Category Archives: First Kiss Friday

First Kiss Friday with Jules and Mia

20 Friday Sep 2019

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It’s First Kiss Friday and it’s always a pleasure when I can bring back my dear friend, Jude Knight. When we get to celebrate a new release, well… that’s even better. We hope you enjoy this excerpt from Unkept Promises. You’re going to just love this book! Happy reading and enjoy.

Seven years after he wed her and left, they meet again

The child bride Jules left in England has changed. She is all grown up and here, uninvited, in his Cape Town house. As they work together to nurse his dying mistress and look after his children, he begins to see that he needs to change as well. In the following excerpt from Unkept Promises, they finally have their first kiss.

Excerpt:

Another piercing look, remembered anguish blazing from his eyes. “It could have been so different.” He put the brandy down to rise and take the two steps needed to drop to his knees at her feet, his hands reaching to frame her face. “I have nightmares, thinking about what I might have come home to, if you had not arrived. I can’t imagine how I would feel now, leaving port knowing that I had to depend on hired servants for the safety of my family. I can never thank you enough.”

He leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, and she put her arms around him, hugging him close. “Ah, Jules. I have only done what I thought right. Besides, I love them. I do not need thanks for looking after the people I love.”

He lifted her chin and began kissing the tears from her cheeks. She shifted so that a kiss fell on the corner of her mouth, and he pulled back a little, but only to say, “It was the luckiest night of my life when I was captured by smugglers and locked up with you.”

Disappointed that he had stopped, she grumbled, “You didn’t think so at the time.” This seduction would never happen if she left it all to him. She summoned her courage and put her hands on his face to keep it still before pressing her mouth on his. He’d better take the hint, because she had no idea what she was doing.

His lips froze, and she almost pulled away, and then, thank goodness, they softened on hers and began to move. Was that his tongue, sweeping across the seam of her mouth? Those were certainly his teeth, nibbling at her lower lip until she gasped at the wonderful sensations that reverberated through her whole body, and would have gasped again when his tongue invaded her mouth, except her mouth was full and she could manage nothing more than a strangled moan.

He clearly took that as approval, for he deepened the kiss, pressing her back against her chair, his body firm against hers, his face angled to allow him to invade even deeper. No. Not an invasion, for she had invited him in. His tongue retreated and then returned, retreated and returned, until she took the hint and allowed her own tongue to follow his. Ah. This invasion could be reciprocal, and she could make him moan, too.

She applied herself enthusiastically to mimicking his actions, learning what he taught, sinking deeper and deeper into the sensations he created.

A timeless period later, Jules ended the kiss; not releasing her but drawing back enough to meet her eyes, his own hot. “Sweet Mia, even then I could tell you’d make a rare woman. Brave, clever, caring. I saw all of that. I knew you’d be pretty, too.”

She wanted to trust he meant it, but it was a little much to swallow. “How can you say that? I look like a boy!”

Jules’s laugh was disbelieving. “Never! A boy?” His hands rounded her body to run over her breasts, paused briefly to cup them, brushed over her nipples which had somehow become so hard that they ached, then skimmed down to her waist. He spread his thumb and fingers to span her waist on both sides. “I can almost touch my fingers together. You are perfect.”

Did he really think so? “I barely have any curves at all,” Mia protested.

Jules pressed a quick kiss to her mouth, as if to stop her words. “I beg to differ.” He moved his hands, one scooping under her buttocks and half lifting her from the chair, the other coming up to once again cup a breast, the thumb rubbing back and forth across the nipple. “Look. Beautifully curved.”

She could barely think as his movement both relieved and intensified the near pain in her nipple. “So small!” she pointed out. “Gerta–”

Another firm quick kiss. “Does not belong between us. Mia, do you not know I have been lusting after you since I arrived home?” Kiss. “Feeling bad about it, too, when at the beginning I thought you had moved Kirana out of her room and dismissed Maureen. I felt the lowest of dogs to desire such a woman.” Kiss. “But as I learned the truth and got to know you, admiring you more and more each day, my desire grew.” His hand kept moving, and the other pulled her closer, until she was plastered to his body, groin to groin, the hardness behind his falls rubbing close to the place of sudden, desperate need. Beguiled, she shifted against him.

“Ah, Mia,” he groaned, “can’t you tell what you do to me? Sleeping in the room next to me while I lie awake, night after night, imagining you are in the bed with me and I can, at last, worship you with my body as I promised so long ago?”

His mouth was on hers again, and his lips, his tongue, his teeth, his hands, his hard body, all drove her to a place where she no longer knew where she was and barely who she was. She only knew that she yearned, hungered, ached—and that Jules could answer that need.

Then he pulled away, and she reached after him before her mind registered what he’d already heard—a burst of conversation as the kitchen door opened and shut again, and then footsteps approaching.

Jules was already back in his seat, his brandy glass in his hand. His hair was ruffled, his neckcloth half untied, but he had shrugged his coat back on as he crossed the room. She caught a glimpse of red swollen lips before he raised the glass to cover them.

She pulled her shawl over a bare breast she didn’t remember Jules exposing, and grabbed her own glass, just as Fortune came through the room on his way to check on the door.

Unkept Promises

She wants to negotiate a comfortable marriage; he wants her in his bed

Naval captain Jules Redepenning has spent his adult life away from England, and at war. He rarely thinks of the bride he married for her own protection, and if he does, he remembers the child he left after their wedding seven years ago. He doesn’t expect to find her in his Cape Town home, a woman grown and a lovely one, too.

Mia Redepenning sails to Cape Town to nurse her husband’s dying mistress and adopt his children. She hopes to negotiate a comfortable married life with the man while she’s there. Falling in love is not on her to-do list.

Before they can do more than glimpse a possible future together, their duties force them apart. At home in England, Mia must fight for the safety of Jules’s children. Imprisoned in France, Jules must battle for his self-respect and his life.

Only by vanquishing their foes can they start to make their dreams come true.

Not your usual Regency: Jude Knight writes historical fiction with a large helping of romance, a splash of Regency, and a side order of suspense.

Buy links:

Books2Read: books2read.com/UnkeptPromises

Jude’s Bookshop: https://judeknight.selz.com/item/unkept-promises

About Jude Knight:

Have you ever wanted something so much you were afraid to even try? That was Jude ten years ago.

For as long as she can remember, she’s wanted to be a novelist. She even started dozens of stories, over the years.

But life kept getting in the way. A seriously ill child who required years of therapy; a rising mortgage that led to a full-time job; six children, her own chronic illness… the writing took a back seat.

As the years passed, the fear grew. If she didn’t put her stories out there in the market, she wouldn’t risk making a fool of herself. She could keep the dream alive if she never put it to the test.

Then her mother died. That great lady had waited her whole life to read a novel of Jude’s, and now it would never happen.

So Jude faced her fear and changed it–told everyone she knew she was writing a novel. Now she’d make a fool of herself for certain if she didn’t finish.

Her first book came out to excellent reviews in December 2014, and the rest is history. Many books, lots of positive reviews, and a few awards later, she plans to keep publishing until she runs out of years.

