Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 526

Snippet Saturday: Unusual Setting

The Book Dragon Contest continues!

Be sure to check out my

A Question…

I'm soooooo wiped out. Too much happening on the homefront. Yesterday, it was the Red-Headed Hellion's wedding. Today, it was painting grandma's newly converted garage suite. I hurt all over and need a week's sleep. So, you're lucky I showed up to play at all.

Here's the question…

If you had to choose your own epitath of eight words

or fewer, what would it say?

Road Trip — The Journey and Jesse

I know I'm getting the photos of my trip up slowly, but my life's crazy busy. The 6-year-old had a birthday party yesterday, so she's no longer "the six-year-old", and she had a list of favorite things she wanted to do: get a manicure with the girls, eat at McDonalds, and swim in the moonlight. Today, there's the Red-Headed Hellion's wedding to get through.

I still have pics to share, as well as some spooky happenings to relate. Wait until you see what my camera caught! But let's not get ahead of ourselves, which I did when I posted about Powell Gardens and Joplin, Mo.

What makes a good journey?

Great travel companions who are as eager to explore as you are.

Coffee. Lots of it. We didn't even make it out of our own home town without stopping for breakfast and getting two to-go cups to take with us!

A willingness to take chances. Like we did when we got hungry, just across the Missouri border and found this little diner. It didn't look like much from the outside. In a past life it was a gas station. But inside? Pure 50′s-60′s fun!

We chose to sit under the Marilyn Monroe wall. The food wasn't bad either!

A willingness to stop along the way and smell the flowers. These are wildflowers growing alongside the road.

Curiosity in following a sign pointing toward an outlaw's home place. The house itself isn't very impressive. Neither are the exhibits. And in fact, most of the house is newer, having been upgraded by Jesse's mom after his death. We were disappointed that so much of it wasn't as it really was when Jesse James lived there.

Around back there's a section of the house that's authentic. We couldn't take pictures inside, so I can't share pics of the furnishings or family pictures.

They say that old section is haunted and that Jesse's younger brother was killed there by Pinkerton men when they tossed a bomb inside. So I took a picture of the window to see what I might catch.

Now, some of y'all will say it's the trees or a trick of the light. But I see a face. I'm a writer. I'm allowed to let my imagination go.

* * * * *

Remember! The Book Dragon Contest continues! Find details listed here!

Guest Blogger: Marissa Day

TAM LIN AND THE ORIGINS OF

THE SURRENDER OF LADY JANE

or "Where I Didn't Get My Ideas From"

by Marissa Day

All things considered, traditional ballads and broadsheet songs are not a fertile source for good Romance. Seriously. If you are a hero or a heroine in, say, a Child ballad, your odds of successfully achieving the Happily Ever After are really, really small. You're far more likely to be betrayed by your lady love over a very small misunderstanding, which will cause you to die of a broken heart (Barbara Allen). Better yet, she could kill you herself over a badly timed joke and have her servants throw you in the backyard well (Proud Lady Margaret). On the heroine's side, you could be accidently shot because your lover turns out to have bad eyesight and you've got an unusually large apron (Polly Von), or the guy you thought was going to marry you could show up already married to another woman, after which she kills you, which causes him to kill her follows that up with his public suicide at the wedding feast (Fair Ellen). Alternately, you could elope with a guy who turns out to be a serial killer and have to chuck him in the ocean and then talk your parrot into not ratting you out (The Outlandish Knight).

Mothers are particularly hazardous to your Trad. Ballad couple. Your mother could leave your true love out in the cold (The Lass of Roch Royal), or you could get the double whammy where your mother curses you, and then the heroine's mother leaves you out in the cold (The Drowned Lovers). Fathers aren't any good either. They tend to do things like follow up the arrangement an advantageous marriage for you by trying to perform a public confirmation of your virginity, forcing you to either die of embarrassment or turn into a tree (The Arbutus). For an exciting variation, there's the possibility that your husband will murder both your shapeshifting lover and your son (The Great Selkie of Sule Skerry), or you could just get murdered by your jealous brunette of a sister on general principles (The Twa Sisters).

Of course, this is not a problem limited to the Scottish and British ballads. Do not even get me started on the dope slap needed by all the players in the traditional Appalachian ballad "The Long, Black Veil." I'm telling you, it is just not a grand ballroom of glamour and romance out there.

And yet, it was a traditional Ballad that furnished me with the basics for THE SURRENDER OF LADY JANE. The ballad was "Tam Lin."

