HOOKED
(Studs in Spurs, Book 4) by Cat Johnson
His
last eight seconds could lead to the longest, most satisfying ride of his life.
Annie
Grant is at the top of her game as an on-air interviewer for the pro
bull-riders tour. In all those years standing within microphone range of
thousands of sexy cowboys, she’s never been tempted…until now. Now that
respected veteran Luke Carpenter is no longer with his longtime girlfriend,
he’s back on the market. And Annie is buying.
Luke
knows his days are numbered. Every year the rookies get younger, the bulls get
ranker and, like it or not, the time is coming when he’ll be hanging up
his spurs. After a sizzling hot night with Annie, he realizes that maybe
this old dog can learn some new tricks. But quicker than a bull can spin,
things get complicated.
A
tragedy forces Luke into a no-win decision: hang onto the tail end of his
career, or retire early for his family. Either way, he can live with his
choice. Question is, can he live without Annie?
Warning: Contains knock-your-boots-off cowboy lovin, some up
close and personal interviews of the oral persuasion, and a happy
ending…cowboy style.
Enjoy this G-Rated Excerpt from HOOKED
The front desk personnel greeted them as they
walked through the deserted lobby, and before she knew it they were alone
inside the elevator.
“Which floor?” Luke paused with his hand above
the panel.
“Five.”
He nodded and pushed the button for five.
One glance told Annie he hadn’t pushed any
buttons for his own floor. “What floor are you on?”
“Three.” He didn’t push the button for three,
even though they would have to pass his floor to get to hers. Instead he shoved
his hands in the front pockets of his jeans as overwhelming silence filled the
air.
Her pulse sped. Luke was going to walk her
directly to her door. The door that led to the room with not much more than a
bed inside.
Luke was a gentleman, she reminded herself. As
such he’d wait for her to unlock and open that door to make sure she got inside
safely. His being a gentleman also meant he wouldn’t take advantage of the
situation and ask her if he could come in.
She couldn’t invite him inside, could she? For
what? The warm half of a diet cola she’d left on the dresser from last night? A
cup of coffee from the tiny coffee maker plugged in the wall outlet in her
bathroom?
Her wildly pumping pulse sounded nearly
deafening in her ears. Annie knew exactly what she wanted to invite him to come
inside for, but she sure couldn’t admit that to him. She glanced sideways at
his chiseled profile with regret. It would be a bad idea for them to be
together like that anyway. What if it didn’t work out? Their working
relationship would be horribly strained afterwards.
If they started something, it would probably get
out to the other bull riders and, worse, her bosses.
She’d be fired and then replaced by that young
blond thing they’d just hired at the network for the evening sports wrap up.
Then Annie would be unemployed, shamed and alone.
Definitely better to let things remain just as
they were. At least now she was employed and respected even if she was alone.
The elevator door opened on her floor and pulled
her thoughts from her sad revelations. Luke extended his arm to hold the door
and prevent it from closing on her. True to gentlemanly form, he waited for her
to exit first.
Annie reminded herself one more time that this
man was the epitome of good manners. Only a foolish woman would confuse his
politeness with interest in her. All of her wondering and worrying about “what
if” was ridiculous. In a way, that made her feel a little better. If he wasn’t
interested it was out of her hands.
Nothing she could do about it either way. Right?
That thought carried her all the way to her
door, where she finally remembered to search in her bag for her keycard as Luke
stood by waiting patiently.
He was too perfect. That’s why he would never go
for her. She was far from perfect. So she could just stop worrying and get on
with her lonely life.
Good, at least that was settled.
With that thought in mind, she slid the card in
and waited for the red light to turn green. It didn’t. She slid it again.
Again, it didn’t turn green.
She glanced at Luke. “I don’t know what’s wrong
with this thing.”
“Let me try.” He reached out to take the card
and their hands touched. His was big and warm, and it warmed her heart from
just that small contact. Damn, too bad he wasn’t into her because she could
sure be into him.
“Sure.” She somehow managed to respond and
remember to release her hold on the card.
Stop hoping, silly woman.
Annie was a good ten years older than all the
girls who hung around the bull riders. Well, actually women both young and old
hung around, but Annie suspected it was mainly the younger ones who got taken
back to the hotel for the night. Stupid, youth-oriented society.
While she was busy cursing the world in which
they lived, Luke flipped the card around and tried the other end. The light
turned green and she heard the locks slide.
“Oh, great. Thanks.” Behind his back, she rolled
her eyes at her own stupidity. She couldn’t even manage to stick the card in
the lock the correct way. Maybe she needed to get bifocals or something. When
did people’s eyes start to fail from old age?
All of her errant self-bashing came to an abrupt
halt when she realized that Luke had entered the room, flipped on the light
switch and was waiting inside, holding the door open for her to join him.
Wow. That had been easy. He was inside, but
would he stay?
Just the thought had her juices flowing. She had
to do something and fast, because as she stepped inside the room after him, he
held the key card out. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Would he leave now? She really didn’t
want him to. “Um, I could make us some coffee, or decaf…” She swung her arm in
the general direction of the bathroom where the machine was, as unappetizing as
that juxtaposition was.
“Sure. That would be great.” Luke let the door
swing shut.
Annie took the keycard he had handed her and
dropped it onto the dresser along with her bag. The surface was a little messy
but at least housekeeping had made the bed—the big king-sized bed. She yanked
her gaze away from that and glanced guiltily at him, and noticed Luke was
staring in the same direction she had been, at that big inviting mattress.
He turned to her and she could have sworn he
blushed. “Annie…” He took one step closer, until he was directly in front of
her, and then he stopped.
“Yes?” Oh
God. Don’t get too excited.
“I don’t really want any coffee.” His eyes
focused on her intently.
DON'T
MISS THE OTHER STUDS IN SPURS
UNRIDDEN
BOOK 1- Slade & Mustang
BUCKED
BOOK 2 - Mustang
RIDE BOOK 3 - Chase
0 comments:
Post a Comment