Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog and the first one of the year! Happy New Year, my lovelies! It’s always a pleasure when I can have returning author C.H. Admirand on my blog. She’s also offering a giveaway, too, so be sure to read all the way to the end on how you can enter for a chance to win an eCopy of one of her backlisted books. Today, C.H. has an excerpt from her upcoming release, The Duke’s Cavalier. It releases on January 22nd. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene!

Excerpt:

“Ye have a wild imagination, lass. What da in his right mind would marry off his beautiful daughter to a man three times her age?”

“Mine,” she rasped. “Papa wants to see me settled with a man who is older and of some consequence…” She added in a soft whisper, “And able to tame my wild heart.”

“I didn’t catch that last bit, Pippa-lass. What did ye say?”

She clenched her jaw.

“Come now, lass—if I’m to be of any further help to yerself and Millie, we need honesty between us. What did ye say?”

Pippa’s gaze shifted away from him. She answered, though her voice wavered, “And able to tame my wild heart.” 

He leaned closed and cupped the side of her face in his hand. “Wild hearts are courageous and loving. Ye have me word that if ye were married to me, I wouldn’t try to change ye, lass.”

Her eyes widened and her lips parted. Need shot straight to Flaherty’s gut. He pushed past it to find the honesty the lass deserved from him. 

“Why would I, when I think ye’re perfect the way ye are…well, except for the small matter we already agreed not to discuss again.” 

She lifted her gaze and studied him for a few moments. “You mean that, don’t you?”

“I always say what I mean. Tell me now, what do ye want, lass?”

“Truthfully?”

His gaze locked on hers. In that moment, he made a decision—even if someone should discover them alone together behind a closed door, he would marry her. “Aye, lass. We’ll only have the truth between us.”

She hesitated, then rasped, “Love.”

“I take it ye don’t love either of the two men ye mentioned.” At least, he hoped she didn’t, because she would belong to him. His mind was made up—he just needed to find the right moment to tell the lass they would be married to save her reputation, thereby saving Millie’s and her son’s as well.

Pippa’s ire returned with a vengeance. “I do not! They only offered for my hand because I have a dowry and am young—they plan to use me as a broodmare.”

Flaherty nearly choked on his laughter.

“It is not a laughing matter!”

“Then ye’d best find another way to describe yer meaning. Ye could say both prospects are ‘wanting a family.’”

She shook her head, but did not say anything, leaving Flaherty to wonder if that was her way of disagreeing. 

“Do ye always speak plainly?”

“I do try.”

“And there have been no other men that have come courting?”

The lass’s face flamed. She clenched her hands in her lap and stared down at them. “With four older brothers who found fault with every man who even looked at me with interest? If anyone did come courting, they soon forgot about asking for my hand, facing the wall of sibling disapproval.”

He placed a knuckle beneath her chin, urging her to look at him. “Then ’tis a good thing yer brothers are not presently in Summerfield-on-Eden.”

“If they were, they’d have ganged up on you and knocked you unconscious by now.”

Flaherty smiled. “Ah, they could try, but they’d never make it past the perimeter guard—which is either meself, Garahan, or O’Malley. Have no fear, lass, we’ll protect ye.” He paused and held her gaze, “I’ll protect ye with me strength, me heart, and me name. Marry me, lass. I know someone who’ll obtain a special license if I ask. Then ye’d never have to worry about yer reputation, nor Millie and Roarke’s.”

Her blank expression had him wondering: had no man gotten close enough to press a kiss to the back of her hand, or her cheek? 

“Yer angel hair and faery eyes draw a man’s attention, lass. Yer curves are a distraction. I’m man enough to admit ye’ve turned me heart and me head—despite the blow to me pride.” 

To his consternation, tears welled up, magnifying her eyes, before spilling over. He placed the handkerchief he still held into her hands. 

“Dry yer eyes and tell me the whole of it, for I’m not believing there’s a man alive who would not go in search of ye.”

“I’m overweight.”

He snorted. “Sure and that’s a lie. I’ve held ye in me arms, lass. Did ye not hear what I said about yer curves causing a distraction? God help me, Pippa, yer curves would slay a man at ten paces. There’s not a bit of ye that is overweight.”

She shook her head. “If I were only five inches taller, my figure would be acceptable to Society. I may even be able to catch the eye of a man under the age of forty.”

“Sure and ye’ve caught me eye, lass. Would ye discount me opinion because I’m closer to thirty than forty?”

She pinned him with her gaze. “You do not have to make fun of me, Flaherty. I know what I look like.”

“I’m not having a laugh at yer expense. Once I got past the ill-fitting coat ye were wearing as part of yer disguise, I had to concentrate not to notice yer curves. Ye’ve the figure of a goddess, the face of an angel, and the lips of a temptress.”

“You’re mad!”

He leaned in close and slid an arm around her. “I’m thinking ye may be right. If I am, ’tis yer fault. Shall we test yer theory?”

Pippa furrowed her brow. “And just how do you intend to do that?”

Eyes locked on hers, Flaherty lowered his lips until they were a breath away from hers. “Like this.” He molded his mouth to Pippa’s and drank from the sweetness of her lips. Need slashed through him, urging him to taste more thoroughly. He traced the rim of her mouth with the tip of his tongue. She gasped at his touch, giving him the access he needed to explore the flavor, and test the texture, of her mouth. Passion wrapped in determination, forged in the fire of her convictions… That was what Miss Phillipa Stanhope was made of.

