Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!
Today we have a smooch from Countering His Claim but first ...
the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- ptclayton
Can you please contact Helen Lacey: mail (at) HelenLacey (dot) com to receive your copy of The Cowgirl's Forever Family!
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Countering His Claim, which is being reissued DownUnder in October as part of the Local All-Star Anthology.
Passion sets sail in USA TODAY bestselling author Rachel Bailey's tale of high-stakes inheritance
Never be distracted by a woman is hotel magnate Luke Marlow's golden rule, especially when the woman just inherited half his late uncle's luxury cruise liner. But ship's doctor Della Walsh is the exception. Her dignified beauty ignites Luke's desire despite his suspicions. Even so, he will gain full control of the ship at all costs.
For Della, the ship has been a sanctuary. Now she has just three weeks to change Luke's mind and save the ship—until passion comes along and steers them off course….
[Scene set-up: Della has spent the day showing Luke the facilities on board the Cora Mae, and now they're on the deck in the moonlight, trying to avoid their attraction...]
He looked up to the stars and a flash of movement caught his attention. Within an instant he was beside Della, one arm around her waist, pointing skyward. “Shooting star.”
“Oh,” she said on a long breath, her gaze following his finger.
The feel of her against him was mesmerizing. Absorbed in the moment, she’d forgotten to be on her guard and allowed her soft curves to meld into his side, her head resting back on his shoulder as she tracked the star’s path.
“Make a wish,” he murmured beside her ear.
A kiss. In this moment, all he wanted was to turn her to face him, to lean down and touch her sweet lips with his. It was wrong, he knew it was wrong, but the blood in his veins thundered and a delicious heat began to rise.
The star faded and the night sky again grew still, the only movement the ship’s steady forward progress and the gentle breeze that danced in Della’s hair. But she didn’t move away. Part of him dared not move and break the spell, but the larger, rebellious part of him—surrounded by the scent of vanilla and woman—risked inclining his head down to hers, and was rewarded when she shivered.
“Like to know what I wished for?” he said, voice low.
Her eyes drifted shut. “You’re not supposed to tell. It won’t come true if you do.”
“Maybe,” he said, his mouth so close to her ear that his lips brushed her lobe as he spoke. “But if you knew what the wish was, perhaps you’d grant it.”
He pressed a light kiss on her neck, just below her ear. Della held herself still but didn’t pull away. “I don’t have any magical powers to grant wishes.”
“I’m not so sure.” He pressed another kiss to her soft skin, this one at the edge of her jaw.
As he cupped the side of her throat with one hand, he felt her racing pulse and turned her to face him. A small sound of protest passed her lips even as she leaned in and placed the lightest of kisses on his mouth. It took everything inside him, but he locked his muscles tight and didn’t move an inch. Della had held herself back so much, he wouldn’t ruin this by pushing too far, too fast. Instead, he waited for excruciating seconds for her to come back to him. Her warm breath caressed his face as she looked from his mouth to his eyes, fighting some inner struggle. Then she tilted her head forward and stole another butterfly kiss, and again, he gently moved his lips but nothing else, despite the protests of his straining body.
Her scent curled around his thoughts, leaving little reason in its wake, but he held firm until she tipped her chin up for a third time. Now, her lips were more confident and she wound her arms up around his neck. That was all the permission he needed, all the permission he could wait for. With a groan, he pulled her in.
He deepened the kiss, tasting her, needing to be close, connected to her. Holding her flush against him with the hand she’d stitched, he traced a path over the curve of her spine with the other, down over her hip, back up to feel the swell of the side of her breast. He’d wanted her from the moment she’d first appeared like an angel from the crowd on the deck the day he’d boarded, but now, he craved her with an urgency that rocked him. His body was ablaze; the kiss was nowhere near enough. Her fingers wound up into his hair and dug into his scalp, her mouth demanding against his.
“Della,” he rasped as he wrenched his mouth away to drag some oxygen into his lungs.
She stilled and looked up at him with eyes that were suddenly alert…and stunned.
“It’s okay,” he whispered as he rubbed a thumb over her damp bottom lip.
She unwound her arms from his neck and let them fall to her sides. “No, it’s not.” She said the words quietly, almost to herself, her eyes averted. Then she drew in a deep breath and met his gaze. “Luke, you don’t want to do this.”
He almost laughed at how far that was from the truth. “I can tell you that my body disagrees in the most strenuous of terms.”
“That’s because it’s under a misapprehension.”
“What would that be?” he murmured as he skimmed his fingers down her spine to the dip in her lower back, trying to bring the two of them back to the place they’d been only moments earlier.
For a full second, her eyes darkened in response to his caress, before she blinked the effect away. “Your body thinks there’s a chance this will go further.”
“Hate to be the one to break it to you,” he said lazily, “but your body agrees with mine.”
Tell me, have you ever wished upon a shooting star? I've tried, but I've never been quite fast enough. Whether you've been able to or not, I'll be giving away a copy of The Local All-Star Anthology, which includes Countering His Claim, to one commenter.
Countering His Claim is still available as an eBook in the US, Australia and NZ, as well as other parts of the world, and in paperback in some places. The Local All-Star Anthology will be on the bookshop shelves in Australia and NZ in October.
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from a gorgeous Amy Andrews book will be posted!
the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- ptclayton
Can you please contact Helen Lacey: mail (at) HelenLacey (dot) com to receive your copy of The Cowgirl's Forever Family!
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Countering His Claim, which is being reissued DownUnder in October as part of the Local All-Star Anthology.
Never be distracted by a woman is hotel magnate Luke Marlow's golden rule, especially when the woman just inherited half his late uncle's luxury cruise liner. But ship's doctor Della Walsh is the exception. Her dignified beauty ignites Luke's desire despite his suspicions. Even so, he will gain full control of the ship at all costs.
For Della, the ship has been a sanctuary. Now she has just three weeks to change Luke's mind and save the ship—until passion comes along and steers them off course….
[Scene set-up: Della has spent the day showing Luke the facilities on board the Cora Mae, and now they're on the deck in the moonlight, trying to avoid their attraction...]
He looked up to the stars and a flash of movement caught his attention. Within an instant he was beside Della, one arm around her waist, pointing skyward. “Shooting star.”
“Oh,” she said on a long breath, her gaze following his finger.
The feel of her against him was mesmerizing. Absorbed in the moment, she’d forgotten to be on her guard and allowed her soft curves to meld into his side, her head resting back on his shoulder as she tracked the star’s path.
“Make a wish,” he murmured beside her ear.
A kiss. In this moment, all he wanted was to turn her to face him, to lean down and touch her sweet lips with his. It was wrong, he knew it was wrong, but the blood in his veins thundered and a delicious heat began to rise.
The star faded and the night sky again grew still, the only movement the ship’s steady forward progress and the gentle breeze that danced in Della’s hair. But she didn’t move away. Part of him dared not move and break the spell, but the larger, rebellious part of him—surrounded by the scent of vanilla and woman—risked inclining his head down to hers, and was rewarded when she shivered.
“Like to know what I wished for?” he said, voice low.
Her eyes drifted shut. “You’re not supposed to tell. It won’t come true if you do.”
“Maybe,” he said, his mouth so close to her ear that his lips brushed her lobe as he spoke. “But if you knew what the wish was, perhaps you’d grant it.”
He pressed a light kiss on her neck, just below her ear. Della held herself still but didn’t pull away. “I don’t have any magical powers to grant wishes.”
“I’m not so sure.” He pressed another kiss to her soft skin, this one at the edge of her jaw.
As he cupped the side of her throat with one hand, he felt her racing pulse and turned her to face him. A small sound of protest passed her lips even as she leaned in and placed the lightest of kisses on his mouth. It took everything inside him, but he locked his muscles tight and didn’t move an inch. Della had held herself back so much, he wouldn’t ruin this by pushing too far, too fast. Instead, he waited for excruciating seconds for her to come back to him. Her warm breath caressed his face as she looked from his mouth to his eyes, fighting some inner struggle. Then she tilted her head forward and stole another butterfly kiss, and again, he gently moved his lips but nothing else, despite the protests of his straining body.
Her scent curled around his thoughts, leaving little reason in its wake, but he held firm until she tipped her chin up for a third time. Now, her lips were more confident and she wound her arms up around his neck. That was all the permission he needed, all the permission he could wait for. With a groan, he pulled her in.
He deepened the kiss, tasting her, needing to be close, connected to her. Holding her flush against him with the hand she’d stitched, he traced a path over the curve of her spine with the other, down over her hip, back up to feel the swell of the side of her breast. He’d wanted her from the moment she’d first appeared like an angel from the crowd on the deck the day he’d boarded, but now, he craved her with an urgency that rocked him. His body was ablaze; the kiss was nowhere near enough. Her fingers wound up into his hair and dug into his scalp, her mouth demanding against his.
“Della,” he rasped as he wrenched his mouth away to drag some oxygen into his lungs.
She stilled and looked up at him with eyes that were suddenly alert…and stunned.
“It’s okay,” he whispered as he rubbed a thumb over her damp bottom lip.
She unwound her arms from his neck and let them fall to her sides. “No, it’s not.” She said the words quietly, almost to herself, her eyes averted. Then she drew in a deep breath and met his gaze. “Luke, you don’t want to do this.”
He almost laughed at how far that was from the truth. “I can tell you that my body disagrees in the most strenuous of terms.”
“That’s because it’s under a misapprehension.”
“What would that be?” he murmured as he skimmed his fingers down her spine to the dip in her lower back, trying to bring the two of them back to the place they’d been only moments earlier.
For a full second, her eyes darkened in response to his caress, before she blinked the effect away. “Your body thinks there’s a chance this will go further.”
“Hate to be the one to break it to you,” he said lazily, “but your body agrees with mine.”
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from a gorgeous Amy Andrews book will be posted!
