The Tour Stop
Check out these featured authors making their way around the blog scene!
Title: The Baby Clause 2.0 Series: The Contract
By: Melanie Moreland
Publication Date: May 31, 2017
Publisher: Enchanted Publications
Genre: Romantic Comedy
#thebabyclause2.0blitz
Richard VanRyan can add another line to his resume—Daddy. How does he handle the new addition to his life?
The Baby Clause is a short continuation of Richard and Katy’s story, containing humorous glimpses into his life as a father, and how his world has changed.
A must read for all fans of The Contract!
A portion of all sales go to charity.
Includes bonus material
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2rRfix4
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2rpU2i2
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2rZj6JE
Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2rZKNlY
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2qTy2eT
iBooks: http://apple.co/2q2S99k
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2rRK0Gk
Amazon UK: https://goo.gl/sWkDQW
Amazon CA: https://goo.gl/Kxkupd
Kobo: https://goo.gl/TXh23q
iBooks: https://goo.gl/Pnsd2C
I chuckled as she nibbled on a few Ebi and California rolls—the only kind of sushi she would eat. She ignored my teasing that it wasn’t really sushi since the shrimp was cooked and the other was just vegetables. She ate heartily, but began to feel ill a couple hours after dinner, and had been up most of the night. I blamed the Ebi.
Bad shrimp was hell.
Between her retching, and the contents of Gracie’s diaper this morning, I was feeling a little under the weather myself. Whoever said this shit, pardon the pun, got easier, was a fucking liar. Katy seemed to handle it all fine, but I still gagged on occasion. How something so small and adorable could produce nuclear explosions the way Gracie did was a mystery.
New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of twenty-seven-plus years and their rescue cat Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them.
While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys travelling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip.
Melanie delights in a good romance story with some bumps along the way, but is a true believer in happily ever after. When her head isn’t buried in a book, it is bent over a keyboard, furiously typing away as her characters dictate their creative storylines to her, often with a large glass of wine keeping her company.
0 Comments
Title: SURGEON’S STORY
Author: Mark Oristano Publisher: Authority Publishing Pages: 190 Genre: Nonfiction Medical
What is it like to hold the beating heart of a two-day old child in your hand? What is it like to counsel distraught parents as they make some of the most difficult decisions of their lives?
Noted pediatric heart surgeon Dr. Kristine Guleserian has opened up her OR, and her career, to author Mark Oristano to create Surgeon’s Story - Inside OR-6 With a top Pediatric Heart Surgeon.
Dr. Guleserian’s life, training and work are discussed in detail, framed around the incredibly dramatic story of a heart transplant operation for a two-year old girl whose own heart was rapidly dying. Author Mark Oristano takes readers inside the operating room to get a first-hand look at pediatric heart surgeries most doctors in America would never attempt.
That’s because Dr. Guleserian is recognized as one of the top pediatric heart surgeons in America, one of a very few who have performed a transplant on a one-week old baby. Dr. Guleserian (Goo-liss-AIR-ee-yan) provided her expertise, and Oristano furnished his writing skills, to produce A Surgeon’s Story.
As preparation to write this stirring book, Oristano spent hours inside the operating room at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas watching Guleserian perform actual surgeries that each day were life or death experiences. Readers will be with Dr. Guleserian on her rounds, meeting with parents, or in the Operating Room for a heart transplant.
Oristano is successful sportscaster and photographer and has made several appearances on stage as an actor. He wrote his first book A Sportscaster’s Guide to Watching Football: Decoding America’s Favorite Game, and continues to volunteer at Children’s Medical Center.
“We hear a lot about malpractice and failures in medical care,” says Oristanto, “but I want my readers to know that parts of the American health care system work brilliantly. And our health care system will work even better if more young women would enter science and medicine and experience the type of success Dr. Guleserian has attained.”
Readers will find all the drama, intensity, humor and compassion that they enjoy in their favorite fictionalized medical TV drama, but the actual accounts in Surgeon’s Story are even more compelling. One of the key characters in the book is 2-year-old Rylynn who was born with an often fatal disorder called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and was successfully treated by Dr. Guleserian.
