Drake Carver , the hero in my new release Forest Fires, is an ornithologist. He’s on his way into a remote forest area in the mountains when he’s stranded by car trouble. Luckily Charley Jensen, the feisty, tomboy heroine saves the day. It’s an unusual introduction to two very dissimilar characters and yet, sparks fly””both between them and around them. They both have heroic moments in this exciting contemporary romance.

Blurb:

Some sparks will catch. Some will consume.

Cocky Charley Jensen doesn’t mince words. She knows how to handle herself, doesn’t shy away from hard work, loves tinkering with her pickup, and is far more comfortable with a tool belt hanging off her hips than an apron.  However, Charley’s a failure at personal relationships, with more experience throwing punches and insults than her arms around someone.  She’s way out of her comfort zone when she strays across a clean cut babe, emphasis on babe, stranded in the woods.  Her immediate cool and dismissive assessment of Drake Carver is entirely wrong – though correcting someone this opinionated isn’t easy.

But don’t let this biologist’s Oxford shirt fool you.  Drake’s tough, used to roughing it, and not afraid to be tested.  He’s just never encountered a woman quite like Charley which, in his opinion, makes her ideal for his purposes.  Unfortunately, she’s not easy to win over.  It will take an act of heroism to prove his mettle.  However, time is running out and theirs aren’t the only sparks flying in the woods.

How about a couple of excerpts? The first I’ve named Attitude.

An hour later, Charley ambled into the Tavern and hopped onto her stool. For once she was serene, relaxed, and she didn’t want to mess with a good thing.

Dink moseyed over with a question. “Hey, Ugly. You want a rum and Coke?”

Unperturbed, she smiled serenely. “Yes, thank you.”

Doing a double take, his brow was pinched when he said, “Tell me you don’t want food.”

“Why?” Her calm slid a titch.

“Abby’s going to be late. The babysitter’s sick, and now she has to wait for Stacy to get off work before she can get here.”

“So what kind of time frame am I looking at here?”

Closing one eye, he did the mental calculation. “Thirty minutes, maybe more.” Then he groaned. “Shit, you do want something, don’t you?”

“I’m starving.”

He sighed. “Fine, but you have to watch the bar if I’m going in back to cook for you.”

“I can do that.”

“So what do you want?”

“Burger. You know how I like it.”

He went into the kitchen and she picked up her drink, finally looking around as she took a sip. She nearly choked when she spotted Drake and Heidi Chapman all nice and cozy at a back table. Their heads were tipped close together, and their voices were nothing more than an intimate hush.

Her good mood dissolved like an Alka-Seltzer tablet.

How wonderful, how precious””she hated him.

Drake looked up and noticed Charley. He waved and she gave him a cool nod in return. Audibly excusing himself, he rose and brought their empty glasses back to the bar.

He set them down and looked around. “Where’s Dink?”

“Making me something to eat.”

“I guess I can wait.”

She resented having to help him, but she did promise Dink. “What do you need?”

“Two more pale ales.”

“I’ll get “em.” She dropped off the stool and went behind the bar. Setting the dirty glasses in the bus tub, she grabbed two fresh ones.

Drake’s gaze locked on her deep purple fingertips when she pulled the tap back. Suddenly defensive, she glared at him. “What?”

The guy looked alarmed, stunned, grossed out? She couldn’t quite tell.

“Geez, what happened?” he asked.

“Pinched “em.”

“Ouch. Today?”

“Yep.” She slid the first glass at him and started filling the second.

“You should have come with us instead.”

Like she needed the reminder. She shot an aggravated glance at Heidi and said, “Maybe I should have.”

One eyebrow cocked, he glanced back and forth between the two women then slowly grinned. “Aren’t you going to warn me away from Heidi too?”

Charley scowled up at him. “Why would I?”

“Well, you were kind enough to steer me away from Randi. I wondered if you have anything important to say about Heidi.”

She thrust the second glass across the bar at him and tried not to sound grumpy. “Nothing. She’s a perfectly nice and interesting woman. She should suit you very nicely.” Damn it!

He leaned closer and whispered, “You wouldn’t consider talking me up a little, would you?”

Her temper rumbled inside her like a volcano with indigestion. “I hardly know her. Besides, from what I can see, you don’t need my help.”

