Category Archives: First Kiss Friday

First Kiss Friday with guest Jasmine Haynes and a Giveaway!

23 Friday Jun 2017

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Another First Kiss Friday and it’s always a pleasure to welcome back Jasmine Haynes who writes incredible erotica stories. Today, she gives us a the first kiss scene from her eBook, The Girlfriend Experience, which is currently #FREE. Jasmine is also offering a giveaway to one random comment of an eCopy in the Courtesans Tales series entitled Payback. Get busy leaving those comment and get out a fan. You’re going to need it after reading this scene. Happy reading!

Excerpt:

Chase had experienced paid companions, but none had been like Marianna. She wasn’t practiced. She was real.

From her magic picnic basket, she’d pulled a bowl of sliced peaches and two champagne flutes. She plopped a slice in each glass, then handed him one, which he filled, followed by the other. Tapping her flute to his, she saluted—“Cheers”—and swallowed a quarter of the glass, then closed her eyes, tipping her head back. “Oh God, that’s good. I haven’t had champagne like that in ages.”

He’d have thought she had it all the time.

She opened her eyes. “You haven’t tasted.”

“I was watching you.”

She was still a long moment, regarding him, assessing his words. Then she must have decided she liked what he’d said, because she graced him with another of her smiles and held out the plate of drumsticks.

“One drumstick, then a peach slice. It’s to die for.”

He chose a piece of chicken, the scent mouthwatering. Like her. “Delicious,” he said, licking the stickiness from his fingers.

Instead of giving him the peach bowl, she selected a slice, then fed it to him. After the tang of the teriyaki, the juicy peach was heaven. He savored it along with the flavor of her skin, sweet as the peach. He’d never cheated on his wife. He hadn’t had sex with another woman in over twenty years. Since Rosie died, he couldn’t even remember thinking about sex.

But he thought about it with Marianna, enjoying the image as much as he had the peach.

She ate a slice herself, and he took pleasure in the sensual cast of her eyelids, the low, throaty moan of appreciation. Then, going down on her elbow beside him, she pushed the plate of chicken at him. “Eat. I made a lot.”

He ate, but he liked it better when she fed him.

“So tell me what you do.” She nibbled daintily on a drumstick without getting messy.

“Business.” He didn’t want to talk about work. That would only lead to bad memories.

She dropped her chin to give him a look through her eyelashes. “That’s illuminating.”

“Sorry.” He stroked a lock of hair from her cheek. Touching her skin, he wanted more. He wanted her to touch him. “I haven’t done this in a long time. I’m not good at making conversation, and I’m a little nervous.”

“Done this?” She flipped her palm out expressively.

He held her gaze. “Gone out with a woman.”

“Are you recently divorced?”

A pulse beat at his temple. He thought about lying. “My wife died a year ago.”

She gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She laid her hand on the blanket a scant inch from his, their fingers almost touching.

He thought of telling her the truth about why Rosie died. But then maybe he didn’t really know the why of it. He only felt the guilt in his gut. Dammit, he was not going there now. He wanted to pretend for a little while longer that he wasn’t a basket case.

As if she understood how close to the darkness he was at that moment, she smiled gently. “Got any kids?” she asked.

Marianna could only hope the question would save the situation. Chase’s sudden smile dazzled her, the abrupt change amazing. Thank God, because she’d totally blundered that one. Isabel should have told her he was a widower. She wondered why he didn’t wear a ring. You took it off for divorce, but not for death. But hell if she’d ask that.

“I’ve got a daughter,” he said, a beam of light in his eyes. “Krista. She’s a sophomore at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.”

She gasped. “Oh my God, she’s a Poly Dolly.”

He chuckled. “I’ve never heard that one.”

She felt the mood lifting. “I graduated years ago. Maybe they don’t use it anymore. But it’s sure better than being called an Aggie.” In the midst of taking a peach slice from the container, she glanced up in case she’d offended him. “Not that I’ve got anything against Aggies.” Cal Poly had been a big agriculture university even when she was attending.

He snagged a piece of chicken. Another good sign. “Don’t worry, she’s not an Aggie. She’s doing graphic design.”

“So tell me what she looks like.”

He lips creased in a doting-dad smile. “She’s beautiful.” Everything was different about him when he spoke of his daughter. He came to life. His eyes brightened.

“Duh,” she said. “With your DNA, I’m not surprised.”

Chase licked teriyaki from his fingers, and she had the most incredible urge do it for him. Suck his fingers clean. Her face heated. So did everything else.

“Is that a compliment?” he asked.

“Yes, you’re very handsome.” Pretty damn hot, actually.

He blinked, then his mouth curved in a sexy half smile. “Thank you.” His lips glistened with a touch of lingering teriyaki. Marianna wanted a taste of that, too.

He was obviously grieving for his wife. He didn’t want a real girlfriend. He wanted someone to ease the loneliness for a little while. And she’d almost botched everything totally. She’d even had trouble thinking of things to talk about. Which shouldn’t have been a problem since she had to make small talk all the time with potential buyers. Chase unnerved her in a way Brock Ransom hadn’t. Perhaps because this was more like a date. A blind date one of her friends had set her up on.

And because Chase was much more devastatingly attractive.

She searched for something scintillating to say. “So, Cal Poly is my alma mater, but I’m a real estate agent now.” Oh God. She closed her eyes and waited for him to say, But I thought you were a whore.

He didn’t. Instead, he lifted her chin with the tip of his finger, waiting until she opened her eyes.

“I think we should start over.” His eyes were a gorgeous bottle green.

“We should?”

“Yeah. Here I am with a beautiful woman who’s prepared a delicious feast for me and I’m making her struggle to come up with conversation.”

He had the most amazing eyelashes, thick, dark. “It’s not your fault.” It was her job to be scintillating. She sucked at being a courtesan. Though the thought of that particular word under these circumstances brought a smile to her lips.

He raised one brow. “Tell me.”

Her face always gave her thoughts away. Why not tell him? “I was thinking that I sucked at being a courtesan.” Her smile grew, then she laughed.

“An interesting choice of words.” His eyes deepened to an earthier shade.

“Then I realized that’s what I’m supposed to do.”

“You are a very naughty woman.”

She loved the way he said naughty. He stroked a finger down her throat, then slowly pulled away, leaving her skin tingling.

“I haven’t done anything naughty”—she fluttered her eyelashes—“yet.”

Holding her gaze, he dipped into the bowl of peaches and held one out to her. “Eat this.”

Entranced, she took the fruit from his fingers as if he were a hypnotist. A drop of juice slid off her lip. His eyes glued to her, she licked it up.

“Now suck this.” His tone was smoking as he stretched out his hand.

She drew his finger into her mouth and sucked off all the leftover nectar. So good, she had to close her eyes to savor his taste mixed with the peach and teriyaki.

“I would say you were a perfect courtesan,” he whispered.

Her body was suddenly a blaze of sensation, a flush along her skin.

Like Sleeping Beauty, she needed his kiss and she needed it now.

Putting her hand on his face, she gave him her lips.

Tentative, sweet, a delicious combination of peaches, teriyaki, and hot male desperation. She swept her tongue across his lips, asking. He parted for her. She’d never felt so in control of a kiss, not the aggressor so much as the director. Touching his tongue with hers, she quickly backed off, teasing. He watched her, his eyes smoky with desire. She leaned in again and gave him her mouth. When she would have pulled away once more, he slid his fingers through her hair, held her to him, and the kiss became his. He used his tongue, his lips, sipped her, tasted her fully, teased, then rolled her under him.

Angling his head, he took her deeply. The crush of his body heated her inside and out. She forgot it was about money. She forgot he was a stranger. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed as if she were the longtime girlfriend he’d fantasized about. He groaned, holding her still. Just when she couldn’t bear another moment without his hands all over her, he backed off, then laid his forehead to hers, eyes closed.

