“Don’t worry Lyn, we’ll all be there, if you start to get
tired or need help, just yell help!” Patsy flexes her Popeye muscles and assures
Lyn she can carry her if need be.
Lyn sticks her tongue out at Patsy and gazes lovingly down
at her feet. They never failed her yet.
“What a place the bugs are like the size of rodents.” Mary
smacks a gallon dipper that attempts to attach itself to her arm.
“Well this is the Brazilian
jungle it’s gotta have bugs. It’s the strange animal sounds that scare me.
Where are we supposed to find Karen? I haven’t seen a thing that wasn’t wild
and overgrown since we got here.” Lyn moves a branch out of the way and it
whacks Patsy in the head when she inadvertently lets it go.
“Ow!” Patsy reaches for the branch of a huge palm tree and
suddenly it moves. “AAAAHHHH. SSnnnakke.” She hollers. “I hate snakes.” Luckily
the slimy thing is more afraid of her then she is of it and it scurries into
the brush.
“Watch out, there are all kinds of weird things in this
place. Where is Karen?”
Sharon
moves a huge Elephant leaf and spies a camp of sorts. On the tables set up in
the center of camp are some strange looking foods. Carrots dressed like people,
animals made out of food. Papayas and peaches are sculpted birds, radish mice,
eggplant cars, and peppers with attitude; give new meaning to the words finger
foods.
“Can we eat this stuff?” Mary asks, “I like radishes, look
at the baby bird radishes! How cute.”
Lyn pulls her bottle of mead out from the back of her shirt.
She takes a long pull and mumbles something about dreaming all this.
Patsy enters one of the tents and spies Oliver
in the back
of the tent. He sets up Karen’s book and places a book mark in each
one. He whistles as he arranges bowls of
chocolates on the table where Karen will sign her books. There's also a
heaped plate of Sneaker Doodle cookies for Karen to enjoy with a range
of exotic teas - there's a rumour she enjoys playing with the cookies and
making them in the shape of a boomerang!
“Hey, did you invite Tarzan.” Mary quizzes Oliver.
He looks at her as if she’s nuts and continues to whistle.
Mary stops for a moment and wonders what song he’s using. It’s a tune from the
Lion King. He waggles his eyebrows and goes back to what he was doing.
The girls pull up chairs and each grabs a book.
“Erotic Deception, now that sounds very enticing.” Patsy
turns a bit red and Sharon jabs her in the side.
“Keep it GP, I mean PG.” Lyn mutters under her breath.
“Is she drunk?” Mary inquires as they all look at Lyn.
She wobbles her way out of her chair and stands in front of the other hostesses. “I
think I will finish this later.” She holds Karen’s book up. “I had to drink the
Mead. I couldn’t stand to think of poor Lily and how upset she musta been when
Jet didn’t trust her. I’ve gotta find more Mead.” She stumbles and the others
catch her.
They all walk back outside and call out to the visitors who
are slinking into camp from the surrounding jungle. “Karen Cote' has written a
novel that will make you wish you were in front of a blowing fan.”
Sharon
smacks Mary. “What Mary meant to say was, come one, come all, Get your red hot
copy of Erotic Deception and have it
signed while Karen is here. “Karen, welcome to the Author Roast and Toast.”
Lyn eyes the colorful costumed vegetables on the tables and
mumbles. “I thought this was a barbeque.”
“Yeah, well look at the size of that cake.” Mary points to a huge multilayered cake. “That cake looks as good as the book does. Let’s pass some to those monkeys behind you Lyn.
As Lyn runs and jumps into Patsy’s arms Sharon points out. “That ain’t a monkey it’s
a Gorilla, and by the looks of him he’s related to King Kong. RUN!”
As the
girls run screaming, an amused Oliver takes the
head off of his gorilla costume. He and Karen chuckle as
they watch the girls disappear into the brush.
“They’ll be back soon.”
Lyn walks from behind the tent and
points after the others. “However,” she chuckles, “we may have to send Tarzan
after them.”
EROTIC DECEPTION
Blurb:
Her brother was dead. He’d practically raised her and stood by her during a miscarriage that left her barren. He’d been the sole person she’d had left in this world. How had Dr. Lily Delaney with a PhD in Psychology missed the psychotic signs of Anthony Capriccio, the Kansas City District Attorney and her ex-fiancĂ©? Now at twenty-nine she was on the run to hide from the impending threats to her own life. But on the road to a safe secluded lake community, Lily crashes into the path of a new dangerous element, literally. One with deep blue eyes who totes a badge and carries a gun. And would their budding relationship be threatened when Lily finds out her own doctor had lied and discovers she really can have children? How would the sheriff take knowing she’d gotten pregnant when she’d already heartily assured him she wasn’t?
After his experience as a detective in Kansas City, Missouri, Jet Walker enjoyed his life as sheriff of the quiet lake community, Windom Hills. However, when Lily Delaney literally crashes into his car and life, his world disrupts into chaos. Couldn’t the woman do anything normal? Between fighting to protect her and fighting against his growing attraction for her, the previous peace Jet had found was now falling apart. And how could he possibly trust another woman after the trick his ex-wife played in trying to pass off another man’s child as his?
