RockHardHeat (3 page)
Authors: Cristal Ryder
Jenna gulped a sob and tried to stem the tears for him.
Looking into his eyes, which were full of love for her, and at the tender smile
on his face, was more than she could bear. She flung her arms around his neck,
crying into the curve of his shoulder until her tears blended in with his
already wet shirt. “Oh Chet. I never, never expected this.”
“Darlin’, I knew the minute I laid eyes on you in the
airport last winter. You were just so darned hardheaded.”
Jenna stepped back and smiled through the tears. She let her
hands slip down from his shoulders and rested them on his forearms. “I know I
can be.”
“So, now,” Chet lifted her left hand, “am I putting this on
you or not?”
She looked down at the amazing ring. It was beautiful and
caught the light, reflecting a rainbow of prisms. “You didn’t need to get
something so extravagant.”
“Yes I did, darlin’. Jenna, look at me.”
She raised her gaze to his. Love for this wonderful man
swelled inside her until it stole her breath. “Chet.” Her word was barely above
a whisper.
“Will you stay and share the rest of your life with me? As
my wife?”
She nodded and this time she didn’t cry. She smiled and
leaned into him, wanting to feel his lips mesh with hers. He met her and she
curled the fingers of her right hand through his hair, pulling him closer and
deepening the kiss. Their tongues tangled and her belly trembled with sexual
heat. Jenna broke away from him. “Oh yes, Chet. I’ll stay. There’s nowhere I’d
rather be than with you.”
His lips curved into a brilliant smile and he slipped the
ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. Just as they did together. She held her
hand up and gazed at the flashing sparks from the stones.
“Just like you, darlin’, all fire.”
About Cristal Ryder
An expressionist through words and art from a young age, Cristal
read her first romance at age twelve. Taylor Caldwell introduced her to passion
and romance that fuelled a craving to read anything she could get her hands on.
Reading long into the night until her father shouted for her to turn off the
light.
Cristal wrote her first story at fifteen and spent many
hours escaping into worlds she created on the walk to and from high school.
Now, ready to experience all life has to offer, Cristal tempts her readers and
takes them on journeys of passion to vivid locations with squirm-in-your-seat
plots. The combination of artistic talent with her gift for the written word
helps Cristal bring to life the characters and stories she weaves.
Cristal lives in a small Canadian town, is a single mom of
two college-aged sons and, yes, they do fly home after their initial excitement
of leaving the nest! Along with her writing, Cristal works full time in the law
enforcement field, loves horses, the outdoors and will jet off at any given
opportunity to see the world. Cristal is multi-published and excited to be an
Ellora’s Cave author.
Cristal welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email address on her
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
Tell Us What You Think
We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You
can email
the
author
directly or you can email us at
[email protected]
(when
contacting Customer Service, be sure to state the book title and author).
Also by
Cristal Ryder
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Rock-Hard Heat
ISBN 9781419941405
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Rock-Hard Heat Copyright © 2012 Cristal Ryder
Edited by Grace Bradley
Cover design by Syneca
Photos: Anetta/Shutterstock.com
Electronic book publication August 2012
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of
Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not
be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written
permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home
Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or
distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without
the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including
infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is
punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
(http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print
editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of
copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons,
living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The
characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and
trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned
in this book.
The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume
any responsibility for, author or third-party Web sites or their content.
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the
multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Be sure to visit EC on the web
at www.ellorascave.com to find erotic reading experiences that will leave you
breathless. You can also find our books at all the major e-tailers (Barnes
& Noble, Amazon Kindle, Sony, Kobo, Google, Apple iBookstore, All Romance
eBooks, and others).