An extended excerpt & #Giveaway from Tara Quan’s upcoming release, OPERATION OWL
Tara Quan’s Operation Owl Tour of the Capital
~ The Key Bridge ~
I owe Jessica a huge thank you for hosting me today. I’m trying something new, which is to chat up my book prior to getting a firm release date. Because of my impending move to Rome, I may soon experience a prolonged Internet blackout and have prescheduled my stops. To the best of my knowledge, my latest multicultural romance from Decadent Publishing comes out some time in July 2014 (so, depending on when you stumble upon this blog, it might be available now). For updates as well as a chance to win a $25 gift card, drop by my website: TaraQuan.com/Owl
In honor of the place I consider home (what the government terms the National Capital Area), I’m dedicating the posts on this tour to Washington, D.C. and its surrounding suburbs. The romantic comedy I’m very blatantly promoting is set entirely in the US capital. A Beyond Fairytales adaptation of The Owl by Brothers Grimm, Operation Owl features a geeky hacker hero and his bookish best friend. They team up to expose a cyber conspiracy at the heart of the US government and end up indulging in some other equally exciting activities.
In this excerpt, I’m sharing a location in the capital over which I’ve walked, run, bused, and biked across a number of times. Lots of memories here, as well as awesome views of the Potomac River. I’m going to miss it.
Waypoint: The Key Bridge (an excerpt from Operation Owl)
“Fuck.” Zack swore as dark gray clouds unleashed a torrential downpour. They were on the Key Bridge, crossing from Northern Virginia to Washington, D.C. After having taken advantage of almost every means of public transport, to include the Capital Bike Share, they weren’t far from where they’d started this journey. Covering the last leg of the roundabout trip on foot ensured their safety, and, as his deplorable luck would have it, might result in pneumonia.
Maya walked next him, her shoulders slumped and her feet dragging. It didn’t take long for the steady rain to plaster her hair and sweatshirt to her body. Thank God, the top reached past her pert little butt. Considering the drenched condition of his own T-shirt and jeans, he was pretty sure her thin pajama shorts were now see-through.
The dark circles under her eyes were far more visible now than they’d been on the train two hours ago, and she hadn’t spoken a word in the past five minutes. He’d known her long enough to tell when her proverbial battery blinked red. “I’ll flag a cab.”
She glared daggers at him as she pointed at the bumper-to-bumper traffic. “It’s after nine on a Saturday. You’re not going to get a cab anywhere in the vicinity of Georgetown.” Pulling the sweatshirt hood over her already wet hair, she marched forward. “Wherever we’re going, we’d better be almost there.”
With her strides so short, it took him two steps to catch up. “Want a piggyback ride?”
“No.” Her response sounded like a growl.
He overtook her and stood in her path. “You’re limping.”
She pointed at her bare toes. “I have multiple blisters and I twisted my ankle getting off the damn bike. I told you riding without helmets was a bad idea.”
“Your foot got hurt, not your head. And why didn’t you wear sneakers?” Probably not the smartest response, considering the circumstances leading up to this moment.
She fisted her hands on her hips as she continued forward. “There was no time to tie the laces, and you didn’t tell me we’d be taking a scenic tour of three different states.”
Since she seemed unfazed by the prospect of ramming him, he started walking backward. “D.C. isn’t technically a state.”
“Tell that to my legs.” She kicked a puddle and sent water spraying over his jeans. Already soaked through, the additional wetness didn’t really matter. At least the temperature remained in the upper 70s.
He lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Look. I know you’re tired. I swear we’ll fix that in about fifteen minutes.”
When she didn’t stop walking, he grabbed her waist. “Stop throwing a tantrum and let me help.”
Her eyes narrowed before her muscles relaxed against his fingers. Maya had a short fuse when her blood sugar dropped below optimum levels, or when she didn’t get her eight hours of beauty sleep, but her self-awareness made it easy to calm her down. “I’m sorry. I’m just hungry.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “I know. You didn’t use to apologize this quickly.”
