Terra Little - Beneath Southern Skies

A little Southern comfort goes a long way…

To the world she’s Vanessa Valentino, the poison-penned gossip columnist and blogger, but back in Georgia, she’s just Tressie Valentine. After digging up one scandalous secret too many, she’s forced back home to the sleepy town she thought she’d left behind forever. And now she must face Nathaniel Woodberry, who became her sworn enemy when one of her stories hit too close to home. Yet for some reason, Tressie can’t turn off her longing for the irresistible investigative journalist.

Nate can’t believe Tressie’s back to wreak havoc on the close-knit community they both grew up in, and he can’t help holding a grudge against her past deeds. But soon the commitment-wary bachelor discovers that the Southern belle is still a compassionate, loving woman. Nate finds himself drawn to her and he can’t stop thinking about seducing her with a healthy dose of down-home passion. But can he stop Tressie from making a mistake that could destroy their hometown—and their blossoming love?

“There’s just one other thing that we need to be clear on.” Setting his mug on the countertop, he moved closer to her and dipped his head so that they were face-to-face. “Are you listening?”

“Y-yes.” She smelled the coffee on his breath and leaned in even closer, suddenly craving a secondhand jolt of caffeine. Her nipples tightened involuntarily, scraping against the inside of her sundress the way she hoped that his tongue one day would. She hadn’t been kidding when she suggested that they sleep together. She couldn’t speak for him, but unless they jumped each other and got it out of the way, there was no way that she’d be able to fully concentrate on work.

For all his posturing, he wasn’t completely unaffected, either. His Adam’s apple bobbed not once but twice before he spoke and gave him away. The idea that she could turn him on—that she was turning him on—caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand up in anticipation.

“When I take you to bed,” he whispered into her open mouth, “sex between us will be anything but a nonissue. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good.”

And then he kissed her.

TERRA LITTLE

has been reading romance novels for decades and falling in and out of love with the heroes within the book covers for just as long. When she’s not in the classroom teaching English Literature, you can most likely find her tucked away somewhere with her laptop, a dog-eared romance novel and romance so heavy on the brain that it somehow manages to weave its way into each and every story that she writes, regardless of the genre.

Terra resides in Missouri, but you can always find her on the World Wide Web to share feedback, the occasional joke and suggestions for good reading at writeterralittle@yahoo.com. Visit her official website at www.terralittle.com.

Beneath Southern Skies

Terra Little

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Dear Reader,

When my first novel, Running from Mercy, was published back in 2008, I never dreamed that readers would become so intrigued by Nathaniel Woodberry. After all, he wasn’t a main character, even if he was a fascinating study in contradiction. But readers did, and before long I was receiving requests to know more about him…on a personal level. What type of woman would it take to finally conquer his heart? readers wanted to know and, after much thought, I hope I’ve managed to answer that question.

A consummate ladies’ man, Nate has no plans of ever settling down and committing himself to one woman.

Until he meets up again with Tressie Valentine….

Who’d have thought that a notorious busybody like Tressie could bring him to his knees—literally and figuratively? Certainly not Nate. But isn’t that how it always happens? He’s after a story when he returns to Mercy, Georgia, but what he discovers is an unlikely partnership that makes him want to investigate matters of the heart instead.

For a man who’s never met a woman that he wanted and couldn’t have, convincing Tressie that he’s ready to put his past behind him is easier said than done. But he’s counting on seduction underneath Southern skies to help him make a believer out of her.

Welcome back to Mercy!

Terra

This one is for my family, which will soon include a new addition—my very first grandchild.

Many thanks to all of the readers who continue to support me and my work. I hope this one does you proud.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

Prologue

The longer Tressie Valentine held the stack of official-looking papers and read, the more the hand holding them trembled. They were the answer to all her prayers, or at least they could be if what she was reading was really true.

Suddenly finding herself unemployed and penniless was a predicament that Tressie had never envisioned for herself, and she’d been on the verge of pulling her hair out by the roots ever since that predicament had become her reality.

But now, if there was a God in heaven and she hadn’t managed to completely alienate Him, it looked as though the streak of bad luck that she’d been riding hard and fast for the past two months was about to take a sharp turn for the better. God knew she needed some good luck right about now.

In a matter of weeks, what little savings she’d managed to accumulate over the past five years had quickly dwindled down to little more than enough to keep a roof over her head for the next couple of months. She didn’t even want to think about all the other unpaid bills that were steadily pouring in. When had she applied for so many credit cards? Amassed so many lines of private store credit? Gotten so out of control with her spending? Of course, it hadn’t seemed as if her spending was out of control while she was safely ensconced in the luxury of a six-figure salary and living the high life. But the blinders were off, and she knew that she was in serious trouble.

This summons, or whatever it was, that had landed in her mailbox this morning could be just what she needed to help her get her life back on track.

Snuggled deep in the luxurious recesses of a thick cashmere robe, papers in hand, Tressie plopped down on the leather sofa in the great room of her twentieth-floor loft apartment and reached for the cordless phone on a nearby end table. Her toes curled into the thick pile of the specially ordered Oriental rug underneath her bare feet as she punched in the telephone number listed at the top of the document. Praying that the estimated quote on the page in front of her wasn’t a typo, she listened to the phone ring on the other end and then smiled when a woman’s cheerful voice finally greeted her. Just this morning she had been seriously considering pitching a tent out on the sidewalk, clearing out her designer label–filled walk-in closet and hosting a yard sale to stave off the wolves at her door. But now...now things were looking up and not a moment too soon.

“Could I please speak with Norman Harper?” Tressie asked after the woman had finished rattling off the string of names listed on the company’s letterhead. “Please tell him that Tressie Valentine is calling.”