After her cheating ex-husband stole her trust and her brother stole everything else, horse breeder Nikki Kimball is intent on reclaiming her independence. When her carefree neighbor Dillon Barnett and his enigmatic best friend Brett Anderson offer to help her out, both in the stable and the bedroom, Nikki relearns how to trust and discovers joy.
Ten years ago, the two friends fought a bitter battle for their high school crush. Although Brett longs to be the man in Nikki’s life, he is forced to decide if he is willing to lose Dillons’ friendship to gain her heart.
As their unusual relationship progresses, Nikki is faced with a conundrum she never expected to face. While her heart wants them both in her life, in her bed, society demands she choose between the two men. Now Nikki has to decide what price she is prepared to pay to keep the happiness and independence she’s finally found.
Texas Tangle was one of Carina Press’s first releases when it launched back in June 2010. It’s also a title I’m really proud of. When I started writing it, I’d intended it to be a novella, then Brett walked on the page and suddenly I had a full length book with angst and laughter and depth. I still love the threesome, and their family, and the entire Barnett Springs world.
Readers loved it too. It hit #1 on the Kobo BestSeller’s list that September. Not #1 Romance, #1 overall. It stayed on Amazon’s bestselling Erotic Romance list for weeks too. (This was back before they used to award authors neat little gold banners.) There’s a specific line in it, said by Faith Barnett, that I’ve found popping up on various quote sites that surprised the heck out of me. I mean, people are actually quoting me? Technically they’re quoting Faith, but Faith is a figment of my imagination so yes, they’re quoting me. It was very cool to discover.
When I got the rights back from Carina this summer, I knew I wanted a new cover (the original one had been changed from one I loved to a mediocre one), and I wanted to finally add an epilogue that had been rolling around in my head for years. The threesome deserved an epilogue. So this new copy includes an extra 10 pages that tells you what’s been going on with the threesome over the next two years after the original story ends. You’ll continue to see them as they’ll pop up occasionally in the other Barnett Springs stories I’m writing.
Dillon is sunshine, the eldest son of the Barnett family some people refer to as their “golden boy.” Nikki is a wounded girl-next-door who has been abused by both her ex-husband and her own family but has found her own feet until she returns to her farm one day to find her brother has stolen everything from her, including her identity. Then there’s Dillon’s best friend Brett. Oh, Brett broke my heart so many times as I wrote his story. He’s is a dark, wounded soul who needs Dillon’s brightness and Nikki’s steadfast love to heal his heart and send undying love to theirs. The three of them together? I love them all.
At the moment you can only get it as a digital version, but I am working on a paperback version. It’s taking a little longer for lots of behind the scene headaches like delivery times and the distributors/printers being closed and swamped because of the holidays. Bear with me. Texas Tangle will also be available as a paperback soon.
Please help a returning author out — if you’re reading this, especially if you’ve already read Texas Tangle and enjoyed it, please share this post or any of my posts on your social media feeds and help me spread the word.
Excerpt
Dillon eased himself into the hot tub with a groan. He’d come home from work aching and sore. Nikki had pushed him down on the couch and given him a backrub that had him soft everywhere but the groin.
Damned if Nikki hadn’t suggested this dip and then dropped every stitch she had on to entice him. If he hadn’t been so tired, he’d have bent her over the arm of the couch and taken her from behind.
When he pulled her to sit on his lap, he noticed she was having trouble meeting his eye. And that her thumbnail had been chewed down–a habit he’d noticed she only did if she were worried about something. He also couldn’t miss the tension in her shoulders. Hellfire, she’d needed a massage as much as he had.
“You’re feeling guilty about going out on that date with Brett last night, aren’t you?” Guilt gnawed at his conscience that he’d not admitted he’d watched them.
Nikki buried her face against his neck and nodded.
“Brett and I had sex last night.” She’d said it so quietly he barely heard her confession over the hot tub’s motor. If her jaw hadn’t been touching his neck, he may not have even realized she’d spoken.
He cupped the back of her head with one hand while he drew lazy circles along her spine with the other. “I told you, no regrets, okay? I want you to make sure you’re making the right decision, no matter who you choose.”
But damn it, he’d hoped they wouldn’t be as great together as they had been last night. The hallway practically glowed from the heat the two of them had thrown off.
“When did you get home? I didn’t hear you come in.”
Ah. Guess this was where he should come clean about his little act of voyeurism.
“It wasn’t too late. After I’d dropped off my estimate with the Sniders, I stopped off at TJ’s Grill and watched the Rangers game.” Here was the opening where he should tell her how Ethan had ended up dropping him off because he’d had that third beer and didn’t think he should get behind the wheel. Which might explain why he’d ended up sacked out on the couch instead of in bed.
