Giveaway: Archer's Lady

Archer's Lady was my very first Moira Rogers book and I am already excited to read more from the Bloodhound series.  The authors are sharing this great excerpt and giving away a copy of the book. Check out the deets and enter the Rafflecopter form below!

She's looking for redemption. He doesn't believe in it.

Accused of betraying the Bloodhound Guild, Archer's only chance to regain the trust of his fellow hounds is to earn it--one dangerous job at a time. Crystal Springs may be the worst yet. The town has been deserted by all but the poor and the desperate, yet the vampires stalking the edges of the settlement haven't closed in for the kill. Question is, why?

Grace Linwood, professional liar, has been hiding under the guise of a border schoolteacher for so long, she's almost fallen for her own con. The frontier was supposed to be her chance at a respectable life, but now the cowardly part of her wants to flee. When Archer catches her considering a run for safety, she knows it's only a matter of time before he sees through her charade.

They become reluctant allies in the quest to uncover the mysteries of Crystal Springs, but every unraveled knot ties them closer together. They both know their pasts are too shattered to hope for a future--until their investigation uncovers a secret. One that could make betraying the Guild their only path to redemption.

Excerpt:

Every surface had been dusted and cleaned. The coldbox was stocked with easily prepared foods. Enough wood to run the boiler for a week had been stacked in the small lean-to. 

Even the bed had been readied.

Grace had blushed the entire time Cook had helped her fit the fresh sheets to the feather mattress. Not Diana, because Archer and Diana had grown increasingly irritated by each other’s presence as the day progressed, to the point that Grace had begged her to see to final preparations back in town.

Sunset might mark the start of the new moon’s worst fury, but Grace had begun to suspect the storm inside Archer would break much sooner.

“We have supplies enough to last us through the week,” she said, tucking the last covered dish into the coldbox. Her voice seemed to tremble between nervousness and anticipation, and she could only hope he wouldn’t interpret it as fear. “Is there anything else I need to do?”

“No.” He spoke from directly behind her. “You’re nervous.”

No lies between them, that was the agreement. “Yes, a little. But it’s the good kind of nervous, I think.”

His breath blew across the back of her neck. “Would you tell me if it wasn’t?”

“Yes.” Maybe she should have taken her hair down, or left it in a simple braid. Something easier for a lust-addled man to deal with. But the heat of his mouth so close to the vulnerable nape of her neck made her skin tingle. “Only honesty, Archer. I promise you.”

“Mmm.” He licked his way to the side of her neck and drew her earlobe between his teeth.

She braced both hands on the kitchen table as arousal weakened her knees. “Should I go to the bedroom and undress?”

Archer growled, reached around and covered her hands with his. “No, don’t move.”

His voice sounded rougher. Low and intense, as barely restrained as the arms that caged her in place. Her heart thumped as she realized the storm had already broken. Archer was sliding into madness, and a sudden move might send him there hard and fast.

She forced herself to relax, to soften as she tilted her head forward. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Not even moonrise yet.” His chest heaved against her back. “I won’t make it ’til nightfall.”

“You don’t need to. Everyone’s hunkered down in the saloon. Everything’s taken care of.” She leaned into him as well as she could with her hands pinned, and shivered when she found him already hard. “I’m yours for as long as you need me.”

“You’re mine for as long as the moon is dark,” he corrected in a rumble.

Pleasure sliced through her at the thought that his need wouldn’t easily fade, followed by loss at the reminder of how short their time could be. “So what are you going to do with me?”

“No. No more words.” He slid his hands up her arms to her shoulders. “Soon, no more clothes either.”

It might have been prudent to leave her hands on the counter, but she couldn’t keep from reaching back to cling to his legs. “Very soon, I hope.”

In the span of a heartbeat, he lifted her off her feet, spun her around, and dropped her to sit on the edge of the table. “I don’t know what I want.” He gave lie to the words by slipping free the top button on her bodice.

She’d never been naked in front of him. Clothing had been jerked askew, or nightgowns shoved up around her hips, but she’d never been stripped bare. Never been defenseless, and she should have felt wary now. Instead she was excited, eager as she stroked her hands up his tense arms. “You want me.”

Archer didn’t pause in opening her bodice. “I still have my mind for now, and yet…” He held out a shaking hand. “Look at that. Trembling like a leaf.”

Grace dipped her head to kiss his fingertips. “I never have my mind around you, not completely. It drifts to the most obscene places, even when I’m not asleep.”

“If only that were it.” But he didn’t elaborate. Instead, he pushed her dress down off her shoulders and toyed with a ribbon on her chemise.

“Archer?” She caught his hand. “Are you all right?”

“No. But I will be.” He bent, caught the top edge of her chemise between his teeth and ripped it away. 

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