For me, weddings have become soooo involved and horrendously expensive, they seem to miss the real purpose of the day - two people loving each other to commit to a life together. Kind of like Christmas misses the most important part of the season, you know?
Call me crazy, but an intimate setting is all I'd need and the man I love. To hell with the flowers, bridesmaids, grooms, relatives, and the other junk.
Lissa Lee feels the same. She's the heroine of my newest erotic romance, a romantic comedy about a fake wedding, a love that wasn't supposed to be, and one very hot Texas rancher.
The book releases June 24 (don't have a link yet) from Booktrope. Here's the cover art, which I love, the blurb, and a brief excerpt. Enjoy!
Blurb:
Their desire wasn’t
supposed to be real…
With millions willed to her in an incentive trust, Lissa can
get the dough to start her own country music label when she meets one of the no-contest clauses. Namely, reach middle
age in twenty years, work in the hated family business for a decade, or marry
someone not in the music biz.
Marriage it is, at least for a year to satisfy her greedy brother
who wants the inheritance.
Enter Cass, a hot Texas rancher who dampens Lissa’s panties.
With a pile of medical bills from his brother’s accident, Cass agrees to wed
Lissa. She’s sweet to look at, surprisingly pleasant for an Atlanta debutante, and
makes his jeans feel tight as hell despite their no-sex contract.
Uh-huh. The devil’s in the details. Longing gazes turn to tender
intimacy and wild nights with pretend feeling all too real.
Damn shame it may be too late with her brother gunning for them
both.
Excerpt:
Cass leaned to the left, but the sun
still reflected off the car’s windshield, hiding the passengers from him. Not
that it mattered since he knew who they were. An Atlanta debutante who wanted
to get around a trust and her attorney who was helping her do it. Sweet Jesus,
what had he gotten himself into?
It wasn’t like Cass to engage in fraud
of any kind. Before the lousy drought, the drop in beef prices, and then his kid
brother’s problems, he’d been doing well. Now, not so much with no financial
institution wanting to help. Only the Bank of Lissa Lee had answered his
appeal.
Now that she was there, Cass wanted to
run.
He was certain she wasn’t only spoiled,
but probably had a voice that would shatter safety glass, not to mention looks
only a blind mother could love. Her attorney had refused to send Cass a picture
of her, warning him not to search for one on the Internet.
“This is business,” he’d said in a soft
yet nasty voice. “If you look into Ms. Lee at all, I’ll know, and the deal’s
off.”
Cass hadn’t been certain whether the
man had been blowing smoke or not, but couldn’t risk it. He’d told himself to
be a good boy for the attorney and a bad boy for Lissa while also making a
mockery of marriage. That wasn’t like him either.
He was ready to go back inside the
house and throw the lock when the driver’s side door popped open and a balding
blond guy got out. “Mr. Bronson?”
Unfortunately. “Uh-huh. Mr. St.
Claire?”
“That’s right.” He went around to the
passenger door and opened it.
Cass took a deep breath, reminding
himself this was necessary to pay the bills, keep the land and house. He wasn’t
even expected to consummate the—
His thoughts stopped dead at the young
woman who stepped out.
Her hair fell in soft waves to her
waist and was the color of a Texas sunset…shimmering red with a few gold
highlights.. The dress she wore was short and sleeveless with a scooped neck
but no shape. Didn’t matter. A stiff breeze pushed the pale yellow fabric
against the faint curve of her tummy, smallish breasts, and tightened nipples.
She wasn’t wearing a bra.
Cass’ cock went instantly stiff, while
his gaze prowled down her. Damn, he couldn’t detect a panty line either. Now
his rod was beginning to ache. He glanced lower still.
Lord, but she had nice thighs, slender
calves, and ankles too, not to mention tiny feet in her wedged sandals. They
added about three inches to her height. Barefooted, she’d be one mighty small
woman.
As she shifted her weight, which
couldn’t have been more than a hundred and twenty pounds, Cass glanced up to
see her creamy complexion—not one freckle—and one of the prettiest faces a
woman could have, along with a surprisingly vulnerable expression. As though
she wasn’t certain he’d approve of her.
How could any normal man find her
lacking?
Her eyes were pale blue, circled with
dark lashes, her nose as delicate as the rest of her features…all except for
her mouth. It was pink, her lips as full as Angelina Jolie’s, and looking to be
hotter than this day.
He swallowed.
“This is Ms. Lissa Lee,” Mr. St. Claire
said.
Cass had to hold back a grin of delight
since this arrangement was supposed to have zero fun, and she looked kind of
daunted. Poor thing. Feeling oddly protective, Cass wanted to assure her that
everything was going to be all right, but hadn’t a clue how it could be. They
were supposed to live together in wedded un-bliss for a year, which meant they
were both going to be celibate.
Somehow,
Cass hadn’t thought of that until now, and suddenly realized he was fucked big
time. Holding back a sigh, he took off his hat and went down the steps to claim
her.
