Sunday Smooch with Jennifer St George .....

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch from The Convenient Bride by Jennifer St George, but first ...

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


Can you please contact Helen Lacey on mail (at) helenlacey(dot) com to recieve your copy of His-And-Hers Family


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Jennifer St George ........

Sienna De Luca will do anything to save her family's hotel, and ruthless Italian businessman Antonio Moretti knows it. With problems of his own, he proposes a marriage of convenience and plans to use Sienna to secure his next business deal. But things don't go quite according to plan.

In keeping with her part of the bargain, Sienna travels to Venice to be with Antonio, who introduces her to a life of great luxury and opulence. Antonio thinks he can manipulate her at his will, but he soon realizes he has seriously underestimated Sienna, her intelligence, her skills, her courage – and her beauty. Unexpectedly, Sienna gets too close and when she discovers his dark secret, Antonio's perfectly planned life begins to unravel.

Scene set-up: [Sienna de Luca and Antonio Moretti have just left their wedding reception. It’s a marriage of convenience and Sienna’s discovered the marriage is to deceive Antonio’s own family, so she’s furious. But, she’s finding it harder and harder to fight the growing attraction between them. Now, she finds she can’t undo the buttons of her wedding dress…]

 ‘Ah … I need a little help.’ Sienna turned and pointed to the buttons holding her prisoner.

         He leant back in his chair. ‘I knew that kiss wasn’t an act,’ he said, running a finger over his bottom lip. ‘If you want to sleep with me, you only have to ask. There’s no need for these little games.’

Heat burst from her cheeks. Fury and indignation mingled in her blood, the toxic mix making her shake. Only her good upbringing prevented her from marching across the room and slapping his face.

       ‘Forget it,’ she said, storming back into the bedroom. She shut the door, only just managing not to slam it. Arrogant, self-absorbed pig …

Marching to the phone, she dialed.

       ‘Housekeeping,’ a bright voice answered.

The bedroom door opened. Damn, why hadn’t she locked it? Antonio strode into the room. She turned her back on him.

       ‘It’s Sienna De—’

‘Moretti,’ his smooth voice whispered in her ear.

        Sienna Moretti.

‘I’d like —’ She couldn’t quite remember why she’d called.

        Antonio took the phone from her hand and dropped it back in its cradle.

‘What do you think —’ she demanded, her harsh words and icy glare having no affect.

        Without a word, he took her by the shoulders and spun her around. His fingers quickly flicked free four buttons of her gown.

She opened her mouth to give Antonio a serve, but instead, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. She hadn’t realised how constricting the dress had been. She breathed deeply for what seemed the first time that day.

        ‘Thanks,’ she said quietly over her shoulder. She reached around, hoping now to be able to finish the job herself, but fate was not on her side.

‘Let me.’ Antonio languidly undid another couple of buttons, his fingers gentle as he slowly released the pressure of her cream confinement.

        ‘Antonio —’

‘Ssh,’ he whispered in her ear. His lips brushed her bare shoulder.

        The air rushed from her lungs and she made to pull away. She couldn’t control her body’s response to his touch. His arms wound about her, preventing her escape and drew her back against his chest. Her bottom settled against his hard thighs. He kissed the nape of her neck.

‘This is our wedding night,’ he murmured in her ear. ‘Let’s not fight.’ He freed another couple of buttons.

        ‘I wasn’t the one —’

He kissed the skin between her shoulder blades and her body shuddered in response.

       ‘D-don’t …’ She closed her eyes as he trailed kisses down her spine as he exposed her body inch by inch. She forced herself not to gasp each time he touched her. Breathing proved more and more difficult as desire pumped through every cell in her body. Rationally she knew she mustn’t want this. But a deep longing possessed her. She’d been fighting alone for so long.

No love.

       No passion.

No life.

       Making love with her husband – that would be the most natural thing in the world.

The few remaining buttons came free quickly under his deft hands. He ran his hands up her back to her shoulders and turned her. All her defenses collapsed as she yearned for his lips on hers. His body crushing hers.

        Now. Now. Now.

She wanted him to take her before reason drove sense into her lust-filled body.

        He cupped her face in both hands.

‘I want you to say it,’ he rasped, his dark eyes flashing with molten heat.

        ‘What?’ she breathed, almost blind with longing.

‘You want me,’ he ground out. ‘Say it.’

        She hesitated for a heartbeat. ‘I want you.’

His lips crushed hers and her world exploded as desire and aching escaped the tight control she’d imposed. He tasted of chocolate and whisky. She wound her arms about him and ran her hands over his muscular back. His tongue probed and thrust, exploring her deeply. The kiss became frantic as need drove her to want more and more. She tangled her fingers in his hair and drew him closer.

        ‘I want to see you,’ he growled against her mouth as he slid his hands up her body past her breasts. Her nipples hardened under his fleeting touch. He gripped the shoulders of her dress and slid it from her body.

Funny things always seem to happen at weddings. 
Share a wedding story for a change to win an eCopy of The Convenient Bride.

 

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a
smooch from Man Drought by  Rachel Johns will be posted!

