Protecting Vidalia is available for pre-order and I’m really excited about this brand-new story. I hope you will be too. 🙂

PROTECTING VIDALIA

Vidalia shot Jake a glance out of the corner of her eye as she started putting her supplies into the cabinets. For whatever reason, she was sure he’d wanted to challenge her refusal of help but hadn’t. She felt like challenging him too, and she couldn’t explain why. She’d never taken an adversarial role towards a male before, but she found it surprisingly exhilarating.

“There we go,” Jake said, turning up the lantern to increase the light.

 She pushed her hair back behind her ears with a nervous flutter. “Thank you, that is a lot better. Not as good as electricity, but at least I can see to put things away.” She reached into the boxes trying to ignore his intent perusal.

 “I’ll help you with that,” he offered, reaching for one of the boxes on the table.

 “No. No, I don’t need you to…that is…I can do it myself,” she finished lamely, his closeness stealing the air from the immediate proximity. He was having a very odd effect on her.

He ignored her and began taking things out of the box and setting them on the cabinet.

 “I said I can do it,” she snapped. What in the world was wrong with her? He was only offering to help.

 He stopped at the tone in her voice and pinned her in an unblinking stare. “You know, I’m going to start calling you onion if you keep this up.”

 She flushed and lifted her chin. “I don’t need any help—I’m used to doing things on my own.”

 Jake set the items in his hands down on the table and walked around to her side. “Look,” he said grimly, “it seems we’re stuck with each other for at least tonight because I’m not going anywhere in this storm. So, I suggest you stop fighting me about every little thing, or you’re not going to like the consequences when I get tired of it. And believe me, I’m almost there.”

 “What do you mean?” Vidalia asked suspiciously, her body tensing. His closeness was affecting her ability to think, and her adrenaline was kicking into overdrive. She found herself wanting to push him and see where it would take her. Trying valiantly to inject some common system back into her overloaded sensory system, she argued with herself. Pushing a stranger beyond his limits could be dangerous. They were up here alone and she didn’t know a thing about him except that he was Dax’s friend. Something told her that Jake wasn’t dangerous and that he wasn’t going to hurt her. But what would he do?

She studied him through heavy eyelids, gauging her options. There was something else hovering in the air, something she couldn’t define. He was glaring at her, his eyes zeroing in on her lips. Would he try to kiss her into submission as they say in the romance novels? She focused on his lips in return and wondered briefly what they would feel like on her own. When he finally stepped towards her and spoke in a determined tone, she was so shocked and surprised she stepped backward.

 “I mean if you keep defying me at every turn, I’m going to put you over my knee and spank you,” he said.

 Her breath hitched. “You wouldn’t!”

 “Oh yeah…I would!”

 Fear and excitement coursed through Vidalia’s body, every nerve ending tingling in disbelief. “But…but…people don’t do that in this day and age,” she sputtered.

 “I do,” he replied. “And I’m right on the verge with you.”

 “You’d damn well better not!”

 Jake shook his head with a mocking grin. “You shouldn’t have said that, little onion.”  Vidalia only had time to wonder how a man as tall as Jake could move so fast….

Check out more here….Protecting Vidalia

I’m pleased to be able to offer Protecting Vidalia at an introductory price! It will revert to 3.99 when it goes live, grab your deal now! 🙂

I hope you are all having a wonderful February, enjoy Valentine’s day coming up!

If you would like to receive a free copy of Protecting Vidalia in exchange for a review, head over to Booksprout and Claim Your Copy

Thanks, everyone!

Brandy