He leaned back against the jets, wondering why the hell he’d prevaricated. This was the perfect opportunity for him to admit he’d watched the two of them. It was not the time to admit that not only had it not bothered him but he’d fucking well jacked off to watching them fucking, because that was just too perverted to admit.
Luckily, Nikki had been asleep when he’d had one of his guys pick him up and take him over to the bar to retrieve his truck that morning.
They were still soaking when Brett came home from his shift, calling, “Anyone home?”
“Hey, buddy, we’re out here.”
A few minutes later, Brett wandered out onto the deck, carrying a beer. He must have gone upstairs to change because instead of wearing his uniform, he was wearing a Barnett Landscaping tee and a well worn pair of blue jeans, with bare feet. When he noticed Nikki sitting beside Dillon, he slowed, a frown creasing his forehead. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“Nope, not at all.” Dillon leaned back, stretching his arms along the edges of the tub. His cock hardened as he remembered the night before. His imagination expanded the possibilities, picturing the three of them in bed together. God, that would be so fuckin’ hot. He’d love to have a ménage, love to watch Nikki go down on Brett while he fucked her from behind. Did he dare risk it? Why not? The worst they could do is say no. “Why don’t you ditch the clothes and jump in with us?”
“I don’t have any trunks.”
“I’m not wearing any.” Dillon held his breath when Brett eyed the hot tub with a wistful look. “Nik, would it bother you if Brett drops trou?”
“What sane woman would object to having two hot guys buck-ass nekkid on each side of her?” A flush filled her cheeks, though whether from the heat of the tub or her anticipation of being naked between them, Dillon couldn’t tell.
With a shrug, Brett turned away and peeled off his shirt. His jeans and jockeys hit the deck moments later.
Dillon straightened. A large purple bruise covered the spot where Brett’s ribs had been broken when he’d first come to live with them. That sucker probably hurt like a sonuvabitch when he breathed. Damn it, so much for Brett taking part in any bedroom calisthenics tonight. “Those are some pretty bad bruises, bud. You okay?”
Covering the area with his arm, Brett lowered himself into the water. He hissed when the heat reached his chest. “Fine. It probably looks worse than it feels.”
Nikki gasped and scooted closer to Brett. After a brief struggle, Brett dropped his arm and allowed her to examine the knuckle-shaped bruises.
“What happened?” Nikki asked.
Brett’s eyes closed, though Dillon couldn’t tell whether he battled pain or struggled to contain his burgeoning erection. “Just a little scuffle during a bust. Nothing to worry about.”
“You get it looked at?”
“Yes, mom. Nothing’s broken.”
Nikki hmmed, and rose up on her knees, commanding,
“Turn around.”
“Why?”
“Because you look like you need a massage.” She swatted him on his shoulder. “Trust me. Turn around.”
“Better do what she says, bud.” Dillon sank his shoulders beneath the water, his eyelids half lowered as he watched Brett attempting to cover his hard-on. “Besides, she gives a wicked back rub. You’d be a fool to turn her down.”
With a sigh, Brett shifted so she’d have access to his back. She moved closer, nestling her knees on either side of his hips, then dug her thumbs into his shoulders.
Brett groaned and leaned into her touch, allowing her to concentrate on a particularly stubborn knot. His head rolled to the side, resting against her breast. Each time she dug her fingers into Brett’s shoulders, her breast slid up the side of his head, the stubble of his hair grazing her nipple until it was a stiff peak.
Holy hell, he’d never realized how hot voyeurism could be. He shifted as his own erection throbbed in the pulse of the jets. If they kept this up, there’d soon be more than just water frothing.
Unlike Brett, he didn’t try to hide his groin from her gaze; there was no way he could disguise the heavy erection bobbing in the jetting water.
Aw, hell. He was probably digging up snakes, but damned if he could pass up the opportunity now it had plonked itself down in front of him.
He palmed his cock, stroking its length, making sure Nikki could see what he was doing. “Watching both of you, being here, all three of us…I was thinking that maybe…” His voice dropped so low it sounded like he was growling, but he couldn’t control the lust rampaging through him.
Brett understood him at once. He gave his head a small shake, a warning dark in his eyes. “Don’t go there, Dill. Once you’ve crossed that line you can’t erase it.”
Nikki settled back on her heels. “What are you two talking about?”
Neither man answered her, though their unspoken communication crackled through the air between them. Come on, bud, we can do this. Trust me.
“Dillon? What do you mean? What line are we crossing?” she repeated.
Brett finally broke off the starefest. “Dillon’s suggesting we have a threesome.”