I'm excited to be part of the EXCERPT TOUR for the release of Diana Palmer’s new Western romance UNTAMED!
Follow along with giveaways and long excerpts in consecutive order at each tour stop!
Stanton Rourke lives life on the edge. The steely mercenary is dangerous in every way…especially to Clarisse Carrington’s heart. She and Rourke were playmates as children, but she’s not the innocent girl he once knew. When tragedy robbed Clarisse of her entire family, her life was changed forever. Besides, she’s a grown woman now, and there are secrets that hold her back from succumbing to her pursuer. As she struggles to keep her distance, sparks as hot as a Texas summer fly between them. But danger is following Clarisse, leaving her no choice but to rely on Rourke, even as the old wounds lying dormant between them flare up again…
“Palmer…is the queen of desperado quests for justice and true love.” -Publishers Weekly
“The popular Palmer has penned another winning novel, a perfect blend of romance and suspense.”
–Booklist on Lawman
“Diana Palmer is a mesmerizing storyteller who captures the essence of what a romance should be.”
EXCERPT
“I would…like that very much,” Rourke said. “I’ll keep my foster father’s name. I’ll just add yours to it.”
K.C. smiled sadly.
“Your father was my best friend. It tormented me to think what I did to him,
to your mother. To you.”
“I think it tormented
her, too,” Rourke said.
“It did. She loved
me.” His face hardened. “That was the worst of it. I had nothing to give her.
Nothing at all. She knew it.”
Rourke’s one good eye
searched his father’s. “Nobody’s perfect,” he said quietly. “I have to
confess, I wished even when I was a boy that you were my real father.” He
averted his eye just in time to miss the wetness in K.C.’s. “You were always in
the thick of battles. You could tell some stories about the adventures you had.
I wanted so badly to be like you.”
“You’re very like
me,” K.C. said huskily. “I worried about letting you work for the organization.
I wanted to protect you.” He laughed. “It wasn’t possible. You took to it like
a duck to water. But I sweated blood when you left me and went with the CIA.”
He shook his head. “I agonized that I’d let you get US citizenship, even though
you kept your first citizenship.”
“It was something I
wanted to do.” Rourke shrugged. “I can’t live without the adrenaline rushes.”
His good eye twinkled. “I must get that from my old man.”
K.C. chuckled.
“Probably. I still go on missions. I just don’t go on as many, and I’m mostly
administrative now. You’ll learn as you age that your reaction time starts to
drop. That can put your unit in danger, compromise missions.”
Rourke nodded. “I’ve
had so many close calls that I’ve been tempted to think about administrative
tasks myself. But not yet,” he added with a grin. “And right now, I have
another priority. I want to get married.”
K.C.
smiled warmly. “She’s really beautiful. And she has a kind heart. That’s more
important than surface details.”
Rourke nodded. His
face hardened. “It’s just, the idea of those other men…”
“You’ve had women,”
K.C. replied quietly. “How is that different?”
Rourke looked vaguely
disturbed. He turned away with a sigh. “Not so very, I suppose.”
“Tell Emilio hello
for me,” K.C. said. “I knew him, a long time ago. Always liked the man. He’s
not what you expect of a revolutionary.”
Rourke chuckled. “Not
at all. He could make a fortune as a recording artist if he ever got tired of
being President of Barrera. He can sing.”
“Indeed he can.”
Rourke turned at the
door and looked back at the man who was the living image of what he’d be, in a
few years.
He smiled. “When I
get back, maybe you could take me to a ball game or something.”
K.C. picked up a
chair cushion and threw it at him. “Get stuffed.”
Rourke just laughed.
He picked up the cushion and tossed it back.
“You be careful over
there,” K.C. added. “Sapara has friends, and he’s slippery. If he ever gets out
of prison, you could be in trouble. He’s vindictive.”
“He won’t get out,”
was the reply. “Just the same, it’s nice that my old man worries about me,” he
added.
K.C. beamed. “Yes, he
does. So don’t get yourself killed.”
“I won’t. Make sure
you do the same.”
K.C. shrugged. “I’m
invincible. I spent years as a merc and I’ve still got most of my original body
parts.” He made a face as he moved his shoulder. “Some of them aren’t up to
factory standards anymore, but I get by.”
Rourke
grinned. “Same here.” He searched K.C.’s hard face. “When?”
“When, what?”
“When do you want to
do the paperwork?”
“Oh. The name change.
Why not get it started tomorrow? Unless you’re leaving for Barrera early?”
“Not until Thursday,”
Rourke replied. His face softened. “I’d like that.”
K.C. nodded.
GIVEAWAY!
EXCERPT TOUR for Untamed by Diana Palmer:
Monday, June 22nd: Book Mama Blog
Tuesday, June 23rd: A Chick Who Reads
Wednesday, June 24th: Broken Teepee
Thursday, June 25th: Urban Girl Reader
Friday, June 26th: Book Reviews & More by Kathy
Monday, June 29th: Read Love Blog
Tuesday, June 30th: Bibliotica
Wednesday, July 1st: The Sassy Bookster
Thursday, July 2nd: Bibliophilia, Please
Friday, July 3rd: Books and Spoons
Monday, July 6th: From the TBR Pile
Tuesday, July 7th: Let Them Read Books
Wednesday, July 8th: One Curvy Blogger
Thursday, July 9th: Romance Novels for the Beach
Friday, July 10th: Raven Haired Girl
She writes some of the best westerns around. I enjoyed the excerpt and look forward to reading Untamed. Thanks for being prt of the Tour.
ReplyDeleteCarol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com