by Em Petrova
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All Rights Reserved
Cowboy Temptation
Dalton Boys Book 8
Copyright Em Petrova 2018
Ebook Edition
Electronic book publication 2018
All rights reserved. Any violation of this will be prosecuted by the law.
Other titles in this series:
COWBOY CRAZY Hank’s story
COWBOY BARGAIN Cash’s story
COWBOY CRUSHIN’ Witt’s story
COWBOY SECRET Beck’s story
COWBOY RUSH Kade’s Story
COWBOY MISTLETOE a Christmas novella
COWBOY FLIRTATION Ford’s story
COWBOY TEMPTATION Easton’s Story
COWBOY SURPRISE Coming Jan 2019
Family ties run deep in the heart of Texas. Is there room in Paradise Valley for three more Daltons?
Lilah Sherman was a geeky teen who loved sci-fi—and Easton Dalton. He even kissed her at a Halloween party, but she found out later it was a bet. Now he’s back and working alongside her brother as a hand on his uncle’s ranch in Paradise Valley and whoooeee, is he smokin’ hot. And it turns out he wants to kiss her again, not that she’ll ever let him—or let him live it down that he saddled her with the nickname Lizard Lilah.
Easton’s had some hang-ups recently over a pretty bartender who finally gave in to his advances, only to receive the cold shoulder afterward. But men with a stinging pride know when to walk away, and this cowboy is putting his boots on new soil. The land is all he needs from here on out. At least until he spots a beautiful filly with a familiar hint of strawberry in her blonde hair and a set of lips he’s hell-bent on kissin’.
Each time Lilah lands in Easton’s arms, she struggles to keep her head on straight, but the cowboy with the wicked gleam in his Dalton blue eyes keeps ripping her off-balance. Running from his advances is the only way to go, especially when he’s only helping out his relatives and destined to leave her brokenhearted. But Easton can be very persuasive, and he knows just how to pluck the strings of this not-so-gawky woman’s heart.
Cowboy Temptation
by
Em Petrova
Prologue
Fifteen years ago…
When Lilah stepped through the open barn doors, the scents of freshly pressed apple cider hung strong in the air. Beneath that was a faint smell of the animals that’d been evicted from the barn for a few short hours of the Daltons’ Halloween party.
She bounced a bit on the toes of her black sneakers with excitement. She’d been looking forward to this night for weeks—a month even. Planning her costume for the contest, and she was so proud of the way the lizard skin of the character from her favorite sci-fi show looked in the glow of lanterns inside the barn.
Her father touched her shoulder and told her she could go play with the other kids—he was getting some cider. She nodded but just stood there in awe for a long minute, taking everything in.
The Daltons were big in the community, serving in church and town alike. Always there to lend a helping hand to a neighbor and loved by all. Their annual Halloween party was something kids looked forward to all over the county.
She glanced at the group of boys in the center of the room—Daltons, every last one with dark hair and blue eyes. In school, all her girlfriends had crushes on them, but Lilah thought that was gross.
Two of the Daltons were dressed like cowboys—no surprise since they helped a lot on the family ranch in Paradise Valley. But the other three had individual costumes—a hobo complete with bundle of clothing tied to a stick over his shoulder, a hunter in full camo and a clown.
Lilah looked away from the clown, feeling uneasy.
Then her gaze lit on more dark-haired boys. At first glance, she knew them to be relatives, the cousins all the girls giggled over when they attended church while visiting. She didn’t know the three boys’ names, but one was looking at her.
She drew her shoulders back, aware that the move caused the little lizard arms she’d spent hours sewing—and pricking her fingers with the needles for—to wiggle. Lifelike, her father had said with a smile. And her mom told her she’d done a fantastic job of making her costume look so much like Leeroye Lacertilia from Apollox XXI.
A giggle sounded, and she flicked her gaze from the boy to see her friend standing next to her.
“Lilahhh, what are you wearing?” Zoe was wearing a mermaid costume and her long blonde hair was wound in an intricate braid over one shoulder, hanging to her waist.
Lilah grinned. “I’m Leeroye Lacertilia.”
Zoe stared at her, her gray eyes moving over her hood with the big bulging eyes to her six wiggling arms. Lizards only had four legs, but Leeroye was an alien lizard.
“Who is that?” Zoe asked.
“From Apollox XXI.”
Zoe looked at her blankly.
“A sci-fi show?”
“Oh. I knew you were into weird shows, but I can’t believe you wore that!”
Lilah’s stomach dipped a little, and she looked down at herself decked out in shiny green and black scales that caught the light just right. She raised her gaze to Zoe’s. “I like it and I’m going to win the contest.”
Zoe let out a burst of laughter. “If you say so. I’m going to get a cupcake. You want one?”
“Yes.” They moved toward the table piled high with goodies—cookies and cakes and lollipops like bouquets in Mason jars. Also, cups of cider and fruit punch. She had downed a cupcake and was reaching for a cookie when the unknown Dalton boy showed up at her elbow.
