Description
Brodie’s
Gamble, Book Two, MacLarens of Boundary Mountain Historical Western Romance
Series
“Every
book of Shirleen's never fails to draw me in and make it impossible to put down
until I devour it!”
Brodie
MacLaren has a dream. He yearns to wear the star—bring the
guilty to justice and protect those who are innocent. In his mind, guilty means
guilty, even when it includes a beautiful woman who sets his body on edge.
Maggie
King
lives a nightmare, wanting nothing more than to survive each day and recapture
the life stolen from her. Each day she wakes and prays for escape. Taking the
one chance she may ever have, Maggie lashes out, unprepared for the rising
panic as the man people believe to be her husband lies motionless at her feet.
Deciding
innocence and guilt isn’t his job.
Brodie’s orderly, black and white world spins as her
story of kidnapping and abuse unfold. The fact nothing adds up as well as his
growing attraction to Maggie cause doubts the stoic lawman can’t afford to embrace.
Can
a lifetime of believing in absolute right and wrong change in a heartbeat?
Maggie has traded one form of captivity for another.
Thoughts of escape consume her, even as feelings for the handsome, unyielding
lawman grow.
As events unfold, Brodie must fight more than his attraction.
Someone is after Maggie—a real threat who is out to silence her.
He’s challenged on all fronts—until he takes a gamble
that could change his life or destroy his heart.
Brodie’s Gamble, book two in the MacLarens of
Boundary Mountain historical western romance series, is a full-length novel
with an HEA.
Excerpt
“How old were you when you met Stoddard?” He
hadn’t meant to ask the question, didn’t need to know more about her than he
already did. Maggie’s age didn’t matter. It only mattered that he held her as a
suspect in a murder.
“Eighteen. I’m twenty now.” She spoke with a
staid calmness, as if detached, speaking of someone else. “I wish I could tell
you the time flew by, but that would be a lie.” This time, her voice held the
bitterness he expected. Closing her eyes to still the moisture beginning to
pool, she sucked in a deep breath.
He didn’t know what triggered his quick
response—her shaky voice, the tremble of her body, or the tears she couldn’t
hide—but he reached out, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close.
Splaying his hands across her back, he rested his chin on top of her head as
she settled her cheek against his chest.
“Shhh, lass. He can no longer hurt you.”
Brodie’s heart pounded, his chest tightening at the same time he tried to
provide her comfort. He couldn’t imagine the horrors she’d been through. If
Arnie weren’t already dead, it would’ve taken all the strength Brodie possessed
to not kill the man himself. Feeling the tears soak through his shirt, he drew
back, lifting her chin with a finger.
“You must try to believe it will be all
right, Maggie.”
Her glassy blue eyes stared up at him as the
faintest sliver of hope crossed her face. A hope he could encourage or dash
with a rash word or careless gesture.
“Do you truly think it will work out for me?”
Brodie didn’t know what more to say. Instead,
he did the most foolish thing imaginable. Lowering his head, he brushed a
gentle kiss across her lips, feeling her tense, then relax against him. He
kissed her again, losing himself in the taste and feel of her.
Awareness of the colossal mistake he was
making sliced through Brodie an instant before he tightened his hold, fitting
Maggie snuggly to his body, his lips pressed against hers, claiming her mouth
with fierce desire.
Her heart thundered and stomach churned as
Brodie continued his gentle assault. The warmth of his body, the hardness of
his chest and muscled arms sheltered her at the same time heat ripped through
her, as if she were engulfed in a circle of flames.
Brodie couldn’t get her close enough. He
wanted to lift her into his arms, carry her to his bed, and lay her down. Kiss
every inch of her body, caress…
He pulled back, his abrupt departure causing
her to whimper as she buried her face against his throat. They had to stop. He had to stop. The madness, which
gripped him moments before, gave way to guilt and self-loathing. How could he
have surrendered so completely to the charms of one woman? A woman who’d done
nothing except look to him for help?
Setting her aside, he straightened, steeling
his features. “We need to go back.” He could see the slight shiver of her body
as she swayed toward him. “Now, Miss King. You need to get back in your cell,
and I need to get back to my work.”
The hurt in her eyes did nothing to dispel
the remorse he felt. He’d crossed a line, and he could blame it on no one
except himself.
Bio
Shirleen Davies
writes romance—historical, contemporary, and romantic suspense. She grew up in
Southern California, attended Oregon State University, and has degrees from San
Diego State University and the University of Maryland. During the day she provides
consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses. But her real passion is
writing emotionally charged stories of flawed people who find redemption
through love and acceptance. She now
lives with her husband in a beautiful town in northern Arizona.
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