Check out a sneak peek at the NotMy1stRodeo.com series

Donna Alward, Jenna Bayley-Burke and Sarah M. Anderson have a series coming up in June in which their cowboy heroes use a dating site, called NotMy1stRodeo.com, to try to find their second chance at love. Here's a sneak peek at each of the stories in the NotMy1stRodeo.com series …

Anything for a Cowboy by Jenna Bayley-Burke

About the story:

When veterinarian Jacy Weston changes her location on her western dating website profile, she thinks it's no big deal. Opal Creek…Myrtle Creek…what's the difference? As little white lies go, this one barely qualifies. Besides, since her brothers have chased off every guy within a hundred miles, the expiration date on her virginity is way past due.

Ray Mitchell is not inclined to waste his time on something as unnecessary as dating, but it's much easier to take a woman to coffee than to explain to his mother why he's in no hurry to get married again. Despite NotMy1stRodeo.com's promises, he doubts he'll find any woman willing to find herself stuck on a remote ranch raising rodeo stock.

But Jacy is different. She isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Or to get down and dirty. Ray's thinking he's found the one, until the truth comes out…and he realizes the divorcee from the next county he's been dating doesn't exist.

Warning: Contains a virginal heroine looking for the nearest exit for the horizontal highway to heaven, and a cowboy willing to go the distance for the right woman.

EXCERPT

Ray knew his smile was probably a bit too wide, but it matched Jacy's. He pulled off his gloves and stuck them in the back pocket of his jeans as he crossed the gravel yard to meet her beside her mammoth truck. Just like earlier, he felt that instant tug of desire, the urgent longing of man for woman. Every stray thought since he'd left her had been about her naked. And standing here with her flaming-red hair, worn jeans and a white tank top, she slid into every fantasy he'd ever had.

"You found me," he said, instead of asking to skip the ride and take things indoors.

"The directions were spot on." She put her hands in her back pockets, drawing his attention to her breasts. He forced his gaze up to the watercolor swirl of her hazel eyes.

"How long do you think we'll be out for? Should I take a coat?"

"I'm not taking one." He rubbed his hand against the back of his neck, suddenly all hot and prickly. He'd prefer she not cover up, but that was for selfish reasons. Good thing one of them was practical.

"Then I won't either. I tend to run hot."

Her words hit him right in the libido. But like this morning, he didn't know how to read it. He didn't want to jump too far ahead and risk getting kicked out of the game entirely. He nodded and walked back towards the stable. She fell in step beside him.

"Who am I riding today?"

He clenched his fists and dragged his dirty mind out of the gutter. Since he'd sworn off dating-site hookups six months back, he hadn't bothered with sex, a fact his body had decided to alert him to today. He hadn't been this focused on bedding a woman since his first time.

Ray cleared his throat as they entered the paddock. "I saddled Little Joe for you. He knows this place better than I do. Plus, he's as smooth as we've got since Candy's getting ready to foal."

She stopped beside him and reached for the gelding paint. "And who is this handsome fella?"

"No flirting with my girl, Hoss." He patted the horse's neck and undid the cross ties keeping the youngster in place. Joe whinnied in his stall.

"Let's make him jealous," she mock-whispered before mounting his horse in a smooth movement.

"Seriously?" He spoke more to Joe than anything, since Jacy had ridden Hoss smoothly into the corral. He climbed onto the horse his mother usually rode. "You better keep up, old man."

Something About a Cowboy by Sarah M. Anderson

About the story:

After six years working his ranch and raising his boys, widower Mack Tucker is staring down the barrel of another long, lonely winter. Until his grown-up sons decide it's time for him to move on. They not only sign him up for an online dating site, but also screen the first batch of interested parties.

Mack is furious—until he spots one of the profiles. He's intrigued. Intrigued enough to drive three hours to Billings to meet Karen Thompson.

Burned by her ex, Karen isn't interested in diving into another marriage, but she wouldn't mind dipping her toes back in the dating waters. But this time, things will be different. What could be more trustworthy and honest than a strong, silent cowboy?

