Devils on Horseback – Nate by Beth Williamson

Book 1 of the Devils on Horseback series

Nate Marchand grew up as the only son of the town drunk. As a Confederate soldier, he found that order in the chaos was the only thing that kept him sane. Numbers, information, keeping everything in its proper place became second nature. The chaos of the war and its aftermath sent him into a rigid state that he couldn’t seem to overcome.

He and his friends, nicknamed Devils on Horseback, leave behind the aftermath of war to start fresh in the west. Their new business venture flounders and desperation drives them to take whatever work they can.

The Devils are hired to remove the Taggert family from land claimed by Samuel O’Shea, the largest landowner in Grayton, Texas. When he meets Elisa Taggert, his entire world shifts beneath him. Attracted, bewildered, and off-kilter, Nate ignores his conscience in favor of his wallet.

The simple task of removing a woman, a boy, and an old man, along with a small herd of cattle, resembles a Medieval siege. Nate wrestles with what he knows is right with what he must do. Will his love for Elisa overcome his need for survival?

This is the first of Beth Williamson’s new series Devils on Horseback. Nate releases from Samhain in ebook next Tuesday September, 25th (in case that date isn’t imprinted in your brain by now) And if you still don’t do ebooks (this can be your first 😉 ) you can order it in print, which will be available November 27, 2007.

Beth will be our guest on the 25th and we can talk about all things western! I know you are excited aren’t you. We might even go hog wild and let Gwen post cowboy pics. And hopefully Beth will tell us more about all the great books she has coming out including the Next Devil: Jake.

You can find an excerpt here (first time Elisa and Nate meet) and Beth has given us another excerpt as well.

E X C E R P T * E X C E R P T * E X C E R P T

Elisa slithered through the bushes, careful not to disturb even one branch. She knew the woods like the back of her hand and it served her well on more than one occasion. Like now. She picked up a tree branch just the right size for her hand from the ground nearby. Elisa hoped she wouldn’t have to use it, but it was important to be prepared.

Nate appeared to be caught up in talking to his horse, giving Elisa even more opportunity to surprise him. She tried not to notice the way his trousers hugged his behind, or the way his shoulders filled out his jacket. She shook off the creeping heat that threatened to take over her body.

He cleared his throat and stepped away from the horse just as she reached him. The gun slid from the holster and she pressed it into his back, cocked and ready.

“Don’t move.”

His entire body stiffened. “What are you doing?” he snarled.

“I’m taking care of my family. You’d do best to remember that I’d do anything to protect them. Now, walk.”

Nate didn’t move, which didn’t surprise her. Elisa nudged him in the back with the nose of the pistol.

“I said, move.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You’ll just have to shoot me because you’re really good at that. You shot Gideon and you shot your father.” His harsh words cut through her. Even if it was the truth, they hurt. Badly.

She didn’t want to be reminded of the injury to her father, particularly since this man and his friends were the reason she’d been shooting in the first place.

“We’re going to walk to the stream now and you’re going to fill my waterskins.” Elisa could get used to this ordering thing.

“Do it yourself. See if you can get past me.”

He threw down the gauntlet and Elisa was never one to ignore a challenge.

“If that’s what you want, Frenchie.”

Dealing with rough cowboys came natural to her. She’d done it all her life. When her father was away in the war, she was the one who ran the ranch, not her mother. Her mother didn’t want or know how to deal with everyday details a ranch required.

At the age of fifteen, Elisa had already been ordering men around. Ordering this one around wouldn’t be a chore. It would be a pleasure.

“Walk.”

“Make me.”

Elisa backed up a step. “You sure you want this, because when I give it, it’s going to be everything. I’m not gonna hold back for you.”

He snorted. “You may not be an itty-bitty thing, Miss Taggert, but I outweigh you and I’m stronger than you. I’ll bet you I’m also angrier than you. You shot my best friend. What makes you think that I will simply do what you tell me to do?”

Nate started to turn and Elisa knew she only had seconds to grab control of the situation before he overpowered her. In less than a second, she put the gun back in its holster and had the tree branch firmly gripped in both hands. With a mighty swing, she hit the back of his knees.

He shouted and fell to the ground, bracing himself with his hands. Elisa paused, holding the tree branch above his head, blocking out the memory of just how soft those brown locks were.

Her heart thundered and her blood whistled through her veins. She hadn’t felt this alive in years. “I’ve got plenty. Do you want more?”

“Give me all you’ve got,” he taunted.

“You’ve got it.” She didn’t want to kill him, but she sure as hell wanted to disable him.
He grabbed her ankle and flipped her on her back. Before he could do any more, she scrambled away, keeping the branch in her hand. Nate was quick though, he had her other ankle in hand and yanked. Within seconds, Elisa was again beneath his hard body staring up into his furious dark eyes.

“You make me lose control.” He said each word deliberately. “I can’t believe you would shoot at us.”

“You’re trying to take everything from me. What would you do?”

For a moment, just a brief moment, his anger faltered and confusion moved through his eyes. With her left hand, she took hold of the back of his neck and pulled him down, slamming his lips onto hers. She kissed with all the pent-up anger, frustration and lust brewing inside her. His lips were as hard as granite, but his body couldn’t lie. She felt his cock lengthening against her and a pulse echoed through her body—of need, of desire, of all that she couldn’t have, shouldn’t have.

Elisa swam in a sea of arousal, floating on the tingles that raced through her. She knew she should stop kissing him, but he began to kiss her back after several beats. Languorous heat shimmied down her skin from the contact. Nate damn sure knew how to kiss. Reluctantly, Elisa pulled her mouth away and bit him on the lip.

Before he could recover from the kiss or the bite, using all the force she could muster, Elisa swung the branch with her right hand and conked him on the head. His breath gusted past her lips and he was still. His heart beat against her chest so she knew he lived. She hoped like hell he wasn’t playing possum.

“Nate?” She wiggled beneath him. “Nate?”

He didn’t answer. Now all she needed to do was figure out how to get a two hundred pound man off her. Without Nate holding up his weight, she found it hard to breathe.
It didn’t matter how she did it, Elisa would get him to her house and convince him to leave Grayton. This was her opportunity to make him see what she needed him to so he would know what O’Shea had done to her and her family.