"Tam Lin," is one of the Child ballads, and it has existed in various versions for hundreds of years on the Scottish borderlands (this according to its very own website: http://tam-lin.org/). But by the standards of traditional ballads, Tam Lin is different. For starters, we have a genuinely gutsy heroine, Janet. We also have a loyal hero, Tam Lin himself. Janet starts off the ballad by defying her father's injunction against going to a portion of her own lands, because there's supposedly a highwayman lurking there who has a bad habit of accosting passing maidens. In your normal ballad, this alone would be enough to cause Serious and Permanent Harm, but Janet follows it up by getting pregnant out of wedlock. This would usually be a death sentence for somebody. But in "Tam Lin," something happens that absolutely and without exception never happens in the traditional ballad.

The hero and the heroine talk to each other.

Janet explains she's with child. Tam, for his part, explains he's a prisoner of the fairy queen, and about to be made into a human sacrifice as part of a tithe to Hell. This, as you might imagine, constitutes something of a problem. However, Tam (because he is much smarter than your average Ballad Hero), also tells Janet how he can be set free. Janet, being smarter than your average Ballad Heroine, follows through on the instructions, and does free him. Not only do we have an HEA, but we have an early example of the importance of good communication in the maintenance of a healthy relationship.

I first read Tam Lin in a fat red book I found on my parent's shelves called A LITTLE TREASURY OF GREAT POETRY. Writers get asked a lot about their influences, and I have to say this beat up little book (which I still own), was one of mine. This is the book that also introduced me to "The Raven," "The Rubyiat (it's a smutty book! (bonus points if you can ID that quote)), "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (which I obsessed over when I was about ten, for no comprehensible reason), "Tom O' Bedlam," and more clean limericks than you might believe existed.

Reading those works that could be famous or obscure, tragic or funny, was my introduction not only to the power of poetry, but to poetry as the shortest and most difficult form of storytelling. And it all sank in. It did result in a brief phase of my writing shockingly bad verse, but that's okay. I didn't know it at the time, but I was developing my language muscles. No one can beat a poet for heavy lifting with language. A novelist has paragraphs and pages to work with. The labor and balance required by each phrase are spread out. A poem can turn on a single word, if the poet is good enough.

In that book, I met Shakespeare's sonnets, Shelly's observations, Byron's laments, and Carroll's nonsense, but it was the ballads I kept going back to. Even at their longest (see "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"), a ballad is a complete and relatively brief story. It's got plot, pacing, and character in compact and entertaining form. When it came to "Tam Lin," it had a hero and heroine deciding to trust to each other's courage so they could be together.

And that is the heart and soul of good Romance.

Read an exerpt of THE SURRENDER OF LADY JANE

It's green and scaly, but too cute to ignore!

A new contest is here with a very cool prize!

What can you win?

This lovely book dragon that I purchased as a pair from my favorite curio shop. It's small, but beautifully detailed.

What do you have to do?

Post comments on my blog or my Facebook page. Every comment you make over the next two weeks will count as one entry. How easy is that?

The contest ends July 18th!

And since you need something to start your commenting with other than, "It's so cute!", here's a question…

If you had a great voice and had the opportunity to record a duet with any singer living today, whom would you choose as your partner for the recording?

Happy 4th of July!

I'm playing today at Wild & Wicked Cowboys! Come join me. I've posted a sexy picture of a cowboy and need your help dreaming up a scene in a story to go along with it!

Road Trip — Powell Garden

The contest winners are listed at the bottom of this post!

Another of our stops (this one planned because the Red-Headed Hellion knows I love dinosaurs) was Powell Garden in Missouri. It's a lovely outdoor botannical garden which I might have stopped for anyway, but this summer they're featuring the "Jurassic Exhibit".

Plenty of pretty flowers and trees. Love them. Took pics of them.

We walked the couple-mile trail to find the dinosaurs lurking in the bushes. Rawr!

Chomp-chomp!

Grrrr!

Ya know, once upon a time I belonged to a monthly mail-order orchid club. I adore orchids. However, I found that the new orchid arrived just in time to replace the one I'd killed.

My daughter's not the only one with hambone gene. The six-year old's workin' it.

For those of you who remember my desperate tweets about how to get a melted chocolate bar off a Coach bag…that's the bag with my two travel companions.

She'll never be an actress. I asked her, "What would you do if you saw one of those for real?"

