She surrendered the reins. Now he’s raising the stakes.

When a patch of ice sends attorney Ginger Paulson head-over-high-heels down a flight of stairs, she has no one to care for her young son and her invalid father—until lethally sexy Kane McKay shows up at the hospital, determined to prove his cowboy chivalry. Past experience has inoculated her against take-charge men, but even Ginger isn’t immune to Kane’s invasive charm and Built Ford Tough body.

For two years rancher Kane McKay has followed the Little Buddies mentoring program’s cardinal rule—hands off his Little Buddy Hayden’s mama. But one look at Ginger’s bruised body and Kane is through watching the stubborn woman take care of everyone but herself. The feisty, curvy redhead needs his help, and he’ll give her the hands-on type whether she likes it or not.

After Kane throws out doctor’s orders and issues his own demands—her full sexual submission—Ginger realizes Kane’s caring nature extends beyond just fulfilling her physical needs.

Can the former hell-raiser convince the gun-shy single mom to look beyond his past…toward a shared future?

Warning: Contains one sweet and hot hunk of cowboy manflesh who uses every sexual trick in the book to render a sassy, fast-talking attorney speechless and put a new twist on the term “binding arbitration”.

Title: RAISING KANE
Author: Lorelei James
Series: Rough Riders, book 9
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Year of release: 2010, June 29
Format: eBook
Source: Bought via the Samhain eBookstore

First line:
When Ginger Paulson’s horoscope hinted she’d take an unexpected trip, she hadn’t anticipated tripping down a flight of stairs.

Memorable Scenes:
When I read this book I didn’t make notes of memorable scenes yet the way I do now. And I can’t remember any by heart since I read this book over a year ago (July 2010)! And my memory is iffy to say the least…why do you think I need review notes taken during the reading of the books to write my reviews, huh?

The Big Buddies/Little Buddies program matches young boys without a male influence in their lives with local male mentors. Ginger Paulson’s son Hayden is paired with Kane McKay, making her off-limits to him despite his instant attraction to her.

The wild Kane I met in TIED UP, TIED DOWN is gone. He has left those womanizing, man-whoring, drinking and partying days behind for several different reasons. Beneath the gentlemanly, sweet and thoughtful man lurks a true dominant and sexual confident alpha male in Kane. Like all the McKay men have done before, without exception, Kane won my heart soul and body with his seductive determination, teasing courtship of Ginger and his need to be in control in the bedroom.

Ginger is a single mom and attorney. She’s stubborn as hell and loathes asking others for help, which led to her having a hard time accepting Kane’s help. She also has a tendency to efface herself in favor of others, mainly her son and father. Ginger has a hard time asking others for help and Kane doesn’t take compliments well. He also has a bit of an inferiority complex. He thinks he’s not good or smart enough for Ginger. This gave a nice dynamic to their interaction and their chemistry.

Despite Ginger’s son and father being interfering transmitters for the attraction and blossoming relationship between Ginger and Kane, it also brought a wonderful sexual tension to the book that built up to explosive and sizzling proportions.

Though the expanding McKay family may put off some readers with the many kids and babies (and let me tell you there are many and many more are coming in the future as I have read the next book in the series) that are popping up, I utterly enjoy the presence of the kids and babies in these stories. In this book I especially loved Eliza (Kade’s oldest, TIED UP, TIED DOWN) and Hayden’s part in the story was another great addition to the ever-growing McKay dynasty.

The first half of the book was a little less intense (both sexually in terms of eroticism and emotionally) than I’m used to in this series. But the second half definitely made up for that in the erotic department. However emotionally RAISING KANE didn’t pack the punch at the end all other Rough Riders books have had for me and I really missed that. It’s what makes these books stand out for me in the vast realm of erotic romances and I hope it will be back in the next books of the series.

RAISING KANE is not as mind-blowing as SHOULDA BEEN A COWBOY, BRANDED AS TROUBLE or ALL JACKED UP were for me, but it’s a nice and fitting addition to the Rough Riders series and Lorelei James didn’t fail to please me with it as it adds another part of the McKay family saga to my collection. I love the extensive looks into the family and previous couples. It’s what makes this series so much more than mere erotic romance with kinky sex scenes and makes the series strong and fabulous for me.

And with the subtle set-up for Jessie and Brandt I’m so ready for the next book in the series (COWGIRLS DON’T CRY). I can’t wait to read what Lorelei James has in store for the next McKay in line for a HEA.

Favorite Quotes:
When Kane did look at her, the lust raging in his blue eyes caught her completely off guard. She blurted, “You’ve never—”
“Acted as if I’ve thought about takin’ you to my bed and keepin’ you there for a solid month?

Man, had he ever kissed her. A tongue-plundering, lip-gliding, hot, wet and conquering kiss. She figured she’d have a real screaming orgasm if she kept kissing Kane McKay, so she kept her lips locked on his. Lord, his kisses alone made her dizzy with desire. Drunk on his wicked sensuality.

Last night she’d only stayed conscious long enough to use the bathroom, eat more toast and swallow more painkillers.
And dream. Good Lord had the dreams been spectacular. All starring one hunky, built cowboy, who’d shed his gentlemanly persona right along with every stitch of his western clothes. He’d bound her. Gagged her. Tied her up. Tied her down. Spread her out. Bent her over. Displayed her body solely for his pleasure. He’d demanded sexual obedience. He showed his bedroom prowess, demonstrating kinky things she’d only read about. So it was disorienting to wake up alone and realize she’d been hallucinating about the sexy gentleman rancher.

Ginger looked sideways at the bulge in the crotch of his jeans and then met his dark gaze. “You’re attracted to me after the very unsexy way I mooned you?”
“Are you serious? Lord woman. With you bent over like that?” He rubbed his fingers across his goatee, staring at her hungrily from beneath lowered lashes. “’Bout the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen. Took every ounce of restraint for me not to drop my jeans and just drive into you. No sweet-talkin’, no foreplay. Just down-and-dirty, hard-and-fast sex.”
A wave of lust swamped her.

“Shockin’, ain’t it?” he teased. “How I prefer down and dirty sex to sweet, sweet love making?”
“Not shocking at all, Kane. Just hot as hell. I can’t wait to prove to you that I like it as down and dirty as you do.”

This man could get her all kinds of fired up just with molten looks and sexy words.