Watch the Book Trailer at YouTube.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Book Excerpt:
The first task is to examine the heart to see if the preoperative diagnosis is correct. Dr. G uses delicate instruments to retract portions of the tricuspid valve and examine the extent of the defect of the ventricular septum, the wall between the two ventricles. She determines the exact size and shape of the VSD and trims the segment of pericardium she saved earlier in preservative. She cuts miniscule pieces of the pericardial tissue and sutures them along the walls of the VSD, creating anchor points for the actual covering. Each suturing is an intricate dance of fingers and forceps, needle and thread. Dr. G works with a small, hooked needle, grasping it with forceps, inserting the needle through the tissue, releasing and re-gripping with the forceps, pulling the hair-thin suture through, using a forceps in her other hand to re-grip the needle again and repeat. The pericardial tissue being sewn over the VSD has to be secure, and it has to stand up to the pressure of blood pumping through Claudia’s heart at the end of the operation. This isn’t like repairing knee ligaments, which can rest without use and heal slowly. Claudia’s heart is going to restart at the end of this operation, and whatever has been sewn into it has to hold, and work, the first time. The VSD repair involves cautious work around the tricuspid valve, and their proximity is a concern because the valve opens and closes along the ventricular septum with each beat. Dr. G and her team find that it’s preferable to actually divide the cords of the tricuspid valve to better expose the VSD. After the patch is fully secured, the tricuspid valve is repaired.
Things don’t go as smoothly during the attempt to repair the pulmonary valve. When Dr. G looks inside Claudia’s heart she discovers that the pulmonary valve is not nearly large enough, and it’s malformed. It only has two flaps where there should be three. She repairs it by what she later says is “just putting in a little transannular patch.”
Here’s what it’s like to “just” put a transannular patch on the pulmonary artery of a child as small as Claudia:
First, take a piece of well-cooked elbow macaroni. Tuck it away in a bowl of pasta that has a bit of residual marinara sauce still floating around in it. Take several different sized knitting needles. Slowly, without damaging the macaroni, insert one of the knitting needles into it to see if you can gauge the width of the macaroni on which you’re operating. Then using a delicate, incredibly sharp blade, cut a small hole in the piece of elbow macaroni, maybe a little larger than the height of one of the letters on the page in front of you. Now use pliers to pick up a small needle with thread as fine as human hair in it. Use another pliers to pick up a tiny piece of skin that looks like it was cut from an olive, so thin that light shines through it. Take the needle and sew the olive skin on to the hole you’ve cut in the piece of macaroni. When you’re finished sewing, hook up the piece of macaroni to a comparable size tube coming from the faucet on the kitchen sink, and see if you can run some water through the macaroni without the patch leaking.
That’s the food analogy. Those are the dimensions Dr. G worked with as she patched Claudia’s pulmonary artery. She made it a little wider to give it a chance to work more efficiently, to transport more blood with less blockage, requiring less work for the right ventricle so that the built-up heart muscle could return to a more normal size. It wasn’t the repair she’d planned to make, but it was the most suitable under the circumstances, and it gave Claudia her best chance.
Before restoring Claudia’s natural circulation, the team makes certain that no air is in the heart or the tubes from the pump, because it could be pumped up to the brain. Air in the brain is not a safe thing. When all the repairs are completed, Claudia is rewarmed and weaned from the bypass machine. She was on pump for 114 minutes and her aorta was clamped for 77 minutes, not an extraordinary length of time in either case.
Claudia’s heart starts up on its own, with a strong rhythm. With her heart beating again the beeps, and the peaks and valleys on her monitor return. All is well. An echo technician wheels a portable machine into the OR and puts a sensor down Claudia’s throat where it lodges behind her heart to perform a transesophageal echo —a more detailed view than the normal, external echo. Everything looks good. Chest drains are put in to handle post-operative drainage, and wires are placed for external pacemakers, should anything go wrong with Claudia’s heart rhythm during her recovery from surgery. Dr. G draws Claudia’s ribcage back together with stainless steel wires, perfectly fastened and tightly tucked down.
Claudia and the surgical team return to the CVICU, and Dr. G monitors her reentry to the unit, making sure the nurses understand Claudia’s condition and the proper procedures to be followed for the next 24 hours. From there, Dr. G enters a small room tucked away from the noise of the unit to meet with the family. Claudia’s mother, father, and aunt are waiting. Dr. G sees Mom wiping tears away.
