A Dragonlings’ Day at the Beach by S.E. Smith

SE SmithAs one of the #CMCon16 featured bloggers, I get to have a little fun with a few of the fabulous authors who will be hitting the beach for Coastal Magic 2016 by showcasing their many stories. Last year I interviewed four of the the CMC15 authors, but this year I’m changing it up. I came up with this really fun idea to have the authors introduce us to their worlds by sending their characters to the beach.

Quite a few of the authors took me up on it and today SE Smith is taking us to the beach with Ha’ven and his girls from the upcoming Dragonlings of Valdier novella, A Dragonlings’ Magical Christmas, releasing July 14th.
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A Dragonlings’ Day at the Beach: Dragonlings of Valdier Shorts

SESmith-A Dragonlings Magical Christmas“Mama! I’s can’t finds my red swimmies,” Alice hollered with a hint of despair in her voice. “I’s needs help!”

“Alice, here is a blue one,” Ha’ven said in exasperation, holding up the two tiny pieces of cloth. “Can’t you wear blue today? It was your favorite color last week.”

Alice sat down on the floor, crossed her arms, and pouted. “No’s, I needs my red one,” she said stubbornly. “I wants my one with ruffles.”

“Here it is,” Emma said with an amused grin at the blank look on Ha’ven’s face. “It was still in the beach bag that Cara gave us.”

Alice eagerly stood up and raised her arms up for Emma to pull off the red sundress she was wearing. “I’s ready to goes,” she said with a happy grin. “We’s gonna have’s fun.”

Ha’ven watched as Emma turned Alice and efficiently tied on the bright red top. Shaking his head, he wondered what he had gotten himself into this time. When Emma said they were having a beach day, he had no idea that it was going to be the equivalent of moving their entire home. He glanced at the pile near the door to their living quarters at the Valdier palace; chairs, umbrellas, bags, a thing called an ‘ice chest’, toys, blankets, and other odds and ends sat next to it.

He started when he heard a knock on the door next to the pile. Striding over, he pulled it open. Creon and Mandra stood in the corridor with a huge grins on their faces. Ha’ven’s eyes widened when he saw what they were wearing. The feeling of dread and an uneasy sense of defeat ran through him at their expressions.

“What, may I ask, are you wearing?” Ha’ven asked in a slow measured voice.

“You can’t go to the beach in leather, my friend,” Creon said, pushing inside with a smirk. “These are called board shorts. They come in many different styles and colors. They are all the rage back on Earth with those that go to the beach.”

“Emma,” Ha’ven turned and started to protest in rebellion. His lips clamped shut when he saw her standing next to Alice holding up a pair of brightly colored shorts.

“You’d better hurry and change,” she said with a slightly amused, but also pleading look. “Alice is so excited. This is her first trip to the beach.”

Ha’ven ignored Creon and Mandra’s sniggering as he slowly reached for the offending piece of cloth. Stepping close to his mate, he leaned down and brushed a kiss against her lips before whispering in her ear. This had to be up there with the most uncomfortable things he had ever done in his life.

“You are so going to owe me for this,” Ha’ven growled softly before heading for their bedroom.

“We’ll take your stuff down for you,” Creon called out. “Everyone else is already there.”

“Yeah,” Mandra added, reaching for the chairs. “We’re having a barbecue as well. This is going to be fun!”

“Why do I even bother to come here?” Ha’ven groaned as he disappeared into the other room. “Strange things happen whenever we do.”

Creon and Mandra laughed as they gathered up everything but Emma and Alice. “We’ll meet you down there. Don’t be long. Cara is going to show us something called a boogie board.”

*.*.*

“Looks!” Jabir exclaimed, pointing at the moving mound of sand coming at them. “What’s that’s?”

“I’s don’t knows, but’s I’s going to gets it,” Roam growled, shifting into his tiger.

Jabir watched as Roam bent down, his tail flickering back and forth as they watched the moving pile of sand approached them. He was about to call a warning when Roam pounced.

A loud, startled hiss escaped Roam when Spring suddenly appeared in front of him. He fell to the side and rolled across the sand before crawling back to his feet. Shaking, he flung sand all over Jabir before he snorted when Spring grinned at him.

“I’s scared you,” she crowed.

“You’s did not,” Roam said, shifting and wiping his hand across his face. “I’s knew it was you all the time.”

“No’s you didn’t,” Spring said with a grin before she turned and looked up at where Phoenix was landing at the edge of the water where it rolled to shore. “Last’s ones in has to eat bugs.”

Roam growled and took off after Spring. Jabir laughed and followed them. Amber and Jade were already splashing in a tidal pool.

*.*.*

“Oh, my,” Abby whispered, her eyes locked on Zoran.

“What?” Cara asked, turning to look at where the men were standing around the portable grill she had built. “Oh, yeah!” She breathed out, her eyes glued on Trelon.

Ariel stepped closer to Abby and Cara and fanned herself. “I swear the temperature has just risen a hundred degrees. Have you ever seen so much muscle on any beach before? It’d cause a riot back home. Damn, but that man makes me hot,” she muttered as her eyes swept over Mandra’s huge form.

“There should be a law that states men like that are only allowed to wear board shorts,” Carmen chuckled.

“Or Speedos,” Riley added with a raised eyebrow. “Can you imagine them in those tight little pieces of spandex?”

“Oh yes,” Emma said, blushing when the other women turned around and looked at her in surprise. “I’m artistic. I have a very good imagination.”

Abby laughed and nodded. “You and me both, Emma.”

Trisha turned mischievous eyes to the women. “How’s about we see if they are as impressed. I swear Kelan is flexing his muscles on purpose.”

