Laura Breck |
I like
a longer book. I listen to audio books at night because after twelve or fourteen
hours staring at my computer, my eyes need a break. And I enjoy longer books
because they give me a good reason to shut down my laptop and get to bed at
night.
I
listen to Linda Lael Miller's cowboy books. She's an amazing writer, and the
man who narrates her books has a fantastic voice. JR Ward's Black Dagger
Brotherhood books are also nice and long, and yep, the narrator's voice is
really great, too.
Short
books are fun, and I'll download them to my Kindle, but for some reason, those
long, detailed books just draw me in and hold me. It's comforting to stay
immersed in a book's setting for a week or two. I really get to know the
characters, and they walk beside me during the day when I let my mind wander.
To make
a book like Dancing in a Hurricane interesting through all those many pages, I
add secondary characters who have their own plot line. In Dancing, Marisa and
Rico have a plot that a couple reviewers have said they enjoyed just as much as
Bree and Sixto's story. I like to hear that. It makes writing that long, long,
long story rewarding.
Do you like the longer stories, or are
shorter books your favorites? Leave a comment for a chance to win an ecopy of
Dancing in a Hurricane. Thank you!
Book
Blurb: A Seduction as Overpowering as a
Hurricane
When her twin sister dies, Bree Prentis moves
from Seattle to Miami to inherit a shadowy business, an upscale house, and her
sister’s sexy Cuban business partner and housemate, Sixto Doria. She adjusts to
the vivid culture of Miami, but constantly bumping into Sixto is straining her
hands-off vow. Bree is looking for a man to give her a happily ever after, and
Sixto has sworn off relationships. He knows it’s wrong to want her, but she
makes him forget why he's not right for her, makes him crave her natural honesty
and wholesome beauty.
When he teaches her to dance the Salsa
Cubana, then suggests she spend the night in his bed, Bree is shocked—and
tempted. In the midst of a hurricane, Bree surrenders to her reckless desire
and makes love with Sixto. Could Bree be the one Sixto's been waiting for? If
she finds out he’s hiding a nasty truth from her—their company is a façade for
a semi-legal business—she will shut it down, and Sixto will lose the income his
family depends on. And more frightening for Sixto, he would lose Bree.
When she researches their company’s
outrageous revenue, she sees a pattern of untruths leading back to Sixto. The
word ‘love’ enters their relationship, and she prays his duplicity is all a
misunderstanding, and his seduction is not merely a distraction to keep her
from discovering the truth.
Excerpt:
Bree nodded and stood, a Barbie and a male action figure
in her hands. "Someday." She looked up at Sixto. "Maybe we can
exchange our secrets."
"We will, Bree." He stepped closer.
"Soon." His breath grew shallow. It was time to talk to her, but even
the impressive amount of Jack Daniels in his gut didn't keep fear from
surfacing.
He took the Barbie from her. "No clothes?"
"I'm guessing one or more of your nephews wanted to
see what Barbie has going on."
"Used to do the same thing myself." He reached
for the GI Joe. "Funny. I'd always pretend Joe was my brother."
She let out a startled laugh. "Really? Why?"
He looked at her. "I lived in a house with six
women. When I was a kid, the one thing I desired most in life was a
brother."
"I don't blame you."
He gave an exaggerated shiver. "You can't
imagine." She'd had a lot of grief from her one sister. Multiply that by
five. He posed Joe and Barbie in seated positions and set them on the table.
"When I went to buy toys for the nephews, I spent a half hour in the
action figure aisle reconnecting with my bros."
She sighed. "That's so sweet."
"I don't know. Maybe crazy. I bought one Joe of each
color." He grinned. "And a hundred dollars worth of accessories."
"It was like Christmas for you."
"Yeah. I've always thought it would be nice to have
a son to…" What the heck was he saying? "Sorry. I'm a little
snorked."
Bree glanced away. "I couldn't tell." She
picked up an empty beer bottle and carried it to the bar. "Seems like
we've both been drinking too much lately."
