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Showing posts with label for queen and country. Show all posts
Showing posts with label for queen and country. Show all posts
You have won a copy of For Queen and Country! Please check your inbox and spam folders from an email from me, and I have also passed your winning entry along to the tour manager so that you can get your book. Thank you so much for stopping by Fictional Candy!!
Welcome to the first stop on the book tour for the book For Queen and Country! After you visit with me, you will head on over to Sapphyria's Book Reviews for the next stop!
Today I am featuring an excerpt from the book and a giveaway! So make sure you read through and then enter the giveaway below!
For Queen and Country
(Shimmy & Steam, Book 1)
by Michelle
Kopra
“Shush!” Constance leaned closer to the
speakers. Petyr’s voice disrupted by static as the wind once more it broke into
the tent. “The captain couldn’t land The Gypsy in this wind, and we need to be
on the ground to get decent reception.”
“Argh. Get on with it, Petyr.” Lilly shivered again as she watched him
on the sepia-colored screen.
Standing in the corner of the hall, the raised platform made him appear
taller. His hair was slicked back, and mustache twirled upwards. His black eyes
scanned the crowd in the imperial winter palace and held his arms up
dramatically.
“Hush.” Constance tried to appear calm.
“This is his first time out. He’s doing just fine.”
“His imperial majesty the Tsar Alexander, I give you the mysterious, the
enchanting – La Seraphine!”
Constance took a drag of her
honey-flavored cigarillo. On the screen, the center of the hall lit up,
illuminating a small elegantly decorated tent. Gold coins shimmered along the
edges, pulsing to the beat of the drums. The music rose in tempo and drapes slowly
opened. From within, long bare legs appeared in a suggestive pose.
Constance took another nervous drag. A
collective gasp rippled through the court. A shapely leg curled around the
drape. The music paused. When it began again, the seductive sounds of the oboe
joined in. The beat slowed down, the dancer twisted her legs to the music.
Twirling hips, rolling curves, and Constance
nodded with relief as the Tsar leaned forward.
“She’s got his attention.”
The Tsar lifted a monocle. Even on the sepia screen, the shell around
the lens glowed with an unusual green light.
“Is that what we’re after?” Lilly adjusted brass knobs on the panel to
get a clearer picture.
“No, the boss lady wanted Sera to place a listening device.”
The music built to its peak, pausing as the court held their breaths.
With a crash of the drums, the fabric of the tent billowed to the ground like
wings of a butterfly. The lovely Seraphine exposed.
Silence filled the hall as courtiers took in the sight. A headdress of
coins shimmered over her honey locks. She stood in a pose, one arm over her
head, and the other resting at her knee. With a flick of her wrist, gold coins
jingled on her head and chest as the music began again. The beat quickened to
match the speed of her shimmying hips.
The crowd remained breathless as she twirled. Hair and sheer fabric spun
around her. Long legs descended off the platform taking steps as her hips
curved forward. She reached the seated group, a veil, matching the fabric of
her skirt appeared in her hands. Swaying to the music, she lifted the veil over
her head and rolled her hips side to side until she inched closer towards the
Tsar with a seductive smile.
More than one guard stepped forward, weapon at the ready to stop the
dancer. However, the Tsar with a sheen of lust on his face waved them away.
Seraphine danced, letting the fabric of her skirt sway against his legs.
Neither the Tsar nor his guards heard the frantic voice piped through a
jeweled bit of earring.
“Abort!” Constance shouted, cigarillo
lying forgotten on the ground. “I repeat, abort. The boss lady has called off
the mission and is summoning us home. Return to camp immediately.”
Constance saw bewilderment on Petyr’s
face, but couldn’t give her operatives any more information over the earpiece.
Behind her, a flurry of activity kicked up when the ticker tape came through
the makeshift console.
Petyr slid out of view of the console. However, Sera continued to dance
for the Tsar.
“Dammit girl, get out of there,” Constance
muttered.
But Sera did
not leave. Instead, her veil spun again, making it flutter around her. As she
spun in front of the hidden camera, she waved the hand signal for–Plan B.
