SUNDAY SMOOCH WITH YVONNE LINDSAY

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch from but first 


... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is PAM SWAIN!! Congratulations!


Can you please contact Helen via mail (at) helenlacy (dot) com to receive your copy of LUCY & THE LIEUTENANT. 


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from YVONNE LINDSAY!



ARRANGED MARRIAGE, BEDROOM SECRETS

An arranged marriage means she’s his bride. Her secrets make her much more… Only from USA TODAY bestselling author Yvonne Lindsay!

Princess Mila will safeguard her kingdom by marrying a neighboring royal she barely knows. But she refuses to let Prince Thierry perfect his romantic arts with another woman. Disguised as his hired courtesan, the virgin princess plans to seduce her fiancé before their wedding night!

The mind-blowing chemistry they discover can’t be taught—or forgotten. Yet Mila’s lie is unforgivable to a man who prizes honor above all. Public scandal threatens all Mila’s dreams and her country’s future…unless this prince can let passion, and his heart, reign supreme.

Mila and Thierry have been out for an early morning ride and have returned to his hunting lodge. The attraction between them is palpable. (Mila is known to him only as Angel and when they first met he introduced himself as Hawk.)

“Shall I go and see what I can put together for breakfast?” she asked.

“You don’t trust me to cook?”

Thierry lifted one eyebrow, as if punctuating his question. Her heart did a little flip-flop in her chest.

“It’s not that,” she protested.

“It’s okay. I am man enough to take advantage of your offer. I’ll go and shower while you do your thing in the kitchen.”

Mila narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you being sexist again?”

“Again?”

“Like you were in New York.”

He snorted a laugh. “Not at all, at least I didn’t mean it to come across that way. To make up for any offense I may have caused, I’ll provide the rest of our meals today. Is that punishment enough for my apparent lapse of manners?”

She couldn’t help it—she smiled in return and inclined her head in acceptance. “Thank you. That would be lovely.”

“And that is the perfect example of how I should have responded,” he commented.

“You’re a quick study,” she teased, feeling herself relax again.

“I’ll need to be if I’m to ace all my lessons with you.”

And in an instant, there it was again. The sensual tension that drew as tight as an overstretched bow between them. Mila felt as if every cell in her body urged her to move toward him. Did he step closer to her? Or she to him? Whether it was either or both of them, somehow they ended up face to face. She felt his hands at her waist again, hers suddenly rested on his chest. Beneath her palms she felt the raggedness of his breathing, the pounding of his heart. And when he bent his head and pressed his lips to hers she felt her body melt into him as if this was what they should have been doing all along.

No more skirting around the subject of getting to know a person. Simply a man responding to a woman. And what a response. She flexed her body against his, relishing the hard muscles of his chest and abdomen against her softness, purring a sigh of pure feminine satisfaction when she felt the hardness at his groin. The concrete evidence that he found her attractive.

All the years of feeling as though she’d never be anything to him but the gauche teenager she’d been all those years before fell away as if they were nothing.

His hands were at her back, pressing her more firmly to him. Her breasts were pressed against his chest and she welcomed the pressure, felt her nipples harden into painfully tight points that begged for more of his touch. The restrictions of her bra and clothing were too much, and too little at the same time.

Thierry’s lips were firm against hers, coaxing. She opened her mouth and gave a shudder of delight as he gently sucked her lower lip against his tongue. The heat of his mouth against that oh so tender skin made her fingers curl against his chest, her nails digging into the fabric of his shirt as if she needed to anchor herself to him, to anything that would stop her from floating away on the tide of responsiveness that coursed through her.

And then, in an instant, there was nothing but air in front of her. Mila almost lost her balance as she opened her eyes and realized Thierry had thrust her from him and taken several long steps away.

“H-Hawk?” she asked, reaching out a hand.

“Don’t!” he snapped in return and wiped a shaking hand across his face. “Don’t touch me. I should not have done that. I apologize for my actions.”

“But…why not? What is wrong? I’m here as your courtesan, am I not?”

Confusion swirled through Mila’s mind as she fought to understand.

“I must remain faithful to my promise. I cannot touch you like that again. This was a mistake. Being here with you, of all people—it’s making me weak.”

There was genuine pain in his voice. Pain laced with disgust. At himself, she recognized, not her.

“Your promise to marry the princess?” she probed, seeking more clarity.

“Yes, my promise to her. And my promise to myself.”

“Tell me of your promise to yourself,” she asked softly.

“I can’t—not right now. Please, go inside the lodge. I just need some time to recompose myself.” He looked at her, his eyes as stormy as a mountain lake on a cloudy, windswept day.

But she didn’t want to let it go. Not when her entire body still hummed with the effect of his kiss.

“No, tell me now. I’m here to help you. How can I do that if you shut me out?” She walked toward him and caught him by the hand. “Hawk, let me understand you. Please?”

 

What's your favourite wedding story? Is it poignant? LOL funny? A memory of a perfect day? Share with me and all comments will go into a pool from which a randomly drawn winner will receive their own autographed copy of ARRANGED MARRIAGE, BEDROOM SECRETS!

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a guest smooch from legendary romance author, Anne McAllister, will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver