Sam's Creed (Hell's Eight Series #2) Book

Loved it, loved it, loved it! This is the erotic western romance I've been waiting for! I have absolutely no complaints about it, except that I hated to see it end!

This is book 2 in the Hell's Eight series and it picks up where book 1 ("Caine's Reckoning") left off. Sam "Wilcard" MacGregor is searching the wild 1858 Texas countryside, trying to track Ari, the sister of Desi (his friend Caine's wife), who was kidnapped by Comancheros in "Caine's Reckoning". He never expects to stumble upon beautiful, fiery, bossy little Isabella Montoya, a woman on the run from the notorious bandito, Tejala.

Bella's been on the run for months, trying to avoid capture by Tejala and his men. It seems that Bella's parents had been forced under duress to promise her in marriage to the vile Tejala. But Bella wants no part of him--she only wants a man of her choosing.

Sam, being a Texas Ranger, wants to escort her back home, while still keeping a lookout for Ari. But getting her back home is not as easy as it sounds. Tejala controls a lot of the Texas territory, and many people are under his thumb. Sam must fight off many attempts on his life while trying to protect Bella, or as he calls her, Duchess. And he must fight the growing feelings he has for the feisty spitfire.

Sam and Bella are pure magic together. There's lots of verbal sparring, tremendous sexual tension, and plenty of violence as Sam does everything in his power to escort Bella back home, where he hopes she will be safe from the evil Tejala. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love with her. But of course, Sam is one of those heroes who doesn't think he's good enough for the heroine, or that he deserves a HEA. So it's up to the somewhat pampered, aristocratic, yet very brave Bella to set him straight. She adores Sam, and won't let him ride off into the sunset without a fight.

The book builds to a dramatic conclusion with Tejala, coming very close to being heartbreaking. It takes a very brave move on Bella's part to save the day, and convince Sam that he deserves a HEA after all.

For those who care to know, this book is not laced with one sexual scene after another. The story comes first, but the few scenes(maybe 5) that there are are very hot, erotic, yet loving in nature and very satisfying. You can really sense the H/H are falling in love. And what's not to love about Sam? Not only is he handsome, sexy, and ultra protective, but also lonely and vulnerable, with a heartbreaking past. And Bella is no slouch either. Brave and beautiful, with a temperment that perfectly compliments Sam's. I was really hoping it would all work out for them in the end!

The story also introduces Tucker, another member of Hell's Eight, who I am sure will get his own story as he takes up the task of looking for the missing Ari. I look forward to reading the continuing adventures in this fine series!