Sunday Smooch with Yvonne Lindsay!

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from YVONNE LINDSAY but first 


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


Can you please contact STEFANIE LONDON via email at stefanie (at) stefanie-london (dot) com to receive your e-copy of PRETEND IT'S LOVE.


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from YVONNE LINDSAY!


HIS LOVER by choice, his bride by decree...and the mother of his heir? Only from USA TODAY bestselling author, Yvonne Lindsay!

For a man used to getting what he wants, King Rocco has met his match. His courtesan, Ottavia Romolo, insists they sign a legal contract. He would have laughed at such demands from any other woman. But Rocco wants Ottavia more than he could have imagined.

Soon Rocco realizes Ottavia is an asset to him beyond the bedroom. And with his legacy in jeopardy, he must marry and produce an heir. Dare he enter into an even more binding union with Ottavia—turning his lover into his queen?

Scene set-up - Professional courtesan, Ottavia Romolo, has been held captive in King Rocco's summer lakeside palace for the past few weeks, so her knowledge of his sister's scandalous behavior cannot be shared with the media. King Rocco is surprised to be invoiced by the courtesan for the time he's held her captive, however he is in for even more surprises when he attempts to negotiate a contract with her.

Smooch  -

It galled her that he had so much power over her. Hadn’t she sworn that no man would ever make her decisions for her or control her life again? And yet, in this, she was effectively helpless. Work to your strengths, she reminded herself, and allowed her stance to soften. She allowed her lips to part, just slightly, and moistened them with the tip of her tongue. He’d noticed, she realized with a flare of satisfaction. His eyes had flickered to her mouth; his nostrils had flared ever so slightly on an indrawn breath.

She’d cast her bait, but had she hooked him?

“You had better be worth it,” he growled.

His voice was deep and slightly rough. As if he was fighting his own internal battle. Ottavia allowed herself a smile, lowering her eyelids slightly.

“So do we enter into a contract, my king?”

She lingered over the last two words, using every skill at her disposal to make them sound like a caress—a promise. She knew she’d failed when he threw his head back on a hearty laugh that transformed the seriousness of his face into something far more appealing. Something that pulled at her with a magnetic strength she’d never experienced before. Eventually he calmed.

“You still think you can control how this turns out, don’t you?” he said, cocking one brow at her. “Are you always this optimistic?”

“I am always in control of myself and my choices,” she replied.

Even as she said the words she knew they hadn’t always been true. Certainly not when she’d been fourteen and her mother’s latest lover had begun to show an unhealthy interest in her burgeoning figure. Even less when her mother had discovered that interest and Ottavia had overheard her mother haggling with her lover over how much he would be prepared to pay to have her. 

She fought back a shudder. Those days were behind her. She’d taken control of her life that day. Made a conscious choice and resolved to never be at anyone’s mercy ever again.

Ottavia forced her thoughts into the present and recalculated her strategy. Perhaps King Rocco needed a little more enticement. She took a step back before turning and slowly walking closer to the windows that overlooked the gardens and the lake. If she hadn’t been so acutely attuned to the man she’d turned her back on she wouldn’t have heard the sharp intake of breath as he noticed the long sweep of her back, laid bare by the open cut of her gown. It was as if she could feel the heat of his gaze follow the line of her spine until it dipped into the deep V of fabric that covered the swell of her buttocks.

She sensed rather than heard him approach behind her. Was it her imagination or did she feel the heat of his breath against her naked skin?

“Then you are indeed fortunate,” he said close to the shell of her ear.

His voice held a whisper of a thousand words left unsaid. Ottavia closed her eyes and concentrated on remaining still. On simply absorbing his nearness without analyzing the individual reactions clamoring throughout her body.

“Fortunate?” she asked, her voice surprisingly husky.

“A king does not have many choices,” he said to her surprise.

“I would have thought that you had it all, Sire.”

The air behind her shifted—the heat that had smoldered against her suddenly gone—and she knew he’d stepped away. Because with those few words he’d said too much, perhaps? Slowly, she turned around. He stood on the other side of the room, his hands loosely clasped behind him as he stared at a portrait of his late father on the wall.

“I have a proposal for you, Ms. Romolo,” he said without looking at her. “It would behoove you to agree.”

