The Restless Virgin

The Restless Virgin
Peggy Moreland

TEXAS BRIDES WAITING FOR MARRIAGE? No way! Not now that sexy Nash Rivers was back in town. Samantha McCloud had never been so worked up over a man. But the beautiful virgin didn't know the first thing about wooing a rough and rugged man like Nash - or so she thought… . Nash had never felt so hot under the collar!All over one little Texas lady with a body that wouldn't quit. Heck, if the stubborn rancher didn't watch out, he'd soon be hog-tied and heading up the aisle. 'Cause sweet Samantha wasn't a one-night kind of woman. But was he a lifetime loving man?TEXAS BRIDES: Come on down to the McCloud family ranch - 'cause there's no place like Texas for a wedding!

Nash Rivers Was Sexy As Hell. Why Would He Even Bother To Look Twice At A Woman Like Her? (#u4ee072e9-b89d-59ef-850d-4b454134542e)Letter to Reader (#uba25c57d-f7c7-5a5c-a1ce-308d4ecc2240)Title Page (#u68ca9d3f-d7ac-5010-81c0-3ab30afa66a6)PEGGY MORELAND (#ub8a81c23-3b76-5285-b418-d797e0ca124f)Dedication (#uf26ee625-b8b1-5ef9-89dd-cefd1c385333)Prologue (#u06e5e90f-cf93-501d-aff7-2e97d2d6abb5)Chapter One (#u4747cc08-3e11-5354-9c3e-ea37754ddb40)Chapter Two (#u36dc527b-a9c2-584e-adf6-ffd2b7572320)Chapter Three (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Nash Rivers Was Sexy As Hell. Why Would He Even Bother To Look Twice At A Woman Like Her?

Still, the images played through Samantha’s mind at night. Images of Nash. Only Nash. He was with her in bed, his arms wrapped tightly around her, his body pressed close to hers. He would kiss her, whisper sweet seductive words in her ear. She’d touch him, kiss him, glory in the feel of him. Locked safely in the web of her dream, she could love him.

Then she would wake up and find herself alone, with nothing but a yearning growing stronger every day.

So what was the point of torturing herself by dreaming about him?

“Because that’s all I have,” she whispered sadly against her pillow. “And probably all I’ll ever have.”

She closed her eyes, waiting for him to come to her in the hazy cloud of a dream.

Dear Reader,

August predictably brings long steamy days...and hot sensuous nights. And this month Silhouette Desire spotlights the kind of pure passion that can erupt only in that sizzling summer climate.

Get ready to fall head over heels for August’s MAN OF THE MONTH, a sexy rancher who opens his home (and his heart?) to a lost beauty desperately hoping to recover her memory in A Montana Man by Jackie Merritt. Bestselling author Cait London continues her hugely popular miniseries THE TALLCHIEFS with Rafe Ralladin: Man of Secrets. Rafe is an irresistible takeover tycoon with a plan to acquire a Thallchief lady. Barbara McMahon brings readers the second story in her IDENTICAL TWINS! duo—in The Older Man an exuberant young woman is swept up by her love and desire for a tremendously gorgeous, much older man.

Plus, talented Susan Crosby unfolds a story of seduction, revenge and scandal in the continuation of THE LONE WOLVES with His Seductive Revenge. And TEXAS BRIDES are back with The Restless Virgin by Peggy Moreland, the story of an innocent Western lady tired of waiting around for marriage—so she lassos herself one unsuspecting cowboy! And you’ve never seen a hero like The Consummate Cowboy, by Sara Orwig. He’s all man, all-around ornery and all-out tempted...by his ex-wife’s sister!

I know you’ll enjoy reading all six of this sultry month’s brand-new Silhouette Desire novels by some of the most beloved and sexy authors of romance.

Regards,

Melissa Senate

Senior Editor

Silhouette Books

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Peggy Moreland

The Restless Virgin

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

PEGGY MORELAND

published her first book with Silhouette in 1989, and continues to delight readers with stories set in her home state of Texas. Winner of the National Readers’ Choice Award, a nominee for the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, and a finalist for the prestigious RITA Award, Peggy has appeared on the USA Today and Waldenbooks bestseller lists. When not writing, she enjoys spending time at the farm riding her quarter horse, Lo-Jump, and competing in local barrel-racing competitions. She, her husband and their three children make their home in Round Rock, Texas.

