Mari Carr & Jayne Rylon
Into the Fire
Compass Boys Book 2
Release Date Nov. 28, 2017
James Compton is a man of two worlds. For half the year, he’s Seth’s oldest boy, working with his family and the horses on Compass Ranch. The other half, he’s Jamie, a daring smokejumper on the West Yellowstone Squad. Those two halves make him feel whole, happy, satisfied. Until he meets his boss’s daughter, Ivy… Ivy Wagner’s life should be complete. College degree in hand, she’s excited to embark on her career as a large-animal vet. Add in the attention of one very sexy James Compton, and her future should be all sunshine and steamy shared showers. However, a shattering loss in her past ensures Ivy will never date a smokejumper…no matter how perfect for her James may be. As the couple grows closer, it’s clear they’re headed for a day of reckoning. Ivy can’t lose someone she loves to a raging wildfire, and James may be incapable of giving up a vital part of himself, of living half a life. When James faces his own loss, the pair are forced to confront their individual demons. What will they willingly let go of…and what will they choose to fight for?
EXCERPT
He had always figured it wasn’t his fault if women found him attractive, that he only had to give them a smile and a wink and they’d make their way over to him. He’d never really had to try too hard for anything with a woman, something that drove his brother and Austin nuts. Bryant didn’t seem to mind as much because he wasn’t interested in females in the first place.
Nothing was working with Ivy. The more he turned on the charm, the more she dug in her heels.
“Her name is Ivy. She’s Roscoe’s daughter.”
Doug gave him a long, low whistle. “Damn, man. Taking a chance there, aren’t you? Can’t imagine it’s smart to try to hook up with the boss’s baby girl. Thought you liked your job.”
James sighed. “I love my job. But Roscoe’s not the problem. It’s Ivy. She keeps turning me down, and I can’t figure out why. She’s funny and sweet and pretty, and it’s damn obvious to both of us we’d be good together, so I don’t get why she keeps saying no when I ask her out.”
Bryant didn’t even bother to hold back his laughter.
“Thanks, Bry. Real helpful.”
Bryant’s shit-eating grin remained firmly in place. “It’s about time.”
“Time for what? Someone to turn me down?” James was glad his cousin wasn’t within fighting distance or he probably would have followed that question up with a punch.
“No. I mean, I’m not going to pretend I’m not enjoying the idea that this woman is making you work for it. I just mean it’s about time you finally fell for someone.”
James hadn’t expected that response. For one thing, he wouldn’t exactly say he’d fallen for Ivy. And for another, it wasn’t like he never dated. “I’ve had girlfriends before.”
It was as if the three men on the screen had rehearsed. Their eye rolls came in perfect unison.
“Name one,” Austin said. “And don’t say Sophie McMillan. Six months in ninth grade doesn’t count. Neither one of you could drive and you didn’t get past second base.”
“Third base,” James corrected.
“Dry humping in the barn isn’t third base,” Austin retorted.
This wasn’t a new debate, but that didn’t stop James from asserting his opinion. “Her hand was inside my jeans. Third base.”
“Fucking hell.” Bryant shook his head. “I’m not listening to this argument again. Fact remains, Sophie doesn’t count. And neither does that friends-with-benefits dispatcher.”
James wasn’t sure how to respond. It wasn’t like he didn’t see women more than once. Truth was, most of his hookups lasted a few months at a time. The difference was, his emotions were never really engaged. He had genuinely liked all the women he’d slept with, but when he considered it, he hadn’t counted down the minutes until he saw them again the way he did with Ivy.
About the Author: Mari Carr
Mari Carr Writing a book was number one on Mari Carr’s bucket list and on her thirty-fourth birthday, she set out to see that goal achieved. Too many years later, her computer is jammed full of stories, novels, novellas, short stories and dead-ends and she has nearly eighty published works. Virginia native, Mari Carr is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller of contemporary erotic romance novels. With over one million copies of her books sold, Mari was the winner of the Romance Writers of America’s Passionate Plume award for her novella, Erotic Research. Join her newsletter so you don’t miss new releases and for exclusive subscriber-only content.
About the Author: Jayne Rylon
Jayne Rylon Jayne Rylon is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She received the 2011 Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for Best Indie Erotic Romance. Her stories used to begin as daydreams in seemingly endless business meetings, but now she is a full time author, who employs the skills she learned from her straight-laced corporate existence in the business of writing. She lives in Ohio with two cats and her husband, the infamous Mr. Rylon. When she can escape her purple office, she loves to travel the world, avoid speeding tickets in her beloved Sky, SCUBA dive, and of course read.
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