It was fun walking the route through the forested area and trying to pick out the dinosaurs they had hidden.

Anyone know what the name of this one is?

So, another installment of my road trip's done, but y'all want me to get to the good stuff, right? Like who won the two contests? Alright already. drumroll…

The winner of the cabbage rose fairy journal is…Stacy Wilson!

The winner of the Promo Ho $50 Amazon.com gift certificate is…Nicole Passante!

Ladies! Congrats and send me an email to coordinate delivery of your gifts. And I know I still owe a prize pack or two to a couple other winners. I'll get those out this week! ~DD

Snippet Saturdy — Family

I'll announce contest winners tomorrow! ~DD

* * * * *

Today's theme, Family, narrowed my choice of excerpts to the obvious story. Who better than the Kinzie brothers to define what family is? Three handsome, determined, like-minded siblings intent on capturing their girl…

"…Put into the mix three sexy brothers who happen to be cowboys and who are hot for one lucky female? You have a sexual, erotic masterpiece!" 5 Stars and Top Pick!, The Romance Reviews

"…Delilah Devlin just makes this type of story such an adventure as well as a hot ride… You will never go wrong with a Delilah Devlin story and you will never be disappointed." 5 Cherries, Whipped Cream Reviews

"Cleverly written, Breaking Leather breaks the mold when it comes to ménage stories… Highly recommend." Sizzling, 4 1/2 Stars, Sensual Reads

One for remembrance…one for healing…and one to seal her heart forever.

Chrissi Page has tried to find one man who heats her bed the way the Kinzie brothers did one shameful night years ago. She's failed miserably, leaving her with no choice but to bank that inner fire—and keep a lid on her inner bad girl.

She'd been weak, unable to choose between three men who appealed to her in different ways. And when they'd confronted her as a tease, anger had boiled over into a passion so wild, she's still trying to live it down.

Since that night, Ezra, Cade and Joshua have individually sown their wild oats with pretty much the entire available female population of Two Mule, Texas. Yet nothing erases the attraction they still feel for Chrissi. And when she ends up stranded on the road near their ranch, it's their last chance to turn their mutual obsession into an unusual proposition.

One weekend, three on one. If she can't stand the heat, they'll let her go on with her life. And try to find a way to live with the hole she'll leave behind in theirs.

Warning: A girl who thinks she can't have it all, and three brothers who set out to prove otherwise. One on one, two on one, and three on one; bondage in the wild; a bit of riding crop action. And a pickup truck load of emotion.

Chrissi watched Josh lead away his tall roan gelding and breathed a sigh of relief. She'd thought her worst fears had already been realized when Ezra arrived to rescue her. Seeing Josh and Cade, in close proximity to Ezra, had sent her body into apoplectic shock, stirring up all those old memories.

Foremost in her mind, she remembered skinny-dipping in the river with them. Innocent enough since Ezra was her boyfriend and had approved. And how could she resist when the three brothers had eagerly shed their clothes?

Sweet Jesus, the three of them, so alike and yet so different… She'd gotten love-drunk on the sight of them.

Ezra, older by only a year than the other two, had always seemed so much more mature. His body even then had been broad and sturdy—ripped from his shoulders to his calves. His size and strength had always made her feel safe, except during sex—but then his largeness and sexual intensity thrilled her, frightened her almost, she'd wanted him that badly.

Cade had been the quiet one. The nice one. Always courteous, always respectful, but his slow smile, so seldom seen, had had the power to melt her to her toes. And although the most reserved of the three, the memory of being held inside the circle of his strong arms whenever she'd suffered a fright was a cherished one.

And Josh, dear God, Josh was the golden child. Blond where the other two were dark-haired, his tall, lean body and the wicked glint in his crystal blue eyes, as though he was always ready for an adventure, had never failed to make her hot. How many times had she smoothed her thumb over that dimple in the center of his chin and warned him not to break a woman's heart? Why hadn't she taken her own damn advice?

That day by the river, the sight of their tall, tanned bodies, lined up prettier than any Chippendales' review, had sucked the air right out of her lungs.

She hadn't been as eager to get naked, feeling a little insecure among so much perfection, but they'd teased her, joking with each other, jostling and shoving until she'd laughed at their antics and joined them.

Even then she'd felt their combined illicit allure. Her nipples had prickled, her sex had tightened—but she'd been relieved to know she wasn't the only one affected as each of the boys' cocks had hardened.