Website and blog: http://judeknightauthor.com/

Subscribe to newsletter: http://judeknightauthor.com/newsletter/

Bookshop: https://judeknight.selz.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudeKnightBooks

Pinterest: https://nz.pinterest.com/jknight1033/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jude-knight

First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing

13 Friday Sep 2019

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Today on another First Kiss Friday, I’d like to take you back to my medieval romance A Knight to Call My Own. In this scene, Lynet has pushed Ian a little too far and he’s out to prove his point that he will be her husband at the end of the tournament. Enjoy this blast from the past and happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

He said not another word, but made fast work of guiding her down from the lofty parapet walkway. Her slippered feet barely touched the coldness of the stones beneath her, so rapid was their hasty decent down the turret stairs. When they came to the portal of her chamber, Ian backed her up against the solid wood with his arms resting on either side of her, as he had done but recently. There was no escaping him.

They stood, just the two of them, listening to the crackling sound of the lit torches in the passageway. Far more troubling to her way of thinking was her heaving chest as she attempted to gain her breath. She could no longer stand her submissive stance of looking down at her feet, so she raised her eyes to meet his.

When would she stop making such stupid decisions as actually looking at the man, not that she had anywhere else to gaze, given his close proximity. The firelight from the torches in the wall sconces brought out the red of his hair. She would have sighed at the sight of it, but would not give him the gratification. His heavy lidded, hazel eyes took on a light of their own and seemed to search into her very soul. She gulped and watched a gleam enter those knowing orbs whilst a discerning grin formed on his mouth. A mouth that was rapidly closing the distance between them!

“Do not dare─”

Her words were cut off as his mouth quickly took possession of her own, for possess her he did, with just the slightest first brush of his lips. She gasped when a turbulent wave of searing heat radiated throughout her entire body. But, such a profound encounter only allowed him to further plunder her senses as his tongue began to frolic with her own. Sweet Jesus, what in the world is he doing to me?

She felt his hands cup her face ’til he tilted her head, allowing him better access to her mouth. An unexpected moan escaped her. ’Twas, apparently, what he had wanted to hear from her. The sound surely only confirmed his own damn suspicions that she had told a lie when speaking of the effect of Rolf’s kiss. She was certain such a revelation pleased him.

His hands began a slow descent as they roamed down her back ’til he cupped her bottom, bringing her up hard against his solid frame. She quaked in response to such intimacy between them. Her shock did not stop his arm from winding around her waist, keeping her firmly in place as he continued to devour her last shreds of reality. The disbelief of feeling his firmly muscled body pressed up against her own sent any sense of prudence to remain indifferent to him fleeing from her mind. How could one keep a hold on any form of rationality when all she could suddenly feel was the unmistakable form of his manhood pressed intimately against her?

She was lost, and she unexpectedly cared not. Nay… all she could recognize in her feeble attempts to remain level headed was the fact that any control of the situation she may have had up to this point had vanished as soon as Ian had kissed her. Her arms made their way up and around his neck to playfully finger his shoulder length hair. She mimicked what he was doing to her mouth, letting him teach her what he liked. She must have done something right, for she heard his own groan of pleasure whilst he tightened his grip upon her.

Was it just her imagination, or did her body seem to mold itself to his own, as if they had been made for one another, even whilst his hands roamed freely over her backside? And yet, she did not complain, or even make the slightest protest. This was how it felt to finally be in his arms. She had dreamed of this moment for so long, she was almost waiting for someone to come and wake her, for surely she must be dreaming. She reached out and clasped the nape of Ian’s neck as she urged him onward in this journey he was taking her on. ’Twas sheer bliss… bliss ’til she felt herself being rudely yanked from his embrace.

Lynet gazed around with passion filled eyes to see who had interrupted them, but there was no one near, except the man who had proved his point that Rolf was not the knight for her. Aye! The deliberate burning glare in those obnoxious hazel eyes told her he knew exactly what he had done to her, and he was glad for it, the bastard.

Ian leaned down from his towering height so they came almost nose to nose. “Lesson number one, Lynet, is never lie to me again. Rolf is a good man, but he will never be able to make you feel the way I can. I will be victorious at the end of the games, and you will be my wife. You… are… mine.”

A Knight To Call My Own – The MacLarens: A Medieval Romance
by Sherry Ewing

Bestselling author Sherry Ewing presents the continuing saga of the MacLaren’s in A Knight to Call My Own.

When your heart is broken, is love still worth the risk?

Lynet of clan MacLaren knows how it feels to love someone and not have that love returned. After waiting for six long years, she has given up hope of Ian’s return. Her brother-in-law, the Devil’s Dragon of Berwyck, is tired of waiting for her to choose a husband and has decided a competition for the right to wed Lynet is just the thing his willful charge needs to force her hand.

Ian MacGillivray has returned to Berwyck Castle in search of a bride and who better than the young girl who cared for him all those years ago. But Lynet is anything but an easy conquest and he will need more than charm to win her hand in marriage.

From the English borders to the Highlands of Scotland, the chase is on for who will claim the fair Lynet. The price paid will indeed be high to ensure her safety and even higher to win her love.

Buy Links:
Amazon US |  Barnes & Noble  |  Apple Books  |  Inktera | Kobo | 24Symbols 
Amazon AU | Amazon CA |   Amazon UK

Also available on audio book:
Amazon  |  Audible  |  iTunes 

Learn more about me on any of the tabs above. Thank you for all your support. I hope you’ve been enjoying my First Kiss Friday blog!

All the best,
Sherry

 

First Kiss Friday with Rue Allyn

06 Friday Sep 2019

Posted by in 2019, First Kiss Friday

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It’s another First Kiss Friday and today’s guest is fellow Bluestocking Belle Rue Allyn who is sharing a first kiss scene from her latest release, The Herald’s Heart. We hope you enjoy this excerpt so happy reading, my lovelies. Take it away, Rue!

Sherry, thank you very much for the chance to share the first kiss from The Herald’s Heart, released just this past Monday. I do want to give your readers a small warning. Please do not be put off by the start of this scene. It is period appropriate. However, I assure you that Lady Larkin puts Sir Talon in his place very rapidly. Thank heaven he’s a quick learner and is willing to change is ways.

EXCERPT:

His eyes opened with the dawn. He shifted in the bed and looked over the side at the woman asleep on the floor. She lay curled, shivering within his cloak, only her hair and face showing. He regretted having to leave her there, but sharing a bed with her, no matter how attractive she might be, wasn’t an option. He could have given up the bed to her, but even his chivalry had its limits. ’Twas enough that he’d resisted the temptation her body offered.

A delicate snore snuffled from her. Good. She was sound asleep. He rose and donned his chausses, then sought out the chamber pot behind the corner screen.

When he returned, he found her where he’d left her. One long-fingered hand peeked out, clutching the wool around her. A whiff of lavender knifed through the smell of the keep. He knelt, lifting away the cloak, seeking more of that sweetness. He ached with longing for the comfort he might have found with her.

