His Land, His Law
by
Libby Campbell
Length: 58,000 words – 151 pages
Luke is used to being the boss. Cara answers to no
one. Can they reach a détente?
Since she inherited her parents’ home, Cara
Eckford has used walks in the nearby woods as inspiration for her art, so she
is shocked and upset upon finding that ‘No Trespassing’ signs have recently
been put up on the property. But when she angrily confronts the land’s new
owner, the infuriatingly sexy Luke McCrae, she merely earns herself a stern
scolding and a sound spanking.
Despite her irritation, Luke’s bold dominance leaves Cara’s heart racing and
her panties soaked. He soon proves more than ready to tame her fiery temper
with his belt applied to her bare bottom, but even with tears in her eyes and
her backside on fire Cara’s need for Luke cannot be denied, and when he takes
her in his arms his masterful lovemaking satisfies her deeply.
Cara’s newfound romance with Luke grows stronger and more passionate with each
passing day, but when conflict over his plans for her beloved forest threatens
to tear them apart, can she make use of her powerful connection to both of
their ancestors to convince him to change his mind?
Publisher’s Note: His Land, His Law includes sexual scenes and spankings. If such material offends you,
please don’t buy this book.
Excerpt
The
sight of Cara’s well-padded buttocks bent over his knee had woken Luke’s desire
with breathtaking ferocity. He’d spanked her to discourage her from defying his
rights as a property owner and neighbor, to teach her some civility. He hadn’t
expected to enjoy spanking her so much. He hadn’t expected to want to lay her
down and make love to her right on the spot.
When
he was finished, he was already hoping for an excuse to spank her again,
hopeful that it might lead to something cozier than just a bottom-warming. The
flush burning up her neck when he helped her back to her feet suggested that
she hadn’t hated the experience either. She couldn’t hide the fact that her
nipples had stiffened to hard pebbles that pushed against the thin fabric of
her t-shirt.
So
when she demanded to be set free, he did so while warning her of the
consequences of any further disruption to his plans. Her reputation for
stubbornness and being a tree hugger said he could count on paddling that
gorgeous backside again some time. If he could get her past her romantic
opposition to his development plans, they might even have some fun together.
“Every
time,” he repeated. “Understand?”
Cara
said nothing. She nodded with a half-smile, treating him to an innocent, wide-eyed
look that was as genuine as a three-dollar bill.
He
released her anyway. He couldn’t call her a liar without proof.
She
was much prettier than he’d expected and no less spirited. The way her eyes
dilated as she looked at him made his cock stiffen.
Grandpa’s
lawyers had warned him that she wanted the land, but he’d done his homework.
The value of raw acres was a fraction of what it would be if he cleared it and
subdivided it into a tidy collection of small lots. She was going to have to
get used to the idea, that was all there was to it.
He
turned on his charm. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Cara. Everyone agrees you’re
smart as a whip and unafraid of things that make keep most people awake at
night.”
“What
is there to be frightened of on Salt Spring Island?” Cara snorted before
pulling herself a bit taller. She treated him to another empty smile.
He noted
the effort it took her to stifle the flare of temper. Unskilled in the
artificial body language of the corporate world where people were practiced at
concealing their true feelings, she was easy to read. Advantage: Luke.
Don’t miss these
other great books from Libby Campbell:
The Romancing the Coast Series
Simon in Charge – 3 book box-set
Libby Campbell in
her own words:
I’m in love with love. My romance stories
feature strong, self-reliant women who challenge the powerful men who love
them.
My books are set in the Pacific Northwest,
a part of the world I know well and love deeply.
I’ve lived all over Canada, but the best
decision of my life was when I moved to Australia to marry my leading man.
After many years there, we moved back to the Pacific Northwest. We now live in
a leafy neighborhood close to the sea.
My passions are reading and writing. I also
love hiking, beachcombing, and an occasional night of dancing.
Connect with Libby
Campbell on social media:
Sign up for her newsletter here: Libby Campbell
newsletter
Visit her website and blog here: Libby Campbell
Follow her on Twitter: @LibbyC26
Author Q&A,
please use no more than 3 or 4 of the following questions:
Where did this
story come from?
I spend a lot of
time on Salt Spring Island, hiking the forests, enjoying its beaches. Many of
the forests were logged about a hundred years ago. Walking past the
moss-covered stumps, some of which are six feet tall, feels like walking with
ghosts.
Naturally some
people would like to log these forests again. While I’m sure there are some
places where fewer trees wouldn’t be a disaster, it would be sad to see many of
the magnificent trees removed.
Cara is quite a
firecracker. Is she based on anyone you know?
Nope. She came to
me fully formed. I felt like were old friends from the day she pushed into my
life and said, ‘write my story.’
Salt Spring Island has a huge artistic community: artists, writers, musicians
and dancers. Cara would fit right in.
Some of the
characters are from the far past. Where did those characters pop up?
I don’t know why
but when the book was forming in my mind in the late spring, I kept seeing
images of WWI soldiers. Even though the Owen and McCrae families were farmers
and might have had an exemption for their sons, I knew that Frank McCrae would
want to enlist and do his duty.
WWI tragically shatters
the love between Amaruq Owen and Frank McCrae. It’s the legacy of their unfulfilled
passion that brings Cara and Luke together.
The families are
named for two WWI poets, Wilfred Owen (Dulce
et Decorum Est) and John McCrae (In
Flanders Fields) who shaped my thinking about war at an early age.
How was this
writing book different from your others?
I had to learn a
lot about the skills of the Tsawout First Nation, like cedar stripping and
Maquinna hat weaving, amongst other things. I studied styles of the late 1900’s
and 1920’s. When I came across the detail that in some jurisdictions it was
illegal for a woman ‘to wear the attire of the opposite gender’ I had to use
it.
What
does success mean to you? What is the definition of success?
Success
first of all is finishing a book that both my husband (my primary reader) and I
enjoy. The second level of success is having it accepted by a publisher.
But
the greatest success of all to me is someone saying they enjoyed one of my books.
It makes all those solitary hours worthwhile.
What
advice would you give a new writer?
Be
brave and be ready to make mistakes. Learn to laugh at the many wrong steps
you’ll take. I consider my first two years in this genre as an apprenticeship.
Try
to improve with each piece you write. Read books on craft. Go to workshops or
find online resources to help you hone your skills.
To
be a writer you have to be thick-skinned, because there will always be someone
who pans your work. At the same time, you have to be sensitive to pick up the
nuances of human behaviour.
Finally,
you’ll need a good internet connection and a few basic social media skills.
When you’re
writing an emotionally draining (or sexy, or sad, etc) scene, how do you get in
the mood?
Getting in the
mood is a luxury. I just sit down and tackle it.
If the spirit
isn’t with me, I move the characters through the motions, like I’m staging a
play.
Sometimes I write
the most prosaic, uninteresting fiction but it’s all part of the process. Often
I have to do that sort of ditch digging before I uncover the small nugget gold
that I’m looking for.
If you were on a
desert island or trapped in a cabin in winter, which of your heroes would you
want to have with you?
I love all my
heroes but I suspect I’d go with Lachlan (from Trusting Ingrid). He has a range
of skills, farming, navigation, weather predicting, that would keep us
comfortable.
Do you have a
playlist for this book?
No, but there is
one song that I listened to over and over as I wrote it. It’s Leonard Cohen’s
Dance Me To The End Of Love. There is no end to love in the case and that’s the
message I hear in this song.
This is my
favourite version of that song. Watch a beautiful tango interpretation of it here:
https://www.facebook.com/bellemuzique/videos/1714025295350377/
