Sunday Smooch

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch from The End of Faking It by Natalie Anderson, but first ...


the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- Kaelee!


Congratulations, Kaelee! Can you please contact Sue MacKay at

sue (dot) mackay56 (at) yahoo (dot) com

and she'll send you a signed copy of Playboy Doctor to Doting Dad.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from The End of Faking It by Natalie Anderson

Everyone fakes it. Don’t they?
A teenage romance-turned-nightmare has taught Penny Fairburn that faking it is the only way to go. It’s not until she meets gorgeous Carter Dodds and his bullet-proof ego that she realises how wrong she’s been!
Carter can have any woman on a plate, and likes the smorgasbord approach! But after some scorching nights with Penny, ‘no-strings’ Carter has changed his tune – Penny’s not faking anything in his bed, but getting her to admit her true feelings for him out in the real world is a whole new challenge…



Penny’s nerves tightened to one notch the other side of screaming. His lashes lowered and his smile faded. She looked down too. Now her silk shirt was wet it was both skin colour and skin tight and she might as well not be wearing anything. Even worse, she was aching… and horrified to realise it was completely obvious.

“You’re cold,” he said softly.

Yeah, completely obvious.

“The water in the jug was from the cooler.”

“So that’s the reason...”

All she could do was brazen this out. She tossed her head and met his eyes direct. “What other reason could there be?”

His lips curved. In his tanned face, his teeth were white and straight and perfect. Actually everything in his face was perfect. And in the dark tee-shirt and dark trousers he looked pretty-boy pirate, especially with the slightly too-long hair. The intensity of his scrutiny was devastating and now he’d fixed on one thing – her mouth.

She saw his intention. She felt it in her lips already – the yearning for touch. But even for her that would be insane. She didn’t like the way her pulse was zigzagging all over the place. She didn’t like the way her body was so willingly bracing for impact.

“Don’t add another insult to the list,” she said, trying to regain control over both of them. But the words didn’t come out as forcefully as she’d intended. Instead they whispered on barely a breath – because she could barely move enough to breathe.

“How can appreciating beauty be an insult?”

Penny’s pulse thundered. She was used to confident men. They were the kind she liked – pretty much bullet proof. But this was more than just superficial brashness, this was innate, absolute arrogance. He stood even closer, filling all her senses. Her blood rushed to all her secret places, and left her brain starving of all ability to operate.

His smile suddenly flashed brighter – like the way the flame flared on a gas hob when you accidentally twisted the knob the wrong way. His hand lifted and he brushed her lips with a finger. She shivered.

Shock. She was in shock. That was the problem. That was why she wasn’t resisting…

His expression heated up all the more. “You okay?”

“Mmm.”

His traversing finger muffled the words she couldn’t speak anyway. She was too busy pressing her lips more firmly together to stop herself from opening up and inviting him in. But somehow he got that invite anyway because he lifted his finger and swiftly replaced it with his mouth.

Oh.

It was light. A warm, gentle, coaxing kiss that promised so much more than it gave. But what it did give was good. He moved closer, not threatening, but with a hint of masculine spice and just enough pressure to make her accept him. To make her want more. Surprised that it wasn’t a full throttle brazen burst of passion, she relaxed. Her eyes automatically closed as her body focused on the exquisite sweetness trickling into her. It had been a long time since she’d felt anything so nice – a subtle magic that melted her resistance, and saw her start to strain for what she knew he was holding at bay.

Her lips parted – she couldn’t deny herself. His response came immediate, and powerful. She heard his sound of satisfaction and his hands moved from the steel behind to her soft body. She trembled top to toe as he swiftly shaped her curves, pulling her against him. She had to grab hold of his shoulders or she was going to tumble backwards. The kiss deepened again as she felt the wide, flat planes and hard strength of him. Her neck arched back as he stroked into her mouth. She lifted her hand, sliding her fingers into his thick hair. He showed no mercy then – bending her back all the more as he sought full access – kissing her jaw and neck and back up again to claim her mouth – this time with confident, carnal authority.

She shuddered at the impact, felt him press closer still. Sandwiched between him and the cabinet, she was trapped between forces as unyielding and demanding as each other. Yet she had no desire to escape, not now.

The arrogance of him was breathtaking. But not anywhere as breathtaking as the way he kissed. It was like he was determined to maximise pleasure for them both and the control she usually held so tight started to slide as her own desire mounted.

He was silk-wrapped steel and she wanted to feel all of him against her, slicing into her. She wanted him. Wanted like she hadn’t wanted anyone in a long, long time. Okay, ever. Hungry for his strength and passion, she kissed him back – melting against his body, delving into his mouth with her tongue, so keen to explore more.

And he knew. He lifted his hand from her waist to her breast and oh so lightly stroked his fingers across her violently taut nipple.

She felt the touch as if her skin was bare. And it burned too hot.

She jerked back, ripping her mouth free from his. Their eyes met, faces inches apart. A flare of something dangerous kindled in his – different to the earlier fury but just as frightening for Penny. She pushed as far back against the cool metal cabinet as she could, breathing hard. She shook her head, the only method of communication she could manage. While he stood, rock hard, and stared right back at her.


The End of Faking It is out in the UK in April; Australia & New Zealand in May; and the US in July. Of course, you can get it online as an e-book from Mills & Boon now!
http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/books/riva/the-end-of-faking-it.htm

To be in the draw to win a signed copy of The End of Faking It, tell Natalie in the comments below, do you think it’s ever okay to fake it?


Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Shipwrecked With Mr Wrong by Nikki Logan will be posted!