The Maisey Yates Collection : Cowboy Heroes. Maisey Yates

Look what we were protecting ourselves from.”

      He laughed. “When you put it that way, it seems like we were being pretty stupid.”

      “Fear is stupid. And it’s strong.”

      He tightened his hold on her. “It isn’t stronger than this.”

      Not stronger than fifteen years of friendship, than holding each other through grief and pleasure, laughter and pain.

      When she had pulled up and seen his truck here, Anna Brown had murder on her mind. And now, everything was different.

      “Remember when you promised you were going to make me a woman?” she asked.

      “Right. I do. You laughed at me.”

      “Yes, I did.” She stretched up on her toes and kissed his lips. “Chase McCormack, I’m pretty sure you did make me a woman. Maybe not in the way you meant. But you made me feel...like a whole person. Like I could finally put together all the parts of me and just be me. Not hide any of it anymore.”

      He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against hers. “I’m glad, Anna. Because you sure as hell made me a man. The man that I want to be, the man that I need to be. I can’t change the past, and I can’t live in it anymore, either.”

      “Good. Then I think we should go ahead and make ourselves a future.”

      “Works for me.” He smiled. “I love you. You’re everything.”

      “I love you, too.” It felt so good to say that. To say it and not be afraid. To show her whole heart and not hold anything back.

      “I bet that I can make you say you love me at least a hundred more times tonight. I bet I can get you to say it every day for the rest of our lives.”

      She smiled, taking his hand and walking toward the house, not caring about the rain. “I bet you can.”

      He led her inside, leaving a trail of clothes in the hall behind them, leaving her beautiful dress on the floor. She didn’t care at all.

      “And I bet—” he wrapped his arm around her waist, then laid her down on the bed “—tonight I can make you scream.”

      “I’ll take that bet,” she said, wrapping her legs around his hips.

      And that was a bet they both won.

      * * * * *

       Hold Me, Cowboy

      Maisey Yates

      Stranded with a cowboy for Christmas...from New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates!

      Oil and water have nothing on Sam McCormack and Madison West. The wealthy rancher has never met a haughtier—or more appealing—woman in his life. And when they’re snowed in, he’s forced to admit this ice queen can scorch him with one touch...

      Madison had plans for the weekend! Instead she’s stranded with a man who drives her wild. A night of no-strings fun leaves both of them wanting more when they return to Copper Ridge. His proposal: twelve days of hot sex before Christmas! But will it ever be enough?

      That was the problem with Sam.

      He was exactly the kind of man she didn’t like. He was cocky, rough and crude. However, there was something about the way he looked in a tight T-shirt that made a mockery of all that very certain hatred.

      “Are you going to take off your coat and stay a while?” That question, asked in a faintly mocking tone, sent a dart of tension straight between her thighs.

      She could not take off her coat. Because she was wearing nothing more than a scrap of red lace underneath it. And now, it was all she could think of. About how little stood between Sam and her naked body.

      About what might happen if she just went ahead and dropped the coat and revealed all of that to him.

      “It’s cold,” she snapped.

      The maddening man raised his eyebrows, shooting her a look that clearly said suit yourself, then set about looking for the fuse box.

      She let out an exasperated sigh and followed his path, stopping when she saw him examining the little black switches inside the box.

      “It’s not a fuse. That means there’s something else going on.” He slammed the door shut. Then he turned back to look at her. “You should come to my cabin.”

      * * *

      Hold Me, Cowboy is part of the Copper Ridge series from New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates

      Dear Reader,

      I’m delighted to welcome you back to Copper Ridge, Oregon. This series is all about community, family, love and hot cowboys. And in Hold Me, Cowboy, it’s Christmas in Copper Ridge, which means sparkling lights, chilly days and even colder nights. Except the hero and heroine in this book have found a way to make the nights a whole lot warmer!

      I always enjoy writing a book where opposites attract. Because the explosion when irritation turns to passion is always so incredibly intense.

      That’s just one of the many reasons that I had to pair my rough blacksmith hero, Sam McCormack, with prickly socialite Madison West. The two of them push all the wrong buttons in each other. But they push all the right ones, too. And when a snowstorm sees them both stranded up in the mountains, all that simmering anger turns into something else entirely. They figure having twelve passionate nights before Christmas to burn off all that attraction should be just about perfect. But in the end, it may not be so easy to walk away.

      If you enjoy Maddy and Sam and your time in Copper Ridge, I hope you’ll check out more stories in the series. Also from Harlequin Desire is Take Me, Cowboy, which features Sam’s brother Chase. And you can read about the rest of the West family in One Night Charmer, Tough Luck Hero and Last Chance Rebel, out now from HQN Books.

      Happy reading!

      Maisey

      To KatieSauce, the sister I was always waiting for. What a joy it is to have you in my life.