Tag Archives: First Kiss Friday

First Kiss Friday with Kate Moore.

17 Friday Jun 2022

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Thank you for dropping by for another excerpt for my First Kiss Friday blog. Today’s guest is my friend Kate Moore who is celebrating Christmas in July. Keep reading for an excerpt from Saturday Santa. Take it away Kate!

Hi Sherry, I know this isn’t my usual Regency historical story, but it’s definitely the sort of “fallen” hero I love to write. Jack Ryker and Mari Lynch have surprising things in common with the hero and heroine of my RITA finalist Regency Sweet Bargain from years ago. 

“Christmas in July” 

First Kiss Scene: It’s late on Thanksgiving evening at the beach. Jack’s alone in his fortress house when Mari brings him a Tupperware tub of leftover yams and he convinces her to sit with him in the dark on the big charcoal-colored sectional sofa in his lofty living room above the beach. …

“Tell me something,” he said. “Why did you come tonight?”

It was her turn to fall silent. He could sense her figuring out what she wanted to say. He didn’t know what he hoped. He lifted his arm from the back of the sofa and took her hand in his, resting their joined palms against his thigh. It was a bold move, but she didn’t resist.

“Something draws me to you. Well.” She laughed. “Something besides the obvious. I’m trying to understand it. And I want a ‘do-over,’ even if we still don’t …work.”

“Because of Huntington?” He had to ask.

He felt the little shake of her head. “Something he said got me thinking. But mainly because of you. You aren’t like ordinary men, you know.”

That didn’t sound good, but he had to ask. “I’m not?”

“Well, for one, you’re not watching a Thanksgiving football game with a beer in one hand, yelling madly at the TV as a herd of behemoths pushes on odd-shaped ball back and forth on a patch of artificial turf.”

“Right.” He didn’t think she minded that difference too much. 

“And for two, I can’t imagine bringing you home to my family. There are expectations, you see.” She sighed.

He didn’t see. No woman had brought him to meet her family.

“I think you’d bolt when Mom put garlic mashed potatoes on the table. Or when Uncle Larry told a loud joke and everyone snorted with laughter.” She squeezed his hand as she spoke. He didn’t despair, but she was right that meeting her family would be a challenge for him.

“You brought other … dates home? Non-bolting dates?”

He had to wait an interminable time for an answer.

“You should know. There was someone in my life for two years. Until last January, I lived with him in a condo in the marina.”

It was a rushed little confession. And she left out how it ended. He wanted to know more. He wanted to find the guy and maybe rearrange the architecture of his nose.

“And you?”

“No one in the last two years,” he said.

She slipped her hand from his and twisted toward him, sitting up away from the sofa back. Her knee brushed his thigh, causing his brain to shut down briefly as sensation overwhelmed him. “That,” she said, tapping him on the chest, “is so you. Honest and utterly … uninformative.”

She swung around, lowering her feet to the floor.

“Wait.” He’d missed some clue. There was something he should have said.

“I have to go now, but I’m not walking out on us. We’re not done.” She stood and snatched up her coat. Soldier stirred at the door.

“I’ll see you again?” He sounded pathetic. He hadn’t been pathetic in a mud cell with guys beating him. “I know places we can meet in daylight. Private places.” He had to slow her down, borrow time to get off the sofa.

She shrugged into her coat. “Alone? Or with your…guards?”

He managed to get to his feet. “Security matters. Bradley will get you home tonight.”

“I’m working. I have to go to the mall.”

“Bradley will get you there.” Jack wasn’t going to back down on that point. Bradley could get her out of the house without anyone seeing her or seeing where she went.

“Fine.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke.

He took her by the shoulders and turned her around. “Mari.” Her name came out in a voice he barely recognized as his. “You asked me what I was thinking about tonight.”

She tilted her face up to his, her eyes big and dark with the question.

“This,” he said. He leaned forward and kissed her, and everything went still, her mouth soft and smooth under his, open in surprise. His heart paused, waiting long milliseconds to beat again. Then she kissed him back, leaning in, hanging on, her hands gripping his shirt, bunching the wool over his ribs. The box at his waist shifted, alerting his team.

The door opened. Light spilled in, and they broke apart. She stepped into the hall and spoke to Bradley in a cheerful, unaffected voice. The door closed, and Jack was alone again in the dark with the dog—and hope.

Book Blurb:  

Saturday Santa is the climactic final romance of Kate Moore’s Canyon Club series about three millionaire former school mates who find love in LA. It’s a “Beauty and the Beast” story set at Christmas story with a twist of suspense. 

A prince of privilege, Jack Ryker returns to LA determined to stop an enemy he unleashed from his past. Christmas is the last thing on his mind when he takes refuge in a house high above the ocean guarded by a team of security experts. Scarred and trapped in a specially made chair, every day from his beachside window Jack watches a beautiful woman coax a faltering old man on their daily walk. Jack doesn’t know why, but he’s determined to meet her.

Mari Lynch loves her job directing events at an upscale mall, especially at Christmas. This year her cheer plummets when a stroke prevents her grandpa from being the mall’s favorite Saturday Santa. Forced to find a replacement, she’s at a loose end.

Jack and Mari’s worlds collide and he topples her ideas about dating while she thaws his frozen heart. The truth about his past stands between them, and could cost Mari her life. When Jack’s enemy comes after the woman he loves in the mall as kids gather to see Santa, Jack knows now he truly has everything to lose.

Buy links:

Apple | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords

About the author:

Kate was not orphaned. She never worked in a shoe-blacking factory or lived in an isolated country vicarage. Other than the threat of atomic annihilation, her childhood was an agreeable one in houses full of books in a family ready for adventures along the California coast, and magically on the island of Oahu. Her people were storytellers, fascinated with history, news, and gossip. While teaching Jane Austen to tenth grade boys, she saw her world in a new way and began to write stories of falling in love standing up (mostly fully clothed) in the midst of family. Many books, lots of writer friends, and a few awards later, Boroughs Publishing Group released her 19th Romance—Saturday Santa. Kate lives in a wooded canyon north of San Francisco with her surfer husband, their yellow Lab, a house full of toys for visiting grandkids, and miles of crowded bookshelves.

Find Kate Moore at:

Website: www.katemoore.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/KateMooreAuthor

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KateMooreAuthor

First Kiss Friday with Cerise DeLand

13 Friday May 2022

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Thanks for joining me today on my First Kiss Friday blog! Today’s guest is fellow Bluestocking Belle Cerise DeLand who is celebrating a new release. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene from Lady, Behave. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

Sitting beside him, Addy held his hand, no matter propriety. He needed her. She knew enough of his malady to sit for many minutes without a word between them. He recovered himself, but slowly. And when a footman approached with a tray of wine or whiskey on offer, Gyles would have taken one.

“Do not,” she admonished. 

He stared at her. “No?”

“Spirits will only aggravate your condition.”

He looked away, but grimaced at the bright light of candles in a nearby sconce.

“Close your eyes. Turn toward me.” She stroked his hand and wrapped her fingers around his wrist and counted. “There. Your heart beat slows. You will be well. Give this a few minutes.”

He did as she bade him and in his time, he opened his eyes to consider her with quiet appreciation shining there. “You know my condition.”

“Bold sounds. Bright lights. Alcohol. Late nights. Exertion. They all contribute to your headaches. How long have you suffered them?”

He exhaled. “Since I was imprisoned by the French when I was young.”