“Christ,” he murmured, his breath fanning her cheek. “You make me feel starved.”

“I’ve got more food.”

He chuckled, real laughter, no cutting it off. “Food is not what I’m hungry for.”

The Girlfriend Experience (Courtesans Tales, Book 1)

By Jasmine Haynes

Romances to make you blush set in a glitzy, sensual world of powerful people and the courtesans they’ll pay anything to have.

An exclusive and secret agency, for over two hundred years Courtesans has specialized in providing entertainment of a sexual nature. Its clients are rich, powerful, and influential men and women, and one only meets a courtesan through referral from trusted sources. Courtesans facilitates bringing together men and women to satisfy any sexual need imaginable, matching the perfect courtesan with just the right client. The agency prides itself on training its courtesans, male and female, to interpret and fulfill its client’s greatest fantasies, even the secret ones no one dares to say aloud. The price is high, but everyone who’s ever had the pleasure of a date with a courtesan will agree, the fantasy is worth every penny. And sometimes it changes your life.

To Marianna, money is the measure of a person’s worth. Even as a child, she learned that from her father, a self-made man. When an old college friend tells her about life as a courtesan, the fabulous dates, opulent trips, valuable trinkets, and how much a man is willing pay to have a beautiful woman on his arm, Marianna wants it all. Thrust into a world of powerful men, suddenly she holds all the power. And all the worth.

Until she finds herself falling for her “date.”

A widower, Chase has sought to ease his guilt and pain in relationships without commitment or expectation. And especially not love. Until he discovers Marianna and begins to treat her like his girlfriend rather than a paid courtesan.

Now Marianna stands to learn the biggest lesson of all, that money doesn’t buy self-worth. It certainly can’t buy love. And money becomes the reason she’ll lose Chase, the very man who is worth everything.

The Girlfriend Experience is free right now everywhere!  Kindle  iBooks  Kobo  Nook

Courtesans Tales in Order

The Girlfriend Experience
Payback
Triple Play
Three’s a Crowd
The Stand-In
Surrender to Me
The Only Way Out
The Wrong Kind of Man
No Second Chances

Bio:

NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Jasmine Haynes loves giving readers sexy, classy stories about real issues like growing older, facing divorce, starting over. Her books have passion, heart, humor, and happy endings, even if they aren’t always traditional. She also writes gritty, paranormal mysteries in the Max Starr series. As Jennifer Skully, she writes laugh-out-loud romantic comedies laced with a heavy dose of mystery. Look for Jennifer’s new series written with Bella Andre, starting with Breathless in Love, The Maverick Billionaires Book 1. Having penned stories since the moment she learned to write, Jasmine now lives in the Redwoods of Northern California with her husband and their adorable nuisance of a cat who totally runs the household. Join her newsletter for updates on contests, new releases, and freebies by going to www.jasminehaynes.com.

Contact

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First Kiss Friday with Emmy Z. Madrigal & a Giveaway!

16 Friday Jun 2017

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Today on First Kiss Friday I have as a guest Emmy Z. Madrigal and her characters from Lord Harrington’s Lost Doe. Emmy is offering an eCopy of her novel to one random comment so please be sure to show her some love.  Happy reading!

Excerpt:

He and his staff doted on her day and night. Three days passed and with each day, she became thinner, weaker, and paler. There were moments of clarity every so often, when she’d be strong enough to chat, but she still did not know who she was or where she’d come from. The fog the laudanum withdrawals kept her under wouldn’t let go completely.

At night he would try to sleep in the adjoining room while Mary watched her, but he’d hear his doe tossing and turning and inevitably rise. He’d send Mary to bed and spend the night sleeping in the chair next to her bedside, as his suffering beauty clung to life with a will he admired.

“My Lord,” Benjamin woke him one evening deep in the night. “You must sleep yourself. In a bed. You don’t look well. Please take heed.”

Alexander ambled up, shuffling to the bed in the adjoining room in a half-wake state. He fell onto the covers with his clothes on and Benjamin removed his boots.

“How many days has she been here, Benji?” Alexander asked in a whisper.

“Four, My Lord.”

“Did she eat any more today?”

“No, My Lord,” Benjamin said quietly, as if ashamed to admit it. “Sleep now. We shall see to her.”

Alexander let exhaustion take over. The last thing he remembered was saying a prayer that his little doe would survive the night.

A few hours before dawn, Alexander woke to the sound of someone in his room. His eyes fluttered open, but he knew he was still dreaming. An angel stood before him, dressed all in white, a halo of golden curls atop her head.

“I’m so cold. I can’t get warm,” she whispered.

He lifted the blankets beside him. “Come, it’s warm in here.”

She hesitantly padded across the room on bare feet and laid down next to him. He wrapped his arm around her from behind and pulled her ice cold body into his warmth. She cuddled into him, shivering as their difference in body temperatures clashed.

Alexander closed his eyes and smiled, loving the feel of a soft feminine body next to his. What a wonderfully pleasant dream to calm him when he needed comfort the most.

***

When Alexander woke, a certain part of his anatomy had become aware of a warm female body next to his. He sat up, realizing his little doe had crawled into bed with him.

Good Lord, you’ve done it now! He held his head and scolded himself. At least he still wore his clothes, but that wouldn’t matter to anyone who found them in bed together. Her purity was tainted and he had to get her back in her own bed before anyone noticed. He rose and crept over to the doorway. Kate slept in a cot beside his doe’s bed, fast asleep. How could he get past Kate without waking her?

He looked back at his bed and the beauty upon it. She had color to her cheeks, her expression serene. Perhaps his warmth had done her some good. He pulled the blankets around her shoulders and smoothed his hand over her curls. For once, she wasn’t sweating. The fever seemed to have abated.

Thank God for that. Perhaps she would see the other side of her illness soon. He could get her home, where she belonged, but he had grown so attached to her, he wasn’t sure he wanted her to leave.

Her eyes opened and he drew back, wondering which doe he might find. The pained patient or the well-spoken young lady he’d come to favor?

“Wh-where am I?” she asked and glanced around.

“Er…” Not exactly the question one wants to hear when a lady wakes in one’s bed.

“Oh, yes…” She sat up. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t right.” Tears sprung to her eyes. “What you must think of me! I just…I was so cold and the fire had gone out in my room. The servant was asleep and I came in to see if you might have any firewood. I…It was so warm in here and I guess I just longed to be held. When you offered I…I didn’t have the strength to deny it. I’m sorry. I knew you were half-asleep. I shouldn’t have taken advantage.”

She cried earnestly and he couldn’t bear seeing her blame herself.

“No, no, love. Please. Shhhh.” He reached out to her, but feared his touch would make her more uneasy. “Do not blame yourself. It shall be our secret. Nothing happened and we can go on as it has always been.”

She sniffled and took a deep breath. “It’s not…I am not…”

He retrieved his handkerchief from his coat hanging on a nearby chair. Handing it to her, he sat on a stool by the bed, leaning forward in hopes to console her. He couldn’t watch her cry on his account.

“It’s only that I woke from the most horrid dream last night, but then I realized, it wasn’t a dream but a memory. My father is dead. The person I loved most in the world is gone. I feel like my heart will break in two. It’s more painful than this illness. My whole world is crumbling around me.” She sucked in a large breath and panted, unable to catch her breath.

“I am sorry, truly.” He put his fist to his mouth to hide the anger welling up inside him. He held her hand and ran his thumb over her fingertips. He’d never known the pain she felt, but he could see the anguish in her eyes.

“That is not all. I think…no, I know…that I cut my own hair.” She bit her lip, tugging at the short locks at her temple. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she ignored them, so preoccupied with self-hate. “I don’t understand it. I feel like I’ve been confused for so long. Doing things I would never do…and then father’s death…and I wasn’t allowed to go to the funeral. Then I remember the scissors I took from the sewing box…” She stared straight ahead as if seeing the vision of herself playing out in front of her.