They'd laughed, as though it was the most natural thing in the world to watch each other get hard. Her stare had lingered as she assessed their size, the slight upward curve of their shafts, the ruddy tan color that gave way to a reddish-purple at their fat, round crowns. When they'd grown silent, she'd dared an upward glance.

Ezra's steamy blue gaze had locked with hers. "Not anything to be ashamed of, Chrissi. We're guys. It's what happens when we're around a pretty girl. Only you can't always see it when we're dressed."

She'd thought about that often, wondering how many men walked around with hard-ons inspired by a stray glimpse of an attractive woman. Not something she wanted to think about, considering she'd been living like a nun for a very long time.

"Open the door," Ezra repeated, his voice sounding as rough as gravel. She shivered at the quiet intensity of his order. Even after all this time, she wanted to do exactly what he asked. However, she knew where her submission would lead.



She folded her arms over her chest and looked away.

The locks sprung. The door slammed open. Startled, she glanced up, but Ezra already had her wrist inside his hand and was pulling her from the seat.

She slid to the ground, stumbled against him, and felt that rock-hard chest she'd sighed over for years. Resisting the temptation to explore, she shoved away.

"You always this stubborn?" he bit out.

She tossed back her head. "Guess you don't know me as well as you thought."

"I know more than you think, Chrissi."

She arched an eyebrow. "You don't know me. You haven't for a very long time."

"I know you're wet."

Her jaw sagged.

He turned on his heel and walked away.

"Am not," she whispered furiously. She turned to pick up her purse where it had fallen from her lap to the dirt and closed the cab door. Then, stiffening her backbone, she strode toward the porch.

The screen door slammed behind him as he walked inside without giving her a backward glance. She hated it when he did that, pretended his mama hadn't taught him any manners, because she knew it was deliberate. Something he did when she disobeyed him. A punishment.

And he knew she liked punishment.

She gave a silent moan and climbed the steps. The sooner she placed that call the better. Already she felt some of her carefully erected reserve crumbling away beneath the liquid heat her proximity to Kinzie testosterone generated.

Entering the house, she noted that not much had changed since Mr. and Mrs. Kinzie had moved to Padre Island to enjoy their retirement. That had happened after Cade and Josh graduated; Ezra had already been in charge for a couple of years.

And word was that Ezra was a capable rancher. Fair to his employees and as hard-working as any hand. So were Josh and Cade, although Josh liked his playtime.

She'd heard about his exploits, all the women he'd been through. Gossip about the other two had been harder to glean, but she knew they hadn't been celibate for long after she'd departed their lives.

Even though it had been her decision, she'd still been hurt. She'd nursed an aching heart for a very long time. However, she knew she'd done the right thing. There wasn't anywhere their relationship could go but straight to hell.

She glanced around, looking for a phone, but her attention was caught by the warmth of familiar surroundings. Wooden floors, yellow walls, brown leather sofas and Indian rugs were cozy and inviting, even if the tall, vaulted ceiling and huge iron chandelier hinted at their wealth. The Kinzies didn't act like boys who'd been born with silver spoons in their mouths. They'd been raised to work hard. Something she'd liked about them from the start. Raised by a single mom on a tight budget, she hadn't let her head be turned by their wealth.

"It's nice seein' you here again."

She turned to find Josh right behind her. How had he gotten here so quickly? He was a big man, as tall as his brothers if a little leaner, but he moved with a pantherish grace. "You still like sneakin' up on women, I see."

His lopsided grin made her heart do a flip-flop. The dimple in the center of his chin kept him from being too beautiful, and lent him a roguish appeal. She'd never been able to hold a grudge against him. His boyish charm was infectious and got him out of all sorts of scrapes.

"I didn't sneak up on you. You seemed lost in thought. You remembering us?"

"Remembering what?" she deadpanned.

He arched an eyebrow. "Remember who you're talkin' to, missy. I knew all your secrets."

Including one big fat secret that had spelled the end of all her dreams. "And you blabbed them to your brothers. You shouldn't have told, Josh."

"I am truly sorry about that. It wasn't the time. I know that now."

"There was never a right time for what we did," she whispered harshly. She glanced blindly around, looking for a telephone. "Dammit, I don't want to talk about it. I just want to use your phone."

Josh's gaze slid away, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, there's gonna be a slight problem with that…"

She swung back. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Ezra removed all the phones from the house."

"What?"

Josh reached behind him and pulled something from his pocket. When he held up a screwdriver, he gave her a sheepish shrug. "I was in charge of disablin' your car."

Her eyes widened, and her heart began to thump hard inside her chest. "And Cade?" she asked, her tightening throat. "What was his part?"

"Oh, Cade was in charge of gettin' the room ready for you."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"We're kidnappin' you, kitten." His grin was wide, joyous even.

She stared at him like he'd grown two heads. "Are you insane?" she shouted. "You'll be arrested!"

"Only if you press charges. We're hopin' you won't."

She shook her head, dumbfounded. Her face was hot, her stomach lurching. Hadn't this been exactly what she'd been afraid of? "I think I'm gonna be sick."

His grin vanished. "Through here," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the bathroom just off the entrance.

Chrissi accepted the push of his hand at the back of her neck, bending over the bowl to empty her stomach. When she straightened, he handed her a moistened washcloth.

"Not the reaction we expected," he said quietly as she washed her hot face.

"What the hell did you expect?" she said, embarrassed and aiming a deadly glare his way.

Josh shrugged. "A lot of hollerin'."

"Ya think? Take me home."

He drew in a slow breath, all expression draining from his face. In place of his usual, affable smile, his tight features resembled Ezra's more than she would have believed. "I'm afraid I can't do that. We made a pact."

"A pact?" She knew she was echoing him, sounding stupid, but she still couldn't get her head around what was happening to her.

"All or nothin'," he said, nodding.

"All of what?"

"Us."

She didn't need it spelled out. She got his meaning in one hot second. "Then it's nothing," she croaked, her mouth drying instantly.

"We aren't acceptin' your answer. Not until Sunday. So don't even try to talk us out of it."

"You won't get away with this. When I don't show back up at the office—"

"Macy's in on it. She's not callin' the cops. She thinks Ezra's makin' a play to get you back. She thinks it's romantic."

"Macy doesn't have a heart. She'd never think a kidnappin' was romantic."

Josh's lips twitched. "They sent me to sweet-talk her."

"Bastard," she whispered, knowing exactly how Macy must have reacted. When Josh turned on the charm, there wasn't a woman who wouldn't melt. Even hardhearted Macy.

"You always said I had a silver tongue."

"But I bet it was your smile that did her in." She could have bit her lip for admitting that because his eyelids drifted down to give her a smoky glance.

"Does my smile bother you?"

"I'm immune."

"I don't believe you."

Yeah, she was a big, fat liar. She needed a little space to shore up those crumbling walls. "I have to pee."

He gave her a nod. "There's a new toothbrush in the drawer for you too. I'll be outside."

Listening? Like hell. "You don't have to hover over me. I'm not gonna throw up again."

"We aren't leavin' you alone this weekend. Not for a minute."

She shook her head, suddenly weary of thinking and of fighting the inevitable. "Why?"

"Because Ezra seems to think we bother you."

"Then wouldn't you want to bother me less?"

"Not that kind of bother. He thinks we still turn you on."

Chrissi felt ready to scream. Seven years, and they still read her like a book. "Ezra's an idiot. The only thing you three do is drive me crazy."

"Oh, I hope so, kitten."

She slammed the door in his face.

* * *

Cade sauntered up to Josh, who leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door. "How's she?"

"She threw up when I told what we'd done."

Cade grimaced. "Hell, do you think it's just food poisonin'?" Or could they really have frightened her so much she'd emptied her stomach? Cade didn't want to feel sorry for her. They had a plan they'd vowed to stick to no matter how pitiful she acted.

Josh grunted. "Think Ezra's right? That she makes a big show of avoidin' us because she never got over what happened?"

Cade glanced away and let out a deep breath. "Ezra knew her best. How about I take over now to reacquaint myself."

Josh gave him a quick smile. "Sounds like a good idea. She's a little perturbed with me at the moment. Where's Ezra?"

"Where do you think?"

"I might join him for a lap or two. Might relax me."

Cade watched Josh stride away to the pool, then leaned an ear against the door. He heard harsh mutters, a couple "dammits" and a "bastard". He felt a smile stretch his mouth. She couldn't be too scared if she was cussing rather than crying. The doorknob turned and he backed away, wiping his expression clear.

She glanced up, giving him a quick once-over before she met his gaze. "You the next shift?"

"I am," he said agreeably. "Thought I'd ask if you wanted a drink?"

"So you can loosen me up?"

"If you're afraid that's possible, I'll give you a soda."

