Beneath a Crimson Sky
 

Cambria Morgan came to Hinckley, Minnesota to escape the memories that haunt her, has no intention of losing her heart again...but the irresistible, dashing Cade Kincannon has other plans for the green-eyed beauty.  No matter how many obstacles she puts in his path, Cade is determined to penetrate the desolate sadness residing in her soul.  He has only to convince her his heart is true, his love genuine.  Even the best-laid plans are thwarted when a demonic fire sweeps across the land and Cambria realizes the flames of passion are also burning out of control.

 Coming Soon!

Beneath a Crimson Sky
 

Excerpt

It was late October when Cade arrived at school one day.  Indian summer is what the residents of the state called it.  When she saw him standing on the landing outside her classroom, it made her feel shaky and weak.

"I've sent Emery on his way."  He said casually.

"Have you?"

"Yep, and there's not a student in sight."

"I'm afraid you've got me at a slight disadvantage then.  I can either walk all the way back to Tall Timbers or─"

"Allow me to take you home." 

Cambria held her breath as he moved closer.  "Did you arrive in a wagon?"

"Nope…on the bay."

"How am I supposed to ride a horse in a skirt?"  She shivered, rattled by his sudden appearance.

"I'd be happy to show you."  Desire banked in his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"Do I have time to grab my jacket at least?" 

"Take all the time you need, I've got all night."

Sensual, erotic words, I've got all night, words that sent her mind reeling.  Mindlessly, she plucked her jacket from a nearby chair and followed him down the stairs.  The bay whinnied when he approached as if anxious to be about this great adventure.

 Cambria thrust her arms through the sleeves of her jacket and then said, "Now what?"

"It's really quite simple.  I lift you into the saddle, you drape one leg across the pommel and then I climb up behind you."  He locked his fingers together.  "Ready?"

She eyed him skeptically.  "Do I have a choice?"

"No."

With little effort, he hoisted her into the saddle and seconds later, mounted behind her.  "Relax," he said, nestling her against him.

It was a heady stuff, his strong arm around her waist, the rock-hard body as she melted against it, the languid motion of the well-muscled horse beneath them.   She wanted it to last forever, the sun casting long spikes of amber light over the branches of the nearby oaks, the soft wind rustling the leaves of the cottonwoods.  Even the aroma of pure horseflesh aroused her senses.  He turned off the main road and urged the horse down a narrow path through the woods.

She turned slowly to look at him.

"Don't worry, little one, I'm not going to ravish you.  I just want to show you an enchanted little hideaway.  Tall Timbers doesn't hold a patent on clear-running streams."

It was enchanted─the towering pines and bracken of wild sumac nestled around a clearing. The sounds of water trickling over stones, a noisy chatter from starlings and thrushes in the nearby branches and the scampering of critters on the floor of the forest added to the allure of the clandestine setting.  Cade dismounted effortlessly, lifted her down and led her to a tree trunk stretched out along the banks. 

"How did you find this place?"  Cambria asked, savoring the peaceful sounds.

"There aren't many places I don't know about."  The smoky gray eyes smiled as he settled in next to her.  "It's my job to know the forest."

"Yes, I suppose it is."

Without pretense and without looking at her, he said, "So where are we now?  Are we still pretending we have no feelings for me?"

"What?"  She instinctively tensed while picking at an imaginary piece of lint on her sleeve.  "By we, you mean me, don't you?"

""I'm just wondering if you're still bent on convincing yourself you don't."

"I don't have to convince myself.  I…I know my own feelings."

"Really, what are they?"

She took a sharp intake of breath.  "Well…we're friends, certainly there's no future for us, could never be.…"

She bit her lip as he leaned in, hoping he wouldn't kiss her again and hoping he would.  The kiss they'd shared before was tender, sweet, nothing like the way he was kissing her now.  Without thought, she twined her fingers in his hair and good God, she was kissing him back.  One hand cupped her head, the other pressed against her spine, pulling her closer, closer until she felt the breath leave her body.  Everything she'd planned to do if he kissed her again fled from her like an elusive wind.  She felt it, the explosion between them, and she knew he sensed it.  There was no way she could deny it now.  Then as quickly as he began the kiss, he ended it.

His gaze searched her face.  "So what do you think?  Are we still denying the passion…the hot fever we feel here," he touched her abdomen, "or here," he ran his fingers across the pulse in her throat?  "Hmm, are we?" The faintest hint of a smile tugged at his lips.  "Cambria, you can speak now."

Speak.  How could she speak when she was speechless? 

"So what are we going to do about it?  That's the question."

"You're incorrigible." 

"No I'm not.  I'm straightforward and brutally tenacious when I want something and I want you─all of you, not just your body, but your mind, your heart, mostly your trust."  She hugged her elbows again, like she had the last time he'd kissed her.  He was good at interpreting body language and knew it meant she was trying to shut the world out, shut him out.

"I want to go home."

"I'll take you home, but what then?  How far you going to run next time?"

"You don't understand."  The dark green eyes darkened when she looked at him─another warning she was about to cry or storm off.

"I do, more than you know.  You can't throw your life away because of what happened.  Somehow, some way, you have to allow yourself to love a man again.  I want to be that man."

A tear slid down her cheek as she looked away.  "I'm gripped in the power of darkness and can't seem to break free."

"Let me help you then, trust me."

His voice was calming, hypnotic.  "What will you expect of me?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. 

He stifled a laugh.  She was comically suspicious, wanted to make sure if she struck a bargain, she knew the terms and conditions beforehand.

"I'll never force you into anything.  Whatever happens will happen because you choose it."

"Oh," she said, dashing another tear from her cheek, "after the way I just responded to your kiss, that's reassuring."

He laughed then and so did she.

"Come on," he said, pulling her to her feet.  "Catherine will soon have a posse combing the woods if I don't get you home.

Beneath a Crimson Sky
Coming Soon!