Sunday Smooch with Kandy Shepherd

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch from Kandy Shepherd but first 


... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is... LynLill Williams!



Can you please contact Melanie Milburne at

melaniemilburne (at) gmail (dot) com 

to receive your copy of Unwrapping His Convenient Fiancée

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Greek Tycoon's Mistletoe Proposal

A proposal of convenience! 

When billionaire Lukas Christophedes finds maid Ashleigh gatecrashing his mansion, he strikes a bargain: if Ashleigh acts as Lukas's girlfriend to help him close a deal, she can stay until the New Year! 

For newly single Ashleigh, agreeing to keep hearts off the table sounds easy…until the line between what's real and what's for show starts to blur! And as Christmas approaches, all Ashleigh is wishing for is a different, much more heartfelt, proposal…

Scene set-up

When Aussie runaway bride and temporary maid Ashleigh Murphy has an accommodation crisis in London at Christmas time, she decides to squat in the Chelsea townhouse of Greek billionaire Lukas Christophedes. Lukas is furious when he discovers her. Reluctantly she agrees to be his pretend girlfriend to help him close a deal, after a  Pretty Woman type makeover. But the deal doesn't close easily. Ashleigh is thrown more into Lukas's company than she bargained for - and the more time she spends with them the more attracted she is to him. Lukas is beguiled by lovely Ashleigh but he has his reasons for holding back from the enchanting intruder. Trouble is, all that fake flirting and pretend kissing means the sensual tension between them is building. Finally they face each other after a dinner party where they've been pretending to be a loving couple...

Smooch 
It was as if all Ashleigh’s fantasies had come to life. As soon as she and Lukas reached the pavement outside Tina’s apartment, he turned her to him, looked deep into her face. She thrilled to the intensity of his eyes, the way they narrowed as he searched her face, the sensual half curve of his mouth. Then, without a word, he pulled her close to him.

Finally, the truth—no words required. His quickened breathing told her all she needed to know. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. Her gasp of impatience, of want, no doubt sent the same message to him.

Then his mouth was on hers, hard, warm, exciting, demanding a response. She parted her lips, welcomed him, kissed him back. It felt as if she’d waited all her life for this. For him.

It hadn’t started sweet and gentle and went straight to deep and demanding—an urgent meeting of mouths and tongues, of bodies straining hard against each other. His overcoat was open. She splayed her hands on his hard chest and pushed him to the wall behind him. At last. This. Lukas. Her heart thudded loud and fast. He slid his hands inside her coat, to pull her close—as close as she could be to his body through layers of winter clothes. Her nipples tightened as desire pulsed through her in a wave that demanded more. He held her so close to his body she felt his response, hard and insistent, which further inflamed her. She wanted him.

‘Lukas,’ she moaned. ‘Why did we wait so long for this?’

He stilled. She knew immediately she’d said the wrong thing. ‘We didn’t,’ he said, his voice hoarse and strained. ‘I’ve only known you a week.’

‘That’s long enough,’ she said, her voice raspy with desire.

‘For what?’

‘For this,’ she said, lifting her face to his, hungry for his mouth to possess hers again.

Greek Tycoon's Mistletoe Proposal is my November release from Harlequin Romance (Cherish in the UK, Forever Romance in Australia and New Zealand).

Greek Tycoon's Mistletoe Proposal is the second in the Maids Under the Mistletoe mini series from Harlequin Romance . Four friends who have fallen on difficult times work for Maids in Chelsea, an upmarket employment agency, and find love. Each book about the Christmas Cinderellas stands alone but are linked. There's also a fifth story, written by me, Claiming His Christmas Bride which is the free, online read at harlequin.com right now! Clio Caldwell, the owner of the agency, meets up again with former fiancée, sizzling Spaniard Enrique di Costa. Will the chance meeting lead them up the aisle as a Christmas bride? 

I love writing Christmas stories and these two were particularly fun as they were set in London in winter - a different experience for folk from Down Under who have a summer  Christmas.

Do you have a Christmas tradition that you maintain no matter where you are, summer or winter, during the festive season?
Leave your comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Greek Tycoon's Mistletoe Proposal (all regions).

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