The finale of Erika and Darien's epic
rollercoaster romance.
How can Erika
prove to herself and Darien that she loves and trusts him? Simple. All she has
to do is jump out of a plane.
Concerned for his fiancée, Erika Bailey’s safety, rock
star Darien Scott races to Bangkok to protect her, only to discover his brother
is missing. Fearing the worse, he contacts his nemesis, Gan, and makes a
repulsive deal that will free his brother and protect Erika’s club, The Pink
Flamingo. Or so he thought. When a python and Gan are involved, things go sour,
and Darien sinks into a deep depression.
Erika is disheartened by the betrayal of her parents.
Her father's destruction of her club, and the humiliation of her mother’s
drunken behavior have her feeling down, but those are the least of her worries.
She has a wedding to plan, but won’t. Having been betrayed too often, she’s
scared to trust Darien.
How can Erika prove to herself and Darien that she
loves and trusts him? Simple. All she has to do is jump out of a plane.
At - eXtasybooks
Excerpt
Sweat
streamed off Darien’s brow. Some dripped into his eyes. It stung. His heart
throbbed against his ribs. Fire inched down his throat. Every muscle in his
body ached. His head pounded from the pandemonium. The explosions. The screams.
The pain threatening to split his skull. Dropping his head back, he closed his
eyes. His chest heaved as he gulped air. He needed a moment. Get some strength
back.
The screams
grew louder.
Damn.
He inhaled
and released a long breath.
They wanted
him. He had to continue. To perform. Like a trained monkey. Do people even do that anymore? Train monkeys? He peeled his eyes
open. The glare of the overhead lights blazed down at him. He lifted his head.
The screams grew louder.
“Oh. So, you
want more?”
But what if I don’t have any more?
What if I just can’t continue? Twelve weeks. Four shows a week. I’m beat.
The roar from
eighty thousand Parisians was tumultuous. Fans yelled at the top of their
lungs. They pounded their feet on the floor, raising their hands in the air, clapping.
Glow sticks, cell phones, and lighters swayed like flowers in a breeze.
He grinned.
Eighty thousand Parisians and one fiancée. He glanced to his left. Seated on
the top stage step was Erika. She’d arrived just minutes before the show
started. Just enough time for a passionate, but quick, hello kiss. He needed
more. He needed her, and he knew it. She smiled at him. He loved that smile. He
could stare at it all day. The way her soft lips curved up. A hint of sassiness
in her expression.
Just finish the show. Grab Erika and
run. Dodge the fans. Just get out of here.
He looked out
over the crowd. “But what if I’m too tired to continue?”
“No,” the
crowd wailed.
He grinned.
“Well, maybe I could go on if you told me you loved me.”
The cacophony
of sounds was deafening. “Je t’aime.
Love you.”
He lifted his
hands. “Do you love me?”
“Oui. Yes.”
He ripped his
black t-shirt over his head and threw it into the fans. “Do. You. Love. Me?” He
yelled out as he glanced at Erika.
She jumped up
and down, screaming with the crowd.
“I can’t hear
you.”
The building
shook with the fans’ frenzy.
“Five. Six.
Five. Six. Seven. Eight.”
Fireworks
exploded. Lasers shot around the stadium. Cass, the drummer, crashed the
symbols as Darien spun, posed then inhaled a deep breath and opened his mouth
to sing.
Daryl Devoré
lives in an old farmhouse in Ontario, Canada, with her husband, a black cat
named Licorice and some house ghosts. Daryl loves to take long walks up her
quiet country road or snowshoe across the back acres, and in the summer, kayak
along the St. Lawrence River. She's touched a moon rock, a mammoth and a
meteorite. She's been deep in the ocean in a submarine, flown high over Niagara
Falls in a helicopter and used the ladies room in a royal palace. Life's an
adventure and Daryl's having fun living it.
Where to find Daryl Devoré
Friendships
are important. How do they start? CS Lewis knows
Friendship is born at that moment when one
person says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but
myself…"
Thank you for letting my stop by and take over your blog.
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