Sneak Peek – Love Under The Mistletoe

Christmas is coming closer than we’d all like to think (don’t worry, I’m not one of those uber-organised types who starts my shopping the moment the January sales kick in) and what better way to celebrate the festive season than to snuggle up with a hot romance?

Love Under The Mistletoe is a collection of four sizzling seasonal tales from some of Xcite and Cariad’s best-selling authors. Here’s a taste of what to expect:

Christmas For One – Elizabeth Coldwell

A jilted bride discovers just how exciting the single life can be when she goes on her honeymoon alone, and finds herself the object of affection in Hawaii.

Snowed In – Alice Raine

Housecleaner Allie unexpectedly finds herself snowed in with a mysterious man with a secret he refuses to share, and with only each other as company, attraction sparks between them…

The Sharpness of Holly – Demelza Hart

A family Christmas reunites Holly with her estranged sister and her new boyfriend Daniel – but when sparks fly between Holly and the taken older man, can she resist temptation or will it prove a Christmas to be remembered?

A Valentine For Christmas – KD Grace

An anonymous gift-giver brings businessman Gerard Jasper the Christmas he’ll never forget when his present comes dressed in nothing but a red ribbon…

Love Under The Mistletoe will be released in early December, but it’s available to pre-order from Amazon now. Click on the cover to find out more, and start getting ready for a sexy, sensuous Christmas treat.

Snog By The Sea – Summer of Lust

As part of the Blissekiss Snog By The Sea event, here’s a Snog from my Xcite Romance novella Summer of Lust, set on Dorset’s beautiful Jurassic coast. Read on to enjoy a delicious kiss and discover how you can win tickets to the Smut by the Sea event, which is being held in Scarborough on June 14th.

So on with the snog which opens the story – a snog which, for the heroine of Summer of Lust, Lily, brings with it a bad case of writer’s block…

He kissed me for the first time in the shadow of the old pier, pushed up against one of the weathered wooden pilings. It seemed as though I’d been waiting forever to feel those soft, full lips of his pressing against my own, my body melting into the sweetness of his kiss. Above us, we could hear footsteps as people passed along the boardwalk, wrapped up against the early evening chill, oblivious to the way our passionate embrace was heating up the night.

His cock pushed at my belly, making its presence felt even through the layers of clothing separating us. I’d glimpsed his bulge earlier, straining against the crotch of his faded jeans, and I knew he was going to be big. I could hardly wait till I had that thick, delicious length in my hand, but something held me back from reaching to unzip him. That seemed far too brazen an act, even though we could no longer pretend we didn’t want each other. Our desire had been on a slow burn since the day we met, and we both knew all it would take was another touch, another kiss to set it blazing out of control.

What he did next took my breath away. He –

‘What?’ I almost pounded the keyboard in frustration. ‘What did he do?’

To find out how Lily resolves her problem and enjoys the hottest summer of her life, check out Summer of Lust at Xcite and Amazon.

This Blog is part of Snog by the Sea over at http://blissekiss.co.uk/snog-by-the-sea/. Leave a comment to go into the Prize Draw. For UK winners you can win 2 All-Day Smut by the Sea Tickets for you and a friend or for our international visitors we have a mystery eBook bundle you can win with books from some of the hottest names in erotica.

Backlist Blast: Cooking Up Trouble

Let’s head into the kitchen for a spot of hot celebrity chef action to warm up the end of the week. Here’s an extract from my Xcite Romance novella, Cooking Up Trouble. To set the scene, Morgan Jones has landed a plum job on Saturday morning cookery show, Cook’s Treat. Only trouble is her co-presenter is the volatile Scott Harley, who’s publicly criticised her weight and appearance, among other things. But Scott discovers that Morgan’s a very different proposition in the flesh, and soon things are heating up between them, leading Scott to fantasise about all the things he’d do to Morgan if he got the opportunity:

‘You need to be taught a lesson, girl,’ he told her, as Morgan stood before him, eyes downcast, waiting for him to do his worst. ‘Something that’ll make sure you never forget to pay attention to what you’re supposed to be doing.’ He pulled one of the chairs from the chef’s table, where guests were able to sample his special tasting menu in the heart of the kitchen, and sat down on it.