“Just like that? Without knowing the terms?” she asked. “Without negotiating? I think not.”

“Do you negotiate everything?”

“I am a businesswoman.”

He spun to face her. “Is that what you call your…trade? A business?”

“What else would you call it?” she challenged.

The corner of his mouth quirked upward. Ottavia fought the urge to bristle. He was testing her. That much was obvious. If she was to get what she believed she was owed by him, she needed to hold on to every last thread of self-control that she possessed.

“Come here, Ms. Romolo.” He crooked a finger at her.

She would do as he’d commanded, but only because she wanted to, she told herself as she glided forward with all the elegance and poise she’d learned in the past fifteen years.

“Sire?” She bowed her head as she drew before him.

A low chuckle escaped him and she felt her own lips twitch in response.

“Subservience does not suit you.” With the point of one finger he tipped her chin up so she looked him in the eye again.

Her lips parted on a gasp as she recognized the sudden flare of hunger in his gaze. A gasp that he captured as he lowered his mouth to hers and took her lips in a kiss that stole every rational thought from her mind. Caught by surprise, she gave herself over to his touch, to his taste. To the plundering of his tongue as it delved into the moist recesses of her mouth. A sound, a growl from deep in his throat as she touched her tongue to his, sent unaccustomed desire unfurling through her body. Her blood heated, her insides clenched on a spear of need that completely took her breath away.

And then, just like that, it was over. She teetered slightly on her heels before gathering sufficient wits to steady herself. A swell of anger bubbled at the back of her mind. Outrage swiftly quelled the yearning that hummed through her veins as she realized he thought he had the right to simply take from her without permission. Disappointment followed hard on the heels of her anger. Here was another man who saw her as something to be used at his whim, and discarded.

She had to regain the upper hand once more so she swallowed her indignation and smiled at the man standing opposite her.

“Sampling the merchandise?” she asked tartly.

I hope you enjoyed the first kiss between King Rocco and his courtesan, Ottavia. It was quite a challenge writing this story as I worked very hard to ensure that Ottavia remained very much her own woman--something she'd worked extremely hard to be--but also to allow her to find the happy ever after she never expected to get. The Courtesan Brides series is my first foray into royal themes and I have to say it was great fun to create my characters own world with its own rules and regulations. Tell me, are you a fan of royal stories? Did you ever want to be a princess or a queen when you were growing up? Leave a comment and go into the draw for a signed copy of CONTRACT WEDDING, EXPECTANT BRIDE.

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from ... LOUISA GEORGE ... will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver

THE MASTER VINTNERS REVISITED

Okay, so it's not Brideshead Revisited but I'm thrilled to bits to show you the covers for my Master Vintner series which is being rereleased by Harlequin Australia in two volumes with beautiful  covers!

Volume 1 includes THE WAYWARD SON, A PASSIONATE AFFAIR and ONE SECRET NIGHT.

Volume 2 includes THE HIGH PRICE OF SECRETS, WANTING WHAT SHE CAN'T HAVE and THE WEDDING BARGAIN.

They're available for order through Harlequin Australia HERE.

If you missed any of the series the first time around, this is a great opportunity to pick them all up together. I absolutely loved writing this series and linking all my characters together and I hope you'll love reading them--either for the first time or the second :-).

Sunday Smooch with Yvonne Lindsay

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from  Yvonne Lindsay but first 


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

SHARLENE!


Can you please contact  stefanie (at) stefanie - london (dot) com  to receive your copy of A DANGEROUSLY SEXY CHRISTMAS.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Yvonne Lindsay! (Available for pre-order from Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Harlequin stockists online and near you!)

A sexy Texan has the holidays to decide: close the deal or open his heart? Only from USA TODAY bestselling author Yvonne Lindsay! 

Royal, Texas, native Nolan Dane's homecoming is bittersweet—he'd once lost everything here. But he's eager to finalize a key real estate deal for his mysterious boss by Christmas—even if making it happen means cozying up to local shop owner Raina Patterson. Falling for the beautiful single mom isn't part of the plan. But when Nolan's secrets catch up with him, he realizes his true feelings for Raina run deep. Now, can he prove he's worthy of her—before it's too late?

