SOMETHING LIKE LOVE (HEART OF THE ROCKIES #2)
BY SARA RICHARDSON
SYNOPSIS
IT'S GONNA BE A WILD RIDE
Ben Noble needs to do some damage control. Fast. His heart has always been in ranching, but there's no escaping the spotlight on his high-powered political family. Now the only thing that can restore his reputation is a getaway to the fresh air of Aspen, Colorado. Not to mention that the trip gives Ben a second chance to impress a certain gorgeous mountain guide. But Paige Harper is nothing like the shy girl he remembers . . . she's so much more.
Paige is serious about Ben, too: seriously annoyed that the playboy cowboy is usingher mountain for his PR. Once upon a time, she fell for Ben's aw-shucks charm, but the fairy tale didn't end happily. Paige doesn't intend to let down her guard again. But keeping their relationship all business and no pleasure may be harder than she thinks-especially if the moonlight, the Rockies, and a certain irresistible rancher have anything to say about it...
Release Date: October 27, 2015
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REVIEW: SOMETHING LIKE LOVE (HEART OF THE ROCKIES #2)
BY SARA RICHARDSON
Something Like Love by Sara Richardson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have not had the pleasure of reading the previous book in this series. If I had maybe I would have learned more about the history of Ben and Paige's relationship. I enjoyed them as a couple. There was more going on underneath Paige's resistance. Paige is scared to open herself up to more hurt. Her relationships whether romantic or familial have consisted of her being labeled a disappointment and I believe she has taken those words to heart. In her mind she can't disappoint anyone else if she pushes them away. Ben would not have been my choice of her rescuer but he ended up surprising me. Something Like Love takes a look at the fragility of the heart and the power love has to mend it. I am going to read book one as soon as I can.
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EXCERPT 1
His hand latched on to her arm. “One date. That’s all I’m asking for.”
No, no, no. Don’t touch me. Don’t make me want something I can’t have.
“Ben.” She sighed. Leave me alone didn’t sound nice. And he thought she was nice. As much as he was mistaken, she hated to burst that particular bubble. It was a rare occasion that someone thought she was nice.
He stepped closer. Too close. “One date. Three hours. What are you afraid of, Paige?”
“That’s a complicated question,” she whispered because that was all she could manage. Her lungs squeezed. She couldn’t tell him the truth. She was afraid once he saw past everything, he wouldn’t like what he found. Just like everyone else.
But he didn’t back off. He didn’t move away. He stared at her until the world fell silent, until his gaze fell to her lips. She knew he would kiss her before his lips pressed into hers. She knew, but she didn’t back away, either. Her heart pounded so hard it ached and when his lips were finally on hers, she kissed him back, letting her knees go weak, letting her herself sink into him, letting go.
And he knew where to take her. Holy shittles, he knew. His strong hands caressed up her back and gentled into her hair. His soft, warm lips pried hers open, shooting bursts of warmth down her arms and legs. Something in her chest unlocked and she opened her mouth to him, let his tongue stroke hers. And it was a good thing he was so solid and sure because she wouldn’t be able to stand if she wasn’t leaning against him.
His lips moved over hers, slow and sensual, with a reverence no one had ever offered her. And it was so different, the places he was taking her, so open and giving, demanding nothing for himself. Her body responded to his with a shuddering gasp that made her want to give him more, everything. Chest heaving with a stifled breath, she glided her tongue along his lower lip, then bit down on it lightly.
His low groan lured her hands to his chest. They slid down, feeling the solid muscle under his shirt. Warm satisfaction filled her body to the point of brimming over as a sensual desperation flickered in his movements, making them faster, harder. His tongue mingled with hers, loosening her control, only proving the theory that one kiss could lead to so much more. He could give her more. So much more, judging from the way he seemed to know exactly what she wanted . . .
A foreign sound froze her. Her hands gripped Ben’s shirt as she strained her ears.
Moose. Barking. Somewhere close by. Which meant Bryce wouldn’t be far behind.
“Paige?” her boss called.
Bryce!
She jerked back and shoved her hands into Ben’s chest so hard, he stumbled backward into the feed buckets. Everything clattered as he fell, landing right in a pile of horse oats.
“Paige?” Bryce yelled again. “What the hell?”
Moose bounded into the stables and launched himself at Ben, smothering him with happy kisses.
Eyes wide and bewildered, she looked down at him, still crumpled on the ground, trying to wrestle the dog away as he laughed his ass off.
Oh, no. She squeezed a hand over her mouth, face pulsing with a scorching heat. Her shaking hand reached up to smooth her hair, sure that somehow the evidence of that kiss was all over her.
“What’s going on?” Bryce demanded as he jetted through the stable doors.
“Ben fell,” she blurted out. “He was helping me put stuff away and he . . .”
“Tripped over my own feet.” Eyes watering from the laughter, he pushed Moose away and stood, brushing himself off.
The dog tore away and disappeared from the stables like he’d caught some juicy scent. “Some things don’t change. I’m still a klutz. Remember when I fell down the steps at the old frat house? Broke my arm?”
