FORBIDDEN MONTANA LOVE

The Burkes of Burnside Creek Series - Book One

by Fiona Cullen

Cover & Excerpt Reveal

Release Date: March 9, 2022

Cover Design: Ashley @ Cover Couture

Photo: Wander Aguiar Photography

Model: Christoph

Genre: Contemporary romance
Trope: Forbidden love, enemies to lovers, small town romance, cowboy romance, marriage of convenience

I was never meant to meet her, let alone love her. 

Theodora Wright. My family’s enemy. 

And now my wife.

From the first glance, I was mesmerized by her sage green eyes and the secrets lurking within. At that moment, revenge was the furthest thing from my mind. All I wanted to do was save my family’s ranch--and keep her safe. 

I thought giving Theo a place to stay for a night would be all I had to do. 

I never expected to marry her. 

I never thought I’d yearn for the sound of her laughter or the sight of her smile, never thought I’d crave the feel of her skin on mine. 

I never bargained for the passion that burns out of control between us, wild and wanton and searingly hot.

I’m falling for her, but she doesn’t trust me.

And as the days turn to weeks, I’m fighting a gnawing dread that I’ll wake up one morning and she’ll be gone.

Because once she learns my secrets--and the greatest deception of all--I know she’ll have no reason to stay.

Excerpt

I stood, panting and feeling like I was going to hyperventilate as the most gorgeous man I had ever seen stared at me like I had five heads. How had my cousins maneuvered me to stand beside him? Why had he taken pity on me? I shivered again, not from cold, but from the latent heat I saw in his beautiful blue eyes.

He stood tall, so much taller than my five feet eight. He towered over me, sheltering me with his large shoulders and his fierce protectiveness. I hadn’t felt like this since…I pushed that thought away. Those thoughts never helped.

He’d asked me to trust him. He swore I was safe with him. What kind of simple-minded fool believed a complete stranger? I knew what could happen. At best I could be raped. At worst, murdered. I stared up into his gaze, looking deeply into his eyes, and it seemed as though he understood the uncertainty and trepidation I felt. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the large room with the frolicking party, and an all-consuming fear filled me at having to return there. At having to see my cousins again.

“Please,” I whispered, my voice breaking and emerging even more scratchy than usual. “Take me away from here.”

He nodded, the tension easing from his shoulders as his fingers clasped mine again. A tall man, he matched his strides to mine, aware of my inability to walk quickly in high heels. Would a murderer be so considerate? my racing mind asked.

We walked a fair distance, the path cleared of snow and ice and lit well enough that it appeared romantic rather than eerie. Still, I held onto his hand. When he turned onto a smaller path leading to one of the prestigious private cabins, I balked. “Who are you?” I whispered.

He chuckled, giving my hand a tug and urging me to continue to follow him. After extracting a key, he led me inside, turning on a few lamps. “Sit,” he murmured, motioning to a large, overstuffed chair with ottoman. I sank into the comfortable chair, sighing with relief as I kicked off my shoes. When I saw him watching me with frank amusement, I blushed and moved my feet around, trying to find my shoes again.

“Leave them off. You should relax.” After draping a throw blanket over me, he moved to the fireplace and set a match to the wood waiting to be lit. Unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt, he turned to face me. “You are an enigma.”

I blushed and shrugged as I huddled under the blanket. Although I was no longer cold, I relished the sense of security it offered. Perhaps it was fleeting, but I would cling to it. “I’m as much of a mystery as a box of chocolates.”

He laughed, the full-throated, deep sound sparking tingles throughout parts of me I wished would remain dormant forever. My gaze roved over him, suddenly realizing my assessment of him as gorgeous didn’t begin to do him justice. His thick, black hair was longer than the preppy haircuts I saw some men wear in town, but not so long as to tie back. A shadow of a beard—hinting that he needed to shave twice a day—enhanced his dark, good looks. Through his thin dress shirt, I saw muscles tighten in his chest as he swiped his hands together, and I suddenly wished one of those hands was still touching me.

“Now I wish I knew what that flush was for,” he murmured.

“Why did you help me tonight?” I asked, tucking my legs up tight against my bottom. If I had any sense, I’d run out of this private cottage and find a way back to my room at the resort or to my uncle’s house in town. Right now, my common sense was on vacation. In Fiji.

He sobered and stood. After studying me for a long moment, he moved to a nearby chair and sat down. Rather than curling into it and making himself comfortable, as I had, he sat on the edge of it, leaning toward me. “You were in distress. Someone wanted to shame you.”

My breath caught. “How…?” I shook my head, unwilling to say more as I fought a tidal wave of embarrassment.

“How did I know?” He clasped his hands together and looked at the scuffed wood floor. “I know because no woman ever goes to a bar with the desire of acting like Lady Godiva. Not unless she’s drunk or high. And the woman I saw entering the bar tonight,”—he nodded at me—“was neither.”

“I’m surprised you noticed me,” I said in a tart voice.

He shrugged. “I can imagine you are. You take great pains to remain invisible, don’t you?”

About the Author

Fiona Cullen likes her tea strong, loves a long-winded story, and is always rooting for the underdog. An author of sexy, small-town contemporary romance, her heroes are men you’d want to bring home to meet your parents for family dinner and her heroines are women you’d want as your best friend. Fiona calls Montana home, and is happiest when she’s fly fishing a cool, clear Montana river, hiking a trail, or immersed in the beauty around her.