Book Three of the Open Window Series
Lyrical Press
Contemporary Romance
Buy at http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=548
On the road to recovery, sometimes it helps to circle back to
where it all began. She wants a new life, he wants a low maintenance wife. When
the storm clears, they both see exactly what they want.
BLURB
Azzette Bettencourt spilled brain cells and broke bones, but
three years later she's confident she'll return to her life in the lab to
create space-age laser gadgets. Unfortunately, her parents don't agree. They
compromise and she returns to her roots in Alaska to spend the summer at her cousin's
bed and breakfast. They're expecting her to relax, live an organic lifestyle
and discover her boundaries. She's expecting to build a revolutionary weather
sensor, her ticket back to an independent life.
Builder Aiden Shaughnessy's looking for time away from
raising the last of his six siblings. Bonus? Some good old Alaskan adventure.
If a fifties kind of woman wants to take care of him, life will be damn near
perfect. The one he finds can cook, but she's trickier than a double-blind
dovetail joint. Other than the fact she likes her diamonds inside a laser,
she's as much a handful as the siblings when they were younger. Except she's
made a gizmo that contributes to his brother's successful ascent of Mt. McKinley after the year's biggest storm. Is he
ready for a life with a woman as brilliant as Einstein, but with the curiosity
and attention span of a toddler
Warning: Carpenters, climbers, chickens and bears... Oh my!
Mini Excerpt:
My accident had interrupted the contract I was deeply
involved in. Progress had been stalled once I was out of the game. No one else
had been quite able to follow my thinking, a fact the Director of Research and
Development had griped about one of the times he came to see me. He’d kindly
waited until after I could identify myself and count my fingers and toes again.
The rants were not because he wanted to make me feel bad, but rather, I think
he wanted me to know I was missed. And he wanted to me to heal fast and get
back to work before he had to find someone to take my place.
I missed being there and it was my supreme goal to get
back. However, that required a doctor’s approval, and until I passed a few more
brain tests, they weren’t signing on the dotted line. Which was why I’d flown
to Alaska in the first place. To build new
paths around damaged memory cells. Part of which included new experiences, such
as, maybe, wooing the opposite sex.
And Mr. Paul Bunyan looked like a viable candidate to
practice on.
Long Excerpt:
“Make love to me,” Azzette murmured against his lips.
Wanting nothing less, he prepared to do just that. Take
her. Mark her as his.
But the other conscience burst into his head. Funny, it
sounded like his father. “Men don’t
ravage women without great thought. Be the one gentleman in her life.”
Damn, but he hated having a conscience. Da’s words were as
clear as if he stood right there.
Besides, Aiden didn’t have a condom on him. Strike two.
And she had an injury of some sort. One he wanted to know about before going
further. Strike three. His ardor cooled enough he could focus on her needs and
ignore his. A Shaughnessy never took advantage of a woman. Period. Not for any
reason.
Ah, but she tasted so sweet and fit him so well. She
mewled and rubbed against him. “Touch me more,” she moaned.
“Not tonight, my darlin’.” The hardest words he’d ever said.
“It’s not right, and somewhere in your head you know it.” He kissed her again,
deeply, imprinting her taste and feel on all his senses. The sounds of her
little moans and gasps, the passionate glaze over her eyes and the thick hair
tumbling from her turban. He took it all in, the sight, the sounds, the touch
of her hands beneath his shirt. The scent of her, heated and drugging, as he
inhaled it with the scents of the forest.
Truly regretful, he eased his hands from her body, then
hers from under his shirt. He suspected he’d feel her touch the whole night
through. Her hand had felt that good on his skin.
“Time to get you home, Cinderella. Or your cousin will be
looking for me, and I’d rather not get in a brawl with him. Right would be on
his side.”
The passion drained from her and she slumped against his
chest. “You’re right.”
They resumed their meandering trek. This time with arms
wrapped around each other, Azzette leaning on him a little more with each
passing moment. Each step leading them up to the large log structure.
“Here we are. One Cinderella delivered, safe and sound.”
He eased away and looked down at her feet. “And well shod.”
She smiled up at him, appearing half asleep. “So it would
seem.”
Reluctant to end the night, Aiden tucked a loose strand of
hair into the scarf around her head. “So. Tomorrow night? Can I interest you in
meeting me for drinks or dinner?”
“Hmm.”
She regarded him blearily and smiled, but in a distracted
manner. He had to wonder how much was due to the beer, the unrequited passion,
or plain jetlag. Or her unknown injury to the head.
“Where do you want to meet?”
Okay, so she didn’t want to be picked up.
“Where do you want to meet?” He tossed the question back
at her.
“Twisted Creek?”
“Okay. Time?”
She shrugged. “What works for you?”
“Six? Seven?”
“Seven.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
She was still holding his arm, looking up at him with
large dreamy brown eyes. The urge to kiss her was almost overwhelming and he
started to lean down when she abruptly released him and turned away.
“See you!” she chirped, and went into the building. The
door shut in his face. He heard the thump of a deadbolt sliding home.
That was it? Aiden could have sworn she’d been about to
invite him to stay. Then in the blink of an eye, it was as if her memory had been
wiped and they hadn’t been touching for the last half hour.
About the Author:
A
long time resident of Alaska , Morgan fills her empty nester
hours by writing tales of romance, some of them set in the frozen north. While
records for winter snow fall were being set for the winter of ’11-’12, she
snuggled in with a cup of tea, knitting on the needles, and a tale in her
heart, dreaming of long summer days.
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Morgan on Facebook and keep up with the latest news.
2 comments:
I love All of Morgan's books...especaially her hot, hunky, heros :)
Thanks, Maxine!
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