Texas Blaze. Debbi Rawlins

      “There are a lot of things I should be doing, but first…”

      Mitch pulled Kate into his arms and kissed her.

      She started to object, but he took advantage of her parted lips and stroked his tongue into her mouth, slow and deep, until she helplessly responded.

      He had come to her. There had been no games, no lame attempts at seduction. She tasted his need in his kiss, felt his determination in the strong steady beat of his heart against her breast.

      She touched his tongue with hers, heady from the warm smell of his skin, from the heat of his body where it pressed intimately against hers. He used his free hand to brush a wayward lock of hair away from her face, and then stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

      “You feel so damn good.” He kissed her again, hard, his stubbled jaw rasping against her overly sensitized skin.

      She knew he wanted her something fierce. But was it enough to ignore his duty?

      Dear Reader,

      For those of you who read Texas Heat, you may be wondering about what happened to Kate Manning. Sure, she was engaged, although beset with misgivings, and then Mitch Colter stepped out of the past and into her life, sending her into a tailspin. As a smitten schoolgirl she’d had a mad crush on him, her brothers’ friend—older, confident and elusive. Yet he’d still been a boy when he left their small Texas community. Now he’s a man, and infinitely more tempting.

      I must confess I sometimes wonder about boys from my past. Who are they now? What do they do? Would their smiles still make me giddy? Okay, maybe not. I think I’ll let the answers remain a mystery. Or at least let my imagination fill in the blanks.

      Happy reading!

      Debbi Rawlins

      Debbi Rawlins

      TEXAS BLAZE

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Debbi Rawlins lives in central Utah, out in the country, surrounded by woods and deer and wild turkeys. It’s quite a change for a city girl, who didn’t even know where the state of Utah was until four years ago. Of course, unfamiliarity never stopped her. Between her junior and senior years of college she spontaneously left home in Hawaii, and bummed around Europe for five weeks by herself. And much to her parents’ delight, returned home with only a quarter in her wallet.

      Books by Debbi Rawlins

      HARLEQUIN BLAZE

      13—IN HIS WILDEST DREAMS

      36—EDUCATING GINA

      60—HANDS ON

      112—ANYTHING GOES…

      143—HE’S ALL THAT*

      160—GOOD TO BE BAD

      183—A GLIMPSE OF FIRE

      220—HOT SPOT**

      250—THE HONEYMOON THAT WASN’T*

      312—SLOW HAND LUKE*

      351—IF HE ONLY KNEW…*

      368—WHAT SHE REALLY WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS†

      417—ALL OR NOTHING

      455—ONCE AN OUTLAW††

      467—ONCE A REBEL††

      491—TEXAS HEAT

      Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Epilogue

      1

      KATE MANNING JUMPED at the loud pop. She tilted her head back, her gaze going to the explosion of red, blue and silver that burst against the night sky, and then rained down in glittering streamers to the delight of the spectators. The annual July Fourth celebration and fireworks display hosted by her family was almost over. Friends and neighbors would soon leave the Manning ranch, exhausted from the three days of festivities. She couldn’t wait for them to go.

      She should have been happier. Ecstatic, really. Standing apart from the crowd, she leaned against the kitchen door and stared down at the sparkling one-carat diamond ring on her finger. She was engaged to be married in six months for goodness’ sakes. She’d long ago chosen a dress and started making plans for a late-winter wedding when West Texas wasn’t so horribly hot.

      Her college friends were here, having traveled thousands of miles to join her in celebrating her engagement. Only two weeks ago she’d called each of them herself, and practically begged them to come. A day later the blues had taken hold, and she’d nearly called them back to rescind the invitation. But she hadn’t, and now she wondered if subconsciously she wished they’d come to talk her out of getting married.

      Another explosion of red and blue lit up the sky, and she peered into the crowd, focusing in the direction where she’d last seen Dennis talking to Clyde Thompson, owner of the Red Rock Ranch. One thing about her fiancé, she thought wryly, he had quite a knack for zeroing in on the wealthy and powerful.

      Damn him for missing most of the weekend. He knew how important it was to her that he meet her friends, but he’d skipped the barbecue and dance yesterday, then the rodeo and picnic this afternoon, finally showing up an hour ago. Since then he’d spent his time working the crowd like a seasoned politician. Was that her appeal, she thought uneasily, her family name and community standing?

      It was nerves making her short-tempered with him. That’s all. Over a hundred and fifty people had shown up this weekend, requiring an enormous amount of preparation to make sure there was enough food and drink. After the cleanup was through, and she’d had a couple nights of good sleep, she’d be back to normal. Happy again that she was marrying such a good man. One she would always be able to count on. One who understood her and loved her. She could continue planning her wedding without all the distractions, which would surely lift her spirits.

      Feeling a bit queasy, she wrapped her arms around her middle. One minute, then she’d go find Dennis. So far he’d met Jessica, but not her other two friends. They were both off somewhere with her brothers. Man, she hadn’t seen that coming.

      A breathtaking array of blue and gold blossomed in the sky, quickly followed by a rapid succession of fiery rockets in brilliant colors, which meant the show was building to the finale. Kate smiled at the appreciative murmurs of the crowd, content that the weekend had been a success. Near where the children’s rides were set up, silvery white sparklers bobbed