He gave her a careless shrug. “Your decision. You could have played a major role in my love life, but you chose not to get involved.” Picking up the second glass, his eyes swept over her with warm appraisal. Then he smiled. “You look really nice today, especially your hair.”

Then he walked off, leaving her staring after him, stunned by the compliment. Charley only came back to herself when Drake sat down and winked at her from across the room. She jerked to attention and scrambled out from behind the bar. Hopping up on her stool, she turned her back on him.

This excerpt is First Kiss.

Their eyes met and held. She couldn’t look away, even though she was worried she was silently spilling her secrets to him.

Drake’s hand slipped behind her neck and drew them together. There was a sizzle, as sharp as a lightning strike when their lips finally touched.

Charley sank into the kiss, drowning in a chaos of emotion and sensation, of longing and lingering fears, bone deep weariness and intense exhilaration. She felt like a fever patient in an ice bath.

Drake’s fingers drove into her hair and gripped the back of her scalp as his mouth moved over hers. Impossibly hungry for more, Charley opened her lips and invited him in. A deep rumbling growl came at her as their tongues parried and danced.

Clinging to his collar, Charley held on for dear life, using him as an anchor to keep from getting completely swept away by passion. The lights were slowly dimming in her brain when all of a sudden her sanity slapped her upside the head. Charley jerked back from the blow and shoved Drake away with wide-eyed alarm.

“What are we doing? What are you doing?”

“Is this a trick question?” He moved in on her again, his eyes dark with lust.

She drew back, holding him off. “Stop that or I’m going to deck you. What about Heidi?”

“What about her?” He leaned on the palm against his chest, stretching forward to kiss her again until Charley’s elbow began to quiver.

“Ugh.” She looked at him in distaste. “I can’t believe you.”

He eased back and smiled. “Charley, there is no me and Heidi. She’s just a friend. Besides, I’m not suicidal.”

“Suicidal? What the hell does that mean?”

He laughed. “I don’t want Tucker coming after me.”

“Tucker? Tucker? What does Tucker have to do with anything?”

“Plenty. They’re seeing each other. You didn’t know?”

“How would I know? I never listen to the stupid gossips because they’re always wrong.”

Drake smiled. “Heidi and Tucker are a couple.”

She blinked at him, slowly processing this revelation. Then the fog cleared and she was able to focus on the more pressing matter.

“You kissed me.”

He shrugged. “You kissed me back.”

“Are you going to hold that against me?”

He laughed. “Honey, I’ve wanted to hold a lot more against you than that.”

Charley’s mouth opened and closed, but she was at a loss for words.

Smiling with amusement, Drake pinched her lips together and held them closed. “Just shut up for a minute, okay?”

Her eyes narrowed, but she remained silent.

“Charley, I like you. Don’t ask me why, but I do. I like your sassy take-no-guff attitude. I like that enormous chip on your shoulder. I love how independent you are and how you don’t need anything from anyone.”

He removed his fingers.

“Not yet,” he warned her to keep quiet. “But needing is completely different from wanting. Believe me, I don’t need the grief, the insults, the misplaced condescension, and still I’ve wanted to kiss that smart mouth of yours since we met. I can’t explain it, but there it is.” Then he smiled. “You’re going to catch flies looking at me like that.”

Charley covered her mouth and stared at him. “You wanted to kiss me?”

“For some unknown reason, yeah, I’ve been dying to kiss you.” He gave her a long look. “Why’d you kiss me back?”

“I don’t know.” Uncomfortable with the question, she looked away.

“Liar.”

Her eyes shot up and she scowled at him. For several beats, they quietly contemplated each other, unsure about their next move.

Charley finally broke the silence. “Now what?”

Drake grinned. “Pick up where we left off? I kinda liked it.”

She cracked a smile. “It wasn’t bad, was it?”

“Well?”

“I suppose,” she said, trying not to sound too eager.

Drake’s smile turned wicked and his eyes darkened as he moved in like a stalking wolf. She watched, fascinated by the change in him. The intriguing intensity left her trembling as he slid his arm behind her and lowered her to the cool stone. Where did she ever get the idea Drake was too tame for her tastes?

Forest Fires is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

Thank you.  Tara Mills