He sat behind her, lowered his head, and nuzzled his face into her soft cloud of hair, trying to memorize the specific combination of scents she used. God’s bones, but she smelled good. Warm and yeasty, like fresh bread, and was there a hint of pansy among the lavender?

He had a weakness for pansies. His cock lengthened painfully, and he readjusted his position, stretching out along her back. She was soft and warm. A man could resist only so much temptation. He sought and found her delicate nape, then scraped his teeth along her skin until he located her earlobe. He closed his lips over the pliant morsel and sucked. His tongue darted forward to tickle the firmer shell of her ear as his fingers released the knots he’d tied last night. Her bottom wriggled, and her feet swept up his legs. Yes, she wants me. He relaxed against her and moved his hand to her thigh.

She kicked him.

Talon howled in pain and rolled away from her. A thumb’s length higher and she would have unmanned him.

She rolled after him, pummeling his chest and head.

“Cease, vixen.” He raised his arms to ward her off.

“Nay. You sought to maul me in my sleep. I will teach you to try rape.”

Talon set his jaw against guilt. He had touched her without her leave. Still, he had never forced a woman in his life and would not start now. He fought her for control before she could harm herself.

“I intended no rape,” he grunted.

“What else could you intend?” She battled back, raining blows on his chest as she spoke.

In moments, he manacled her hands between their bodies. He used his legs to hold her down while he fumbled with one hand to retie the rope around her. She shifted and bucked below him, causing no undue amount of stress to his aroused flesh, but their positions protected him from direct attack.

Once the rope was secure, he placed a hand on each of her shoulders, weighting her legs down with his own. “Cease,” he shouted when she continued to rage beneath him.

His words had no effect. Was she mad? He caught a glimpse of her eyes as she tossed her head. He had seen such looks on men gone berserk in battle. To stop those men often required a strong blow to the head. He was not about to hit a woman. So he did the only thing that came naturally. He clamped an iron grip upon her chin and ground his lips upon hers.

Her screams became muted grunts, and she stilled. He eased back the pressure on her mouth and suckled on the plush lower lip, urging her to open for him.

She did, but only to bite him.

He whipped away from her, put a hand to his bleeding mouth, and stared at her. “I apologize. ’Twas the only way I could think to make you stop without doing you violence.”

Her lip curled, and he heard a snarl start low in her throat. “You would say anything to try to excuse your lust. You’re a man, so of course the situation is all my fault.”

“Nay.”

“Aye.”

“I only sought comfort. Then you seemed to want me.”

“The day I want you in any manner is the day the dead will walk.” She sidled as far from him as possible. “What sort of dunce are you to think a woman who kicks you wants you?”

“I thought that before you kicked me,” he mumbled. He pressed hard on his lip, trying to stop the bleeding.

She stared at him with disbelief and frustration and no little fear in the quiet trembling of her mouth.

This had to stop. She did not wish to lie with him. Fine. He did not require it. But if he could not have comfort, he would have peace with her. He would not permit anger, distrust, or fear to get in the way of that.

He pushed himself up. Then grasping her by the arms, he lifted her into a sitting position.

Her mouth dropped open. The muscles in her throat worked, but she remained silent.

“Yes?” he invited, setting her on the bed. Now that she no longer fought him, he would not mind hearing what she had to say. If her words bothered him, he could always gag her, since kissing proved dangerous.

The Herald’s Heart
by Rue Allyn

Her identity was stolen. He thinks she’s a murderer. Will love help them discover the truth?

Royal Herald Sir Talon Du Quereste imagined he would someday settle on a quiet little estate, marry a gently bred damsel, and raise a flock of children. The wife of his daydreams was a woman who could enhance his standing with his peers, and certainly not an overly adventurous, impulsive, argumentative woman of dubious background.

When her family is murdered, Lady Larkin Rosham lost more than everyone she loved—she lost her name, her identity and her voice. She’s finally recovered her ability to speak, but no one believes her claim to be Lady Larkin. She is determined to regain her name and her heritage, but Sir Talon Du Quereste guards the way to the proof she needs. She must discover how to get past him without risking her heart.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Heralds-Heart-Rue-Allyn-ebook/dp/B07TVYHTDG

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/952179

Other Vendors:  https://books2read.com/u/bowW2A

About Rue Allyn:
Award winning author, Rue Allyn, learned story telling at her grandfather’s knee. (Well it was really more like on his knee—I was two.) She’s been weaving her own tales ever since. She has worked as an instructor, mother, sailor, clerk, sales associate, and painter, along with a variety of other types of employment. She has lived and traveled in places all over the globe from Keflavik Iceland (I did not care much for the long nights of winter.) and Fairbanks Alaska to Panama City and the streets of London England to a large number of places in between. Now that her two sons have left the nest, Rue and her husband of more than four decades (Try living with the same person for more than forty years—that’s a true adventure.) have retired and moved south.

When not writing, enjoying the nearby beach or working jigsaw puzzles, Rue travels the world and surfs the internet in search of background material and inspiration for her next heart melting romance. She loves to hear from readers, and you may contact her at  Rue@RueAllyn.com She can’t wait to hear from you.

Find Rue On Line:

Website~~https://RueAllyn.com

Facebook~~https://www.facebook.com/RueAllynAuthor

Twitter~~https://twitter.com/RueAllyn

Amazon~~https://www.amazon.com/Rue-Allyn/e/B00AUBF3NI/

Goodreads~~https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5031290.Rue_Allyn

Pinterest~~https://www.pinterest.com/RueAllyn/

Blog– https://www.rueallyn.com/blog/

 

First Kiss Friday with Caroline Warfield

30 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in 2019, First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday. Any day that I can welcome back my dear friend Caroline Warfield is always a good day. Dangerous Works is the story of Georgiana and Andrew who were in love long ago. Upon his return to Cambridge she coerces him into helping with her translations—ancient Greek poetry by women. At this point in the story they have been working together for some time. When he astonishes her by suggesting she publish her work, she eventually agrees, but only on condition they do it jointly, that he be her collaborator rather than her teacher. Happy reading and enjoy!

Excerpt:

“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.

Dangerous Works
by Caroline Warfield

A little Greek is one thing; the art of love is another. Only one man has ever tried to teach Lady Georgiana Hayden both. She learned very young 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 Holden 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 scholarly 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 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.

It is ***FREE*** with Kindle Unlimited or you can buy a copy at:

US https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N9KHDWQ/

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00N9KHDWQ/

Canada  https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00N9KHDWQ/

EuroZone https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00N9KHDWQ/

India https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00N9KHDWQ/

Australia https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00N9KHDWQ/

About the Author

Traveler, would-be adventurer, former tech writer and library technology professional, Caroline Warfield has now retired to the urban wilds of Eastern Pennsylvania, and divides her time between writing and seeking adventures with her grandbuddy.

She has works published by Soul Mate Publishing and also independently published works. In addition she has participated in six group anthologies.

