Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!
... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Therese Dunham!
Therese, can you please contact Amy on: amy (at) amyandrews (dot) com (dot) au to receive your copy of Playing the Player.
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Michelle Douglas...
Road Trip With the Eligible Bachelor has been repackaged in a gorgeous new duet with fellow LoveCat Ally Blake's The Magnate's Indecent Proposal. It hits the shelves in Australia and New Zealand next month. :-)
Quinn Laverty and her young sons are planning to start a new life on the other side of the country! With her family abandoning her, and her ex choosing wealth and privilege over fatherhood, her boys are all she's got.
But when an airline strike interferes with her plans, Quinn finds herself taking the car and up-and-coming politician Aidan Fairhall to Sydney. And trapped together on a weeklong road trip, opposites Quinn and Aidan begin the most unexpected and life-changing journey of their lives.
Scene
set-up: Quinn and Aidan are at a remote campsite in the middle of
nowhere and the boys are safely in bed. They've all been planning what
they'll do when they finally cross the Nullabor Plain and hit the big
city. However, Quinn and Aidan's playful flirting takes a serious
turn...
One side of his mouth hooked up in a slow, wicked smile. He still held her hand. ‘I’m looking forward to hitting the town with you.’
She should pull her hand free. ‘Why?’
He tugged her a little closer. ‘Do you dance?’
Her breath caught in her chest, making her heart thud. ‘Like you wouldn’t believe.’
‘I’m better,’ he promised.
‘We’ll see about that.’
‘What’s your favourite cocktail?’
‘A Margarita. Yours?’
‘A whiskey sour.’
His thumb caressed the soft skin at her wrist. ‘Can you play blackjack?’
‘With the best of them.’ The nearest she’d come to gambling was the odd flutter on the Melbourne Cup. ‘Although I prefer roulette.’
‘I’m going to take you out dancing and gambling and drinking.’
He was?
‘And I’m going to kiss you.’
And then his mouth came down on hers in the dark of the night, hot and demanding, and it stole her breath. His kiss wasn’t polite or quiet. It was dark and thrilling and she threw all sense of caution to the wind, winding her arms about his neck and kissing him back.
He pulled her in closer, trapping her between lean, powerful thighs, and deepened the kiss. She didn’t resist. His hands curved about her hips and explored them completely, boldly and oh-so-impolitely. She moved against him restlessly as the thrill became a dark throb in her blood. Thrusting her hands into his hair, she held him still to thoroughly explore a mouth that set her on fire, inciting him to further bold explorations of her body with hands that seemed to know exactly what she craved.
Aidan’s kiss made her feel impulsive and young.
It made her feel beautiful.
It made her feel all woman.
She broke off to gulp air into starved lungs. His lips found her throat—no butterfly whispers here, just hot, wet grazes and suckles that built the inferno growing inside her. His hands were beneath her dress, cupping her buttocks, kneading and pleasing and building that inferno. Her hands went to the waistband of his shorts—
Wait.
No, no, she didn’t want to wait. She wanted to lose herself in sheer sensation. She wanted to forget her troubles and soar away in mindless and delirious pleasure. Oh, please let her…
Ask the question.
She froze. Aidan’s clever, heat-inducing, pleasure-seeking fingers started to move and she knew that in a moment she would be lost. Totally and completely.
With a groan of pure frustration, she slapped her hands over the top of his, the fabric of her dress between them. ‘I have to ask a question.’
One side of his mouth hooked up in a slow, wicked smile. He still held her hand. ‘I’m looking forward to hitting the town with you.’
She should pull her hand free. ‘Why?’
He tugged her a little closer. ‘Do you dance?’
Her breath caught in her chest, making her heart thud. ‘Like you wouldn’t believe.’
‘I’m better,’ he promised.
‘We’ll see about that.’
‘What’s your favourite cocktail?’
‘A Margarita. Yours?’
‘A whiskey sour.’
His thumb caressed the soft skin at her wrist. ‘Can you play blackjack?’
‘With the best of them.’ The nearest she’d come to gambling was the odd flutter on the Melbourne Cup. ‘Although I prefer roulette.’
‘I’m going to take you out dancing and gambling and drinking.’
He was?
‘And I’m going to kiss you.’
