By The Horns — C.E. Kilgore

Something's rotten in Johnson County, and Texas Ranger Cole Carter aims to find out what. What he doesn't expect to find is a tough county judge who asks him to go undercover at a place that requires a safeword. Judge Bruce Montgomery knew it was a crazy idea from the start, but he's desperate to discover who's been blackmailing club members. If he gets closer to the handsome Ranger in the process, then it's a favorable verdict either way. Set in Texas, The Stables is a Contemporary Romance series with light BDSM elements and mature themes. BruceI like to think it takes a lot to surprise me. I've seen enough strange cases and people in my courtroom to make me think just about anything is possible. Unicorns? Sure, might have actually dated a few. Aliens? It is an awfully big universe. Pigs that can fly? Alright, but they better start making sturdier umbrellas for bigger fellas like me. But, Cole Carter standing in the Giddy-Up parking lot? I can't believe it; despite the fact I'm looking right at him. He flushes, breaking eye contact with my chest. Yeah, he'd been staring too damn long, too. Not like I wear a tight t-shirt to hide the fact I'm built like my namesake at The Stables. The Bull. And God help me, I'm seeing red. ColeI've been through negotiations training, marksman certification and participated in hostile threat takedown exercises that made it feel like we were going to war in the middle of San Antonio. Spent years on the beat and undercover, playing the corrupt cop or a lowlife trafficker for SVU operations. Been spit on, shot at while in pursuit, hit a couple times in the vest and once in the leg. Hell, my Captain even tasered us all just so we'd know how it felt. I prefer being shot, in case you're wondering. But nothing, and I do mean nothing, can prepare a man for the day he's standing half-naked in a leather harness with a collar around his neck. How the heck did I let Bruce talk me into this? I'll tell you how - my own damn curiosity and my desire t