“I see.” She squeezed his hand in sympathy. About that, she would learn more but not tonight. He had to recover first before he relived the cause of his distress. “You should not be at balls, sir. But home where you can be quiet and untroubled.”

“But if I did not attend here tonight, I would not have found you again.”

She bobbed her head to and fro. “We might have met in more sedate gatherings.”

“Perhaps. I would have chanced missing you.”

She had never been so sweetly entranced by a man who confessed to his liking for her in so unique a manner. “My sisters and I are in Brighton specifically to enjoy the Season. We will be…” she said as she circled a hand in the air, “everywhere.”

“Addy, How may I press my advantage?”

“You made an impression on me yesterday, Gyles. I will not soon forget you.”

He grasped her hand tightly. “Don’t forget me at all.”

“I won’t. How could I? You like my syrup.” She had to tease him and make him smile.

“I do. Among other things.”

She nodded, compassion in her heart for so afflicted a darling man. “Perhaps my dancing, too?”

“Indeed,” he said. “I’d like to kiss you for it.”

She gave a shocked little laugh. Since Grandpapa died and she knew she’d have to find a husband soon, she’d taken to kissing any man who appealed. Alas, she’d found none. But now, she was not only complimented but tempted to kiss this man. “Not here.”

“No. But somewhere and soon. With my thanks for the syrup, the dance and the laughter.”

Oh, my. Was he much too chivalrous? Was he a rake of no morals? A man who complimented women? Women like her? Young and naive. For all her good looks, for all her pride in them and understanding of them as a tool to attract men, she was still untried, uninformed of much of the physicality of mating. She could be all too easily influenced by a practiced man’s charms. Of that she had always been on guard. 

“A kiss for relief from a headache? Oh, surely that would be—”

“Bliss,” he vowed. “I will try for it tomorrow.”

“When you come for tea?”

“I come for you, Addy.”

He lifted her hand and pressed his firm lips to her glove in a stunning kiss. Had he blessed her bare skin with his mouth, she would have taken him to an alcove in the hall and tasted the flavor of his desire and called herself barely satisfied.

“Tomorrow then,” she whispered and longed to taste his lips on hers.

Lady, Behave
Naughty Ladies, Book 2
By Cerise DeLand

She was a Diamond with a few very tiny flaws—and the desire to be good.

He was a rogue with the sense to reform—and to help her to be bad.

Adelaide Devereaux flabbergasts most men she meets. She’s a Diamond, petite, mild-mannered—the perfect picture of a demure lady. She has one ambition—to kiss every man she likes until she finds one whose lips make her hear church bells chime. 

In Brighton, she meets confirmed bachelor Gyles, Marquess of Heath, who is felled by her charm. Though he vows to kiss her until she’s felt the earth turn on its axis, he cannot claim her unless he fixes his parents’ refusal to accept her. They’re too high in the instep to accept a wayward Irish lass who’s the granddaughter of a notorious rascal.

Pride might stall their romance, and lust might motivate a scoundrel to try to carry Addy away, but when love is the only passion that matters, do not all objections fall before its power?

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade’s Flame line, so this is a sexy, steamy, and scorching-hot read with multiple sex scenes. Be advised.

Amazon – https://amazon.com/Lady-Behave-Naughty-Ladies-Book-ebook/dp/B09WXVNCTR

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60543686-lady-behave

Books2Read – https://books2read.com/u/4DPXAr

Affiliate link – https://amzn.to/3qVM4uo

About the author:

Cerise DeLand loves to write about dashing heroes and the sassy women they adore. 

But I bet you knew that! 

Did you know that she’s known for her poetic elegance and accuracy of detail? 

That she’s an award-winning author of more than 40 novels and was first published in 1991 by Kensington, then Pocket Books, later by St. Martin’s Press and independent presses? 

That her books have been monthly selections of the Doubleday Book Club and the Mystery Guild? Right. And she’s won awards. Lots of them. Need details? Write to her. She’ll send you the list!

To research, she’s dived into the oldest texts and dustiest library shelves. She also travels abroad taking good walking shoes, trusty notebooks and pens, plus camera! She visits chateaux and country homes she loves to people with her own imaginary characters. 

And at home every day? She cooks. Never dusts. (That can be a problem.) She goes swimming or pumps iron once a week and tries (desperately) to grow vegetables in her arid backyard in south Texas! 

Do visit her website, http://cerisedeland.com and blog http://cerisedeland.blogspot.com. 

Also visit her YOUTube Channel for her videos of her research travels here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCba82P_Q1kUrJUVVW0CwJmw/

First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing & a contest!

06 Friday May 2022

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. Today I’m featuring my novella A Countess To Remember that is my contribution in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Desperate Daughters. We’re also running a contest so be sure to read to the end to learn more. I hope you enjoy this first kiss scene between Richard and Patience. Happy reading and good luck in the contest, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

Their eyes met across the room, and he gave her the briefest of nods before walking through the open doorway and out onto a terrace. It was a silent invitation and one she wanted to accept. Patience knew she shouldn’t follow him, but all common sense seemed to leave where Richard was concerned. Besides, no harm could be done to meet him outside for only a few moments. Who would miss her?

Trying to keep her pace casual was harder than she thought. She skirted the outside of the dance floor making her way through the crush of people who watched on the sidelines or carried on their own conversations. She saw her girls being watched over by Barbara and she was again grateful that they were being looked after. With no further thoughts except her own personal agenda, she strode through the balcony doors and peered into the shadows to see Richard waiting for her. He held out his hand for her to take and she had a moment of hesitation, as prudence seemed the better course of action.

“Do you trust me?” His hushed baritone voice caused her to shiver in the moonlight and this had nothing to do with being cold.

“Richard… I—”

“Patience… I am asking for you to trust me,” he calmly said. “Do you?”

“Yes,” she answered him and she could barely make out his smile.

“Then come with me,” he said before whisking her away into the night.

He seemed to know where he was going as he went down several steps and onto a garden path. She gazed back over her shoulder wondering where he was taking her.

“My girls—” she began before he interrupted her.

“We won’t be gone long or go that far.”

“Promise?” she whispered into the night.

“Yes. I promise. You are perfectly safe with me, my dear,” he exclaimed and, true to his word, he halted near a gazebo awash in the moonlit sky. A romantic setting that caused Patience’s heart to race.

“This is a lovely place, Richard, but—”

He turned her into his arms, and Patience couldn’t object, not when she had been envisioning this in her dreams for the past several days. “I know this is sudden, Patience, but I’ve been dying to do this ever since we met,” he said brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek.

She leaned into the palm of his hand. “What have you been wanting to do?” she asked hoping he wouldn’t find her undesirable but also praying he would kiss her no matter that they had just met.

“This…”

She held her breath while his mouth slowly descended upon her own. At first, gentle, exploring to see just how much she might allow. A nip at her lower lip to tease her caused her gasp of surprise giving him the opening he had apparently been waiting for. His tongue dipped in to take hungry possession of her mouth, and she was more than willing to learn this new dance together.

She wasn’t new to the intimacies between a couple but Richard’s kiss flared into a burning flame in the pit of her stomach. Henry had never bothered with such affections, and yet, with Richard, she wanted to explore every aspect of what he could bring her. Did this make her one of those wanton women?

He deepened their kiss, and Patience wound her arms around his neck to play with the edges of his hair at his collar. His groan would have caused her to smile if she had been able to perform such a task. He brought her tight against his chest, and she could not mistake his arousal. She should have been shocked but this only made her want more of this man than he could obviously give her standing in a garden.