And then his mouth came down on hers in the dark of the night, hot and demanding, and it stole her breath. His kiss wasn’t polite or quiet. It was dark and thrilling and she threw all sense of caution to the wind, winding her arms about his neck and kissing him back.
He pulled her in closer, trapping her between lean, powerful thighs, and deepened the kiss. She didn’t resist. His hands curved about her hips and explored them completely, boldly and oh-so-impolitely. She moved against him restlessly as the thrill became a dark throb in her blood. Thrusting her hands into his hair, she held him still to thoroughly explore a mouth that set her on fire, inciting him to further bold explorations of her body with hands that seemed to know exactly what she craved.
Aidan’s kiss made her feel impulsive and young.
It made her feel beautiful.
It made her feel all woman.
She broke off to gulp air into starved lungs. His lips found her throat—no butterfly whispers here, just hot, wet grazes and suckles that built the inferno growing inside her. His hands were beneath her dress, cupping her buttocks, kneading and pleasing and building that inferno. Her hands went to the waistband of his shorts—
Wait.
No, no, she didn’t want to wait. She wanted to lose herself in sheer sensation. She wanted to forget her troubles and soar away in mindless and delirious pleasure. Oh, please let her…
Ask the question.
She froze. Aidan’s clever, heat-inducing, pleasure-seeking fingers started to move and she knew that in a moment she would be lost. Totally and completely.
With a groan of pure frustration, she slapped her hands over the top of his, the fabric of her dress between them. ‘I have to ask a question.’
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Stefanie London's Mr Dangerously Sexy will be posted!
Hi Michelle
ReplyDeleteThat was awesome re-reading that part I loved this story because I too love road trips and have been on a few over the years with and without kids LOL I have to say without kids can be much more relaxing. We did a road trip for our honeymoon back in 1977 and drove from Sydney to Adelaide through Melbourne and trying to navigate around trams in Melbourne was fun and then the car broke down on our way out of Melbourne and hubby got a lift in to pick up a part can't remember what it was and I stay in the car on the side of the road and someone had written on the back of the car at the wedding in black shoe polish honk if you are horny so there were lots of horn honking going on as I slid lower in the car, it took us a while to get all of that off the car :)
Have Fun
Helen
OMG, Helen! That is the funniest story! I can just see you sinking lower and lower in your seat, LOL. It's fun that you can look back on it and laugh about it now.
DeleteI have to admit, I'm a fan of a good road trip. And I think following Quinn and Aidan's route across the Nullabor would be quite an experience.
another well written romance Michelle worth a reread----LynW
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks, Lyn! I think re-reading a book is the greatest compliment one can give to an author. :-)
DeleteI so need to read this story - about to go make sure it's on my must read to read list.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to the roadtrip question, is it wrong to say that my enjoyment (or lack of) on a roadtrip depends on who I'm travelling with. There are certain people that make me want to just fly from A to B. However there are others who make me want to travel by car and make random stops along the way.
Oh, Lyn, definitely! The right company is key for a successful road trip. Otherwise it could end in tears for everyone. ;-)
DeleteThis sounds like a fun and exciting read! I would love to take a road trip with my husband and stop at random places to explore and not be in a rush to get back home. lclee59(at)centurylink(dot)net
ReplyDeleteHi Connie,
DeleteI think not being tied down to too small a time frame and having the freedom to stop wherever the mood takes you, is the absolute best way to road trip. :-)
That was a seriously steamy smooch and I love the sound of this book. So much so I have just one-clicked it! As for the road trip, we set off on our first over New Years, as we had bought a new car - from Adelaide to Melbourne. It was the middle of the heatwave and we were halfway there when our air conditioner stopped working! We arrived in Melbourne bedraggled, windswept, pink-faced and the children were down to their undies, covered in drops of ice cream from the roadhouses we'd had to stop at to revive along the way!
ReplyDeleteOh, Clare, you just made me remember the days before cars had proper air conditioning! I remember driving with all the windows down as a kid and praying for relief from the heat. But it didn't stop me giggling at your undie-clad children covered in ice cream. That's one of those stories that's fun *after* the event. ;-)
DeleteYou one-clicked? Aw, thank you, and I hope you enjoy the story!
