Stacey Joy Netzel Boxed Set (31 page)

Long and Short Romance Reviews ~ Best Book
“Each story has a clearly-defined nicely-developed plot and
distinct, well-rounded characters. This is the best e-book I’ve
read in a while and an absolutely delightful Christmas treat.” ~
Water Lily

Chasin’ Mason
~ contemporary western

When his father announced his engagement to
a gold-digger with a lying, scheming fourteen-year old daughter,
seventeen-year old Tripp Warner left Warner Ridge Ranch and never
looked back. Until the day he got the phone call that his father
had died unexpectedly.

Reggie Reed lives with her guilt every day
but can't quite work up the courage to track down the son of the
man who raised her as his own. When Tripp shows up at his father’s
funeral eleven years later--and a hell of a man to be reckoned
with--he has no interest in her too-late apology. Worse, they’ve
inherited half shares of the family ranch—but only if they work
together to catch Mason’s Gold, the stallion a young Reggie let
escape and made sure Tripp took the blame for.

Tripp proposes a secret competition to the
beautiful witch who stole his life: whoever catches the stallion
first gets the ranch all to themselves. It sounds simple, but once
they’re out on the range, tempers and passions flare in the Texas
heat and nothing goes as either of them expects.

Can they work together to keep the ranch, or
will their past get in the way of their future?

***What reviewers are saying:

Dark Angel Reviews 5 Stars
“
Stacey Joy Netzel is at the top of her
game with CHASIN’ MASON. I was hooked at page one and stayed hooked
until the end. Pick up a copy, I guarantee you’ll love
it!
” ~ Becky

Night Owl Reviews Reviewer
TOP PICK
“
I loved
the twists and turns the author embedded throughout and I couldn’t
help but want to see Tripp and Reggie reconcile their differences
in the end. Ms. Netzel’s characters were well-rounded people that
everyone could relate to in some fashion. The story was quite vivid
and I felt as if I was watching it unfold before me. If you’re
looking for a contemporary cowboy/cowgirl story, this one will fit
the bill perfectly.
” ~ Diana
Coyle

EXCERPT:

“I expected you hours ago,” she said,
exasperation heavy in her tone.

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Hardly,” she said with a delicate
snort.

Yet her eyelids lowered as her gaze swept
down and up, taking stock of the comfortable tee shirt and jeans
he’d worn for the long drive from Galveston. Something flickered in
her eyes; something hot he instinctively recognized as more
dangerous than a rattle snake. She shut it down quick and lifted
her chin so her cute little nose stuck in the air.

“And now that I can see there’s no danger to
Grandma, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Her bare feet whispered across the floor
toward the stairs. He opened his mouth, then closed it.
Shut up.
Don’t go there. Don’t
—

Her right foot hit the bottom stair, her
nightgown swaying with the enticing movement of her hips.

“What about you?”

She paused and turned. “What?”

Hooking one thumb in the front pocket of his
jeans, he took slow, measured steps across the floor. Tension
spread through him like the flush sweeping across her pale skin.
Her fingers tangled in the material of her gown, tugging the hem
lower as he came to a stop in front of her. Unfortunately, she also
succeeded in lowering the neckline. The thud of his bag dropping to
the floor made her flinch.

Tripp lowered his tone. “You said there’s no
danger to Nana, but what about you?”

“Th—”

Her voice cracked and her throat muscles
worked fast. He dropped his gaze to the rapid pulse beating at the
base of her neck.

“I’m f-fine.”

He lifted a hand to the rosy skin of her
neck; felt her life beat beneath his finger tip. Anticipation
hummed along his nerve endings, making him excruciatingly aware of
every shallow breath she took. “Fine doesn’t begin to cover it,
Princess.”

When he slid his fingers into her silky hair
to rub the back of her neck, her eyelids lowered, then closed. Her
hands rose to press against his chest. God, he was pretty sure he
hated her, and yet he damn sure wanted her. It was the craziest
thing. He shifted closer, slid his other hand over the curve of her
hip to press against the small of her back, leaned in to inhale the
evocative scent of peaches. The heat of her skin burned through the
thin, satiny material of her nightgown to warm his hand where it
rested along her spine.

His mouth hovered above her moist lips, his
unsteady breath mingling with hers. He started to close the
distance.

“You hate me,” she whispered, her hands
fisting in his shirt.

“Such a strong word—hate,” he murmured, even
though he’d just thought it.

Forgoing her mouth, he lightly brushed his
lips over her smooth cheek with its charming freckles. It wasn’t
enough. With the hand buried in her hair, he angled her head to
give him access to the delicate column of her neck. He pressed his
tongue to her pulse, licked, then sucked gently. She made a small
noise deep in her throat. His body throbbed in response as his arm
curled tighter around her waist.

“You…d-don’t like me, then.”

Stubborn witch wouldn’t let it go. That
hadn’t changed. He worked his way back to her mouth. “Do you like
me?”

Her violet eyes opened and locked with his,
making his heart thump hard.

“Don’t mess with me, Tripp. Please.” The
sincerity in her voice was astounding.

“Who’s messing?” he asked, making light of
her plea while brushing his thumb over her lower lip. He wanted to
taste her so bad, and she just wouldn’t shut up.

“You’re going to take the ranch from me—this
isn’t playing fair.”

The reminder of what was at stake in this
game was just what he needed. He lowered his head to whisper
against her mouth. “Like you played fair all those years ago?”

In a heartbeat, she stiffened and shoved
against his chest to be free. Tripp held on; let her see who held
the control now. Her eyes widened, and then darkened with a fury
that turned him on even more. They stared at each other, breathing
uneven, hearts pounding.

