Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!
Today we have a smooch from The Return of the Stranger by Kate Walker, but first ...
The winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is --
Kylie!
Congratulations, Kylie! Please contact Rachel at
Rachel (at) RachelBailey (dot) com, and she'll send you a copy of Return of the Secret Heir.
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from The Return of the Stranger by Kate Walker ...
Standing high on the windswept moors, the lone figure of Heath Montanha vows vengeance on the woman who destroyed the last fragments of his heart...
Lady Katherine Charlton has never forgotten the stablehand with dangerous fists and a troubled heart from her childhood. Now the rebel is back, his powerful anger concealed under a polished and commanding veneer.
When ten years of scandal and secrets are unleashed, with a passionate, furious kiss, Heath's deepest, darkest wish crystallises...
Revenge -- and Kat -- will be his!
[The set up...] Return of the Stranger was written as part of a special mini-series using classics of romantic fiction for inspiration and as a springboard to create a new, modern story. So it is the story of Heath Montanha and Katherine (Kat) Charlton.
When they were young, Katherine was the daughter of a local land owner and Heath, the orphaned foundling that her father found in Liverpool and gave home to where they both grew up. But when Kat’s father died, her brother Joe treated Heath appallingly and when Katherine became more involved with Arthur, the son of Lord Charlton, Heath walked out and left to make his fortune.
Now, ten years later he is back, looking for revenge on the man who treated him so cruelly and to see again the woman who had taken his heart and broken it into tiny pieces. He plans to take one look and the walk away, but finds he just can’t do that. As this extract reveals, he kisses her three times in the early part of the story – once in hungry demand, once deliberately seductive. . . . and now this kiss which changes everything.
She should back away, get out of his reach. She told herself that she wanted to back away, but her body refused to obey her, Instead she stayed exactly where she was, feet firmly rooted to the ground, her breathing fast and shallow, her heart thudding heavily inside her chest.
‘Now how shall we do this, namorada.’
‘We . . ? '
We won’t be doing it at all, she meant to say, but the single syllable was all she could manage. It seemed that as she spoke she took in the scent of him on the air, her mouth remembered the taste of him and wanted more.
‘We . . .’ she said again and it was just a sigh.
‘We . . .’ Heath agreed, nodding his dark head. ‘Because it is ‘we’, isn’t it, my lovely? It is the two of us. Not just you or me – but the two of us together , making more than ever apart. We.’
The last word was spoken as his head lowered to hers, his mouth taking hers so that she swayed against him, hunger weakening every limb so that she needed his strength to hold and support her as she melted into him.
Three kisses. They had shared only three kisses in all the time she had known him, and yet each kiss had been so very different, so unique, so totally unlike each other that Kat felt as if she had experienced a lifetime of caresses from this man.
The first, here in this hallway one the day he had come back into her life, his kiss had been like being in the eye of a burning storm. The flaring passion had taken her and dropped her right into the heart of an inferno where she had thought that she would be burned up to ashes before her heart could even take another beat. Then the slow, seduction of that second had melted her senses, leaving her half out of her mind with the sort of sensual awakening that had filled her whole body with hunger and yearning.
But this kiss was another new experience. And even as his mouth touched hers she knew that this was the kiss that had the potential to break her heart. It was the kiss she had dreamed of, longed for. The kiss she had been waiting for all her life.
Kissing Arthur - and being kissed by him – had been like kissing an enthusiastic boy, clumsy, endearing, excited, but somehow lacking in finesse. She had thought it was just the start of things. That it was bound to get better, but instead it had come to lack even more - but lacking what she had never known until now. She had taken the blame for it because she hadn’t known any better. Until that first kiss from Heath had shown her how it could be between a man and a woman.
How a man should kiss a woman.
This was a man’s kiss. And she received it as a woman, knowing that the feelings it stirred in her were the richest, deepest, most feminine emotions possible. It was a kiss that opened her mind and her senses to new sensations to heat of skin, the scent of his body, the strength of taut muscle, and the taste of his mouth on her, hard and soft in the same moment, moist and warm and totally personal.
The Return of the Stranger is available now in Australia and New Zealand as a Sexy and NA as a Presents Extra. To be in the draw to win a signed copy as well as two books from Kate Walker's backlist, just tell us which are your favourite classic romances?
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Tempting the Negotiator by Zana Bell will be posted!
Today we have a smooch from The Return of the Stranger by Kate Walker, but first ...
The winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is --
Kylie!
Congratulations, Kylie! Please contact Rachel at
Rachel (at) RachelBailey (dot) com, and she'll send you a copy of Return of the Secret Heir.
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from The Return of the Stranger by Kate Walker ...