“Hey,” he said.
He was older and taller, just moving from gawky to the strong stock all Daltons came from.
“Hi.” She forgot the cookie.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Leeroye Lacertilia.” Jeez, didn’t anybody watch the best show on TV?
“Your real name is Leeroye?”
“Um… No. It’s Lilah.”
“I’m Easton Dalton. Wanna get on the hayride with me?”
She blinked in surprise. The Daltons didn’t usually speak to her, but now she could see why her friends giggled over them.
He twitched his head toward the barn door. “C’mon.”
She put down her cider on the edge of the table, undrunk, and followed him to the big wagon loaded with hay and decorated with pumpkins. A lot of people were already seated on it, and she and Easton squeezed into a corner.
The tractor fumes were right this minute clouding the air but that would disperse once they got moving.
Easton grinned at her. “I can’t believe you wore that.”
Stricken, her mouth dropped open. Suddenly she felt like a monster among the mermaids and unicorns and prom queen costumes she’d seen the other girls wearing. Well, she was a monster. Leeroye was the worst sort of lizard, leaping out at people and attacking them on his planet and even getting aboard the spaceships and—
She cut off her train of thought and looked at the boy next to her, dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt but sporting a fireman’s helmet.
She was an idiot, wasn’t she?
“I mean, it’s a great costume. It’s just that all the other girls are so… girly. Princesses and stuff.”
“Yeah.” She picked at a hangn
ail and the ride got moving. They circled around the Daltons’ pastures.
After she’d been quiet for a time, Easton leaned in and said, “I think your outfit’s cool.”
She swung her face toward him. “You do?” His lips were close, and never in her life had Lilah noticed a boy’s mouth except when she wanted to smack one of her brothers in theirs. But Easton’s looked nice.
The wagon bumped along, jostling them against each other. Far back at the barn, she heard the music playing and knew they’d be dancing.
They circled the pasture and ended up back at the barn door. People got off and Easton stood as well. Lilah started to get up, but Easton swooped in and planted a kiss smack on top of her lips.
A. Kiss.
Her. First. Kiss. From a Dalton boy.
And she was only ten.
Wait till Zoe heard about this!
Before she could react or say anything, he hurried off the wagon, leaping to the ground.
The rest of the party, Lilah could barely think about anything but the feel of his lips on hers. She touched her mouth a hundred times at least. When all the kids were gathered at the front of the space and their costumes judged, she hardly cared when she didn’t win first or second or even third place.
She had a boyfriend now.
At the end of the night, she threw Easton a wave and he just smiled at her. Some of his cousins laughed.
The next day, she spent the morning drawing hearts all over her journal. And when she was told to go outside and see to the chickens, she took a stick and scratched a big E and an L in the dirt.
After dinner her brother caught her doodling Mrs. Easton Dalton in her sketchbook with looping letters and a spattering of hearts around it.
He barked out a laugh, and she looked up. “Get out of here, jerk,” she said.
He pushed a rough finger onto her page. “You don’t think that was a real kiss, do you?”
She blinked. How did he know about the kiss? He hadn’t been on the hayride, but maybe someone had told him.
“Lilah, it was a bet, you know that, right?”
Her heart sank to the tips of her toes. “A… bet?” she squeaked.
Her brother straightened. “Yeah. Easton was supposed to kiss the lizard girl and he did, so he won.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he called you Lizard Lilah.”
She let out a cry, threw her sketchbook onto the floor and ran for her room. Tears hit the back of her throat and by the time she hurled herself on the bed, she was weeping.
It hadn’t been real at all—he’d just been making fun of her. God, she hoped Zoe didn’t know, because school would be horrible on Monday. It was bad enough she’d worn that stupid costume.
And school was horrible. When she walked into her classroom, she was greeted with a chorus of, “Lizard Lilah!”
Chapter One
Easton hated texting. His thumbs were too big to do anything but end up with a big mess of misspelled words and screwed up meanings. So the fact that he was texting Katie should tell her he was really into her.
Hell, she knew that with or without a text. He’d spent nearly a year holding down this barstool and hitting on her.
Two nights ago, she’d finally given in—flashed him that sweet smile of hers and told him he could take her home after she closed the bar.
It had taken a lot of wooing on his part but finally, he’d won the prize. And what a prize it was—she’d been all over him in the truck and by the time they made it back to her place, he’d been as hard as granite.
Before hitting the front door, she’d ripped off her top. And soon as they got inside, he had her against the wall, kissing her like he’d been dreaming of for nearly a year.
Damn, he was aroused again just thinking of it. They were as good in bed as he’d guessed. With so much attraction and all those months of banter between them, how could the night be anything but explosive?
He sent the text and watched the screen for her reply. Nothing came right away, so he set his phone on the scarred bar top and flagged down Gavin for a drink. The guy just filled in at the bar when somebody couldn’t make it. Which was a lot, but Katie had strong work ethics, just like Easton did, and never called off.