Whether he could read her thoughts or he just realized how entirely inappropriate their situation could become if they were found, he ended their kiss, leaving her wanting to return to his arms. He placed both hands on her cheeks, running his thumbs over them before giving her another quick kiss.

“Better than I could have ever imagined,” he murmured before he bent down to place his forehead to her own.

Desperate Daughters: A Bluestocking Belles and Friends Collection
Release Date: May 17, 2022
Preorder Sale for only $0.99!

Love Against the Odds

The Earl of Seahaven desperately wanted a son and heir but died leaving nine daughters and a fifth wife. Cruelly turned out by the new earl, they live hand-to-mouth in a small cottage.

The young dowager Countess’s one regret is that she cannot give Seahaven’s dear girls a chance at happiness.

When a cousin offers the use of her townhouse in York during the season, the Countess rallies her stepdaughters.

They will pool their resources so that the youngest marriageable daughters might make successful matches, thereby saving them all.

So start their adventures in York, amid a whirl of balls, lectures, and alfresco picnics. Is it possible each of them might find love by the time the York horse races bring the Season to a close?

Buy Links can be found on our website at: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/desperate-daughters/

Help to share Desperate Daughters and be in the Draw!

Help spread the word about Desperate Daughters.

Share our contest page and our Bachelor and other memes to any of your social media accounts. Each share gets you an entry into one of the weekly draws and the Grand Prize draw.

Congratulations to Catherine Maguire, winner of our week 1 draw.

Enter the Week Two draw here:http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/bb92b0a65/?

Find memes here: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/desperate-daughters/sharing/

Weekly prize

Every entry goes into the draw to win:

We’ll draw a winner each week for four weeks.

Grand prize

Every entry also goes in the draw to win:

  • $100 gift card
  • a made-to-order story. The winner gives Jude Knight some ingredients for a story (one character, a plot trope, and an object). Jude writes the story and the winner gets an ecopy at least three months before it is published anywhere else, and their name in the dedication at publication.

First Kiss Friday with Alina K. Field

29 Friday Apr 2022

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog.

I’ve been featuring authors from the upcoming Desperate Daughters, a Bluestocking Belles with Friends Collection, available for preorder for only $0.99. Today let’s welcome one of the Bluestocking Belles’ guest authors, Alina K. Field, who’s sharing an excerpt from her novella, Lady Twisden’s Picture Perfect Match.  Enjoy!

The hero, Augustus Kellborn, has just handed Honoria Twisden his sketch of her:

Excerpt:

Her breath caught. The subject was a lady, shown in three-quarter view, her attention directed away, Tendrils of hair dangled at her neck and over her cheek. “It’s meant to be me.”

“Yes.”

“She’s too… That is how you see me? Well, the work is very precise, but to say that this is me…” She stood and he rose with her. “This lady is pretty.”

“Yes. That is how I see you. You’re pretty, Honoria.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and the heat rising in her cheeks rolled downward. “Shall I list your attributes? You have a straight little nose, full lips, hair the color of dark honey with the sun streaming through it, and rosy cheeks that seem to grow pinker when I’m around. A man notices a thing like that. And your eyes shine with intelligence and good humor. Yes. You are very pretty.”

Speechless, she forced her mouth closed. Pinned under Augustus’s dark gaze, she grew even warmer.

His big hand cradled her cheek, surprisingly gentle. “And I like your painting of the Minster. In fact, I should like to take it home with me to Whitlaw Grange and hang it over the mantel in my study. I should very much like to have you at Whitlaw Grange as well.”

“My painting?” Over his mantel? She wasn’t sure she wanted to part with it.

“Yes. And you must come as well. You can make sure it’s correctly displayed.”

“You want me to visit you? If you have ruins, perhaps I could paint… What? What are you doing?”

Augustus had dropped to one knee, sliding his hand down her arm to grasp her hand. Sancho bestirred himself and stretched.

“I don’t want you to come for a visit, Honoria. I want you to come as my bride. Will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest of men?”

Marry? Marry Augustus Kellborn?

His dark gaze pulled at her like a magnet, the desire in his eyes matching the heat rising in her. Her head dipped. Just a few inches more and…

She straightened and tried to get hold of herself. “We’ve had but one outing together.”

“And one dinner and luncheon. And don’t forget we attended church together.”

“You rescued me, and now you are being chivalrous. You’re acting in haste, and there is no need.”

His eyes twinkled. “I’m chivalrous? I rather like that.”

“You’re smiling now. That is better. Now, please, get up.”

He complied, still holding her hand. “You haven’t answered my question, Honoria. Will you marry me?”

Heart hammering, she stared up into his dark, intent gaze. “Augustus, you must agree this is precipitate. You cannot mean… you’ll meet a bevy of young women looking to marry.”

“It’s you I want.”

“But… but.” He’d shown no interest beyond what was polite and appropriate for a house guest. “Until now, I had no notion… no hint of any interest on your part.”

“I escorted you on your outing. I sat next to you at church. I would have snared your hand for a private stroll away from the picnickers today if you’d gone along with us. When I saw that Ripton had disappeared, I had a suspicion he’d be coming back here, so I returned in all haste only to find you rescuing yourself. And now, I want to make my intentions clear.”

“Clear?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

Did he feel the same wicked heat rising as she did? There was humor in his dark eyes, not lust.

She shook her head. “I don’t think you can be serious, Major Kellborn. Offering marriage when you haven’t so much as tried to kiss—”

“Kiss you? Why so I haven’t.” He leaned close and brought his lips a hair’s breadth from hers. “May I, my lady?”

Her heart threatened to melt into a puddle. He was letting her decide.

A spurt of madness lifted her heels, tipping her forward.

Her lips touched his in a featherlight connection. He angled his head and brushed a kiss over the corner of her mouth, over her cheek, and jaw, and down to her neck where his touch sent a ripple of need through her. Such softness, such tenderness, from such a hard man—it was a marvel, one that sent her hand sliding around his waist, and her other groping for his shoulder. She raked through the dark curls of hair at his collar and when he brought his lips back to hers, sighed and gave herself up entirely.

About Lady Twisden’s Picture Perfect Match:

After years of putting up with her late husband’s rowdy friends, Honoria, Lady Twisden, has escaped to York where she can paint (even if badly), investigate antiquities, and enjoy freedom.

Then her stepson appears with a long-lost relation in tow.

Promised York’s marriage mart and the hospitality of his cousin’s doddering stepmother, Major August Kellborn is shocked to find that his fetching hostess is the one woman who stirs his heart.

Where to find it: Lady Twisden’s Picture Perfect Match is one of nine novellas included in the Bluestocking Belles & Friends collection, Desperate Daughters, to be released on May 17, 2022.

About Desperate Daughters: Love against the Odds

The Earl of Seahaven desperately wanted a son and heir but died leaving nine daughters and a fifth wife. Cruelly turned out by the new earl, they live hand-to-mouth in a small cottage. The young dowager Countess’s one regret is that she cannot give Seahaven’s dear girls a chance at happiness. When a cousin offers the use of her townhouse in York during the season, the Countess rallies her stepdaughters. They will pool their resources so that the youngest marriageable daughters might make successful matches, thereby saving them all. So they start their adventures in York, amid a whirl of balls, lectures, and al fresco picnics. Is it possible each of them might find love by the time the York horse races bring the season to a close?

