Anthology Day
Dec
22
2011

I love reading anthologies and I love writing for them too. It’s always fun to revisit an old group of characters, or give that one secondary character you’ve loved a long time their own HEA. This year I was fortunate to be in an anthology with three authors I respect immensely – Megan Hart, Emma Holly and Beth Kery writing as Bethany Kane in the Three To Tango anthology.

My story, dirty/bad/wrong was a way for me to go back to Petal but from a totally different view and set of characters.

DIRTY/BAD/WRONG by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2011, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group
Releasing May 3

She didn’t answer when he knocked. His heart kicked with worry. She’d been pale, clearly tired. He shouldn’t have even come back, but now that he stood there, worried, he had to be sure.

“Ava?” he called out as he opened the door.

She walked out from the bathroom on a puff of steam, wrapped in a towel.

A towel that slipped to the ground when she saw him and screamed, jumping three feet into the air.

“It’s me! Ava, it’s Luca.” Feeling helpless and more than a little like a dumbass, he held his hands up. “I knocked and you didn’t answer . . .” God her body was beautiful. He nearly lost his mind when he caught sight of the tattoos and pierced nipples.

How totally unexpected. He liked it. Especially his cock. Energy built as they stood thereβ€”her naked, hair slowly drying and beginning to curl. He remembered her taste, the feel of her skin against his lips.

She remembered, too. Right there, she stood and remembered it the way he did. Her pupils swallowed the color of her eyes, her skin pinked. That knowing passed between them, heavy and sticky.

It hung there with a delicious ache until the dryer sounded that it was done, the noise breaking the tension.

She bent to grab the towel and then sent him a raised brow. “Oh. Shit, sorry.” He turned away while she rustled, getting dressed.

“I was taking a shower.” She sighed. “You can turn around now. Not like you haven’t seen it all before.”

When he did she was in jeans, rolled up at the hems, and a pale yellow T-shirt. She wore no bra.

“I have, yes.” He’d said it, meaning to tease, but once he took her in totally, he stood there without speaking.

Nothing like a totally silent moment to make a girl more nervous. It would have been worse had she not taken in the rather impressive line of his hard-on, pressing against the zip of his jeans. She was only human after all. The denim was so well used and faded it’d gone nearly white in some places. Threadbare glimpses of his thigh only added to the overall effect. No shoes. Just a pair of low-slung jeans, a slice of sun-kissed belly when he reached up to run his hand through that mass of golden hair. That downy trail of hair leading from his navel inside the waistband of his jeans led to places she’d never forget.

He was beautiful right then, but naked, well, he did naked really well, too.

Today’s winner will receive a signed copy of THREE TO TANGO – What’s your favorite comfort food?

28 comments to “Anthology Day”

  1. mariann
    December 22nd, 2011 at 6:30 am · Link

    Pizza is my favorite comfort food. I could eat it everyday.

    πŸ˜‰



  2. Heather S
    December 22nd, 2011 at 7:10 am · Link

    When I’ve had just a really long day (or not πŸ˜‰ I love to eat frosted flakes. Cereal always tastes better at night!



  3. Rachel Riddles
    December 22nd, 2011 at 8:18 am · Link

    Cheesecake!!!



  4. Mel
    December 22nd, 2011 at 8:47 am · Link

    I have a few. Chili, Gumbo.. and just about anything chocolate!



  5. Louise
    December 22nd, 2011 at 9:16 am · Link

    Chocolate! What a delicious snippet.



  6. Alaina
    December 22nd, 2011 at 9:39 am · Link

    oddly.. its mashed potatoes!! i love them! although cheesecake is close…



  7. Gillian L.
    December 22nd, 2011 at 10:08 am · Link

    My favorite comfort food is rice. I could eat it with just about anything. Whenever I’m feeling down, I like making a little bowl of instant rice to cheer me up.



  8. caroline A./ pattepoilue
    December 22nd, 2011 at 10:38 am · Link

    I love finding new authors through anthologies! And i like even better reading about secondary characters’ HEA *g*

    Alright my comfort food is weird but it works every time. I eat fried/rosted potatoes. I have no idea why but it’s been my comfort food for years. It started when I was in college, it was cheap enough and good enough. πŸ˜‰



  9. Carinne
    December 22nd, 2011 at 10:41 am · Link

    My mom’s sauce and ravioli’s, definitely!!



  10. Karen Hawk
    December 22nd, 2011 at 10:43 am · Link

    My favorite comfort food is soup-especially homemade vegetable soup. To curl up on a cold day with a cup of soup to keep you warm and full is a great way to beat the winter blahs.



  11. Diane Mc.
    December 22nd, 2011 at 11:29 am · Link

    Homemade cinnamon rolls.



  12. Ilona
    December 22nd, 2011 at 11:30 am · Link

    Peanuts! Preferably dry roasted or chocolate coated ones πŸ˜€



  13. maria pena
    December 22nd, 2011 at 12:05 pm · Link

    anything chocolate!!!



  14. SusiSunshine
    December 22nd, 2011 at 12:57 pm · Link

    Well when I need comfort it has to be chocolate- I don’t mind in which way. I need the happy rush! πŸ˜›



  15. Michelle AB
    December 22nd, 2011 at 1:10 pm · Link

    My favorite comfort food is chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sammie. Yes I know it’s suppose to be for when your sick, but it works wonders as a comfort food.
    Merry Christmas!!



  16. Jessica T.
    December 22nd, 2011 at 1:21 pm · Link

    I’m actually cooking my favorite comfort food right now, homemade chicken and dumplings. It brings back great memories of my grandmother.



  17. Viki S.
    December 22nd, 2011 at 1:47 pm · Link

    Mine would have to be chocolate of some form or another.



  18. Jane
    December 22nd, 2011 at 2:40 pm · Link

    Any fried food, especially donuts and fries.



  19. Diane
    December 22nd, 2011 at 2:45 pm · Link

    Pizza, not the frozen McCain kind but from the pizzaria.



  20. CrystalGB
    December 22nd, 2011 at 3:13 pm · Link

    Potato soup or chili are my comfort foods.



  21. Jewel
    December 22nd, 2011 at 5:48 pm · Link

    Chocolate, caramel cake, cream & jam filled buns, glazed donuts. Basically any type of dessert. πŸ˜‰



  22. azteclady
    December 22nd, 2011 at 6:15 pm · Link

    Comfort food?

    Huh.

    I’m not sure I have one, but if I do, it’s probably simple chicken soup–the broth, some veggies and the chicken. Rarely, some white rice.

    It’s what my abuelita used to make for us whenever we were sick as children, and one of the few dishes I not only know I make well off the cuff, I enjoy making it too.



  23. monikarw
    December 22nd, 2011 at 6:39 pm · Link

    Anything with chocolate in it! Cake, it’s my favorite!; )



  24. Hailey
    December 22nd, 2011 at 8:38 pm · Link

    Red Velvet cupcakes… or anything with cream cheese frosting!



  25. Lindsey E
    December 22nd, 2011 at 10:21 pm · Link

    Mashed potatoes and gravy.
    linze_e at hotmail.com



  26. Erin K.
    December 28th, 2011 at 7:45 pm · Link

    Baked potato loaded with toppings like butter, cheese, sour cream, and bacon.



  27. ClaudiaGC
    December 29th, 2011 at 8:13 am · Link

    Any kind of chocolate dessert is fine!



  28. Spav
    December 29th, 2011 at 5:50 pm · Link

    Popcorn and right afterwards chocolate ice-cream.