Bryce eyed him with suspicion. “As I recall, that was because you’d consumed about half the keg.”
He grinned at Paige. “Beer was definitely not my problem today.”
EXCERPT 2
“Whatcha doin’?” He sidled up next to her, his hand still lingering against her, his spicy scent wrapping around her.
What was she doing? Convulsing. Practically gasping for air because his large, capable hand pressed against her and, even though she couldn’t forget the humiliation he’d caused her at the gala, she also couldn’t forget how it’d felt to kiss him, those sly, smiling lips claiming hers, coaxing out that surge of warm, tingling want from the vastly neglected regions of her body.
Seemingly oblivious to her inner chaos, Ben glanced down in that lazy way of his, soft brown eyes lit by the glow of the soft chandelier lighting overhead. “You look . . . different.”
Usually she didn’t care much how she looked, especially considering that she spent her days out in the sun and wind, out tending to horses that didn’t care much how she looked, either. But standing next to him—so close she could feel the warmth of his body—made her acutely aware of every detail about herself, the small scar over the bridge of her nose from when she’d crashed her mountain bike, the freckles across her cheeks, the cracks in the dry skin on her hands . . .
“Sorry.” One side of his mouth lifted. “I meant to say you look nice.”
Except the word sounded confused, like he wasn’t quite sure exactly what he was looking at.
“I like the new look,” he tried again.
Her body went stiff and she stepped away so he couldn’t touch her. He thought she was trying to impress him?
Blood rushed to her face. Hardly. So typical of a wealthy bachelor. She’d dressed up and put on makeup and he assumed it was all for him. The pulsing in her cheeks verged on a nuclear meltdown. “Your mother made it clear she likes things a certain way.” So there. She hadn’t spent two hours getting ready for him. She’d done it all for his mother.
Ben slipped in front of her. She only came up to his chin, but he lowered his head until they were nearly eyes-to-eyes, nose-to-nose, lips-to-lips. “The only person who values my mother’s opinion is her.”
He was too close. Too intense. She strained her lungs to slow her breathing so her breasts didn’t heave out and collide with his chest.
“I make my own opinions, Paige. In case you can’t tell, I like what I see when I look at you.”
His gaze lowered to her lips and she had to pull back. She couldn’t stand there teetering on the edge of that cliff. She couldn’t let herself close her eyes and fall, not with Bryce and Mrs. Noble over there, not with her job on the line. And not with Ben being a cowboy Casanova who dated catalog models. That would not end well for her, just like it didn’t at the gala. Just like it didn’t after Jory convinced her to give him a piece of her heart, then threw it in the trash like a cheap dollar-store ring.
She stumbled back a step. “It doesn’t matter if you like what you see,” she snapped. “I’m not interested.”
“Can I ask why?” he drawled.
“It would be unprofessional,” she breathed, inching more space between them.
His lips quirked as he studied her, the expression calling her bluff. He raised a hand up to the wall, trapping her against him. “If I’d have known I was gonna meet you that night, I never would’ve even looked at another woman. You can’t fault me for not bein’ able to see into the future.”
Resist the drawl. She had to resist the drawl. Inching more space between them, she raised her gaze to meet his and tensed her face to send him a message. “That has nothing to do with it,” she insisted, then shrugged out from under him so her voice would quit trembling.
But his eyes wouldn’t let her go. They seemed so settled on her, so comfortable staring into hers. “Get to know me. Then you can decide what kind of guy I am.” He rested his hand on her upper arm in a gesture of sincerity, but she jerked away.
He shouldn’t touch her. Shouldn’t look at her that way. “I don’t want to get to know you.” Because what good would it do either of them?
His hand dropped to his side, but his eyes wouldn’t let hers go. “I’ll change your mind.”
There's nothing like a Christmas wedding to warm a girl's heart-or to distract everyone else from the fact that one particular bridesmaid intends to quickly skip town. Julia Noble's accident was years ago, and she's tired of being overprotected. She needs to be on her own. But before she flees Aspen, Colorado, Julia wants to make sure her brother has the perfect wedding and all her ducks are in a row. Yet duty soon turns to pleasure when three days before the big day Julia runs into the only man she ever dreamed of marrying.
Fresh out of the navy, Isaac Nash just wants to feel normal again. But starting his new life means winning back the girl who captured his heart years ago. Isaac didn't know the truth behind the tragedy that changed Julia's life forever, and he can't stop blaming himself for not being there for her. After all this time, he knows that Julia is what he wants, this and every Christmas. Now Isaac just has to convince her that she's earned a miracle, too . . .
Eventually, Sara did the responsible thing and got an education in writing and journalism. After a brief stint in the corporate writing world, she stopped ignoring the voices in her head and started writing fiction. Now, she uses her experience as a mountain adventure guide to write stories that incorporate adventure with romance. Still indulging her adventurous spirit, Sara lives and plays in Colorado with her saint of a husband and two young sons.
Original post: ishacoleman7.booklikes.com/post/1276013/happy-release-day-something-like-love-heart-of-the-rockies-2-by-sara-richardson
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