Just for Fun!

Some Jigsaw fun! 

Enjoy!

Face-to-Face

by Michelle Douglas



I’ve been Facebooked!

Last Wednesday I finally kept my New Year’s resolution from 2012—I joined Facebook. A year later than I’d promised myself, mind, but better late than never, right?

By the end of my first day I had 50 friends. By the end of my second day I had 90. I felt like the most popular girl in school! And I’m having fun navigating the waters and reading everyone’s thoughts and updates. I’ve even made the odd comment myself. So why has it taken me so long to dip my toes into these particular waters?

Well...there's one reason in particular...

We writers are told A LOT that we should be taking advantage of social media to promote our books. It makes my head want to explode. Talk about contrived and phony! The truth is, I think my readers are a lot like me—if they want to find when an author’s new release is due out they'll go to that author’s website and/or sign up for the author’s newsletter. They don’t need that kind of info force fed to them on Facebook (feel free to correct me if you don’t agree with me, mind).

So, till now, Facebook and I had been having a bit of a standoff.

All I want is to have a chat at the end of a long, hard day -- or perhaps in the middle of it. I might show off my new covers when they arrive because I’m always excited when I get them and usually email them to my friends anyway, but other than that I just want to chat and keep up with everyone. Cue sudden epiphany -- I can use Facebook however I choose to. And cue instant relief. :-)

So there you have it. I'm in control of technology, not the other way around. Not that you'd believe that if you saw me wrestling with my printer on occasion, though.

So what I want to ask you is -- do any of you have hints or tips as to how I should use Facebook? Is there etiquette I’m completely ignorant of? For example, some people have “liked” some of my comments—which is really nice—but should I like all the comments others make on something I post (and is it even called posting on FB?)? Should I respond to every comment others make about something I post? Is there’s anything in particular I should chat about…or not chat about? And here’s one that has me completely stumped—what view should I be in “top stories” or “most recent”?

Yes, I know, I’m completely clueless. Is there a book out there I should read? All help gratefully received. :-)

Happy New Year from Sue MacKay

Reading: That Thing Called Love by Susan Anderson

Listening to: Adele

Watching: crime shows

I'm hoping everyone had a fabulous festival season. My DB and I certainly did, made all that much more special by the arrival of a very special wee man a few weeks earlier. We're head over heels with our first grandchild, Austin. I'm sure many of you know exactly how we feel.

And what a distraction he is, despite living nearly five hours drive away. Thank goodness for email and cell phones. My DB has always refused to learn to text but believe me, he knows now. These days you'd think he invented texting.

But as this photo shows, Austin's not so keen on the rocking horse we gave him. Maybe as he was only four weeks old we were being a tiny bit ridiculous but when we found the horse in the shop it followed us out to the car - if you know what I mean.

Which brings me to 2013 and what it holds. I'm currently working on my writing goals for the year, how many books, which genres, etc. Also trying to fit them around a trip overseas later on. We're heading to Paris to celebrate one of those big birthdays (you know - with a naught on the end) and where else to go but the city of love. Very exciting.

One of my smaller goals, and probably the most frustrating, is to learn more computer skills, especially around blogging and other means of getting in touch with readers. There's a huge world out there if only I was up with the play.
Of course I'm also going to lose weight, eat healthier, get fitter, be a better person, spend less on clothes, vacuum the house more often, foster a stray, never get angry with anyone. Yeah, yeah, blah, blah.
Have you made promises to yourself? And have you scraped them already?

Sunday Smooch with Helen Lacey .......

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch from His-And-Hers Family by Helen Lacey, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Mary Preston! Congratulations Mary....


Can you please contact Sue Mackay at lsmackay (at) ts (dot) co (dot) nz to claim your prize .......


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from His-And-Hers Family by Helen Lacey ........

Fifteen years ago, Fiona Walsh made a choice: to give her daughter up for adoption. But she'd never given up hope of meeting her little girl. So when opportunity for a reunion came knocking—in the form of her daughter's tall, dark and sexy uncle—she opened the door to her past…and found true love on her doorstep!

Businessman Wyatt Harper liked his life carefully ordered, with details falling neatly into place. As Cecily's guardian, her welfare came first. Yet his searing attraction to Fiona turned his entire world upside down—it was unlike anything he'd ever felt! This could be for keeps. But Wyatt had been burned before, badly. Could Fiona's tender ways win Wyatt's scarred heart—and make them into a family?

Scene set-up [Fiona and Wyatt have been doing their best to deny the chemistry between them, but after a few days apart they can't pretend any longer.]

She came around the bench and settled her hips against the counter.