“But why?” he asked softly, not as an accusation, but trying to understand.

“I don’t…” She sniffled. “There are pieces missing. I can’t recall it all. It’s as if my memory is written on a piece of parchment, but rain has washed away the ink and with it, bits of my past. I catch glimpses and then they are gone. One moment I see so clearly and the next, I feel as if perhaps everything I think I know is a dream. The worst part is that I feel I’ve been doing these bad things, but had no control over myself doing them.”

He gripped her hand tighter. Perhaps she was mad. Maybe not from Worthington Hall, but mad just the same. But no, he couldn’t believe it. His mind raced, having an argument with himself.

Why not believe it? It would solve the mystery about her.

Because I’m in love with her.

In love with an insane lost girl?

My lost doe. Oh Lord, we’re made for one another because I am mad, too. Longing to feel her soft body near him, he wished he was still in bed, so he could curl up behind her and nuzzle her ear.

“Say something, please.” She looked to him, her sad eyes defeated.

He had no response and before he knew what he was about, he leaned forward and placed his lips on hers. His kiss deepened and he found her lips open to his. She wanted him close, too. Could it be that she loved him as well?

But she is lost and crazy. His brain screamed, “Stop!” But he couldn’t. He reached up to her neck, massaging the short curls there. How soft and inviting they were. She whimpered and he grinned, knowing she wished him to continue.

Alexander’s reason stepped in to put an end to the heaven he felt. I am taking advantage of a poor, helpless, mad woman who looks to me for protection. My God, man, get a hold of yourself!

Alexander broke away and stood. His breathing heavy, he couldn’t even see straight as he crossed the room and gripped the window pane.

“Lord Harrington…Alexander…” Her meek voice spoke in a quiver.

“I am sorry. I am…incorrigible. I should not have…” He looked at her but couldn’t bear the embarrassment written so plainly on her cheeks. “Pardon me. I must go.” Grabbing his coat, he walked into his doe’s room.

Kate woke and looked up at him, startled.

“See to her. She was cold and slept in the other bed last night, closer to the fire.” In my bed.

“Y-yes, M’lord.”

Alexander left the house, barking orders at Benjamin about taking care of his doe. He went to the stable and saddled his horse faster than one of the stable boys could wake and get dressed to do so. Galloping away from Denwood, Alexander focused his frustration on riding.

Blurb:

Lord Alexander Harrington’s life is rather tame until a shoeless, coatless waif is found wandering his estate with no memory of who she is. Despite his stoicism, Lord Harrington finds himself drawn to the lost girl who he compares to a scared doe. Caring for her illness despite speculation of her mental state, he develops feelings for her.

Is she an escaped lunatic, or simply a lost woman desperately in need of his help? A revelation about his own family’s history with the mental asylum down the road causes him to question his feelings. When a massive fire breaks out on estate grounds, will he lose her forever?

Buy Link: (Print or Kindle exclusively on Amazon.com)

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Harringtons-Lost-Emmy-Madrigal/dp/1535426276

About Emmy:

Emmy Z. Madrigal is the author of the Regency Novella, Lord Harrington’s Lost Doe. Her previous works include the New Adult series Sweet Dreams Musical Romance and the Chick Lit series Anime Girl.

Website: http://emmyzmadrigal.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmmyZMadrigal

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Emmy-Z.-Madrigal/e/B004G34P6W

 

First Kiss Friday with guest Rozsa Gaston

09 Friday Jun 2017

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday. Today’s guest is a new author to me named Rozsa Gaston. This book looks fabulous and I’ve already grabbed my copy. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene from Rozsa’s book, A Sense of Touch. Enjoy!

Excerpt:

THAT EVENING, THE horse nuzzled Nicole as Philippe crouched low, examining him. All traces of his sadness of a few hours earlier were gone.

“The wound looks better,” he remarked. “No more red around the gash. And look at him. Back to his old self!”

“You tickle me, Petard,” Nicole giggled as the horse burrowed his large muzzle under her arm.

Philippe looked up, his expression hard to read. The crackling energy she felt from him at times was back. Suddenly, he no longer seemed like a youth anymore, but a full-grown man.

She watched as his eyes followed where the horse’s muzzle was on her body. Philippe’s every muscle seemed alert, alive.

Digging into her further, the horse’s huge head knocked her off balance; she stumbled back.

Philippe’s arm shot up to steady her, hugging her around her lower back. With his other arm, he grabbed her just below the soft curve of her backside. It was a place no one’s hands had touched since Nicole had matured the spring before.

The sensation of him holding her so firmly, of his eyes locking onto hers, gripped her as tightly as his arms did. No longer in danger of falling, she felt as if she were. Strange new slithering shards of energy traveled up and down her torso and legs. Petard had moved back, his head turning in the direction of a bird’s cry from behind where Philippe crouched.

Returning Philippe’s gaze, she placed her hands on his shoulders. Underneath her fingers, she could feel the tautness of his muscles; even more so, the focused attention at which they stood, as if waiting to receive direction from her.
Of course they were.

She slipped down to his crouching position. His hands slithered up over either side of her torso until they rested under her arms. His thumb-tips pressed lightly into her collarbones, then more firmly.

Staring at him, she sensed a boundary present, a decision underway. It was hers to make, judging by the attentiveness with which he held her.

Slowly, with one hand, she covered his and pulled it out from under her arm, sliding it over her breast. What was she doing? All she knew was that she would have her moment before her father married her off to the rich older nobleman he had decided upon for her. Her time to reach for what she wanted was now, before she disappeared forever into the confines of married life; far from this youth with the gray-green gaze that moved her strangely when it fixed on her.

His sharp intake of breath told her he was cognizant of the forbidden territory they now traveled. Would she allow him to wander farther?

Taking her hand off his, she waited to see what he would do. Slowly, he moved his hand over her other breast then back again and, finally, sure of its terrain, it proceeded to the middle of her chest and upward to the base of her throat, against her warm, bare skin.

It was as if her heart had slowed down, along with time itself. Each beat seemed deeper, more resonant. She raised her head, waiting.

With fingers splayed, Philippe’s broad hand traveled up, twisting as it went to fit the line of her jawbone. There it rested, his palm cupping her chin, his index and middle fingers on her cheekbone. His thumb rested on the side of her mouth.

She opened it slightly and felt his thumb journey along her lower lip and back. Her entire body quivered.

“Philippe,” she whispered.

“My Nicole,” he murmured back.

“Am I?” For the moment, she belonged to herself, but by the following summer she would be a married woman.

“I wish you were,” he answered, then moved his face toward hers until their noses touched. “And you?” he asked, almost imperceptibly.

“I wish I was,” she answered, closing her eyes and letting go of every conscious thought that could come between them. There were many, but at that moment there were none.

His kiss was tender at first, then firm, heady. As it deepened, his hands came around her back, pressing her to him.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that his own were wild, as if starlit, with an expression in them she had never seen before. A hint of danger glinted there, yet she knew him, didn’t she? Was he not still her Philippe, the youth whose hair she washed ?
Reaching for him, she pulled him to her. This time, it was her lips that sought his, opening beneath his, feeling his tongue press into her mouth, tasting and probing. Not expecting such an intrusion, she pressed her teeth gently down on his tongue, bidding him stop till she was ready to proceed again.

Soon enough, she was. This time, she put her own tongue into his mouth, dancing and rolling over his. They were like two lambs frolicking in a pasture. His taste was delicious, unlike anything she had savored before—fresh, young, and virile. Perhaps hers was, too, judging by the way he breathed so deeply.

His breathing sped up, and he stood, lifting her to her feet with him. She flung her arms around his neck and craned her head up, receiving his kiss in the pink and purple rays of the setting sun. Never had she felt like this before, never did she want to let go of this moment.