Standing high on the windswept moors, the lone figure of Heath Montanha vows vengeance on the woman who destroyed the last fragments of his heart...
Lady Katherine Charlton has never forgotten the stablehand with dangerous fists and a troubled heart from her childhood. Now the rebel is back, his powerful anger concealed under a polished and commanding veneer.
When ten years of scandal and secrets are unleashed, with a passionate, furious kiss, Heath's deepest, darkest wish crystallises...
Revenge -- and Kat -- will be his!
[The set up...] Return of the Stranger was written as part of a special mini-series using classics of romantic fiction for inspiration and as a springboard to create a new, modern story. So it is the story of Heath Montanha and Katherine (Kat) Charlton.
When they were young, Katherine was the daughter of a local land owner and Heath, the orphaned foundling that her father found in Liverpool and gave home to where they both grew up. But when Kat’s father died, her brother Joe treated Heath appallingly and when Katherine became more involved with Arthur, the son of Lord Charlton, Heath walked out and left to make his fortune.
Now, ten years later he is back, looking for revenge on the man who treated him so cruelly and to see again the woman who had taken his heart and broken it into tiny pieces. He plans to take one look and the walk away, but finds he just can’t do that. As this extract reveals, he kisses her three times in the early part of the story – once in hungry demand, once deliberately seductive. . . . and now this kiss which changes everything.
And he was moving, she realised hazily. She hadn’t noticed him take action but he was coming closer, slowly, steadily, almost imperceptibly. He was taking one step and then another, and another . . .
She should back away, get out of his reach. She told herself that she wanted to back away, but her body refused to obey her, Instead she stayed exactly where she was, feet firmly rooted to the ground, her breathing fast and shallow, her heart thudding heavily inside her chest.
‘Now how shall we do this, namorada.’
‘We . . ? '
We won’t be doing it at all, she meant to say, but the single syllable was all she could manage. It seemed that as she spoke she took in the scent of him on the air, her mouth remembered the taste of him and wanted more.
‘We . . .’ she said again and it was just a sigh.
‘We . . .’ Heath agreed, nodding his dark head. ‘Because it is ‘we’, isn’t it, my lovely? It is the two of us. Not just you or me – but the two of us together , making more than ever apart. We.’
The last word was spoken as his head lowered to hers, his mouth taking hers so that she swayed against him, hunger weakening every limb so that she needed his strength to hold and support her as she melted into him.
Three kisses. They had shared only three kisses in all the time she had known him, and yet each kiss had been so very different, so unique, so totally unlike each other that Kat felt as if she had experienced a lifetime of caresses from this man.
The first, here in this hallway one the day he had come back into her life, his kiss had been like being in the eye of a burning storm. The flaring passion had taken her and dropped her right into the heart of an inferno where she had thought that she would be burned up to ashes before her heart could even take another beat. Then the slow, seduction of that second had melted her senses, leaving her half out of her mind with the sort of sensual awakening that had filled her whole body with hunger and yearning.
But this kiss was another new experience. And even as his mouth touched hers she knew that this was the kiss that had the potential to break her heart. It was the kiss she had dreamed of, longed for. The kiss she had been waiting for all her life.
Kissing Arthur - and being kissed by him – had been like kissing an enthusiastic boy, clumsy, endearing, excited, but somehow lacking in finesse. She had thought it was just the start of things. That it was bound to get better, but instead it had come to lack even more - but lacking what she had never known until now. She had taken the blame for it because she hadn’t known any better. Until that first kiss from Heath had shown her how it could be between a man and a woman.
How a man should kiss a woman.
This was a man’s kiss. And she received it as a woman, knowing that the feelings it stirred in her were the richest, deepest, most feminine emotions possible. It was a kiss that opened her mind and her senses to new sensations to heat of skin, the scent of his body, the strength of taut muscle, and the taste of his mouth on her, hard and soft in the same moment, moist and warm and totally personal.
The Return of the Stranger is available now in Australia and New Zealand as a Sexy and NA as a Presents Extra. To be in the draw to win a signed copy as well as two books from Kate Walker's backlist, just tell us which are your favourite classic romances?
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Tempting the Negotiator by Zana Bell will be posted!
Kate, I *love* the premise of this book! When I was a teenager, I adored Wuthering Heights, but it ended... wrong. :) Something I think you're about to fix - I can tell from that kiss! Happy sigh.
ReplyDeleteWhat a kiss...sigh!
ReplyDeleteRachel, I can vouch for the happily ever after in THE RETURN OF THE STRANGER with the unique Kate Walker twist to this classic story!
Ooh, what an amazingly sexy kiss! I can't wait to read The Return of the Stranger to see how it all plays out between this pair.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using Wuthering Heights as inspiration for a new romance story. So much passion and intensity. Sigh. Thanks for visiting and giving us such a sizzling kiss, Kate.
How A man should kiss a woman. ~ sizzle!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great teaser Kate.
Kate, I'm sure I'll *love* this story as much as I have your others. You might have invented the words 'sexual tension'!
ReplyDeleteI have your 12 Points on my shelf and regularly go to it for guidance/inspiration.
Can I ask, do you have any 'tricks' to make each book a real challenge ie professions, angles on conflict, etc?
Kate, what a beautiful kiss!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel about the ending of Wuthering Heights. It will be so gorgeous to read your contemporary story inspired by the classic and with the happy ending for your Heath and Kat.
:)
Sharon
Kate, wonderful premise, fabulous kiss. I agree with Robbie, you certainly have mastered sexual tension.
ReplyDeleteSue MacKay
Fabulous excerpt - makes me want to go find Wuthering Heights now... :)
ReplyDeleteTHE RETURN OF THE STRANGER looks like a wonderful read. That was an amazing excerpt. On my list.
ReplyDeleteMy first post seems to be lost in cyberspace, so apologies if this ends up here twice...
ReplyDeleteOooh, I'd love to read this. What a gorgeous kiss - and to know it ends in a happy ever after already makes it a better read than Wuthering Heights (a school reader and I was VERY unhappy with the ending).
As for my fave classic, it would have to be Jane Austen and my pick would be Pride and Prejudice (although Colin Firth might have something to do with that, *grin*). Actually I have just purchased JA's complete works and am saving it to enjoy on the Aussie Christmas (summer) hols.
Hey LoveCats
ReplyDeleteNow there was a kiss scene that made me want to read the book, and sooo want him to win her over and let her tell the wet fish Arthur to get lost!
Loved it Kate!
Classic Romance...this reminded me of the movie with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, Far & Away - not a classic - but just a beautiful story...
I'm so bad at the classics...I don't have a favourite at all from the older books. Sorry.
But - my all time favourite romance story would have to be When Harry Met Sally - and that will be a classic one day...so I'm cheating and naming that as my fav romance.
Thanks for the visit Kate.
Bye 4 now
Tina
Kate, such a sensual promise of things to come. Wonderful. Congratulations on your "Return Of A Stranger"
ReplyDeleteReminds me of my other favourite spurned lover, Rhett Butler in "Gone With The Wind". I had a broke heart for six months when I read this at the age of 16 and yes, Pride and Prejudice is the other.Overcoming obstacles to be in your loved one's arms . Ahhhhhhh
kate
What a powerful kiss, Kate. It's a kiss to change your life. Beautiful. Sensuous. Demanding. A perfect kiss for another lovely Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cath
Hello Kate Walker,
ReplyDeleteI loved this super tension filled kiss. I'd love to read The Return Of The Stranger, last book I read from you was Kept For her Baby and it was fantastic!
Thank you for writing such fabulous stories!
Wow, what a kiss. And we got a triple treat, with Kat's memories of the first two kisses thrown in! My favourite is Wuthering Heights, even though it took me three attempts to get past the first chapter. I couldn't believe what I'd been missing when I finally got a little further. Kate Bush's song is on my favourite playlist on my ipod, too!
ReplyDeleteKate's having trouble posting her replies, but she wanted everyone to know that she wants to talk to you - it's technology that's not playing nice today!
ReplyDeleteShe's trying again - stand by. :)
From Kate:
ReplyDeleteHello everyone - so sorry to be late coming to chart with you, I've not been well and now I'm having real trouble getting any replies I've written to post - I wrote a whole set of answers to everyone and they've all disappeared!
I'm going to try again - and keep my fingers crossed that I can get through.
Kate
I'm late to the party, but wonderful kiss!
ReplyDeleteFav classic - is it cheating (like Tina lol!) to say The Notebook. I'm sure it will be a classic in years to come =)
From Kate:
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel – I’m hoping that finally my replies will reach you. I felt exactly the same about reading WH when I was younger – it ended all wrong! So yes, I’m changing all that in The Return of The Stranger. I hope it still leaves you with a happy sigh at the end if you read it.
From Kate:
ReplyDeleteNas – thank you – I'm glad you enjoyed this smooch – and that you loved the book so much. It makes my day to know that.
From Kate:
ReplyDeleteHello Michelle – it’s always a bit of a worry when a fellow author reads one of my books because they know how it should be done! So I do hope that Return of the Stranger works for you. There is so much passion and intensity in the original – but not really that much *love* so I had to make some changes to turn it into a love story.
From Kate:
ReplyDeleteKaelee – I hoped that ‘how a man should kiss a woman’ would sizzle! Thank you for letting me know that it did for you!!