For more about the Dangerous Series and all of Caroline’s books, look here:

https://www.carolinewarfield.com/bookshelf/

 

First Kiss Friday with Charlotte Henry & a Giveaway

23 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in 2019, First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday. Today I’d like to introduce you to Charlotte Henry who is a fellow chapter member of my local Romance Writers of America group. I think you’re going to love this first kiss scene from The Rogue to Ruin, along with Charlotte’s giveaway opportunity. Happy reading, my lovelies, and enjoy!

Excerpt:

“No matter how long it has taken, you have surely ruined me for any other woman. And I would have it no other way.”

She made a tiny sound into the front of his coat.

“My dear … what have I said that was funny?”

She lifted her face, filled with joy, her eyes sparkling with laughter even as they swam with tears. “On our first anniversary, I will tell you.”

“Once again we are putting the cart before the horse,” he said, kissing her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks. “We must climb the cliff and tell your family before anything else happens to complicate what should be perfectly simple. What will be.”

She hugged him. “In a little while. Come. Sit with me on the rocks and let us watch for the morvoronyon.”

“There are no mermaids in this modern age, you minx. Though I used to wonder if you had a little morvoren in your blood, you were so fond of the water.”

He let her pull him out of the little chapel and down to the flat, golden rocks where they had played in the sea as children. He spread his handkerchief on the stone for her to sit upon, and their feet dangled over the edge.

“The memories I made here with you are some of the best of my life.” He could not help slipping his arm around her, now that he had the right to do so. She leaned her head upon his shoulder as though it was the most natural thing in the world. They fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. “Life at Rosevear Court was not happy in those early years. You and your family were all that kept a young boy from despair.”

She looked at up him, love shining in her eyes. “We will make new memories there. The Court is being rebuilt, and we will fill it with a family of our own. The rooms will ring with music and laughter, for our doors will always be open to our friends.”

“I can hear it now.”

“Perhaps you hear the mermaids singing,” she teased.

“Perhaps it is my heart singing.”

And he took her mouth in a kiss that rocked him to his core. They fell into the warmth and the delight of each other as they sealed their promises with kisses, the sun warm upon them and the sea murmuring at their feet, in this place whose enchantment had at last brought them back to the beginning.

The Rogue to Ruin
by Charlotte Henry

He is a penniless baronet. She is the wealthy great-granddaughter of a tradesman.
Can these childhood friends find their way back to each other when scandal strikes them both?

Sir Perran Geoffrey needs a wealthy bride to repair his family estate and to bring his sister out in Society. But what woman with money and standing will accept him as a husband—practically penniless, his title under a cloud thanks to his ne’er-do-well father, and an estate far away in Cornwall?

Alwyn Penrose and her two sisters are in London for their first Season. Imagine their surprise when they meet the heirs of the neighboring estates—gentlemen whom they are barely allowed to acknowledge. For to be seen with the Rogues of St. Just means the death of one’s reputation. Except that Alwyn is seen. More than once. And the gossip spreads all the way to the sacred portals of Almack’s, which close in her face and end her hopes for a good marriage forever.

The ruin of her Season is Perran Geoffrey’s fault. And when they are both forced to return to Cornwall, only one thing is clear: One good ruination deserves another.

The Rogues of St. Just. They may be the most shocking men in Mayfair, but their hearts are all too vulnerable at home.

BUY LINKS:

http://charlotte-henry.com/books/rogues-of-st-just-1/

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-rogue-to-ruin-3

https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-rogue-to-ruin/id1447539124?mt=11&at=10l9pr

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130951615?ean=2940161390931

BIO:

Charlotte Henry is the author of 24 novels published by Harlequin, Warner, and Hachette, and a dozen more published by Moonshell Books, Inc., her own independent press. She writes the Rogues of St. Just series of Regency romances, as Shelley Adina, writes the Magnificent Devices series of steampunk adventure, and as Adina Senft, writes Amish fiction. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction, and is currently at work on a PhD in Creative Writing at Lancaster University in the UK. She won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award® for Best Inspirational Novel in 2005, and was a finalist in 2006. When she’s not writing, you can find Charlotte sewing historical dresses, traveling for research, reading, or enjoying the garden with her flock of rescued chickens.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Website: http://www.charlotte-henry.com
Twitter: @shelleyadina
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcharlottehenry/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shelleyadina/rogues-of-st-just/

GIVEAWAY:

Leave a comment below for a chance to win Charlotte’s giveaway of:

One ebook of The Rogue to Ruin to a commenter anywhere in the world via BookFunnel.

One print edition to a commenter in the USA or Canada.

First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing

16 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in 2019, First Kiss Friday

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Thanks for stopping by my blog for another First Kiss Friday. Today I’m taking you back to my bestseller Only For You: The Knights of Berwyck, A Quest Through Time (Book Two). This novel continues the story of Katherine & Riorden de Deveraux from my first time travel, For All of Ever. They’re my favorite characters and with a brand new gorgeous cover, my readers still get a 5 Star story to sweep you away to medieval England. Enjoy this blast from the past and although this isn’t the first kiss this couple have shared, it is the first kiss for the second half of their story. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

Katherine held the bed post and stroked the heavy wooden frame, almost reverently, as if to memorize the feel of it beneath her fingertips. Rough in places, it wouldn’t always remain this way. She smiled in remembrance of the first time she had seen this room.

The chamber really hadn’t altered all that much from now to when she was in Bamburgh with her friends more than eight hundred years in the future. Some of the furniture may have changed over time, but she still marveled that their placement was exactly the same centuries from now. She leaned her forehead on the dark oaken post and closed her eyes. She could still feel the utter despair of when she had first seen Riorden here in this chamber. She remembered reaching out to touch him, yet he had been nothing but a shadow of what could have been if only Time had not played such a horrible hoax on them.

The sharp sound of a trunk closing as the lid dropped into place brought her back to the present, and she watched in fascination as Riorden ran a hand through his mussed, shoulder length hair. He reached for a goblet of wine and took a sip until his attention immediately flew to her over the cup rim. There was such intense longing in his gaze that Katherine’s heart flipped, as it always did whenever he looked at her in such a manner. She knew he was reliving his own disquieting memories of her in his chamber as a ghost.

They continued to watch one another, transfixed by the haunting nightmare they had once shared. The image he presented, however, was so reminiscent of their past ghostlike encounter that a small thrill went through her, knowing he was really standing right before her in the flesh. She could touch him anytime she so wished, and forevermore would she be grateful that Time had bended to their most heartfelt desire. It wasn’t every day that fate brought her a gorgeous chivalrous knight to call her very own. She had waited her whole lifetime to find him, and she would take advantage of such a gift!

His eyes traversed up and down her body until a lazy grin developed on his face that generally was Katherine’s undoing. Since she could stand the handsome distraction he presented no longer, she shortened the space between them. Her eyes never left his as she came to stand before him. Taking the goblet from his hand, she took a small taste where his lips had but recently met the edge and placed the cup carefully on the table. The heady wine slid down her throat, warming her stomach. It was nothing compared to what he was unintentionally doing to her emotionally. The room grew hot, and yet still they spoke no words. He looked down at her from his towering height. His eyes told her what he wanted, but she only gave him a seductive smile.

