Stetsons and Stakeouts

Rock-hard bods and lust hotter than a Texas heat wave set the stage in this action-packed romance from Tortuga (Two Cowboys and a Baby). When D.C.-based DEA agent Gianni Cesare hears that a gang is moving drugs through his mother’s family’s East Texas ranch land, he offers his task force the use of the ranch as their base of a sting operation. He asks his aunt to make sure the foreman she’s hiring doesn’t know him so he can pose as a wealthy Italian looking to party. She brings in rodeo cowboy Bonner Fannin, unaware that Bonner had a very memorable fling with Gianni six years before. Bonner desperately needs the job and can’t complicate matters by getting involved with Gianni, yet the sparks fly the minute they set eyes on each other. Though Gianni and Bonner are soon enjoying plenty of hot sex, their lust is tempered by the imminent threat of a violent confrontation with the drug runners. Gianni’s reunions with his close-knit family—especially his quirky, queer Auntie Jerilyn, “a bear wearing Estée Lauder”—and local friends give the story its humor and heart. (Dec.)