Thursday, January 8, 2015

Cowboy Lust by Helen Hardt



Book: Cowboy Lust — Bakersville Saga 3 & 4
Author: Helen Hardt
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Cowboy



COWBOY LUST
Rodeo Queen
Catie Bay has worshiped much older Chad McCray since she was a child. When she fumbles a seduction attempt after her graduation from high school, she flees to Europe. Four years later, she returns a beautiful, worldly woman, and Chad takes notice. Is the rodeo queen still in love with the sexy cowboy, and is he capable of returning her feelings?
Taming Angelina
Learn to run a ranch? Angelina Bay would rather wear last season’s clothes. But if she doesn’t, her father commands, she can kiss her inheritance goodbye
Teach a spoiled heiress how to ride a horse? Not in this lifetime. Rafe Grayhawk is busy enough as a ranch hand, saving every extra penny to fund his chronically ill father’s move to Arizona—until beautiful Angelina makes him an offer he can’t refuse.
Rafe’s rules are simple—show up on time for lessons and do everything he tells her. Angie balks at authority, but soon riding lessons with the handsome hand are the least of her problems. She may lose her ranch anyway, and Rafe is the only person who can help her.



When Catie’s margarita came, she took a long drink. The salt around the rim stung her lips, chapped from the dry air on the plane.
Nothing like it.
She chugged the rest and stood up, her head a bit hazy. When had she last eaten? On the plane sometime.
“I want to dance,” she announced, and grabbed her handsome cowboy’s arm. “Come on, Chad.”
“Little bit,” Chad said, as she dragged him away, “are you sure you want to do this?”
“Sure I’m sure,” Catie said. “It’s just a dance.”
“You drank that ’rita awful fast, sugar.”
Sugar? She liked the sound of that. “A little tequila, a little Garth Brooks, a little dance with a handsome cowboy. Sounds like heaven.”
“Whatever you say, little bit.”
“Little bit?” She looked into his eyes, so dark they were nearly black. They seemed to smoke. “I like sugar better.”
“Okay,” he drawled. “Come on.” He snaked his arms around her waist. “Let’s cut the rug, sugar.”
The song wasn’t made for slow dancing, but the crowd on the dance floor necessitated closeness between them. Chad’s hard body crushed against her, and her pulse quickened.
“I’m glad you decided not to ignore me all night.”
“Ignore you?”
“Yeah, you talking on and on with Amber, when it’s clear to a saint you and she have nothin’ at all in common.” He chuckled. “You sure have changed, little…I mean, sugar,” Chad said. “I hardly recognized you.”
“It’s been four years, Chad.”
“What happened to the little girl who loved horses more than people?”
“She’s still in here.”
“I admit, I sure was surprised you left your mare. You must have had a huge reason for leaving the country.”
“Oh, I did.”
“What was it?”
“Maybe I’ll tell you sometime,” she said coyly.
“Okay, sugar.” He chuckled. “I’ll hold you to that.”
The music changed from fast to slow, and she leaned into Chad’s muscles, closed her eyes, and inhaled. Leather. Leather and cinnamon. And Chad. Musky, male, perfect Chad. If anything, he’d become even more appealing in the four years she’d been gone.
They swayed gently to the music, their bodies melting together in all the right places. Catie slipped into a dreamworld, a world she hadn’t dared visit in the last four years. A world she’d thought she could forget.
No. She couldn’t forget. They might have only this one dance, but she’d make it worthwhile. She pulled away just a smidge and stared up into Chad’s face. She wanted only to look at him, to drink him in. But his dark eyes smoldered, and she read something in them. Something she couldn’t quite decipher.
“Sugar?” His voice cracked. Just a little, but she noticed.
“Hmm?”
He shook his head slightly. “Goddamn, sugar.”

He lowered his mouth to hers.


Rating: ☆☆☆☆

"Rodeo Queen" 
Catie has been in love with Chad all her life.  The problem was two fold: Chad never saw her as more than a little girl and he is a womaniser and not into long term relationships.  To save herself from heartache she escapes to Paris for four years but now she is back and all grown up.  Set against the local Rodeo Queen contest, Chad finally notices Catie but is still reluctant to give up his single ways.  Can Catie finally get her heart's desire? 

Catie and Chad's attraction is obvious to those around them.  Catie's fire means that while she gives herself over to passion with him, she doesn't give into him easily outside the bedroom.  Chad's reluctance to give up his single ways is a barrier but as we see Catie get more and more under his skin we see this barrier slowly come down. 

A highly enjoyable read with one sassy girl and one hot cowboy.  A fun story. 


"Taming Angela" 
Angie is Catie's sister but she is nothing like her down to earth sister.  A snob who feels that the ranch hands are well below her and not worthy of her attention.  Ranch hand, Rafe is hired to teach her to ride puts her in place straight away.  Can Angie overlook prejudices to see true love comes in different forms or will she put her money and standing first? 

This was better than "Rodeo Queen" for me as it was grittier and harder hitting with the issues it raised.  You have to look hard to find Angie's redeeming qualities but these become easier to find as Rafe's attentions make a difference to how she thinks and feels. 



Helen Hardt is an attorney and stay-at-home mom turned award-winning romance author and freelance fiction editor. She writes contemporary, historical, paranormal, and erotic romance from her home in Colorado. She’s a mother, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an avid fan of opera and football (as long as her older son and younger son are performing/playing, respectively), and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.



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Other Books in the Series
Cowboy Heat – Bakersville Saga 1 & 2
Giveaway

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