“I’ve grown up.” Her face scrunched into a mock pout. “I’m even over the legal drinking age now.”
He tried not to focus on the droplets of water trailing down her bare legs. “I would offer to carry you cheesy RomCom style, but my biceps aren’t as strong as my lats.”
Her lips curving, she playfully squeezed his upper arm. Her eyebrows lifted when she pressed down on hard muscle. He didn’t bother resisting the urge to preen. “Since when do you use bodybuilder jargon?”
“Since when do you work out?” He couldn’t help but notice the toned shape of her legs.
To his surprise, she shifted one leg behind the other, her expression almost shy. “I didn’t have much of an excuse with a gym next to my apartment. Besides, have you seen all the women in my neighborhood?”
He had noticed a high density of chicks running around in yoga pants and sports bras, many of whom had infants strapped to their chests. Arlington and San Francisco seemed to have quite a bit in common. “I guess we’re both susceptible to peer pressure. Now that we’ve established my physical fitness, why don’t you hop on my back?”
“I thought we also established I’m not a wimp.” She gave him a scathing look. “I can walk.”
Turning around, he patted her shoulder. “Even Wonder Woman can have princess feet. Come on, you know you want to.”
He heard what sounded like a splashing stomp but soon felt her little hands against his back. “Fine, but only because this is all your super-paranoid fault. The bus would have been just as safe.”
Bending his knees so she could grab his shoulders, he reached back and hooked his arms under her thighs. Needing a distraction from the warm, smooth skin against his palms, he argued, “I learned a while back caution pays off. I didn’t want to take any chances.” Not with her safety on the line.
She hopped up and looped her arms around his neck. “I’m heavier than I look, aren’t I?”
Having her luscious body pressed up against him, her breath warming his nape, bothered him a great deal more than the added weight. “I’ve heard muscle weighs more than fat.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.” She nipped his earlobe.
Blood rushed to his groin. Fearing he might drop her, he took a calming breath. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What do you think?” Her lips continued to graze his ear.
He put one foot in front of the other. “I’m glad your mood’s improved, but stop playing,” he gritted out. “If we want to stay friends, we need to be careful. You know it as well as I do.”
She rested her chin against his shoulder. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The time to put his cards on the table had come and gone but better late than never. “You know damn well I want to kiss you.”
“Of course.”
He almost tripped. “What do you mean, ‘of course’?”
~ * ~ * ~
And thus concludes my Capital Area tour for the day. Follow along at TaraQuan.com/Owl as I continue my tour at the blogs of some awesome romance authors.
OPERATION OWL
a Beyond Fairytales story
by Tara Quan
Five years ago, Maya Jain kissed her best friend only to have him run out of her dorm room and leave the state. When he shows up in Washington, D.C., a wanted fugitive sought after by every branch of the US government, she can’t bring herself to ignore his plight. As their physical relationship picks up where it left off, she decides it’s time to make him see her as more than the bespectacled, bookish girl he once called “Owl.”
After being accused of espionage and treason, Zack Strong needs a forensic accountant to help clear his name. Not knowing who he can trust, this white-hat hacker has no choice but to ask his former best friend and math tutor for help. Together they unravel a cyber conspiracy at the Barn, an NSA facility tasked to intercept electronic communications. But as they traverse the nation’s capital to avoid capture, Maya insists on letting their simmering sexual tension take its natural course. Even though he’s never been able to shake the memory of their one kiss, he refuses to let her give up her life for a man with no future.
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Comedy, Multicultural
Available soon from: Amazon | B&N | All Romance | Decadent | Goodreads
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Globetrotter, lover of languages, and romance author, Tara Quan has an addiction for crafting tales with a pinch of spice and a smidgen of kink. Inspired by her travels, Tara enjoys tossing her kick-ass heroines and alpha males into exotic contemporary locales, fantasy worlds, and post-apocalyptic futures. Armed with magical powers or conventional weapons, her characters are guaranteed a suspenseful and sensual ride, as well as their own happily ever after. Learn more at www.taraquan.com
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