REBEL COWBOY is fundamentally about two people loosing their identities and finding new ones together. As said identities are hard wired into who Mel and Dan are as people, the destruction and reconstruction is a super hard process. They fight both it and each other before stumbling towards that happily ever after. And they find it, don't worry, but whoooo buddy does it take some stumbling.
REBEL COWBOY is about Mel and Dan. Dan is a NHL superstar caught up in drama that's largely irrelevant to the story, except it drives him to his grandparent's dilapidated ranch and off the ice. As he knows as much about ranch revitalization as I do (read: just north of zero), he does the intelligent thing and hires help.
That help comes in the form of Mel, who has her own ranch to run as her father and brother are of little help in doing so. She hates every minute she has to be away from her land, but the money working for Dan is just too good.
Mel, for the record, is not super into the idea of needing other people because when you need other people, they let you down. This has been proven over and over again in her life, so she treats Dan with heavy skepticism for the majority of their tale. It all comes across as stubbornness - on both their parts - but it's really pain management and self-protection. Reading how they each break through the other person's shell is lovely and the tale is great.
REBEL COWBOY is recommended for anyone who likes slow burn emotional stories with hot sex, anyone who likes tales of folks bringing new life to one another and anyone who gets a kick out of alpacas.
UNDER A BIG SKY For hotshot NHL
star
Dan Sharpe, hockey isn't just his job-it's his
everything. But when claims of cheating get him
bounced from the ice, he finds himself feeling lost.
Everyone thinks he's crazy for taking on his
grandfather's
ramshackle Montana ranch, but hey, he's Dan
Sharpe:
how hard can it be?
As it turns out? Plenty
hard.
Mel Shaw has been fighting tooth and nail to
keep her family from falling apart. The last thing she
needs
is a distraction, but taking a job as some city slicker's
consultant may be her only chance to save the land she
loves. But she never expected someone like Dan to come
roaring into her life, and it doesn't take long for Mel
to
realize this hockey-star-turned-cowboy has the power to
upend her carefully ordered world-and heart-for good.
EXCERPT
βNot going to be satisfied until you have a good fight,
huh?β
Finally, she wrenched her hand from his. βIβm not going
to be satisfied until you give me an inch.β
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her he had quite
a few inches he wouldnβt mind giving her, but she kept
on.
βNot being ready when I get here is insulting, Dan.
Especially, especially, afterβ¦last night.β Some of that
anger disappeared or lowered into a hurt he didnβt know
what to do with. That was the kind of hurt he skated his
ass away from.
βYou know Iβd rather be at my own damn ranch,β she
continued. βAnd I canβt be. The least you could do is
make my time here worthwhile.β
Since that made him feel about two inches tall, and since
he was tired of her ability to do thatβbecause, sweet
damn, the past two years had done plenty to make him feel
like thatβhe forced a smile. Probably more of a nasty
smirk.
βDefine worthwhile, partner.β
βI know this is all a big joke to youβa fun lark while
you wait for other people to get your real life back on
trackβbut you could pretend to care every once in a
while.β
It struck a nerve, an exposed one. Struck it hard enough
he didnβt have the reserves to laugh it off or pretend it
didnβt exist. Not care? He always cared too damn much, so
damn much he couldnβt handle it, couldnβt deal with the
things he couldnβt fix, so he escaped.
Only there was nowhere left to escape to, so he went on
the offensive instead. βWatch it, Mel. I may be trying to
be a nice guy these days, but itβs not my first instinct
by a long shot.β
βOh, yeah, and what are you going to do to me, Mr. Not-
So-Nice-Guy?β
He didnβt take a second to think about it, just went with
what had been his instinct since sheβd blushed on his
porch a few days ago. Gave into the lust mixing in with
all those unpleasant feelings.
He crushed his mouth to hers. Not gently, like heβd
wanted to do last night. Last night, heβd wanted to
comfort her somehow. Offer some kind of commiseration,
and while he realized a kiss wasnβt the best way to do
that, it had been the only thing he could think of.
This was not a comforting, commiserating kiss. This was
βI will show you whatβs what.β She was apparently finding
out whatβs what, because she kissed him back. Actually,
it was more passive than that. She allowed him to kiss
her, to scrape his teeth across her bottom lip, to cage
her against the counter.
But passive wasnβt what Dan wanted from Mel, and in the
end, thatβs what had him stepping back.
He hated himself in that moment. She looked like she
wanted to give up, give in, but not to himβto the
overwhelming demands that seemed to be dragging her down.
She looked like she wanted to dissolve, disappear, never
return.
That, that he hated himself for.
βDonβt ever, and I mean ever, do that again.β She
straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath, and let
go of the counter behind her. Though he supposed she was
trying to look tough, she looked about as menacing as a
peewee hockey player who hadnβt learned how to handle a
stick yet.
He might hate himself for pushing her there, but he
wasnβt going to let her see his regret, his guilt. βIβm
an easygoing guy, Mel, but if you keep pushing my
buttons, I will damn well keep pushing back.β
βYeah, well, unbutton my buttons and prepare to lose some
anatomy you hold dear.β
He hated to lose his temper, didnβt like to feel all that
rushing regret after he went off the handle or did or
said something stupid. Because there was a voice inside
his head telling him to step back, cool off, but the
anger and frustration pumping through his veins made
listening to that voice impossible.
So he stood toe to toe with her, and purposefully touched
the top button of her shirt. He brushed his thumb across
the hollow of her throat. βThat so?β
Her eyes held his. She didnβt shiver under his touch,
didnβt melt, didnβt slump or cower and make him feel like
a total dick. She stood there. Still, yes, but like some
untouchable thing. Like some goddess trying to decide if
sheβd deign to let him continue to think he could touch
her.
βYou know what?β she said, not moving, not looking away,
not anything, her eyes boring into his. βThis is stupid.β
βI agree.β Except he had no idea what he was agreeing to.
He only knew she wasnβt swatting his hands off her, and
she wasnβt stepping back. She was standing there and any
insecurities or weaknesses from earlier had disappeared.
The woman in front of him right now looked like she could
knock him flat with one blow. One word.
Instead, she knocked him flat with one kiss.
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