Title: The Riding Master
Author: Alexandrea Weis
Release Date: April 26, 2014
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
Quirky, reclusive, and unwilling to trust, Rayne Greer is a woman anxious to avoid interacting with anyone other than her horse, Bob. After her divorce from the wealthy, arrogant, and much older Foster Greer, Rayne returns to the world of horses she loved as a child. Concentrating only on her work as a lab technician and her riding, she insulates herself from men, until she meets the handsome new riding master of Southland Stables. Hired to supervise Rayne and the other riding instructors, Trent Newbury is bold, competitive, and from the moment he meets Rayne, determined to have her. Rayne thinks the man with the striking gray eyes is just another playboy out for a good time with women and little else. But Trent has something other men do not; a patient and methodical plan for taming the skittish Rayne and gaining her elusive trust.
After corralling her to dinner, Trent asks her a series of questions about her past. Rayne ever so slowly opens up and tells Trent of the heartache over the loss of her father and sister. Trent’s interrogation includes questions about sex, making Rayne uneasy. Sex was never something she enjoyed or was very good at, but for some reason, Trent makes her feel comfortable and she learns to confide in him. Trent begins eating away at her defenses. After an impassioned kiss, he awakens an untapped desire in Rayne; something she never thought she possessed.
Despite Rayne’s wishes to keep the relationship platonic, Trent relentlessly pursues her. He also encourages her to move forward with her riding and return to the show ring despite a long absence. Gaining her confidence inside and outside of the riding ring, Rayne feels ready to take the next step with Trent. One morning, after a somewhat disastrous date, Rayne gives herself to him. But the encounter is short-lived when a phone call from her ex, Foster, interrupts their lovemaking. Rayne’s mother, the cantankerous and cold Estelle Masterson has fallen and is in the hospital.
Trent takes Rayne to Dallas Presbyterian Health Center and meets her mother and ex-husband. Rayne is mortified that the man is being exposed to the uncomfortable parts of her past, especially the long history of alcoholism Rayne has had to endure from her mother, Estelle.
Trent offers a shoulder for Rayne to lean on, adding to her desire for him. She has been alone for a long time in life, and with Trent she feels she has found a kindred spirit. But doubts still plague her, especially when facts about Trent’s philandering past come to light. Trent Newbury has had a long line of women in his bed, giving Rayne pause. When Rayne discovers Trent’s involvement with his former boss, Lisa Shelby the owner of Shelby Stables where he worked as riding master, she begins to question his intentions for her.
But Trent swears he has found something special in Rayne, and promises to be loyal to her. As Rayne slowly succumbs to his gentling of her heart, Trent introduces her to a new world of passion. Sexually inexperienced despite her eight years of marriage, Trent shows Rayne new ways to awaken her sexual self. Taking control in bed and having her submit to his pleasure, Rayne learns to let go and enjoy being dominated by a man whose sexual appetites are more than she had ever imagined.
Falling for Trent, she allows him in her life and takes his advice to return to the show ring. He enters her in an upcoming horse show and works with her and Bob to get ready. Rayne feel she has found the best of both worlds, a boyfriend and trainer. When Trent invites her for a weekend away to attend a party given by his friend, Tyler Moore, Rayne accepts, happy their relationship is gaining ground.
The night of the fancy party at Tyler’s Moore’s swank Highland Park home makes Rayne feel like a princess, and when she meets Tyler’s wife, the famous author Monique Delome, she discovers a friend. After the party, the couple arrive at the posh Jule Hotel where Trent has arranged for their special weekend to begin. There, he gives her the key to his home, asking her to be a part of his life. Overjoyed, Rayne agrees.
After their weekend, Rayne is anxious to tell her friend at work, Lindsey, about Trent’s offer of a committed relationship. Lindsey encourages Rayne to take another step forward and give Trent her house key, so he will feel she is earnest about her desire to make things work between them. Deciding to surprise Trent with her key, she goes to his house and when she walks in, finds a woman naked and dripping wet in his living room. The owner of Shelby Stables and Trent’s former lover, Lisa Shelby, tells Rayne how she has worked her way back into Trent’s life. When Trent walks in and finds the two women, he denies any wrongdoing, but it is too late. Rayne’s trust has been shattered and she ends their relationship.
Things go from bad to worse when her mother’s health quickly deteriorates. Years of alcohol abuse have left Estelle with a bad liver and a lot of debt, compounding Rayne’s heartache. Desperate for escape, Rayne buries herself in her riding and continues to prepare for the coming show Trent so ardently pushed for her to compete in.
The day of the horse show is difficult for Rayne, having to confront Trent about their relationship and work with him as the riding master of her stables. He vows they are not finished, but Rayne disagrees. Carrying on, Trent prepares her for her jumping event, adding to Rayne’s frazzled nerves. But when she enters the show ring, everything with her life, Trent, her mother, and her ex go to the wayside and she is able to jump a glorious round and be in contention for a ribbon.
When Rayne exits the show ring she is greeted by an unexpected visitor, her mother. Estelle has spent her life avoiding her daughter’s love of horses, but now, encouraged by Trent, she has come to the show to support Rayne. She admits Trent has helped her to see her daughter in a new light and wants a chance to mend things between them. She tells Rayne that Trent needs another chance, too.
When Rayne discovers she has won the blue ribbon, she wants nothing more than to share it with Trent. Finding him on the show grounds she confesses her love for him, but he is not entirely convinced. In a last act of desperation, she shouts out her love for him, drawing the attention of all those at the horse show. Now convinced, Trent takes her back to the tack room in the stables, where they celebrate their renewed commitment.
In the end, Rayne finally finds contentment with a man she can truly call her “riding master.”
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Author’s Bio:
Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Her first novel, To My Senses, introduced readers to the world of Nicci Beauvoir and garnered numerous awards and rave reviews. Her popular second Nicci Beauvoir novel, Recovery, won the Gold Medal for best romantic suspense from The Reader’s Favorite Book
Awards 2011, and was named best Romantic Suspense novel by the Spring 2011 NABE
Pinnacle Book Awards. Her fourth novel, Broken Wings, won best Contemporary Romance by the NABE Pinnacle Book Awards in 2012, was a Silver Medal winner in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards for Romance, as well as a finalist in the Reader’s Favorite Book Awards for Contemporary Romance for 2012. Her last novel, Acadian Waltz received honorable mention at the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards for Best Contemporary Romance and was a Best Southern Fiction Finalist. A permitted wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans.
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