Sunday Smooch with Michelle Douglas

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from  Snowbound Surprise for the Billionaire but first 


... the  winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Fedora!


Can you please contact Ros at rosbaxterink (at) gmail (dot) com to receive your copy of The Seek


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Michelle Douglas

 All she wants for Christmas...

After a difficult year, and the loss of her father, festive cheer is the last thing Addie Ramsey is feeling. She's just planning a quiet one on her Outback farm. Until her new boss, billionaire Flynn Mather, offers her the perfect distraction--to spend the holiday with him in Europe as his temporary PA!

Christmas hasn't always been magical for Flynn, either, yet with vivacious Addie by his side, and seeing the joy through her eyes, things feel different this year. Could Addie be the Christmas present Flynn never knew he needed?

Scene set up: Addie and Flynn have gone ice-skating...their sense of fun has come to the fore, deepening not only their growing friendship, but also the desire that's been simmering beneath the surface for weeks now. They've just agreed to avail themselves of a mini-holiday of skiing in the Alps the next day.


‘Woo-hoo!’ Addie jumped as if she meant to punch the air, but her skates shot out from beneath her. Flynn grabbed her, yanking her back towards him and she landed against his chest, gripping his arms tightly when he wobbled too.

It brought her face in close and as their eyes met the laughter died on their lips. An ache swelled in his chest, his groin throbbed and he could barely breathe with the need to taste her.

Her gaze lowered to his lips and an answering hunger stretched through her face when she lifted her gaze back to his.

Once. Just once, he had to taste her.

His hands moved from her waist to her shoulders. Gripping them, he half lifted her as his lips slammed down to hers. Heat, sweetness and softness threatened to overwhelm him. She tasted like wine and cinnamon and her lips opened up at the sweep of his tongue as if she’d been yearning for his touch and had no interest in pretending otherwise.

Heat fireballed in his groin. Desire surged along his veins and his lungs cramped. It was too much. He couldn’t breathe. He let her go and took a step back feeling branded…feeling naked.

They stared at each other, both breathing hard, both clutching the railing with one hand for balance. And then she reached forward with her free hand, grabbed the lapels of his jacket and stretched up to slam her lips to his.

It knocked the breath out of him.

She explored every inch of his lips with minute precision, thoroughly and with relish. He wanted to moan, he wanted to grab her and…and make her his!

Her tongue dared his to dance. He answered the dare and took the lead, but she matched him kiss for kiss, her fire and heat rivals for his. They kissed until they had no breath left and then she let him go and stepped back. ‘I…I’ve been wondering what it’d be like, kissing you.’

Sensational! ‘Satisfied?’

‘Uh huh.’ She nodded. ‘Oh, yes.’

Kisses like that, though, could open a whole can of worms and—

He jolted back when she touched his face. ‘Christmas kisses don’t count, Flynn.’

They didn’t? Her eyes told him there’d be no more Christmas kisses, though.

Good thing. He bit back a sigh.

The majority of Snowbound Surprise for the Billionaire takes place in magical Munich. If you could take your family anywhere in the world for Christmas, where would you go?

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Louisa George will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver

What's for dinner?...with Louisa George

When I sat down to write this blog I had no idea what I was going to talk about, my tummy was rumbling and my mind turned to food (as it does a lot...), then at the same moment my son called the three words that most regularly leave his mouth on any given day (often first thing in the morning!)..."What's for dinner?"...so I thought I'd talk about that :-)

For many years I used to make dinner decisions at the last minute depending on what was going on in our day, then I'd go buy the ingredients from the supermarket. Then, as the kids got older and busier after school I started to plan- sitting down every Sunday evening and allocating a meal a day, writing a shopping list for ingredients etc and I felt pretty confident that I had things sorted.

Then, things got dull. I found I was just recreating the same meals over and over, the range was getting smaller and smaller, the kids' favourites seemed to dominate and I was bored. Enter My Food Bag (please note, I'm not in any way profiting from talking about this company, I'm sure there are similar companies out there- I just haven't met them yet). I saw an advert on the TV, thought I'd try it and was hooked.
The way MFB works is that you pay a flat rate, receive five day's worth of ingredients for dinner meals for four people (or two, or child friendly ones) and a set of recipes, delivered to your door once a week/fortnight/month etc...you choose. All you have to do is cook. And I love it!

We have it once a fortnight so we still have space for our old favourites and comfort eats, but I'm happy because I can now always tell my boys with confidence what they're going to eat, and they can even make a start on cooking it as the recipes are easy to follow! I don't have to spend hours stressing over giving them a healthy balance, because in each week there is always one fish meal, one chicken, two red meat and a veggie meal, plus an abundance of seasonal salads/vegetables. Each week the food is a whole set of new recipes. There's usually enough for leftovers for hubby's lunch and we've never had the same meal twice- oh, and the cost I think is reasonable- depending on what you're used to spending on food- and ingredients are locally sourced as much as possible.

Obviously this company is in NZ, but I do know they deliver in Sydney too. As does HelloFresh who appear to run a similar service in many parts of Australia. There are similar companies in UK too.

Is it lazy? Probably. But it saves me time and stress. Is recipe delivery something you do? Would consider....? How do you usually organise meal planning? If you live in the back of beyond, how on earth do you manage your ingredients?

Ten travel destinations I’ve always wanted to experience and probably never will

Over the years I’ve kept a mental list of places I “had” to visit some time...one day...you know, when I got around to it. Well, I have to be honest, most of the destinations on that list have become places that I will probably never visit. I have another list of landmarks within Australia and if I can tick them off I will be more than satisfied. I’ve lived in England and France and I’ve travelled through Europe and North Africa, toured New Zealand and visited North America, so I’m happy that I’ve had some great travel experiences and I am hereby striking the following from my bucket list:


1. Driving Route 66
There was a time when this seemed like the ultimate road trip.

2. Trekking to Machu Picchu
I would have felt like Indiana Jones doing the four-day trek across the mountains to the Incan ruins.

3. Hanging with orang-utans in Borneo
There’s no doubt that this would have been a fabulous thing to do. Such lovely creatures.

4. Staying in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora
A stunning location, perfect for the ultimate romantic getaway.

5. Riding the Trans-Siberian railway
From Moscow to Vladivostok across the wide-open Siberian steppes carpeted with summer flowers.

6. Admiring the Aurora Borealis
My plan was to watch this display from Scandinavia and then sail up the coast of Norway through the magnificent fjords.

7. Touring the Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya
On safari, up close and personal with the wildlife in the wilderness used to sound like fun.

8. Gazing at the great pyramids at Giza
As well as marvelling at Cheops and the others, I planned to visit the tomb strewn Valley of the Kings.

9. Hiking in the Himalayas
To travel on foot in Nepal sounded like such a good idea once upon a time.

10. Staying in an Amazon jungle lodge
Always fancied hearing the sounds of the jungle as I fell asleep, but not from a tent. It had to be something sturdier than that.


What about you? Do you still have a list of places you plan to visit or are you, like me, ready to give up on some of them?

Or have you already had any of the travel experiences on my (former) bucket list? If so, were they fantastic?

Five Things Making Me Happy by Amy Andrews

Thought I'd come up with another 5 things blog. So, with no further ado, here are 5 things making me happy at the moment! 

1. Firstly this song is making me all kinds of happy. Great message and such a pretty, pastelly, happy film clip.

2. I finished a book. Only anyone who's ever written one, or tried to write one, will understand how good that feels! That brings the happy every single time!

3. Swimming pools. Its been HOT here and having that sparkling blue beauty to immerse myself in has been absolute bliss!

4. Red toe nail polish. Just because....

 5. My little brother is going to be on TV next year as one of the Sharks in Shark Tank Australia. That’s him, the handsome one in the middle with the blue shirt! Am so proud of him!

So there you go - happy stuff :-)

What about you? What's making you happy lately?

Sunday Smooch with Ros Baxter

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Ros Baxter but first 


... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Mary Preston!!


Can you please contact Jennie Jones on  jennie11jones(at)gmail (dot) com to receive your copy of  12 Days at Silver Bells House


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from The Seek........

When everything else is gone, all that’s left is blood.  And hope.

The year is 2098, and the people of New Earth have been homeless for seventeen years.

Ruled by a mysterious Council, and adrift in a fleet of space stations, their sole mission is to survive long enough to find a new home. They call it The Seek.

Kyntura is the first and only female Avenger – one of the secret, separate elite who stand on the frontline between the refugees of Earth and a universe that would do them harm. For Kyn, fight and pain are the only things that drive out memories of the Apocalypse, and of the boy she left behind when she enlisted.

But a young recruit called Mirren and a deadly mission will bring her face to face with all she has tried to forget.

As she leads a squad of Avengers in The Seek, Kyntura must face her demons, join forces with the boy whose heart she broke a decade before, and confront the truth about New Earth.

Scene set-up

Kyntura has broken ingrained habit and taken a junior officer to her bed.  He’s cool, rock-star pretty,  and ten years younger than her. She made it very clear it was a one-off deal.

