Welcome, my lovelies, to another First Kiss Friday! Today’s guest is Meara Platt who has a first kiss scene from The Touch of Love. She’s also offering a giveaway to one lucky random comment of an eBook of this release so be sure to leave a comment after you read this fabulous excerpt. Enjoy!

Excerpt:

“Don’t be angry, Nathaniel. You’re the only man I trust to be honest with me.”

“Kisses lead to other things.”

“Like removing one’s gown?” She cast him a wry smile. “Which is why I am safest learning these things from you. So, shall we get down to business? You agreed to this, remember? And if Andrew Gordon wrote me this note, then I certainly don’t want to trust him with a first kiss.”

Of course, her first kiss.

He ought to have realized it immediately.

He groaned, suddenly feeling like a wolf who’d just trapped an innocent lamb. Or was he the lamb suddenly trapped by this beautiful wolf?

No, he was the wolf. He was the worldly, jaded one. So how could he do this to the girl?

Poppy trusted him so completely.

You can do this. You are honorable. You care for her. You will protect her. This is why she chose you to be her first.

“Very well, close your eyes.”

She closed them.

He watched them flutter shut. Her dark velvet eyelashes rested against the soft pink of her cheeks.

Blessed Mother. She had the face of an angel.

“What shall I do with my lips?”

He would have laughed at the remark were his heart not too busy erupting with volcanic force within his chest. He was in fiery torment, struggling to hold himself back from devouring Poppy. “Keep them relaxed.”

“What shall I do with my hands?”

He dismissed the thought immediately coming to mind, for she would grab the inkpot off his desk and crack his skull open with it if she knew what he was thinking. Yes, he was depraved and not proud of it. “Put them on my shoulders.” It seemed the safest advice to give her.

“Like this?”

Why did her touch always feel like the touch of heaven?
“It’ll do.” His voice sounded hoarse and strained even to his own ears. That she was approaching the kiss with logic ought to have calmed him down.

It didn’t.

She was about to ask another question, but he cut her short by wrapping his arms around her and pressing his lips to hers.

He shouldn’t have done that.

Nor should he have buried his fingers in her hair and cupped the back of her head to guide her lips to his.

Nor should he have deepened the kiss when she responded, her soft, pliant lips yielding to his possessive conquest. His primitive instincts had taken over. Only his low brain seemed to be working and had taken control.

Her soft, ample breasts molded to his firm chest.

Healthy breasts. Lord, they were healthy.

Mate with this girl.

It was as though she had been built to fit him.

And his low brain knew it. Fertile female. Want this female. Need to spill seed into this exquisite, beautiful– 

He abruptly pulled his mouth off hers.

Blessed saints, his brain wasn’t completely dead yet.

He eased his hold on her. “Well, that’s it, Poppy. Your first kiss.”

He waited for her to remark on it. Would she think it was magical? Wondrous?

Her eyes remained closed and she said nothing.

He bristled. “Care to comment?”

Poppy had an irritating way of hiding her feelings. She was reserved in everything she said and did. But she hadn’t felt reserved in her response to him. The slide of her hands up his chest and the urgent press of her body against his had given her away.

The wild beating of her heart.

He’d felt its rampant beats against his chest.

“Did the kiss meet your expectations?”

She opened her eyes and stared at him. “I’m not sure.”

What?

---

BLURB:

Welcome to the Book of Love series. What makes a man fall in love? The Book of Love holds the answer, or so Poppy Farthingale believes.

Poppy Farthingale has made a pact with her two best friends to use The Book of Love to find true love. How else will Nathaniel Sherbourne, Earl of Welles, ever notice her? With a small dowry and no prominent lineage, Nathaniel will never consider her a suitable wife, especially when her competition is a beautiful duke’s daughter who has already been declared an Incomparable. Poppy has four days to win his heart, but with time running out and her rival about to attend a weekend party at Nathaniel’s country home, is all hope lost?

Nathaniel Sherbourne, Earl of Welles, is a man whose heart has been bruised by the ravages of war. He is in no rush to marry, for he’s a wealthy and titled bachelor with debutantes aplenty eager to gain his notice. In any event, he has a blackmail scheme to unravel before he can turn his mind to more romantic ventures. But his sister’s shy friend, Poppy Farthingale, is suddenly capturing his attention. She’s toting around The Book of Love, and he’s promised to help her find a suitable match. Is it possible he’s the right man for Poppy?

BUY LINK: The Touch of Love: https://amzn.to/2Lla9YZ

BIO:

Meara Platt is a USA Today bestselling author and an award-winning Amazon UK Allstar in historical and Regency romance. Her favorite place in all the world is England’s charming Lake District which may not come as a surprise since many of her stories are set in that idyllic landscape, especially her paranormal Regency romances in her Dark Gardens series. If you’d like to learn more about Meara’s lighthearted Farthingale series, Book of Love series, and Braydens series, or gothic, paranormal Dark Gardens series, please visit Meara’s website at www.mearaplatt.com.

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday! Today’s guest is Amanda Mariel who has an excerpt from her recent release One Wanton Wager. Isn’t the cover gorgeous? Happy reading, my lovelies, and enjoy!

Excerpt:

Alex strolled beside Daphne as he spoke. “I often work alongside my tenants repairing their cottages, digging irrigation trenches, planting or harvesting crops. Repairing fences seems a never-ending task, and then there are disputes to hear and settle as well as working on my estate books. Even when in London, I usually have some sort of estate business to manage along with my house there.” He grinned. “Of course, I find an ample amount of time for pleasure as well.” He punctuated his words with a devilish wink.

She could well imagine what pleasure he referred to. Her cheeks warmed once more, her belly tightening. She averted her gaze to the fountain they were approaching, choosing to ignore his inappropriate comment. “There it is.” She sighed as her gaze roamed over the twisted roses to the spot where water flowed out to cascade back to the pool below. “Lord Chesterfield had it handcrafted as a wedding present for his wife.”

“It is a wonder.” He strolled closer, then locked his hands behind his back and studied the fountain. “Very intricate. It must have taken countless weeks to complete.” He locked his green eyes on her. “What do you see when you look at it?”

She arched a brow in confusion, thinking it a rather silly question. “A fountain, of course. Or more specifically, vines and roses wound together to form a heart over a pool of water.”

“Humm…” He turned his attention back to the fountain.

Curiosity brought her closer to his side. “What do you see?”

“Lovers. The vines are tangled together like two lovers swept away with passion. When they separate to form the heart they are reaching toward the top where they find their mutual release.” He pivoted to face her, his gaze smoldering. “I could show you what I mean.”

Daphne notched her chin, fighting the images forming in her mind. How dare he say such outlandish things to her? The man had no scruples. “I should like to return to the party now,” she said.

“You are forgetting something.”

“Am I.” She narrowed her gaze.

“Did you wish to kiss me in front of the guests?” He stepped closer.

Daphne froze, her spine stiffening as her heart beat wildly. How had she forgotten the dratted kiss?

“Of course, if that is your wish, who am I to deny you?” Alex said, his tone teasing.

“Do not be daft. I’ve no wish to be ruined.” She took a step, then hesitated as she stared at his full lips.

“Perhaps I should sit so that you can reach my lips easier?” His eyes glinted in the sun.

Her throat went dry as she squinted up at him. “Yes…and place your hands at your sides.”

He did as she bid, propping himself against the edge of the fountain, then pinned his gaze to hers.

Daphne hesitated for another moment before stepping into the opening of his thighs. “Close your eyes,” She ordered.

“I would rather not.” He raked his gaze over her. “But you are welcome to close yours.”

The devil she would. Her pulse quickened as she leaned closer to him. She pressed her eyelids shut and brought her lips to his. A quick press of their flesh to flesh, then she jerked back as though her soul had been scorched.

“Is that all?” He leaned forward. “I’ve kissed my mother with more fervor.”

Daphne shook her head. “That is all you deserve.” She turned and started down the path, finding herself more than a little unsettled from their chaste kiss. Had he experienced the same spark of desire?

More importantly, how many of his kisses could she endure before she gave in to his true wish and joined him beneath the sheets? Or worse, gave him her heart?

---

Blurb:

A young widow in need of a husband…A determined rogue…and One Wanton Wager…Can the proposal of Alex Le Bec lead to everlasting love?

A young widow in need of a husband…

Lady Daphne Summerville has grown weary of accepting the charity of her late husband’s family. No longer willing to be a burden to them, Daphne begins searching for a husband, a task that would be far easier to accomplish if not for the handsome rogue chasing her skirts.

A determined rogue…

From the moment the Earl of Bedford, Alex Le Bec lays eyes on Lady Summerville he can’t get her out of his mind. Now he’s determined to charm the attractive, witty woman into being his mistress. Too bad she wants nothing to do with an affair, and even less to do with him.

One Wanton Wager…

Not one to be easily dissuaded, Alex proposes a wager. He will fund Daphne’s future if she allows him the opportunity to woo her into something more clandestine. There is one catch–she must kiss him each time they are together. Daphne accepts the wager, confident that she can refrain from falling for the rogue.

After all, how much damage can a few kisses do?

