Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!
Today we have a smooch from Michelle Douglas but first
... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Mary Preston!
Can you please contact Stefanie (at) stefanie-london (dot) com to receive your copy of The Rules According to Gracie.
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from The Cattleman's Ready-Made Family
Three brave women, three strong men and one town on the brink...
The Cattleman's Ready-Made Family
Tess Laing has suffered much heartbreak and moving to Bellaroo Creek with her orphaned niece and nephew is the start of a new life. Meeting tall, dark and handsome Cameron Manning starts an unexpected flutter in her heart.
Cam is intrigued by Tess and quickly becomes entangled with them as little Ty gets a clear case of hero worship! they're the family he's always dreamed of--until a betrayal wipes his hopes away.
[Scene set-up: Cam and Tess are neighbours and while they’re attracted to each other, they’re convinced they’re on different paths. Tess has thrown Cam a mini-surprise party, which has thrown him for a bit of a loop. When everyone has gone they have a bit of a tiff...and then start laughing at their absurdity. But it makes the barriers between them fall...]
Cameron pulled her right into his arms and kissed her.
Raw, burning need blazed a path of fire through the very centre of his being and shot out in every direction. He’d ached to kiss this woman ever since he’d clapped eyes on her. But he’d burned harder and fiercer with that need since the first kiss they’d shared. And he was tired of fighting it.
He revelled in the sweet softness of Tess’s lips and the way they opened up at his demand—so sweet and giving as if she sensed his hunger and wanted to assuage it. So unselfish.
The realisation made him slow the kiss down, gentle it until she could catch up with him. Loosening his hold on her nape, he slid his hand through the dark cap of her hair and caressed the skin behind her ear in a slow circular motion, and then followed with his mouth. A shudder rippled through her, increasing his hunger, but he refused to speed up to meet that demand.
He wanted Tess with him. All the way. He wanted her smiling and satisfied...sated and delighted. He nearly lost the battle when her grip tightened on his arms and she moved in closer to press all her softness against him.
He tugged gently on her ear lobe. She gasped and arched into him. He grinned a lazy grin and did it again. She smelled of jellybeans and cake. Breathing her in was a treat in itself. The grin disappeared when she shifted restlessly against him, one of her hands plunging into his hair, her other arm winding around his neck.
He lost all sense of himself then, all sense of time. His mouth found hers and he fell into her, losing himself in the experience of kissing her, touching her, and filling himself up with her essence like a man gorging on some vital nutrient he’d been lacking. The hunger built until kissing and touching was no longer enough. He needed—?
A groan broke from him when she tore her lips from his and wrenched herself out of his arms. She stumbled to a sofa on the other side of the room. Seizing a cushion, she hugged it to her stomach.
His chest rose and fell as if he’d spent the last hour roping yearlings. He wanted to stride over to where she sat, haul her back into his arms and propel this encounter through to its natural conclusion. He almost did, but common sense reasserted itself. Ty and Krissie were somewhere around. This was not the ideal time for making love to Tess. He bit back an oath. ‘I’m sorry. The timing on that could’ve been better.’
She didn’t say anything. He wanted her to look at him, but she didn’t do that either.
He dragged in a breath, adjusted his stance and tried to quieten the stampeding of his blood. ‘Would you like to have dinner with me tonight? Jenny would love to babysit the kids and—’
‘No.’
He blinked.
She walked across and poked him in the chest. ‘Do you want me to fall in love with you so you can then break my heart? Will that mend your wounded ego and make you feel powerful and manly again? Will that show Lance that you’re over what he did to you?’
Tess ups sticks from the city and starts a new life in the country. What would you choose -- a tree-change (like Tess) or would you head to the coast for a sea-change? Maybe you even have a particular place in mind?
Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver
... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Mary Preston!
Can you please contact Stefanie (at) stefanie-london (dot) com to receive your copy of The Rules According to Gracie.
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from The Cattleman's Ready-Made Family
The Cattleman's Ready-Made Family
Tess Laing has suffered much heartbreak and moving to Bellaroo Creek with her orphaned niece and nephew is the start of a new life. Meeting tall, dark and handsome Cameron Manning starts an unexpected flutter in her heart.
Cam is intrigued by Tess and quickly becomes entangled with them as little Ty gets a clear case of hero worship! they're the family he's always dreamed of--until a betrayal wipes his hopes away.
[Scene set-up: Cam and Tess are neighbours and while they’re attracted to each other, they’re convinced they’re on different paths. Tess has thrown Cam a mini-surprise party, which has thrown him for a bit of a loop. When everyone has gone they have a bit of a tiff...and then start laughing at their absurdity. But it makes the barriers between them fall...]
Cameron pulled her right into his arms and kissed her.
Raw, burning need blazed a path of fire through the very centre of his being and shot out in every direction. He’d ached to kiss this woman ever since he’d clapped eyes on her. But he’d burned harder and fiercer with that need since the first kiss they’d shared. And he was tired of fighting it.
He revelled in the sweet softness of Tess’s lips and the way they opened up at his demand—so sweet and giving as if she sensed his hunger and wanted to assuage it. So unselfish.
The realisation made him slow the kiss down, gentle it until she could catch up with him. Loosening his hold on her nape, he slid his hand through the dark cap of her hair and caressed the skin behind her ear in a slow circular motion, and then followed with his mouth. A shudder rippled through her, increasing his hunger, but he refused to speed up to meet that demand.
He wanted Tess with him. All the way. He wanted her smiling and satisfied...sated and delighted. He nearly lost the battle when her grip tightened on his arms and she moved in closer to press all her softness against him.
He tugged gently on her ear lobe. She gasped and arched into him. He grinned a lazy grin and did it again. She smelled of jellybeans and cake. Breathing her in was a treat in itself. The grin disappeared when she shifted restlessly against him, one of her hands plunging into his hair, her other arm winding around his neck.
He lost all sense of himself then, all sense of time. His mouth found hers and he fell into her, losing himself in the experience of kissing her, touching her, and filling himself up with her essence like a man gorging on some vital nutrient he’d been lacking. The hunger built until kissing and touching was no longer enough. He needed—?
A groan broke from him when she tore her lips from his and wrenched herself out of his arms. She stumbled to a sofa on the other side of the room. Seizing a cushion, she hugged it to her stomach.
His chest rose and fell as if he’d spent the last hour roping yearlings. He wanted to stride over to where she sat, haul her back into his arms and propel this encounter through to its natural conclusion. He almost did, but common sense reasserted itself. Ty and Krissie were somewhere around. This was not the ideal time for making love to Tess. He bit back an oath. ‘I’m sorry. The timing on that could’ve been better.’
She didn’t say anything. He wanted her to look at him, but she didn’t do that either.
He dragged in a breath, adjusted his stance and tried to quieten the stampeding of his blood. ‘Would you like to have dinner with me tonight? Jenny would love to babysit the kids and—’
‘No.’
He blinked.
She walked across and poked him in the chest. ‘Do you want me to fall in love with you so you can then break my heart? Will that mend your wounded ego and make you feel powerful and manly again? Will that show Lance that you’re over what he did to you?’
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Yvonne Lindsay will be posted!
Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver
Michelle
ReplyDeleteI so loved this story and all the Bellaroo Creek stories they were lovely :)
I think I would like a bit of both I am sure here in NSW we can have a tree change that is close to the ocean LOL I don't want too much do I :)
Have Fun
Helen
I'm with you, Helen. I wouldn't like to live too far away from the beach. AND we have so many rural areas right on the coast with gorgeous scenery that one could have the best of both worlds. :-)
DeleteP.S. I love the little town where Sigrid Thornton ended up in Sea Change. That could be fun.
Oooh, sounds like she has his measure, Michelle :-)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely sea change for me! Have a great time this week on your temporary sea change :-)
LOL, Amy, she certainly gives him plenty to think about. ;-)
DeleteAnd another vote for a sea change. There's just something about Aussies and the beach, I think. :-)
Loved these three books when they first came out.
ReplyDeleteI live in a city on the prairies and I'm happy here but I'd love to vacation on the sunny sea right now as it's snowing again.
Kaelee, there's nothing like getting away to the beach at the end of a long, tough winter, is there? Hope the weather warms up for you soon. :-)
DeleteAnd thanks for the kind words on the Bellaroo Creek series.
Hi Michelle! I loved Tess and Cameron's story too! So nice to revisit them in this Smooch - mmmm, might have to raid the keeper shelf for another read!
ReplyDeleteWe've done our tree-change - dh's job moved to a rural location many years ago and we jumped at the chance of a little bit of land. We're very lucky where we are because there are larger properties around us so I can look out on trees and pastures! And we get visits from a laid-back kangaroo family, a couple of garden-demolishing echidnas, a fruit-tree pruning wallaby and heaps of gorgeous birds! Love it!
Ooh, did Tess and Cam make it to your keeper shelf? Happy sighs. :-)
DeleteYour tree change sounds like a dream come true. I love the vision of all of those trees and pastures and wild life. Sound like a rather fine place for a writers retreat. ;-)
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteLoved the smooch thank you.
ReplyDeleteI would love to live by the ocean. Beach-combing is one of my favourite things to do. Listening to the ocean roar while you are in bed at night is amazing.
So glad you enjoyed the smooch, Mary. :-)
DeleteAnd, yay, another vote for a sea change. There really is something magical about hearing the surf and the gulls, smelling the salt and the feel of sand between your toes. And if that comes with hot fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, then all the bettter. ;-)
Loved this scene between Cam and Tess, Michelle.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, tree or sea change? Well, I'm currently living the sea change life so I'd like to try the city again!! Although life here is pretty fine!
Thanks, Jen. :-)
DeleteAnd as you know, I LOVE the sound of your sea change, but I totally understand wanting to be a city girl. Cities can be crazy exciting. :-)
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteIt would be a sea change for me. I'd enjoy hearing the surf at night. Lovely scene!
Oh, Laura, isn't it magic to go to sleep to that sound? So soothing. It's looking like the sea change is getting the most votes.
DeleteAnd thank you, so pleased you enjoyed the smooch. :-)
Loved the smooch, Michelle. Definitely a sea change for me. The sound of waves and gulls and kids shrieking while they swim. can't go past it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue.
DeleteI have to say, it sounds as if we're a bunch of beach bunnies, doesn't it?