Their first date gets steamier than either of them intended, and Mack fears it may be too much, too soon for him. Torn between the past and the present, Mack has to cowboy up or lose the possibility of a future with the woman who makes his broken heart beat again.

Warning: Contains skinny dipping in public, sensual biting, gratuitous use of roses, and a red lace thong. Sometimes all at once.

EXCERPT

Then he looked back up to where the woman in the red dress was sitting. She'd pivoted on her stool, no doubt to see what all the commotion was about.

Her gaze met his and she smiled.

Oh, hell. It was her. Karen.

There was no turning back. Aw, who was he kidding? There'd been no turning back the moment he'd agreed to meet her. He tried to return her grin, but it didn't feel right, so he gave up the effort and settled for walking toward her. As he did, he kept looking at her.

She was, if possible, even better looking in the flesh than she'd been in her NotMy1stRodeo.com photos. There, she'd been grinning goofily at the camera, holding up a small dog—the yippy kind—and generally being unselfconscious about her appearance.

But now? As he closed the distance between them, she stood, and Mack got the full magnitude of that red dress. In addition to being backless, it had a deep V that cut close to firm, high breasts and a slit that went most of the way up her leg. The whole thing skimmed over her curves, leaving just enough to the imagination. She had a lush, full body—hourglass shaped and perfect in proportion.

For six long, dark years, he'd not allowed himself to think, much less look at another woman. Suddenly, one siren in a red dress had him thinking about what it'd be like to undo the tie on her neck and let those breasts, those hips free from that dress.

Desire hit him low in the gut. He was really doing this. This was really happening.

"Mack?" she said, her eyes lighting up.

He nodded. "Karen?" Then, because he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next in this situation, he stuck out his hand. It seemed the safest bet.

Except it wasn't. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into her arms. She wore a scent that was light and sweet, almost like vanilla and roses. Unconsciously, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. As he did, her breasts pressed against his Sunday-best blue dress shirt and his only suit jacket, the heather-gray one that Sue had picked out for him to wear to her funeral.

It was damned hard to think of Sue and have Karen hold him like this, her arms tight around his chest, murmuring the words, "It's so good to meet you in person." So he tried to stop. Sue was gone and she'd wanted him to go on with his life. She'd made him promise he would, because that was the kind of woman she'd been.

So this was Mack trying to go on with his life. "It's, uh, it's good to meet you too."

He didn't know what he was supposed to do with his hands. If he hugged her back, he'd be touching her bare skin or—worse—if he wasn't doing that, he'd have his hands on her a**. It really didn't matter how nice her ass was—he glanced down. Whoa. It was a nice a**.

This was too much, too soon. He was still married, for God's sake. Sort of. In the eyes of the Lord. Probably.

Thankfully, she let go of him and stepped back, which helped a lot in the sense that she wasn't pressing her body against his. But it didn't help that he now had an up-close-and-personal view of her in that dress. It left very little to the imagination.

He kept his gaze locked on her face.

"I'm glad you came out tonight," she said, and the next thing he knew, she'd leaned up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. She still had a grip on his hand. He couldn't go anywhere. "I was hoping you would."

"We made a date," he heard himself say. "I keep my word."

Which was pretty much the only reason he was here, looking at temptation in the form of a divorced florist named Karen Thompson instead of sitting in his living room, a beer in one hand and the remote in the other, just like he'd done every other night for the last six years.

She lifted one of her eyebrows as she beamed at him. "I am very glad to hear it. Do you want to eat dinner or…" Her voice trailed off and Mack had to lean forward to try and catch the last part of the sentence. Or what?

Nothing Like a Cowboy by Donna Alward

About the story:

Brett Harrison tried marriage once and isn't anxious for another round. So when his meddling twin sister sets him up on a dating site, he seriously considers strangling her and cancelling. Luckily for him, he's too much of a gentleman to act on those impulses, and when he meets Melly Walker, he wonders if it's time to get back in the saddle.