Available for Pre-order: https://books2read.com/u/bMwL17 for $0.99. The price goes up after the book’s May 17, 2022, launch day.

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature but prefers the happier world of romance fiction. Her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., but after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with a gold-eyed terrier and only occasionally misses snow.

Website: https://alinakfield.com/

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alina-K.-Field/e/B00DZHWOKY

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlinaKField

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alina-k-field

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alinak.field/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173518.Alina_K_Field

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/alinakf/

Newsletter signup: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z6q6e3

First Kiss Friday with Jude Knight

08 Friday Apr 2022

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. You probably have seen on various social media, that the Bluestocking Belles and their guest authors have a new box set coming out next month entitled Desperate Daughters. On sale for only $0.99 during preorder, Desperate Daughters releases on May 17th. Let’s welcome Belle Jude Knight as she shares an excerpt from her novella, Lord Cuckoo Comes Home. Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!

They come close to kissing on the page. Very close. but they were interrupted by the horse and a monkey.

Excerpt:

Chloe turned her head to examine his face. His eyes were firmly fixed on the road ahead, but he must have felt the weight of her regard, for he shot her a look and an anxious smile. “Did you know I was courting you? Lord Tavistock said you did not, and that I should tell you.”

“I was not sure,” Chloe admitted. I hoped so. The words occurred, but she kept them in.

Lord Dom grimaced. “I am not very good at it, it seems. I have never done this before. And then I met you.”

He turned his face to her, and must have checked the horses, for they slowed to a walk. “You probably think this is all too fast. I am afraid I am rushing my fences and will take a fall. But I am more afraid that—if I hold back and say nothing—someone else will win your regard in my place.” His laugh was a nervous expulsion of air. “Do you think… Could you tell me if I have a chance, Miss Tavistock? Maybe give me a hint about how to get better at this courting business?”

“I don’t know,” Chloe replied. When his face fell, she hastened to add, “I have never been courted before, Lord Dom. I never thought anyone would wish to marry me, but Martin insisted on this season in York.” She wanted to bounce in her seat and repeat the word ‘Yes’ over and over in fast succession. She resisted, and tested him with the question that had stymied the other two. “Can you perhaps tell me why you wish to marry me?”

“I think I can,” Lord Dom said slowly. He looked along the road ahead as he spoke. “I was attracted before we met, when I saw you across the room at the meeting. That was to be my last engagement in Yorkshire. Then you impressed me with your courage, your sense of humor, and your quick thinking, and I wanted to stay to get to know you better.”

He shot her another of those anxious glances. “But the moment of attraction came first. I don’t know if I can explain it better than to say it felt like recognition. Something in me saw you and said ‘that’s her’.” Another of those short barks of laughter. “It sounds mad, does it not? I am glad I listened, though, for every meeting has confirmed my first impression. You are the woman I can picture spending the rest of my life with.”

He looked so apprehensive that Chloe blurted what she was thinking. “It was the same with me, Dom.”

He dropped the reins to turn to her and take both of her hands. “Chloe! May I call you Chloe?” The horses, his soft control suddenly absent, tossed their heads and quickened their pace. Dom had to grab for the reins again to exert his will on them.

His soft laugh was exultant. “I lose all my senses when I am with you.”

Chloe, coming to her own senses just in time to grab at Rosario’s harness as the monkey started a flying leap for a passing tree, knew exactly what he meant.

“We turn here,” Dom told her, suiting action to word and setting the horses between two ornate gateposts. “We can talk more on the way home, Chloe. My darling.”

“Lord Cuckoo Comes Home” in Desperate Daughters

Dom Finchley only came to York as a favor to his half-brother, who asked him to attend a meeting there. After a devastating break with the Finchley family followed by ten years at war, he is keen to get the favor done and then leave to build the home he’s never had. A place to call his own.

Then he meets Chloe.

Chloe Tavistock is past the age for the marriage market, and unfashionable in her shape, her opinions, and her enthusiasms. She is not going to find a husband in York, whatever her fond brother might think.

And then she meets Dom.

Two people who have never fitted in just might be a perfect fit.

Buy link

https://books2read.com/u/bMwL17

Meet Jude

Jude always wanted to be a novelist. She started in her teens, but life kept getting in the way. Years passed, and with them dozens of unfinished manuscripts. The fear grew. What if she tried, failed, and lost the dream forever? The years since 2014 have brought 11 novels, 13 novella, 4 volumes of short stories, 3 awards, and hundreds of positive reviews. The dream is alive.

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

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

First Kiss Friday with Anna St. Claire

11 Friday Mar 2022

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Happy First Kiss Friday! I’m excited for you to read this excerpt from My Lord, My Rogue by my friend Anna St. Claire that releases next week. Enjoy, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

Benjamin watched her lips as she talked, mesmerized by their soft, bow shape. “You are exquisite, Honora. And I realize that there are impediments to our relationship. There is Oliver’s guardianship. I feel sure that Lancaster’s influence, together with your father’s, will have a great bearing in the Court of Chancery. Their rolls are usually fairly bogged down, but he will use their connections, including his with the regent, to move it forward. At least, that is his hope. He cannot promise any outcome, of course.” 

“That would be wonderful, should he be able to help me with Oliver. It is my biggest fear that the dowager will maneuver a way to grab him from me.”

“No. That will not happen.” Quietly, he removed to the chair next to her. Benjamin cared not a fig for what her maid was doing, watching or otherwise. He wanted a kiss. “Would you mind if I kiss you, Honora?”

A smile turned up the corners of her mouth. “I would like that very much, Benjamin.” 

Hearing her say his name sent a idyllic feeling though him. Despite the awkwardness of the table, he leaned in and pulled her closer to him. Leaning in, he feathered her lips with small kisses before gently kissing her. His tongue touched her lips, cajoling her to allow more. She opened her mouth, and he quickly pressed his advantage tasting the sweetness of her mouth and swirling his tongue with hers in a dance of pleasure. Reminding himself they were not alone and not wishing to give her anything to regret, he pulled away slowly, lingering a moment to kiss the tip of her nose. 

“How was that, Lady Aster?” he asked, covering her hand with his.

“That was nice.” Her teeth bit down on her lip. “I confess I would enjoy another kiss, but only if I can get you to call me Honora.” A smile flickered across her lips. “You have not called me Honora since I was twelve.”A smile creased his face. “It would be my pleasure, if you call me Benjamin,” he replied, feeling a fissure of pleasure shoot through his body.

My Lord, My Rogue
Noble Hearts, book 4
By Anna St. Claire
Release date – March 15, 2022

Entangled in a web of danger, espionage, and deception, can he find love with the woman he thought long dead? Or will the danger deprive them of a chance for love and happiness?

Lady Honora Radcliff was betrothed to the most sought-after man of the Season— just not the man she loved. Too much champagne and too many dances with a handsome stranger leaves her life in tatters and she finds herself married to an abusive man whose only interest is the dowry her father refuses to release. Desperate to save her life and that of her unborn child, she fakes her death and disappears. 

Lord Benjamin Crewe, the Marquess of Willington, planned to enjoy the Christmastide season relaxing. Instead, he accepts a dangerous assignment from the Crown and while working it, comes face to face with the woman he always wished he had married. Only she has been thought dead for three years. 

Needing answers, he pursues her at the same time a treacherous enemy of England surfaces, and the two of them become tangled in a web of danger, espionage, and deception. 

Can Honora and Benjamin survive the danger in which they find themselves and gain a chance for love and happiness?

Learn more:

Amazon – https://amazon.com/Lord-Rogue-Noble-Hearts-Book-ebook/dp/B09SFFWN1P/

B&N – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-lord-my-rogue-anna-st-claire/1141004890?ean=2940160798554

Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1610262220

Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/my-lord-my-rogue

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60419196-my-lord-my-rogue

BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/books/my-lord-my-rogue-noble-hearts-series-book-4-by-anna-st-claire

About the Author:

Anna St. Claire is a big believer that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself. She sprinkles her stories with laughter, romance, mystery and lots of possibilities, adhering to the belief that goodness and love will win the day. 

Anna is both an avid reader author of American and British historical romance. She and her husband live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their  two dogs and often, their two beautiful granddaughters, who live nearby. Daughter, sister, wife, mother, and Mimi—all life roles that Anna St. Claire relishes and feels blessed to still enjoy. And she loves her pets – dogs and cats alike, and often inserts them into her books as secondary characters.

Anna relocated from New York to the Carolinas as a child. Her mother, a retired English and History teacher, always encouraged Anna’s interest in writing, after discovering short stories she would write in her spare time. 

As a child, she loved mysteries and checked out every Encyclopedia Brown story that came into the school library. Before too long, her fascination with history and reading led her to her first historical romance—Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind, now a treasured, but weathered book from being read multiple times. The day she discovered Kathleen Woodiwiss,’ books, Shanna and Ashes In The Wind, Anna became hooked. She read every historical romance that came her way and dreams of writing her own historical romances took seed.

Today, her focus is primarily the Regency and Civil War eras, although Anna enjoys almost any period in American and British history. 

https://www.annastclaire.com

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-st-claire

https://www.twitter.com/1AnnaStClaire

https://www.facebook.com/authorannastclaire

https://www.amazon.com/Anna-St-Claire/e/B078WMRHHF

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17419205https://www.instagram.com/annastclaire_author/

https://www.instagram.com/annastclaire_author/

First Kiss Friday with Maddison Michaels

04 Friday Mar 2022

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog! Today’s guest is Maddison Michaels who has a first kiss scene from her story The Bachelor Betrayal. Isn’t the cover gorgeous? Happy reading and enjoy my lovelies!

Excerpt:

“If we’re entering into an agreement together, we should seal the deal with a kiss,” he murmured. “It’s the polite thing to do.”

“Sealing the deal with a kiss is how my friend Olivia ended up marrying the Bastard of Baker Street,” she said, annoyed her voice sounded slightly breathless. “I’ve no intention of following the same path.”

“Oh, don’t worry, my lady. Neither do I,” Marcus all but purred. “I will never marry again. You’re safe from me in that regard. Unless, of course, you’re scared of a kiss?”

“I’m scared of no man’s kiss.”

“Then show me.”

The deep timber of his voice sent a shiver through her body and all she could do was nod. What harm was there in a kiss? It might satisfy her curiosity and put the unaccountable sensations she was experiencing in his presence to rest once and for all. “Very well.”

She raised her head and pressed her lips softly against his. Almost immediately, a heat began to curl in her belly from the touch, his lips scorching in their intensity. She moaned as he nudged open her mouth with his, and his tongue flicked against hers. Mirroring the movement, she did the same to him and was rewarded with his deep groan as they began to kiss each other with an unrestrained passion she didn’t think was possible for her.

Instinctively, she pressed herself closer to him, reveling at the sensations of pleasure coursing through her from his very touch. He was strong and so masculine it made her feel delicate and feminine, which she rarely ever did.

His hands circled around her waist, before sliding lower and cupping her buttocks, pulling her in, tighter against him. Kat nearly gasped when the hardness of his manhood pressed into her lower belly. It was wicked. It was wanton. It was addictive, and she wanted more.

She wound her hands up and around his neck and kissed him back with unrepentant fervor, pressing her breasts more snugly against the broadness of his thick chest. Never had she tasted such sublime wonder as was Marcus.A throat being cleared from behind them had Kat wrenching away from Marcus and spinning around to face the threat. It was Cantfield and Etta. How mortifying. And Kat never felt mortified by anything, though she’d never been kissed so thoroughly before either, or caught in the act.

The Bachelor Betrayal
By Maddison Michaels

He wants justice

Underestimating Marcus Black is the last thing his enemies ever do. After all, the respected Earl of Westwood is a deadly threat… when her Majesty needs him to be. And his only goal is to avenge his brother’s murder. Which would be much easier if the viciously-skilled Lady Kaitlyn Montrose wouldn’t swoop in, knee him in the bollocks, and then run off with his only lead…

She wants revenge

Kat is determined to avenge her beloved uncle’s murder and nothing will stop her. Especially not the devastatingly handsome, and equally lethal Marcus Black. The fact that he’s after the same target is a complication she hadn’t planned on.  And as much as she enjoys taunting him, she has a job to do—one that doesn’t include sparring with the infuriating man at every turn. Except Kat has a new plan… one that Marcus will just hate.

Now they’ll have to work together… if they don’t kill each other first

Individually, Marcus and Kat are deadly. If they worked together, they could be unstoppable. But when attraction gets in the way of vengeance, it’s more than hearts on the line. And only one person can win…

BUY LINKS:

www.books2read.com/TheBachelorBetrayal

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QJP3SBZ

Amazon Can: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09QJP3SBZ

Amazon Aus: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09QJP3SBZ

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09QJP3SBZ  

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-bachelor-betrayal/id1605625104

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-bachelor-betrayal

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bachelor-betrayal-maddison-michaels/1140893534

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=g1tZEAAAQBAJ

About the Author:

Indoctrinated into a world of dashing rogues and feisty heroines when she was a teenager and picked up her first ever historical romance, Maddison Michaels has been a prolific reader and writer of historical romance ever since. She is the bestselling author of six books, including THE DEVILISH DUKE which won the 2019 RWA Australia Historical Romantic Book of the Year.

Writing historical romance is Maddison’s way of time traveling back to Victorian London to experience a cornucopia of intrigue, romance and adventure all from the comfort of her living room! She also loves incorporating her previous 16 years experience as a police officer into the mystery and suspense elements of her books.  She lives in Sydney, Australia with her own handsome hero, beautiful daughter and fur baby, and she always starts her day with a cup of liquid gold…coffee – just quietly, she’s addicted to the stuff!

Maddison absolutely loves to hear from her readers and you can find her at http://www.maddisonmichaels.com/ or on most social media platforms!

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Website: http://maddisonmichaels.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaddisonMichaelsAuthor/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/mmichaelsauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddisonmichaelsauthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17367583.Maddison_Michaels

Amazon Author Page : https://www.amazon.com/Maddison-Michaels/e/B079LXRLQ7
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maddison-michaels

First Kiss Friday with Cerise DeLand

25 Friday Feb 2022

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday. Please welcome my guest Cerise DeLand who has an excerpt from If You Were The Only Girl In the World. Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!

Intro from the author:

In the spring 1916, American Katrina Schubert arrives in London awaiting confirmation that she can cross the Channel in a packet. She’s a young doctor, in Europe on her own to help the war effort. Because she has learned the American Army will not enlist female physicians if or when the country goes to war, she decides to take her inheritance and serve at her own expense. 