Loved that smooch, Michelle! Tres sexy!
ReplyDeleteI love a good road trip too as long as there are Twisties :-)
Ah, that explains the Twistie photo on FB each time you road trip :)
DeleteAnd to those Twisties, AA, I'd add snakes and Scotchfinger biscuits. Road trip food rocks! :-)
DeleteYes Lyn :-)
DeleteI like a Summer Roll, too!
I haven't had a summer roll in, like, forever! Off to add it to the shopping list. ;-)
DeleteGreat smooch, Michelle. I love road rips, especially with my man as he often deviates into places I'd never think of going. Once in Northern Queensland he kept taking side roads in search of snakes, wanting to see one in the wild since we don't have them here in NZ. The fact that he is terrified of them and wouldn't have opened the door didn't stop this crazy stuff. And no, we didn't come across one. Thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Sue. I'm not sure whether to commiserate on missing the Snakes In The Wild or not. ;-) But it's those unexpected deviations that make road trips so much fun...and so memorable.
DeleteThe road trip I took with my sisters years ago was so much fun. I'm not adventurous, but they certainly are. I was so far out of my comfort zone you could say I was lost.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Mary. Well, they do say it's good for us to be pushed out of our comfort zones every now and again. And a road trip with sisters does sound like fun :-)
DeleteMichelle, such a terrific scene! Makes me want to go out and buy this new double edition even though I already have a different copy!
ReplyDeleteNot sure of a perfect road trip but a few years ago we drove over a high alpine pass from Austria to Italy and it was such an adventure! Would love to do it again.
Glad you enjoyed it (again), Annie! :-D
DeleteDriving over an alpine pass sounds like the most romantic road trip imaginable. I bet that was memorable. Am green with envy!
Oh, I remember that scene! This book is so much fun. (In fact, I quote from it in my workshop on creating characters.)
ReplyDeleteAw, aren't you a sweetheart. :-) When I was reading back over the smooch I remembered how much fun this one was to write. Happy sighs.
DeleteWonderful smooch! I have to read this now as I'm dying to know what Quinn's question was.
ReplyDeleteRoad trips... We went to the Flinders Ranges last year for a week but we had a driver so it wasn't quite the same as being on our own. And the driver did most of the talking...well, like ALL of the talking so it was hardly romantic. But it was fun seeing all the beautiful scenery and not having to worry about the long hours of driving.
Ooh, Quinn's question is a corker, Melanie, and it throws cold water on the moment in a major way! (I know, I'm such a tease ;-) ).
DeleteHow lovely to have your very own driver for a road trip! I bet the Flinders Ranges were spectacular. I definitely think that's a road trip I should add to my list. :-)
Hello Michelle, I was lucky enough to read your book translated into Italian, I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI do not have special stories to tell, however, I'd like to do a road trip throughout Italy.
Aw, thank you for the kind words, Franca. I'm so glad you enjoyed Quinn and Aidan's story. :-)
DeleteAnd I would LOVE to road trip through Italy, at a very slow and leisurely pace. What an adventure that would be. :-)
Oh my... Phew. It doesn't lose anything in the re-reading. Brilliantly paced. Exquisite.
ReplyDeleteRoad trips? Some of ours are legendary, especially when I was working for Charles Sturt Uni and had to travel such a lot. Like the lady we stopped to help when her car went completely over the cliffs off the Bell's Line of Road coming into Lithgow. I'm still not sure how she got back up to the road. The car wasn't visible until you were near the edge so no one else stopped. As we watched the car teetered on a narow ledge. She kept crying about a little person trapped in the car. What to do? How much time did we have? My man was white as he searched for ropes or anything to lower himself down to rescue whoever was stuck. I was shaking. It was terrifying. It was a sheer drop for many kilometres and if he fell or if the car moved...? Then a cheeky little terrier, light as a feather, scrambled out of a window and scampered up the cliff to his mum. This was the 'trapped' little person. What a day...
OMG, Kaz! Talk about a heart-in-mouth moment! And that lady (and her cheeky little terrier) are *so* lucky to be alive. Wow. That's a day when everyone would've been counting their blessings. Bless you and your man for stopping. May all of your future road trips be far more...relaxing. :-)
Delete