The Barons Of Texas: Kit. Fayrene Preston

tion>

      

      Des Was The Only Thing On Her Mind, And She Couldn’t Get Him Out.

      All Kit’s instincts were shouting at her that earlier this morning, with very little effort, her encounter with Des could have turned from anger to passion. And if it had…

      So much had happened today that was bewildering. Someone had killed Cody, and the sheriff was looking at her as a suspect. Even stranger was the fact that Des, whom she had avoided for years, had declared himself her lawyer, her defender.

      She could cope with the sheriff, but Des was a different matter. She could well understand why for years women had made fools of themselves over him. At seventeen, she would have made a complete fool out of herself if he hadn’t stopped their kiss. She groaned at her thoughts.

      And this would have been a perfect night to relax—except she couldn’t get her mind off the murder. And Des…

      Dear Reader,

      Happy New Year from Silhouette Desire, where we offer you six passionate, powerful and provocative romances every month of the year! Here’s what you can indulge yourself with this January….

      Begin the new year with a seductive MAN OF THE MONTH, Tall, Dark & Western by Anne Marie Winston. A rancher seeking a marriage of convenience places a personals ad for a wife, only to fall—hard—for the single mom who responds!

      Silhouette Desire proudly presents a sequel to the wildly successful in-line continuity series THE TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB. This exciting new series about alpha men on a mission is called TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB: LONE STAR JEWELS. Jennifer Greene’s launch book, Millionaire M.D., features a wealthy surgeon who helps out his childhood crush when she finds a baby on her doorstep—by marrying her!

      Alexandra Sellers continues her exotic miniseries SONS OF THE DESERT with one more irresistible sheikh in Sheikh’s Woman. THE BARONS OF TEXAS miniseries by Fayrene Preston returns with another feisty Baron heroine in The Barons of Texas: Kit. In Kathryn Jensen’s The Earl’s Secret, a British aristocrat romances a U.S. commoner while wrestling with a secret. And Shirley Rogers offers A Cowboy, a Bride & a Wedding Vow, in which a cowboy discovers his secret child.

      So ring in the new year with lots of cheer and plenty of red-hot romance, by reading all six of these enticing love stories.

      Enjoy!

      Joan Marlow Golan

      Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

      The Barons of Texas: Kit

      Fayrene Preston

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      FAYRENE PRESTON

      published her first book in 1981 and has been publishing steadily ever since. This is her third novel for Silhouette Books, and she is delighted to be on board. Fayrene lives in North Texas and is the mother of two grown sons. She claims her greatest achievement in life is turning out two wonderful human beings. She is also proud to announce the arrival of her first grandchild: a beautiful baby girl. Now she has even more to be thankful for.

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Epilogue

       Copyright

      Prologue

      Des.

      The name of her stepcousin broke the peace of the cold winter morning and eased its way into Kit Baron’s consciousness.

      She didn’t even flinch. As much as she hated the fact, Des Baron was never far from her thoughts, especially when he was in residence at the ranch, as he was now.

      Like an apparition that haunted, Des—his dark eyes, his enigmatic smile, his long, lean body—seemed to hover, waiting for an opportunity to infringe upon her thoughts. It was crazy, and she had no answer for it. She simply had learned to endure until he once again left the ranch and she was able to breathe more freely.

      As she continued toward the saddle barn, the gravel crunched beneath her feet and she forced her thoughts elsewhere. The dawn was just beginning to break over the horizon. All over the ranch, activity had been going on for hours. There had been a freeze during the night, but the day would warm up with the sun, and in the meantime, she didn’t mind the cold. It cleared her head.

      She loved winter mornings on the Double B, but then, she couldn’t think of a day or a season she didn’t adore. She had been born on it, and despite the harsh way her father, Edward Baron, had raised her and her sisters there, she had fallen in love with the land at an early age. Tess and Jill had gone in other directions, eager to be gone from the place and make their fortunes elsewhere. But now that their father was dead and Kit had had time to put her own personal stamp on the ranch, it was more than her home, it was her life.

      Its wildness and unpredictability suited her down deep in her bones. She identified with the land that remained untamed, despite man’s best efforts. It was her own personal kingdom.

      As she drew closer to the barn, her steps quickened.

      The saddle barn was a constant in her life. As a child, it had served as a place to hide from her domineering father, a place to dream of a happier life.

      But even there, Des had managed to imprint himself on her memories. One summer evening, when she had been seventeen, she had fled to the barn after her father had verbally torn her to shreds over something so inconsequential she couldn’t even remember what it had been. But she did remember Des Baron.

      Coming into the barn, he had heard her crying. Following the sound, he had found her up in the loft in the farmost corner. Without a word, he had gathered her into his arms. But soon the comforting strokes had turned more urgent, and murmurs had turned into kisses. Soon heat was coursing between them. If he hadn’t finally torn away from her…

      But he had. And that night she had learned that Des was a danger to her like no other. With incredible ease he could make her want him to the point that nothing else would be important, make her fall beneath his spell until he was her entire world.

      She couldn’t allow it to happen.

      Living under the heavy thumb of her father had made her vow she would never again allow herself to be dominated by a man. Once in a lifetime was more than enough.

      And so, in public and on the surface, she had competed in an idiotic contest with her sisters to win Des’s agreement to marriage. She and her sisters had each wanted to marry him because of business reasons that had to do with their father’s will and, ultimately, control of Baron International, the family business. Privately, though, she had remained extremely wary of Des.

      Damn the man.

      Why wouldn’t he stay out of her mind?

      Just inside, she flipped on the light and started down the wide hall between the stalls. Immediately the scent of the sweet hay and straw, and the commonplace smell of saddle soap, leather and horses, enveloped her. Since childhood, she had equated the smells with comfort, with home, with safety.

      She