"You're right." He crossed his arms. "Why
do you think we do it?"
She glanced at him and then busied herself wiping off the
top of the bar. "Escaping."
"Escaping what?" He knew what he hid from.
Commitment. But her?
She shrugged as she washed her hands. "Some things
are too difficult to face head on."
"Evasive answer."
Squaring her shoulders, she met his stare. "I'm not
'snorked' enough to start this conversation." Her voice held accusation.
He wasn't going to let her ruin this perfect evening. The
music changed to a slow beat and he walked toward her. "I know what'll get
you talking." He held out his hand. "Dance with me?"
She hesitated then sighed, her face softening with a sly
smile. When she came out from behind the bar, she slid her hand in his. Her
expression, her trembling grip, told him everything he needed to know. She was
in love with him. My God, how did he deserve this? He pulled her into his arms.
Instead of a dance, it became an embrace. His confused, overwhelming, anxious
emotions grabbed a hold of her and wouldn't let go.
She wrapped herself around him just as tightly and his
entire body heated. Her forehead nestled against his neck, her breath caressing
his chest.
"I want to tell you," his voice came out
unsteady. "It's more than physical."
She gasped in a breath. "Oh, Sixto, you don't know
how long I've been waiting for you to realize that. It's the same for me. I
don't understand how this happened between us, but it's strong. I can't fight
it—I don't want to."
"I had a tough time recognizing it." He hated
the weakness, the fear, that kept him from her for this long.
She pulled back and looked at him. "This last week.
Did you… Were you with someone?" Her eyes seemed wary, one wrong word from
him and she would shatter like crystal.
"I should have told you sooner. That first night,
after we went to Target, I ended up drinking at a bar. Élian came to pick me
up, but I wasn't ready to leave. Then Rico showed up and they hauled me out. I
slept on their couch."
"But you were gone nearly the whole week." Her
voice sounded so childlike, it killed him that he'd hurt her.
"I was avoiding you—the ultimatum? Leave you alone
or sell the house to you."
She nodded, waiting for more.
"There is a third choice." He ran a hand up her
spine, under her hair, to the nape of her neck. Every inch of her was soft,
silky, her skin, her hair.
Waiting one more second would destroy him. He lowered his
lips to hers, gently brushing against her mouth. His shaft, already hard,
jerked to attention, sucking the blood from his brain.
He kissed her, their lips touching, opening over her
tentative kiss. Her breath was sweet, he breathed her in, wanting every
molecule of her.
She pulled him closer, her hands on his back.
Tasting her with his tongue, he heard her breathy moan,
she parted her lips, tentatively, softly, like the petals of a rose. Jeez, he sounded
like a poet. Maybe this was what he needed in his song writing. Something
beautiful to sing about.
She opened for him, he moved his tongue into her mouth,
touched her teeth. Her tongue licked his, making him insane for her. He stepped
closer, pulling her up off the concrete, needing to possess all of her. He
lapped at her, sucking her tongue, tasting the insides of her cheeks, her lips,
loving the shy way she responded, learned from his kiss.
Her tongue swirled around his, she ran the tip over his teeth
and traced his lips. Perfect, the most entrancing kiss he'd ever shared. His
body was fevered, ready to make her his woman. Everything he wanted in a
lover—in a love. He would carry her to his bed.
~ ~ ~ ~
I hope
you enjoy the book!Laura
~Smart Women ~Sexy Men ~Seductive Romance
LauraBreck.com
Dancing in a Hurricane is available as an ebook at Amazon and paperback at Amazon and Createspace
2 comments:
Good question, Laura. I'll admit, I'm always crunched for reading time, so I tend to go shorter. Even a 300 page book will take me a month to read. I miss those days of sinking into the luxury of a long book.
When I was younger, I loved long, long books. Now it seems I rarely read anything more than about 100K words, and many are shorter. However, when a richly detailed, complex book really draws me in, I LOVE it! I think the last long book I read was the final Harry Potter book, and I could hardly bear to put it down.
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