Between Despair and Ecstasy by Daryl Devoré
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.
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 me stop by and take over your blog.
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