Title: Courageous Dare
Author: Lacie Nation
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing
Length: 160 Pages, eBook Format
Sub-Genres: Contemporary, Military

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Baylee Crawford thought she had her whole life figured out, right up until she accepts a scandalous little dare involving a mysterious man that makes her throw caution to the wind. When she falls completely in love with her mystery man, how will she cope when she has to say goodbye to him as he leaves for war? When a tragedy threatens to tear her world apart, Baylee is left feeling lost and has no idea how to help her family in the midst of this loss. Follow Baylee and Nash through a tale of love, passion, longing, war, and tragedy.

EXCERPT #1:

Teeth hitting, tongues warring, and their breath mingling together, desperate and needy, she couldn’t stop it. “I need to feel you,” he begged against her lips.

She could have cried from the desperation thick in his voice. Wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling his hips into her, she clung to his body in every way she could. In less than four hours he’d be gone. She molded her body to his, keeping every sliver of skin she could connected to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she broke the kiss, and hid her face in the crook of his neck. She breathed him in, sun, mint, and the tiniest hint of cigarette smoke. She always hated the smell of smoke, but on him, mixed with the smell of mint and a scent inherently him, it was mouth watering.

Their bodies moved together as one. Her hands roamed over his back, memorizing every muscle and curve of him. His forehead rested against hers, and she noticed moisture on his cheek, although she didn’t know if it came from her eyes or his.

Baylee pushed on his chest. When he moved back, she moved as well, shifting them, him sitting and her perched in his lap. With her legs around his waist, she writhed against him. She wanted to look into his eyes, fearing if she did, she’d never stop crying. His head rested on her shoulder as she whispered soft words of love in his ear.

When she had an orgasm, it rocked her soul, right down to the very core of her. Her body shook against his. She pulled back slightly, she wanted to see his face when she brought him to bliss. When she looked at him, she couldn’t stop the sob from leaving her. His eyes, bright all the time, shimmered. His chin quivered, but the look of absolute terror there in the depths of his gaze broke her.

“Nash…” She couldn’t say anything else, couldn’t speak past the emotion lodged in her throat.

“Baylee, please tell me you know how much I love you…please.”

She put her hands on both sides of his face, using her left thumb to wipe away the tear slipping from his eye.

“I know, Nash, I know it with everything inside. You love me.”

They still moved together, still worshiped the other’s body until his pace became erratic. When he came, he gripped her hips too tightly. She didn’t give a word of complaint. She held onto him, running her fingers through his hair, trying to hold him together with all the strength she had.

“I love you, baby girl. Don’t ever forget.”

“I love you too.”

Nash carried her to the shower where she washed his body, and he washed hers. She stopped crying, but it took all of her strength to do it. They finished showering, and she went to the kitchen to make breakfast while he finished getting ready. At a sound behind her, she turned and saw him standing there. She gasped and nearly fell down. Standing in the doorway in his combat uniform, her husband, the most amazing thing she had ever seen. She wanted to have her way with him. At the same time, she wanted to hide him away and never let him leave.

Baylee ran across the room and threw herself into his arms, unable to stop the flow of tears from falling. She tried hard to be strong for him, to be as calm as she could, knowing it’d be hard enough for him to leave. She couldn’t stand the thought of him being in a war zone, being in the blistering dessert, being shot at, or anything else along those lines.

“Promise me you will come back. Lie if you have to. Right now, I need you to say the words,” she begged against his neck.

She could feel him choking back his emotion. She could feel his pain radiating off of him in waves.

“I promise,” he whispered into her ear, as if unable to say anymore.

They ate breakfast, neither of them able to say much. Ethan, Jolie, and Jamie went with them on the silent drive to the airport. Once parked, Nash grabbed his duffle bag from the trunk of Jolie’s car, and they all walked inside.

Baylee wanted there to be a line, wanted it to be crowded to give her more time with him. Back to holding it all in, she fought to be strong for him. Her strength ebbed away with ever step they took towards security. Her grip of his hand must have been painful, but she couldn’t loosen it though.

She looked at her watch, seeing he had to go. Looking around, she noticed many of the people watching them, some with smiles and looks of understanding, while others wore looks of appreciation toward Nash. Being proud of him, proud to be his wife, didn’t make it easier to let go of his hand.