She expected to be ensnared in his embrace and taken to their bed. He surprised her when instead he held his palm face up to her, and she knew for certain he, too, had been reliving the experience of their past encounter. With her shaking hand, she placed her own palm face down to hover but inches over his. She shivered when tingling sensations rushed up her entire arm. It was still there…that connection between them that even Time would never separate.

She could almost hear his thoughts. They mirrored her own. A small jolt of excitement went racing through her body when she began running her hands up his muscled chest. They halted when she tugged at the barrier of his shirt that was in the way of the prize she sought. She licked her lips in anticipation of how she really wanted to spend their last afternoon at Bamburgh.

Her hand slowly skimmed upward to caress the nape of his neck. His skin was warm beneath her touch. “Kiss me, my dearest Riorden,” she said in a husky whisper.

With the slightest pressure from her fingers to encourage him, he leaned down to place his lips on her own. This kiss was no different than any other he had given her over the past month. It was just as explosive, setting her entire being on fire, and had her begging for more than just his mouth on hers. Was it just her, or did he seem to breathe life into her very soul?

She yanked at his tunic so she could further explore his skin with an urgency born of almost sheer desperation. He groaned, making quick work of the garment by pulling it over his head and tossing it onto the floor. She began to lightly trace the lines of firm stretched skin on his stomach until he grabbed her hands as if he already couldn’t stand the effect such a small act of pleasure had on him. He crushed her into his arms with his own sense of eagerness, and Katherine felt as if she had died and gone to heaven. Such a cliché of a term, but there really was no other way to phrase how this man made her feel.

Riorden’s hands tore at the fabric of her gown, and she heard, more than saw, the ripping of the neckline that surely was beyond any form of repair now. She could have cared less, especially when she felt his hands reaching beneath her bodice like a bloody pirate after a coveted treasure sunk beneath the waters of the deep blue sea. He easily captured her breasts in his hands and leaned down to tease her nipples with his tongue until they were taut little buds in his mouth. His lips made a trail up her neck until he nipped at her earlobe, making goose bumps explode up and down her arms and spine. Good God Almighty! She was about to crawl out of her skin, she wanted him inside her so desperately.

His tongue darted out now and then, adding to her agony until she heard him begin to murmur in his deep baritone voice what she could only assume were words of love. She wouldn’t know, since he spoke them in Norman French.

“Riorden?”

“Aye, my love?” he answered but seemingly gave no thought to halt the blinding kisses he continued placing on her neck and the white mounds of her breasts.

“I can’t understand you.”

She watched him as he looked up, momentarily confused until it dawned on him. He gave her a wicked smile and pressed himself against her. His manhood was rigid with his own need, and she felt it throbbing against her.

“I want you.”

It was a simple statement that rushed to her heart, making her feel flushed and giddy at the same time.

Only For You: The Knights of Berwyck
A Quest Through Time Novel (Book Two )

The story of Katherine and Riorden de Deveraux from For All of Ever continues on in: Only for You

Sometimes it’s hard to remember that true love conquers all only after the battle is over…

Katherine de Deveraux has it all or so she believes when she begins her life with her husband Riorden. But as she begins to settle into her duties as the Countess of Warkworth Castle, she finds that an easy life is not only difficult but downright dangerous to her well-being.

Consumed with the haunting memories of his father, Riorden must deal with his sire’s widow who just happens to also be his ex-lover. Yet how could he know just how far Marguerite is willing to go in order to have the life she feels they were truly meant to live?

Torn apart by circumstances neither Katherine nor Riorden could ever imagine, Time becomes their true enemy even while Marguerite continues her ploy to keep Riorden at her side. With all hope lost, will Katherine and Riorden find a way to save their marriage and have their happily ever after ending, or will Katherine be whisked back to where Time truly feels she belongs?

Buy Links: 
Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Apple Book | Kobo |
Amazon AU | Amazon CA |  Amazon MX | Amazon UK

First Kiss Friday with Kilby Blades & a Giveaway!

09 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in 2019, First Kiss Friday

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It’s another First Kiss Friday and my guest today is fellow San Francisco Area Chapter of Romance Writers of America member, Kilby Blades. Be sure to read down to the end to be in the running for an eCopy of Kilby’s story. Happy reading and enjoy this excerpt from The Secret Ingredient, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

“What the fuck am I doing wrong?” Cella asked bluntly, still in a bit of a foul mood from that afternoon.

Cella looked back and forth between the two pots of Bolognese sauce sitting on the front burners of the stove. The left had been cooked by Max, the right cooked by Cella. Both worked off of a recipe found in her grandmother’s book. The sun had long since set, and through his windows she saw only faint hints of the shoreline through the darkness. Her tasting spoon sat, forgotten, in her hand.

“Do these not look the same?”

He nodded affirmation, but she was already on a tear.

“Smell the same?”

Another nod.

“Did we not go through each and every ingredient together?

He nodded again.

“Have we not tried this experiment twice?”

“We have.”

“Then why does your sauce still taste better than mine?” She looked up sharply. “Don’t laugh at me, Max!” she warned.

“I can’t help it.” He chuckling through sweeping breaths.

Sighing dejectedly, she flopped down on her stool. “I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong.”

“You’re not doing anything wrong,” he soothed, tugging the end of her ponytail that had long-since fallen out of its bun.

“But there must be something you’re doing, that I’m not.”

It wasn’t a bad theory that Cella was simply off. She didn’t cook well when she was in a bad mood.

“I’m going to share a family secret with you. Do you want to know what it is?”

She nodded her head lightly, in a question. Whereas his mood had been joking just moments before, she could see that he was about to speak in solemn truth.

“The secret ingredient is love.”

For all the love lost between she and Liz that day, it served only to sadden her. Cella was pretty sure she had to fire her agent.

“What if I’m fresh out of that?” Her voice caught slightly at the end.

He knew what was bugging her. He’d remained silent as she relayed the entire sordid tale on the bike ride home.

“Then I’ll put in enough for the both of us…just until you get yours back.”

She swallowed, still facing the sauce.

“Can you show me?”

He reached toward the stove, placing his hand on hers where it lay upon a long wooden spoon. Lifting their hands in tandem, he placed the spoon into Cella’s batch. Slowly—so slowly—he stirred their hands as he stepped in closer behind her. He closed his eyes as he bent his head lower. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was inhaling the scent of her hair.

“Close your eyes, Cella.” His voice held gentle command.

They stirred a rotation.

“Now, think of who you’re cooking this for, what a gift this will be to all who taste it, what a gift it is to have plenty of food to eat…”

Their hands kept stirring, with Max’s guiding, but Cella’s slowly taking over. He continued his tutelage.

