Sunday Smooch - Annie West's 'Damaso Claims His Heir'

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from  DAMASO CLAIMS HIS HEIR by Annie West but first 


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


Can you please contact helen(at)helenlacey(d0t)com to receive your copy of Once Upon a Bride.


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from DAMASO CLAIMS HIS HEIR.

Damaso Pires should have known better than to get involved with Marisa—the scandalous princess of Bengaria! Yet soon he sees her true beauty and flawless virtue, which touches a place in him he thought ruthlessly destroyed by his childhood on the streets of Brazil.
But their brief affair becomes permanent when Marisa reveals she’s pregnant.
Damaso knows the sting of illegitimacy and, having fought tooth and nail to claw his way up to the dizzying heights of international success and financial infamy, he won’t let his child slip from his grasp. There’s only one way to claim his heir, and that’s marriage!
                                                                                      Links to buy: Book Depository, Amazon, Harlequin.

Scene set-up

Marisa and Damaso are thrown together after they discover their single night of passion has led to pregnancy. Damaso, determined to play a role in his child's life, wants her to marry him and in the meantime has invited her to stay in his Sao Paolo home. Marisa is wary of marriage. She's learned to distrust men, having too much experience of men who tried to use her royal status for their own ends. She insists Damaso keep his distance while she makes her decision, but after weeks of living together platonically, they discover they both want more.

Smooch  -

‘I mean it, Marisa. I want you. I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you.’ His chest rose as he drew in a shuddering breath. ‘This is about more than the baby, or what the world thinks. I don’t give a damn for the world. This is about me and you. Right now all I care about is how you make me feel, and how I make you feel.’

Despite everything she wanted to believe him. How she wanted to!

He plucked one of her hands from his chest and planted a kiss at the centre of her palm. Her knees buckled as he sucked at her flesh, sending waves of weakness through her.

‘Can’t we forget tonight and start again?’ His voice was dark, liquid temptation.

‘Why?’ Marisa clung to his shoulder for support, trying to shore up the distrust that would keep her and her child safe. ‘What is it you want?’

‘I want us to be just Damaso and Marisa. Simply that.’

Did he have any idea how perfect that sounded? How real and uncomplicated? How tempting?

Damaso’s head swooped low and with a sigh, Marisa gave up the battle she’d been losing so long.

This time when Damaso bent to kiss her, Marisa lifted her mouth to him, desire filling her. For the first time she didn’t turn aside so his lips brushed her face or her throat or the sensitive point behind her ear.

The sensation of his mouth on hers, sure and hard, demanding the response she could no longer stop, blasted her into another world.

Wave upon wave of pleasure crashed through her. She clung to broad shoulders as his marauding mouth demanded more, ever more. Her surrender elicited a growl of satisfaction from Damaso she felt right through her core as he gathered her close.

She needed this, him, filling her senses, as she couldn’t remember needing anything in her life.

Even the night they’d shared in the rainforest, giving in to instinct and reaching out to Damaso in the hope he was different from the rest, Marisa had shied from this particular intimacy. She’d shared her body but kissing on the mouth had been a step too far. It was a boundary she hadn’t crossed since her teens when Andreas had seduced and betrayed her. In her mind it had become a symbol of gullibility and defeat.

Yet now she revelled in Damaso’s hot, delving kiss, the tangle of tongues and hot breath, the flagrant openness and hunger.

There was no trace of bitterness on her tongue. Only the spicy, addictive taste of Damaso, spinning her senses out of control and a thrill, almost of triumph, in her effervescent blood.

There was something else she couldn’t name, something strong and pure, that filled her with elation and wonder.

This felt right. More than right.

She gave up trying to put a name to it as her mind fogged.

Marisa clamped her hands to the back of Damaso’s skull, revelling in the tangle of his thick, soft hair between her fingers. She angled her head to give him better access as he devoured her. His big hands held her close, his body anchoring her.

If this was defeat it was glorious.
 

Marisa and Damaso meet in a rainforest eco-resort. What's the most exotic place you've met a lover? Or if that's too personal to share, where would you like to meet one?

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Anna Campbell's 'What a Duke Dares' will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver

When Readers Become Advisors - Annie West

One of the things I love about writing romance is the feel of community. People who read and/or write romance seem to enjoy being with others who have a similar love for romance. Whether it's online or face to face or even (yes, still) via snail mail, the contact is real and fun and so encouraging.

Over the years I've come to expect other writers to be supportive. Not that I take it for granted, but I know so many fabulous women who write romance, that their enthusiasm and generosity seems normal to me now.

What I didn't expect when I started out was how much I'd get from readers. I love reader feedback on my books. I adore it if someone recommends one of my books to their friends or takes the time to post a review. But in addition to that, I've also learned a stack from readers about things that are invaluable.

Damaso Claims His Heir is a case in point. I decided to write a Brazilian hero, a self-made man who grew up in the slums and turned himself into such a successful entrepreneur that he'd never again be touched by the things that haunted him as a kid, like hunger and danger. Of course, jettisoning his past isn't quite so easy, but that's what makes him so interesting.

Why he had to live in Brazil I don't know. Sometimes these things just lodge in your brain and you know they're right. In this case, it was Brazil, nowhere else. One small issue though - I'd never been there. The closest I'd come was TV docos (and soapies!) and lots of travel books.

So, not only did I need to research a setting and culture in lots of detail, I also needed to make Damaso sound Brazilian. Do I speak Portuguese? No. Did I consider a boxed set of Teach Yourself Portuguese CDs? Yes. But I figured by the time I even understood the pronunciation it would be time to hand in the book.

Fortunately I came across a romance reader whose native tongue is Portuguese. Would she mind advising on language? 'Delighted' came the reply! I suspect she didn't quite realise how many questions an author could ask about the minutiae of a single point... Over the next several months she and I corresponded about swear words and endearments, slang and formal language. I learned a few phrases in Portuguese, which I guarantee I can't pronounce properly - it's a gorgeous language but I can't do it justice.

Without her help I doubt I'd have had the courage to submit this book. I knew that whatever gaps there might be in my research, I had to get the language right. Her advice was crucial. What still amazes me is her willingness to help, even when she was busy with things of her own (funny that) and her patience (this wasn't just a one off query). Her good humour and support throughout were marvellous. It's one thing to call up a foreign consulate and quiz the staff about murder laws and conviction rates in their countries (yes, I've done that). Those staff are there to answer even such bizarre questions. But again and again I've had romance readers put up their hands to advise on things I need - the personal perspective on a particular medical treatment, the intricacies of aristocratic titles in their country, regional food, the state of the roads and travel times in a given area, some everyday detail from their job and yes, more language details.

To all those people who've been an advisor along the way - thank you! Speaking with an expert makes all the difference to a writer who's chained to her desk (sometimes it feels like it) and hasn't experienced what you have. It helps to feel I've tapped into what's real, not just what I've imagined to be real.

Have you ever found your knowledge or experience unexpectedly useful?

In the interests of shameless self-promotion, I'll mention that DAMASO CLAIMS HIS HEIR is out today in Australia, New Zealand and Britain and already available in North America. Here's the back cover copy:

When opposites attract!
Damaso Pires should have known better than to get involved with Marisa, the scandalous Princess of Bengaria.  Yet soon he sees her true beauty and flawless virtue, which touches a place in him he’d thought had been ruthlessly destroyed by his childhood on the streets of Brazil.
But their brief affair becomes permanent when Marisa reveals she’s pregnant.
Damaso knows the sting of illegitimacy and, having fought tooth and nail to claw his way up to the dizzying heights of international success and financial infamy, he won’t let his child slip from his grasp. There’s only one way to claim his heir – and that’s marriage!

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Here's a link to read the first chapter.