            Wyatt tried to not think about how good her legs looked stretched out from the short skirt she wore. He had a hell of a time thinking about anything when she was so close.
            One brow came up. “You were surprised they granted you guardianship?”
            “Yes,” he replied, and wondered how she seemed to know what he was thinking. “My sister three years younger is married with her own children so I assumed Karen would believe that Ellen and Alessio would have been a better option.”
            “I think they made the right choice,” she said quietly. “Cecily thinks you’ve hung the moon, so you’re off to a good start.”
            “I don’t want to screw it up for her sake. She's been through enough.”
            “You won’t,” she assured him. “It’s been eighteen months since her parents passed away and she’s happy and healthy.”
            Wyatt bit back a laugh. “I’m not sure if that has anything to do with me.”
            “You’d be surprised. In my experience – as a teacher,” she qualified. “I see children from different backgrounds and situations, single parents, foster parents, grandparents, two parent families and they’re all doing the best they can. The thing is Wyatt no one gets it right every time.”
            He knew she was right and her words offered the kind of comfort he'd somehow forgotten existed. “Do you mean like thinking every teenage boy who so much as looks at her is after something?” Spoken out loud, it sounded ridiculously paranoid.
            She nodded. “Exactly. I wouldn’t encourage her to be friends with Trevor if I thought he couldn’t be trusted. You didn’t expect Cecily to spend every minute of her holiday with either of us, did you?”
            “I’m not sure what I expected,” he said candidly, suddenly wanting to kiss her so much his whole body was on high alert. “I didn't expect . . .”
            She stilled. “What?”
            “I didn't expect I’d be this . . .” Wyatt stopped, pausing to consider if admitting anything was wise at this point – when they both knew it couldn’t go anywhere. But for the last few days, he’d been going quietly out of his mind thinking about her. “I didn't expect I’d be this attracted to you.”        

Fiona sucked in a breath. Okay . . . what now? “Me either.”

            Not the most sensible response. Not even close.
            “Inconvenient then?”
            She nodded. “Very.”
            “Is avoiding me helping any?”
            Fiona rubbed her hands down her thighs and didn’t miss the way his eyes followed her every move. “Not so far.”
            Something hot and seductive swept into the room. It toyed with them for a moment, tracing the edges of the building awareness and she experienced a surge of longing so deep, so intense, her knees threatened to give way.
            “Fiona . . .”
            How he came to be in front of her she wasn't sure. She vaguely heard the chair being scraped back. There were no other sounds. Only her heart beating madly. Only some faraway voice telling her to stop whatever was about to happen.
            “Wyatt . . . we can’t . . . it’s not . . .”
            “I know we can’t,” he said softly.
            Fiona said his name again. Anything more wouldn’t come. When his arms moved either side of her, trapping her against the counter it merely intensified the desire scorching her skin, her blood, and her very bones. She tilted her head back to look at him and recognized the raw hunger in his blue eyes.
            She drew in a soft breath, waiting, feeling the heat between them rise like a coiled serpent. Her lips parted, anticipating his kiss. And wanting it. When he touched his mouth to hers every ounce of lingering resistance disappeared. There was nothing else. Only feeling. Only his kiss. Only Wyatt.
            She reached up and laid her hands on his shoulders. He was solid, strong, just as she’d expected. She'd been kissed before, had experienced desire before. But never like this. He leaned into her and continued to kiss her mouth, slanting his lips over hers with gentle provocation.
            Whoosh . . .     
            She'd heard about it, read about it, secretly dreamed of one day finding someone who would make her feel so alive.
            It’s only lust.
            Powerful, heady and electrifying. Exactly what it should be. But the warning voice in her head prevailed.
            It’s only sex.
            And sex wasn't enough to sustain anything other than a brief, forgettable relationship. She knew that. But as his tongue gently wound around hers, for one crazy moment it felt enough. The fact he wasn't touching her in any way other than the kiss was incredibly erotic to her senses. Nothing rushed. No quick hands. No hasty gratification. No demands. This was slow and seductive and captivating and he coaxed a response she gave willingly.
            When the kiss was over and he lifted his head Fiona kept her hands where they were. She looked up, met his gaze and knew her lips quivered, knew he’d see every scrap of desire brimming in her eyes.
            “Not a good idea?”
            She swallowed hard. “No.”
            He pulled back and straightened. “You’re right. It won’t happen again.”
            It seemed like a monumental promise. Too big. Too much. Something neither could hold to. He wanted her. She wanted him. But it wasn't enough. Cecily was too important. “You’re right . . . it won’t.”
            “I should back off.”
            “Yes, you should.”

Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of His-And-Hers Family .......
 

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch by Jennifer St George will be posted!

A very happy new year!

By Leah Ashton

Baby Ashton (less than an hour old!)

A very short LoveCats post from me today - as Baby Ashton and myself have been home from hospital only a few hours and she is *very* time consuming! (in the best possible way).

She was a little earlier than expected, scraping in just before the new year on Sunday. We were even able to watch some fireworks from our hospital room the next evening!

She is absolutely beautiful, and it is impossible to describe how lucky, and awestruck, and amazed I feel right now. I am also very much in a daze, and am miles behind on my emails and basically anything else that has been happening in the world. She's just had a very early morning feed, so I'm going to try and catch a few hours rest.

Happy New Year!

Fun on the Catwalk!

by Sharon Archer


Because it's still holiday time, I've found a couple fun advertisements starring animals on Youtube to share...

This first one is a Pepsi ad.


Something a bit sportier perhaps?



And to finish off, an equine love story...



Enjoy!

Happy New Year!