Happy Friday and welcome to another First Kiss Friday excerpt with the talented Jude Knight. She has a brand new release and an excerpt from The Sincerest Flattery. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene. Happy reading and take it away, Jude!
This excerpt is from The Sincerest Flattery. My hero and heroine have decided to accept the arranged marriage their parents have made for them, and Percy has been telling Lia that there will be some advantages.
Excerpt:
“We shall have to be careful not to upset His Grace,” Percy said. “He is quite reasonable in what he expects, though, and he will not interfere in our lives. He told me that, if I am old enough to be wed, I am old enough to know how to go on. I think the same applies to you, Lia. Do you not agree?”
It sounded too good to be true. She had seen marriage as the end of the freedoms of her Season, but perhaps the reverse would be true. Yes, I am still cross about being given no choice, but I would be a fool to cut off my nose to spite my face.
“I wonder if my parents would be open to bribing me, as well,” Lia said.
“We could try,” Percy suggested. “Lia, may I kiss you?”
Lia thought her heart might stop. Certainly, she stopped breathing. He was waiting for her answer, his eyes fixed on her lips. She licked them and his eyes darkened. “You want to kiss me?” she managed to stammer.
“Since I met you in the sheep field,” he replied.
Those tingles were rioting. Lia found herself nodding.
“Yes?” Percy asked.
She nodded again. “Yes.”
It felt nothing like what she had imagined. He moved closer, cupped her elbow and drew her to her feet, then put his palms gently on both sides of her face. Then he lowered his face and brushed her lips with his, setting off the strongest tingles so far.
He wasn’t finished, though. His mouth settled over hers, and a flight of butterflies took up residence in her stomach. His lips kept moving. Her own began to move in imitation, and then, when she opened her mouth a little, the tip of his tongue swept into the gap.
Her senses reeled and her body melted against him. For a moment, he clutched her in place, his hand against her behind. Then he withdrew his tongue, then his mouth, then his strong hard body, cupping her elbows again to support her until her knees could hold her up.
“We had better stop.” Percy said, and she took heart at the fact that his voice was not quite steady. “The door is open, and if a servant or, Heaven forbid, your governess comes upon us, we will not be given the opportunity to steal any more of those.” His eyes gleamed. “And I very much want to.”
He was right. Lia cast a glance at the door and forced her mind to focus. What had they been talking about? Ah, yes. “What else will we need, Percy? I have heard a lot about the Season, and I have been taught to manage a country house, but I know nothing about living in Town.”
The Sincerest Flattery
Can an arranged marriage become a love match? Or will lies and misunderstandings tear Percy and Lia apart?
When Percival Lord Thornstead heads to the far north of England to meet the bride his father has arranged for him to marry, bad weather, the ague and a crooked valet disrupt his travel plans. Turned away at the door of the manor, he takes a job minding sheep to stay close.
Lady Aurelia Byrne sneaks away from the house dressed as a kitchen maid. She is angry at being told she must marry someone she has never met. She’d rather marry the shepherd she meets in the fields than the London fop her father has chosen for her.
Percy guesses who Lia is and is charmed. Lia discovers who Percy is and falls in love. If not for Lia’s overbearing mother all would be perfect.
Then Percy’s father intervenes to carry Lia off to London to make her debut with Percy’s sister. She is having the time of her life when her mother makes public accusations that call her reputation into question. A hasty marriage restores her to favor. Deep in the throes of love, the young couple are blissfully happy, and have fashionable London at their feet.
Until a former mistress of Percy’s comes seeking a boon that takes him away from Lia’s side, and old rumors about Lia’s mother are revived, causing Lia to be shunned by the highest sticklers.
Their marriage will be tested to breaking point.
A Twist Upon a Regency Tale
Lady Beast’s Bridegroom (inspired by Beauty and the Beast)
One Perfect Dance (inspired by Cinderella)
Snowy and the Seven Doves (inspired by Snow White and the Seven Doves)
Perchance to Dream (inspired by Sleeping Beauty)
Weave Me a Rope (inspired by Rapunzel)
The Sincerest Flattery (inspired by The Goose Girl)
Inviting the Wild (inspired by Little Red Riding Hood)
Hold Me Fast (inspired by The Ballad of Tam Lin)
The Trials of Alaric (inspired by The Princess and the Pea)
Buy link : Amazon
Meet Jude
Jude always wanted to be a novelist. She started in her teens, but life kept getting in the way. Years passed, and with them dozens of unfinished manuscripts. The fear grew. What if she tried, failed, and lost the dream forever? The years since 2014 have brought 17 novels, 16 novella, 6 volumes of short stories, a number of awards, and hundreds of positive reviews. The dream is alive.
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