With the title
of PUPPY KISSES who could resist this charming story by Lucy
Gilmore.
Puppy
Kisses
by Lucy
Gilmore
* Forever Home #3
* Publication
Date: 5/26/2020
These
adorable service puppies are matchmakers in the making…
Dawn
Vasquez never takes life too seriously. But when she rescues a golden retriever
named Gigi, Dawn begins to imagine what it’d be like to settle down and let
someone rely on her for a change. Unfortunately, Adam Dearborn—a handsome,
hopelessly buttoned-up cattle rancher in need of a guide dog—has also fallen in
love with the little ball of fluff and stubbornly insists that no other animal
will do.
Adam
isn’t sure what drives him to fight to keep Gigi for himself, but he suspects
it has something to do with his growing—and unfortunate—attachment to Dawn. Her
whirlwind spirit and sunny disposition might make her a delight to be around,
but they also make her unsuited for the difficult life of a rancher. He should
be able to put her out of his head. But what’s a love-struck cowboy to do when
what he wants and what he needs have never seemed so far apart? And can he
allow himself to take a chance on everything Dawn has to offer: puppy kisses,
puppy love...and her.
An excerpt
for your reading pleasure.
Mentioning
her lips had to have been some kind of tactic. Just the word—lips—had him
remembering their shape and size, the way the bottom one was so much plumper
than the top, how good they felt when pressed against his bare skin. She always
warned him to scrub hard before he met up with any other women, since she left
a trail of lipstick all over his body.
He wasn’t
seeing any other women, but there was no way he was telling her that. She
already had him under her spell. He didn’t need to be under her power as well.
“Thank you
for the offer,” he said tightly. “But I already like—”
“—the one
you can’t have,” Dawn finished for him. She was definitely closer now, the
unmistakable nonscent of her mixing with the hay and dirt to whirl his senses.
“That seems to be a sort of thing with you, doesn’t it?”
He ran
his hands through his hair, since it seemed suddenly important that he do
something with them. It was also important to do something with this situation.
If he let her continue like this, unchecked and uninhibited, there was good
chance neither one of them was getting any work done today.
“As I
recall, I’ve had you plenty of times already,” he said, a challenge in his
voice. “In fact, I bet I could have you right here and now.”
Adam
didn’t know if he was the one who’d drawn closer to her or if she’d stepped up
to him, but there was no longer anything between them. Not a puppy, not air,
definitely not common sense. The jut of her breasts pressed softly against his
chest, the toes of her shoes touching the tips of his work boots.
His hands
suddenly decided they had minds of their own. Moving forward to clasp her
around the waist, they touched silky fabric and heat and a patch of skin where
her shirt didn’t quite reach her waistband. That alone should have been enough
to stop him—what kind of a person wore a tiny, silken shirt to a working
ranch?—but of course he didn’t. That touch of skin set off something
inexplicable inside him.
It always
did. That was the problem. Words could be ignored and the sound of her laughter
pressed deep down inside him, but one graze of his fingertips on her body and
he was lost.
“I’ve
always wanted to have sex on a pile of hay,” Dawn said, calling his bluff. She
arched into his touch, allowing his hand to slide up her back. He encountered
nothing but soft skin and the gentle curve of her spine, both of which promised
more of the same, should he give in and really cop a feel. Which was tempting
for a lot of reasons, including the fact that Dawn was stacked in ways that
seemed wholly against nature. “Surely there must be one or two of those in the
barn we could try?”
“There
are.” He brought his lips close to her ear, though he was careful not to press
against the gently pounding pulse below it. The moment the kissing started, all
other bets were off—including the one that had a Great Dane puppy at their feet
and a golden retriever puppy napping under Phoebe’s desk. That was the one
thing he knew for sure. Dawn had come out here with the sole intention of luring
him into lowering his defenses, in using her incredible body and the promise of
what it could do to get her own way. She wanted Methuselah, and she’d stop at
nothing to get her.
Well, two
could play that way. In fact, he was becoming something of an expert at this
particular game.
“We could
slip in there right now, and no one would know where we are,” he murmured. Dawn
arched her neck to give him better access, but he didn’t kiss, didn’t touch.
Only teased. “I could throw you into the biggest stack of hay and rip this tiny
scrap of a shirt from your body.”
A slight,
guttural sound indicated how much she liked the direction this conversation was
going. Typical. With Dawn, the anticipation, the clandestine nature of their
meetings, was half the fun.
Who was he
kidding? Where that woman was concerned, it was probably all the fun.
“No one
will think to look for us for hours,” he added, still in that low, crooning
voice. “It’ll just be me and you, our bodies slick with sweat.”
Dawn’s
hips pressed against his, her arms coiling around his neck so that her entire
body could melt against him. This was how she always struck, coiled and soft
and yielding.
So he
struck back.
“Well,
that and the snakes.”
Instead
of pulling back, Dawn only laughed and clasped her hands tighter around his
neck. “Good thing I happen to like snakes,” she said. Her mouth brushed lightly
against his, fluttering like a pair of butterfly wings. “Like the alligators,
they make such nice shoes. Purses too.”
Even
though Adam’s body thrummed with anticipation, burning hot in all the places it
touched hers, he kept his tone level. “We also get the occasional badger, even
though they’re pretty rare in these parts. Rats are almost a certainty.”
“Why,
Adam Dearborn, are you trying to sweet-talk me?”
No, dammit.
He was trying to do the exact opposite. Why did this woman refuse to act like a
normal human being? She should run at the mention of rats, not press her hips
against his until he ached.
“I’m just
making sure you know what you’re getting into, that’s all,” he said. His voice
sounded strained to his own ears. “Things can get pretty nasty out here in the
wilderness.”
“That’s
funny,” she purred. “So can I.”
***
Excerpted
from Puppy Kisses by Lucy Gilmore. © 2020 by Lucy Gilmore. Used with permission
of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All
rights reserved.
 |
| Author Lucy Gilmore |
Lucy
Gilmore is a contemporary romance author with a love of puppies, rainbows, and
happily ever afters. She began her reading (and writing) career as an English
literature major and ended as a die-hard fan of romance in all forms.
When
she’s not rolling around with her two Akitas, she can be found hiking, biking,
or with her nose buried in a book. Visit her online at http://lucygilmore.com.
She lives in the Spokane, WA area.
PUPPY
KISSES is available at the following sites:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2tlanHp
Apple: https://apple.co/36B0gNL
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3d9JQ1l
Bookshop:
https://bit.ly/36B6rkS
Thanks so
much for stopping by today. Do you think a dog (or any pet for that matter) can
change your life?
Hot stuff. The excerpt makes it very clear that Adam is lost - and that he will only be able to put up a half hearted fight...
ReplyDeletePets are definitely life-changing in so many ways! The cover for this one is particularly fetching. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a really effective context for a romance, Mason. And so many people are pet lovers that it's also really appealing. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLove the sound of "handsome, hopelessly buttoned-up cattle rancher"! Animals have always been my closest companions--they absolutely transform your life :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds really cute.
ReplyDelete