“Nicole! Are you there? Nicole!” a voice called. Great shuddering gasps came over her, whether from awe at what had just taken place, or shock at having it end so suddenly, she knew not.

“I will be right there,” she called, quickly breaking away from him and smoothing her hands over her gown.

“Where are you? I don’t see you!” Marie de Volonté exclaimed.

Good. Nicole looked up at Philippe and put a finger to her lips.

Catching his stunned expression, she giggled. Inside, her heart stirred, not her loins. But now, for the first time, she knew what it was to have her loins stir, too. She had never known before. It was a powerful sensation, as if an ancient call from the wild was pulling and straining at her, rendering her reason senseless, her senses as tight as the string of a well-tuned lute.

Putting her hands up to her hair, she smoothed it over her shoulder, checking with her fingers that no telltale hay or grass was caught in its long locks. Satisfied, she smiled at Philippe.

“Tomorrow?” he murmured.

“Tomorrow morning. Take care of my stallion,” she bade him.

“Take care of my heart, and bring it back tomorrow,” he replied.

Her own heart leaping for joy, she turned and ran toward Marie de Volonté, still searching for her on the far side of the paddock. “Here I am!” she sang out, finally ready to be discovered. As she caught up to the young noblewoman, she prayed Philippe had hidden himself.

“Happy to be working with Petard again?” Marie asked. Her face was impish.

“He’s better today. My poultice is working its magic,” Nicole told her.

“Something is working its magic,” Marie replied, studying her closely. She reached over and plucked a stray piece of straw from Nicole’s hair.

Nicole looked at her guiltily then caught herself. “How did you know I was here?” she asked sharply.

“I didn’t. I asked Cook where you were and she said to go ask the stable-boy.”

“Oh, you mean Dom.” Relief flooded her. She would use what she knew about Marie and him to keep her quiet.

“No, not him,” Marie answered.

“Then who?” Alarm rose in Nicole’s stomach.

“The one over there.” The younger girl pointed toward the barn.

“No one’s over there,” Nicole said, straining to see in the gloaming.

Marie looked in the direction Nicole did. “Oh. Well, he was there a minute ago. I asked him, and he pointed over there,” Marie indicated where Nicole and Philippe had just been.

“Do you know who it was?” Nicole asked, hoping it hadn’t been Philippe that Cook had meant. Besides Dom, there was another young stable-hand who mucked out the horses’ stalls. Had he seen them? If so, how much had he seen? Her heart thumped wildly at the thought. He was said to be slow-witted, but that didn’t mean he was mute. No one was at court.

Marie shrugged. “No.”

“What did you see?” Nicole’s heart thumped.

“Nothing, my lady. Your eyes are as full of magic as your healing hands,” Marie answered blithely as she sauntered up the path.

“What does that mean, pray tell?” Nicole demanded. Unused to being on the defensive, she didn’t like it. She would switch positions as soon as she found a way.

“Lucky the one they touch, that is all,” Marie replied mysteriously.

“What one do you speak of?”

“I will not say,” the younger girl giggled, then put her finger to her lips in an identical manner to the way Nicole had just done with Philippe.

There was nothing more Nicole could do than swallow the next thing she wished to say. It wouldn’t do her any good to blurt it out; it would just incriminate her further. Biting her tongue, she joined Marie in laughter, praying that the younger girl would keep a secret. Besides, Nicole felt like laughing too. Her heart danced for joy at the memory of Philippe’s touch.

 

Blurb:

In July of 1497 Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, gives birth to a son. Within hours the child joins the five dead siblings who came before him.

In the mournful weeks that follow, fifteen-year-old Nicole St. Sylvain meets Philippe de Bois, a young horse trainer breaking in one of the queen’s stallions. The attraction between the two is immediate, but duty and honor bring their romance to an abrupt halt. They work together to heal the horse’s infected hoof, then part ways.

As the daughter of a wealthy but untitled merchant, Nicole exists in a precarious social position. Her family has money, she is the sole heir, but she is only noble on her dead mother’s side. An arranged marriage to an established noble family will secure her future but dash any hope she has of a life with Philippe.

When the queen’s only living child falls ill, she remembers Nicole’s skill as a healer. If Nicole’s healing sense of touch can save the royal child, will the queen reward her with the greatest desire of her heart—marriage to her one true love?

Buy Link: Amazon

Bio:

Rozsa Gaston writes about men and women who follow their hearts as well as their bliss. Her motto? Stay playful.

She studied European history at Yale, and received her master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia. In between she worked as a singer/pianist all over the world. She lives in Bronxville, NY with her family.

Gaston is currently working on Anne and Charles, sequel to Sense of Touch, a fictional account of the life of Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, with first husband Charles VIII of France, during the years 1488-1498.

Her other works include Dog Sitters, Budapest Romance, Running from Love, Paris Adieu, and Black is Not a Color. Post an online review of Sense of Touch and she will thank you with a complimentary e-book edition of your choice of any of her other books at http://bit.ly/RozsaGastonbooks.

Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rozsagastonauthor.

Follow her on Twitter at @RozsaGaston

or on Instagram at rozsagastonauthor

Visit her blog at www.rozsagaston.com

First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing & A Kiss For Charity

02 Friday Jun 2017

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Today on First Kiss Friday I am featuring the first kiss scene from A Kiss For Charity, a sweet Regency era novella that first appeared in the Bluestocking Belles’ 2016 box set, Holly and Hopeful Hearts. The Belles and I will be celebrating the individual release of our novellas this coming Sunday with a Facebook event. We hope you can join us. Keep reading and I hope you enjoy the first kiss between Nicholas and Grace!

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Excerpt:

He bowed. She curtsied. The musicians struck up a chord as if Nicholas had instructed them to do so for his own benefit. He held out his hand. A bold move, but one he was willing to take this night.

“May I have the pleasure of this dance?” he inquired politely, already knowing her answer.

Her gloved hand slipped into his, and he felt as though he had waited his entire life for her to say yes. Yes to the dance. Yes to anything else he might propose, be it for one night or something they might both wish to be a longer commitment.

She was an accomplished dancer. He had already witnessed her talent, yet it was far more pleasurable to watch her when she was now his partner. He wished to know who she was, but the fast-paced dance was hardly a place to carry on a meaningful conversation about getting to know one another.

Was it two dances later or maybe three? Nicholas lost track of time but finally, he placed his hand about the lady’s waist to expertly guide her out into the garden. It had been some time since he had allowed himself the pleasure of enjoying a woman’s company, especially in the moonlight.

The evening was cool, and when he saw her shiver, he shrugged out of his jacket since he had left his cape behind in the supper box. He placed the garment about her shoulders. She took hold of the lapels and brought it closer. He swore he could hear her sniff the edges as if she were committing to her memory the smell of his cologne for when he was gone.

Nicholas reached out to remove her mask so he could finally see all of her features.

“No.” She held out her hand to stop his efforts. “The mask stays in place if you wish me to remain here with you.”

“If that is your wish, so be it.”

“It is,” she answered quietly.

Nicholas did not remember it being this difficult to kiss a lady in the moonlight, but she must desire to be with him, too, else she would not be standing outside with him now. He could no longer stand the distance between them. Surely some form of spell had been cast upon him to be acting so rashly.

“Who are you?” he asked, taking hold of both her arms and bringing her closer.

“Does it matter?”

“How else am I to call upon you tomorrow if I know not your name tonight, my lady?”

This unknown woman who teased his senses gave a careless shrug but took a step closer. She placed her hand upon his chest. “Let it be enough that for tonight I am free to do as I please.”

He grinned at her response. One moment Nicholas was staring into her mask and brown eyes, and the next he was lowering his mouth to meet her lips.