“Think of the people you like sitting down to a meal with—people you love and people who love you…”

She exhaled shakily, then relaxed. She liked the way her substantial figure fit into his, the way one of his hands had fallen to her hip. For what seemed like minutes, they stirred. She found herself lost in his scent, in the heaven of their bodies so close, in the intimacy of their shared breaths. Though they kept their pace steady, some energy was building between them, working them towards something more, something she’d begun to want more fiercely with every minute they spent together.

“Can you feel it?”

“Yes.” Her voice was a whisper.

“Tell me how it feels.“

“Like nothing I’ve felt before.”

“Now, taste it,” he whispered, lifting his hand from the spoon.

Cella’s eyes remained closed but her ears were keen to the smacking of her lips.

“No offense, but it’s better than yours.”

He kissed the top of her head and murmured, “Twice as much love…”

*****

Max spent much of that night wondering what she might have done if he had kissed her over a batch of Bolognese. It marked the third time he nearly had in as many days. She’d looked entirely too appealing day-before-yesterday, soaking wet and laughing as they’d washed his dog. That same night when they’d headed to Kaito’s for karaoke, they’d gotten a bit handsy after two sake bombs. There was no way this would hold for another two weeks.

“Change of plans.” Cella’s voice held command as she breezed into the kitchen the next morning. “We’ll do Tiramisu tomorrow. Today it’s Capezzoli di Venere.”

He blinked, wondering whether he’d gotten the translation right.

“Nipples of Venus.” She busily removed ingredients from her bag, not meeting his gaze. “Roman chestnuts in brandied sugar.”

Her eyes held something he hadn’t seen before.

“It’s a difficult dish.” She ignored the fact that he had yet to speak. “The sugar has to be molded so it forms a hard shell on the surface, but stay so soft inside that you have to lick out it’s creamy middle. The candied chestnuts are finished with salt, which makes them a bit savory. Placing them in the sugar can be tricky. I’m putting you in charge of tweaking the nipples.”

Holy fuck.

But he followed her lead.

“So, tell me.” he asked cautiously, once they got started. “What led to this change of heart?”

“Tiramisu is so predictable.” Her voice lost some of its muster. “I thought maybe it was time I took a risk.”

She stopped measuring out sugar, refusing to meet his eyes again as she stared down at the scoop.

“Does that scare you?”

He knew they weren’t talking about recipes and cookbooks. Vanilla extract sat motionlessly in his hand.

She laughed ironically. “Everything scares me, Max. I thought you figured that out.”

He set down the bottle.

“Do I scare you?”

She didn’t laugh this time. “You scare me most of all.”

Since we’re being honest…

“You scare me, too.”

He held his breath to hear her response. When she set back to measuring her sugar, he knew none would come.

They worked in silence, Cella molding the sugary mixture, with Max handling the delicate confections like glass. After he set the chestnuts, she used a fine brush to seal the assembly with caramelized liqueur. They spent the next half hour silently cleaning up after themselves as their concoction set in his chiller.

“Time to taste,” she proclaimed when the timer went off.

She retrieved the tray. He picked up two pieces—so carefully—before placing one in her delicate hand. Their eyes remained locked as each one took a bite. It was the size of a bonbon—his teeth sliced into half, his senses rejoicing in the drunken sweetness that melted across his tongue.

“They’re perfect,” she breathed. He watched as her lips curled into a beatific smile.

His second bite was less guarded—he took out the base but left the nipple. He wanted to save the chestnuts for last. Watching as she devoured the rest of hers, Max followed her lips as they moved. Lazily, he fed himself his last bite. At some point, he noticed that her eyes were fixed on his lips.

“You missed a spot,” she whispered, extending her finger to point to the corner of his mouth.

He let his own finger run the length of his bottom lip before licking it with the tip of his tongue.

“Did I get it?”

She shook her head, eyes still glued to his mouth. “No.”

Before her finger could reach his mouth, he sealed his lips to hers.

Her kiss was hungry, and surged his desire as her tongue lapped at his mouth. Max was certain that it was not as hungry as his. Before he could contemplate what he was doing, he’d grabbed her by the waistline fold of her apron and pulled her close. Their tongues stroked deeply, urgent licks of fire, each of their mouths refusing to let go. Her soft moans caused him to pull her in closer as his arousal stiffened impossibly. With the sounds that he made, she tightened her grip where her twined fingers pulled on his hair. God, did that turn him on.

“Cella…”

She nuzzled his neck, and he gulped, gripping her hip with one hand and the counter behind him with the other. His hold on her hip was tight and he no longer knew whether he was holding her at arm’s length or pulling her in.

“Do you want to stop?” she asked.

She licked his ear and he shuddered. “No.”

“Do you want this?”

Her breath was hot on his ear. “God, yes.”

She dove in for another kiss, which he eagerly met, covering her lips this time without hesitation. The next thing he knew, he had untied her strings and her apron was on the floor.

“I want to make a slow meal out of you, Marcella,” he crooned, leaning in deeply to kiss her lovely neck.

They were against the counter; Cella bowed back to receive him, exposing to him her luscious expanse. He pushed her shirt up and over her head, revealing a lacy, green bra, its pattern and hue in the likeness of vines of cascading ivy. More gorgeous than the pretty thing that had teased him from beneath the edge of her shirt was her ample bosom heaving gorgeously from above the intricate top.

Freeing an itching hand, he slid his fingers from her hip up her pillowy flesh until her more-than-a-handful weighed magnificently in his palm. He gloried in their buoyant substance, in their perfection—they were just like risen dough. When her nipples pebbled he lowered his teeth to her opposite breast, grazing the tip with a playful bite.

“Next time,” she commanded, after letting loose a strangled groan. “Make a slow meal out of me next time.”

The Secret Ingredient
by Kilby Blades

TV chef Cella journeys to an idyllic seaside town to write an Italian cookbook. She’s also mourning a failed restaurant project, dodging her predatory agent, and finding respite from soul-crushing fame. When she learns that her next-door neighbor, hot doctor Max, is the nephew of a famed Italian restaurateur, she convinces him to help her write the book.

But guilt-ridden Max botched his own attempt to become a chef—a failure that’s left his late aunt’s gorgeous restaurant sitting empty for years. When the heat between Max and Cella burns hotter than the flames on the stove, how will they say goodbye at summer’s end?

Buy Links:
The Secret Ingredient on Amazon
The Secret Ingredient on other platforms

Kilby Blades Bio

Kilby Blades is a 40-time-award-winning author of Romance and Women’s Fiction. Critics laud her “feminist romance”. Her debut novel, Snapdragon, was a HOLT Medallion finalist, a Publisher’s Weekly BookLife Prize Semi-Finalist, and an IPPY Award medalist. Kilby was awarded an RSJ Emma for Best Debut Author in 2018.

When she’s not writing, Kilby goes to movie matinees alone, where she eats Chocolate Pocky and buttered popcorn and usually smuggles in not-a-little-bit of red wine. Kilby is a mother, a social-justice fighter, and above all else, a glutton for a good story.

