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PLAY HARD
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-005-3
Publisher: Amber
Quill Press
A 2008 EPPIE Awards Finalist!
Read
an excerpt here.
Widowed poker pro Felicia "The Philly
Flash" Francis donates poker lessons to a charity auction, because the
proceeds will provide therapeutic riding for special needs children,
her late husband Jay's passion—even though horses scare her.
She takes what comfort she can in the whispered messages that Jay's
spirit speaks to her.
Burt Stone, an old-money, world-class
equestrian whose accident resulted in his horse's death and his
inability to ride, purchases the lessons on a whim. Their fierce
chemistry pushes them together—but their old hurts pull them
apart.
Felicia's late husband urges her to
move on and let Burt into her life, and Burt discovers he wants to free
himself of old attachments so he can pursue Felicia. Both come to
realize that they need to play hard, with their whole hearts, to win at
the game of love.
Excerpt from
"Play Hard", © 2007 Barrie Abalard. All
rights
reserved.
Felicia hadn’t felt
true sexual desire since Jay died, and the heat, combined with the
dampness between her legs, was flummoxing her.
Burt Stone was
good-looking—she especially liked the All-American jut of his
jaw, his deeply-set iron-gray eyes, and his sturdy
shoulders—but whatever was affecting her was more than his
looks. Simply put, the way he moved his body, gimpy leg or not, made
her certain he’d be great in bed.
He
wants it. I want it. Why not?
Jay,
that’s why not.
But
Jay isn’t coming back.
She put down the marker, walking
straight to the man, in the grip of something more powerful than her
will, her stubbornness. She perched her butt on the edge of the table
and leaned forward.
“Burt,” she
said flatly, “you look as if you’re going to die
unless you score. Does this table work for you?”
She held her breath, hoping she
hadn’t misread his body language. God, that would be
embarrassing, to offer yourself to a man who’s not
interested…
“Huh?” His
gray eyes had narrowed. “What the hell are you saying? Are
you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Felicia pushed his chair back
from the table. Then, she straddled his lap while still standing.
“I’m saying that, if you’d like to put
off the poker lesson for a time when we’re both more, um,
relaxed, we have a huge table here, a door I can lock,
and—”
Her sentence ended in a squeak,
because his hands had firmly clasped her bottom
“Lock the damn door
before I lose my mind,” he said.
She tried to move, but his
fingers dug into her ass. “Let go, and I will.”
“Fuck that,” he
said.
He had her jeans and panties down in what
felt like three seconds before he pushed her onto the table, on her back…
Excerpt from
"Play Hard", © 2007 Barrie Abalard. All
rights
reserved.
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