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Grace was unsure if it were the moonlight that drove her to such reckless behavior or the thought of having just one moment in time to treasure with a man who wanted to be with a mysterious and, perhaps, desirable woman. In either case, nothing prepared her for the instant their lips met. She supposed, since she did not protest going down the garden path with him, this would be the natural course of what would happen. But still… surely she was slipping at the very brink of tasting heaven itself from their first kiss.

Such a kiss was at first like an introduction when his mouth slowly slid over hers as though he were searching for some hidden meaning to their attraction to one another. There was nothing demanding or urgent in seeing the matter over and done with. No, the kiss was a mingling of breaths. It was two souls connecting in the night. A simple kiss, yet there was nothing simple about it. He stopped as quickly as he started then stared into her eyes, yet she knew the mask hid her features well enough that he would be unable to identify her in the light of day.

Blurb:

Love heals all wounds but will their pride keep them apart?

Young widow, Grace, Lady de Courtenay, is more concerned with improving her mind than finding another husband. But how was she to know that a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would spark her interest and make her yearn for love again?

Lord Nicholas Lacey has been on his own for far too long after losing his wife in a tragic accident. After a rare trip to a masquerade, his attention is captivated by a lovely young woman. Considering the dubious company she keeps, perhaps she might be interested in becoming his mistress.

From the darkened paths of Vauxhall Gardens to a countryside estate called Hollystone Hall, Nicholas and Grace must set aside their differences in order to let love into their hearts. It will take more than a dose of holiday cheer to see these two on the road to finding their happily-ever-after and a kiss for charity may just be what they both need.

Buy Links:

Amazon US  |  Barnes & Noble  |iBooks  |  Kobo

Amazon AU |  Amazon BR | Amazon CA | Amazon DE  |Amazon ES 
Amazon FR  | Amazon IN  | Amazon IT  | Amazon JP | Amazon MX 
Amazon NL  |  Amazon UK


Come celebrate with the Bluestocking Belles
and the release of our novellas

June 4, 2017
4:00 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

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Join our Facebook event here

For more information on my work, be sure to check out the tabs above and thank you for stopping by my blog today!

First Kiss Friday with guest Jennifer Skully & a giveaway

26 Friday May 2017

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Today I’d like to welcome back my friend, author Jennifer Skully. Jennifer and I know each from our local chapter of Romance Writers of America, an organization I am truly grateful for regarding my writing career. Today, Jennifer has a first kiss excerpt from her latest novel, Pretty in Pink Slip, that is available fro preorder and what a first kiss scene it is too! Jennifer is also offering a giveaway to a random comment of the first two ebooks in this series, Desire Actually, After Office Hours, Book 1, and Love Affair to Remember, After Office Hours, Book 2. Read on for her excerpt from her latest novel and don’t forget to leave her a comment to be in the running for the giveaway. Happy Reading!

First Kiss Excerpt:

She wanted to ask so many questions, exactly when he’d gotten divorced, did he date, why he’d never remarried—though that was probably obvious, the workaholic syndrome again.

But none of it was her business. She didn’t want to get all tangled up in his life—he was the CEO after all. Besides, she didn’t need a man in her life telling her what to do or disapproving of her decisions or expecting her to wait on him or correcting her.

So why had she invited him to help her finish the leftovers? Especially now that she couldn’t get rid of him until he was ready to go.

If only it didn’t feel so right and comfortable to have him filling up her living room. If only his body so close to hers didn’t feel divine.

If only she’d woken up Joy instead of letting Brett carry her daughter to bed.

She jumped up then, almost as if she’d do something she’d regret later if she didn’t get away from him.

“More wine,” she explained as she practically ran to the kitchen. Thank God her wineglasses were small; there was just enough left in the bottle to fill them both halfway. It was a cheap brand, and she felt slightly ashamed, but whatever, he knew it now. Her whole existence was about money and how much things cost. She blushed just remembering Joy’s comment about the stuffed animal being 50 percent off, like she was teaching her daughter to be cheap. But really it was about not being wasteful.

Why did having him in her house make her feel like she needed to justify herself? Why did it make her feel like she was less than?

The onslaught of negativity had her marching back into the living room, the wine bottle in her hand. He was still sitting there, larger than life, in her living room, big, bold, and beautiful, making her breath catch. Making her want. “You know, I just have to ask this. Because I don’t understand. What do you really want from me? To promise I’m not going to sue? That I’m not going to screw up the deal with The Nelson Group? That I’ll keep everyone’s secret about how badly Rhonda treats people?”

He rose, slowly, until she felt like he towered over her, and padded across the carpet like a stealthy predator sneaking up on her, stopping only inches away so that his scent invaded her thoughts, her mind.

“What I really want,” he said so softly it was little more than a sexy whisper she felt across her skin, “is to taste every inch of your body.”

The wine bottle slipped from her numb fingers, landing unbroken on the carpet and rolling a few inches.

There wasn’t a breath left in her lungs, and she was suddenly lightheaded, swaying, drifting into him.

He reached out, so very slowly, giving her time to stop him if she wanted to, if she could. But she didn’t have the will to move a muscle.

His big hand slid beneath her hair, wrapped around her nape, pulled her close until she had to tip her head back to see him. He took her lips with a gentleness that set her blood humming in her veins and her skin buzzing. He tasted of the sweetness of wine and sizzling male. She opened her mouth to him without thought, without fight. With need and desire. With carnal loneliness.

God, he was so good. So perfect. Taking and giving, sliding his tongue over hers, setting her on fire and melting her down. There was just his hand holding her, his mouth drawing her in, and his scent draping her like a sensual curtain. He didn’t touch her anywhere else, didn’t press his hard body against hers.

Yet it was like he owned every inch of her that he’d said he wanted to taste.

When he backed off, her lips and body followed him as if they had all the will and she had none. She opened her eyes, realizing only then that she’d closed them.

He regarded her with a steel-gray gaze. “Whatever you decide to do about Rhonda isn’t going to make any difference to how much I want to drag you down onto the carpet right this very minute.” A little flame seemed to blaze in his eyes. “But I’m not going to do that no matter how badly I want it. I won’t bother you again this weekend. You need time to think. Time to separate this—” He pulled her in for one more devastating taste of his mouth. “—and work.”

He bent down, swiping the wine bottle up off the carpet and reaching around her to set it on the kitchen table. “No matter what you decide, today was the best day I’ve had in a long, long time.” He grinned suddenly, like a little boy. “Except the day my granddaughter Valerie was born.”

Then he was gone. Leaving behind only the heady scent of big, hot male.

Pretty in Pink Slip (After Office Hours, Book 3)
By Jennifer Skully

She’s a single mother. He’s a brilliant CEO. And she’s got something he wants. Badly.

Ivy Elliot dreams of being a stay-at-home mom, but in a career-oriented world, she’s reluctant to admit it. Besides, she’s a single mother and quitting work to homeschool her daughter just isn’t an option. Asking for a raise, however, is an alternative. But when she works up the nerve, disaster strikes. Instead of a raise, Ivy gets the dreaded pink slip.

But Ivy is also handed the key to making her dream come true. If she sues the company for the terrible names her boss Rhonda called her when she asked for a raise… she might very well get millions.

She gave her heart and soul to the wrong man once. Can she ever trust enough to give it all again?

Brett Baker has worked his whole life to be able to take a company of his own into the Fortune 500, and he’s sitting on the cusp of his dream. Until Ivy could potentially ruin all his plans by suing the company for discrimination and harassment. He’s got to use every weapon in his arsenal to make sure she doesn’t do that.

Even if it means falling in love with her.

 

Pretty in Pink Slip is as an exclusive preorder on iBooks and will be released on July 14.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/pretty-in-pink-slip/id1238924428?mt=11

After Hours Series in Order
Desire Actually
Love Affair to Remember
Pretty in Pink Slip

Bio

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Skully is a lover of contemporary romance, bringing you poignant tales peopled with hilarious characters that will make you laugh and make you cry. Look for Jennifer’s series written with Bella Andre, starting with Breathless in Love, The Maverick Billionaires Book 1. Writing as Jasmine Haynes, Jennifer authors classy, sensual romance tales about real issues such as growing older, facing divorce, starting over. Her books have passion and heart and humor and happy endings, even if they aren’t always traditional. She also writes gritty, paranormal mysteries in the Max Starr series. Having penned stories since the moment she learned to write, Jennifer now lives in the Redwoods of Northern California with her husband and their adorable nuisance of a cat who totally runs the household. Join her newsletter for updates on contests, new releases, and freebies by going to jenniferskully.com.

Contact

Newsletter signup: http://bit.ly/SkullyNews
Jennifer’s Website: www.jenniferskully.com
Blog: www.jasminehaynes.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jasminehaynesauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasminehaynes1
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-Skully/e/B001JRYPCM
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/332472.Jennifer_Skully
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-skully

 

 

First Kiss Friday with Tina Glasneck

19 Friday May 2017

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Today on First Kiss Friday I’d like to introduce you to Tina Glasneck who is one of the authors in a group I belong to, Hearts Through Time. Let’s take a look at what Tina is offering today as a first kiss scene between her characters:

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Thank you so much Sherry for allowing me to be on your blog today! Although the second book of my Dragons series, A Dragon’s Desire, has recently released, I wanted to highlight the first book in the series, A Dragon’s Destiny.

A Dragon’s Destiny tells the tale of a young woman, Jaz, who is finding her way in a man’s world, and who believes she is cursed. She also happens to be in love with her best friend’s brother, but is a little too shy to make that move. Of course, when the supernatural gets involved, and the gods begin to work their magic, culminating in a trip back to 1520, Jaz find out what exactly this curse is, and what she is.

If you love time-travel, Norse gods, fantasy, and awesome love stories, I think this book will be a great read for you.

Here is the first kiss between Jaz and her love interest, Erich, her best friend’s brother.

First Kiss Excerpt:

“How do you not know what you do to me? How have you denied me this one kiss for so very long? Do you not know how long I have waited for you to stare upon me and regard me with more than just a passing glance?”

“I didn’t think you were paying attention.”

The overhead lighting wasn’t the most romantic, but in that moment, I didn’t care. He was a warm-bodied male and I was tired of dancing in and out of the fire. I wanted him.

“I’m always paying attention,” he leaned in closer, a heartbeat away. Like two magnets, our lips met. Soft and tender, his kiss deepened, claiming me to him. He pressed me closer, tighter.

I pulled him to me like he was my oxygen, and water. He was everything, a mass built of billions of atoms that hummed, and were charged and ready.

He tasted of mint, and his touch sparked something within me. I’d slumbered so long that I wanted more…no, I needed more.

As I pulled him to me, he took a step back, breathing hard, and diverted his eyes from me.

“Erich?”

He ran his fingers through his hair.

“I shouldn’t have done that. I need you to want me, and not based on my wanting you. I need you to want me for me, for who I am.”

“Erich, what are you talking about?”

His face paled and his eyes welled with panic. It was a look I knew too well. It was the look I got when I’d showed up to a formal party in my plaid shirt and department store scuffed shoes.

I refused to think it had something to do with me, but I couldn’t deny that his retreating made it more than evident that again I’d been found wanting.

I wiped my lips and turned away. I couldn’t let him see my hurt. He’d cracked open Pandora’s Box and let out those demons I’d been stuffing down deeper, and hiding away.

“Yeah, I’ll go then. I’m so… so sorry. I must have misread everything.”

I turned to go, and he caught my arm.

“I can’t explain this to you, but know that what we have is destined. I want you. I want you more than I wish for my heart to beat. I want you more than I wish to live.”

“Then why are you pushing me away? I don’t understand.” I knew he was about to tell me about that damn curse and that he didn’t wish to wind up under the wheels of a tractor trailer, but then he did something I wasn’t expecting.

He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me one more time. It felt like goodbye.

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Buy link:

Only on Amazon(KU) https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Destiny-Book-ebook/dp/B01MDLSW0X/

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Bio:

Tina Glasneck is a writer of crime fiction and fantasy romance. Her imagination thrives when it comes to hot coffee, great music and laughter. She believes in miracles, the power of positive thinking, and that in each of us a dragon lurks. Learn more about Tina on her website: http://tglasneck.wixsite.com/tglasneck

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First Kiss Friday with guest Elizabeth Ellen Carter

12 Friday May 2017

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Today on First Kiss Friday it’s my pleasure to welcome Elizabeth Ellen Carter and her characters from Dark Heart. I just love this beautiful cover and I can’t wait to dive into her latest release. We hope you’ll enjoy this first kiss scene! Happy reading.

Excerpt:

Kyna felt it wiser to hold her tongue. It was often the best way to get others to loosen theirs.

She bobbed down to pluck a small, pink, wild flower and twirled it in her hands to give herself something to do with the remains of fear scalding her veins.

When she looked up, Marcus stood much closer, just a hand span away. He bridged it, his larger hands engulfing hers, stilling the movement of the sweet pea in her fingers.

Her attention was caught just as surely as her hands. She imagined she could read an apology in his features although the words were absent.

His hands left hers. Fingers lightly traced up her arm leaving goose bumps in their wake, across her shoulders, then one hand cupped her cheek tenderly. Kyna’s heart pounded again but now it was with a different sort of fear. Feelings and desires she thought dead and buried were being resurrected.

She closed her eyes and savored the feel of his hand on her face. A soft touch to her lips reawakened something else.

She sighed and the kiss deepened.

Her arms wound around the broad expanse of his back. How could she have considered him as cold as marble when, through the linen of his tunic, he was warm flesh and blood?

Warmth suffused her and pooled low in her belly. His lips and tongue sampled her cheeks and her neck, trailing heat.

Crickets competed with the birds to fill the ending day with sound.

Perhaps, Marcus really wasn’t going to murder her. Maybe, his intent was to seduce her to death.

Blurb

Can the woman who is free in her heart save the man who is a slave in his?

Rome, 235AD

A series of ritual murders of young boys recalls memories of Rome’s most wicked Emperor. Magistrate Marcus Cornelius Drusus has discovered the cult extends to the very heart of Roman society.

Despite his personal wealth and authority, Marcus is a slave to his past – conflicted by his status as an adopted son, bitterly betrayed by his wife and forced to give up his child.

Kyna knows all about betrayal. Sold into slavery by her husband to pay a gambling debt, she found herself in Rome, far from her home in Britannia. Bought by a doctor, she is taught his trade and is about to gain her freedom when her mentor is murdered by the cult.

When the same group make an attempt on her life, Kyna is forced to give up her freedom and accept Marcus’s protection. With no one to trust but each other, mutual attraction ignites into passion but how far will Marcus go for vengeance when he learns the cult’s next victim is his son?

Buy Links
Dark Heart is exclusively on Amazon $2.99 or free on Kindle Unlimited – https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Heart-Elizabeth-Ellen-Carter-ebook/dp/B06ZYJ54VD/

Biography

Elizabeth Ellen Carter is an award-winning historical romance writer who pens richly detailed historical romantic adventures. A former newspaper journalist, Carter ran an award-winning PR agency for 12 years. The author lives in Australia with her husband and two cats.

 

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First Kiss Friday with guest Jessica Cale

05 Friday May 2017

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On today’s First Kiss Friday, it’s my pleasure to welcome back my friend, Jessica Cale. Jessica writes those page turning novels you just can’t put down until you’ve read the very last line. We hope you enjoy this excerpt from her upcoming release, Broken Things. Happy reading and enjoy.

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Excerpt:

Hearing someone knock on the bar for service, he turned too quickly and bumped into Meg. She lost her balance and he caught her automatically, holding her up as she steadied herself.

Someone whistled.

Jake ignored it until another followed, then a third. He looked around the bar in confusion, while Meg turned scarlet in his grasp.

“Bastard mistletoe.” She muttered, looking anywhere but at him.

Bess cackled as she passed them, an empty tray lolling on her hip.

Mistletoe. Jake frowned at the spiny leaves hanging from the ceiling. He was meant to kiss her, wasn’t he?

It wasn’t his tradition, but the punters thought he was odd and foreign enough already without him drawing attention to it. He wouldn’t embarrass Meg by refusing. Wasn’t it meant to be bad luck if you didn’t?

These and a dozen other reasons flew through his mind to justify the fact that he wanted to. He wanted to kiss her very, very badly.

Davey would no doubt try to charge him for it. Fortunately, the little rat was nowhere to be seen.

“What are they waiting for?” someone whispered behind him.

“Kiss her!” Joe Ledford bellowed, covering his encouragement up with a series of contrived coughs.

Finally, Meg looked up at him with an unfamiliar light shining in her eyes.

It was fear.

Was she afraid of him? His heart ached. He knew from experience he didn’t have do anything to inspire fear in women, but he thought he and Meg had grown close, or something like it. He had thought they were friends, though her very presence drove him to distraction and he’d spent long hours talking himself out of visiting her room again. She was different, he knew it. Why was she afraid?

He spread his hands in a gesture of surrender. He wouldn’t kiss her if she didn’t want him to.

Meg’s eyes flickered as her expression changed to one of steely determination. “Bugger it,” she muttered and stepped fully into his arms. Standing on her toes, she slid her arms around his neck. He caught her waist automatically, welcoming the feeling of her soft curves pressed up against him. She smelled of rosewater and tobacco, an intoxicating combination at once earthy and sweet. Her eyelashes dropped, and she hesitantly touched her lips to his.

It was not the quick peck he had expected. Her kiss was slow and deep. She tentatively moved her lips against his, testing the way they fit together. He held her flush against his hips, helpless. His hair stood on end as she ran the edge of her tongue along his bottom lip, nipping at it softly with her teeth.

He sighed against her lips, his hands drifting up her back. Seized with wickedness, he wound her thick braid around his wrist. She’d seemed to like it when he’d pulled it before. He tugged it gently and her mouth opened with a low, throaty moan. He could barely hear it, but he could taste it. His tongue delved into the sweet heat of her mouth, savoring the crush of her lips, the caress of her tongue, and a taste that was all her own.

The bar was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat. Everything seemed to disappear around them except for the crackle of the fire in the hearth and the distant smell of ale, receding behind the delicious scent of the goddess in his arms. She tightened her grasp around his neck and kissed him harder.

Someone cleared their throat. He ignored them.

“So that’s that, then,” someone muttered.

The odd finality of this comment seemed to reach Meg through the haze and she broke off the kiss too quickly, her hands sliding slowly down his chest. She rested them there a moment and held his gaze with huge eyes bright and green as leaves in the sun; luminous and tinged with gold.

He saw it then. There was desire there, obvious and painful as his own. A measure of confusion, perhaps, but it wasn’t as dire as he’d suspected.

Meg Henshawe was not afraid of anything.

He swallowed.

Meg smiled and stepped out of his arms. She made a show of straightening her hair and shrugged it off. “Pay attention lads, you might learn a thing or two.”

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Broken Things The Southwark Saga, Book 4

Genre: Historical Romance

Content warnings: Profanity, violence, graphic sex, and references to domestic violence and sexual assault.

Rival. Sister. Barmaid. Whore.

Meg Henshawe has been a lot of things in her life, and few of them good. As proprietress of The Rose and Crown in Restoration Southwark, she has squandered her life catering to the comfort of workmen and thieves. Famous for her beauty as much as her reputation for rage, Meg has been coveted, abused, and discarded more than once. She is resigned to fighting alone until a passing boxer offers a helping hand.

Jake Cohen needs a job. When an injury forces him out of the ring for good, all he’s left with is a pair of smashed hands and a bad leg. Keeping the peace at The Rose is easy, especially with a boss as beautiful—and wickedly funny—as Meg Henshawe. In her way, she’s as much of an outcast as Jake, and she offers him three things he thought he’d never see again: a home, family, and love.

After Meg’s estranged cousin turns up and seizes the inn, Meg and Jake must work together to protect their jobs and keep The Rose running. The future is uncertain at best, and their pasts won’t stay buried. Faced with one setback after another, they must decide if what they have is worth the fight to keep it. Can broken things ever really be fixed?

Buy Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34755862-broken-things

Amazon US: https://goo.gl/i2k7jk

aAmazon UK: https://goo.gl/PcomJH

Amazon AUS: https://goo.gl/TXRJD1

Amazon Canada: https://goo.gl/6bK5S1

Amazon India: https://goo.gl/ni04W6

B&N: https://goo.gl/BuQDX2

Kobo: https://goo.gl/gUqG6X

iBooks: https://goo.gl/DSNmhn

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About the author

Jessica Cale is a historical romance author and journalist based in North Carolina. Originally from Minnesota, she lived in Wales for several years where she earned a BA in History and an MFA in Creative Writing while climbing castles and photographing mines for history magazines. She kidnapped (“married”) her very own British prince (close enough) and is enjoying her happily ever after with him in a place where no one understands his accent. She is the editor of Dirty, Sexy History and you can visit her at www.dirtysexyhistory.com.

Also find Jessica at Facebook & Twitter

 

 

First Kiss Friday with guest Jude Knight

28 Friday Apr 2017

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It’s First Kiss Friday and my guest today is my dear friend Jude Knight and her characters from A Raging Madness. I’m currently beta reading this marvelous novel by Jude and let me tell you… you’re going to love it! Happy reading and enjoy this first kiss excerpt.

Excerpt:

“That’s a marvellous idea, Ella,” Alex said. “And I would not need to beg from Rede. I have money of my own. They paid me for being a human pincushion in the stead of my Distinguished Personage. They would have preferred me to die, I think, since a posthumous medal would have been cheaper, but I pleased myself instead of them, and so they gave me a reward. I have a good sum invested, and it is growing larger thanks to my cousin’s gift for making money.”

The sound was Alex shifting and dropping to the floor. Before she was aware of his intent, he was bending over her. Perhaps he meant to kiss her cheek, but she had turned her face towards the sound of his movement, and his lips dropped on her mouth, paused, and then moulded themselves to hers.

She had been right to be afraid. One touch of his lips and she burned for more, shifting to allow him better access, opening her mouth to welcome his invading tongue. No. Not invading; no conquering assault to batter down her defences, but a long-awaited and cherished caress that set her aflame, so she moaned and locked her hands behind his head to prevent his escape, and he stretched above her on the narrow bed and placed his own hands gently either side of her face.

“Ella,” he said, into her open mouth, and crushed his lips to her again before she could speak, though what would she say? Alex? Yes? Stop?

He was aroused. Though he took most of his weight on his elbows and his knees, still the length of him poked into her belly. If she shifted, even a little, it would rub the place that burned. Only the cotton of her shift and his shirt kept them apart, and all the good reasons for not lifting both garments out of the way had melted in the heat of his kiss.

Thoughts scattered. She pushed herself up against him, her nipples so hard the cotton hurt, and it was a good hurt, like the burning he both relieved and heightened as he rubbed his male organ against her, setting her squirming and moaning.

Suddenly he moved, sliding down the bed to nudge her shift sideways down one arm, freeing one breast, and seizing on the nipple with his mouth, his teeth, his tongue.

She moaned again, helpless to keep the sound from escaping, as he used one hand to tease the other nipple, and the other to gather the hem of her shift until her woman’s place was uncovered, and his hand was doing delicious things that narrowed her world to him. To Alex, and his hands and mouth and body, and what was happening to hers.

