BIRTHDAY MONTH! … It’s drawing to a close, almost. Isn’t that crazy? As you see we have Maisey Yates sharing “definitely an exclusive excerpt.” With us today. And you know, birthday month is why the excerpts are every week, on Thursday in June. Because this month is super loaded.

Hi Limecello! Thanks for having me on your blog. 🙂

I have a brand new series starting in June. Contemporary romances set in Silver Creek, Oregon with some very sexy cowboys.

The first book, a novella called Unbuttoned is out on June 18th, and I want to share an exclusive excerpt with you.

Carly Denton has learned to keep her buttons and emotions firmly fastened. Her parents’ constant drama, and an unrequited crush on her brother’s best friend, taught her to keep her passion beneath the surface. But she can no longer avoid the one man with the ability to bring that passion to a boil…

Lucas remembers Carly as a freckle-faced tomboy—not a frosty woman who treats him like a burr under her saddle. But when they must work together on a charity project, Lucas is shocked to find their bickering melt into some serious mutual attraction. He’s determined to show Carly that he’s the man for her, if only she’d learn to let loose.

Lucas is the last man on earth Carly should give in to. The freedom she finds in his arms has her feeling happier than ever, but is it enough to make her realize that the greatest risk isn’t losing your heart, but losing the chance at happiness?

“Who is it?” she called, heading to the door.

    “Lucas.”

    She cursed fluidly under her breath and opened the door, pasting a smile to her face. She wasn’t going to act bothered. No. He would like that too much. “Lucas,” she said, far too brightly, blocking the doorway, “what brings you here?”

    Her held his hand up, a twenty dollar bill folded between his fingers. “You forgot this.”

    “I paid,” she said.

    “Nope. I did.”

    “Oh, of all the macho . . .” she started to say, then took the money. “Thank you. Thank you very much. I’ll see you . . . later.” Hopefully much later.

    “I’m sorry,” he said.

    The words stopped her cold. “You’re what?”

    “Sorry. For what I said earlier.”

    “I . . . thank you.” She dropped her hand from the door frame and took a step back. “It’s . . . it takes a lot to admit when you’re wrong.”

    Lucas seemed to take her movement as an invitation to enter the house. He walked past her and into the living room. “Oh, I wasn’t wrong. But I’m sorry I said what I said the way I said it.”

    She narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”

    “You’re wound up tight, sugar, no mistake. I wasn’t wrong about that. But I shouldn’t have picked a fight with you, not over something so sensitive, and not in public.”

    “I’m not . . . sensitive. And I didn’t invite you in.”

    “Family friend, remember? I’m allowed to come in.”

    “Why are you so dead set on driving me crazy this week?”

    He paused. “A good question. And I could ask you the same thing.”

    “What? I thought you were going out with my brother tonight, anyway.”

    “Blew him off.”

    “Why? I thought you were going to go hook-up, or whatever you guys call it.”

    “Not interested.” His dark eyes clashed with hers and her stomach tightened. “At least, not with some random girl from the bar.”

    She swallowed hard, her stomach so tight it was painful. “I don’t . . . I . . . and what do you mean you could ask me the same thing?”

    “Why are you so dead set on driving me crazy this week?” he asked.

    “I’m . . . I’m not. I haven’t done anything to you. Everywhere I’ve been, work, my brother’s house, my house”—she made a sweeping gesture with her arm—“you are. That’s not me doing anything to you. That’s all you.”

    He shook his head. “That’s not what I mean.”

    “What do you mean then?”

    “You don’t know what’s been going on in my head, sugar.”

    “No. No, I don’t. And I probably want to keep it that way, so maybe you should . . .” He took a step toward her and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “You keep doing that,” she said, his thumb still touching her skin.

    “I know,” he said, “and when I’m not doing about it, I’m thinking about doing it. I don’t think I ever should have touched you.”

    Her heart started pounding hard. “What do you . . .”

    He raised his other hand and placed it on her cheek, shifting so that both palms were cradling her face, his dark eyes intent on hers. “This was also a bad idea,” he said, his voice rough.

    “What was?” she asked.

    “Well, touching you more. That little bit was bad idea enough. This . . . this is even worse.”

    Carly couldn’t remember the last time a man had looked at her like Lucas was looking at her now. Like he was starving and she was the answer to the hunger inside of him.

    The reason she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been looked at like that was because she never had been. And she was very aware of it in this moment. Aware that she was on the verge of something that was well outside her experience.

    The strangest thing was that right now, she wanted it. She knew, somewhere in the dim, hazy corners of her mind, that she might regret it later. No, that she would. But right now, for some reason, she didn’t care. Not even a little bit.

    Because all she could focus on was Lucas. His eyes, his lips. Lord, but he had beautiful lips for a man. It had been years since she’d let herself notice them. She had before, though.

    There had been a time when this moment, the possibility of it, had been her dearest fantasy. And it was something she didn’t even let herself remember now. There had been a time when she’d dared to want.

    His words from earlier rang in her ears.

    Live dangerously.

    Just a little. Just a taste. It wouldn’t be so wrong. Not any worse than one french fry.

    She leaned in, her lips brushing his. Her breath caught in her throat and held, electricity shooting through her veins, immobilizing her.

    But Lucas wasn’t immobile. Far from it. He dropped his hands from her face and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his hard, muscular body.

    She whimpered and he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping the inside of her mouth. The wet friction stole every thought from her head, made it impossible for her to do anything but feel. She was lost, completely, in his touch. In a whole world of new desire and need.

    She’d thought she’d known what attraction was. Had thought she’d known, intellectually, how she would handle it. But she’d never felt anything like this. She hadn’t known. Not at all.

    She pressed her hands to his chest, curling her fingers around his shirt fabric, clinging to him as he kissed her, long and deep.

    “Kiss me back, Carly,” he growled against her lips.

So – what’d you think? Do you like cowboy romances?