Melly knows exactly where her previous marriage went wrong. She was dazzled by her ex's big-city charm and strayed too far from her roots. This time, she's going with tried and true—a dyed-in-the-wool cowboy. Her first few dates net her more duds than studs, but when she meets Brett, she's ready to get more than just her feet wet.

The principles of trust and compromise are great in theory, but when Melly discovers Brett has his eye on more than just her curves, she questions her judgment and his motives. Is Brett ready to drop his dreams for something as unreliable as love?

Warning: Contains virtual hat-tipping, real-time kissing and sexy times. Yee haw!

EXCERPT

"So," she said, a little nervous again, "you're divorced?"

"I am." He smiled grimly. "My ex-wife thought ranching sounded a lot more romantic than the reality."

Melly couldn't help it, she snorted. Brett's expression darkened.

She covered her mouth with a hand and tried to straighten her face. "I'm sorry," she offered, wanting to smooth the fretting wrinkle off his brow. "I didn't mean to do that. I shouldn't laugh."

"Yeah, well, I should have seen it coming. She never did really fit. I was just…"

"Dazzled?" Melly suggested, lifting an eyebrow.

His face relaxed a little and his eyes warmed, as if he appreciated the little bit of wit. "Yeah. Dazzled is one way of putting it. Thinking with the wrong head, if you'll pardon the crude expression."

She laughed again. And the wrinkle smoothed just a little bit more.

"Sounds like we both ended up with people a little flashier than our tastes," she observed. "Or maybe just a little too refined."

"Maybe," he conceded. "They might have done better with each other than the likes of us." He chuckled a little, and she got a whoopee kind of feeling from him pairing them together, even in such a casual way.

Melly looked down at her cup. Her coffee was gone. She suspected Brett's was as well. As dates went, it had been different. And since the word dazzled had been brought up more than once, Melly had to admit she wasn't quite seeing stars and rainbows. But then there was the hint of a smile he'd shown her earlier, and his manners, and that interesting moment where something had connected between them.

Not love at first sight. But intriguing? Yes. His foot bumped hers under the table and a zing went up her calf. Oh, definitely intriguing.

"Melissa?"

She met his gaze. His clear blue eyes were settled on her, his brows pulled together slightly as if he were trying to figure out a puzzle.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to use a dating site? You're a beautiful woman, and I can't imagine you being desperate or having a hard time finding a guy. I don't get it."

She pushed her cup to the side and folded her hands on the table, determined not to fidget or let her nervousness show. "Well, to be honest, I know what I'm looking for in a partner. I'm not a city girl, and I'm not new to marriage. I've always enjoyed the outdoors, loved growing up on our ranch. So I figured I'd narrow the search by parameters. The website helped me do that. Kind of a made-to-order thing." She let a grin crawl up her cheek. "You know, like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. She orders things just the way she wants them. No compromising."

"And then has that I'll-have-what-she's-having moment."

Ah, yes. The orgasm scene. Melly met Brett's gaze. Was he flirting? It was hard to tell. He seemed more of a still waters type than an open book. Still, it was a slightly suggestive comment to make at this point in the date, and she took it as a good sign. "You have to give the girl credit," Melly responded with a wink, flirting back. "She knew what satisfaction looked like."

The air hummed between them, and Melly lifted her chin a little, almost daring him to respond.

"Except she was faking." He raised an eyebrow and his eyes twinkled.

Game on. He was flirting with her. Melly felt a little more confidence slide through her and she leaned her elbows on the table, moving slightly more towards him, inviting him closer.

"Oh, she was just demonstrating a point. I've never seen the point in faking anything, have you?"

Two spots of color appeared on his cheeks. "Not really. I like a woman who knows how to speak her mind."

Was it getting warmer in here? It wasn't so much what they said, but the subtle undertones that seemed to raise her temperature. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of mystery and surprise. As long as it's the right kind…"

Find out more about these books and the series at www.NotMy1stRodeo.com.