Sunday Smooch with Clare Connelly

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch  from Clare Connelly but first 


... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Veronica.


Veronica, can you please contact Kandy Shepherd on Kandy(at)Kandyshepherd(dot)com
 to receive your Kindle copy of  HIRED BY THE BROODING BILLIONAIRE.


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from HER WEDDING NIGHT SURRENDER. 

Emmeline is the much-adored daughter of a powerful American senator, but unbeknownst to Emmeline, her father is dying. Worried that she'll be vulnerable to fortune hunters when Emmeline inherits his billion-dollar fortune, Col Bovington arranges for her to marry one of his most-trusted young friends. Pietro is wealthy in his own right, and Col is confident his daughter will be happy - and safe -  living with the Italian tycoon. It's a simple marriage of convenience - Emmeline gets to spread her wings and explore the world, Pietro is honouring a dear friend's dying wish... but neither of them counted on the sensual heat that would flare between them... 

This smooch is from their wedding, and you'll get a feel for Emmeline's feisty, independent nature - she has no intention of making life easy for Pietro!

‘Then without further ado, I now pronounce you man and wife.’

Not husbandand wife, she noted in the small part of her brain still capable of rational thought. ‘Husband’ and wife would suggest that he too had been altered in some significant way by what they’d just done. ‘Man’ and wife made all the changes hers.

‘You may now kiss your bride.’

She winced unknowingly. Your bride. A possessive phrase that spoke of ownership and rankled. Well, what had she expected? She’d chosen this path to freedom because it was easy. Because it meant she wouldn’t have to upset her father. She deserved to feel a little objectified.

Her small facial expression of displeasure was easy for Pietro to discern. Seeing it pass across her face like a storm cloud, he wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her closer to his body quickly, easily, giving her no chance to question his actions. His eyes briefly met hers and there was sardonic amusement at the heart of his gaze.

She tilted her chin defiantly, inadvertently giving him the perfect angle of access. He dropped his lips to hers, pressing them against her mouth, separating her lips easily and sliding his tongue inside.

It was an invasion of every single one of her senses.

Did he know it was her first kiss? Yes, her first kiss—at the age of twenty-two and on her wedding day. Shame made her toes curl and yet desire heated her up, right to the base of her abdomen. His fingers on her back feathered across her nerve-endings, and she made a small whimper low in her throat that only her groom could possibly have heard.

He broke the kiss, his eyes meeting hers laughingly.

Was he laughing at her?

Her heart was racing, banging against her ribs so hard she thought it might crack them. Her breath was burning inside her body and she stared at him in a tangle of confusion. It took at least ten seconds for her to remember where she was and who she was with.

‘I would slap you if all these people weren’t watching us,’ she muttered under her breath, pasting a tight smile to her face.

His lip lifted in sardonic mockery. ‘Or would you rip my clothes off?’ he pondered.

But before she could respond, he reached down and took her hand in his.

‘They arewatching, so keep pretending this is the happiest day of your life.’

I loved writing Emmeline and Pietro's story. At first glance, Emmeline seems to be at the whim of her father - but as you learn more about her life, and her childhood, you realise that all her decisions are born from a deep love and loyalty. She's fiercely strong, and makes her own choices, and one of those decisions takes her to Italy, where she wants to start a new life and study. 

I didn't study overseas, but I lived in the UK with my now-husband for four years, and we would frequently travel to Europe. Though now I wish we had travelled more often than we did! Have you ever packed up your life and had a sea-change/city-change/mountain-change? 

If so, where did you go? And if not, where would you go? Or are you a committed home-body, happy with where you're at, and no plans to change the status quo? 

Comment here or on Facebook to win a signed paperback copy of HER WEDDING NIGHT SURRENDER.