One more day until blast off. Yeehaw! BRODY is about to ride onto the bookshelves. Are ya ready for him? He’s ready for you. ;)

One more excerpt for y’all to keep you on the edge of your seat. Olivia and Brody head into Mexico…

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Hours later, Brody stopped. She almost ran into him and the horses shied away from each other, smart enough not to bang heads. Olivia was numb from the waist down and her legs wobbled so much she nearly fell face-first into the ranger’s back.

“What the hell are you doing, Liv?”

“I was about to ask you the same question.” She gritted her teeth. No need to remind him how annoyed she was at him. There was no point in fighting. She needed him and she wanted to think he needed her, at least a little.

“We’re far enough away from the river that we can ride the horses.” He was speaking low, near her ear. His warm breath sent shivers down her neck. “We are about two hours from the pueblo we need to get to. We’re going to ride at a trot. Too slow or too fast and we’ll call attention to ourselves.”

Olivia nodded, although she realized he couldn’t see her. “Then what?”

“You ask too many questions.”

“I want to be ready if we run into trouble.” She pressed her fist into her growling stomach. “I need to know what to do. When to pull out my pistol. When to run like hell.”

He stared at her, six inches from her face. His breath smelled of coffee and something else she couldn’t define. Olivia felt the urge to kiss him, not exactly an opportune time to do so. Some moments he was perfect, a man she could love so easily, and some moments she wanted to run from him.

“I need to know,” she repeated. “Please.”

His breath gusted past her cheek. Her body shook with all the emotions racing through her from head to foot. What was happening?

“I need…” She couldn’t even find the right words to say what she needed.

“Me too.” He cupped her cheek, his thumb rough against her skin.

This was loco. They were in the middle of Mexico, in danger and she was about to kiss him. Or he was going to kiss her. Either way, they shouldn’t even be thinking about kissing.

His lips brushed over hers once, twice, three times. She turned into a beacon of heat, her discomfort completely forgotten. His arms crept around her, pulling her closer, even as she leaned into him.

Yes, this was it. This.

His body was so warm, so hard. She sighed at the familiar heat between them, so easily sparked. He pulled her even closer, pressing his chest into hers. Her nipples peaked immediately, aching against the minimal clothing separating them. A moan crept up her throat, but she swallowed it back down.

Just as his mouth was going to close over hers, Mariposa pushed against Olivia’s back, shoving her into Brody. He pulled away from her, his breathing uneven.

“Um, we need to get going.” He cleared his throat and turned to his horse.

“Wait.”

“What?” He sounded unfocused, so very unlike the stoic ranger.

“I still need to know what to do.” She touched the pistol tucked into the waistband of her skirt. “Do I hide the pistol or keep it visible? What if someone talks to me? Do I answer in Spanish or English?”

He threw himself up onto his horse. “You ask too many questions. Just follow my lead and let’s go.”

This was definitely one of those times she wanted to simply run from him, to go home and be safe with her brothers and sisters and Eva. To escape from the incredible, intense way Brody made her feel.

It would be a cowardly thing to do. Olivia was no coward. She would stay and she would fight. Benjy needed her.

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