‘Over my knee, Morgan,’ he ordered her.

Eyes wide, she began to protest, telling him she was sorry and she’d never do such a thing again.

‘Saying sorry isn’t good enough, Morgan. At least, not right now. Let’s wait till you really know what sorry is, shall we?’

With that, he patted his lap, urging her to climb on to it. Meekly, she did as he asked, lying face down over his widely spread thighs. Though he was sure she’d feel foolish in that position, waiting to receive her spanking like a naughty schoolgirl, he thought she looked magnificent. Even more so 15

when he eased down her blue and white checked chef’s trousers to reveal her plump bottom, only partially covered by her plain white cotton panties. Morgan’s protests as he stripped her were half-hearted, and he knew she wanted this.

He let her wait for a long moment, allowing the nervous anticipation to build, before he brought his hand down on her backside. Slowly, methodically, he slapped every inch of her soft, round cheeks, making her give out a series of cute, throaty little yelps. She wriggled on his lap, her movements stimulating his cock to full hardness where it lay trapped between her half-naked body and his thigh. And just when she thought her punishment was over and he’d let her go back about her kitchen duties, he reached for the waistband of her panties, pulling them down to bare the cheeks of her arse and the wet pouch of her pussy, ready to begin her spanking all over again …

To find out what happens when Scott and Morgan act on their growing attraction, get hold of Cook’s Treat, available from Xcite and Amazon.

 

 

Backlist Blast: Masked Desires

The party season is just around the corner, though as someone without a traditional day job, my office party usually consists of me and the cats dancing round the living room and snacking on taramasalata… So to get you in the mood, here’s an extract from my Xcite Romance novella, Masked Desires. Summer Quinn is pretending to be her boss Eddie’s girlfriend at a swanky New York masquerade party thrown by his stepsister, Heather, but as the night wears on, the pretence begins to turn into something more real…

As we swayed together, Eddie’s body pressed tightly against mine, I saw Heather standing by the edge of the dance floor, in conversation with a man in a white tuxedo. She’d given a small speech of welcome once we’d all been seated for dinner, thanking us for attending and giving a brief outline of how our donations would be used to provide life-saving equipment for those suffering a rare form of degenerative heart disease. Remembering her comments to Eddie in the bar, I’d wondered as she’d been talking whether this disease was what had killed his father, but somehow it didn’t seem the right time to ask.

Now I looked at her again, ash-blonde hair styled in a sleek up-do, and wearing a sheath dress of ice-blue and silver tones that flattered her cool colouring. Her face was hidden behind a silver half mask that curved up over her left eye in the shape of a crescent moon, but from the movement of her head it was clear she was watching Eddie and me. I wondered whether she bought the act that we’d been together for a while – the lawyers on our table certainly seemed to think that, though they’d never met us before tonight.

And as Eddie held me a little closer and I rested my head on the wide expanse of his shoulder, I wondered just how much of an act this was. We might be able to fake some aspects of our so-called relationship, but the steady pressure of his rising cock against my belly was all too real. Grinding against me as we danced was clearly turning him on. The thought of what that cock might look like, freed from his formal attire and standing proud, made my pussy clench with desire.

Maybe I should have pulled away, made some excuse to go back to our table in an attempt to defuse what had the potential to become a pretty awkward situation. After all, we were only pretending to want each other so badly – weren’t we?

Eddie didn’t seem in the least embarrassed by his growing erection. His hand trailed down from its relatively chaste position in the small of my back, coming to rest on my ass cheek. His palm felt hot through the satin and lace of my clothing, though that could just have been down to my feverish imagination magnifying every sensation. I wanted him to stroke that cheek, squeeze it, maybe even give it a hard slap or two to stimulate the little, hidden part of me that got off on a man displaying his dominant streak. Then I shook my head. I shouldn’t be having fantasies like this; not here, not now.