She slid her arms around his neck and leaned into him. The fullness of her breasts pressed against his chest and shattered his control. He pulled her onto his lap and crushed her to him, kissing her until she went slack in his arms.

“Bloody hell!” Flaherty rasped. “Don’t faint again!”

“That’s what I was going to say,” a familiar voice said from the other side of the room. 

Without looking over his shoulder, Flaherty grumbled, “Go away, Garahan.”

“I’ve been sent to tell ye Mrs. Green’s preparing a tray for the lass, but it appears that she may be needing more hartshorn.”

He looked down into the dazed expression on Pippa’s face. “She’s made of strong stock and didn’t faint. Just a bit overwhelmed by me manly form.”

“Is that what ye’re calling it now? When I approached the room, it looked as if ye were trying to swallow her whole. Though me eyes could have been deceiving me. Either way, I’m thinking ye’d best be ready to do right by the lass and marry her.”

Flaherty ignored his cousin to tuck a silken lock of hair behind Pippa’s ear. 

---

The Duke’s Cavalier (TDG, Bk 15)
By C.H. Admirand
Releases January 22, 2026

The Duke’s Guard: The men in black who have sworn an oath to protect the Duke of Wyndmere and his family from those who would stop at nothing to destroy him!

Flaherty stops to help fix a broken carriage wheel…

And he ends up staring down the muzzle of a blunderbuss! When Flaherty moves toward the coachman, the younger man steps backward, trips, and the gun goes off! He dives to the side, but catches some scattershot. He hauls the coachman to his feet, shakes him, and his hat falls off. A cascade of angel-blonde hair slips free, tangling around Flaherty’s wrist. The nick to Flaherty’s pride is equal to the wound in his side—he’s been bested by a woman!

Phillipa Stanhope would do anything to protect her widowed friend and newborn son…

Her friend has received a heinous threat from her brother-in-law—he intends take her babe the moment it’s born! Though the risk of traveling right after giving birth is great to her friend and her infant son—they have no choice.

Flaherty hears the thin wail of an infant and notices the fragile-looking woman holding a bundle to her chest. He takes charge and escorts the trio to Summerfield Chase for their safety. After Flaherty’s temper cools down, and he hears the whole story, he has a change of heart and offers marriage to protect Pippa.

Pippa cannot leave her friend unprotected, and she bargains with Flaherty. If he agrees to let Millie and her babe live with them, she’ll accept his proposal. An attempted kidnapping leaves Pippa injured and the both of them realizing the true depth of their feelings for one another.

Three of Pippa’s older brothers arrive with a surprise that changes everything! On the heels of their arrival, a band of brigands arrives as a distraction, while Millie’s brother-in-law lures Pippa outside and abducts her.

Danger stalks in the night, but it will have to get past The Duke’s Cavalier before he will let harm come to those he has sworn to protect with his strength, his honor, and his heart.

Tropes:

• Hero to the Rescue
• Hardheaded Heroes
• Feisty Heroine
• Frenemies
• Marriage of Convenience
• Second Chances
• Happily Ever After
• Forced Proximity
• Different Classes

Read in Kindle Unlimited! Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G98ZXNM8
https://www.amazon.co,uk/dp/B0G98ZXNM
8https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0G98ZXNM8
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0G98ZXNM8

The Duke’s Guard
Book 1 – The Duke’s Sword
Book 2 – The Duke’s Protector
Book 3 – The Duke’s Shield
Book 4 – The Duke’s Dragoon
Book 5 – The Duke’s Hammer
Book 6 – The Duke’s Defender
Book 7 – The Duke’s Saber
Book 8 – The Duke’s Enforcer
Book 9 – The Duke’s Mercenary
Book 10 – The Duke’s Rapier
Book 11 – The Duke’s Man-at-Arms
Book 12 – The Duke’s Lance
Book 13 – The Duke’s Champion
Book 14 – The Duke’s Sharpshooter
Book 15 – The Duke’s Cavalier
Book 16 – The Duke’s Blade

About the Author:

If we have not met yet, I’m delighted to meet you! Here’s a little bit about me… 

I’m a Dragonblade Publishing Bestselling Author. I believe in Love at First Sight, Happily Ever After, and that DJ is waiting for me in Heaven.

I have been writing romance novels for almost half my life, well at least for the last 32 years. I’m a diehard romantic and have to confess the broad shoulders and wicked glint in the brilliant green eyes of a stranger had my breath snagging in my breast, my heart beating madly, and my future flashing before my eyes. At the age of seventeen, I’d met the man I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with.

I write Historical & Contemporary Romance featuring characters that I know so well: hardheaded heroes and feisty heroines! They rarely listen to me and in fact, I think they enjoy messing with my plans for them. Over the years I have learned to listen to them! I have always used family names in my books and love adding bits and pieces of my ancestors and ancestry in them, too! If we have not met yet, I’m delighted to meet you! Here’s a little bit about me…

C.H.’s Social Media Links:

Website: https://www.chadmirand.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/C.-H.-Admirand/author/B001JPBUMC

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-h-admirand

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/CHAdmirandAuthor

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/212657.C_H_Admirand

Dragonblade Publishing: https://www.dragonbladepublishing.com/team/c-h-admirand/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.h.admirand

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRSXBeqEY52VV3mHdtg5fXw

How about a Giveaway?

To be in the running for an eCopy of one of C.H. Admirand’s backlist novels on her website, tell us what you’re looking forward to for 2026. C.H. will randomly select a winner by Monday and announce it here. Best of luck!