It's a BLOG BARRAGE featuring Unforgiven by Sarah Ballance as part of her Packin Heat series. For a complete schedule of her blog appearance, go to http://cblspromotions.blogspot.com.
Riley Beckett's past just came back to haunt her . . . and this
time, he's got a gun.
When Gage Lawton finds his brother shot dead on his back porch,
every shred of evidence points to one person: Gage's former lover, Riley.
He and she didn't part ways on good terms, and he's not planning to rekindle
anything now--not when he's got a revolver pointed at her head and a finger on
the trigger.
A year after Riley swore she and Gage were over, he returns in a hail of gunfire. One look into those achingly familiar blue eyes and she knows how wrong she was to let him go, but now far more than their heated past stands in the way. A twist of fate puts them in the crosshairs of a killer, leaving Riley with two slim options: trust her greatest betrayer or face a murderer on her own.
A year after Riley swore she and Gage were over, he returns in a hail of gunfire. One look into those achingly familiar blue eyes and she knows how wrong she was to let him go, but now far more than their heated past stands in the way. A twist of fate puts them in the crosshairs of a killer, leaving Riley with two slim options: trust her greatest betrayer or face a murderer on her own.
Enjoy an EXCERPT:
Something was wrong. Was the dark playing tricks on
her? Riley Beckett froze, arm outstretched, hand poised to toss her keys on the
table just inside her front door. But she didn't let go. Instead of dropping
them in their usual spot, instinct whispered for her to feather pieces of the
makeshift weapon between her knuckles. Heart pounding, she pressed the keys in
a silent, white-knuckle grip and prayed her concerns were her imagination, that
the paranoia of coming home alone to a dark house was getting the better of
her.
One, two steps in. Wood planks echoed underfoot. She
fought to breathe in air that grew thinner with every tense second.
Three steps.
Then it hit her. The scent. His scent. And with
it a flush of memories. The burn of hot grass on her bare skin. Rough hands, a
tender touch. Love so sweet she ached for it, her dreams raging, and her body
drenched with need.
Their first time.
Her last.
"Gage?" Her voice broke on the single
syllable. Riley's grip on the keys tightened, her blood raging hot and cold all
at once.
A creak sounded from the corner chair. Her eyes
refused to adjust in the darkness, but not even the faint light kept the blond
streaks in his russet hair from giving him away. Like rays of sunshine, she
used to tease, and her words never failed to draw a scowl across his rugged
face.
"Riley."
God help her, her name on his lips sounded as it
always had. Coarse. Dangerous. Forbidden. Even before . . . The memory surged,
hot and vivid, leaving a metallic taste in her mouth. White heat assaulted her
from every corner of the room.
The keys fell to the floor with a clink.
"An eye for an eye, is it?" His voice sounded
unpracticed, as if he hadn't spoken in a long while.
She couldn't see his face, but she knew his
expression. Flat and humorless. Broken. She remembered the day he stopped
smiling. Every part of her wanted to flee, but she stood frozen to the spot.
"What do you mean?" Riley wondered if the
words, whispered and weak, had the strength to make it across the room. Hadn't
she always known she'd shatter the next time she saw him? Hadn't she dreamed of
it anyway?
"You have to ask?" Gage laughed, cold and
hollow. "Billy's dead. Hell of a thing to come home to, Riley. My brother
blown to bits on my back porch."
"Oh, God." Riley swayed, bile rising in her
throat. The room filled with a distant buzzing. She took one unsteady step to
the side and stumbled.
When she found his gaze, it was over the business end
of a revolver.
He leveled the gun in her direction. Everything else
in her world trembled, but his aim held rock steady. Unyielding.
His eyes burned blue and bright. "What I want to
know, sweetheart, is why you did it."
He worked his finger over the trigger, and a veil of
blackness threatened her last discerning thought.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sarah
and her husband of over fourteen years live on the mid-Atlantic coast with
their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they're
asleep. She often jokes that she writes
to be around people who will listen to her, but her characters aren't much
better than her kids. Fortunately, her
husband is quite supportive, having generously offered to help her research
"the good parts." She's never
had to ask twice.
Website
- http://www.sarahballance.com/
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003WKYEJI
Twitter
- http://twitter.com/#!/SarahBallance
Thank you for featuring UNFORGIVEN! I just now saw this post, and I wanted to let you know I appreciate it so much. :c)
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