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The Gentrys: Abby
Silhouette Desire #1516
June 2003
ISBN #0-373-76516-9
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It Here
Read an Excerpt
Abby Gentry never wanted to risk losing her heart to anyone. But when she rescues
her old high school crush from certain death, her virginal innocence is swept
away by flames of desire.
Sexy Comanche Gray Parker will do anything to thank Abby for saving him--even
masquerade as her fiancé to save her from her matchmaking brother. Before
long her flashing green eyes and sensuous lips ignite the passions in his soul.
But to win this woman he so desperately wants, his heart will have to battle his
traditions--and win! |
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The Gentrys: Cal
Silhouette Desire #1524
July 2003
ISBN #0-373-76524-X
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It Here
Read an Excerpt
After a devastating car accident killed his wife, injured racing celebrity
cal Gentry came home to the family ranch to nurse his wounds and find a nanny
for his infant daughter. And when tantalizing, dark-haired angel Bella Fernandez
appeared at his door, Cal thought she was the answer to his prayers. He didn't
expect the blazing passion that her presence sparked within his soul. But danger
had followed the south-of-the-border beauty to the Gentry ranch, where she discovered
even greater peril in Cal's sensual embraces. Could the blissful haven of their
passion heal Cal and Bella's wounded hearts?
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Excerpts
The Gentrys: Cinco
FROM BEHIND HER she heard footsteps on the mudroom floor. Spinning around,
she found Cinco hesitating at the threshold to the kitchen. He still had on his
hat and she couldn't see his expression very well, but she was sure that he must
be wishing to be anywhere else but here. She knew because that's exactly how she
felt at the moment. "Hey there ... uh ... Captain Frosty," he mumbled.
 The look on her face was so guarded and hesitant that Cinco suddenly felt tongue-tied.
All his good intentions and the great speech he'd prepared disappeared as he'd
entered the room.
How was he going to begin this? He'd made the decision to simply go back to
being friends. He didn't even want to try to discuss the very powerful sexual
attraction between them.
But once he saw her eyes, he'd been lost. "I ... uh ..." Nothing
that came out of his mouth made any sense.
All at once, he remembered the rose. Maybe that would help break the ice and
put him back in good standing.
He jerked his hand from behind his back where he'd been keeping the flower
hidden. "Here." He pushed it toward her. "This is for you."
He'd expected some reaction. He figured, maybe, she'd smile and thank him.
Or she'd laugh and say how stupid he was to bring a tough-as-nails, ex-air force
pilot a silly rose.
But Meredith simply stared down at the flower in his hand with a dark look
in her eyes that seemed to resemble fear. She was ramrod still and never took
her gaze from the yellow petals. He might as well have been holding out a rattlesnake.
The longer the silence dragged on, the more he let his own gaze wander down
her body. He tried to keep steady and give her the time to say something, but
his eyes wanted to drink in the lean, trim form before him.
Yesterday he hadn't noticed how much the new jeans and tight fitting western
shirt enhanced her every curve. Her other outfits, the severe khakis or the sloppy
sweats, disguised her figure. But these clothes sexily hugged her body, making
him suddenly aroused and wanting to go back to the embraces they'd shared in the
corral.
No way! He had to get a grip. Friends. He'd vowed to be friends.
Determined to keep himself and the situation under control, he forced his gaze
up to her face--and nearly dropped the rose. Huge tears swam in her eyes, a few
even leaked out of the corners and down her cheeks. But she remained frozen in
place.
"I didn't mean to make you cry," he said as quietly as possible.
He didn't know how to handle women that cried. Abby simply never had any tears.
He couldn't remember ever having seen Ellen shed a tear either. And his mother
... well, maybe he did remember her crying once when she'd been happy.
But Meredith didn't seem like the type. "It's just a yellow rose of friendship,"
he explained. "I thought it would make you laugh. I'll throw it away if it
upsets you."
"No!" She sniffed once and reached for the flower in his hand. "I
... I ..." Carefully taking the rose from him, she put it to her nose and
took a deep breath.
"It's just that I ..." she stammered then cleared her throat. "No
one's ever given me a flower before. I don't know what to say."
"'Thank you' is always good for a start," he remarked with a little
too much sarcasm for a friend. "But a smile would be ten times better."
He hoped that last bit might save him from being too much of a smart alec.
And a smile was really what he'd been after anyway.
A little one cracked the corners of her mouth, and she rubbed at her cheeks
to dry the tears. Well, it was a start.
"Thank you, Cinco. But I don't know if I deserve a present ... especially
not one meant in friendship."
He thought she deserved lots of presents. Tons and tons. But he didn't think
he'd better mention that right now. Friendship. Cinco needed to keep his mind
on track.
He began the little speech he'd prepared. "I'm sorry that I got carried
away yesterday in the corral. I didn't mean to come on quite that strong and I
certainly had no intention of embarrassing you. But you just looked so ..."
Cinco swallowed and started over. "Anyway, I'd like a chance to begin
again. I really want to make you happy during your stay on the ranch. I know how
difficult the situation is for you, and I thought if we could develop a friendship
that the time might go by faster."
Meredith was perplexed. In the first place, she never cried. It was nonmilitary,
childish, and her father would've had none of it.
In the second place ... she'd been just about to tell him that she wanted to
move out of here and in with Abby ... to stop seeing him altogether.
Now what was she to do?
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The Gentrys: Abby
"You offered to marry me out of some sense of duty?"
 "I owe you my life, Abby Gentry," Gray said. "I would do much
more than that to honor the debt."
He dragged her into his arms, wrapping her in his embrace. "We'll make
the next couple of months go by quickly and easily, Abby. Have no fear."
When she raised her head, dark passion flashed in her blazing green eyes.
But she made no move to be free of his arms.
"I guess I should thank you for stepping in to help," she said hoarsely.
She let her hands roam over his powerful chest and felt his skin ripple lightly
in response. How wonderful it was to feel what she could do to a man's body...
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The Gentrys: Cal
"Bella?"
Cal's eyes had turned steely gray. "I've been standing here in the dark
watching the plain because I can feel those coyotes out there...somewhere. I'm
afraid I've made a mistake bringing you out here.
 Bella looked out through the window into the black night. "Have you seen
something?"
He reached up and took hold of shoulders. "No. But I don't need that to
know they're out there." He squeezed her shoulders, as if to push her away.
Instead his fingers massaged...caressed. Aroused beyond belief, he said, "Go
to bed."
But his hands stayed where they were. Too close. Too intimate.
Bella threw her arms around his neck. "Take me there."
Staggered, his blood was racing. He leaned against the kitchen counter to keep
himself steady. But he didn't have a chance to think about it.
"Take me," she whispered in his ear. "I know you want me. Take
me now."
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