Sunday Smooch with Annie West

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch from  Imprisoned by a Vow,by Annie West, but first ...

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


Can you please contact amy(at)amyandrews(dot)com(dot)au to receive your copy of Girl Least Likely to Marry.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Annie West.

Signed, Sealed...Forever!

Being sold into marriage by her stepfather is Leila's one chance to escape. But instead of freedom, Leila finds herself bound by deep passions ignited by her inscrutable new husband.

Australian billionaire Joss Carmody knows the rules of this game-he'll shower his new wife with diamonds and in return he'll use her land to expand his business. That's all he ever wanted from this exchange, but he hadn't banked on the attraction Leila awakens.

Then the one night that was supposed to slake their desire binds them beyond the signatures on their marriage contract.…

Joss and Leila have recently entered into a marriage of convenience.  They are in the private lift from Joss's London penthouse on their way out to a formal dinner. Leila's sudden change in behaviour on entering the lift, coupled with her reaction the last time they were there together, makes Joss suspect she's frozen with fear. He's determined to coax her out of her shocked stasis.

‘Kiss me, Leila.’ His voice was husky as he bent to meet her lips.

She jerked back, swaying till he caught her in a gentle grip. This was for her own good, he assured himself.

‘No.’ But her voice had lost its strength. Where were her sassy come backs? That, more than anything, convinced him this was real, not a product of his imagination.

Joss threaded his fingers through her perfectly coiffed hair, tugging it loose. The fact she didn’t stop him added to his alarm. He massaged her scalp and brushed his lips across hers as she stood perfectly still. Back again, feeling the soft swell of her bottom lip, the infinitesimal caress of warm air in his mouth as a sigh escaped her parted lips.

A thread of sensation unravelled in his belly as if in response to the most erotic lover’s touch. The power of it took him by surprise.

And still she didn’t move.

His lips firmed, slanting to cover hers as his tongue slid along those sultry lips. He reminded himself this wasn’t about sex. It was about…what? Saving her from fear? That wasn’t the whole truth.

His interest was personal.

Her mouth moved against his and a jolt of sensation speared him. Relief or pleasure?

Joss didn’t analyse. He drew her closer, one arm wrapped around her, his palm pressed to her bare spine, capturing the pearl that had swayed so tantalisingly against her flawless skin as she sashayed in front of him to the lift.

Her skin was cool but it warmed to his touch, as her mouth moved carefully under his, mirroring each gentle caress.

The sensation of her lips accommodating his, opening with a sigh at the lunge of his exploring tongue, was deliciously provocative. She tasted like desire and honeyed promise. Like the most luscious exotic fruit.

Dimly he heard the lift ping and the slide of the doors. Instead of moving, Joss gathered her in, wanting to prolong the almost innocent pleasure of her tentative response.

There was nothing innocent about the surge of possessive hunger that urged him to haul her back to the penthouse and into bed. Fire shot to Joss’s groin and his embrace hardened. Her bare back was silken beneath his palm. Her mouth sweet distraction.

Even the touch of her palms, pressed flat to his jacket, heightened his carnal senses. He wanted those gentle fingers on his bare body, all over him.

Would she mark him with her nails in the throes of ecstasy? He’d wager she was as passionate in bed as she was when she fought him. Joss’s skin tightened in a shiver of pure lust as he imagined Leila naked beneath him.

Joss’s hold tightened convulsively and suddenly Leila wasn’t kissing him back.

With a wrench she broke free.

Disbelieving, Joss watched the rapid rise and fall of her breasts with dazed fascination.

‘Don’t look at me like that!’

He jerked his head up.

Huge eyes of cloudy emerald held his beneath heavy lids, as if she too had difficulty shaking off the erotic force of that kiss. Her hair was a mass of rich, dark waves around her shoulders, framing a face now flushed instead of pale. Her mouth was bare of lipstick and her lips looked plump and poutingly kissable.

Joss shoved his hands in his pockets before he could reach for her again.

‘I’m not on tap for your pleasure.’ Her eyes narrowed to slits of sizzling fire. Challenge vibrated in every taut line of her body.

Someone should warn her that he thrived on challenge. He had only one way of dealing with it: facing it head on and winning. Every time.

For a chance to win a copy of IMPRISONED BY A VOW, just share something you're scared of. Or if you're fearless (!) maybe something you used to fear and managed to overcome.

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from 'Dishing Up Desire' by Barbara DeLeo will be posted!