Woooooohoooooo! Guess what I got in my hot little hands yesterday, (before Joy this time)? I can’t believe I actually beat her this time.
My print copies of The Treasure! 
Hooyah! *raises her hands in the air and spins in a circle*
It’s still four days until the official print release but I’ve got them now! Yay! Who says Friday the 13th is unlucky? Not me for sure. So far it’s been a purty good day, and hell, it’s Friday, so how could it not be good? I have a friend up north whose birthday is October 13 - so if you’re reading this, happy birthday Mary Beth!
It’s a goooood day! I’m going to post an excerpt for y’all to get you primed for my book signing tomorrow at the Waldenbooks in Chapel Hill and to buy The Treasure on Tuesday, October 17!
Excerpt:
Ray walked away from Lily like his ass was on fire. He had to move quickly or he was in danger of slamming Lily up against the wall and wrapping himself around her.
He had felt an almost violent urge when she’d come so close to him—a primal reaction to her nearness, something he’d never experienced before with a woman. Even Regina. With her, he’d been led around by his dick without a thought in his brain besides her.
With Lily, a jolt had shot through him, an impulse to lay his hands on her. There had been a moment when he was sure his willpower would fail him. He practically ran away like a yellow-bellied coward. Who knew what she thought of him now.
Ray marched into the cold night air and slipped his coat on. His breath puffed out in a cloud in front of him. He cursed himself for not bringing his hat and gloves, but there was no way in hell he was going back in the house yet. After he stepped off the front porch, his boots crunched on the hard-packed snow as he stalked into the night.
Ray needed some time to wilt the raging hard-on in his trousers. He walked toward the barn and corral, listening to the soft whinny of horses and the whistle of the wind in the bare trees. He looked up at the sky and saw a million points of light twinkling in the velvet blackness. The moon hung low in the sky, so close he swore he could reach out and touch it. It was a brilliant white, lighting up the front yard and bathing the night with a soft glow.
Why her?
Why Lily?
No question she was beautiful, but no more beautiful than other women he’d known. Lily was also smart, but godawful clumsy. After making two horrendous messes in the kitchen, which she’d cleaned up, she broke a candlestick in the living room. She also seemed to trip over her own feet a lot.
Aside from all that, Lily was there to teach his daughter and take care of his house. Not service his carnal needs.
Ray reached the barn and opened the side door, slipping inside as quietly as he could. He let his eyes adjust to the blackness of the barn, then made his way over to Shadow’s stall.
The big stallion had belonged to his younger brother, Logan, who had been murdered nine years ago. Although heading toward twelve years old, Shadow was still the best damn horse Ray had ever owned. The gray equine was part Appaloosa, part something else.
Shadow whickered when he scented Ray. He moved closer to the horse, laying his head against his great neck and sighing.
What the hell was he going to do about Lily? Keep his distance, that’s for sure. He hoped Melody took to her. It had taken him nearly a year to find a woman willing to come out to the Wyoming wilderness. At the time it seemed like a fluke that a governess from New York was coming. Unbelievable enough he kept expecting her acceptance of the position to be a joke, so he’d let her come.
Now he felt like he was worse off than before she arrived. If that were possible.
He stroked Shadow’s neck until he felt his self-control reasserting itself. Being around horses always had a calming effect on him. With one last pat, he moved away from Shadow and walked down the rest of the barn, doing a quick check on the horses.
When he was satisfied all was well, he went to the door and stepped back outside. The moon had risen a bit higher in the sky, illuminating the rear of the house.
And Lily.
Shit.
She was leaning out her window. Probably gazing at the sky as he had been doing. She wore something white, probably her nightdress, which glowed in the light of the moon. Her unbound breasts pushed up against her arms as she leaned on the windowsill.
Sweet Jesus.
Something else hit him even harder. Her hair hung down around her like a dark, lustrous curtain—wavy, full, and as tempting as any sight he’d ever seen. His dick was suddenly awake again with a vengeance, straining against his pants and snarling.
As he watched, she leaned a bit further out the window, twisting her head to see more of the sky. Then she leaned out too far and fell out the window.
* * * *
Lily tumbled outside and landed on her nose, which immediately made a popping noise, and a warm gush of blood bathed her face. The snow was absolutely freezing and her scantily clad body started shivering from tip to toes. She pushed up on her elbows and ended up shoving her hands deeper into the snow.
Yes, indeed, her fine graceful self just had to make itself known. Hopefully she could climb back into her window without anyone seeing her.
If only she hadn’t been so hot, she wouldn’t have opened the window. After the incident with Ray in the hallway, her entire body had been flushed and she felt a bit feverish. Odd, really, that reaction to a man. She had never had it before and hadn’t expected it.
While she tried to cool off in the frigid air, she noticed the moon was bright in the dark sky. Naturally, she opened the window a bit more and leaned out to get a better look.
Then her natural grace took over, and she fell out the window into the snow.
The sound of boots rapidly running through the snow toward her dashed her hopes that no one had seen her.
“Lily! My God, are you all right?”
She turned her head and peered at Ray in the darkness. Might as well be honest. “No, I think I may have broken my nose. And I can’t seem to get out of this snow. I’m afraid frostbite will be a possibility if I don’t figure how to get back on my feet.”
Before she could blink, strong arms lifted her effortlessly and she found herself being carried by Ray. It was dark enough she couldn’t see his expression under the shadow of his hat, but she had no doubt it was not a happy face.
“Thank you.”
Lily tilted her head back and pinched the bridge of her nose to stop the bleeding. Her nose was really the least of her concerns. Ray Malloy was the biggest.
He opened the door and brought her inside, kicking the door closed behind him. She had the insane notion of a groom carrying his bride over the threshold and she started laughing. The more she tried to stop, the harder she laughed.
“I’m not sure what’s so damn funny, but if you don’t hush up, I’m gonna throw you back into the snow.”
Ray set her on the sofa in the living room. He glanced at her white nightgown and immediately his eyes changed. The pupils dilated and a hazy glow surrounded the green. His nostrils flared and his lips tightened.
Lily thought it was blood that he saw, but when she looked at her nightgown, she realized the snow had turned the white garment transparent. He could clearly see her breasts and her nipples, which were puckered harder than a stone, as well as a hint of the dark hair between her legs.
Lily was never so embarrassed in her life. She didn’t know whether to stop her nosebleed or cover herself, so she tried both. One arm landed over her breasts, while the other continued to pinch her nose.
“Do you think you could get me a towel, and perhaps some of that snow for my nose?”
His gaze snapped to hers and what she saw in his eyes made her breath stop. Raw, blatant desire. For her. A plump, on-the-shelf spinster with a shady childhood and a penchant for tripping over her own two feet. Lily felt an answering yearning in herself, a need to find out if what she saw, what she felt from him, was more than lust.
“I—”
“Let me get that towel,” he said. Then he was gone before she could finish her sentence.
Lily started shivering. She didn’t know if it was from the snow bath or the look in Ray’s eyes when he stared at her nearly naked body.
She was afraid it was from the latter, and she had no idea what to do about it.