“Oh, Vox has been doing that pectoral bounce with his man-boobs ever since he came out of the bedroom. I swear if I could get my boobs to do that, they’d knock me out,” Riley replied with a sigh. “The man knows he is too sexy for himself.”

“Viper’s the same way,” Tina replied, grinning at her older sister. “He thought I was nuts when I asked him to wear the shorts until he saw what I was going to wear.”

“Well, I think we should show them just how sexy we are,” Carmen replied with a smug grin. “I’ve got boobs now I didn’t have before the girls and I’m not afraid to flaunt them.”

In a matter of minutes, the colorful swimsuit covers were lying on the backs of the chairs the women had arranged in a straight line facing the kids. While the women chatted and kept an eye on the kids, the men were supposed to be figuring out how the grill Cara built worked so they could ‘grill’ the meat and vegetables for lunch.

“I never…” Carmen’s voice faded on a gasp when a pair of arms swept around her. “Creon!”

“You didn’t show me this… clothing before we left!” He growled, sliding his mouth along her neck.

Carmen giggled and rolled her eyes. “That’s because I had a feeling we’d never make it to the beach if I had,” she responded in a husky voice. “I thought you were supposed to be helping the guys cook lunch.”

“Ah, Carmen, I don’t think any of them are thinking about cooking,” Trisha said in a breathless voice.

Carmen glanced over and shook her head. Sure enough, each of the women had their hands full, and it wasn’t with the kids. Turning in Creon’s arms, she wound her arms around his neck and released a sigh.

“If it helps,” she whispered with a slow sexy smile. “You are just as distracting to me.”

“Yews…,” a chorus of young voices groaned. “They’s kissing agains.”

Laughter echoed through the air. After several fruitless attempts to redirect the men back to the grill, Cara finally suggested boogie boarding lessons for the men. Fascinated by the idea, it wasn’t long before the men were competing to see who could stay on the longest. The kids, not wanting to be left out, insisted they needed to ride, too.

Abby looked up when a shadow covered her. Zoran, dripping wet and grinning ear to ear. He sank down beside her and Zohar. He stared at the intricate castle she was building f. He or several long seconds before he smoothed a section on the outer wall.

“What are you doing?” He asked, watching as Zohar began digging in the sand.

“Making sand castles,” Abby replied with a grin. “I loved it when I was a child. Now, I get to do it with our son.”

Zoran glanced over at where Trelon was being buried alive by Amber and Jade. Cara just grinned and told the girls they had missed a spot. Cara, Ariel, and Trisha had finally taken over the grill.

“Just make sure he can breathe,” Cara added when Amber climbed up on Trelon’s sand covered chest to pat it down.

Once again, he was thankful he had Zohar and not the twins. Turning, he watched as Mandra and Jabir chased tiny ‘crabs’ as Ariel called them. They weren’t very tiny and from Mandra’s smothered curses, neither were their claws. Yet, Mandra was determined to catch one for Jabir.

Creon and Carmen were still in the water with Phoenix and Spring, while Riley, Vox, and Roam, along with Viper and Tina, were exploring a rock cave at the end of the beach. Emma, Alice, and Bálint played in the small tidal pool.

“It’s a shame Melina, Cree, and Calo couldn’t come,” Abby said, pouring water into the moat that she and Zohar had dug. “It is Cree and Calo’s parents anniversary and they were having a party for them.”

Zoran turned back to stare at Abby’s glowing face. “Then we will have to plan another ‘beach day’,” he said with a smile. “I never realized how much fun they could be.”

“Hel… Help…,” Trelon’s muffled voice called out. “I think one of Jabir’s damn crabs has gone down my shorts!”

“Ohhh!” Amber and Jade laughed. “It bites daddy on the…”

“Girls!” Cara yelped, handing the spatula to Trisha.

Trisha and Ariel grinned as they watched Cara frantically try to unbury her mate.

“Damn, but I love the beach,” Ha’ven said with a grin as he and Kelan watched Trelon jump up and down from where they were sitting under one of the umbrellas.

“The scenery isn’t bad either,” Kelan said, watching as Trisha bent over to get something out of one of the ice chests.

“No, it isn’t,” Ha’ven agreed with a contented sigh as he watched Emma throw her head back and laugh. He smiled when she suddenly turned her head and looked at him, as if she knew he had eyes only for her and Alice.

I love you, she whispered silently to him. Thank you for doing this.

I love you, too, he replied with twinkling eyes, running his eyes over her exposed skin. Beach days are not as bad as I thought, but you are still going to owe me.

Anytime, Emma said with a hot look of her own. Anytime..
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Meet SE Smith!

S. E. Smith is a New York Times, USA TODAY and #1 Amazon International Bestselling Author. Susan enjoys sharing her amazing worlds filled with action, adventure, love, laughter and tears with her readers. Her stories focus on strong characters and the dynamics of their relationships as they deal with diverse situations. She is known for her world building that takes readers away. She is a true dreamer who believes in HEA.

Contact InfoWebsite | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ |Forum | GoodReads | Amazon | Pinterest | YouTube

Want to purchase SE Smith’s novels?
Dragonlings of Valdier

  1. A Dragonlings’ Easter
  2. A Dragonlings’ Haunted Halloween
  3. A Dragonlings’ Magical Christmas

Dragon Lords of Valdier

  1. Abducting Abby
  2. Capturing Cara
  3. Tracking Trisha
  4. Ambushing Ariel
  5. For The Love of Tia
  6. Cornering Carmen
  7. Paul’s Pursuit
  8. Twin Dragons

Ha’ven’s Song (Curizan Warriors#1)

CMC16

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About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

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