jacki delecki
Tag
Falling for the Code Breaker ~ Excerpt from 'A Code of Love'
Preoccupied, Cord didn’t register her outrage. He spoke matter-of-fact. “I’m trying to find a clue to the thief’s intentions. Does your uncle have a secure area for his confidential work? There are two different sets of handwritings on these notes. Is this your handwriting?”
Her heart thumped loudly, as if it might leap out of her chest. “Yes, it’s my handwriting. As you know, I help my uncle with his work. Do you need to go through my uncle’s papers at this time?”
She had almost slipped and called them “her papers.” She needed to be careful not to reveal anything that might hurt her uncle.
Cord stopped his search and came around the desk. His face was creased with concern.
“How is your uncle this morning?”
His quiet strength made her want to confide all the secrets that she had just sworn not to reveal. She was drained. If he so much as touched her, she would cave. “He’s napping but awoke earlier with a headache.”
He stepped closer and his voice softened. “You’re exhausted. You mustn’t worry. Lord Harcourt will recover and return to his normal brilliant self.”
She longed to tell him that her uncle would never return to the man he had been; he hadn’t been that man for years. But once informed, how could he, as the head, ever allow the situation to continue with her uncle?
He took her into his arms, pressed his mouth against her hair, and slowly rubbed her back in slow circles. His touch was gentle and loving. “You’ve had a hard night.”
She inhaled his smell, an earthy mixture of lime and starch. Tilting her head upward, she looked straight into his intense blue eyes and was lost in the deep tenderness.
He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks. “You’re not alone. I’m here.”
Henrietta relaxed into his strong hands. This is how it feels to be cherished. It was a feeling she had never experienced and it filled her with longing and hope.
Click here to keep reading A Code of Love, The Code Breakers Series Book 1
Working Dogs on Duty
I’m always amazed and impressed by the jobs canines can be trained to perform. When I was researching and writing An Inner Fire, I met Henny, a Lab who worked as an Accelerant Detection K9.
Many of the tasks dogs assist with are well-known because of media coverage or simply because we encounter them in every day life.
Pet Therapy Dogs
Military K9s
Search and Rescue Dogs
There are other jobs dogs help with that are less commonly known but just as important.
Airport Wildlife Control – These dogs keep airport runways and taxiways free of animals and birds.
Acting and Entertainment – Toto (real name Terry, the Cairn Terrier) is probably the most famous canine actor, but it’s not uncommon for these furry showbiz pets to become jut as popular as two-legged celebrities.
Pest Control Dogs – Exterminators sometimes use dogs to detect pests such as bed bugs, termites and mosquitoes. After all, the nose knows!
What other canine occupations are you familiar with?
I have a new audiobook for readers to enjoy!
I’m thrilled to announce a new audiobook release from the talented narrator, Pearl Hewitt. Treat your ears to dazzling Regency romantic suspense with A Holiday Code for Love.
A Christmas house party becomes a covert operation to trap a French spy. Can the honorable John Bonnington protect his wife from their guest’s murderous intentions? Can Abbie Bonnington protect her husband from his ex-mistress’ intentions to seduce him into revealing Crown secrets?
Can Abbie and Jack continue the charade of hosting the perfect holiday party as danger, treachery, and treason swirl in the ballroom?
Enjoy the passionate, suspenseful regency world of the Code Breakers,where daring lords and ladies decode the path to happily ever after, amidst their dangerous, heroic fight against Napoleon’s treacherous designs.
Look for it on Audible, iTunes and Amazon!
Big Trouble ~ Excerpt from 'Mission: Impossible to Resist'
“Damn and double damn,” Aiden muttered under his breath. He should have known the “little” and “easy” favor for Jenkins was going to be “big” and “trouble.” Jordan Dean wasn’t the pampered princess, or the cold-hearted bitch Aiden had expected.
Jordan was a caring, straightforward woman who didn’t seem to be intimidated by him. Which was a first, especially since he had intentionally opened their exchange with his I-can-kill-you-in-ten-seconds-or-less look. Her grit made the soft, alluring woman all the more intriguing.
With his assignment in the Philippines finished, he had planned a few days to catch up with Finn. He and Finn made a point, whenever they got together, to toast Parker and the Afghan boy with a beer and a Snickers. Nothing in his plans had entailed serving as a fricking bodyguard for a billionaire’s daughter.
Their tradition had started when Aiden stopped by Yemen to check on Finn after the “situation” in Afghanistan. Aiden recognized that part of the trip was to assuage his own guilt in losing Finn’s buddy—a talented young man who didn’t deserve to die. Aiden’s visit became an annual ritual, spanning the past four years, and cemented their bond—allegiance between spec-op soldiers with the life expectancy of a daylily.
Aiden never spoke of the loss in Afghanistan again and doubted Finn did either. What was the point in examining feelings? Duty demanded you pick yourself up and do the job.
He was in Seattle because he wasn’t sure he wanted to pick himself up and do the job anymore, not after the death of Jackson in Marawi. The cryptic text from Finn—”The Frogman is finished.”—was a sign. Now, instead of decompressing with a fellow member of spec ops who would share his warrior’s view of Jackson’s death, and how many deaths it might take to finally say “enough,” he was duded up and playing nice to the same sort of people he had rejected in order to join the military.
Talk about irony. He’d had enough of the wealthy—most of whom had no concept of the realities of the working world—to last his lifetime. Though if any more assignments went down like the Philippines, his lifetime might end up pretty short.
He tracked Jordan’s leggy stride, acutely aware of how her hips undulated in those damn high heels. What was she thinking, wearing those shoes? She’d never be able to run away from an abductor in those things.
Click here to keep reading Mission: Impossible to Resist, Impossible Mission Book 1
Leaping into the New Year
Happy New Year! Are you ready for 2020? I have big expectations for this year because it marks the start of a new decade — some folks are already calling it the Roaring 20s — and it’s a leap year. Think of all the babies born on February 29, the next leap day, who will have special birthdays.
Here are some interesting facts about leap years.
The extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar every four years to synchronize the solar year to balance out the 365.25 days it takes to orbit the sun.
The practice of adding an extra day began in 46 BC when the Julian calendar (decreed by Julius Caesar) was created.
In the U.S., leap years coincide with presidential election years.
Couples in Greece avoid getting married in leap years to avoid bad luck. Russians also believe leap years herald trouble such as freak weather patterns.
People born on February 29 (leap day) are called “leaplings” or “leapers” and there is a special group for them: The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies.
Notable events — not all bad — that occurred during leap years: George Armstrong Custer fought the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876), the Titanic sank (1912), Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning is electricity (1752) and and gold was discovered in California (1848).
There is a movie titled Leap Year. Released in 2010, it stars Amy Adams and Matthew Goode.
What will you do with an extra day? If reading tops your list, check out my books:
Code Breakers Regency Romantic Suspense
Grayce Walters Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Impossible Mission Military Romantic Suspense
Sources: Leap Year Fast Facts, 20 Fun Facts about Leap Years