“Are you crying? Oh, no, no need to be crying, everything is fine.” Her wide smile reassured Mom, who put away her tissues.
About the Author
After growing up in suburban New York, Oristano moved to Texas in 1970 to attend Texas Christian University. A major in Mass Communications, Mark was hired by WFAA-TV in 1973 as a sports reporter, the start of a 30-year career covering the NFL and professional sports. Mark has worked with notable broadcasters including Verne Lundquist, Oprah Winfrey and as a sportscaster for the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network and Houston Oilers Radio Network. He has covered Super Bowls and other major sports events throughout his career. He was part of Ron Chapman’s legendary morning show on KVIL-FM in Dallas for nearly 20 years. In 2002 Oristano left broadcasting to pursue his creative interests, starting a portrait photography business and becoming involved in theater including summer productions with Shakespeare Dallas. He follows his daughter Stacey’s film career who has appeared in such shows as Friday Night Lights and Bunheads. A veteran stage actor in Dallas, Mark Oristano was writer and performer for the acclaimed one-man show “And Crown Thy Good: A True Story of 9/11.” Oristano authored his first book, A Sportscaster’s Guide to Watching Football: Decoding America’s Favorite Game. A Sportcaster’s Guide offers inside tips about how to watch football, including stories from Oristano’s 30-year NFL career, a look at offense, defense and special teams, and cool things to say during the game to sound like a real fan. In 2016 Oristano finished his second book, Surgeon’s Story, a true story about a surgeon that takes readers inside the operating room during open heart surgery. His second book is described as a story of dedication, talent, training, caring, resilience, guts and love. In 1997, Mark began volunteering at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, working in the day surgery recovery room. It was at Children’s that Mark got to know Kristine Guleserian, MD, first to discuss baseball, and later, to learn about the physiology, biology, and mystery of the human heart. That friendship led to a joint book project, Surgeon’s Story, about Kristine’s life and career. Mark is married and has two adult children and two grandchildren. WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOKMark Oristano is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
Terms & Conditions:
Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!![]() About the Book Title: Set You Free Author: Elmer Seward Genre: Suspense Love, Lies, and the Secrets That Bind Deena is running from a dangerous past. When she finds herself in a small fishing village tucked away on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay, she thinks she is finally safe. While there, she discovers a journal that weaves a story of secrets, passion, and unrequited love. In its pages, she discovers the answers to her struggle with the shadows of her own past. In the end, those shadows close in on her and threaten all that she holds dear. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE Author Bio Elmer Seward was born and raised along the Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia. Growing up, the cemetery behind his house was his playground. The metaphorical theme of death and rebirth that figures prominently in his novels is probably influenced in some way by the time that his mother heard, through the screened window, a small voice crying for help. Rushing from the house and through the yard, she discovered her all-too-curious six-year-old son at the bottom of a freshly dug grave. In that moment, he discovered that trouble is much easier to get into than it is to get out of. Sometimes we need help getting out of the hole that we jump into willingly. He is blessed to have a large blended family. He is also the reluctant servant of three crazy dogs, a Maltese, a Japanese Chin, and a BruMaltChiYorkie. All of these strongly influence the characters and events in his novels; however, his beautiful wife, Mitzi, is the true inspiration for the tender hearted but determined women in his stories. He is the author of two previous novels, Hearts in the Storm and Dreams of the Sleepless. Links Website - www.elmerseward.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ElmerSewardAuthor/ EXCERPT
A moment later, the motel’s night clerk jerked around at the sound of the office door closing behind him. A knife blade hovered inches from his face. Fry held the knife in his right hand. With his other hand, he lifted the roll of duct tape, his index finger to his lips. “Shhhh.” A stack of worn towels and washcloths sat folded on a small counter. “Take one of those washcloths and stuff it in your mouth.” The clerk’s eyes grew wide. His voice cracked as he stammered, “Why?” The blade, now at his throat, pressed into the skin. Blood trickled down his neck. “Just do it.” The clerk crammed the cloth into his mouth. “Now rip off about a foot of the tape.” Fry handed the man the roll of duct tape. “Put it over your mouth good and tight.” The old man complied. A worn wooden chair sat across from the TV. “Sit there and tape your legs to the chair legs. Wind it around a couple times. Make it tight.” Fry stood behind the man, the blade of the knife nestled below his chin. Perspiration streamed down the clerk’s face onto the sharp edge. Fry commanded him to tape his right wrist to the wooden armrest. Next, Fry cut a length of tape. “Put your left wrist on the armrest and don’t move.” With his left hand, he held the knifepoint to the clerk’s throat. “That arm moves and you’re dead.” He fastened the man’s left arm to the chair with more tape. Next, he wound the tape around the man’s chest and the chair back to secure his torso. Fry stood up and inhaled. “That’s better. Let’s try this again.” He held up the photo. “This time look at the picture. Look at it good. She would be older now.” He waited as the old man blinked, trying to focus. “Have you seen her?” The old man shook his head. Fry nodded. “She’s not staying here?” Again, the clerk shook his head. “Well, that’s unfortunate.” Fry smiled as he looked around. “Let’s see what we have.” A small refrigerator sat on the counter next to the towels. He opened it, pulled out a bottle of water, twisted the lid, and swallowed the cold liquid. “Where are my manners? Would you like some? Oh, that’s right. Your mouth’s full.” He chuckled. He set the bottle down, stepped over to the TV, unplugged it, then cut the power cord with his knife. Then he shaved the insulation from the ends of the cord and pulled them apart so two separate pieces were coming from the plug, each with bare wire at the end. The clerk’s eyes grew wide as he thrashed in the chair. Fry grabbed a towel and soaked it with water from the bottle. The old man’s muffled voice repeated something over and over. Fry bent down to listen. “It’s hard to hear you, old-timer. Speak up.” He cackled then listened again. “What’s that? You told me the truth?” The man nodded wildly. Fry’s smile turned cold as he stared into his eyes. “I know.” He draped the wet towel over the thrashing man’s head. Next, holding the wires apart, he plugged the cord into the wall. He grasped one wire in each hand. “You should’ve looked at the picture the first time I asked.” This is my stop during the blog tour for Destiny of the Queen by Jacqueline Patricks. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 29 May till 11 June. See the tour schedule here. ![]() By Jacqueline Patricks Genre: Science Fiction Romance Age category: Adult Release Date: 6 May, 2017 Blurb: You can find Destiny of the Queen on Goodreads You can buy Destiny of the Queen here: - Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Kobo - Smashwords - Google Play - iTunes
Earlier books in this series! ![]() Dreams of the Queen (The Brajj #1) by Jacqueline Patricks Dr. Cass Baros is haunted by dreams of an alien world... ...and will do anything to find it. Links: - Goodreads - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Smashwords - Google Play - iTunes ![]() Nightmares of the Queen (The Brajj #2) by Jacqueline Patricks Their love will be tested by betrayal and deceit. Links: - Goodreads - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Smashwords - Google Play - iTunes ![]() Nominated by The Author Show as Top Female Author 2017, PAN member of the Romance Writers Association, a volunteer with Houston’s Writespace, and a winner of the Seal of Good Writing from the IndiePENdents for her first published novel, Dreams of the Queen, Jacqueline Patricks’ passion for writing began early in life. Before she published, however, Jacqueline traveled a winding path through the U.S. Army, college, over twenty years in 911 as a paramedic, professional teaching, and all the exciting adventures in between. She currently resides with her husband and four parrots and hopes to meet Mark Twain someday since he understands parrot people. “She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined. She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.” – Mark Twain You can find and contact Jacqueline Patricks here: - Website - Goodreads - Amazon - Newsletter Giveaway There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Destiny of the Queen. One winner will win their choice of an e-copy from one of Jacqueline Patricks's books (INT) For a chance to win, enter the giveaway below: a Rafflecopter giveaway This is my stop during the book blitz for Temptation Trials Part 1 by B Truly! This book blitz is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 30 May till 3 June. You can see the blitz schedule here. ![]() By B truly Genre: Dystopian Romance Age category: Adult Release Date: June 3, 2017 Blurb: You can find Temptation Trials Part 1 on Goodreads You can buy Temptation Trials Part 1 here: - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Smashwords ![]() B. Truly has wanted to be an author since she was fifteen years old and is grateful to have accomplished this dream. She has very vivid