Buy link or read for #FREE in Kindle Unlimited: https://amzn.to/2FIk6d4

Author bio:

USA Today Bestselling author Amanda Mariel dreams of days gone by when life moved at a slower pace. She enjoys taking pen to paper and exploring historical time periods through her imagination and the written word. When she is not writing she can be found reading, crocheting, traveling, practicing her photography skills, or spending time with her family.

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Today I would like to welcome Michele Lang to my First Kiss Friday blog who has an excerpt from her latest story An Honest Woman. Happy reading, my lovelies. Take it away, Michele!

Thanks so much, Sherry, for having me on your blog!

I write in many different genres…paranormal romance, urban fantasy, historical fantasy. But this new release, An Honest Woman, is my first Victorian romance, and I couldn’t be happier about this book!

What you will find in my writing, no matter the genre, is a deep, immersive sense of place, great-hearted characters, and lots of danger and adventure. And this new story is no exception.

In this excerpt, my heroine, the widowed Countess Clementine de Winter, is dancing at a ball with the dark and dangerous Aramis Russe. Clementine needs protection from a murderous stalker, but the attraction she feels for this secretly wounded man presents even more of a danger, to her heart.

Excerpt from An Honest Woman:

The waltz was her favorite. It involved such intimacy and finesse together, a marriage of movement and music. You could learn so much of a man when you danced the waltz with him.

He drew her close, gently, possessively. A low rush of heat rose from Clementine’s core up the length of her back, combing like fingers into the back of her neck.

Russe’s fingers pressed into the small of her waist, and she surrendered to the music and to his lead. Russe was dark, swarthy and sinuous, pretty much the opposite of her dearly departed, the rather pale Mortimer the elder.

Russe was dangerous.

His eyes, the color of amber, stared into the middle distance, tiger eyes. They danced in silence for a bit, while Clementine relaxed into his arms. He was a splendid dance partner, assured and feline. His body pressed against the length of hers, too close for propriety.

She didn’t much care. After her scrape with the prince, she was sick of propriety, sick of trying to convince ladies of quality that she merited to exist in their world. If it weren’t for her beloved stepson, she would toss propriety out the window and leave London altogether.

But she couldn’t abandon Mortimer to derision and scandal. And she most certainly could not abandon her household to the secret danger that stalked them all.

It was a puzzle. But with the prince’s help, she hoped to solve it, somehow.

“Thank you,” she finally ventured to murmur in Russe’s ear as he twirled her around his well-muscled forearm. “You are a marvelous dancer.”

He glanced at her, surprised. Oh, she knew she was supposed to wait demurely until spoken to, but she was sick of playing the role of shy schoolgirl. It had been many years since she could convincingly play that sort of ingenue role. Those days of innocence long gone, never to reappear.

“You needn’t say a word, sir,” she continued. “I merely wanted to thank you for seeking me out, inviting me to dance. My son told me he had spoken to you. And the prince…”

Her voice trailed away, and she raised her gaze up to meet Russe.

Her mouth went dry as she stared into his eyes.

For in his eyes, she detected an emotion she had not witnessed in many years.

Raw, undisguised attraction.

This secretly broken man saw her, he did not see her precarious state in society, he did not see the shadow of scandal or the mark of age and widowhood upon her.

He saw a woman.

He saw her. Clementine.

Naked, stripped of her title and her propriety, bare of all except her womanhood.

A flush rose from deep inside of her, overspreading her breasts and reaching up her throat to caress her burning cheeks. Her heart opened like a winter rose.

---

More about An Honest Woman

London, 1877. The pinnacle of Empire. A city of glamour, hidden passion, and danger…

To the Manor Born…

Lord Aramis Russe’s lineage, lands, and fortune could not keep his wife and young son from an early grave. Years later, the devastated Lord Russe intends to grieve alone, but Prince Edward himself plays royal matchmaker — and orders the loyal earl to make an honest woman of one of his beautiful favorites…

Born for Trouble…

Dowager Countess Clementine de Winter, known widely as an American heiress, in fact conceals a shocking secret from the cream of London high society. Her life is in danger, and only Lord Russe can save her.

A love born of desperation…

A secret society, a hatred hatched by war, and a grief so terrible it can hardly be endured. Clementine’s courage and beauty cannot preserve her life or honor.  Can the battle-scarred Lord Russe shield Clementine from danger — and will he win her heart?

FREE in Kindle Unlimited or BUY LINK: https://amzn.to/2TF6q7x

About Michele

Michele writes fantasy, science fiction, crime, and romance, as well as non-fiction. Her Lady LazarusWWII historical fantasy series was published by Tor Books/Macmillan, and her short fiction has been published by DAW, PM Press, Running Press, and WMG Press, among others. Her story “Sucker’s Game” is included in the Anthony award-nominated anthology Jewish Noir.

