Sunday Smooch with....Louisa George

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Louisa George, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Mary Lawson!

Mary, can you please email: Annie (at) annie-west (dot) com to receive your copy of The Italian’s Bold Reckoning!

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Louisa George's new fun contemporary romance, Something About You

Back cover blurb:

Will they risk their friendship for a night of unbridled passion?

A broken heart …
Widow Jenna Cassidy-Pearce has had her one love of a lifetime. Now she’s fine being single and focusing on her new floristry business, raising her daughter and spending time with her friends. On top of all that she’s also organizing a very secret wedding for her sister, the wedding-shy wedding planner. Jenna’s life is a whirlwind of busy-but-in-control, and that’s just how she likes it – it keeps the loneliness and the longing at bay. So when old friend Nick Welsh comes back into her life she's not prepared for the onslaught of emotions and unwelcome lust she feels for him.

A damaged soldier …
After surviving bombs and bombshells that damaged his life and destroyed all trust, ex army officer Nick Welsh has returned to London for a quiet life. He definitely does not want to get embroiled in Jenna's chaotic one, but there's something about the spirited redhead with the sparkling blue eyes and complete inability to sit still that makes him keep seeking her out, and there’s a whole lot of chemistry he just can't deny.
The healing power of love
Is he ready to trust again? And can he teach Jenna that everyone deserves another chance at love?

Kiss Scene:-  Set up: Good friends Jenna and Nick are fighting an unbidden attraction. Earlier in the day he’d been called out to a crime scene and found Jenna there…innocent and panicking. He’s just called round to check in on her, brought dinner and is avoiding any kind of meaningful conversation and that’s frustrating the heck out of her…

For a few minutes, they put lids on the leftover food, scrunched up the paper bags and wiped down the counters. In silence. She didn’t know what to say, what to do. But when they’d scrubbed the table until there was little evidence of any varnish, she knew they had to do something. ‘Right, well, thanks for the food, but I’m bushed and it’s getting late, so I should get some sleep.’

            His shoulders were hunched and his face was grim. ‘Okay, I get the message. I’m going.’

            It was funny, though. Even though they could barely speak to each other, she felt as if there was something tugging them open, making them face things they didn’t want to face, making things deeper between them. Deeper, but still very raw. Her heart was aching to make things right.

            Maybe a good argument was what made friendships better, lasting, deeper. Only time was going to tell. She walked him to the door. ‘I’ll think about the running club.’

            He nodded. ‘Good, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Oh, and don’t go attacking anyone with flowers, okay?’

            ‘Okay. Even though it clearly runs in the family.’

            ‘I’ll keep my distance then.’ He looked at her and she at him, and she could see so many emotions flicking through his eyes. Something he wanted, something he needed. Something hungry and scary and also exciting in equal measure. He turned and tugged the door open, taking a step towards it.

            But then he stopped, his breath quickening as he faced her. Troubled. Struggling to find words. ‘No, actually, I won’t. You want to know things about me? About what I think? How I feel?’

            The way he was looking at her, she wasn’t sure she did want to know. But she wanted him to stay.

Yes. She wanted to know everything about him. How he felt in her arms, how he kissed. How he made love. How he felt about her—about this. ‘I—’

            ‘You want me to say it out loud? Do you?’ He didn’t wait for her to speak. ‘How about how freaked I was when I saw you on the floor in that house?’

            ‘Well, you weren’t exactly expecting me to be there.’

            ‘It wasn’t just shock.’ His hand dropped from the door handle and he took a step closer to her. Closer still. He filled the space in front of her. All she could see was the ardent look on his face, the way he was trying to stop the words. The intense gaze in his eyes. The broad chest of a man more used to exercise than sleep. She could smell his scent of clean and citrus, and she moved closer to it. ‘There was a lot more going on.’

            The awkward irritation of before melted into something intense. The whole room felt alive with it. Her heart started to hammer. Her mouth was wet and dry, and she could barely force words out. All her senses were heightened to his smell, his voice, the heat shimmering off him. ‘What did you feel?’

            His eyes glittered. ‘That I’m in deep trouble.’

            Heat pooled in her belly and spread fast through her whole body. ‘What kind of trouble?’     

            ‘Big, big trouble. The biggest. There’s something about you, Jenna….’ His thumb ran over her bottom lip and his gaze locked on to hers. ‘When we were sitting on that wall, I couldn’t think straight. I should have been making sure you were okay, or taking you home, or going back to work. I should have been the man. Looking after you, doing a ton of other things, but all I could think of was how much I wanted to…’

            She couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Didn’t want to imagine—no, she imagined a whole lot. Wanted to live it too. ‘Wanted to what?’

            ‘To do this.’ His fingers cupped her face and drew her towards him. His head tilted and his mouth slid over hers with gentle pressure.

            Her breath stopped in her lungs as her body began to tingle, then tremble.

            But he drew slowly back, a question in his eyes. Is this okay?

            She couldn’t find any words. Despite everything she knew, or thought she knew, this man… this amazing, beautiful, complicated man did want to kiss her.

            It had been so long, too long. What if she did the wrong thing? What if she messed up or he didn’t like the way she responded? How do you kiss?

            Geez, you’re twenty-bloody-six. Get a grip.

            Instinct took over and she tugged him back to her, opening her mouth and tasting him—tasting the wine and something that was pure male, pure Nick.

            She wound her hands around his neck and pressed herself against him as he deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping into her mouth making her knees almost buckle.

            How do you kiss?

            Like this and this and this and this and…

            Her eyes fluttered open, and over his shoulder she could see the dark night sky through the open doorway. A smattering of stars, the glow of a streetlight. The noise of the road filtered through, and she blocked it out. Blocked all reality, all good sense, all reasoning. Because this was her one chance. They both knew it would never, could never, happen again.

            She groaned against him as his hands ran along her neck, to her shoulders, caressing her, stroking her, and for one beautiful moment, she felt as light as those stars and blazing as hot. Hotter.

            But suddenly, too soon, he pulled away then pressed his forehead against hers. ‘God, Jen, I’m sorry.’

            ‘No, don’t be sorry, Nick. Please, bloody well don’t be.’ She was still shaking, every part of her off balance because of him, because of that kiss. She held on to his shoulders to stabilise herself. Kissing was one thing, collapsing certainly wouldn’t look good. ‘That was amazing.’

            ‘And really dumb. I’m the last thing you need.’ Stepping back, he put distance between them, it might as well have been light years. He had no idea what she needed. Right now, it was a lot more kissing.

Louisa is giving away a digital copy of her book to one lucky commenter!  So her question to you is:

What is your favourite romantic movie and why?

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from lovely guest Clare Connelly will be posted!