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Prancing of a Papillon by Tara Lain

Fuzzy Love, Book 2

Opposites attracting, billionaires getting kidnapped, a Papillon who’s smarter than you are, and near-death at a dog show….

Jericho Jones is giving up on social life. What social life? Six-foot-five and packed with muscles he barely earned, Jericho looks like an alpha top, when he’s actually a gentle bottom who teaches first grade and lives with his hypochondriac mother. When Jericho’s friends, Finn and Em, suggest he accompany Finn to a dog show as the handler for their Papillon, Batshit, he decides, while he might be the world’s least likely Papillon prancer, he’d be grateful for a new experience and a few days away from Mama.

Jericho’s prepared to take dog handling seriously, but he’s not prepared for the pure lust he feels for wealthy dog owner, Brees Apollonia, a guy totally out of Jericho’s league. But Brees’s family issues make Jericho’s look tame – his father wants to marry him to the daughter of a prospective business partner. When Brees starts being followed by unknown guys, he thinks his father’s trying to scare him and uses it as an excuse to be “protected” by big, hunky Jericho. But pretend gets way out of control, and suddenly the only thing between Brees and possible death is a smart dog with big ears, three intrepid women, and gentle wimp, Jericho Jones.

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Dog show

And just like that, it was his turn. Hellfire, his pulse beat so hard he could hear it throbbing in his ears. Taking a deep breath, he walked to the table where the judge stood and looked down at Batshit. Bat gazed up at him and he swore she was grinning. Using the method Ichiko had taught him, he grasped Bat and lifted her to the table. The lady judge was impassive, but he thought he saw a tiny flicker in her gaze. Whether good or bad he didn’t know.

Before Jericho could even make a move to stack Batshit, she self-stacked and stood there, tail down, head up, and her four legs positioned in a way she never stood naturally.

The judge looked carefully at Bat, and Jericho remembered treats! He reached in his jacket pocket for a tiny piece of dried chicken and put it in front of Bat who accepted it politely and ate it fast.

The judge started feeling all over Batshit, touching her big chest and slim haunches, then down her legs and even her feet. This was the conformation thing. That’s what they called dog shows. Conformation shows, where the dog’s, or rather the bitch’s frame and stance were judged against the breed standard, which the judge was supposed to have in her mind. Putting up with all that touching without biting the judge was something a show dog had to know, so Jericho slipped Bat another treat when the judge seemed finished.

“Take her down and back, please.” The judge waved a hand.

Oh God, showtime. He picked up Bat and deposited her on the ground by his feet.

She stared up at him, as if she were telling him what to do. He had to grin and when he did she gave a little hop of enthusiasm. That might not have been a good thing, but hell, it sure was cute.

Oh right, treat. He slipped her one and she took it, like, now you’re getting it.

Gritting his teeth, he walked at the fast pace that he’d practiced about a million times in the last couple days with Batshit. She fell into step beside him, strutting like some kind of movie star. Her head set new records in proud and her extraordinary ears turned sideways, as she picked up her paws just that bit higher than normal and pranced as if she were a gaited horse. Wow. Just wow. Her silky fur he’d worked so hard on rippled as she moved and her pantaloons, uh culottes, ruffled in the breeze.

When they got to the end of the arena and turned, Jericho sped up just a little because he sensed Batshit wanted to. Breaking into a slight trot tripped him up. His foot caught on the surface of the ring and he stumbled, but, thank God, he caught himself right away. Batshit never broke stride and she added an extra pranciness to her prance that caused members of the audience to break into applause.

He must have been grinning like a loon when he got back to the judge, because she gave him kind of a secret smile. “Back in place, please.”

He and Bat jogged to their place in the lineup as the judge moved on to the last Papillon. Jericho knelt down by Bat and gave her three continuous treats. “You did it, girlfriend. I don’t know how you compared to these other bitches, but I think you’d win the Drag Race.”

 

To celebrate the release of Prancing of a Papillon, Tara is giving away a $10 Amazon Voucher.

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Check Out Book 1 in the Fuzzy Love Series:

Passions of a Papillon

After you’ve sold your soul to the devil, can you renegotiate with a dog?

Brilliant defense attorney, Finn Morgenstern, knows the worst guys pay best, so defending slimeball, Rance Franklin, becomes his path to senior partner and a whole lot of benefits. But then a walk home to his pricey townhouse brings him face-to-ears with a batshit-crazy little dog who just won’t leave him alone. So Finn takes the dog to the local veterinarian to find out how to get her back to her owners. Hello vet! Emerson “Em” Fairweather sure doesn’t match his stodgy name. Tall, platinum blond, and gorgeous, Em puts the pet in pet ownership. But Em has ugly secrets and Batshit dog is up to her ears in larceny. Suddenly Finn is the one who needs defending, and he’s faced with a choice between what he thought was important and a whole new batshit-crazy life.

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Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters – and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn’t believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara’s characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara’s creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Likely a Gryffindor or maybe a Ravensclaw but possessed of Parseltongue, Tara loves animals of all kinds, diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her reader

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