Now she’s watching him training in the rounds, and she’s getting hot at the lithe grace of his leaps and manoeuvres.

She shouldn’t be watching, but....

 

Krysto.

Suddenly she did feel like a voyeur, as she thought about the things that clever body had done to her, and the pleasure she had taken from his body, as well. She pressed back into the entryway, not deciding to relinquish her vigil, just to hide it a little. Now she really was in danger of crossing the line into lecherousness.

But not for long.

‘You going to join me, or are you just going to stand there watching the show?’ His lazy honey voice was sweet and delicious, and it stroked unspeakable things across the raw edge of her arousal.

‘Oh, it’s you?’ Kyn stepped out into the huge round and feinted surprise. ‘I thought it was a virgin.’

‘Ouch.’ But he didn’t sound offended. He didn’t even sound like he believed her. How did someone so young get so cocky, and confident? He motioned her over and she crossed to him. His body was covered in a film of sweat, even in the carefully controlled environment, and his chest was heaving lightly. He stepped aside and made an elaborate bow. ‘Care to show me how it’s done, Captain?’

Kyn was about to tick him off, order him out of her space, but the proximity to his body was warm and exciting after the brittle stress of the meeting with Jedro and Yeo. Like this, shirtless and sweating, his hair loose, he reminded Kyn of a grunge star from the old days. It was easy to imagine him with a guitar, flicking that long fringe out of his eyes as he belted the audience with that crooked smile. Kyn had only started to be interested in pop music when her world had ended, but she remembered enough.

‘Step aside, baby,’ she purred, tipping lazily away from him into a series of three forward flips and then running back towards him for a long leap. She took it high and hard, sailing over his head and landing behind him, en pointe. Her toes barely registered the assault on them. Then she dropped into a set of splits, rolled into crouching and leapt again, this time landing on his shoulders, where his hands automatically grasped her ankles. 

‘Satisfied?’ she called down to him, realising too late she liked the feeling of his shoulders under her toes and the pressure of his long fingers on her ankles.

‘Not yet,’ he said, his voice low and silky. He tugged on her ankles to bring her down. She bent and offered her hands and he lifted her to the floor but didn’t let go. He drew her in against his chest, which was now heaving with an entirely different kind of excitement. She should pull away, but she didn’t want to. Her heart rate was elevated from arousal and exertion and she just wanted to feel it a little longer. Kysto pulled her hard against him and she felt that he too was aroused. He was thick and hard against her tummy, and he pulled her up so she was pressed against him.

‘That’s how it’s done,’ she said, going for nonchalant.

‘Yes, Ma’am, it is,’ he breathed, swooping down to press his lips against hers.

And by the Apocalypse he tasted good. How did such a young guy get so damned good at this? She knew Avengers were never short of women. They were like butterflies — beautiful and mesmerising for their short lives. And from what she had seen, Kyn understood that women found it hard to resist a guaranteed dose of heartbreak.

She vaguely registered that she shouldn’t be kissing him. Not because she thought he would tell tales, or be a jerk, or demand more than she had to give. More because the way he kissed her — with such sweet authority — put them both on some path that she knew was an illusion. This wasn’t going anywhere, couldn’t go anywhere. And yeah, partly because she had no intention of getting involved with anyone — she had bigger fish to fry, badder aliens to ice. And partly because even if she did choose on some random whim to get involved, it would not be with an Avenger — she’d had enough heartbreak to last a lifetime; been to enough sending-off ceremonies to see how losing your lover broke you in two. But mostly because even if she could put all those things aside and hook up with someone, it would never be a Post-Apocalypse baby.

They would never, ever get it.

Although she had to admit, as Krysto deepened the kiss and let his hands roam over her back and buttocks, her certainly got something. And right now maybe it was okay to lean against him and let a little of it rub off on her.

She really had no intention of taking it any further. Not now, not here, in the rounds.

And there was so much to do. A mission to plan. A girl to train. A class to get ready for their first real taste of war. She had no business making out like a schoolgirl when she should be doing her homework.

One more minute.

Kyn let her hands creep up to touch his face, feeling the clean lines and light brush of that rock star hair. They slid to his firm, hard shoulders and he groaned low in his throat and pressed her up against him. Her breasts squashed against his hard chest and the sensation went straight to her sex.

Or maybe two more minutes.

 




To go into the draw to win a digital copy of The Seek tell me who is your favourite kick-ass heroine from books or movies.

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a new smooch will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver