Treasure Trail, a States of Love story
by Nicole Dennis
from Dreamspinner Press
Owner of Matey’s Tavern, a popular brewpub-tavern in St. Augustine, Florida, Derick Keyes loves his adopted hometown and job. He also harbors a crush on a pirate captain.
Tour guide for the popular Pirate Pub Walking Tour, Christopher Easton portrays a pirate captain as he takes visitors on a guided tour of St. Augustine, stopping at certain taverns for a pint of grog and tales of the golden age of piracy. With a little liquid courage, Chris breaks the cycle when he talks to Derick. Things change between them. Derick wants a chance for more with Chris.
During the Annual Pirate Festival, Derick creates a treasure hunt for Chris after “cursing” him. To break the curse, Chris must find four clues before the final battle on Sunday night. Only then can the curse be broken.
States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.
Buy links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon
Cat gives this one 5 Meows with a 3 Purr heat index...
Derick is a bartender and bar owner in St Augustine. He loves the Pirate Pub Tours that come through, especially a certain Pirate Captain. Chris has liked Derick for a long time and been waiting for him to make a move, so he finally takes it upon himself to talk to Derick, this gets Derrick opening up, and Derick sends Chris on a little treasure hunt.
I liked both Chris and Derick; I thought the treasure hunt was such a sweet idea and Chris meeting Derick at night for Bike rides o home was romantic as well. The sex was hot and sensual. If you're looking for a short fun, sexy sweet romance to fill a little time, This is a good one! If you like Pirate re-enactment, Bartenders, short, sexy romances this one is for you!
Guest post with Author Nicole Dennis
Changing the ‘First Meet’
Nicole Dennis
Treasure Trail: STATE of Love – Florida
There’s always something about that special first meet
between your main characters to help kick off their story. Sometimes it’s a
crazy bump out of nowhere. Others planned down to the second. Every once in a
while, you find a ‘first meet’ actually happens over a few years before
anything is done about it. This book begins with one of the last kinds of first
meets.
Here’s a tidbit from the first chapter where the main character,
Derick, is checking out a tour guide, Chris:
Derick counted the heads and started pulling
out chilled pint glasses to line up on the bar top.
“Once again, Captain Chris is in excellent
form,” his manager and bartender, Kari, said as she stepped out from the back
and chuckled while she started to fill the frosty glasses with the dark ale. It
was one of Matey’s six craft brews.
“He’s never off. Not one day or one tour.
Every tour is a first for him and deserves his best work,” Derick said while he
concentrated on his work and not the gorgeous pirate.
“How do you know that if you never talk to
him?”
Derick glanced over at Kari. She and the other
bartender, Sarah, wore their best serving-wench costumes for the tours. Sarah
moved around the other side of the tavern to take care of the other customers.
“Well?”
Derick didn’t answer right away due to
personal reasons. “Since I started to work behind the bar, I’ve watched him
work a crowd. I picked up a few things over the years.”
“Boss, you need to talk to him. Tell him how
you feel,” Kari said as she elbowed his side. “This shy nonsense needs to
stop.”
“He’s way out of my league, Kari. Look at him.
He’s gorgeous and I’m….” Derick waved a hand over his five-foot-nine slim frame
tucked under a T-shirt with the tavern’s logo and black jeans.
These two danced around for years. Something always keeping
them apart. Derick never quite feeling like he’s the ‘right person’ or strong
enough inside to take that crucial first step. He doesn’t know there’s another
side to the enigmatic Chris.
When I started planning and writing this novella, I knew
Derick and Chris weren’t strangers. They see each other almost every day,
depending on when Chris is leading one of the Pirate Pub Walking Tours through
historical St. Augustine. Chris entertains his tour group with tales of piracy
and St. Augustine while they visit up five different pubs/taverns. One of them
being Derick’s place, Matey’s Tavern. Every time one of the tours visits the
tavern, if Derick is at the bar, he becomes part of the spiel.
They ‘talk’ almost every day as part of their jobs, but it
doesn’t go further than that due to insecurities and questions on both sides.
First meets can go beyond strangers. There’s more to a first
meet than just laying eyes on someone, it’s sitting down ant talking things. Or
just swept into a hard hug and deep kiss. Who knows how it happens, but it sure
is fun to figure out different ways to make them interesting.
What is your favorite or most memorable ‘first meet’?
Nicole Dennis
Dreamy…Sensual…Forever Love
Author Bio:
A quiet one, Nicole Dennis curled up with
the latest book of a favorite author. Since the beginning, there were these
characters in her head, worlds wanting to be built on paper, and stories
wanting to be told. She began writing during class and continues to this day. Now
she can let others into her imagination and worlds that always celebrate the
love between two or more people within LGBT, paranormal, and fantasy.
During the day, she works in a quiet
office in Central Florida, where she also makes her home, and enjoys the down
time to slip into her imagination. She is owned by a semi-demonic tortie calico,
affectionately known as Fat Cat.
Contact & Media Info:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NicoleDennis.Author
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NicoleDennis.Musings/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nicoledennis.author/
Blog: http://nicoledennisauthor.blogspot.com
Website: http://nicoledennisauthor.com
Twitter: @NDennis_Author
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Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nicoledennisaut/
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/nicoledennisauthor
GoodreadsQ&A with Nicole Dennis:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/50397-q-a-with-nicole-dennis
Goodreads Profile:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2791975.Nicole_Dennis
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I don't have memorable first meet with opposite sex, probably because I never really look for anything beyond friendship (being asexual as well as leaning towards aromantic). BUT I remember meeting my best friend in high school, first day of school, both of us were late, and we ended up being 'punished' together that first day. Of course we also ended up sitting next to each other and became best friend ^^
ReplyDeleteamie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com
I remember meeting my husband in a parking lot but that is about it.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
I don't have a particular favorite, but in books that initial first meet is very telling.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
i met my husband at work
ReplyDeletejmarinich33 at aol dot com
A modern times pirate? Even though he's just a tour guide, it sounds smexy!
ReplyDeletetaina1959 @ yahoo.com