Website:  http://www.michelelang.com/

Email: michele@michelelang.com

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Twitter: @michelelang

Welcome to another First Kiss Friday. Today it’s my pleasure to welcome bestselling author Emily EK Murdoch who has her first kiss scene from her latest novella, Whirlwind with a Wolfe. Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

He had never wanted a woman more in his life, but not just for the pleasures of the flesh, but the meeting of two minds. Two rebels without parents to protect them, two people trapped in a hunting lodge, in a whirlwind, who wanted each other. Without the cares of the world holding them back.

“I know,” he spoke low, “that right this moment, whatever happens here will never be spoken about. We can tell the world we met as old friends, and my brothers and their wives would be here. ‘Tis a story all will believe, for why would we lie? No scandal, no loss of reputation, just the chance to…”

Emrick’s voice trailed off, unable to voice the hope in his heart–and his loins. And yet her reputation would already be sullied, missing from her home in the company of a gentleman, no chaperone to keep them apart.

Perhaps he could lie. His servants would certainly repeat whatever he told them. Whatever he needed to do to get Alice into his bed.

“I swear to you,” he breathed. “I will do everything to protect your honour beyond these walls.”

Alice leaned toward him, her lips parted, and Emrick could not turn away from them.

And then she leaned back. In a whisper, she asked, “But why should I trust you? Plenty of gentlemen seduce young women, and they are never able to recover their reputation.”

Emrick smiled. “Some would say the memories of pleasure given were more than enough payment for the loss of reputation.”

He saw the twitch of her fingers at his words, saw the curiosity in her face.

“Pleasure,” she repeated softly.

“Pleasure. ‘Tis an incredible thing, when a man loves a woman, giving her all the delight that her body and his can make.”

Alice’s eyes flickered over him.

“I…I have often wondered,” she admitted in a low whisper. “And yet, ‘tis not to be done by those of good society.”

Emrick swallowed. “No one would ever know. This could be the one opportunity for you to discover what rapture a man can give you before you take to the marriage bed.”

She laughed softly, her head slightly inclined to one side. “And you are the gentleman to give me such rapture, are you?”

Emrick did not have the words to tell her how much he admired her, how he respected her, how he would do almost anything in that moment to claim her.

He raised his hand and placed it on her leg, just below her hip. She was warm, but he was warmer. The thin material of the dressing gown could not hide the quiver of anticipation that thrilled through her. Emrick gently caressed her thigh and toward her core where he wanted to tease and tempt and then thrust himself into.

Alice did not move away, and she moaned.

There was no more holding back. Emrick leaned forward and crushed his lips to hers and tasted the sweet welcome of a woman who actually wanted him. His tongue caressed her lips until it met her own. His hand stroked tantalisingly across her thigh, removing the dressing gown material, brushing against the rougher material of her
undergown. She moaned in his mouth at the contrasting sensations.

---

A man in search of a woman – but not the one he’s accidentally abducted…

After family fortunes descend, Miss Alice Reynolds has no choice but to leave her life as a lady behind and take up work as a lady’s maid. She had expected nothing but boredom when her mistress’s family decided to visit Wales, so when a stranger abducts her, she really shouldn’t feel this intrigued – or this alive.

Lord Emrick de Wolfe was determined to make his beloved pay for her treachery, but after unhooding his captive in his Welsh hunting lodge, he hardly expected a chit of a girl instead.

Desperate to prove himself to his father and furious with himself for taking the wrong woman, sparks fly as two strong personalities meet – and collide.

But with the notorious storms of the Welsh valleys descending, the mismatched pair are alone, trapped, and forced to discover more about each other than they could have ever expected.

With a whirlwind outside and inside their hearts, will the growing attraction between a woman abducted and a de Wolfe ever lead to something?

Or does Miss Alice Reynolds have even more secrets to reveal than Lord Emrick de Wolfe could ever dream of? Who is the true captive of the de Wolfes?

Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2Ot04XO

Bio:

Welcome! I love to read and write sweet and steamy historical romance, and if you love falling in love then you’ve come to the right place.

Enjoy my sweet romances written as Emily Murdoch, and my steamy romances as Emily E K Murdoch.

I am a historian and writer, and have a varied career to date: from examining medieval manuscripts to designing museum exhibitions, to working as a researcher for the BBC to working for the National Trust.

My books range from England 1050 to Texas 1848, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with my heroes and heroines!

Follow me on twitter and instagram @emilyekmurdoch, find me on facebook at www.facebook.com/theemilyekmurdoch and read my blog at www.emilyekmurdoch.com

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