What she does not realize is that since the last time she was here, Europeans have drastically changed. Paris a city under seige. There is no place to hide from the war, no place to run, no place for gaiety. As she tries to secure passage across to France, one night she is attacked in the London streets. But she is saved by a young British colonel whom she remembers all too well saved her once before.

When she finally gets approval to cross the Channel, Nate Langston, the Earl of Crabury, takes her to Dover along with his good friend and distant cousin, Dylan Hanniford. Here we find them in Dover, saying goodbye.

Excerpt:

She took Nate’s hand to aid her out of the taxi that he and Dylan had engaged at the train station. She stared at the small hotel was quaint with its ivy covered stone and young white rosebuds climbing the walls. But the building was sad as the weather. Tilting to one side, the three-story building seemed to have held itself up along the old and winding street for a century or more. Its sign swinging from an iron hook banged against the stones in a mournful cry. 

She refused to glance at the port once more. The first sight of armored ships, their guns pointed toward the water and the French coast, the grey drizzle, the bone-deep chill combined to make her teeth ache.

Nate and Dylan hailed the porter, an elderly fellow who should not be doing such heavy lifting. But young men were a rarity. Even Dylan in civilian dress as he was, was scrutinized by those in the train station. Men in uniform had a special disdain for him. One glance to see he was in the company of a British Colonel assuaged a bit of their irritation as well as inspired their curiosity. They found it even more strange that a young woman was accompanied by two men and gave Katrina a once-over that was less than kind.

The three hurried inside the hotel where a fire burned in warm and crackling welcome.

Dylan signed in at the desk with the proprietress. A lady of rectitude as rigid as her posture, she was curious about the woman who was next.

“I have a reservation. My name is Dr. Katrina Schubert.” The woman softened at the word ‘doctor’ but resumed her stiff demeanor at the sound of Katrina’s last name. As Katrina handed the lady her passport, she went on, “I go on to Paris to work there.”

Nate stood to one side of her. Dylan the other. Both of them gave the lady twinkly little smiles as she checked her ledger and sought the keys from her pegboard behind her.

“Room twenty-two, Madam Schubert.”

“Doctor.”

“Of course.” The lady glared at her, then gave Dylan his key.

Angry at the slight, Katrina grasped the large iron key and debated if she should reprimand the woman. She was so very tired of others who judged her for her profession. Or her male company. Or her lack of female company.

Nate’s fingers squeezed her waist.

Dylan gave her a knowing lift of his brows and in hearing of the proprietress said, “I’ll see you down here for dinner, Katrina. Seven o’clock, sound fine?”

“Absolutely.” She toyed with the key. Here, ready to leave England, she felt her blood pressure kick up. She spun toward Nate as he picked up her two suitcases. “I’ll take those.”

“I’ll carry them up for you.”

She shook her head and widened her eyes in warning. “You’ve done so much for me.”

He tipped his head. “And you for me.”

She gave a laugh. “How can that be?”

“I need to talk to you. Alone. Let me take these up. Give me you key, eh? Stay here. She will think what she will. Then we’ll get Dylan and we three will go find a tea room or a pub. Some place to have a decent meal.”

“No.” Tears threatened and she hated that she’d dissolve in front of him. “Please don’t argue. I need to be alone.”

“Do you?” he asked, regret alive in his tone. “I don’t understand—“

“I need to summon my inner warrior, Colonel. You have coddled me these past few days and I must put on my armor, sir, for the crossing.”  Embarrassed, she shook her head, pushing aside her loss of him. “Sorry. I’m being a ninny.”

“I’d say you’re been damn brave.”

She bucked up at that and admired his handsome face for one of the last times. “Oh, Nate. I’m realizing what a wild decision I made to come here. That’s not brave. That’s pitiful.”

He pulled her to the side of the room and into an alcove secluded from the lobby. She had presence of mind to note two chairs and a settee and rejoiced at the privacy at this last vital moment with him. He put her suitcases to the floor and reached for her. Once more, as the night he had saved her from those thugs, he was her comfort as he drew her gently into his arms.

She went, falling against his shoulder like a rag doll, her arms clutching him around his waist, the smooth wool of his uniform on her cheek, a comfort to her tattered mind.

He ran his hands down her spine and she sighed into him.

“I’ve wanted to hold you for days,” he said on a little laugh.

“I wanted to be held,” she admitted to his shoulder and hugged him like she’d never let him go. “I cannot tell you what a help you’ve been to me.”

He pulled away, and smiled wickedly as he lifted her chin. He had tears in his eyes and he was not hiding them. “I remember the first night we met. You were brave then.”

She gave laugh. “Oh, that’s not true. I was angry.”

“You had good cause.”

“I did,” she acknowledged.

Katrina pulled back in his arms to examine him. The subject she thought of for years, the dumbest she had not broached with him, suddenly seemed the most important one she had to clarify before they parted. “What happened to her?”

“Who?” he sounded lost as if he had no idea who she spoke of.

“Did she die? Your fiancé. Your wife. You told me you have a son but no wife.”

He brushed away a tear from her cheek. “I didn’t marry old Whats-her-name. After you showed me what I should be doing that night, I called off the engagement. I didn’t marry her. I married another girl. From my village. A sweet young woman who died giving birth to our son.”

“Oh, Nate.” She cupped his jaw. “I am so sorry.”

“He’s a fine boy.”

“I’m sure.”

“And I wouldn’t have him if it were not for you.”

She demurred. “Oh, I doubt—“

“No. You see that night you saved me from what would have been disaster.”

That he would credit her struck her as magnanimous and much maligned. “I think you knew what it was before you spoke to a stranger on the veranda.”

“Did I? A few words. A casual observation. Two strangers on a veranda speaking the truth. My marriage would never have worked.”

“Nor mine.”

He grinned. “I do believe we saved each other.”

“Put like that?” She nodded and grinned. “We did.”

He brushed his thumb over the curve of her bottom lip. “I’ll come to Paris. I don’t know when or how. But I will. I’ll write but the mail across the Channel is irregular. But I will come to call. Will you have me?”

She hugged him close, her heart breaking that she’d never see him again, that he’d die or forget her. “Have you? Of course. Nate, when you do, I might never let you go.”

“Kate,” he said as if he couldn’t believe she’d want him. And then he bent to put his firm hot lips to hers. His kiss was fast, hard, every claim she’d ever imagined from a man who truly could not live without her. He crushed her near again and his next kiss was a brand of heat and chaos. He traced her lips with his tongue and she opened, wanting his possession. He skimmed her cheek. “Don’t forget me.”

She caught his chin. “I never did. I thought so often about you. A gallant man. I’d known only a few. I wondered too in the still of many nights when I was weary or I had lost someone, if you remembered me. Or how you’d be if you were mine.”

He sucked in a breath. “Oh, Kate, we’ll discover that together, shall we, eh? Soon. I’ll come to Paris.” His gaze ran over her in question and in a look that was our possession. Then he kissed her once more, a claim of lips and tongue and teeth.

He stepped back and she gasped in objection.

So full of his endearments, she reached up and brushed his mussed hair into better form. “Paris, yes. A promise.”

He lifted her hand and kissed the back. “Doctor, you are brave. Go. Save many. Be safe. Au revoir, darling.”

Slowly he turned away, straightening his coat, and with a heave of his shoulders, he strode away.

If You Were The Only Girl In The World
By Cerise DeLand

One starlit night, he saved her from tragedy and she saved him from disaster.

