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The Braddock
Boys: Travis
Kimberly Raye
Dear Reader,
They’re baaaaaaack …
Travis Braddock is a wild and wicked cowboy with a ripped bod, a knack for horses and enough sex appeal to melt even the toughest woman’s resolve. He’s also a 150-year-old vampire dead set on revenge. His plans are derailed, however, when he meets wedding planner Holly Simms.
A three-time loser when it comes to men, Holly has given up on finding her own happily ever after. The last thing she wants is forever. Luckily, the sexy cowboy who arrives in Skull Creek to attend her latest wedding has temporary written all over him.
I hope you enjoy reading Travis and Holly’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it! AS a writer, the Blaze line has always been near and dear to my heart. I love intense, powerful stories that push limits and unearth the sensuality buried deep down inside all of us. For me, love and lust go hand in hand and it’s been a dream come true exploring them both for the past ten years. Whether it’s cowboys or vampires, I’ve been able to portray my characters with real passion and true emotion, and that means the world to me. My heartfelt thanks to Harlequin & MILLS & Boon for allowing my stories to be a part of such a wonderful collection of books.
Kimberly Raye
This book is dedicated to the real
Holly and her hubby Tim. Thanks for being such great friends!
Table of Contents
1
THERE WERE WOMEN EVERYWHERE.
That was the first thought that struck as Travis Braddock pulled up at the front gate of the CB Ranch. The lawn in front of the sprawling two-story house had been set up for an outdoor ceremony, complete with a red carpet for the bride, huge flower arrangements and lots of free standing candelabras because it was an evening affair. He’d expected a small shindig, but there were at least a hundred people crowded into the rows of white chairs that flanked either side of the aisle. Mostly females.
Hungry females.
A mix of perfume, lush sensuality and raw need wafted through the open window of the Land Rover and teased his nostrils. His groin tightened and he stiffened.
An overabundance of women was usually a good thing.
Particularly for a one hundred and fifty year old vampire who fed off sex as ravenously as he did blood. But Travis wasn’t here because of the beast that lived and breathed inside of him.
Tonight was all about revenge.
He’d spent the last one hundred and fifty years blaming his three brothers for the massacre that had killed their family while they’d been off raiding for the Confederacy. He pointed the finger at his youngest brother Cody because he’d run off and joined the army in the first place, forcing the rest of the brothers to leave home just to keep an eye on him. He held Brent responsible because he’d refused to call it quits a week early when the war had been all but lost anyway. And he resented his oldest brother Colton because he’d forced them to detour to Austin to file an official report about their last raid before heading home to discover the carnage.
He’d blamed his brothers. But the real blame lay with his sister-in-law. Rose was the one responsible.
A traitor.
A killer.
He ignored that tiny niggle that told him he was jumping the gun. That maybe there was some crazy explanation for what had happened. That maybe, just maybe, Rose Braddock hadn’t set fire to the Braddock spread and fed her own family to the wolves all those years ago.
His nephew had died in that tragic fire. So had his mother. A half dozen ranch hands. And Rose herself, or so they’d all thought. The entire place had been a blazing inferno when Travis and his brothers had ridden in.
They’d been too late to save anyone that fateful night, even themselves. One minute they’d been trotting along, making plans for the future and the next, they’d found themselves smack dab in the middle of a fiery nightmare. Before they’d had a chance to figure out what was going on, much less rescue anyone, Travis and his three brothers had been attacked from behind and left for dead.
They’d died that night. But they’d also been reborn. Thanks to an ancient vampire who’d happened upon the scene and given the Braddock brothers a second chance.
He’d done the same for Rose.
That’s