Her eyes narrowed. "Only if I get to open the can."

"Are you afraid I'll slip something in your drink?" His lips twitched. "I think I'm almost insulted."

"You kidnapped me. I don't think there's much you wouldn't dare."

"Only when it comes to you, sugar."

Chrissi rolled her eyes. "Don't 'sugar' me. You are not gonna wear me down. I don't want to be here."

Cade ignored that last statement, taking heart from the fact her grumbling sounded halfhearted. "Would you like a drink? I'm havin' a beer. It's hot out there."

She let out a deep sigh, and he noticed the lines of tension around her lips. She looked tired.

"How about I promise that we won't make any moves. That we'll spend the evening just havin' a nice relaxing time. It'll be like old times, before…"

"Even if we wanted to, we can't go back." Her glance slid away, and her mouth twisted. "I missed us, you know. We were friends."

Cade barely resisted the urge to slide his hands around her and draw her close. If anyone needed a hug more, he'd never seen it. "You trusted us. We let you down."

"Yes, you did. But I should have had better sense too."

"See? We were young and stupid. We don't have to be enemies." When her expression eased, he gave her a small, coaxing half-smile. "Want a beer?" He held out his hand, holding his breath until she tentatively slid her palm inside his.

He'd always known he was attracted to her, that he'd yearned for her for years, but he hadn't really known how much he missed her until that precise moment. Her hand felt just right—small, slender, warm. He tightened his grip and gave her a guarded smile. Not enough to make her worry, he hoped.

He turned and pulled her behind him, like old times, drawing her deeper into the living room to the bar at the far wall. He opened the fridge and grabbed two Shiner Bocks, uncapped them and handed her a bottle. He held his up until she klinked her glass against it.

They both took a long draw from their bottles.

Her sigh when she set it down was louder than his. A faint smile tugged up one corner of her mouth. "It's been a long day. I needed that."

"Heard you were up at the Dunstan place," he said. "How's Lettie doin'?"

Her smile was tight, but it was a start. "Fine. She's eager to move in with her sister in town. They plan to go to bingo on Tuesdays and have pedicures every Friday." She gave a little laugh. "Don't get me wrong, I know she misses her husband, but she seems ready to move on."

"She deserves a little fun. Couldn't have been easy livin' out there, the two of them, for so long. Gets lonesome."

"Do you get lonesome?" Her lips pressed together. "Scratch that. It's none of my concern."

Cade leaned back against the bar, resting on his elbows, then gave her a waggle of his eyebrows. "Admit it. I'm gettin' to you."

She shook her head ruefully. "All three of you are getting on my nerves. I want to go home."

"And you will," he said, nodding. "Come Sunday—if you still want to."

Her face grew serious as she eyed him. "I don't believe you of all people went along with this."

"Because I'm so boring?"

"No, because you're the most honorable."

He remembered the biggest test of that honor—she did too by the shadow that crept across her face. He'd failed her, going along with his brothers. "There's not a day we don't regret what went down. The way it happened anyway. It was the wrong place."

"It was just plain wrong. Every part of it." She set her beer on the bar.

"I won't ever believe that."

"Why don't you all find some other girl to tag team," she bit out, an underlying tremor in her voice. "I'm sure there's a whore or two in town who'd be only too happy to oblige."

"That's what you think we made you?"

Her mouth trembled, the corners turning down, and she wrapped her own arms around herself. Giving herself the comfort he wished she'd let him offer.

Hoping to distract her from unpleasant memories, he pushed from the bar. "Day's nice. Let's head out to the patio and rest a spell."

She gave a vague nod, and followed him as he headed toward the French doors and the sounds of water lapping against the sides of the pool. Ezra would know how to reach her. She'd always trusted in his strength. No matter how bad things were now, he had to hope that deep down she knew she could lean on at least one of them.

* * *

Chrissi dragged her feet as she followed Cade to the pool. Another of those places that she'd just as soon forget. She remembered the time after Mr. Kinzie's heart attack, when the boys' parents had taken a vacation to reaffirm their gratitude to both be alive and together. Ezra had had a tough time, stepping into his dad's shoes, when the ranch hands and his brothers hadn't learned to respect an eighteen-year-old, no matter how big and smart he was.

She'd lived for the hours when he'd finished up working for the day. They'd escape to the pool, take a leisurely swim then lay naked in each other's arms on one of the loungers. It had been an unspoken thing between his brothers and him that those hours were his time, that no one was to interrupt.

