance with her.
Her
skin was tingling. “You definitely don’t have two left feet,”
she murmured. He kept his nose to her hair. God, that felt good.
Then
he stopped dancing and his eyes were on her lips, and it was
impossible to heed anything but the call to meet him halfway. He
leaned in just as she rocked forward on her toes, holding her breath
as they kissed.
It
was a meltdown kiss, long and light. So perfect that she had to close
her eyes to take it all in.
His
lips were soft. Silky. Innocent. Maybe the man hadn’t been
bullshitting her, after all.
About
the Author:
Anna
Lowe loves putting the "hero" back into heroine and letting
location ignite a passionate romance. She likes a heroine who is
independent, intelligent, and imperfect — a woman who's doing just
fine on her own. But give the heroine a good man (not to mention a
chance to overcome her own inhibitions) and she'll never turn down
the chance for adventure, nor shy away from danger.
Anna
is a middle school teacher who divides her time between coastal Maine
and a village in view of the Austrian Alps. She loves dogs, sports,
and travel — and letting those inspire her fiction.
Once
upon a time, she was a long-distance triathlete and soccer player.
Nowadays, she finds her balance with yoga, writing, and family time
with her husband and young children. On any given weekend, you might
find her hiking in the mountains or hunched over her laptop, working
on her latest story. Either way, the day will end with a chunk of
dark chocolate and a good read.
Giveaway
3
ebook copies Desert Moon
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