Ruby's Dream (Crystal Warriors 2) - Excerpt Only

Ruby's Dream - Excerpt Only (Chapter 1)

RUBY'S DREAM is the second book of THE CRYSTAL WARRIORS SERIES.

You can buy the published electronic editions of RUBY'S DREAM and the rest of THE CRYSTAL WARRIORS SERIES now at Smashwords, Apple iBooks Stores worldwide, Amazon worldwide, B&N, Kobo, and Google Play.

The trade paperback edition of RUBY'S DREAM is also available:
ISBN 9780992249885/ 0992249880

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RUBY'S DREAM, Book 2 of The Crystal Warriors Series (Excerpt only)

By Maree Anderson

A plus-sized woman with good reason to be wary of men...

A crystal warrior who believes himself unworthy of a woman's love....

Ruby's plus-sized, boyfriend-less, and turning thirty. But things are looking up when she's given a kyanite crystal and encounters the most beautiful man she's ever seen. Wow. Best birthday present ever! But the Adonis-like Kyan must have an agenda: He couldn't truly be interested in someone like her.

Kyan can't figure out why Ruby hides behind smart comebacks and self-deprecating comments... and seems hell-bent on pushing other women at him. How can Ruby not understand the allure she holds for a man like him?

Both Kyan and Ruby have powerful reasons to distrust their growing feelings for each other. But before they can sort through their emotional baggage, the Crystal Guardian intervenes... and time runs out for them both.

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Copyright 2011 by Maree Anderson

License Notes

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Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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RUBY'S DREAM

By Maree Anderson

Chapter One

Ruby Roberts slumped on the floor amid the remains of shredded wrapping paper. She stared at her brother's gift, so dumbfounded it took a minute to form actual words. It was like being slapped in the face with a stinky wet fish.

"Gee, way to make a girl feel good, Mike!" Her shriek echoed around the empty room, and those echoes were laden with the betrayal she couldn't help feeling right now.

She tossed the gift on the couch and rubbed her arms, blinking back tears. Her own brother. She'd always looked up to him. She would have forgiven him anything.... But this?

This shredded her heart. This slammed her already chronically low self-esteem into subzero territory.

"I get it, okay?" Her voice cracked. "There's no need to sodding well rub it in."

Even though there was no one to witness the gesture, she defiantly crammed another handful of salt 'n' vinegar chips into her mouth. Opening another present would cheer her up for sure because whatever it turned out to be, it sure as hell couldn't be any worse than the last one.

The gift she chose was from Lani, a motherly Maori woman Ruby had first met in a clay sculpture class. Lani's creations were earthy, to say the least. But this couldn't possibly be one of Lani's pieces because—