The Cowboy's Seductive Proposal

The Cowboy's Seductive Proposal
Sara Orwig

HE MADE "MARRY ME" SOUND LIKE A DARE… .In one blazing moment, rugged rodeo man Jared Whitewolf had tempted straitlaced Faith Kolanko to do something reckless. With a nod of her head, she could have it all - a home, a baby and a long-legged heartbreaker in a ten-gallon hat. Faith was pushing thirty, and this gorgeous, exasperating man was pushing all her buttons.The determined daddy saw Faith as perfect mommy material, but to her he was trouble in blue jeans. She was far too smart to consider his outrageous marriage of convenience. And far too tempted to say "I do!"

Marry Jared Whitewolf? (#ubeb91a10-ee55-5a7d-b4a9-fefd65468605)Letter to Reader (#ua8e5e9b0-2171-5f5d-96eb-047c95d4332b)Title Page (#u0127e365-0a20-517f-99cf-6805917e4040)SARA ORWIG (#ub761d377-895d-5962-bd2e-3188d001ab2c)Dedication (#ud33557b2-9b74-5d18-9aab-c688e05b0644)Chapter One (#ud2bc7cb0-9353-57b5-88c1-8ce1597ddd7c)Chapter Two (#u4515ab33-89f9-5033-aba7-1a44ed02de8b)Chapter Three (#u18fee90f-7976-5b90-80b2-d49644b99607)Chapter Four (#u64f686cc-d946-52db-81f2-66fdc9df1803)Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Marry Jared Whitewolf?

It was impossible, absurd. So why was she in knots over it?

She looked at her bare fingers. Then she looked around the bedroom with its white furniture and pale blue carpeting. The room looked virginal—probably because it was. No man had ever spent the night in it. She was cautious, and the men she dated were cautious. So what happened to all that great prudence with Jared?

He had discerned her feelings more than any other guy she’d ever dated. He knew she was worried about her thirtieth birthday; he knew she loved babies and wanted her own. If she married Jared, she would have a little baby. Not a year from now, but as soon as they married.

Her thoughts shifted to Jared. His dark eyes and strong arms were as clear as if he was in the room with her. A long, tall cowboy who was all she wasn’t. A man who excited her as no other ever had....

Dear Reader,

Welcome to a new year with Silhouette Desire! We begin the year in celebration—it’s the 10th Anniversary of MAN OF THE MONTH! And kicking off the festivities is the incomparable Diana Palmer, with January’s irresistible hero, Simon Hart, in Beloved.

Also launching this month is Desire’s series FORTUNE’S CHILDREN: THE BRIDES. So many of you wrote to us that you loved Silhouette’s series FORTUNE’S CHILDREN—now here’s a whole new branch of the family! Award-winning author Jennifer Greene inaugurates this series with The Honor Bound Groom.

Popular Anne Marie Winston begins BUTLER COUNTY BRIDES, a new miniseries about three small-town friends who find true love, with The Baby Consultant. Sara Orwig offers us a marriage of convenience in The Cowboy’s Seductive Proposal. Next, experience love on a ranch in Hart’s Baby by Christy Lockhart. And opposites attract in The Scandalous Heiress by Kathryn Taylor.

So, indulge yourself in 1999 with Silhouette Desire—powerful, provocative and passionate love stories that speak to today’s multifaceted woman. Each month we offer you six compelling romances to meet your many moods, with heroines you’ll care about and heroes to die for. Silhouette Desire is everything you desire in a romance novel.

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

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

The Cowboy′s Seductive Proposal

Sara Orwig

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

SARA ORWIG

lives with her husband and children in Oklahoma. She has a patient husband who will take her on research trips anywhere from big cities to old forts. She is an avid collector of Western history books. With a master’s degree in English, Sara writes historical romance, mainstream fiction and contemporary romance. Books are beloved treasures that take Sara to magical worlds, and she loves both reading and writing them.

To Hannah Elaine Slater, another little sweetie...

And with thanks through the years to

Dr. Clifton L. Warren

One

Fifteen more minutes of peace. Faith Kolanko glanced at her watch and sighed. She could enjoy her lunch break a little longer before she had to return to her frenzied office at Graphic Design. This was her one chance during the day for solitude.

Even when it was almost uncomfortably warm like today, she loved this secluded area of Harrington Park in downtown Tulsa. In addition to a redbrick wall, a tall hedge of blooming spirea bushes hemmed in the niche where she sat. Higher than her head, the white wall of spirea divided the quiet hideaway from the rest of the park.

“Ah, darlin’, isn’t this a gorgeous day?”

Beyond the spirea bushes a rich bass voice floated on the air. Figuring the couple would move on, Faith paid little heed to their murmurings. A glance at her watch showed twelve more minutes of tranquillity.

She didn’t want to return to the office one minute shy of her hour break. She had worked until ten o’clock last night, and then her day had begun at six this morning. She needed quiet before returning to the Bradley account.

Bushes rustled and noises on the other side of the spirea caught her attention again. She heard the snap of a blanket being shaken and then the pop of a can being opened.

“Lie down there, honey, and look at that blue sky. Can you believe this day?”

Faith sighed. Knowing her solitude had to end, she folded the morning paper, brushed crumbs off her blue skirt, then straightened her blue blouse. The couple on the other side of the bushes sounded as if they were going to stay for a while. She closed her thermos and slipped it into the brown paper bag.

“Oh, darlin’, I love you so much! I never would’ve guessed it possible.”

As she listened to the masculine voice that softened with tenderness, Faith’s brows arched, and she became aware of the cooings and murmurings on the other side of the bushes. The only way out of this corner of the park was a gravel walk that curved right past the amorous couple. She prayed they would pick up and move, but they sounded pretty comfortable.

“I love you.”

Faith heard the whispered baby talk, along with kisses and coos and deep-throated noises. She didn’t want to even imagine what was going on. But if the woman began screaming with pleasure, Faith wasn’t going to sit quietly. Didn’t they know there were people around?

They obviously didn’t care, because the noises increased.

Faith frowned at the spilling fountain of white blossoms, the green foliage almost hidden by the spirea blooms. She glanced at her watch. Nine more minutes before she absolutely had to start back to the office. Should she make a loud noise or try to creep past them? It didn’t sound as if they would notice her. Or care even if they did notice.

“Honey, wait a minute. There,” the man said. “Let’s get rid of this dress, darlin’ blue eyes. Big, big blue eyes. Oh, what long lashes you have! You’re my precious sweetie. . . .”

What would make perfectly sane adults resort to such ridiculous baby talk? Never in her life had Faith felt inclined to talk in such an absurd manner to any male she had dated. Nor would she ever.

The man’s voice faded, replaced by sounds that made Faith blush. She didn’t want to hear the noises, but now she certainly didn’t want to walk past them. And to get out of her hiding place, she would have to do just that.

She looked at the brick wall and contemplated going over it. The vision of herself in heels and hose and a tight cotton skirt sliding over that wall in front of the busy intersection killed the notion instantly. The only other way to avoid the couple would be to crash through the spirea hedge, and she could, just imagine how she would look returning to work with flowers and leaves in her hair.

She glanced at her watch. She had heard about couples having sex in the park, but she had dismissed the rumors as frivolous. All she had ever encountered were other business people and a few transients.

Seven minutes. The gurgles and growls and giggles made her cheeks burn. She debated what to do. Were they stark naked? she wondered.

How many times had her friend Leah warned her that they were too isolated when they came to this spot? Next time she would listen.