Cowboy Lovin' Day 16: More from BLUEST HEART

Thank you to everyone who has made the launch of my second western romance, Bluest Heart, so special! I just received the launch date for the third book in the Wayback Ridge trilogy today - but you'll have to wait until later in the month to find out when and to get the first insider's look. Today I'm giving everyone here at Cowboy Lovin' another look at Bluest Heart...

"You remember that night behind the stable?"

She let out a small, throaty laugh. "Seems like forever ago, but yeah. Your hair was a lot longer then."

"Yours, too." He could remember it curtaining their faces, the tips of silky, red curls tickling his cheeks. Tracing the line of pearly buttons from the hem of her midnight blue blouse to the open neck-line, he touched the teardrop-shaped pearl on the thin gold chain around her neck which reminded him of the moon that night. "You were my first."

She lifted her gaze to his. Tenderness warred with uncertainty in the whiskey-colored depths. "Me, too."

His heart pattered at the memory. "I always liked that about us."

She nodded, frowning. "I was crazy about you."

The tip of his thumb traced the bottom edge of her lip. "So why didn’t it last?"

She looked beyond him, remembering. "Because however much I wanted to be with you, I knew I would be leaving the first chance I got. I wasn’t go-ing to let anything or anyone stand in my way."

"You figured I would?"

"Casey, we were so young," she told him. "Who knows what you or I would’ve done?"

He paused, running a hand over her hair. "Just for the record," he murmured, lips brushing her cheek, "I would’ve let you go."

She sighed, reaching up to clutch his upper arm. The muscle under her hand and his sleeve warmed. "Why hasn’t anyone snatched you up yet?"

"Because you’re the only one I ever wanted, Josie," he told her, cupping her chin in his hand to look her in the eyes as he said it. "The only one."

BLUEST HEART © Amber Leigh Williams

If you wanna read more, you can purchase Bluest Heart for just $3.75 at The Wild Rose Press! Though the books don't necessarily have to be read in order, you can purchase the first book in the Wayback Ridge trilogy, award-winning Blackest Heart, for $3.oo at TWRP or in the paperback anthology The Way Back Home. And remember to stay tuned for an exclusive first look at the third book in the Wayback Ridge trilogy, Keefe's story, later this month! And, oh heck, I'll leave you with a peek into Blackest Heart, too - and this one's a hottie :)

He needed a drink.

Pulling a glass down from the cabinet, he dropped a few chunks of ice into it then found the bottle of whiskey he kept in the liquor cabinet. The door shut behind him, but he didn’t look up.

Safer not to look at her while he was working to tether the humming beast in his blood.

Her heels clacked across the wood floor. He smelled her a moment before she propped a hip against the counter next to him. He sipped his whiskey, careful not to look at her.

Stella reached for the whiskey bottle. Before he could get her a glass, she tipped it up to her mouth and drank it straight, glowing green eyes on his. He waited until she set the bottle down. When she raised her hand to wipe her mouth, he latched onto it, holding it away. Before he could tell himself it was crazy, before he could convince himself it wasn’t a smart move, his mouth was on hers, devouring her.

Her taste was devastating. Whiskey and champagne and the underlying thrill of Stella. He couldn’t believe he was doing it. Arm wrapped around her waist, he pulled her hard against him. His tongue scraped over hers, hands roaming over her long, slim back. A hum sounded deep in her throat. The boil in his loins turned to fire. The flames ignited his blood, turning reason to ash. He had only one clear thought.

She was his. Stella Ridge was his.

She melted into the kiss, letting it come like she’d expected it, wanted it, waited for it. He pushed her back against the counter, pressing his body against hers. Fingers dived into the taut knot on the back of her head, prying it apart until her hair spilled into his palm, free. Her arms wound around his neck, bringing him close, though he couldn’t get any closer. There wasn’t room for breath between them. His heart raged against hers, pumping like a mad machine.

He thought of taking her here in the kitchen. On the bar. On the floor. The closest flat surface.

He opened his eyes to see hers. Her dreamy green irises were hooded, half-closed. Looking into their languid depths, he knew it couldn’t be that way. It would behot. It would be fast. But he’d be damned if it was going to be nothing but a thoughtless romp on his kitchen counter.

BLACKEST HEART (c) Amber Leigh Williams

P.S. I should mention that there's still time to win a Victoria's Secret Gift Card from Marguerite Arotin below....