Sisters aren’t always created by blood; sometimes they

are formed by the heart. To my sister of the heart,

Becky Kennedy, and to Skeeter...the closest thing to a

“lap” horse that I’ve ever known.

Prologue

Double-Cross Heart Ranch

1988

Sam backed her horse trailer up to the dark barn, using her brake lights for illumination, then climbed wearily from the cab of her truck. Groaning, she pressed her hands to her lower back and stretched out the kinks placed there by the seven-hour drive from Oklahoma. With nothing but her horse and a radio for company, the trip had been long and lonely.

But Sam was used to going it alone. When her driver’s license had arrived in the mail shortly after her sixteenth birthday, designating her a legal driver, her father had handed her the keys to a truck along with the news bulletin that he wouldn’t be hauling her butt—or her horse’s either for that matter—across the country anymore. If she wanted to try for a national barrel-racing title, he’d told her, she’d be doing it alone. He didn’t have the time.

No surprise there. Lucas McCloud rarely had time for his daughters.

But tonight, Sam thought wistfully, she could have used a little company on the long trip home. She had hoped that Mandy, her older sister, would make the trip to Oklahoma with her, but with the baby and all, Mandy no longer had the freedom to take off at a moment’s notice. And Merideth... Sam snorted at the idea of her younger sister tagging along. Merideth wouldn’t be caught dead at a rodeo. The thought of rubbing shoulders with cowboys, getting dust on her shoes, or possibly even breaking a nail was too horrifying for her.

Sam sighed and scuffed her way wearily to the rear of the truck where she unhooked the back doors and lowered the ramp. “Come on, Skeeter,” she called gently to the tall roan. “We’re home.” Slipping her fingers beneath his halter, she clipped the lead rope into place, then guided him down to solid ground.

Rather than turn on the barn’s overhead lights and disturb the other animals, Sam led her horse down the dark alley, relying on memory and moonlight to guide her way. At Skeeter’s stall, she opened the door, then braced a hip against it as she shifted to unhook his halter. With a loving pat on his rump, she urged him inside. “’Night, Skeeter,” she whispered. “See you in the morning.”

Just as she dropped the latch, locking the gate into place, a man stepped from the shadows in the next stall. A scream rose in Sam’s throat, but dissolved into a frustrated hiss of air when she recognized the man as Reed Wester, one of her father’s ranch hands. She pressed a hand over her thudding heart. “Reed, you nearly scared me to death,” she accused him.

He chuckled. “A little jumpy tonight, aren’t you, Sam?”

She heaved a breath, trying to slow her heart’s racing. She didn’t like Reed. He had a way of looking at her that made her skin crawl. “No, you just startled me.” She started to move around him, anxious to get to the house and away from him, but Reed stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Sam snapped up her head to frown at him.

“How’d you do in Guthrie?”

“I ran slack, so I won’t know the results until tomorrow, but I held the fastest time when I left.” Wearily, she pushed a stray wisp of hair away from her eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m tired.”

“I’ll bet you’re a little stiff, too, considerin’ that long drive and all.” He stepped closer, putting a hand on her arm and running it from elbow to wrist. Goose bumps pebbled Sam’s skin while the nauseating smell of cheap whiskey and sweat swirled beneath her nose. “I could give you a rubdown,” he offered. “Ease the ache a little. What do ya say?”

Sam jerked free of his grasp, her nostrils pinched in anger. “No thanks,” she muttered, brushing past him.

A hand at her arm stopped her, and before she could react, Reed had spun her around and slammed her up against the barn wall, his hands cuffed around her wrists above her head.

“What’s the matter, Sam?” he sneered. “You think because you’re a McCloud you’re too good for the likes of me?”

Terror squeezed Sam’s chest at the hatred in his eyes and she tried to press her head farther back against the wall. “N-no,” she stammered, fighting hard to hide her fear. “I’m just tired, is all.”