Archive for the ‘Stories’ Category
Welcome to this week’s My Sexy Saturday blog hop. The theme, “A Long, Sexy Time,” is designed to spotlight love that has been around for a while:
“… It’s all about those who have loved another for a long time. This love could have started when they were kids, when they were dating or even from afar.”
That pretty much leaves my couples out. They tend to meet and experience love — or hate — at first sight, and then overcome whatever obstacles are in their path to happily ever after. Dave and Melinda from DIVA IN THE DUGOUT are the closest I have to a couple who’s known each other for a while … and that’s only if you count a one-night stand, nearly five years ago, as knowing one another.
In this scene, Dave and Mel are trying to get along for their daughter’s sake. He’s just landed in Amarillo so he can meet Mel’s parents — something she’d denied him years earlier by not telling him she was pregnant. Keeping Tara a secret was a decision she had what she thought were good reasons for, but is now starting to regret.
Enjoy!
***
Mel bounced from foot to foot in the arrivals area of the Amarillo airport Wednesday afternoon. The steady flow of travelers slowed to a trickle before Dave strolled through the gate.
Damn, he looked fine. He walked tall and proud, his shoulders impossibly broad in a burgundy suit jacket. He carried a duffel the same color as his coat—his team colors.
When, for once, her smile didn’t feel forced, Mel realized she was glad to see him. “Welcome back, Muscles.”
He studied her for a moment before dropping his bag at his feet. Then he stepped up and folded her into a hug. His arms circled her waist, pressing her tightly against his flat stomach and broad chest. Her nerve endings started to sing, especially the bits of her rubbing all that hard muscle. Mmm.
“You feel even better than you look.” The thought popped out of Mel’s mouth before she could stop it. Her cheeks burned, and she could only hope the words were too muffled by his jacket for him to hear.
No such luck. His chest shook with laughter. “If I’d expected such a friendly greeting, I’d have come back sooner.”
Mel flattened her palms against his shoulders and he let her go. What the hell had she been thinking, falling into his arms like that? Just because he was trying to build a relationship with Tara didn’t mean he wanted one with her. After what she’d done, she was probably the last person he’d consider getting romantic with.
DIVA IN THE DUGOUT, the first book in my All Is Fair in Love & Baseball series, can be found at Turquoise Morning Press, Smashwords, All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iTunes.
P.S If you liked this snippet, my friend Lizzie Shane is giving away a copy of DIVA on her Facebook page this weekend. She’ll draw a winner Monday morning. Click here to enter.
Since dialogue is my favorite, this week’s My Sexy Saturday theme is right up my alley! I’ll share a snippet from my new release, BREAKING ALL THE RULES.
In this scene, Van and Allyson are having dinner together for the first time. (She won’t call it a date because he works for her.) They’ve been drinking, and the alcohol loosens her tongue to the point that she tells him her deep, dark secret: She’s still carrying her v-card, thanks to an overprotective father who scared off any potential boyfriends.
Happy reading!
***
A rueful smile replaced the challenge that had flashed in her eyes a moment ago. “I didn’t go out much in college, either. Being dateless all through high school, I was still pretty socially inept. I stayed in most of the time, studied hard and graduated in three years.”
Van absorbed the information, which gave him a new perspective. Maybe Allyson was stuffy and uptight because social situations were uncomfortable for her.
Before he could probe the topic any further, the waitress arrived with their dinners. When the woman slid their plates in front of them, Allyson eyed his dinner with more interest than her own.
He playfully shook his finger at her. “Ah-ah-ah, Ms. Red Meat on Tuesdays. You missed your chance.”
She gave him another pretty pout. At the same time, beneath the table, she squeezed his knee. “I sure hope not.”
Van reached for their margarita so fast that he knocked over his almost-empty glass of water on the way. Water dribbled across the table toward Ally’s boring-looking chicken and veggies, but he needed a drink more than he needed to save her meal. He polished off the rest of the drink in one gulp.
