THE DIAMOND SERIES,
BOOK 1
Owner of the
Diamond Saloon and Theater, Alice Reynolds is astounded when a fancy Englishman
offers to buy her saloon. She won’t be selling her saloon to anyone, let alone
a man with a pretty, empty-headed grin…but then, she reckons that grin just
might be a lie, and a man of intelligence and cunning resides beneath.
Rupert Llewellyn
has another purpose for offering to buy the pretty widow’s saloon—the coal
buried deep in land she owns. However, he never banked on her knowing eyes
making him weak at the knees, or how his deception would burn upon his soul.
Each determined to
outwit the other, they tantalize and tease until passion explodes. But can
their desire bridge the lies told and trust broken?
THE DIAMOND SERIES,
BOOK 2
Christmas in
Freewill
Christmas Eve, the
Diamond Saloon is empty of its people, and Pearl la Monte has a hankering to
retire early. A pounding at the Diamond’s door rids her of such a fool notion.
Her irritation rises when she sees the prissy, polite-like Garrett standing
outside.
Ethan Garrett has a
powerful need to gain succor. When the saloon’s voluptuous redheaded singer
scowls at him from the threshold of the Diamond, he doesn’t stop to think on
how his ire at her has disappeared. Or how he just wants to spend some time in
her company.
When a blizzard
storms in, trapping them, will they spend their time arguing or find their
irritation for each other disguises something more?
~About the Author~
Cassandra Dean
Cassandra grew up
daydreaming, inventing fantastical worlds and marvelous adventures. Once she
learned to read (First phrase – To the Beach. True story), she was never
without a book, reading of other people’s fantastical worlds and marvelous
adventures.
Fairy
tales, Famous Fives, fantasies and fancies; horror stories, gumshoe detectives,
science fiction; Cassandra read it all. Then she discovered Romance and a true
passion was born.
So, once
upon a time, after making a slight detour into the world of finance, Cassandra
tried her hand at writing. After a brief foray into horror, she couldn’t
discount her true passion. She started to write Romance and fell head over
heels.
The love
affair exists to this very day.
Cassandra
lives in Adelaide, South Australia.
Her website - http://cassandradean.com
Links for Cassandra
Buy links:
ROUGH DIAMOND
FOOL’S GOLD
~Excerpts~
ROUGH DIAMOND
Lifting the glass,
Alice studied its contents. “There is nothing quite like the enjoyment you get
from a good whiskey. There’s the look and color of it, and the way it burns in
the light.”
“It’s the
same color as your eyes,” Llewellyn breathed, his own wide and empty of
thought.
A smile
tugged at the corner of her mouth. That’s right. Fool me into thinking there’s
not an ounce of calculation to your words. “Is it? Mighty kind of you to
notice.”
A happy
grin was her response.
Well now,
she was surely going to enjoy this. Setting her own half-smile, she tilted her
glass, watching as the whiskey caught the light of the candle. “Have you ever
noticed the feel of glass? It’s smooth against your fingers, and though the
whiskey burns you, the glass is cool. It seems strange, doesn’t it? That such
fire could come from something so cool.”
Intensely
aware of his gaze upon her, she brought the glass to rest on her bottom lip. “You
lift the glass to your lips, and all that coolness rests upon your flesh. The
scent of the whiskey hits you, sweet and fiery. Your mouth waters, and you
can’t wait to have it inside you. Slowly, so slowly, you tip the glass, teasing
yourself as long moments in want of its taste stretch unbearably.”
He no
longer wore a smile. Dark eyes watched her as strong fingers dug into the glass
before him.
A prickle
washed over her skin, her heart a steady beat in her chest. With hushed voice,
she continued. “Liquid slides down your throat. The flavor explodes inside you,
a glorious rush of sensation that overwhelms and consumes. You curl your
tongue, enjoying the lingering sensation in every part of your mouth. Then, you
look at the bottle.” Finally, she met his gaze direct. No subterfuge. No tease.
“And you know you can do it again.”
FOOL’S GOLD
Turning on her
heel, Pearl marched off toward the stairs.
A weird
kind of panic jolted through Ethan, one he’d never felt before in all his days.
It was…he didn’t…. She couldn’t leave him. “Where are you going?”
She
whirled to face him, her irritation plain. “I was seeking my bed before your
arrival, and now I’m seeking it again. Help yourself to whiskey this one time.
I got better things to do.”
Shoving to
his feet, he strode to her. “Don’t just walk away when we’re discussing
things.”
“We ain’t
discussing nothing. You’ll be down here, waiting out the blizzard. I’ll be in
my bed, doing what I was gonna before you arrived. That’s the end of it.”
Taking a
step, she made to leave him. Again.
He grabbed
her arm. “Don’t leave me.”
“Don’t
tell me what to do.” Glaring at him, she stood before the bar, her magnificent
hair slipping from its pins, her breasts rising and falling.
Abruptly,
his mouth went dry. Clearing his throat some, he said, “You’re supposed to
offer succor to those in need.”
“We’re
closed, remember?” Paint-less lips pressed tight together, she glared up at
him.
They were
so close he could see the faint marks of freckles on her skin.
Pearl La
Monte had freckles.
A kind of
haze came over him, tightening his skin and bringing with it something
all-fired powerful and completely unstoppable. All the years he’d known her
crashed through him, all the times she’d flirted with him and meant something
else, all the times he’d seen her perform on stage and wished he could have
held such fire.
Grabbing
her upper arms, he hauled her against him and, ignoring her shocked gasp, he
covered her mouth with his.
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