Taming a Dark Horse

Taming a Dark Horse
Stella Bagwell

NICE, REASONABLE, DEDICATED AND COMPLETELY QUALIFIED–NO WOMAN LIKE THAT WOULD BE WILLING TO LIVE WITH HIM.Linc Ketchum hadn't been a pussycat before the fire at the T Bar K burned his hands, but now he was next to impossible. And he knew no woman would put up with him, especially not Nevada Ortiz, the so-called nurse that Linc's cousin had sent to take care of him. She was unexpectedly pretty and smarth-mouthed to boot. Her jet-black hair and creamy brown skin were a serious distraction, not to mention the feelings that she stirred up. Like any cowboy, Linc hated to admit he might be wrong, but Nevada's tender loving care was slowly changing his mind about women. Or one woman, in particular….

“Don’t worry, I’ve done this very thing many times before,”

she said as she reached for the button on the waistband of his jeans.

He sucked in a hard breath. “I’ll bet.”

Nevada looked up at him with hard brown eyes. “That’s the second time you’ve implied that I’m promiscuous. What gave you that idea?”

“You. You said you had boyfriends. Or did I misunderstand you?”

With a shake of her head, she focused her gaze on the fly of his jeans. “No. You didn’t misunderstand. And aren’t you glad I’ve got experience? Otherwise I might just get you all tangled up in this zipper.”

Linc started to growl a warning to her but the loud sound of the zipper peeling open caused his mouth to snap shut. Now wasn’t the time to press his luck. But if she didn’t step away from him soon, he was going to do something crazy. Like grab her and kiss her until she couldn’t say one more sassy word to him.

Dear Reader,

Well, it’s September, which always sounds like a fresh start to me, no matter how old I get. And evidently we have six women this month who agree. In Home Again by Joan Elliott Pickart, a woman who can’t have children has decided to work with them in a professional capacity—but when she is assigned an orphaned little boy, she fears she’s in over her head. Then she meets his gorgeous guardian—and she’s sure of it!

In the next installment of MOST LIKELY TO…, The Measure of a Man by Marie Ferrarella, a single mother attempting to help her beloved former professor joins forces with a former campus golden boy, now the college…custodian. What could have happened? Allison Leigh’s The Tycoon’s Marriage Bid pits a pregnant secretary against her ex-boss who, unbeknownst to him, has a real connection to her baby’s father. In The Other Side of Paradise by Laurie Paige, next up in her SEVEN DEVILS miniseries, a mysterious woman seeking refuge as a ranch hand learns that she may have more ties to the community than she could have ever suspected. When a beautiful nurse is assigned to care for a devastatingly handsome, if cantankerous, cowboy, the results are…well, you get the picture—but you can have it spelled out for you in Stella Bagwell’s next MEN OF THE WEST book, Taming a Dark Horse. And in Undercover Nanny by Wendy Warren, a domestically challenged female detective decides it’s necessary to penetrate the lair of single father and heir to a grocery fortune by pretending to be…his nanny. Hmm. It could work.…

So enjoy, and snuggle up. Fall weather is just around the corner.…

Happy reading!

Gail Chasan

Senior Editor

Taming a Dark Horse

Stella Bagwell

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

To our own beloved horses:

Thunder, Trouble, Spider John, Diamond,

Rooster, Topper, Shy Girl, Badger, Miss Kitty,

Potion, Major Bob, Festus, Newly, Doll Brown,

Sante Fe Solid, Maggie and the baby on the way.

And also, in loving memory of Gus, my brother’s great trail horse.

STELLA BAGWELL

sold her first book to Silhouette in November 1985. More than fifty novels later, she still loves her job and says she isn’t completely content unless she’s writing. Recently, she and her husband of more than thirty years moved from the hills of Oklahoma to Seadrift, Texas, a sleepy little fishing town located on the coastal bend. Stella says the water, the tropical climate and the seabirds make it a lovely place to let her imagination soar and to put the stories in her head down on paper.

She and her husband have one son, Jason, who lives and teaches high school math in nearby Port Lavaca.

HOW TO TAME A DARK HORSE:

1 Approach him with caution—he’s an animal of flight.

2 Don’t try to rope him too quickly—let him run until he tires.

3 When he starts to show interest, give him your shoulder—he’ll want what he thinks he can’t have.

4 When he decides to get close, talk to him—sweet whispered words in his ear will calm his fearful heart.

5 Once he allows you to touch him, show him you’ll never hurt him—stroke him gently on his cheek and along his neck.

6 And finally, when he surrenders to you, give him a sugary treat—he’ll love you for a lifetime.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter One