The Last Stallion by Christine DePetrillo

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Large animal veterinarian, Cassie Stone, is done with cowboys. It's her New Year's resolution after she catches her current rodeo clown in bed with another woman. On her sister's invite, Cassie heads to New York City where the chance of corralling another cowboy is slim. Or so she thinks. Blake Mareson is traveling from Louisiana with his four horses. He stops briefly in New York City to make some money, and soon his plans to hide in the quiet woods of Vermont change when he meets Cassie. Her long red hair and sharp green eyes reel him in immediately, but he's not looking for love. In fact, he's trying to avoid it in order to protect his secret--a secret he's sure would send any woman running. Though Cassie initially sticks to her New Year's resolution and dismisses Blake, she can't totally erase the blue of his eyes from her memory. When she sees him again, the pull toward him is too strong to resist. Will Cassie regret ignoring her no cowboy pledge or find the stallion she's been looking for? Perhaps she'll find so much more.

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Blake took another gulp of his beer and tried to shake out the dark thoughts closing in on him. Maybe after a few more drinks, he'd actually be able to forget his situation. Maybe.

The music screamed along, a bass-heavy beat pounding against the walls. Blake drained the last of his beer and turned around to face the bartender.

"Another, please," he said. The bartender nodded, and soon another ice-cold bottle was cradled in Blake's hand. He brought the bottle up to his lips and turned to face the crowd again. Before he could take a swig, however, a woman standing at the edge of the dance floor caught his attention. He lowered the bottle so he could get a better view.

Long legs, muscular yet slender, snaked their way up to a hot little black dress contained in a spider web of a sweater. Red curls spilled down the back of this beautiful creature in silky waves, stopping just above one taut-looking ass. If he was looking for...

But you're not, so take it easy. Blake shook his head and took that first sip of beer, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the woman. When he was done drinking, however, he couldn't stop his eyes from settling back on her. She was sandwiched between a girl about her size with funky short hair and a man in a black leather blazer.

Is she with the guy or is the other girl? Not that it mattered. It didn't. It absolutely didn't. God, she's beautiful though.

Blake watched as Leather Blazer swept Short Hair onto the dance floor. A small smile tugged at Blake's lips as Red Curls was left standing alone at the edge of the swarming crowd. Why did it please him to know she wasn't with Leather Blazer?

She looked a littleawkward standing on the fringe of the dancing. Like she didn't quite know what to do with herself. Her left foot tapped a rhythm, making all the muscles in her leg constrict and relax, constrict and relax. Blake couldn't take his eyes off that shapely leg even though the beat it kept wasn't quite in sync with the music.

As if under their own power, Blake's feet took him a couple of steps closer to the dance floor--something his conscious mind would never do. The heat from the flickering overhead lights, from the crowd itself, gushed over him. He stopped just a few yards behind Red Curls, admiring the view of her in greater detail.

Go back to the bar, man. Don't talk to her. You don't need any more complications. Blake was about to head back to the safety of a bar stool when Red Curls turned around, catching him in a piercing, green-eyed gaze.

He wasn't going anywhere now.