Barbara Dunlop: A Cowboy's Temptation

In this Colorado Cattle Barons novel by USA TODAY bestselling author Barbara Dunlop, a cowboy seduces the enemy

Mayor Seth Jacobs has plans, and he won’t let do-gooder Darby Carroll ruin them. Her need for peace and quiet is standing in the way of a crucial railroad project. Now he must put his cowboy charms to good use and persuade Darby to see things his way. But seduction is a two-way street, and Seth soon realizes he underestimated his opponent. Now that he’s caught in his own trap, his desire for this woman could be his downfall….

“Is that what this is all about? To slow me down?”

“No, Darby. This is all about stopping you.”

He shifted his stance. His hand brushed hers, and they both froze. The attraction between them was suddenly palpable. His eyes went dark, and she realized that at any other time, and with any other man in this circumstance, she’d be tilting her head up for a kiss.

But instead of kissing her, he spoke, his voice a low, sexy rumble. “I seriously want to kick your butt.”

She couldn’t seem to stop the mocking smile that formed on her lips. “No, you don’t, Seth. You seriously want to kiss my mouth. Admit it,” she cajoled.

To her surprise, he immediately swooped in.

A Cowboy’s Temptationis a Colorado Cattle Barons novel:

From the mountains to the boardroom, these men have everything under control—except their hearts

Dear Reader,

Welcome to A Cowboy’s Temptation, book five of the Colorado Cattle Barons series from Mills & Boon Desire. It’s been two years since I started writing about the Jacobs and Terrell families, and I’ve found myself falling in love with the rugged men and intrepid women of Lyndon Valley.

Now that his three sisters are married off, it’s cowboy Seth Jacobs’s turn to meet the woman of his dreams. Former army captain Darby Carroll is as independent as they come. The last thing she needs messing up her well-ordered life and plans for her bucolic Lyndon Valley retreat is Seth and his treasured railway. He might be tough, but she’ll take him on and shut him down, no matter what it takes. Oh, and of course, fall in love, too!

I hope you enjoy A Cowboy’s Temptation.

Happy reading!

Barbara Dunlop

A Cowboy’s Temptation

Barbara Dunlop

www.millsandboon.co.uk

BARBARA DUNLOPwrites romantic stories while curled up in a log cabin in Canada’s far north, where bears outnumber people and it snows six months of the year. Fortunately she has a brawny husband and two teenage children to haul firewood and clear the driveway while she sips cocoa and muses about her upcoming chapters. Barbara loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website, www.barbaradunlop.com.

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For my daughter, with love.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

Excerpt

One

He didn’t look much like a mayor—especially in the lighted ranch yard, wearing blue jeans and a battered Stetson, his dark eyes, square chin and straight nose set in a deeply tanned face. From this distance, Seth Jacobs was all cowboy, all rugged and as powerful as they came in Lyndon Valley.

Sipping her vodka tonic out of a disposable plastic cup, Darby Carroll hovered in the wide-open doorway of the newly raised Davelyn barn. Thirty feet across the dirt construction site, Seth was standing with a group of cowboys, chatting over an open fire, passing around a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey. He chuckled at something one of the cowboys said, white teeth flashing in the firelight.

It was nearing ten at night, and most of the young Lyndon Valley families had packed up their kids and headed for home. The holdouts were the singles, young married couples and a few fiftysomethings, whose child-rearing days were over, but who hadn’t yet traded after-parties for early bedtimes and cups of hot tea.

The September sky was awash with stars, muted dance music throbbing far behind her. The air was warm, fragrant with wheatgrass, and the Lyndon River roared softly at the base of the hill. Most of the west valley had shown up for the barn raising. Community was alive and well in Lyndon.

Family was everything. And that only added to Seth’s power and prestige. While the Jacobses had arrived many generations ago, Darby was a newcomer, having taken over her estranged great-aunt’s property only three years previous. There were people who thought she wasn’t entitled to an opinion, many who thought the old guard should remain in charge forever. She took another sip of the tart, bracing drink, gaze still resting on the group of six cowboys.

She couldn’t help but wonder if an in-person appeal would help her cause. She had so much to say to him, so many points to make, arguments to mount, facts and figures to put forward. That is, if Seth Jacobs or anyone else was willing to listen.

He caught her gaze, trapping her in place as surely as if he’d wrapped his callous hands around her arms and held her steady. He cocked his head, spoke to the cowboy next to him, handed over the bottle then broke from the group, pacing toward her.

His shoulders were wide, hips slim, strides easy as he ate up the ground between them. She had no doubt whatsoever that he’d garnered nearly 100 percent of female voters in the mayoral election. Well, maybe 99.9, since Darby had voted for his opponent.

He slowed his pace, stopping in front of her in the doorway. “You look like a woman who has something to say.”

She brushed her auburn hair behind her shoulders. “Are you a man who’s willing to listen?”

“I took an oath that says I am,” he responded easily, shifting to lean one shoulder against the wide jamb of the barn doorway. “I take it doubly serious for pretty women.”

“I’m not here to flirt with you, Mayor.”

There was a teasing warmth in his dark, blue eyes. “Too bad.”

“I’m here to argue with you.”

He heaved a sigh. “Yeah, well, that’s my bad luck, too.”

“Did you know that a train whistle is one hundred thirty to one hundred fifty decibels?”

“Can’t say that I did,” he drawled.

“At one hundred twenty-five decibels, pain begins.” She tugged at her ear as she quoted the researched statistics. “At one hundred forty decibels, even short-term exposure can cause permanent damage.”

“You know, you have the most arresting eyes. What are they, turquoise? Green?”

Darby’s thoughts stumbled for a split second. But she reminded herself that it was the Jack Daniel’s and the cowboy talking. She had to focus on the mayor.

“Right now, we’re talking about my ears.”

He smiled at that, canting his head to one side. “Interesting ears, too.”

“And I’d like to keep them in working order. Mine and those of every other resident of Lyndon Valley, especially the children.”

“Well, unless you’re planning to stand on the tracks, I’m guessing your ears will be safe.”

She ignored his sarcasm. “Uncontrolled railway crossings account for eighty-nine percent of fatal train-vehicle collisions.”