“Gimme a draft,” he told Gavin, who gave him a nod and reached for a glass.
The golden brew creamed into the glass, the foamy head just reaching over the rim. He set it before Easton with a nod but no small talk. All the better, because Easton’s focus was on his phone.
And the lack of a text message from his girl.
He fumbled off another text, asking where she was. Wasn’t Thursday her night to bartend?
No response.
If he was honest, he was getting a bit nervous. He hadn’t heard from her since their night together. What if something had happened to her, she’d gotten sick or a family member had an accident?
“Hey, man, you heard from Katie?” he asked Gavin.
“All I know is she called in tonight and that’s why I’m here.”
Easton went still. So she was supposed to be at the bar, serving him up dollar drafts and pretty smiles. God, those curves of hers had fit into his palms so well…
“Wonder why she called off?” he said aloud.
Gavin shrugged. “Probably with her boyfriend.”
Easton started to chuckle. Then cut it off as he realized Gavin wouldn’t know about him and Katie.
He sobered. “Boyfriend?” His heart started to pound in an uneven rhythm the way it only did when he was facing some dangerous situation on the oil rig.
“Yeah, she goes with some guy called Scooter or Skeeter? Down in the next town. I think I heard they met while line dancin’.”
The beer tasted sour in his mouth and felt sourer in his gut. “But that was months ago, right?” he pretended to know.
“Pretty sure I saw him pick her up last Saturday.” Gavin served another customer and threw a glance at Easton.
He fought to keep anything off his face—his brothers always said he was shit at poker because he couldn’t hide what he was thinking. And this was one of those times.
No, there had to be an explanation. She must have broken up with Scooter or whatever his damn name was and she’d finally given into Easton’s advances.
Why hadn’t he known about Scooter—or Skeeter—in the first place? He’d been talking to Katie for long enough that he knew everything about her.
Except that she had a boyfriend.
He gripped his mug and took another swallow to cover his discomposure. He’d finish his beer and then go over to her place and talk it out. Simple.
Except his mind kept clouding with doubts and he couldn’t weave in and out of the fog to keep a level head if he tried.
He drew up straighter on the stool. No, he wasn’t getting his heart smashed and handed to him like a bowl of beer pretzels. No way would his sweet little Katie do that.
When he got to her place, the lights were all out but a muddy truck was parked out front. One of those trucks that was so thick with muck that only the windshield was clear. Well, that and the license plate.
It read Skeeter.
“Goddammit.”
A dozen scenarios ran through Easton’s head.
Skeeter had just come by to get his toothbrush from her cup holder in the bathroom and the hoodie he’d left there.
Or they’d gotten back together and tangled up in her pretty lilac sheets.
Easton sat in his truck for several minutes, watching the front door, his stomach knotting more as each second ticked by. He smashed the heel of his hand off the steering wheel. “Dammit!”
He’d been played—he, Easton Dalton, was a fucking one-night stand.
Starting the engine again, he rolled away down the street. He’d never been cast off like a cow pie on the bottom of a boot before. He wasn’t one of those men who had women lining up for him, but when he showed interest, they always batted their lashes his way.
That sho
uld have been his first clue that Katie wasn’t the woman for him, but he’d been so damn certain. Not only was she just his type but they had so much in common.
Clearly Skeeter did too. Hell, maybe there were others. Easton had seen her eyeing another guy who frequented the bar a few months back and spent days in a jealous funk. Poor bastard was probably a one-night stand too. How many had fallen into her web?
As he drove back to his family’s small spread just outside the city limits, he nursed the sting in his heart. He felt like a slapped puppy and knew exactly what his face must look like because he’d seen it before on a young girl once in his youth.
After that Halloween party on his cousins’ ranch in Paradise Valley, Easton had run into Lilah two more times throughout the years when he’d stayed with his family. Each time she’d given him a look of extreme hurt and embarrassment.
Many times he’d thought of Lilah and felt bad for what he’d done as a kid. But boys were generally horrible, especially pre-pubescent ones, and he’d been egged on by his brothers and cousins to kiss her. Hell, he’d won a tray of cupcakes to take home for actually doing it.
And he was responsible for the awful nickname she’d gotten too.
Kiss the lizard, his cousin Cash had said. Go on.
Kiss Lizard Lilah?
Yeah, and tell us if she has a forked tongue.
Ugh, he felt like shit enough without that incident bearing down on him as well. Only now, for the first time, he knew how Lilah’d felt and why she’d looked away when their gazes connected.
He sure as hell wouldn’t be visiting that bar again. There were plenty of joints to get a beer. Hell, he hardly liked beer, only liked the company of the person serving it. He’d taken a lot of flack from his family about even going to the bar.
Guess my brothers will be relieved I’m not a drunkard after all.
Actually, maybe he could use a stronger drink. He veered the Chevy around and gassed it back to the rundown bar. When he zipped into the lot, he never expected to come face-to-face with the mud-caked license plate that read Skeeter again.