Single mother, Raina Patterson, doesn't want to make a mistake again, not like the last time. She's slow to trust and has resisted Nolan's efforts to take her out but one day she can resist him no longer...

Their drive back to her house was done in a companionable silence and once they got there, Nolan walked Raina up the path to her front door. Haloed by the porch light, she looked like a beautiful angel but his thoughts and intentions toward her were anything but angelic.

“Thank you for this evening,” Raina said. “I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed adult conversation and company.”

There was a smile on her face that was a wistful and it sent a pang to Nolan’s chest. He could imagine she had little enough time to herself, let alone to share with another person.

“It was absolutely my pleasure.”

Afterward he couldn’t be certain who had made the first move. But it didn’t matter one bit. His senses filled with her—her scent, her taste, the feel of her in his arms and above all else, the beauty of her kiss. A sense of rightness filled him as their lips met, as his hand lifted to thread through her hair and to cup the back of her head. Inside him a knot began to unravel and he knew, in that moment, that he wanted Raina in his life. That he could finally begin to let go of the pain of the past that had kept him in emotional isolation.

He traced the softness of her lips with his tongue as they parted beneath him. Desire unfurled through his body, doubling on itself until it consumed his thoughts. When Raina’s hands pushed through his hair and held him to her, he knew she felt the same. She pressed her body against his and heat flared between them.

Nolan deepened their kiss. His tongue probed her mouth and she responded in kind. A shudder of need pummeled him and he felt an echoing tremor from her.

Overhead the light flicked off and then on again.

He felt Raina pull away. Her lips were swollen and curved into a grin.

“I can’t believe this. My father is obviously letting me know it’s time for me to come inside.” She gave a half-embarrassed giggle before leaning forward to kiss Nolan sweetly, and all too swiftly, on his lips. “I’m sorry. I’d better go in before he comes out with a shot gun.”

“You’re kidding about the shot gun, right?”

“Of course I am, but he’s very protective. Thank you again, Nolan. For everything.”

“We’ll see each other again,” he stated firmly.

“Yes, I’d like that.”

“Soon.”

She nodded and laughed, her breath leaving a misty cloud in the air between them. “Yes, soon. How about Monday night? Dinner here, with JJ and me.”

“I’d really like that,” Nolan said. Even though every minute he’d spent with JJ so far reminded him all too much of all the things he’d missed out on with his own son, he enjoyed the little guy’s company and his simple enthusiasm for life. It was a poignant reminder that he needed to inject some of that enthusiasm back into his own. And maybe, just maybe, he needed to consider telling Raina about the wife and son he’d lost, too. “Monday, then.”

“Is six o’clock okay with you?”

“Perfect. I’ll be there. Can I bring anything?”

“Just yourself is fine. See you then.”

She turned, put her key in the lock and opened the front door. Then, with a small wave, she was gone from sight. Nolan shoved his hands in his pockets and jogged down the path to his car. He drove back to the hotel, his mind only half on what he was doing while the other half raced ahead and churned over a million different thoughts.

Sleep would be a long time coming tonight. He hadn’t expected anything like this when he’d returned to Royal. Hadn’t wanted it. He’d been meticulous about his relationships in the past and particularly about avoiding any emotional entanglements. But somehow this attraction had found him and lodged itself within the gaping hole of loneliness he had come to accept as being as much a part of him as every breath he took.

And it felt good. In fact, it felt better than good—it had brought back to life something he hadn’t experienced in far too long, hope—which left him between a rock and a hard place when it came to the job he was really here to do. Did he compromise his integrity and this fledgling relationship or should he focus on the role he was here to complete and then walk away at the end of his time here in Royal knowing he could be walking away from the best thing that had happened to him in a very long time?

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a "Bah, humbug!" type when it comes to Christmas. I haven't always been like that and I live in hope that some of the joy of Christmas will return to me one day, LOL! Whether I'll reach Christmas Fairy levels of joy will remain to be seen, however, but I'm curious...which are you? Scrooge or the Christmas Fairy? All comments will go into a draw for one lucky winner to receive a signed copy of LONE STAR HOLIDAY PROPOSAL!

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from the ever-gorgeous and vivacious Louisa George will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver