Excerpt from Sudden Storms

Only $10.95

From Marcia: 

I'm really happy to see Sudden Storms available as an in-print book! The first of my novellas to be released as an e-book, Sudden Storms has been a favoriate among readers, not to mention the special history behind the story (watch the web site for upcoming details)! Have a sample (below)! I know you'll love Sudden Storms!

Beneath a pair of his very own white flannels was the form and figure of a young woman...He shifted the lantern upward a bit and a frown wrinkled his brow as he examined the purely feminine features of the girl's face. His dunking her in the tub must have washed off the dirt she'd no doubt purposefully applied to her face...Even he, Paxton Gray, was profoundly impressed with what lay there in the straw...

Shaking his head to dispel thoughts of admiration, he tried to replace them with the angry ones he'd entertained a moment before. Roughly, he took the girl's chin in one hand. 

"Wake up!" he growled. The thickly lashed eyes fluttered open and a small hand gripped his own, trying to pry it from the lovely face it held. "What're you about, girl?" he demanded. He was astonished then to feel a sharp object pushing against his stomach.

"Let go! Don't you dare to touch me!" the girl cried fiercely.

Suddenly realizing what she must think his intentions were, Paxton chuckled and assured her, "Don't flatter yerself, honey. I just don't go in for liars sleepin' in my barn." He gripped her wrist, squeezing it as hard as he could.

"Ouch!" she cried out, dropping the knife.

"Now, you stand up here," he ordered, pulling her to her feet. The physically dominant man doubled over in the next instant, however, when the girl's knee met his belly with immense force, causing him to lose his hold on her. She darted for the barn door, but Paxton turned, catching her ankle and sending them both tumbling to the barn floor. As she kicked and thrashed, he pulled her toward him until she was fully beneath his heavy, overpowering body.

"You little devil!" he growled as he sat on her legs, catching both of her hands and holding them pinned to the ground above her own head.

"Let me go!" she cried out.

Paxton reached over to where a length of rope lay nearby and pulled it to him, first tying her hands together and then her knees. 

"There now. If you're gonna act like an ornery little heifer-I'm gonna treat ya like one," he said. 
Pulling her to her feet, he swiftly lifted her and flung her over one broad and very capable shoulder. He walked back to the straw pile and retrieved his lantern. "We'll just see what Jolee has to say about all this now," he muttered as he carried the girl back to the house.