Last week was FOOL'S
GOLD's first
book birthday. Yay! To celebrate, I'm holding a giveaway over at my blog - you could win an ebook copy of
FOOL'S GOLD along with a prize of mystery. But hop to it, peeps, the giveaway
ends on 23 January. Cassandra xx
Christmas
in Freewill Christmas
Eve, the Diamond Saloon is empty of its people, and Pearl la Monte has a
hankering to retire early. A pounding at the Diamond’s door rids her of such a
fool notion. Her irritation rises when she sees the prissy, polite-like Garrett
standing outside. Ethan Garrett has a powerful need to gain succor. When the
saloon’s voluptuous redheaded singer scowls at him from the threshold of the
Diamond, he doesn’t stop to think on how his ire at her has disappeared. Or how
he just wants to spend some time in her company. When a blizzard storms in,
trapping them, will they spend their time arguing or find their irritation for
each other disguises something more?
~ Excerpt ~
Turning on her heel, Pearl marched off toward the stairs. A weird kind of
panic jolted through Ethan, one he’d never felt before in all his days. It
was…he didn’t…. She couldn’t leave him.
“Where are you going?” She whirled to face him, her irritation plain. “I
was seeking my bed before your arrival, and now I’m seeking it again. Help
yourself to whiskey this one time. I got better things to do.”
Shoving to his feet, he strode to her. “Don’t just walk away when we’re
discussing things.”
“We ain’t discussing nothing. You’ll be down here, waiting out the
blizzard. I’ll be in my bed, doing what I was gonna before you arrived. That’s
the end of it.” Taking a step, she made to leave him. Again.
He grabbed her arm. “Don’t leave me.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Glaring at him, she stood before the bar, her
magnificent hair slipping from its pins, her breasts rising and falling.
Abruptly, his mouth went dry.
Clearing his throat some, he said, “You’re supposed to offer succor to those in
need.”
“We’re closed, remember?” Paint-less lips pressed tight
together, she glared up at him. They were so close
he could see the faint marks of freckles on her skin. Pearl La Monte had
freckles. A kind of haze came over him, tightening his skin and bringing with
it something all-fired powerful and completely unstoppable. All the years he’d
known her crashed through him, all the times she’d flirted with him and meant
something else, all the times he’d seen her perform on stage and wished he
could have held such fire. Grabbing her upper arms, he hauled her against him
and, ignoring her shocked gasp, he covered her mouth with his.
Cassandra Dean grew up daydreaming, inventing fantastical worlds and marvelous adventures. Once she learned to read (First phrase – To the Beach. True story), she was never without a book, reading of other people’s fantastical worlds and marvelous adventures. Fairy tales, Famous Fives, fantasies and fancies; horror stories, gumshoe detectives, science fiction; Cassandra read it all. Then she discovered Romance and a true passion was born. So, once upon a time, after making a slight detour into the world of finance, Cassandra tried her hand at writing. After a brief foray into horror, she couldn’t discount her true passion. She started to write Romance and fell head over heels. The love affair exists to this very day. Cassandra lives in Adelaide, South Australia.