Excerpt:
As suspected, it showed positive. Suddenly the cabin seemed claustrophobic and the need for air was overwhelming. Deciding exercise would fuel her need, Lily went out through the French doors. She crossed the yard to the trees where it was cooler. She was glad to be wearing a ventilated halter-top while her jeans protected her legs from wayward branches and weeds. Deeper into the trees, she came across a small creek. As she crossed over, her flip-flops caught on a hidden tree root and she lost her balance and fell to her knees. She extended a hand to prevent pitching forward while her other cradled her midsection in a protective gesture. This time, her womb wasn’t empty. She smiled.
Lily got up and brushed off her jeans. With melancholy appreciation, she noticed how green everything was as if she were viewing it all for the first time. She breathed in the fresh scent of the growing plant life, smiling at the rabbits and squirrels ducking away as she approached.
Wading through the foliage, the covering of trees lessened as she neared the other side. A road running parallel to her property was a few yards ahead and she was crossing out of the trees to it when a sensation of being watched tingled along the back of her neck. She stopped and scanned the area behind her. Seeing nothing amiss, Lily still hastened her step until she reached the dirt-paved road. It was dusty and it would take her longer to get home, but it was flat and the air had cooled.
Despite the cooler air and without the protective cover of the trees, Lily felt the sun beating down on her head. She tightened her ponytail, wrapping the long ends into a makeshift bun to get it off her neck. She wasn’t far from the main street that ran into town when a vehicle turned onto the dirt road. Great! She just prayed it wasn’t the sheriff at the wheel of the blazer. The vehicle made short work of the distance and her stomach plummeted. It was him. He stopped beside her.
“Why haven’t you called me back?” He glowered.
Lily stiffened her shoulders and ignored him by continuing her pace. Some interesting variations of curses came from his direction, but her steps didn’t falter. She had no desire to speak to him. A message she intended to make clear…a message he obviously intended to ignore. The door slammed and seconds later, a vice-like grip grabbed her arm.
“I asked you a question,” he gritted between his teeth. “And what are you doing out here anyway.”
“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m walking. That’s Detective 101, Sheriff.” She wrenched her arm out of his grasp and took off again.
Chanting a few more obscenities, he reached for her again. She spun around, her temper blazing.
“How many times do I have to flush before you go away?” She yelled.
Fire shot from his eyes before in a sudden fierce movement he scooped her up and carried her to the blazer. She beat at the tight grasp around her waist. When that didn’t work, she resorted to scratching and kicking, but her wedge-heeled flip-flops were ineffectual as he easily held off her attacks. In desperation, she reached for his gun. He didn’t guess her intentions until she’d unsecured the latch on the holster. Realization made him bark out an incredulous laugh and he checked her hand.
“You little she-cat!” He countered. “What are you going to do, shoot me?” He shook his head in exasperation. “Don’t you know reaching for an officer’s gun is an automatic jail sentence?”
“Then arrest me, Sheriff!” She spat, breathless from her exertions.
“What’s wrong with you?”
He swung her down and used his body to brace her against the blazer.
“Nothing. I told you I felt like a walk so I’m walking. What’s the mystery?” Her voice was heavy in sarcasm.
“Why didn’t you return my calls?” He asked unmoved by her ire.
“Maybe I didn’t want to,” she said childishly.
“Well maybe I was worried,” he returned.
“Well maybe you should’ve called your wife. No wait,” she said, pausing in mock perplexity. “Maybe you should call Rachel instead.”
His gaze flashed angrily. “Did my deputy tell you about Rachel too?”
“No your deputy didn’t tell me about Rachel,” Lily mimicked jealously. “Your sister did. Enlighten me Jet, how many women do you need to feed your ego?”
His heated blue eyes searched her face before settling on her mouth.
“Get in the truck,” he said softly.
“Are you taking me to jail?” She tilted her head in defiance. “Because that’s the only way I’m going anywhere with you.”
He gave her an exasperated look and before she could protest, opened the door and lifted her in. He followed and clamped a hand on her arm to prevent her escape from the passenger side.
Deftly starting the blazer with his left hand, Jet slammed it into gear and performed a U-turn. Lily sat beside him, her lips mutinous; attention straight ahead. She couldn’t stop him from manhandling her, but he couldn’t force her to converse with him. She’d combat him with her silence and see how he liked that.
A flash in the trees near where they’d been standing caught in the corner of her eye. She searched along the area to capture it again, but it was gone. She encountered Jet’s raised brows. Discounting the fact that she wasn’t speaking to him, she definitely wasn’t going to tell him she was seeing things again. She jerked her attention back toward the front.
PURCHASE LINK:
I live in a California Castle with Prince Charming and a Magnificent Black Stallion. Okay, it’s a bungalow, a corporate husband and a small black pug who totes a sense of humor and lotsa attitude. But it is a dream. A real life dream to inspire the romantic suspense novels I write.
Website:
www.karencote.tv
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