Thanks for stopping by my First Kiss Friday blog. It’s always a pleasure when I can have my dear friend Caroline Warfield as my guest! Today Caroline has an excerpt from her novel A Lady’s Honor. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene. Take it away, Caroline.
The hero and heroine have reached the decision to publish her work, the poems she has been translating for ten years. Other things continue to distract them.
Excerpt:
Take a step back, my lady. Think of the entire body of your work. How do you organize it in your mind? How did you organize it in your boxes?”
“Each writer has her own voice.” She paced behind his chair. “Each has her own things to say, would we but listen.”
That sentence expressed her passion in a nutshell, the attraction to women no one really listened to, women with voices and ideas. “Excellent! Each chapter can be one individual.”
“Some of them will be pathetically small.”
“That can have a meaning also. There are some about whom we know almost nothing. We can let each section seek its own size.” He turned to find her standing over him; his heart beat erratically at her impish expression. “What? Why are you smiling so?”
“We. You said ‘we.’” Her generosity struck him like a cannon shot. Rush of desire at the sight of her radiant face would have buckled his knees had he been standing. He was grateful he wasn’t.
He reached up to draw her closer, unable to stop himself, and she bent her head to his hand. Lilac scent flooded over his defenses when she lowered her joyous face to his. He brushed her lips with his once and then again with feathery touch.
She drew away slightly. Her eyes, wary but welcoming, never left his. He watched for the slightest sign of rejection or denial while he rose from the chair and moved his head with exquisite slowness to touch her mouth again. She closed the distance and brushed his lips with hers. Her innocent response was all the permission he needed.
He slid one hand up her neck to cup her chin, tipping it toward himself. His thumb brushed her cheek, and his long fingers feathered the edges of her hair. He used the other hand to pull her close until their entire bodies touched, until he could feel her breasts pressed against him and the curve of her hip under his hand. It was as he remembered it, as he longed for it. His mouth moved over hers softly at first and then became more demanding. Her immediate surrender held no reservation. He deepened the kiss; she opened to him completely.
It rapidly became impossible to stand. With one hand behind him to find the chair, he guided them, still embracing, down to it. He pulled her into his lap and leaned her soft curves into the crook of one arm so that he could bring his mouth down on hers. At the same time, he caressed her with hands no longer tentative or gentle but questing and demanding.
Her hand, warm on his neck, pulled him closer and sent shivers through him. The small, cautious voice floating inside him drowned in a sea of sensation. He trailed kisses down her face to the base of her neck. Soft noises from her throat assured him that he gave her pleasure, and the power of it inflamed him even further. He could feel her kisses on his hair and forehead when his searching hand found her breast and she moaned deeply.
“Georgie,” he whispered against her mouth, kissing her again, “Georgie.”
He knew, of course, where this would lead, but in that moment he didn’t care. He could take her there in the workroom, and neither of them would be able or willing to call a halt. The scent of her, the feel, and the soft moaning noises drove him on.
A muffled voice penetrated the fog of desire. Andrew raised his head and gulped for air. Chambers announced tea, scratching on the closed door as servants were expected to do. Andrew stilled his trembling hands. He set Georgiana upright and saw her blink in confusion. He began to set her clothing right, all the while watching her deep uneven breaths and her struggle for control.
The scratching sound was repeated.
“Tea is served, Your Ladyship.”
A Lady’s Honor
By Caroline Warfield
She may be skirting scandal in the opinion of some, but Lady Georgiana has her own code of Honor
A little Greek is one thing; the art of love is another. Only one man ever tried to teach Lady Georgiana Hayden both. She learned painfully, a young age to keep her heart safe. She learned to keep loneliness at bay through work. If it takes a scandalous affair to teach her what she needs to complete her work, she will risk it. If the man in question chooses not to teach her, she will use any means at her disposal to change his mind. She is determined to give voice to the ancient women whose poetry has long been neglected.
Some scars cut deeper than others. Major Andrew Mallet returns to Cambridge a battle scarred hero. He dared to love Georgiana once and suffered swift retribution from her powerful family. The encounter cost him eleven years of his life. Determined to avoid her, he seeks work to heal his soul and make his scholar father proud. The work she offers risks his career, his peace of mind, and (worst of all) his heart. Can he protect himself from a woman who almost destroyed him? Does he want to?
Even poetry, with its musical lyrics and sensual traps, is dangerous when you partner with the love of your life. In Regency Cambridge it can lead a lady quickly past improper to positively scandalous.
Buy Link: https://books2read.com/aladyshonor
About the Series
Honor at Heart follows an intertwined group of characters, family and friends, in their path to adventure, honor, and above all love.
About the Author
Award winning author, Caroline Warfield, grew up in a peripatetic army family, and the need to travel never left her. After a varied career (largely around libraries and technology) she retired to the urban wilds of eastern Pennsylvania to be closer to family and to write. She remains a traveler and adventurer, enamored of owls, books, history, and beautiful gardens (but not the act of gardening).
Caroline calls her books family-centered romance, and this one is no exception. Family makes her characters what they are, for better or worse. She takes them as they are, scarred and wounded, and sets them on their path to their own happily ever after, because love is worth the risk.
Soli Deo Gloria
Find Caroline on the Web:
Website http://www.carolinewarfield.com/
Amazon Author http://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Warfield/e/B00N9PZZZS/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/WarfieldFellowTravelers
Newsletter: http://www.carolinewarfield.com/newsletter/
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/caroline-warfield
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCycyfKdNnZlueqo8MlgWyWQ