Thanks for stopping by my First Kiss Friday blog. Today’s guest is my dear friend and fellow Bluestocking Belle, Alina K. Field. Alina has an excerpt from her story Under the Champagne Moon that is novella in the upcoming release from the Belles, Under the Harvest Moon. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene!

Homeless and living on the charity of her former guardian, Fleur Hardouin’s heart longs for Captain Gareth Ardleigh, whose kindness to her as a child she’s never forgotten, but she needs an advantageous marriage.

Gareth has promised to find Fleur—on behalf of another man. Now he must choose between honoring a promise and trying to win the hand of the woman he loves.

Excerpt:

Fleur’s hand and arm and shoulder tingled where the parts of her touched the parts of him, and her breath came in short bursts. Her free hand itched to pull her bodice higher, though she’d tried that in private without success. All through dinner, she’d caught him watching her. Each time his eyes slid down her face and neck to her décolletage, heat spurted down to her nether regions. She was heady and jittery and, now that they were away from the safety of their older companions, filled with anticipation.

An answering tension radiated from him. Wherever they were going, he was going to try to kiss her, and maybe more.

She’d been kissed before by some of Quidenham’s more devious guests. She’d even deflected attempts at the maybe more from the so-called gentlemen. On occasion, she’d experienced tingles.

But never like this. She’d never experienced this…this…magnetic pull, this urge to throw off all caution—along with this indecent gown.

He opened a door and nudged her inside, still holding her hand.

A bedchamber. Too breathless to speak, she squinted until her eyes adjusted to the room’s dimness. A discarded waistcoat draped a chair, and a man’s brush and toiletries rested atop a side table. Embers smoldered in the fireplace, ready to be stirred. This was his bedchamber.

Her heart beat a frenzied tattoo. “Gareth,” she said on the first breath she managed. He was going to make love to her.

Behind her the door snicked closed, and his hot breath touched her neck.

Perhaps she would make love to him.

She must not. What of Mr. Farnham, playing cards below?

Oh, Hades, Mr. Farnham had barely looked at her bosom, and that one glance had been not a bit spine-tingling. He’d made no declaration of interest tonight, much less courtship.

Gareth’s familiar scent—shaving soap and brandy and tobacco—floated around her. She closed her eyes and savored it.

A kiss. A kiss wouldn’t ruin her.

“Gareth.” She swallowed and hugged herself. He moved away, set aside the candle, and returned.

“I’m not… Oh Fleur.” He nudged her arms open and took her hands.

A speechless Gareth was a sight to see. His dark gaze sent her insides melting, sensation curling through her. She freed a hand and traced the scar etching his square jaw, watching his eyes darken and glitter. His was a strong face, usually a jolly one, probably a hard one when he was fighting, but not with her. The boy he was, the man he’d become, were not so very different.

“Dear Gareth,” she said. Her shawl slipped from her shoulders, and she let it.
His mouth softened and he touched his thumb to her lips. “Dear Fleur.”

Her hand slid from his jaw to the back of his neck. Her heels lifted her closer. Her lips sought his and pressed against them, softly, secured in a tender embrace.

His hand skimmed her waist and settled upon her back, the other wandering lower and pulling her against him. He angled his head, deepened the kiss, and breached the barrier of her lips.

Mon dieu. A shaky moment passed wherein she tasted brandy so potent it burned through her like liquid heat. She surrendered and then gave back with all of her heart.

When his lips left hers, she muttered a protest until she felt the soft press on her neck, and groaned. The hand on her bum pulled her even tighter, the other slid under her breast, and then up, stroking her through her gown until her nipples became hard points, every gentle caress echoing in her nether parts. She was burning, burning.

The bed—let’s go to the bed.

Gareth’s mouth stilled against her breast. A growl escaped his lips. He straightened and brushed her cheek. “We mustn’t, Fleur.”

She’d spoken the words aloud.

---

About Under the Harvest Moon, a Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends
By Caroline Warfield, Jude Knight, Sherry Ewing, Cerise DeLand, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, Collette Cameron, Mary Lancaster, Alina K. Field, and Rue Allyn

As the village of Reabridge in Cheshire prepares for the first Harvest Festival following Waterloo, families are overjoyed to welcome back their loved ones from the war.

But excitement quickly turns to mystery when mere weeks before the festival, an orphaned child turns up in the town—a toddler born near Toulouse to an English mother who left clues that tie her to Reabridge.

With two prominent families feuding for generations and the central event of the Harvest Moon festival looming, tensions rise, and secrets begin to surface.

Nine award winning and bestselling authors have combined their talents to create this engaging and enchanting collection of interrelated tales. Under the Harvest Moon promises an unforgettable read for fans of Regency romance.

Release day is October 10, 2023
Preorder for 99 cents: https://books2read.com/UnderHarvestMoon

Author Biography:
USA Today bestselling author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature but prefers the happier world of romance fiction. Her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., but after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with a golden-eyed terrier and a feisty chihuahua and only occasionally misses snow.

Social Media Links:
Website: https://alinakfield.com/
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alina-K.-Field/e/B00DZHWOKY
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alinakfield
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlinaKField
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alina-k-field
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173518.Alina_K_Field
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