Years later, on a moonless night, he rescues her again—and they discover a love affair they cannot resist. 

Now during the nightmare of war, each must decide if they’ll abandon all they worked for to claim the only person in the world they could love.

Katrina Schubert rejected what her father’s millions could buy—a title, a castle, a man who’d marry her for her money. Instead, she wanted to use her intellect and become a doctor.


Nathaniel, the Earl of Carbury, didn’t want what his family insisted he needed—a good woman who proved to him how beneficial a loving partner could be.


But one starless night in war-torn London, Nate saves Katrina from tragedy, the same way years before, she’d saved him from disaster. What began as friendship turns to a love affair they can’t resist.
Dare they risk their hearts to take all the riches enchantment can bring them?
Or will they reject the possibility that each remains alone, remembering the only other person they could adore?

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/You-Were-Only-Girl-World-ebook/dp/B09GL2PM3P/?tag=cerdel-20

About the Author:

Cerise DeLand loves to write about dashing heroes and the sassy women they adore. 

But I bet you knew that! 

Did you know that she’s known for her poetic elegance and accuracy of detail? 

That she’s an award-winning author of more than 40 novels and was first published in 1991 by Kensington, then Pocket Books, later by St. Martin’s Press and independent presses? 

That her books have been monthly selections of the Doubleday Book Club and the Mystery Guild? Right. And she’s won awards. Lots of them. Need details? Write to her. She’ll send you the list!

To research, she’s dived into the oldest texts and dustiest library shelves. She also travels abroad taking good walking shoes, trusty notebooks and pens, plus camera! She visits chateaux and country homes she loves to people with her own imaginary characters. 

And at home every day? She cooks. Never dusts. (That can be a problem.) She goes swimming or pumps iron once a week and tries (desperately) to grow vegetables in her arid backyard in south Texas! 

Do visit her website, http://cerisedeland.com and blog http://cerisedeland.blogspot.com

First Kiss Friday with Meara Platt

18 Friday Feb 2022

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Thanks for stopping by my First Kiss Friday blog. Today’s guest is my friend Meara Platt who has an excerpt from Lyon in the Rough. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

The vast expanse of sea shimmered before them as the sun fell across it.

But it paled to Beatrix’s splendor.

Perhaps this is why poets went on about women sparkling like diamonds. Beatrix was a vision of loveliness. Her gown, a soft, dove gray, picked up the soft gray of her eyes and accentuated the blue in them as well.

She stole his breath away every time he looked at her.

Even now, his heart was beating faster, as it would with the thrill of a first encounter. He had been in close quarters with Beatrix for over a week now and that heady feeling had not faded.

It galled him that Bessie had recognized she was a perfect match for him.

He had not met Beatrix until that morning at the Lyon’s Den. It seemed a lifetime ago. And yet, he felt as though he had always known her.

Perhaps his heart had known her and simply been waiting for her to appear.

Anam charaid.

The love of his soul.

This was going to be a problem if her father had truly promised her to that dunce, Greenock.

Lucas had no intention of giving Beatrix up.

If she wanted him, then he was ready to move heaven and earth to have her.

Why should he not put himself forward and offer for Beatrix’s hand in marriage? He had excellent connections. He was a Lyon of Mar and had the birthmark on his buttocks to prove it. Indeed, the red splotch in the shape of a lion was the mark of every Lyon. He and his brothers all carried it.

But he knew a birthmark to prove his lineage would not overcome the biggest hurdle to gaining her father’s approval. The problem remained, he was not a peer nor was he ever likely to become one by inheriting the dukedom of Mar. It would require the death of his two elder brothers and any sons they might sire. Cheyne already had a son, a newborn babe hardly a few months old.

Lucas did not wish for any bad fate to befall them. No, he wished only good health and happiness for all of his family.

Beatrix inhaled lightly and squeezed his hand, distracting him from his thoughts. “Look, Lucas! There is something moving in the water.”

She began to hop excitedly beside him. “Is it a whale? Oh, there! I think it is an entire family of whales.”

He chuckled and kept tight hold of her hand. “Aye, lass. Aren’t they a magnificent sight?”

She turned to face him. “Everything is magnificent about this moment. Do you feel it, Lucas? This contentment. This sheer perfection.”

“Aye, lass. I do.”

When would they ever have such a day again?

A cooling breeze rippled off the water to swirl around them as they stood on the heights.

The sun shone down upon them and glistened across the waves. The sea was bluer than Lucas had ever seen it, and clear enough to provide an unimpeded view of the pod of whales gliding beneath its surface.

Beatrix had her mouth slightly open as she stared in utter fascination.

He mostly kept his gaze on her.

Anam charaid.

Yes, she was that.

As they watched, one of the larger leviathans surfaced and blew a spume of water out of its spout.

Beatrix squealed in delight. “Do you think he noticed us and decided to put on a show?”

“Perhaps, lass.” Why should not all creatures be enchanted with this girl? She was the loveliest part of this day.

Poseidon wagged his little rump and barked at the whales, unable to contain his excitement. Lucas kept firm hold of his tether, tugging him back each time he skittered to the edge to announce his dominion over these creatures who were a thousand times his size.

Beatrix turned once more to look up at him, happiness shining in her eyes. “Lucas, thank you for sharing this with me. I have never seen anything so beautiful.” 

“Lass,” he said in a raw whisper, wanting so badly to draw her up against his body and crush his lips to hers. She was the beauty in this moment. The sun, the wind, the azure water and majestic gray whales all paled next her. “It is my pleasure.”

He tucked a finger under her chin to hold her gaze to his.

She closed her eyes. “I am making a wish.”

“What are ye wishing for?”

“I dare not say.”

“Why? Is it too sinful?” He only meant to tease her, for he could not imagine this girl as anything other than innocent.

“It is, Lucas. Well, perhaps not sinful by your standards, but not anything I ought to be wishing to do.”

Her eyes fluttered open as she spoke, the blue in them seeming to melt into the blue of the sky. Her lips were the pink of the windblown flowers that grew in abundance on this outcropping. “What is it ye wish, Beatrix?”

He knew what he would wish for in this idyllic moment, in this perfect slice of a day. In the heat of the sun shining down on them and the roar of the waves pounding against the shore.

She took a deep breath. “It will not come true if I tell you. Perhaps it is for the best that it doesn’t.” She inhaled again and then let her breath out slowly. “I wished that you would kiss me on this perfect spot amid this perfect day. Would you consider it, Lucas?”

He gave a raw laugh. “Blessed saints, Beatrix. It is a terrible idea.”

Her cheeks turned a bright pink. “Oh, I see. Of course. This is why I should not have told you. Because…what you must think of me…that is, I just assumed…because men…I am so sorry.”

“Dinna be sorry, lass. It is a terrible idea because it is one that has been preying on my mind throughout this journey. Ye’re an angel. I have ached to put my lips to yours from the moment I met ye. How can ye not know it?” He drew her up against him, for this burning need to kiss her had grown unbearable. “I canno’ promise ye anything beyond this kiss.”

She nodded. “I am not asking for anything more.”

In truth, he would give her anything she wished because he was already lost to her. He was so far gone in love with this lass, he would give up everything without need for her to request it. “Verra well. One kiss. Is it yer first?”

She nodded.

“Och, then it must be special. Close yer eyes, Beatrix.”

She held her breath and shut her eyes.