Other Background
  • Winner of the 2018 Stiletto Award
  • Finalist in the 2019 Sexy Scribbles Contest
  • Finalist in the 2019 I Heart Indie Awards
Social Media Links

 

GIVEAWAY: To be in the running for Kilby’s giveaway, leave a comment telling us how old you were when you got your first kiss? A random comment will be generated as the winner of an eBook.

First Kiss Friday with Mary Morgan & a Giveaway!

02 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in 2019, First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday. Today’s guest is my friend Mary Morgan who is sharing the first kiss scene from her novel Dragon Knight’s Ring. Be sure to leave Mary a comment to be in the running for her giveaway and enjoy, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

“The first time I saw ye was in the hills near Urquhart. I was attempting to calm said beast.” He pointed to Ciar. “He was fierce in the beginning. Yet, ye ambled over to him singing a tune. Ye have always had a way with the animals. Your voice soothes them.”

“And that’s how we met, right? Ye did share this, but was there more?” Meggie handed him another spoonful of the meat mixture.

“Aye. Ye followed me down to the loch, and we talked for many hours. It was the start of our kinship.”

She rested her chin on her knees. “For how long, Adam?”

“Several summers.” He watched her closely, trying to gage her thoughts.

“Hmm…we were in a relationship.”

Baffled by her word, he shrugged. “I dinnae ken your meaning.”

“Were we a couple? Was I your girlfriend? Sweetheart?”

Adam took his thumb and captured a lone bit of food near her lip. Popping the tasty piece into his mouth, he heard her indrawn breath. “Ye were mine, Meggie. Stubborn, defiant, strong, and ye embraced each day with love for all.”

“What happened?” she asked.

“Ye left.” Standing, Adam moved away. Never a patient man, he wanted to blurt out everything, shake her into remembering. Frustration slithered inside of him. Walking over to an old oak, he braced his hands against its rough bark. He heard her approach, but kept his back to her.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and then surprised Adam by placing her arms around him.

Her touch seared straight to his soul, fracturing a place within his heart that had been sealed since her death. He broke free from her embrace and turned around. Grasping her face with his hands, his eyes roamed over her features. Seeing her lips part, he could no longer control the man that longed to taste what had been stolen from him. His entire being seemed to be filled with waiting, and he grew weary of the fight.

Lowering his head, his tongue traced the soft fullness of her lips. Then he brushed a feather light kiss on her mouth. It was divine bliss when their lips touched. “Do ye want me to stop?” he asked, breathing the words against her cheek.

“Nae.”

Reclaiming her mouth, Adam crushed her to him. This time, he devoured her soft lips and drank in their sweetness, slipping his tongue inside her mouth. Her moan slid deep within him, and he trembled. His emotions whirled and skidded. Unable to stop, he turned her against the tree, cupped her breast with one hand, and deepened the kiss. His cock throbbed to be inside her—to be one with her again.

She grasped his head and leaned more into him. Her mouth demanded more of his, and he plundered deeply. When her hands slipped under his shirt, he growled in pleasure. Breaking free from the kiss, he lifted her and carried her to the blanket. She sprawled back onto the blanket, and his hand caressed her curves. As he gazed at her flushed face, he saw neither fear nor hesitation in her eyes. “Tell me what ye want, Meggie? For if I continue, I fear I will not be able to hold back.”

DRAGON KNIGHT’S RING,
Order of the Dragon Knights, Book 5
By Mary Morgan

Death destroyed their love. Yet, can a trio of Fenian warriors roll back time to reunite two lost souls?

Crusader, Adam MacFhearguis is on one last quest to the standing stones in Scotland where he seeks to bury the past. However, a silent prayer sends him to an unknown future and to his beloved Meggie. When he uncovers a shocking revelation, Adam questions everything about the woman he thought he knew and loved. He may have traveled the veil of ages, but time is now his enemy.

Margaret MacKay lives a life in the future without the memories of her past—her death. When Adam arrives at her door confessing he knows her, she is confused and wary. With each passing day, she yearns to learn more from this stranger. Yet, when a truth is revealed, can she trust the man to unlock the chains from her mind and heart?

Will love free the bonds to unite the two lovers who were doomed centuries ago? Or will evil finally claim victory over the Dragon Knights?

Buy Links ~

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Knights-Ring-Order-Book-ebook/dp/B01HDWY8S2/

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dragon-knights-ring-mary-morgan/1123986946?ean=2940158146312

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/dragon-knight-s-ring

Apple iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dragon-knights-ring/id1133781893?mt=11

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Dragon-Knights-Ring-Audiobook/B07FKX59C6/

Author Bio ~

Award-winning Celtic paranormal and fantasy romance author, Mary Morgan, resides in Northern California with her own knight in shining armor. However, during her travels to Scotland, England, and Ireland, she left a part of her soul in one of these countries and vows to return.

 
Mary’s passion for books started at an early age along with an overactive imagination. Inspired by her love for history and ancient Celtic mythology, her tales are filled with powerful warriors, brave women, magic, and romance. It wasn’t until the closure of Borders Books where Mary worked that she found her true calling by writing romance. Now, the worlds she created in her mind are coming to life within her stories.

If you enjoy history, tortured heroes, and a wee bit of magic, then time-travel within the pages of her books.

Connect with Mary at these places:

WEBSITE/BLOG:  http://www.marymorganauthor.com
TWITTER:  http://twitter.com/m_morganauthor
FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/MaryMorganAuthor/
GOODREADS:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8271002.Mary_Morgan
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE:  http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Morgan/e/B00KPE3NWI/
PINTEREST:  www.pinterest.com/marymorgan50/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/marymorgan2/
BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-morgan
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-morgan-2634a77a/
BOOKGORILLA: https://www.bookgorilla.com/author/B00KPE3NWI/mary-morgan/kcc

Giveaway: Leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of DRAGON KNIGHT’S RING.  

First Kiss Friday with guest Barbara Bettis & a Giveaway!

19 Friday Jul 2019

Posted by in 2019, First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday Blog. I’m happy to have as my guest Barbara Bettis whom you’ve also seen during Medieval Monday’s. Enjoy this excerpt from her novel For This Knight Only. Take it away Barbara!

GIVEAWAY: Summer has arrived with a vengeance, hasn’t it? To help readers keep cool. I’m having a giveaway. From comments on this post, a winner will be drawn for a copy of FOR THIS KNIGHT ONLY, along with a surprise cool gift.

Thank you for having me on your lovely blog today, Sherry. I’m celebrating the four-month anniversary of the release of my latest medieval. I loved writing Roark and Alyss’s story. Both are determined to have their own way, but each must learn to compromise.

Excerpt:

Anger drove her to answer without thought. “No one can force me to marry.”

He stepped back. “Sir Baldwin, tell Lady Alyss of the messenger who just left.”

Baldwin shot her a pained look of apology. “From Windom he came, milady. The new master there commands an interview tomorrow, under order of Prince John. I sent him on his way, but it don’t look good. This new master’ll be here early in the morn, I’m bettin’.”

Alyss stood, chin high, arms crossed beneath her breasts. “Let him come.”

Sir Roark chuckled. “By God, my lady, we’ll deal well together.” He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her against his broad chest.

