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| AVAILABLE NOW! |
I am so thrilled to announce that CHRISTMAS
SHOWDOWN, the first book in a new erotic romance western series, is now available.
I love Christmas stories and hope you will enjoy Kelly and Trey's story. Here is a blurb and excerpt:
I love Christmas stories and hope you will enjoy Kelly and Trey's story. Here is a blurb and excerpt:
Enjoy this excerpt from CHRISTMAS
SHOWDOW
Copyright © 2011 Mackenzie McKade - All
rights reserved
TAG: One perfect night can bring
two people together… Or tear them apart.
BLURB: Kelly McMaster’s first
and last one nightstand left her with a child and no idea how to find her son’s
father—the man whose touch and kiss has her still wanting more. Now, after
almost two years, she’s settled in a new city with a new job… One that has a
gun pointed at her head.
When Trey Burstyn answers the bank robbery in
process call, the last thing he expects to discover is the woman who left an
impression on him one snowy night in Denver. He’s ready to rekindle the fire,
but she’s resistant. Then the reason walks through the door.
Anger. Betrayal. Regrets. All fades when Trey
realizes he’s as much to blame for the situation, but that ends now. When he
insists Kelly and TJ, their son, move in with him, she balks.
Kelly is determined to do things on her own, yet
the life Trey offers on the Burstyn ranch is a far cry better than her shoddy
condominium. He argues he’s in it for the long run, but perhaps a trial run
over the holidays will help him realize that parenting isn’t for him.
Will their differences tear them apart… or will
they find Christmas magic in each other’s arms?
EXCERPT: Trey couldn’t take his
eyes off the boy Kelly held as she spoke to the thin blonde at the door. At
first he had been shocked that Kelly had a child. Then, as he studied the
chubby little toddler, he was taken aback by how much the little guy looked
like Samuel, his brother’s three-year-old son. Trey would even swear the boy
had the Burstyns’ eyes, an undeniable crystal blue. But those weren’t the only
similarities that made the hackles on the back of Trey’s neck stir. The toddler
had shiny black hair, and damned if he didn’t have the same tuft of hair
sticking up against his forehead that matched Trey’s. Poor kid. He’d
fought that damn cowlick most of his life.
It was about that time Trey felt his knees grow
weak. But what threatened to wipe his legs out from under him was when the
woman called the boy Trey. Like a puzzle, the pieces fell into place.
Still he refused to accept the obvious. Instead
he did the math to determine approximately when this child could have been
conceived. Shit. If he guessed right, that would make conception right
around the time of the Denver conference. But he had used a condom.
The last of the air in his lungs rushed out as he
stared at the small image of himself—his son. Denying it would be futile.
Overwhelming emotions bombarded him all at once.
Disbelief. Betrayal. Anger. Fury so hot that it surged through his veins like
liquid fire. How long did Kelly plan to keep his son from him? If it hadn’t
been for the bank incident he would have never known he had a son, let alone
that they were living in the same city.
Kelly shut the door and turned to him, her face
pallid. “We need to talk.” Her voice trembled.
He barely held his rage beneath a veneer of
calm—the only thing stopping him from reaching out and strangling the woman.
“Looks like the talking should have happened two years ago.” He set his Stetson
upon the scarred coffee table before the couch.
TJ started to squirm in her arms. “Down.” But she
held on to him with a death grip.
“I tried to contact you.”
Uh huh, he thought silently. Sure
you did.
“Momma. Down.” The boy’s request turned into a
cry. “Down. Down.”
She started to bounce him on her hip. “Shhh,
sweetheart.”
“Let him down, Kelly. I’m not going to run off
with him.” And neither was she.
Hesitating, she finally set the boy on his feet
before glancing back up at Trey. “I didn’t know your last name, until today.”
“What about the hotel? The conference
organizers?”
Her backbone stiffened defensively, but she
didn’t raise her voice. “I did contact them. Privacy laws forbid them from
giving me any information. You don’t have any idea how many times I heard that
excuse. Plus I had no idea where you lived, worked.” With flames in her eyes,
she ground her teeth together. “Whether you believe it or not, I did the best I
could.”
TJ approached him, staring up at him curiously.
He placed his tiny shoe on Trey’s boot and then stretched his arms. “Up.”
Trey’s heart thudded against his chest. He
started to bend down and retrieve the toddler when Kelly’s coolness shattered.
“No!” A panicked expression flashed on her face before it hardened, and then
softened like her voice. “TJ, come to momma.” She took a step forward as Trey
hauled the boy into his arms.
For a moment, she stood silently, her breathing
labored, her eyes moist—from fear or possessiveness, he didn’t know—and at that
precious second he didn’t care.
“Hey, buddy.” TJ smoothed his palm over Trey’s
chin and laughed when he felt the small prickles of his beard. The boy’s
childish giggle made Trey grin ear to ear. “So you think that’s funny.” He
pressed his cheek next to the child’s and rubbed up and down like he did
Samuel’s belly on occasion. TJ burst into a plethora of titters, causing Trey
to laugh out loud.
“I should get him ready for bed,” Kelly said,
holding out her arms expectantly.
“I think due to the circumstances, me spending a
little time with my son warrants a later bedtime.”
“Yes, but—”
Trey shot her a look that he knew could curdle
milk, because he’d used it on more occasions than he’d like to admit in his
line of work to gain a person’s cooperation. It worked to quiet her, but it
didn’t last long.
