Propositioning Mr. Raine Read online

  Propositioning Mr. Raine

  Laurann Dohner

  Book one in the Riding the Raines series.

  Trina Mattews lost her husband of sixteen years to a tragic accident. Starting her life over in the small town of Hailey, Texas, at the age of thirty-eight sounded like a good idea but she never counted on the loneliness she’d experience.

  Navarro Raine is the hottest man she’s ever seen. He’s tall, with piercing blue eyes and Native American beauty. He fills her nighttime fantasies and makes her wonder about all the things she’s yet to experience in bed. And Navarro has a reputation for being very good in that department…

  Discovering he’s about to lose his family ranch, Trina has the perfect solution for both of them. She’s willing to offer Navarro the money to save his ranch if he’ll give her the kind of sex she’s only read about. It might be the craziest thing she’s ever done but after years of vanilla sex, she’s made up her mind—it’s time to taste a few more flavors.

  An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

  www.ellorascave.com

  Propositioning Mr. Raine

  ISBN 9781419928710

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Propositioning Mr. Raine Copyright © 2010 Laurann Dohner

  Edited by Pamela Campbell

  Cover art by Dar Albert

  Electronic book publication July 2010

  The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  PROPOSITIONING MR. RAINE

  Laurann Dohner

  Dedication

  To the man who always makes me smile and believe in love—Mr. Laurann.

  Special thanks to Pamela Campbell—for believing in me!

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Ford: Ford Motor Company

  Porsche: Dr. Ing. h. c. f. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Corporation

  Chapter One

  The burn of whiskey slowly eased from her mouth down into her belly. Trina bit her lip and placed her glass down carefully on the table, taking a deep breath. Her nerves were on edge and she figured a few shots of liquid courage were just the trick to get her to do something totally insane. She took another deep breath, expelling it quickly, and then lifted her gaze to glance secretly at the reason she wasn’t at home in bed reading a good book as she typically did every night.

  In the corner of the bar sat the man who occupied a lot of her nighttime fantasies. He appeared to be in a foul mood as he stared at his hands, wrapped around a glass of some strong blend of alcohol, and nursed his drink. She could guess that right now Navarro Raine was feeling the weight of the world on those big, broad shoulders of his. For days the gossips in town had been busy spreading the word that Navarro’s younger brother, a man with a well-known history of drinking and gambling problems, had taken a twenty-thousand-dollar loan out against their ranch that they couldn’t pay back.

  Missy, down at the post office, said it was a damn shame the Raines were losing their place. Mike, at the gas station, had smugly grinned when he’d said it would be good riddance of the whole Raine family when the bank foreclosed. Trina had listened to it all, feeling really bad for the man she secretly had a crush on. They’d never spoken to each other so she hadn’t had an opportunity to tell him she was sorry for the mess he was in.

  The grocery checker just that morning had given Trina the latest gossip going around town. Navarro’s long time girlfriend, a leggy redhead named Tammy Brent, had dumped him as soon as she’d heard he was going to lose everything. It had pissed Trina off when she’d driven home, thinking how unfair that was. She’d seen the younger woman all over town, but had never liked the outspoken, trashy woman much. It spoke volumes of Tammy’s low character to dump a man when he was down for trouble not even of his own making.

  Trina swallowed another sip of whiskey. The liquid burned down into her belly again. As she’d put away her groceries hours earlier, her mind had fixed on Navarro’s money problems, his mean ex-girlfriend, and suddenly a crazy plan had formed. It is crazy, she reminded herself. He’s never going to go for it in a million years and he’ll think I’m a nut job.

  Her gaze lifted again, automatically locking onto Navarro. Only a blind woman couldn’t see how hot he was and there wasn’t a damn thing wrong with Trina’s eyesight. Her attraction to him was so strong that her heart raced every time she laid eyes on the tall hunk. Her panties were wet just watching him from across the room.

  He stood about six-foot-two with silky black hair that fell to his shoulders, accented by his deeply tan skin. He worked out often, judging from his muscular arms and broad shoulders that tightly filled out a red flannel shirt. Though he was sitting, she knew he had lean hips, a tight ass that looked amazing in his faded jeans, and long, muscular legs. He always wore jeans that molded to every inch of his body, from hips to calves and he kept his big feet encased in faded black cowboy boots. He was damn near perfect from the neck down.

  A scar ran a few inches along his jawline, a thin white line only noticeable if he tilted his head back in good lighting. She’d heard he’d gotten that from his rodeo days when he was younger, working the circuit. A few more scars were said to be at his temple but his long hair hid those. He had the kind of eyes a woman could stare into for hours—a dark, stormy blue framed by thick black eyelashes. His bone structure was strong with dominant cheekbones that some might think made him appear a little harsh but Trina didn’t agree. He was just damn sexy to her.

  One glance at her watch revealed that if she didn’t do this now, he’d leave soon. He worked hard on his horse ranch and when he visited the only bar in town, he usually left around nine o’clock. She assumed he got up early just as did most people in the area. She was learning a lot about ranching since she’d moved to the small Texas town of Hailey a few months before.

  Forcing her courage, she took a deep breath and stood, swallowed hard, and walked toward his table. She was glad it was Tuesday night and the bar was almost empty, knowing she’d have been more afraid of doing this if there were a lot of witnesses around. He’s going to lose his home, I’m really lonely, so just do it, she silently ordered herself. What do I really have to lose? I could be helping him.

  Navarro seemed to sense her coming toward him and he looked up. His beautiful, dark blue gaze locked on Trina. She almost turned and fled but managed to keep moving toward him even though a blush rose in her cheeks. She paused in front of his table and nervously shoved back a long strand of her curly blonde hair that fell forward.

  “May I si