Feb 6, 2011

Sunday Smooch


Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch from Million-Dollar Amnesia Scandal by Rachel Bailey, but first ...

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


Congratulations, Clare! Can you please contact Natalie Anderson at

natalie (at) natalie-anderson (dot) com

and she'll send you a copy of Walk On The Wild Side.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Million-Dollar Amnesia Scandal by Rachel Bailey...


Truth, Lies and Seduction...

An accident left April Fairchild with no memory, ownership of a multimilliondollar hotel and the nagging sense something wasn't quite right in her life. It also brought her intensely sexy businessman Seth Kentrell, whose late brother had left her the property. Seth believed her a gold digger - and how could April deny it, when she couldn't even remember her name? Now Seth was ready to play hardball to get the hotel back.

But April knew enough to refuse to sign over the property until her memory returned. And if that meant Seth needed to persuade her... well, that was something she could enjoy! At least until the whole truth came out...



[Set up: April Fairchild is a world famous jazz singer and pianist, but she can't remember any of it. Seth has just found and shown her footage of herself playing the piano which has brought back patchy memories of her music. He's taken her to a piano in the hotel's ballroom and for the first time since she lost her memory, April is sitting at a piano, playing.]

When she finished the piece, more music crowded into her mind and she set that free too. Long and smooth. Fun and energetic. Sad and haunting. Some, she simply played; others, she sang the words—whatever felt right. And it all felt right, felt satisfying in a place deep inside that she’d forgotten existed.

As she launched into an Ella Fitzgerald number, she looked up and saw Seth watching her, a burning heat in his eyes. He leaned back against the wall, hands deep in his trouser pockets, legs crossed at the ankles. The pose of a relaxed man. Yet he was far from peaceful. He radiated tension. She’d been vaguely aware that some hotel staff members had drifted in and formed a small crowd for her performance, but she only had eyes for Seth. For all that heat. She wanted it closer. All of it. 

She segued into Fever without thinking much about it and his navy blue eyes burned hotter.

As her fingers touched the final notes of the song and the sound faded, she paused. She and Seth hadn’t broken eye contact for endless minutes and the air crackled with their attraction. The staff burst into claps and cheers for the impromptu concert.

Seth cleared his throat. “Okay, everyone back to work.” The command had the staff moving quickly, but Seth didn’t move a muscle. Her heart hammered at her ribs as the staff shuffled out, some smiling their gratitude to her, one giving her a thumbs up. It seemed to take an eternity, and all the time, Seth’s gaze was locked on her.

The moment the last person left, Seth strode the distance to her, slamming the ballroom door closed on the way past. April watched his progress, hardly daring to breathe. When he reached her, without a word or any preliminaries, he drew her up from the stool and his mouth came down on hers with a fierceness she welcomed with everything inside her. She wound her arms behind his neck, securing him, demanding everything he had to give. 

His lips moved with urgency, his tongue claiming her, wanting her. Had she ever been desired this much? She couldn’t imagine it was possible. The body heat emanating from him soaked through her clothes, down into her bones. Her skin tingled at every point that his hands, mouth or body touched. 

All she could think about was the feel of his broad back beneath her fingers, the curves of his hard muscles, wanting more, more. The clean forest scent of him blended with something darkly alluring, and filled her head. His fingers stabbed through her hair and massaged her skull, and in this moment she belonged to him, wholly and completely.

His hands slid down to her waist and he effortlessly lifted her high, onto the baby grand. Leaning down to preserve contact with his lips, she opened her thighs, and at the same moment that he stepped forward, bunching her long, soft skirt up and pressing against the core of her. She moaned, helpless to do more than kiss and be kissed. 

His mouth moved to the side of her lips, to her cheek, and she took the opportunity to gulp in the air her lungs had been screaming for, but she locked her ankles behind him to make sure the break didn’t become permanent. 

“I can’t stand it,” he murmured next to her ear. “I want you so badly I can’t stand it.”



To be in the draw to win a signed copy of Million-Dollar Amnesia Scandal, leave a comment, and perhaps tell us what pieces of music you think April could have played here besides the ones she did. I.e., what song / music is the sexiest? :)


Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Rebel With A Cause by Natalie Anderson will be posted!

28 comments:

  1. OMG - someone get me a fan!!!!! That was HOT Rach! Loved the intensity between them right before he slammed that door shut =))

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  2. Mel, glad you liked Seth - he's one of my two favourite heroes I've written. :)

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  3. I second that! OMG!!! That was one scorcher of a smooch! Cold shower...cold shower...need cold shower!

    The excerpt to MILLION DOLLAR AMNESIA SCANDAL is so interesting and intriguing! Love it!

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  4. Thanks, Nas, you sweetie. :) Actually, I need a cold shower here in Qld today - it's *so* hot and muggy!

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  5. Rachel, that is one hot and delicious smooch! (happy sigh)! I adore Seth and April!
    :)
    Sharon

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  6. *Sizzling* Rach.

    Hmmm, alternate songs, maybe Buble: "Feeling Good"?

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  7. WOW. That is one heck of a kiss, Rachel! I love April and her music, I adore Seth -- and I have to get me a copy of this book!

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  8. Last week's book winner interrupting here, just to say a HUGE thank you to Natalie for giving me a chance to 'Walk On The Wild Side'. *grin* I'm very much looking forward to having a book full of Sunday Smooches to enjoy!!! Thanks, Love Cats - I'm purring in contentment ;-)

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  9. Hi Rach - love that sizzle!!!! Hmmm - so what else could she have sung? Maybe Sway with Me also by Buble - altho perhaps too playful for the intensity of this particular moment!

    *waves to Clare - so glad you're pleased :)

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  10. I was so carried away with being a winner (Yay!) that I forgot to comment. So...
    How about "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones? The words and the voice, simple, but oh-so-sexy! Hot extract btw. And here I was blaming the weather...

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  11. Extract??? OMG - I meant 'excerpt'! Of course...

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  12. Whoa, Fever is right, Rach -- delicious kiss! REALLY looking forward to reading Million-Dollar Amnesia Scandal.

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  13. Rachel

    Whoo Hoo I can't wait to read this book and I gotta say Fever was the right song it has been so hot here in Sydney I didn't need to be warmed up LOL although the cool change has come thru now and it is lovely

    Have Fun
    Helen

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  14. Sharon, thanks for the sweet words - esp since Seth & April owe quite a bit to your fabulous critiquing. :)

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  15. Anita, I love Feeling Good. Actually, my favourite version is Muse's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzGzGvlKZn4 I often play it on my ipod when I sit down to write. Good choice!

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  16. Aw, thanks, Em. This is the book I was writing when you stayed with me, so it seems right that it's being released at the same time as the one you were writing here, The Sentinel Mage!

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  17. Clare, you had every right to be distracted by your win! I'm jealous enough about you getting a copy of Nat's Walk on The Wild Side that I think I'm going to have to track down my very own copy at the shops!

    Ooooh, Nora Roberts's Come Away With Me - lovely choice! In fact, I might just use that on the playlist I make for my current book that's set in Charleston. Thanks for the idea!

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  18. Hi Nat! Another vote for a Michael Buble song, and such a good choice. In fact, I might add that one to my playlist for the current book too... :)

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  19. Michelle, you're too sweet. :) Hey, guess what I'm reading in bed at night? The Cattleman, The Baby and Me! I'm loving it - such a sexy hero and the heroine is so fun. Actually, it's almost bedtime now...

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  20. Helen, glad you liked the excerpt, but shame about your weather. Hasn't it been crazy all over the place lately? Far too muggy for comfort in Qld today.

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  21. I know it's not Jazz but Joe Cocker's Leave Your Hat on is pretty good :DDD

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  22. *splutter* *flush* Amazing smooch, Rach. Poor Seth has clearly been containing his ardour for some time! Such a sexy combo - audience, performance, then solo performance... *sigh*

    Other songs... impossible.... Can't think clearly now...

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  23. TashNz, that's a fabulously sexy song, isn't it? I even had it on a play list for an earlier book, so we're definitely on the same wavelength. :)

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  24. Nikki, you're right - Seth has been containing his reaction to April since the moment he met her. Something about her playing for him here breaks past his last lines of resistance. :)

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  25. Too hot to handle, Rach. Woo Hoo!!!

    Richard Wright (Pink Floyd) Love scene 4. would have been really good as well... It does heat up. :)

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  26. I so totally love that scene! Mounting release on so many levels.

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  27. Hey Suz, thanks for the tip. I love Pink Floyd but don't know that one. Will pop over to iTunes and check it out!

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  28. Robbie, so glad you liked that scene. Especially since you were there at the start for these characters. =)

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