From Kate:
ReplyDeleteRobyn, thank you so much for saying that you love my books – coming from a successful romance writer like you that means a lot.
And I’m glad that the 12 Point Guide has helped you too. I think the answer to your question is in that book - what really really matters are the characters.
Someone asked me yesterday how I’ve managed to write 60 books and my answer was that I’ve ‘met’ and written about 60 heroes and 60 heroines – and I’ve told their stories. It’s the people who give me the story and they are the ones who make each novel a challenge as I describe their emotional journey. And I keep asking – and answering the question ‘why’ – why is this happening – why did he say that? Why did she do that?
I'm going to try testing again just in case my posts to this blog will no get through! I went away, diud some other bits and pieces and when I came back the whole of the blog set up had changed on my screen - so maybe . . . maybe
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try anyway and if I can get through I can finish of the great job that Rachel has been doing to help me
So lets see
Kate
I don't believe it! I don't know what's happened - but - first of all a great big thank you to Rachel for stepping in to the breach likie that! It seems that now, at last I can post - so while Rachel gets some much deserved sleep, I'll catch up for my self - I have no idea what the problem has been but at least I can talk to you at last!
ReplyDeleteSharun Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed this smooch - and I'd really be happy to know that the new happy ending I've given Kat and Heath works for yo. I hope you enjoy it
ReplyDeleteHello Sue - I think that sexual tension is such more important that straightforward sex! And so it's harder to get right so I'm complimented that you thik this smooch has it right - that's what gets the readers turning the pages after all - the tension.
ReplyDeleteHi Xandra - doos to seee you here. My son's partner had the same response - to go and find WH and read it - after she read my book but as she said it really is so very dark and often cruel compared to the 'romance version'
ReplyDeleteHi Marybelle - I do hope you find it as wonderful when you read it. Thank you for putting it on your list
ReplyDeleteYou and me both Anita - I have lost every sinlge one of my posts all afternoon - and now, suddenly, they're going through! I don't understand it! I can undrstand your feeling's about the ending of WH when you read it at school - I know I felt that way. Enjoy the Jane Austen collection - it sounds like a great relaxing read for you
ReplyDeleteTina - it's funny, I was just thinking of When Harry Met Sally yesterday and thinking how good it was. Now I want to get hold of it and see it again. And don't worry, that 'wet fish' Arthur very defintely 'gets lost' in my book!
ReplyDeleteHello Elle - I hope those 'things to come' that are promised are great for you - as well as Kat and Heath! Rhett Butler - now there's anoltgher romantic classic that didn't end the way I was expecting. Thought perhaps his reponse was what Scarlet O'Hara needed. It'd be interesting to look at reworking that one
ReplyDeleteHello Catherine - a kiss to change your life - I love that! Thank yo! And it did change Kat's life! I had some fun working with a heroine who had my name - and yours - I could have all sorts of happy imaginings as I wrote certain scenes
ReplyDeleteHi Riya, nice to meet you -and thank you for saying how much you enjoyed Kept For Her Baby -that's so kind of you. I'm glad you found this kiss such a 'super tension filled kiss' - that's what I was aiming for and I hope people who read it will want to read on
ReplyDeleteNatalie - you've put your finger on exactly why I chose this kiss - because it has the '3 kisses in ine' effect and so, I hope, is more powerful than just one as each of those has changed everything between my hero and heroine. THe beginning of WH is difficult to get into, isn't it - but once you get into the story . . .. wow!
ReplyDeleteHi Mel – I’m glad you enjoyed this kiss. The Notebook – that’s an amazing book – I started out thinking this isn’t much . . . then when you get towards the end and realise just how much of a love story it is – amazing!
ReplyDeleteKate
ReplyDeleteLoved that book this is one I am looking forward to reading
Have Fun
Helen
Brilliant post Kate you really know how to get ones attention that kiss is just wow!
ReplyDeleteDesere
Love the smooch...such a scorching kiss. The more more i read about "The Return of the Stranger', the more i fall in love with it.
ReplyDeleteHi Helen - it's always a great feeling that a reader is looking forwar to reading my new book - and a real worry as I'm terrified of disappointing them. I hope you do enjoy The Return of the Stranger when you read it
ReplyDeleteHi Sonali - 'm glad you're finding the sneak peeks at The Return of The Stranger so enticing. I just hope the whole book lives up to expectations when you do read it.
ReplyDeletewaves to kate im a news letter subscriber ! your books areawesome and im sure this one s no different!
ReplyDeleteWuthering hights is like everyones fav tgho i have to say im more parial to gone with the wind the book not the movie that is
deffhav to be getting your new book too
aka SiNn
mortalsinn@yahoo.com