When they reached the security gates, she could go no further. The time had come where she would say goodbye to him. Not see him, touch him, or feel him for the next seven months. Baylee stopped, took a deep breath, and turned to face him.

He put his hands on her face looking deep into her eyes and spoke in a soft voice. “I’m coming home to you, baby girl. Seven months, we can do this.”

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck. When he hugged her, he stood up straight, lifting her feet from the ground. She wrapped her legs around him, not caring in the least who saw. She kissed his cheeks, both his eyes, and finally his lips, letting her tongue slip into his mouth. The kiss was heated and completely inappropriate for public. She didn’t care.

“I love you, Nash Jenson.”

EXCERPT #2:

Without fear or uncertainty in Baylee’s voice, she spoke in her way of challenging Jamie. “Dare.”

Jamie’s smile spread even wider, and she nodded slowly. She took a shot before saying, “I dare you to have sex with a stranger.”

A collective gasp swept around the room. Suddenly, this game had taken a turn from the occasional strip tease and random kiss to something else entirely. Baylee laughed and thought for a moment. She hadn’t been with a man in a very long time, not since her relationship ended a year ago. She never thought she’d sleep with some random man, but when her gaze fell upon the man sitting next to her, she made her decision.

She smiled at Jamie, stood up, and extended her hand to the delicious looking man sitting to her right. Shock passed over his face. He shook his head slightly, grabbed her hand, and followed her lead. Baylee looked over her shoulder to her best friend. She had to laugh a little at the look of total astonishment on Jamie’s face.

Baylee’s heart pounded harder in her chest the closer she got to her bedroom. Stopping at the door, she took a deep breath before turning the knob. Walking in, she took another deep breath and turned.

He leaned back against the door, causing it to latch with a soft click. Head down, the fedora covered his whole face, with the exception of his lips in a slightly dark, sexy smile. When Baylee heard the lock click, she clenched her thighs together in anticipation.

Taking a step toward her, he asked softly, “What should I call you?”

The deep timber of his voice sent chills down her spine and when she said “Baylee,” her voice sounded breathy. She never realized her voice could sound sultry.

“What should I call you?”

“Nash.”

His name, the only thing he said before he pressed his lips to hers gently. She didn’t think. Instead she deepened the kiss, tracing her tongue along his bottom lip. He opened his mouth sliding his tongue into hers. She moaned at his taste, whiskey, mint, and the slightest hint of cigarette smoke. A strange combination she found mouth watering.

“Tell me you’re sure about this. Tell me you want me.”

Desperation. The only word she could use to describe the way he sounded.

“Yes,” she gasped as he nipped the place where her shoulder met her neck.

Her answer seemed to be the only encouragement he needed. His hands moved down her body, stopping at the hem of her dress. When he pulled back to look at her once more, she gave him a nod of permission.

One sweep of his arms left her standing in nothing more than her panties, gloves, and heels. Swaying her hips in her best exotic dancer impression, she rolled her gloves off, letting them drop to the ground. She sauntered the three steps he had put between them when he removed her dress. She slowly lifted the hat off his head, revealing his deep auburn colored hair, cut really short on the sides and slightly longer on top.

Her hands ghosted down the back of his neck, over his shoulders, and across his chest to the buttons on his vest. As she worked the buttons, he put his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her so passionately, her knees nearly buckled. Once she got the vest off, she had no patients for the shirt buttons. She ripped them open with both of them groaning in delight at the sounds of buttons hitting the wall and hardwood floor. With their hands working together, his clothes quickly became a pile on the floor next to hers.

She moved to take her shoes off, but he stopped her, shaking his head slowly with a devious grin on his face. The way his eyes seemed to drink her in made her lightheaded.

“I want to taste you.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lacie lives in Ga with her boyfriend of five years and their dog, Libby. She spends most of her time reading and writing. She writes from a very personal place and finds that creating a story based off of things she has been through is very cleansing. She is extremely close to her family so she tends to use little quirks that she loves from her family members to create characters that are realistic.

Website - http://www.lacienation.weebly.com

Blog - http://soulshakinromance.blogspot.com/
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