Dare to Dance

Dare to Dance

Lainey Bancroft



Blurb:

The 3-D Club==deceived, discarded and divorced==coerce Alex into performing at a gentleman’s club in an effort to help her shake her inhibitions, and the damage her ex-husband inflicted on her during their half-dead marriage. How could Alex know a few bumps and grinds will land her in the arms of her first love?

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Excerpt:

“Coyote Ugly. That’s it!" Riana crowed. "You better figure out how to howl at the moon, girlfriend. We registered you at Coco’s Gentlemen’s Club for the ‘Dare to Dance’ night.”

“The strip club?" Alexandra felt her gorge rise. "Dare to bare is more like it.”

“Nah, it’s a burlesque routine. They don’t want to see actual nudity, just a tease," Suzette qualified. "Ditch those granny-panties and shake it, baby.”

“I can’t.” She pressed a hand to the mix-master stirring her gut.

“Please, don’t make me do this.”

A waiter finally arrived, delivering a pitcher of margaritas and three salt-rimmed glasses. She poured with a shaking hand and downed half her drink in one healthy gulp. “Please don’t make me do this,” she mumbled again, growing dizzy at the thought of parading around on a strip club stage.

Riana laughed. “Shake that junk in your trunk. You’ve got it. Flaunt it.”

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Praise for Dare to Dance . . .

Dare To Dance is a darling short story by Lainey Bancroft. Alex is courageous, even if she won’t admit it, and a wonderful woman. Life has not always been easy for her and she is determined not to let it get her down. Matt has spent years longing for Alex but he didn’t feel he was good enough for the beautiful woman. Now that he has her in his arms he is determined to claim the woman who got away. I loved his determination to reclaim Alex. I loved this story and it stayed in my mind long after the last page. I would love to know where the characters are today and how their relationship developed. An enjoyable read, Dare To Dance has its place on my keeper shelf!

Reviewed by Tara Renee Two Lips Reviews 5/5

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Bio:

As a full time mother to a teenaged daughter and son, pet wrangler of two spoiled labs and one ornery cat, part time bookkeeper, chief cook, bottle washer, and oh yeah, writer, Lainey Bancroft leads an active, fun filled life.


Drop by her blog at http://www.elaineforlife.com/myBloggie/ where she gabs and giggles about everything from the path to publication, to gardening, groceries, and Gas, who she’s been married to for eighteen years.


Dare to Dance is the first story in Lainey’s 3-D Club trilogy, available now at The Wild Rose Press

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Buy ~ Dare to Dance, Last Rose of Summer Line ~ $1.50

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Lainey's Contest

A free pdf of book 2, Waiting to Waltz for one randomly drawn comment on the Break Time Blog who tells me what the trio of friends is drinking. C'mon , it's a giveaway. All you have to do is read the excerpt and you could win!

(Lainey, caught your post on Denyse's Loop ;o)

The Perfect Candidate

The Perfect Candidate

by Tricia Ballad

Blurb:

Caroline Lakehurst lept at the chance to manage her own project team at ACG Marketing. Now she’s wondering if instead she jumped into an endless cycle of long hours and deadlines that threaten her growing relationship with Joshua Walters.She has one last interview on Friday afternoon before their date. Caroline hopes to heal the cracks she sees forming in their relationship, before it’s too late - but Joshua has other plans...

Can Caroline save her relationship before it's too late?

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Excerpt:

Caroline went into her office and closed the door. What could Joshua need to talk about so urgently that he’d call twice in one afternoon? Could he finally have had it with her lack of time for him? She took a deep breath and told herself if he was calling to say he was finished with her, she could remain calm—at least until she hung up the phone. Before she had a chance to imagine life without Joshua, Caroline dialed his number. A strangling wave of loneliness swept over her at the thought he might not be there by the time she finally got through the endless pile of work on her desk.

The phone rang three times as she paced the room. Finally, he answered, his voice strong and confident. “Joshua Walters.”

Caroline closed her eyes and savored the image of the man she loved. He kept his sandy brown hair pulled back in a shoulder-length ponytail, but a few wisps inevitably escaped. His body was toned and muscular from long hours of heavy labor, and his pale blue eyes always seemed to be laughing.

“Hi, Joshua,” Caroline said as she neatened the piles of paperwork on her desk. ”Look, I’m sorry I didn’t call you back the other day. I finally got out of the office around seven o’clock, and I just went home and crashed. I meant to call you back first thing this morning, but— ”

“—Hey, sweetheart,” his gentle, solid voice cut her off. “Slow down. Everything okay?”

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Bio:
Learn more about Tricia Ballad at her website:
http://www.TriciaBallad.com

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~Buy~

The Perfect Candidate, by Tricia Ballad is available at The Wild Rose Press

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The Dragon of Croatia

by Valerie Everhart





Blurb:


Gavriel Dimitrios, the dragon of Croatia is loose and with vengeance on his mind. Stubborn Callie Stewart, the woman responsible for his release from the ancient stone tablet may be too cozy with the smugglers Gavriel has vowed to capture. Their shared passion and deceit has the Adriatic Sea at a boiling point as they delve into caves and race across islands, into the very heart of danger.

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Excerpt:

Excitement quickened through her. Then she saw something that she would never forget. On the east side of the hall. A relief on a wall, showing a woman wrapped in the sun, with the moon at her feet, her hair blowing out around her. To the side, she was threatened by a large dragon, his mouth opened wide. She shone her light first on the woman, then the dragon- and caught her breath. His scales a brilliant flame of glitter like diamonds reflected the light back to her. Shimmering ice like brilliance.

The more she stared at the picture the more she wondered the purpose of the dragon. Maybe he wasn't threatening the woman. Could it be he was protecting her? Then it changed again. To Calie, it looked like the dragon hungered for the woman. Her imagination was running wild. Dragons always hungered for women.

She needed to go back and find what the men had left here. That was her first concern. But she was too fascinated by the dragon. It looked as if he watched her now. She turned away, a shiver slithered through her, a tingling that felt sexual pulled at her. She stepped back from the dragon. That was when her eyes found the bundle. Back behind a ledge, to the right, a cloth peeked out from some smaller rocks.

She walked over and crouched down, the dragon and woman forgotten for the moment. She pulled the burlap back from the bundle. This wasn't what the men brought; they had huge bundles of something. This was too small. It was a stone tablet with hieroglyphics. She recognized some of the symbols from studying the bascanska ploca, the famous baska stone tablet, which had been discovered in Croatia ten years earlier. Probably something a schoolteacher might not know, but an agent sent to apprehend smugglers, might.

Most of it she couldn't decipher. However, she only recognized about every fifth symbol. She studied each mark, frustration building with her inability to decipher the symbols. Moving her finger to the next line there was a space empty of any symbols; a gap of about four inches. Then more symbols. However, these characters were different. She didn't recognize any of the writing, and it was far smaller hieroglyphs. She ran her fingertips over the symbols, hoping for some enlightenment. Her brain didn't recognize anything. She shivered again, much like she did while studying the dragon. A frisson of excitement ran through her. Her nipples hardened. She glanced at the dragon on the wall. A picture burst forth in her head. A dragon taking flight in the air. A brilliant shot of light. The wall shimmered, seemed to come to life. She realized she was no longer in the cave, but on the ground, in a clearing. While the dragon circled overhead.

He landed on a rock outcropping, and the gleaming dragon became a man, huge, tall and heavily muscled, bulging arms and a massive chest.

Lethargic, she could do nothing but watch his approach. His head swung around scenting danger, his gaze honed on her, and his head tilted, as if unsure of where he was also. It reduced her anxiety. He was magnificent. If she thought the dragon was awesome, the man was tremendous. Dark flowing hair, taut rippled muscles. He approached her cautiously. He didn't seem threatening to her. He was a stranger. Her dragon stranger.

He knelt in front of her. She wasn't wearing her caving equipment. In fact, she wasn't wearing anything. All the dirt and grime was gone. She no longer smelled of coconut butter and sweat. This was one terrific fantasy. Unclothed, no wonder he didn't hesitate in approaching her. Not that he was wearing much more than she.

He touched her then, gently drawing her slowly toward him. Her heart pounded. His hands brushed through her curly short hair, tussling it. His dark eyes deepened as he stared hungrily at her; focused only on her. Her mouth went dry. He pulled her into the shelter of his large frame, blocking out everything around them. Her insides were melting, going up in flame, and she took a deep breath. She felt his rippling muscles, his scent masculine and sexy. She reached up and laid her hand on his chest, and felt his steady pounding heart. She raised her gaze to him and was lost in the pool of burning desire she saw there. She could only stare up at him. His fingertips brushed her throat, and sent fire racing through her blood. He bent his head and kissed her. Mind blowing, drugging kisses that she never wanted to stop. His tongue swirling over her lips, capturing her tongue. A soft moan escaped her. Sensations increased.

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Bio link: http://www.valerieeverhart.com/contact.html

~Buy~ The Dragon of Croatia $3.00

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