dreams and a wild imagination. She likes to read, watch tons of TV shows, and movies. She’s addicted to romance and gets a thrill out of action and sci-fi. She writes New Adult and Adult, Romance. Sci-fi, Dystopian, and Paranormal genres. B. Truly likes to explore different elements of sci-fi romance, and create various realms of reality. She also loves creating impossible situations for her characters to grow from and try to overcome. B. Truly has three wonderful children and a husband who defines the person that she is today. She works full-time as an Ultrasound technologist in Houston, Texas. You can find and contact B Truly here: - Goodreads - Amazon Giveaway There’s a tour wide giveaway going on during the book blitz for Temptation Trials Part 1. There will be two winners who both win a $15 Amazon gift card & free e-book of Temptation Trials Part 1. For a chance to win, enter the giveaway below: a Rafflecopter giveaway
Prologue (Excerpt #2) * * * Cali * * *
Social functions and parties were a violation of the law. There were no national music groups, except for bands approved for his Highest’s events. The new Emperor of the entire globe had been in rule for the last nine years. The only music we listened to were old CDs, but there were secret local groups, just like at this defiant affair I was attending. This cryptic band had three members. The lead guy’s spiked blue hair was only a part of the show. He couldn’t be caught on the street with that hair style, or enforcement would toss him in the brig. I threw my head back, giggling like a school girl. “What’s so funny?” Stefani asked. I inclined my head toward the band. “That guy’s blue-do would render enforcement speechless.” Stefani’s eyes bulged. “Damn right.” The next song they performed sported the lyrics “Screw the Law.” A wide smile spread across my face. It was exactly how I felt at the moment. After my second cup of punch, my body began to mellow out. I bopped my head to the beat. “I’m thrilled I persuaded you to come with me,” Stefani purred. “Yeah. This is fun.” “I’ll have to remember that in the future. Get you toasted, then you’ll be more willing to defy the law.” We both laughed, and I hit her playfully on her arm. A moment later, a male’s voice whispered in my ear. “You’re gorgeous. Wanna dance?” I turned to face him—Stefani giggled. “Thanks for the compliment.” He raised his eyebrow up and down. He wore gothic attire and had more piercings than I could count. Ears, nose, mouth, tongue. Good looking—just didn’t seem my type. I didn’t want be appear high diddy, so maybe I would accept his invitation after another drink. My shyness wasn’t effaced from my system yet. The thought of dancing with a man made me jittery. I smiled coyly. “Maybe in a bit. Raincheck?” “Um … sure. I’ll hold you to it.” He straightened his black jacket before walking away. “You’ve got guys lined up already,” Stefani teased. “Shut it. You’re getting several stares, too.” “Well, I’ll definitely take a cutie up on an offer.” She winked—I shook my head. Stefani was the brave, bold one. I’d always admired her spirit. Song after song thumped through the old house. This band sure knew how to give a performance. A fast beat started. Stefani threw her arms up, waving them in the air. “I love this song! You have to dance with me, Cali.” She dragged me to the dance floor before I could protest. I did love music, even dancing—I was just bashful about dancing with guys. The area was crowded, so this must have been a popular song. Being my first party since middle school, it was new to me. The melody had a slamming vibe, easy to groove to. Stefani’s shoulder-length caramel hair swayed to the beat. Her grin was contagious. I swung my hips with the grooving bass, and the liquor I consumed heated my veins. The atmosphere was warmer than when I’d arrived. A very attractive man with smooth, toffee-colored skin strolled up behind Stefani. She giggled, and then plastered her butt against his front. He was hawt! They both moved in a choreographic rhythm. I continued to sway my hips, in my own element, until I felt a radiant heat sizzle up my body. The force of this sensation was coming from the wall. I whipped my head to the side, and my breathing ceased. Damn, this party was full of taunt delectable men! The guy leaning against the wall was even more gorgeous than the dude dancing with Stefani. The definition of pure hotness. His hungry gaze seemed to eat me up. Unashamed, I also wanted to be his dessert. His stare was so penetrating, I couldn’t look away. His arms were crossed against his chest and his mouth parted. Time seemed to stand still, as we were both absorbed in each other’s gaze. In my alcoholic state, I would gladly dance with him if he stepped up to me—kinda hoped he would. I settled for imagining that he was behind me. In a lustful trance, I moved my hips in slow motion—our eyes stayed locked. Hotness must have approved. He grinned wide, and I was undone. His smile made him even more attractive. Definitely the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on. A ferrous bang vibrated in the room. The commotion broke our “undressing one another’s lustful stare” down. Screams drummed through the air. “The Popo are here. Everyone scatter!” a dude hollered. ![]() Bella Italia
