Temptation — Parris Afton Bonds

Kingdom Come . . . Sam Cooper's Passion Place. A passion that for the young woman had once meant the Texas high desert, its stark beauty, and a cutting-horse operation of her own. Then Hollywood and Matt Kratowski came to Kingdom Come, and suddenly her passion changed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“You're not afraid of much, are you, Sam Cooper?”
“Some things,” she answered, meeting Matt's uncompromising gaze. Now with the darkening storm threatening outside, that gaze was the rich color of whiskey.
He leaned forward, looking at her as if were examining some rare thing. “Like what? What frightens you?”
To let anyone get past the wall that kept her safe, past her tough I-can-do-anything stance. But she wasn't going to tell him that. Still, she answered as honestly as she could. “Like trying to be what I'm not.”
“And what are you?”
“A ranch woman. A simple unsophisticated ranch woman.”
He shook his head and closed in on her. “I don't think so. I think you're like one of those cacti out there, rough, prickly �" but breath-stealing when it's finally in bloom. You may not know it, Sam, but I do. Your body holds a promise of passion.”
She could deny it, but could she deny him ~ even if all her instincts told her the rogue director was as wild as a Kingdom Come mustang and would trample her passion just as carelessly.