Wild Wyoming Nights by Joanne Rock
Series: The McNeill Magnates #8
Genres: Western Romance
“You’ll stay with me.”
She can’t resist the rich rancher!Emma Layton is working in Wyoming to get away from her abusive ex. But when wealthy ranch owner Carson McNeill learns of her plight, he insists she stay with him for protection. Emma agrees—even knowing this cowboy may prove irresistible.... Proximity soon leads to passion, night after night. But when Carson learns her secret connection to his family, this ride gets a whole lot wilder!
I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Review
This is my second book of this series and I will tell you that you can certainly read them out of order. There are some aspect of the story that carried over from the previous but not enough to be confused or not know what is going on. In fact if I hadn’t read the previous I wouldn’t have known anything had carried over from it. Carson McNeill meets his match in stunt woman Emma Layton. Can I just say that I love that Emma is a stunt woman? Normally a character with a name like Emma would be delicate and maybe a little fragile. She wouldn’t have a job like that of a stunt woman. Emma loves her job but doesn’t know as much about horses as she would have liked.
In steps Carson who insists that he give her riding lesson so that all the goings on around his ranch stay within safety standards. All I could think when I heard that “Okay, safety standards is what we’re calling it now?” Sorry I apparently have a dirty mind and went right there. Carson steps up and insists that Emma stays in his home when he discovers that her abusive ex is getting out of jail. That leads the pair to have to take a closer look at their feelings for one another. That is just the tip of the iceberg of what is happening this story and I have to tell you that I enjoyed every second from page one to the very last page.
“Wow.” She glanced over at her silent driver, wondering if he’d grown immune to the beauty. “I’ve never seen stars like this.”
Maybe some of her wonder seeped through his frustration, because he slowed the vehicle, then stopped altogether, the engine rumbling at
idle in the creeping night. They sat on a hilltop with meadows rolling out into the distance on one side, and a shadow of rocky cliffs and trees on the other.
He snapped off the headlights to give them a better view and turned off the ignition. The engine ticked for a few moments and then went silent.
“It’s amazing how much the lights of a city detract from the night sky.” Carson tipped his head back, too, his hands resting on his
sprawled, denim-covered knees.
The right one hovered close to her leg, radiating a warmth she could feel. Or maybe it was the electric current of attraction that made her skin tingle that way beneath her leggings. She had been on a few dates since breaking things off with Austin but nothing serious. She definitely hadn’t experienced the sizzling awareness she got from being around Carson.
What a shame for her body to finally wake up again around a man she needed to impress with her professionalism.
“It’s funny,” she said, needing to break the intimate thread of silence between them, “because I always think I live in a quieter area of
Los Angeles.” She tried not to think about his knee next to hers. His hand close to her leg. But memories of the way he’d touched her earlier—shifting her thigh on the horse—sent a fresh surge of heat through her.
“Even in Cheyenne, you can’t see the stars the way you can out here. There aren’t many perks to ranching, but the night sky is definitely
one of them.”
Straightening in her seat, she peered over at him. The breeze turned cooler.
“You don’t like your work?” She was curious about him, this man who allowed a film production company onto his property but couldn’t really
relinquish control. “After seeing you on horseback today, I guess I just assumed you were born in a saddle.”
He’d ridden beside her briefly before setting her loose to try the track on her own.
“Almost.” She thought she heard a hint of a smile in his voice. Or was that wishful thinking? “But I never imagined myself overseeing
cattle at my age. Ranching is fine for my twin brother, but I thought I’d be riding rodeo into my thirties.”
She hadn’t known about the twin brother. Or the rodeo past.
Still, she could relate to what he was saying. She felt him shift beside her, turning toward her. A gust of wind blew through her hair, flicking strands against her cheek.
“I never thought I’d be recreating sword fights or high-speed chases, either. But sometimes life takes surprising turns.”
“I’ll bet it’s an interesting story how you got here, Emma Layton.” Her name on his lips felt as intimate as a caress to a woman who
hadn’t been touched by a man in a long, long time.
The rush of heat through her veins shouldn’t have caught her off guard—she’d been feeling it all day around him. She’d run four miles to try
to escape it. Even so, the magnetic force that seemed to pull her toward him was like nothing she’d ever experienced. Her shoulders shifted fractionally closer. Her knee brushed his.
She drew in a sharp breath at the contact, ripples of pleasure radiating out from the point where she touched him. She forgot what they were talking about. Couldn’t think of words to say even if she remembered. There was only the moment and the man. The endless starry sky enveloping them like a dream.
Maybe that was why she found herself leaning even closer—it all felt surreal. Like a time out from the worry and stress of her real life, where everything was suddenly simpler. Where kissing Carson McNeill seemed like the only thing that mattered.
Her hand landed on his chest. Warm. Strong. Inviting.
She splayed her fingers wider, wanting to feel more of him.
Then she tipped her face up to his. She was close enough to see him well despite the darkness. His eyes locked on hers for an instant—like two stars close up. And then his lips claimed hers.
This sounds like a great book, When I was younger its all I read was Harlequin books.
@tisonlyme143
Great excerpt, thanks for sharing!
This sounds like a great book!