Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!
Today we have a smooch from Jennifer St George but first
... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is jjhicks.
Can you please contact Kate at kate (at) katehardy (dot) com to receive your copy of Holiday with the Best Man
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Jennifer St George's Wild For You.
When her celebrity boyfriend breaks up with her on
camera to boost the ratings of his TV show, fashion designer Madison Mills
instructs her assistant to organise a vacation that’s a long way from New York,
where there’s no paparazzi and where there are definitely no hot men.
Madison
soon finds herself on a walking tour in the wilds of remote Tasmania. There’s
no chance she’ll be recognised but on the ‘no hot men’ criteria, her assistant
has spectacularly failed. The lead guide, Daniel Black, could be the face and
body of any fashion campaign. But, Daniel’s quick judgement that’s she an urban
princess has her bristling with every step.
Ex-military man Daniel has found
peace in the wilderness. Hosting walking tours ensures lots of solitude and no
long-term commitments. So when circumstances lead to him guiding Madison alone,
he’s not sure he can survive for nearly a week with a woman whose life revolves
around hemlines and fashion shows.
The rugged landscape challenges them both
and Daniel soon learns there is more to Madison than meets the eye. But when
Madison’s location is leaked to the press, can he convince her that a
wilderness guide and a fashion designer from opposite side of the world can
find a way to make it work?
Scene set-up
Madison has lost her creative mojo. She's hoping this walk through the Tasmanian wilderness will help spark the idea for her new collection. Her hot, gorgeous walking guide Daniel just might have all the answers....
‘I have to admit,
your office is nicer than mine,’ she said, pulling her lunch from her pack.
He surveyed the area.
‘Yes, I have natural wilderness and you work in a dense urban jungle.’ She
closed her eyes and focused. Something was swirling through her brain, but she
couldn’t quite condense it into something solid. She opened her eyes and
allowed the beauty of her surroundings to wash over her.
Daniel lit the
portable stove. Soon, she was sitting on a moss-covered log and sipping hot
peppermint tea. If she couldn’t find inspiration here, she suspected she
couldn’t find it anywhere.
‘So, how’s that theme
coming along?’ Daniel asked, sitting on a stump in front of her.
‘What, you can read
minds now?’
‘No. It’s just you
usually talk non-stop and today you’ve been unusually quiet. I figured you were
working on your theme.’
She flicked up her
eyebrows. ‘How very insightful of you.’
‘Ah, you have to know
your men.’
She cocked her head.
‘Excuse me?’
He laughed. ‘Sorry.
The military terminology. It’s hard to shake. I meant, it’s important to try to
understand what my clients are looking for when they come on holiday here. Some
want to talk all about themselves – I usually ensure the other guides look
after them – while some want to know all about the park and its the fauna and
flora, and some are looking for peace and quiet.’
‘And they’re your
favourite type of client, right? The quiet ones.’
He smiled his assent.
‘So how have you
classified me?’
‘You? You’re an
enigma.’
She crossed her hands
across her chest. ‘How so?’
‘I thought you were a
helpless New York princess who would hate every minute of the trip. Who’d never
be ready on time and couldn’t stand the natural environment,’ he said, removing
a leech from the back of his hand. ‘But you’ve turned out to be highly
practical and you seem to enjoy and appreciate the wilderness.’
‘So now I’m a
wilderness-appreciating princess?’
He shook his head.
‘More an urban wilderness princess.’
Her skin tingled and
her eyes widened. ‘Say that again. Over and over. Don’t let it get away.’
His brow crinkled.
‘What?’
‘Urban wilderness,’
she demanded. ‘Say those words.’
He shrugged, clearly
having no idea of the genius he’d just brought forth. ‘Urban wilderness. Urban
wilderness,’ he said in a confused but intrigued tone.
Racing to her pack,
she pulled out her notebook. She scribbled the precious words before they
disappeared on the breeze. That was it! She wrote the words over and over.
Urban wilderness. Urban wilderness. Her whole body hummed. That was the theme.
The perfect, brilliant collection theme.
Throwing back her
arms, she stared up at the sky and cried out. Energy, wildness, power: her
mojo, flooding back into her body. She felt so light, she could have floated up
into the canopy. She had it. This collection would be her best.
‘Everything okay over
there, crazy lady?’
Daniel. She turned
and stared at the man who’d given her back her passion and creativity – and her
inspiration.
‘Are you all right?’
he asked, clearly bewildered by her behaviour.
She dropped her
notebook on her pack, walked over to him, threw her arms about his neck, stood
on tippy toes and kissed him hard on the lips.
‘You have no idea what you’ve done,’ she
said. Her gaze locked with his. She fell still, caught in the storm that raged
in his eyes. Her heart tumbled over a few beats when she saw the naked
vulnerability shining in his eyes. He blinked and the storm was gone, but his
arms slid around her waist.
‘If this is the
result, I’d really like to know what I’ve done so I can do it again and again
and again.’
She touched his cheek
and kissed him again. ‘You’ve freed me.’
The forest quietened
around them. He held her a little closer. She suddenly realised where she was
and what she was doing. Kissing Daniel. Being held by Daniel’s strong arms. In
the arms of the man who’d freed her from the grip of fear, of grief . . . all
the negativity that had engulfed her world and that had held her captive for
the past two years. This man from the wilderness had done more for her in three
days than years of therapy and grief counselling.
‘And how have I done
that?’ He ran a rough finger lightly down her cheek.
She didn’t want to
analyse it. She simply wanted to feel. Feel more of lightness, the freedom and
joy of coming back to the world. Having grief finally lose its fight to
dominate her soul. She drew his head down to hers and touched her lips to his.
‘By simply being you,’ she breathed.
His hands moved lower
down her back, drawing her flush against his body. A flare of awareness settled
low in her belly. She reached up and put her hands on both his cheeks and
kissed him full and deep. Closing her eyes, she fell headlong into the glorious
touch and taste of Daniel.
* * *
In our busy, busy world, it's hard to get away
from it all like Daniel and Madison have done in the Tasmanian wilderness.
If you wanted to get some solitude, where would you go? Leave a comment
to go into the draw to win an e-copy of Wild For You.
Wild for You is on
pre-order now and will be available for download tomorrow. I'm just a little
excited!
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's
giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Barb DeLeo's The Wedding
Wager will be posted!