Before she could protest, Sir Roark’s mouth was on hers, and she was forced to clutch his sleeves. Only to keep from tumbling over, of course, because her traitorous legs threatened to collapse. Then the tip of his tongue brushed the seam of her lips, and she lost all thought but his taste and the strangely comforting arms holding her up.

****

The kiss had been a damned mistake. Roark had meant it as a statement of possession. But her softness hit him like a mace. When he inhaled the rich fragrance of spice and roses and woman, his intent changed. He hauled her closer, slanted his mouth, stroked his tongue along the seam of her lips. At her whimper, a flicker of guilt undercut Roark’s stirring of desire. He ought not do this to the lady. He ought to gather his belongings and be on his way.

But the memory of the recent messenger lingered. That one portended nothing good. If Roark gave in to his inconveniently awakening conscience, by tomorrow night Chauvere, its people, and its lady would be the property of the neighboring lord. Of that, Roark was certain. So the way he saw it, either Lady Alyss married him or she’d be forced to accept someone else. And if Windom’s representative was any indication of his master, she’d not like that alternative.

What would it take to persuade her? A sudden pain burst between his legs, and he gasped, eyes blurry. The little hell-cat kneed him. Even though chain mail deflected some of the impact, he used every bit of his willpower to remain standing.

Apparently persuasion took more than a kiss.

For This Knight Only
By Barbara Bettis

He’ll do anything for land, even marry her; she’ll do anything for her people, except marry him.  If only either had a choice.  It’s a marriage only love can save.

Sir Roark will do anything to gain land, even beguile an unwilling lady into marriage. He knows she’s much better off with a man to take control of her besieged castle, to say nothing of her desirable person. But it isn’t long before he discovers that, although her eyes sparkle like sunlight on sea waves, her stubbornness alone could have defeated Saladin.

Lady Alyss is determined to hold her family’s castle, protect her people, and preserve her freedom— until her brother’s dying wish binds her to a stranger. Still, she’ll allow no rugged, over-confident, appealing knight to usurp her authority, even if she must wed him. Especially since he thinks a lady’s duties begin and end with directing servants. Alyss has a few surprises for her new all-too-tempting lord.

But when a common enemy threatens everything, Roark and Alyss face a startling revelation. Without love, neither land nor freedom matters.

Buy Links:
Amazon
B&N
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Bio:

Award-winning author Barbara Bettis has always loved history and English. As a college freshman, she considered becoming an archeologist until she realized there likely would be bugs and snakes involved. And math. Through careers as a newspaper reporter and editor, then a college journalism and English professor, she’s retained her fascination with history. Give her a research book and a pot of tea, and she’s happy for hours. But what really makes her smile is working on a new story. Now retired, she lives in Missouri where she spins tales of heroines to die for—and heroes to live for.

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First Kiss Friday with One Last Kiss

12 Friday Jul 2019

Posted by in 2019, First Kiss Friday, New Release

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It’s First Kiss Friday and there’s no better way to show off my latest release One Last Kiss: The Knights of Berwyck, A Quest Through Time! So let’s get right to it with the first kiss scene between Thomas & Jade. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

Silence descended upon the room with only the crackling fire to break the mood that had come upon them. He stood and went to her.

He was pleasantly surprised when she watched him as carefully as he observed her. “You are not afraid of me?”

A small smile lit her face. “No, of course not, unless you think I should be.”

“Nay, I do not,” he answered honestly before giving her a short bow. “Mayhap, we should start again. I am Sir Thomas, ever at your service, my lady.”

“And I’m Jade. A pleasure to finally meet you, Sir Thomas.” A short giggle escaped her afore she held out her hand for him to take.

“I am certain the pleasure is mine,” he murmured. Bending to brush a kiss across her knuckles, his eyes widened when he became distracted by a strange glow coming from her opposite hand. ’Twas then that he recognized she wore his ring!

Suddenly, her left arm swept around his neck with alarming speed. The force brought their bodies together, and he could feel for himself when Jade attempted to catch her breath. “Thomas! I swear I didn’t do that on purpose.”

“Aye, I know,” he muttered as his eyes widened in surprise when a power bigger than either of them could have imagined began to bring their lips closer together.

“Thomas…” she said in a breathy whisper.

“Jade…” he returned as their breaths mingled on a heartbeat afore they surrendered to their first real kiss.

***

Jade was unsure what madness had overcome her to be kissing a man she barely knew, but, in many ways, she felt as though Thomas had always been a part of her. Crazy as it may seem to even have such thoughts, she gave in to the invisible energy surrounding and pulling them together.

The moment their lips touched, everything changed. Where before she felt as though she were being forced into something she didn’t want, now, it was as if this was where she was always meant to be. With Thomas… in his arms… kissing him with all the love she could muster up for another human being.

Their kiss ended just as quickly as it had started. Their breaths ragged, they could only stare into each other eyes. Thomas reached down to caress her cheek, and a sense of wonderment filled her, knowing she had truly crossed time. He gave her a half smile as though he had heard her thoughts before he leaned down to taste what she now freely offered. It was as though they were now in control of their destiny.

Thomas deepened their kiss, and she heard his moan of pleasure even as she held back one of her own. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been kissed before, but there was a reason she had remained single for so long and not married right out of high school like so many had done. No man had ever stepped into her life that seemed to be the other half of herself or just the piece of her that had been missing. She had sworn to herself she would never settle, but with Thomas, she had an instant connection she knew she would never find again in any other man. In an instant, the universe tilted as though they became as one, almost as though Zoe’s words pulled them together from across the centuries.

As though she watched the scene in a movie theater, his arm wrapped around her waist, and he held her even tighter, bending her over. He made her swoon as no other man had ever done before. Her hand reached up and took ahold of his hair. Gosh, she never wanted to let him go.


One Last Kiss: The Knights of Berwyck
A Quest Through Time, Book Five
Just $0.99!

Sometimes it takes a miracle to find your heart’s desire…

Scotland, 1182: Banished from his homeland, Thomas of Clan Kincaid lives among distant relatives, reluctantly accepting he may never return home… Until an encounter with the castle’s healer tells him of a woman traveling across time—for him.

Dare he believe the impossible?

Present Day, Michigan: Jade Calloway is used to being alone, and as Christmas approaches, she’s skeptical when told she’ll embark on an extraordinary journey. How could a trip to San Francisco be anything but ordinary? But when a ring magically appears, and she sees a ghostly man in her dreams…

Dare she believe in the possible?

Thrust back in time, Jade encounters Thomas—her fantasy ghost. Talk about extraordinary. But as time works against them, they must learn to trust in miracles.

Can they accept impossible love before time interferes?

One Last Kiss was previously in the Bluestocking Belles’ 2018 holiday box set entitled Follow Your Star Home. This novella is now being released for individual sale and includes bonus material of several entries that appeared on the Belles’ blog the Teatime Tattler.

Buy links – only $0.99:

Amazon US  | Apple Books  | Barnes & Noble  | Kobo

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