Alex tensed suddenly and raised his head, his hands stilling. Ella suppressed a whimper, caught and subdued the involuntary movement to draw him back, surfaced from the sea of sensation, and finally heard what he had heard. Voices, speaking low. Footsteps. The soft clap of a hand on the roof of the cabin—Jonno’s nightly salute, too soft to wake them but a signal they heard more evenings than not.

Jonno and the O’Haras were back from the tavern, and the spell was broken.

Genre: Regency romance, historical romance, historical suspense,
Regency noir, gothic Heat rating: PG-13 ISBN: 9780473393670 Page count: 382 pages on Kindle Publication date: 9 May 2017

Blurb:

Their marriage is a fiction. Their enemies are all too real.

Ella survived an abusive and philandering husband, in-laws who hate her, and public scorn. But she’s not sure she will survive love. It is too late to guard her heart from the man forced to pretend he has married such a disreputable widow, but at least she will not burden him with feelings he can never return.

Alex understands his supposed wife never wishes to remarry. And if she had chosen to wed, it would not have been to him. He should have wooed her when he was whole, when he could have had her love, not her pity. But it is too late now. She looks at him and sees a broken man. Perhaps she will learn to bear him.

In their masquerade of a marriage, Ella and Alex soon discover they are more well-matched than they expected. But then the couple’s blossoming trust is ripped apart by a malicious enemy. Two lost souls must together face the demons of their past to save their lives and give their love a future.

Buy Links:

Jude Knight’s Book Page  |  Smashwords |  Barnes and Noble  |  iBooks

Bio:

Jude Knight’s writing goal is to transport readers to another time, another place, where they can enjoy adventure and romance, thrill to trials and challenges, uncover secrets and solve mysteries, delight in a happy ending, and return from their virtual holiday refreshed and ready for anything.

She writes historical novels, novellas, and short stories, mostly set in the early 19th Century. She writes strong determined heroines, heroes who can appreciate a clever capable woman, villains you’ll love to loathe, and all with a leavening of humour.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  | Goodreads |  Amazon Author Page  | Smashwords  |  Email

 

First Kiss Friday with yours truly, Sherry Ewing

21 Friday Apr 2017

Posted by in First Kiss Friday

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Today on First Kiss Friday I’m excited to bring you an excerpt from Nothing But Time: A Family of Worth, Book One. Nothing But Time is the beginning of my brand new Regency era series and I’m thrilled to finally be able to share this with you.  In this first kiss scene, Lady Gwendolyn Sandhurst is meeting with Neville Quinn, Earl of Drayton to have a cozy dinner in her brothers home. I hope you enjoy this excerpt from both Gwendolyn and Neville’s point of view. Happy reading!

Excerpt:

“Tell me of yourself,” Neville asked, before taking a sip of his wine.

“What is there to tell? I had a normal upbringing, most likely similar to your own. Being the daughter of a duke does have certain responsibilities or opens many doors if you have need of something.”

“And what do you stand in need of now?”

Gwendolyn sighed. “That is a difficult question to answer, for there are many things I wish were different in my life. I know I should not speak of it, but my marriage is a shambles and hardly one you read about in a romance novel.”

“I would not have our conversation upset you, Gwendolyn. You need not speak of your marriage,” Neville replied, reaching across the table for her hand.

“How can I not? I do not mean to be a bore, but you must understand that for me to be here with you, alone, is completely out of character. I do not make a habit of late night trysts with men I barely know. Betraying my husband will surely land me in hell.”

“Then we will go there together. Let me also confess I do not make a habit of stealing another man’s wife. Yet, you must admit there is something between us that cannot be explained. I know you feel it, too.” Neville pushed back his chair, took her hand and led her to a settee. She began to move to one side but he would have none of it. “Do not go so far away. I would have you close to me. You are mine… at least for as long as this night will allow us.”

His hand continued to hold onto hers and she gave up any further protests that may have spilled from her lips. They would have been falsehoods and there was no sense lying to the man who was tearing down the last defenses to her heart.

She raised her eyes to meet his. There was so much promise hidden within the depths of those piercing hazel orbs. “I can never truly be yours, Neville, just as surely as you can never be mine.”

“We have nothing but time this night, Gwendolyn,” he murmured, leaning forward he pressed a kiss upon her temple.

“Time… this evening will pass too swiftly, and then I will once more be returned to the nightmare of my life.”

“Then do not think of what the morrow will bring. Tonight, I will keep you safe at my side.”

Gwendolyn leaned her head upon his shoulder and he put his arm around her. Safe. He was like a boat anchor keeping her grounded whilst the waves crashed against the shore, attempting to pull loose the ropes that would keep her moored to a dock. Yet, the reality of her life remained with her and her conscience would not let go of the values she had adhered to all her life.

She leaned back to look up at the most handsomest man she had ever beheld. “I cannot become your mistress, Neville,” she confessed. He stroked his hand through her hair so gently she almost burst out into tears at the injustice of it all.

“I know,” he whispered, before leaning down to give her their first kiss.

How could she have known just one taste would make a simple kiss so meaningful? How could she have known a kiss could be so pleasurable? How could she have known her life would change forever in the instant their breath mingled as one? She had changed, and she now knew what everyone spoke of when they said they were in love. Love… she had fallen in love with Neville the moment she had first seen him. However in the world would she live without him? More importantly, how was she supposed to return home to a husband she could not help but hate?

Neville held Gwendolyn in his arms and swore he wished never to let her go. He deepened their kiss and a fire erupted in his loins he would be hard pressed to put out. If she only knew what she did to him with the simple gesture of cupping his face, she would have run from her brother’s house and never looked back. What had they gotten themselves into?

He broke off their kiss and disappointment flashed in her eyes. “Do not stop, Drayton,” she murmured seductively.

Neville smiled knowing from the use of his title she was miffed at him. “I cannot take much more, my sweet Gwendolyn.” He pressed forward to nibble on her pouting lower lip. “I am only a man after all, and your sweet charms will be my undoing if we continue.”

She put her arms around his neck and pulled. “Just one more. Make me forget everything else but you.”

Neville groaned and gave in to her demand. How could he not, when she begged him for another kiss? He pressed her down so she was lying on the settee, but when their bodies molded together as one, her eyes flew open wide. There was no way to hide his arousal pressed intimately against her.

The grin he gave her must surely appear wicked. If he did not know better, he would have said her reaction was virginal, but surely that could not be the case? She was a married woman and must know what she was doing.

Unless… he had never heard of Sandhurst keeping a mistress, and thought the first Lady Sandhurst had died in childbirth, there were rumors that she had a lover.

Yet the tiny whimpers he heard deep in Gwendolyn’s throat suggested she was familiar with passion. Or was that merely her reaction to being with him?

Neville pressed himself against Gwendolyn once more to test his theory. A gasp escaped her and she pushed against him until he sat up.

Nothing But Time: A Family of Worth, Book One

Available for pre-order for $2.99

 

Nothing But Time: A Family of Worth, Book One
Genre: Regency
Heat Level: Steamy

Blurb:

They will risk everything for their forbidden love…

When Lady Gwendolyn Marie Worthington is forced to marry a man old enough to be her father, she concludes love will never enter her life. Her husband is a cruel man who blames her for his own failings. Then she meets her brother’s attractive business associate, and all those longings she had thought gone forever suddenly reappear.

A long-term romance holds no appeal for Neville Quinn, Earl of Drayton until an unexpected encounter with the sister of the Duke of Hartford. Still, he resists giving his heart to another woman, especially one who belongs to another man.

Chance encounters lead to intimate dinners, until Neville and Gwendolyn flee to Berwyck Castle at Scotland’s border hoping beyond reason their fragile love will survive the vindictive reach of Gwendolyn’s possessive husband. Before their journey is over, Gwendolyn will risk losing the only love she has ever known.

Buy Links:

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