Thus fortified, he was prepared to respond. “I might be willing to renegotiate.”
Find BREAKING ALL THE RULES at Turquoise Morning Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, Smashwords and All Romance eBooks.
I’m over at Just Contemporary Romance today, talking about my favorite Star Trek Captain.
Since I’ve been writing baseball-playing heroes, it’s been fun to geek out a little with Donovan Marshall, the Klingon-speaking hero of BREAKING ALL THE RULES. In my searches, I discovered this fun T-shirt from Star Trek Shop. It features the Top 10 Reasons Why Kirk is better than Picard:
In case you can’t read it:
10. One word: Hair!
9. Kirk would personally throw Wesley off the bridge
8. Kirk would never sing to children in a crisis
7. Kirk wasn’t shy about taking his shirt off
6. Kirk can beat a Klingon bare-handed
5. Three words: Flying leg kick
4. Kirk doesn’t let the doctor tell him what to do
3. If Kirk finds a strange, spinning probe, he blows it up
2. Kirk never drinks tea, ever (Not sure that’s a selling point …)
1. Kirk can beat a Vulcan at chess
Join me over at Just Contemporary Romance to discuss YOUR favorite Star Trek captain. Mine may not be who you think!
With BREAKING ALL THE RULES coming out in a few short weeks, I should probably be giving you a teaser from it.
But when I saw this week’s My Sexy Saturday theme was “My Sexy Addiction,” I couldn’t resist. I simply had to pick a scene starring Mike James.
You see, Mike is probably MY sexy addiction. Don’t get me wrong: I love each and every one of my heroes—all for different reasons. However, if I were pressed to pick one, it’d have to be Mike, the sports reporter/stripper/inveterate flirt who captures the attention of not one but two women of Willow’s Grove.
In OPERATION SNAG MIKE BRAD, education reporter Erin starts out lusting after Mike but soon learns life is what happens when you’re making other plans. Mike, who has what he thinks are good reasons for flirting the way he does, secretly longs for the kind of girl he uses his reputation to hold at bay—until a drunken night with coworker Breanne forces him to face his demons once and for all. (That’s OVEREXPOSED, the third Willow’s Grove book.)
These seven sentences are from near the end of Erin and Brad’s story, in which Mike plays a big part. He’s a third POV in the manuscript—a departure for me, since I usually stick to just the hero and heroine POVs.
See? I know Mike better than any other character I’ve created, so he’ll always have a special place in my heart.
***
She followed her roommate’s finger to the couch, where a shirtless Mike snored. A blanket rode low on his hips, exposing the flat, tan plane of his stomach — and hinting at a bottom half as naked as the top. Erin quickly looked away, finding the cat that belonged to the cat condo in the corner of the room. A big, gray furball watched them from its perch on the back of the couch. She suppressed a nervous giggle and jabbed her elbow into Cassie’s ribs. “Maybe he really does sunbathe in November.”
“Maybe,” Cassie replied, appreciatively ogling the sleeping sportswriter. “I’m beginning to understand what you two see in him.”
“Not me. Not anymore.” Sure, Mike’s … umm … man candy was worth admiring. But she meant it when she added, “I prefer something a little — lot — more real.”
Cassie snickered. “Bree doesn’t share your sentiment.”
Sure enough, Bree’s gaze was still riveted to Mike’s bare midsection. Her eyes glittered with interest. Knowing what it was like to lust after something she couldn’t have, Erin took pity on her. With very little effort, she might be able to get the blanket to shift a little lower.
“Close your mouth, Bree. You’re starting to drool,” she muttered under her breath. Then she cleared her throat — loudly. “Yo, James.”
Bree squeaked with alarm. At the same time, Mike smacked his lips and rolled onto his back. The blanket moved a fraction of an inch higher. Crap. “Not what I was aiming for.”
Operation Snag Mike Brad is still unpublished — for now. But if you liked this snippet, check out my Amazon author page for my published stories.
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