She'd savored the attention and loved even better that he'd turned to her for comfort and escape from all his worries. She'd been deeply in love with him for years, but even though she'd been the only girl he dated, she hadn't been sure he returned the feelings, at least not to the degree she felt them.

Cade leaned against the boulder next to the pool, watching his brother skim below the surface, then turned his head to watch her.

Chrissi ignored him, glancing into the pool. Then she couldn't take her gaze from Ezra's honed body. She felt a moment's satisfaction knowing that he was bothered by what had passed between them on the road and inside his truck—that she'd driven him to this. Swimming was his release valve.

She wasn't surprised that he was nude. And right now, despite what she knew he wanted to have happen this weekend, it didn't feel like a gratuitous peep show. His powerful arms and thighs cut through the water, his face breaking the surface now and then for him to gulp for air. At the far end of the pool, he curled like the competitive swimmer he'd been and shot toward the opposite side again.

Chrissi watched him, her skin getting hotter, her belly cramping, not from any nausea but from desire so strong she knew she was past resisting.

She heard a scrape beside her, felt hands cup the notches of her hips and pull.

For all of a second, she resisted, and then she melted against Cade, her breath leaving in a long sigh. She didn't want to be this easy. But what was the point? "Cade?" she whispered, giving a little moan as he kissed her cheek, her temple.

"Yes, baby?" he said, gliding his hands over her belly, then up to cup her breasts through her clothing.

"Go away."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Be sure to check out the snippets on these other authors' blogs:

Jody Wallace

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Taige Crenshaw

Sasha White

Shelli Stevens

T.J. Michaels

Road Trip — Joplin, MO

I was away for a week on a trip that I wanted to be purposely spontaneous. Does that make sense? We had a destination—my brother's house in Des Moines—but we wanted to be able to stop and explore whatever struck our interest.

The first day out, we drove north from Arkansas and were barely into Missouri when the sign off the Interstate read "Joplin". We'd watched the newscasts of the aftermath of the powerful tornado that hit there and wondered just how bad it really was.

It was worse than we'd imagined.

Pigs flew. Don't know why this struck me as wrong, but the only sign of damage at this restaurant was to…well…the sign!

Home Depot had their act together. Their entire store had been flattened, but they'd already had the wreckage pushed to one side of their huge lot and erected this large tent with building supplies.

I guess Walmart's taking their time with the insurance adjusters.

I hope no one was inside this car when the tornado hit.

This neighborhood was obliterated.

I stood in one spot and turned 360-degrees. This is what the entire area looked like.

Why did one house's shell remain when so many others were laid to waste?

I don't know how more people weren't killed.

This looks like the aftermath of a huge explosion, minus the scorching.

The sign read: "God Knows. God Cares. And he has already worked it out."

We weren't there long. I felt like a rubbernecker at an accident. Ashamed by my fascination. We moved along and found a hotel for the evening. I'll be back with more pics of happier sights.

Your Favorite 5 Heart Review?

Begging for It has been accumulating some very good reviews lately, plus inclusion in the "5 Heart Sweetheart of the Week" list at The Romance Studio—which could use your vote to win!

Here's the link: Vote for Sweetheart

If you haven't read the book, take a look at the following raves to see whether this might be a book you'd be interested in…

"…I absolutely loved this book and mostly because of TJ. TJ's character was very complex and very realistic… With these two dynamic characters, the emotional pull of this story was outstanding… As TJ dealt with her nightmares, the horror came across and the reality of war slammed out. Emotions ran the gamut and reached out to draw you in." ~5 Stars and Top Pick, Night Owl Reviews

"…Delilah Devlin is at her finest with BEGGING FOR IT! BEGGING FOR IT is a steamy stirring novella that shreds the confines of societal norms to give us a beautifully real story… It is heartbreaking but real. Yes, this is a very hot erotic novella but the story really spoke to me… BEGGING FOR IT is outrageous and perfectly delicious!" ~Joyfully Reviewed

"…This story is an emotional rollercoaster that will make you laugh, cry, and overheat… Devlin weaves an enthralling tale around these two main characters, and that's before taking into account the scorching and erotic sex scenes that'll have you squirming in your seat. It's a novella that's impossible to put down, a definite gem worth reading again and again." ~5 Hearts, The Romance Reviews

Still not sure? Read an excerpt!

Yes, contest winners and pictures from the trip are still coming…