And just like that, something changed.
Struck his chest so deep inside it terrified him. He released her
and spun away as she grabbed the railing for balance. He braced a
hand on the wall and hung his head, fighting for a lungful of
air.

“Go to bed,” he rasped. “We leave at
dawn.”

She didn’t reply. When he snuck a glance,
she was halfway up the stairs, white silk panties playing
peek-a-boo with the hem of her nightgown. Tripp uttered a low groan
and made for the porch like the hounds of hell were on his
heels.

LOST IN ITALY

first chapter sneak peek

(back to top)

~~~

“…
starts off right away, and every page that
follows is packed full of excitement that will keep you on the edge
of your seat.”

Danielle
The Book Whore Blog
~
5
Hearts—Could not put down amazing

~~~

The best laid plans…

Halli Sanders spent two years planning the
trip of a lifetime to Italy. Her itinerary did not include being
stranded by her siblings, kidnapped by a sexy American movie star,
dodging bullets, or fleeing criminals in a car chase around Lake
Como. And that’s just in the first three hours.

…
often go awry.

Trent Tomlin put his movie career on hold to
investigate his brother’s murder-ruled-suicide at his Italian
villa. He’s closing in on the suspects when an American tourist
unwittingly films the murder of the retired cop helping him. The
killers will stop at nothing to get the evidence—including holding
Halli’s family as collateral.

Life’s a little different unscripted.

Thrust into the role of real-life hero, Trent
finds himself falling for the Plain Jane whose beauty blossoms with
every challenge they face. But how can he keep the evidence from
the murderers to get justice for his brother and friend without
betraying Halli and her family?

~~~

Chapter 1

“For the love of God, Hal, we didn’t travel
over ten hours for you to film swans.”

Halli Sanders ground her back molars
together, ignored her sister Rachel, and zoomed her camera in on
the flock of white birds across the water. Graceful and serene,
they stood out in stark contrast to the dark, shaded water of the
small inlet her brother had parked near. A shaky breath helped
steady her hands.

“You guys wanted to stop, now I want to see
if Lake Como, Italy and Lake Como, WI have more in common than
their names,” she informed her sister and brother.

“Who cares?” Rachel moaned. “And it was
Ben’s bright idea to pull over, not mine. I just want to find the
hotel and shower away some of this jet lag. And, we still have to
find a converter for my hair dryer.”

Halli rolled her eyes and kept filming. Yes,
she was being snotty about it, but they’re the ones who threw away
her meticulously planned itinerary so they could make impromptu
stops like this. Ben specifically had insisted she lighten up, as
if she’d chosen to become a control freak after their crazy,
unstable years on the run with their parents.

The half dozen or so swans had floated into
the sunlight, near a wooden dock in front of a stone villa. She
wondered who lived there. The tabloids always talked about George
Clooney’s house on Lake Como in Italy and how he always had friends
visiting—could this be it? If it was, any number of stars could be
there
right
now.

That’s it
, she told herself. Focus on
something other than the fact her plans had all been scrapped. She
did not want her anxiety issues ruining this vacation. As long as
she had Ben and Rachel, she’d be fine.

She allowed herself one last lingering look
at the regal villa through the viewfinder. The weathered stonework
was beautiful, but the shiny, reflective windows captured her
attention. She loved large windows that let in natural light.
Wished she had them in her studio apartment overlooking the lake
back home.

Ben ran interference behind her. “We’ll go
find the hotel first, then an electronics store, then we’ll find a
place to eat. Sound okay?”

“Yes, thank you,” Rachel agreed, her tone
full of exaggerated drama. “Let’s go, Hal.”

“
Fine
. I’m coming.” Halli took a step
backward, but a movement in the windows caught her attention. She
paused and steadied the camera. The front door to the villa burst
open. As someone ran outside, the swans took flight, their startled
cries echoing across the water.

Behind her, she heard car doors open. Then
Ben’s, “Oh, hurry up—there’s a break in traffic.”

Bam. Bam. Vrrooommm
.

The slamming doors made Halli glance over
her shoulder. She did a double take when the little blue car her
brother had rented in Milan shot off the curb.

“
Hey—
” She spun around, took a few
steps, then stopped with a disbelieving laugh. “Real funny,
guys.”

Surely any second now, they’d give up the
joke, pull to the side, and wait for her to catch up as they
laughed their hilarious frickin’ heads off.

No brake lights.

No U-turn.

Nothing.

The blue car accelerated around the bend in
the road and disappeared.

Her heart skipped a beat and her stomach
sunk. Muttering under her breath, she looked around
self-consciously, doing her best to distract herself from the fact
that she was suddenly all alone in a foreign country. A dark-haired
man across the street glanced her way with open curiosity.
Thankfully, he kept walking. Cars cruised past; a couple kids on
bikes; a woman on a moped. Though the kids stopped a short distance
away, no one paid her much attention over the next few minutes.

Well, sure. Lake Como, Italy was probably
used to lost tourists, what did they care?

No
,
you’re
not
lost
.
The adamant statement helped to steady her breathing. That’s right.
Ben and Rachel would be back any moment. She had nothing to worry
about as long as she didn’t leave this spot.

The man across the street gave her a more
thorough inspection and a chill trickled down her spine. Halli
averted her gaze and hugged her arms around her middle. Her heart
rate continued it’s steady acceleration.

Oh, she was going to kill them when they got
back. They’d pulled pranks in the past, but this one was
cruel—especially her first time travelling overseas. Why would they
do this now? Ben may live life with the motto “Rip the Band-Aid
off”, but not Halli. It had to be a joke, right? It was either
that, or they didn’t know she wasn’t in the car. But how could
anyone miss something like
that
?