Sunday, February 27, 2011

Here's an excerpt from "The Cowboy Duet" coming out in March, 2011 from www.thewildrosepress.com

Susan stared at Teddy. His fear was really ridiculous. How many deaths happened each year in elevators? Any? She certainly never heard of any. Watching his discomfort grow as the minutes ticked on, she began to feel bad. She’d done it again; gotten him into another mess with her dumb ideas. Knowing the reputation of this old elevator, she shouldn’t have taken a chance. But now, how to get out of it? Or at least get through it until the security guard woke up from his nap and realized the elevator was stuck.

Should she start singing? Chewing her bottom lip, she immediately dismissed that idea; it wasn’t enough. Times like this called for drastic measures.

Her gaze raked him from his boots to his dark brown hair. He was still the sexiest man she’d ever known. Just staring at those muscular thighs through the denim was enough to make her pulse race.

A weird idea began to gel in her brain and her tummy fluttered with the thought. No, she couldn’t do that—could she? Would he even let her?

His evident agitation pushed her to realize she had no choice. She got him into this so she had to do whatever it took to help him get through, even if her own pride suffered. Besides, it wasn’t as if distracting him in the way she was thinking was going to be a hardship.

Before she could talk herself out it, she tipped her head and looked at him. Making her voice husky and low she asked, “You know what I’ve always wondered.”

Teddy didn’t pay any attention or even indicate he’d heard her.

Susan swallowed hard and pushed forward. “I’ve often wondered if all those stories I’ve heard about you are true.”

He turned his head and pinned her with a glare that made all her confidence completely disappear. “What stories?”

Drawing on every bit of her acting abilities yet again, she thrust herself into the role. “The stories that say you’re the best kisser in all of Texas, maybe even the entire Southwest.”

He grunted. “I can’t help it if women kiss and tell.”

She could only hope the tilt of his lips was a slight grin. “I don’t really believe it to be honest.”

He shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that I doubt it?”

“Not especially. Your opinion stopped mattering to me a long time ago.”

Ouch. That stung. She swallowed back the lump that rose in her throat at his harsh words. “You’re never going to forgive me for that are you?”

“Nope.” He went back to staring at the numbers.

“You know, I’ve kissed a lot of leading men on Broadway and in Hollywood. I’m a pretty good judge of a man’s kissing abilities.”

Tipping his head to the side, he regarded her. “Are you trying to make me prove I can kiss better than some pretty-boy actor?”

“I’m just saying that I can tell a good kisser from a bad one. I could give you my honest opinion.”

“You want to be kissed that bad do you?”