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo --
She stared into his deep blue eyes, feeling the warmth of them. Her stomach somersaulted. Holding him this close was dangerous. She tried to warn herself but her body refused to listen to the commands her brain was sending out. He watched her intently. What was he thinking? Her heart beat sped up until it was pounding in her chest. The heat from his body liquefied her muscles and his manly scent, so intoxicating to her filled her lungs. Pressed up against him, she could feel every hard pane of his chest. Her breath caught in her throat as desire flooded her. She shifted, an urgent ache gathering between her legs. Her mouth dried even as her belly quivered. Moving her hands from around his neck, she cupped his jaw. Adelaide swallowed with difficulty. He wasn’t pushing her away—nor was he encouraging her. Insufferable man. Whatever happened between them would be her choice she knew. She—Adelaide Montgomery—for the first time in her life needed to make the first move and the idea both thrilled and terrified her. “Adelaide—” She cut him off when she crushed her lips against his. She didn’t think, just felt. Allowing desire to take her where it wanted to go. While afraid of rejection, the fear of always wondering ‘what if’ overrode her reservations and made her bolder than she’d ever been before. She took what she wanted, and she wanted him. His lips were soft beneath her own as his hand on her back pushed her more firmly into him, stoking the fires within, feeling almost brazen as she sucked on his tongue and he moaned. She deepened the kiss, one hand sliding into his hair and tilting his head for better access. His tongue rasped against hers, sending delicious tingles down her spine. She had never kissed like this before—never had been kissed like before. What more had she never experienced before? It was one thing to be told what you were missing, it was quite another to be teased with the promise. Antonio’s hand slowly inched up her thigh and beneath the towel, finally resting on her bottom. A hot rush of liquid heat pooled between her thighs. Every touch made her feel beautiful and cherished. Her body burned with delicious heat, a firestorm of sensation and yet she didn’t want to put it out, only to feed the flames more until it was consuming her. Until her entire consciousness was blind of all things except this burning need. ![]()
GIVEAWAY! ![]() The Royal Treatment
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play -- Are you a book reviewer? -- Prince Arthur: When we reach the vault room, there are two guards standing at the door. Normally there is just one, sitting on the inside; but for nights like tonight, there are a total of six. I nod, and one of them opens the door. “Good evening, fellows,” I say. “Good evening, Your Highness.” Once inside the room, we go through the same routine with the other four men. I go to the keypad and press the code, then hold my face in front of the camera for a retina scan. When I look down at Tessa, she actually looks impressed. “A little Bond-esque, no?” I ask. “Very.” “Come on, Moneypenny, let’s get you something for that beautiful neck of yours.” I tug her hand and pull her in with me before she can say no. She’s already shaking her head, but I hold up one finger. “I can see those Sharpe family brains of yours going to work on ten different reasons why you won’t borrow a necklace, but I have already prepared counterarguments, and since we are now twelve minutes behind schedule, please allow me. One, they’re already paid for, some of them hundreds of years ago, so it’s not coming out of anyone’s taxes. Two, like the books in the library, they’re going to waste in here. Three, for the first time in my life, I want to share something with someone else—someone who deserves to feel like a queen, even if she’ll only allow herself that for one measly little evening. Four, I have this fantasy of seeing you in only the jewels. Maybe the heels could stay.” Tessa laughs and her cheeks go pink. “All right. One necklace, but make it a cheap one.” I raise one eyebrow. “Define cheap.” “Less than a kitchen stool.” “How about less than a car?” “Sofa.” “I said ‘queen.’ Would a queen really wear a sofa around her neck?” I reach up and run my fingertips along the base of her neck. “Would she wear a car?” “Good point.” I lean down and kiss the crook of her neck. “How about this? You choose whichever one you like the best, and I won’t tell you how much it’s worth.” I continue to brush my lips along her skin, then move up to her earlobe. The other night, I discovered a little spot at the base of her ear that turns her to putty. After a moment of some careful work, I get what I want. A breathy, little ‘okay’ escapes her lips. ![]()
GIVEAWAY!
|
Archives
September 2020
|