He stifled his laughter, not merely for her obvious innocence but also for the way his heart was responding. Puffed with pride. Touched to the core. He had yet to kiss her and he already knew her lips would taste of heaven. “Breathe, lass. It is permitted.”

She released her breath with a light groan. “Oh, Lucas. I have no idea what I am supposed to do.”

“Ye’ll be just fine. Let me do the work. Ye need only follow my lead.” He brought his mouth down on hers and pressed lightly upon her lips, careful to keep the kiss gentle despite the savage heat coursing through him.

He did not want to scare her off with his ravenous longing.

Give me strength.

Liquid fire coursed through his veins, but he held the flames in check. This was her first time with a man and he dared not overwhelm her.

Nor did he intend to be tepid, for he could never be indifferent to this girl who turned his body molten.

He slowly began to deepen the kiss.

Och, he had to stop thinking each step and just go with what felt right. But she meant so much to him, he wanted their first time to be perfect.

Fool, it will no’ be if ye measure every step.

He set aside his thoughts and simply allowed the heat building up inside of him to flow naturally through his body.

Lord, it came at him like a wall of flames.

He lifted her up against him, drawing her tight to him so that her feet were off the ground and the length of their bodies were seared to each other. He felt the plumpness of her bosom against his hard chest and ached to explore her lovely mounds with his hands and lips.

Not this first time.

Some restraint was required or he would scare her off.

His tongue teased along the seam of her lips to draw them open. He delved in when she responded, tasting the sweet velvet of her mouth.

She moaned and slipped her arms around his neck, leaning into him so that there was no space between their bodies, not a particle of distance between them as their legs entwined and arms held each other in a desperate clench.

He felt the wild beat of her heart.

Blessed saints, she was made for him.

He could tell by the sweet heat of her skin that she was aroused by him.

Was it any different for him?

He poured all of his heart and longing into their first kiss, for it represented so much more than the wild press of two mouths or the hot touch of two bodies.

His was stripped raw, no barriers remaining.

He loved this girl.

She was his heart and the light in his soul.

Mo anam.

My soul.

She had to be his, even if her father had betrothed her to Greenock.

He could not bear to think of it.

“Beatrix,” he whispered, feeling her body shudder with a desire they both felt. “Lass, we canno’ go further.”

“I know. Oh, Lucas,” she said breathlessly, “I am trying so hard to hold back my feelings.” She still had her arms around his neck while the length of her body remained pressed to his, the softness of her breasts such sweet perfection against his chest.

He kissed her again.

His body was on fire and the flames consumed them both.

Lyon In The Rough
By Meara Platt

Lucas Lyon is leaving London to head back to his home in Edinburgh when his meddlesome aunt, Bessie Dove-Lyon, decides he also needs to deliver the lovely Lady Beatrix MacGlory to her father. Along for the ride are Beatrix’s overly perfumed aunt and her aunt’s little pug, Poseidon, who is about the size of a hedgehog but thinks he is a lion. Lucas is not happy about this arrangement, until he finds himself falling in love with Beatrix. However, she is returning to Edinburgh for an arranged betrothal to another man. Since when has that stopped a Lyon from claiming what he wants? If you love Scottish heroes, road trip romances, or simply enjoy laughter, you’ll have fun with Lucas and Beatrix as they fall in love in Lyon In The Rough.

Lyon in the Rough Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09LRF418F

Author Bio: 

Meara Platt is a USA Today bestselling, award winning author, and an Amazon UK All Star. Her Regency romances are infused with humor and heart, and her fantasy/paranormal stories add just enough darkness to keep her readers intrigued. For Meara, romance is a journey of enchantment, so whether you are looking for funny, uplifting escapes in her Farthingale series or Book of Love series, or wish to be transported into edgier Fae/dragon realms as in her Dark Gardens series, or something in between, take the journey and enjoy!

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First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing

11 Friday Feb 2022

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. I’m still celebrating the release of Before I Found You: A de Courtenay Novella (Book Three). I can’t being to tell you how much I just adore this cover (thank you Period Images!). I had a great time writing this novella that was originally in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Storm & Shelter. It took a certain hero for Miss Miranda de Courtenay to finally find what matters most in life and that certainly wasn’t a title. Please enjoy this first kiss scene between Miranda & Jasper. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

She at last remembered herself and backed up a step. He, in turn, stepped forward and continued to do so until they were out of sight of the front of the manor. It wasn’t until she felt the brick wall upon her back that she realized she had nowhere else to turn.

“I had to see you one last time,” she murmured in a breathy whisper. She leaned her head back just so she could once more stare into his eyes.

“I’m certain our paths will cross often, Miranda, at least when I’m on shore,” he said, coming so close she could feel the very heat of him radiating from his body. She almost moaned but as she placed her hands upon his muscular chest, instead a gasp escaped her. Her action was meant to halt him from coming any closer but it had the opposite effect when he pulled her into his arms.

“I don’t see how that will be possible,” she managed to say, while attempting to hold him off. Her pulse quickened and every fiber of her being craved to be held in his arms forever more. She must remember her goal, and Jasper could never fit into her plans.

“Anything is possible, Miranda. We just need to have a little patience. Time will eventually be on our side. I won’t always be at sea.” He ran a finger down her cheek, causing her to shiver in pleasure.

“It’s not about time, Jasper, because all the time in the world won’t change anything.”

He bent forward until his forehead touched her own. “I know we have only just met but, for whatever the reason, I feel drawn to you. Was I mistaken that you feel the same way?”

Her breath caught in her throat to hear his words. “No,” she said honestly. “You weren’t mistaken.”

He cupped her face so she had no choice than to give him her undivided attention. “Then, hopefully, you’ll forgive me if I do something I’ve been craving to do since last night.”

She gulped. Oh no… please don’t let him kiss me. “What’s that?” she asked instead, even though she knew what was coming.

“This…”

His lips gently slid across her own as if testing to see if she would accept the gift of his kiss. She should have pulled away but how could she deny what she herself wanted just as badly? She tilted her head to give him full access to her mouth and, when his tongue slipped inside, Miranda was completely lost. Shivers of delight swept across her entire body until she found herself wrapped in Jasper’s arms. Her hands made their way up into his hair and her fingers tangled into the soft length. He deepened their kiss without any protest from Miranda until she thought her feet would never again touch the ground.

How long their mouths danced with one another, she could not say. For one brief instant, Miranda never wanted the kiss to end. She never wanted to leave Jasper’s arms or his life. But when a soft moan escaped from her lips, the reality of what this man did to her finally penetrated her numb mind. She broke off their kiss and yet their mouths lingered near as their breaths mingled together. She may want him, but he could never offer her the life of her dreams.

Before I Found You: A De Courtenay Novella (Book Three)
By Sherry Ewing

A quest for a title. An encounter with a stranger. Will she choose love?

Miss Miranda de Courtenay has only one goal in life: to find a rich husband who can change her status from Missto My Lady. But when a handsome stranger crosses her path at a Valentine’s Day ball, her obsession with titles dims. Might love be enough?

Captain Jasper Rousseau has no plans to become infatuated during a chance encounter at a ball. He has a new ship to run, passengers to book, and cargo to deliver. But one look into a young lady’s beautiful hazel eyes, and he becomes lost. Does love at first sight really exist?

Their paths continue to cross until they are both stranded in Fenwick on Sea. Their growing connection is hard to dismiss, despite Miranda’s childish quest for a title at all cost. But what if the cost includes love?

Buy Links:

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