“I don’t want him falling asleep dirty. He needs
a bath.” She inhaled deeply and released the breath, unaware that her robe had
drifted apart again.
But his cock had noticed, and it firmed beneath
his zipper. He let his gaze sweep down her. “I’ll give him a bath while you
slip into something less comfortable.” He needed all his senses about him.
She glanced down where his eyes had stopped.
“Dammit.” When TJ stared at her, she corrected herself. “I mean darn.” Licking
her lips nervously, she glared at him. “Have you ever given a child a bath?”
“Kelly, I come from a big family—two older
brothers, two younger sisters, two nephews and three nieces. I’ve given my
share of baths and babysat. If you’ll show me to the bathroom I’ll take care of
the rest.
Again she hesitated, staring at him like he’d
grown two heads, before she finally gave in. “This way.”
Still holding TJ, he followed her up the stairs,
his randy gaze locked on the gentle sway of her hips. By the time he made it to
the top, his dick was so hard it was uncomfortable.
Didn’t that beat all? His was madder than hell at
this woman and still couldn’t think past the desire to bed her.
“The first door on the left. I’ll get his pajamas
and a towel.” She disappeared into another room as Trey started to slip off his
son’s shoes. The little guy wiggled and squirmed, but fortunately Trey was able
to get him undressed without any tears.
Quickly, he checked the sizes of his shoes and
clothing. The boy needed a pair of real jeans and boots. He’d have to wing the
fit of a cowboy hat. Turning on the faucets, he checked the temperature of the
water. When it was lukewarm he set TJ down and the boy immediately started to
wave his chubby arms and splash water to strike Trey in the face.
“I forgot to warn you that TJ is a wild man in
the bathtub.” She set a diaper, a pair of footed, thermal pajamas and a worn
towel on the commode. “His hair needs washed—”
“I can handle it.” The minute the sharp reply
left his mouth he regretted it. If what Kelly said was true, she had attempted
to contact him. He watched her walked away as he began to soap up the wild sea
serpent dousing his father with more water.
In reality, his and Kelly’s night had consisted
of partying with her friends and a couple of other conference-goers, and an attraction
too strong to deny. Heavy petting led to a quick trip to his hotel room and the
rest was history. She had completely worn him out, so much so that he had
barely awakened in time to catch his flight. And he wasn’t free of fault
either, because she had given him her number, but somewhere between the room, a
taxi ride, and the airport he had lost the small piece of paper she’d written
the information on. It could have happened any time he had withdrawn money from
his pocket.
So clearly he was as much to blame as she, or
maybe no one was to blame. Maybe they needed to chalk this one up to Murphy’s
Law and just move forward.
After washing and rinsing TJ’s hair, he lifted
his son out of the tub and wrapped him in the towel. The boy was in good
spirits, jabbering incoherent gibberish that only another child would
comprehend. It was beyond Trey.
“Momma!” He threw open his arms.
She smiled lovingly and reached out for him.
“I’ll dress him.” He went willingly into her arms.
Trey snatched the diaper and pajamas off the
commode before she could. Their eyes met. His determined. Hers weary. When she
realized he wasn’t going away, she turned and walked into the bedroom and laid
their child on the bed. Trey placed the boy’s clothes beside him.
As she bent over, the t-shirt she wore edged
upward, displaying smooth, unblemished skin above the band of her jeans. Would
it feel as soft as it had two years ago? She worked with expertise to clothe
the ever-moving child as Trey scanned the room.
Her queen-size bed and dresser, which appeared to
have several drawers off their tracks, were the only furniture and all that
would fit in the cramped room. It sickened him to think what she might have
gone through during this last two years. Had she been alone? Did she have family
to help her? If so, why would she move away and obviously place herself and
their child in financial straits?
“Dink,” TJ cried out.
Trey shot a questioning glanced at Kelly.
“He wants milk,” she answered before he could
speak. “Sure, baby, let’s go downstairs.” Kelly heaved the heavy bundle into
her arms.
“Here.” Trey extended his hands. “I’ll take him.”
But his offer was met with defiance.
“I’m more than capable. Remember, I’ve been doing
this for over a year, by myself.” Without saying another word, she spun on the
balls of her bare feet and stomped from the room.
Zing! He felt that jab go straight
to the heart, because Kelly was right. But dammit, it wasn’t his fault.
Crestfallen, he followed her down the stairs and into a kitchen large enough
for only one person to maneuver comfortably, which meant she bumped into him.
“Why don’t you go sit on the couch, watch some
football or something,” she snapped.
“Okay. And I’ll take our son, so you can
do what you have to in here.”
“I’ve been—”
“Yeah, I know. You’ve done this a million times, alone.”
He took TJ from her arms and walked out of the room.
BUY NOW:
Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Showdown-Burstyn-Blue-ebook/dp/B006HA4WHO/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322939358&sr=1-3)
Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/110463)
All Romance Ebooks (http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-christmasshowdown-651738-144.html)
and tomorrow at Barnes and Noble.
BUY NOW:
Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Showdown-Burstyn-Blue-ebook/dp/B006HA4WHO/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322939358&sr=1-3)
Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/110463)
All Romance Ebooks (http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-christmasshowdown-651738-144.html)
and tomorrow at Barnes and Noble.
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