Master Bits &
Mercenary Bites
The Secret Recipes of
Topped
Short Stories and Slices
of Life by Lexi Blake
Recipes by Suzanne M.
Johnson
Coming November 1, 2016
Top restaurant has become the hot spot
in Dallas for elevated comfort food—and a side of spicy romance.
Run by executive chef Sean Taggart, Top is the premiere fictional
destination for gourmet food. Join creator, New York Times
bestselling author Lexi Blake, and Southern food expert Suzanne
Johnson as they guide you through the world of Masters and
Mercenaries via the secret recipes behind the food served in Top.
But what would a gourmet meal be
without some company? Spend an evening with your favorite characters
from McKay-Taggart as they celebrate the special moments that make up
their happily ever afters. Learn how to make Sean’s specialty
dishes and Macon’s desserts while exploring the private lives of
the characters who make up the world. From Charlie and Ian’s next
demon spawn to a change in path for Simon and Chelsea, these are the
times that bind us together, the moments that make us a family.
Good meals, good times, good friends.
Bon appétit!
* * * *
iTunes:
http://apple.co/2dZ2PNQ
* * * *
About
Lexi:
NY
Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North
Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog int eh
world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and
journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban
fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find
humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter
how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
FACEBOOK / TWITTER / WEBSITE / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
About
Suzanne:
Suzanne
Johnson is family-trained, a south Georgia native who’s been
cooking all of her life, creating not only some really unique food,
but precious memories that re-occur every time she smells something
simmering in the oven. In all of her books, Suzanne shows that
making a delicious meal doesn’t have to be complicated — it just
has to be made with love. So go ahead, don’t be bashful, dive
right in. Who knows? You might just make a few memories
of your own.
Excerpt:
Ian went to grab
the dog’s leash. Bud started up his pee-pee dance, his massive body
twisting and turning as he ran after Ian. His big paws thudded
against the brand new hardwood he would never have spent that
god-awful amount of money on had he realized a dog would pee on it.
He looked back
Charlie’s way. “You know there’s a whole forest out back for
him to go in. He should be a free-range dog. Aren’t we taking away
his dogness by putting him on a leash?”
Charlie frowned his
way as she refilled Kenzie’s cup. “Yes, he’s the mighty wolf
dog, Ian. I watched him run away from a bunny the other day.”
He grabbed the
leash. “See, if he had to go out and hunt, he wouldn’t be such a
shitty guard dog. Don’t even say it, you two. Say good words. Not
Daddy words.”
Charlie put a hand
to her belly. “I swear this one will come out giving the world the
finger and cursing.”
Bud whined, running
back and forth in front of the door. Ian sighed and attached the
leash. He stepped outside and Bud took off, barking and jumping
against the leash until he managed to drag Ian out onto the lawn
where he immediately squatted in the middle of Charlie’s azaleas
and started to take a crap.
Yep. This was his
life. Watching the dog crap. He was so building a fence. “You know
you were supposed to be a guard dog. You were supposed to be a
raging, feral beast who would take out anything in your way.”
Sort of like Ian
had been at one time.
He’d been the
bane of intelligence agencies. He’d been Dr. Death, raining down
justice and protecting America.
Now he was a
dumbass with a mortgage, a dog who seemed to be a bit constipated,
two tiny chaotic things, and another on the way. No one even let him
kill people anymore.
It was a
never-ending cycle of waking up in the morning and seeing their
faces, taking care of them, going to work, coming home, and going to
bed with his wife.
It was kind of
fucking awesome.
Sure, his younger
self would likely tell him he’d sold out and he was a pathetic
version of himself, but his younger self had been stupid as shit. His
younger self thought a great time was following a known terrorist
around for three weeks so he could find the cell. His younger self
had needed a freaking shower, some decent food, and a comfy bed.
And a dog who
didn’t take his time with the poop.
“Come on, Bud.
Pinch off, man. We’ve got shit to do today.” Well, he did anyway.
He was sure Bud would have a full day of licking his private parts
and waiting for the girls to drop food. Bud seemed forever optimistic
that one of these days the girls or Charlie was going to drop a ham
in front of him.
A butterfly landed
on the bush next to Bud and that was when he went into protective
mode. He barked, the deep sound threatening to anyone who didn’t
know what a wuss he was, and he pulled hard at his leash.
Hard enough to make
Ian stumble and damn near break his toe on the garden gnome Alex had
left as a joke. Hard enough to send Ian crashing down to his knee,
pain flaring and making him curse.
Bud twisted again
and Ian tripped over the riding ladybug thing Kala liked to push
around the yard. He landed flat on his back, looking up at the sky.
Taken down by a
freaking ladybug. And his back was spasming. The pain flared through
him and he could feel his lower back seizing like a motherfucker.
Bud suddenly
blocked out the sky, his big doggie face staring down.
“Don’t you
dare.”
It was too late.
Bud licked his face and Ian realized he shouldn’t have gotten up
that morning. Nope. He should have stayed in bed and then he would be
warm and happy and not having his face licked by a gargantuan mass of
body odor and a tongue that licked its own ass from time to time.
God, if he didn’t
die from breaking his spine he was going to catch some dog disease
and waste away. Right here. Because he wasn’t sure he could move.
“Bud, I need you to go get Charlie. Go on. Run and get her.” He
let the leash drop. Bud simply sat down beside him. “Go get
Charlie, boy. I think she’s got a ham for you. Go on.”
Bud laid his big
head down on Ian’s chest.
Now he had a
sleeping mutt and a garden gnome that was practically up his ass. He
could feel the pointy cap thing attempting to violate him.
“Ian? Ian, I need
you.”
Thank god. His wife
would laugh her ass off, but at least she would be able to maybe help
him up.
“Ian, I think the
baby’s coming.”
Yep. It was that
kind of day.
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