Except Eddie must have been having similar fantasies too. Just for a moment, his hand smoothed over my ass in possessive fashion. His caress set me tingling, and when I looked up, his lips curved in a secretive smile and he bent to kiss me, angling his head so our masks wouldn’t become tangled together. The touch of his warm, soft lips on mine was the most delightful shock, more unexpected in its way than when he’d kissed me in the bar to make a point to Heather. But this time it didn’t seem like he was kissing me for anyone’s benefit other than his own, and I melted into his embrace, letting his tongue push between my lips to take ownership of my mouth. We’d stopped moving, oblivious to the couples still dancing around us, both of Eddie’s hands on my ass now and my body a breathless, needy mess as his teeth nipped gently at my lower lip.

Will their “pretend” passion end when the ball does, or have Summer and Eddie started something they can’t stop? The answers are in Masked Desires, available from Xcite and Amazon.

Get Your Skates On!

I know it was only a few days ago that we were enjoying what the papers like to call an Indian summer (but is really the last couple of days when you can go out without your thick cardie and tights). But now there are fewer than 100 shopping days to Christmas, and it’s the time of year when thoughts turn to seasonal fiction where a hot man waits to be unwrapped along with the Christmas present.

All of which is a way of saying that I have the cover for my Xcite Romance novella, Christmas Rendezvous, and here it is:

The story is set in Bruges, one of my favourite cities, and home to a famous Christmas market, which you may remember from the climax of In Bruges (and if you’ve never seen that film, why not?). Here’s the blurb:

When Juliette Milner is invited to spend Christmas in Bruges with her ex-boyfriend, Dale, she thinks an old flame is about to be rekindled. But Dale’s invitation isn’t all it seems, and Juliette finds herself stranded alone in this beautiful city. A chance conversation with a friendly barman leads her to the bed and breakfast run by his brother, Laurens, who has a room free thanks to a last-minute cancellation. And as she finds herself growing closer to Laurens on a sightseeing tour, Juliette realises she might enjoy a special Christmas rendezvous after all …

In this extract, Juliette is on the train from Brussels, thinking about Dale’s invitation, and wondering what his motives might be for inviting her to his new home for Christmas:

Turning to look out of the window, I stared through snow-spattered glass at the flat, unremarkable fields beyond. Already, snow was softening the outlines of trees and fields, and beginning to lie on the roofs of barns and outbuildings. Here and there, the odd cluster of buildings with a squat stone church at their centre passed for a village, breaking up the monotony of the landscape. The roads were all but deserted, and I wondered whether the bad weather was keeping people at home, or whether this particular part of the country, dominated by farmland, was always this quiet.

Still, at least Bruges should be livelier, if what Dale had told me about the city coming into its own at Christmas was anything to go by. Again, I found my mind drifting back to the shock I’d had when his email had popped into my inbox, asking me to spend the festive season with him.

In truth, he’d never been too far from my thoughts since we’d split up, almost 18 months ago. It was hardly surprising: the two of us had unfinished business, after all. Our time together had never properly run its course: Dale had been offered a promotion which was too good for him to turn down, but it meant moving to the company’s satellite office in Bruges. We’d decided to make a clean break, having both known friends who’d tried to sustain a long-distance relationship and failed miserably.

Sometimes, I wondered if I should have gone with him to Belgium so we could have made a life there, but I was happy with my work and my little flat and my small but loyal group of friends. Much as I loved him, I hadn’t wanted to give all that up and move to a country where I had no solid job prospects and didn’t speak the local language. At first, I missed him like mad, but over time that had faded to nothing more than moments when I wondered what it would be like to be in his arms right then, and whether he still missed me too, just a little bit.

But maybe the problem was I hadn’t loved Dale enough. If I’d been really, truly, can’t-live-without-you in love with him, I’d have said goodbye to my old life in England and done whatever it took to make things work out between us in Bruges. No, that would have just been too risky, I told myself: the kind of crazy, over-the-top gesture characters make at the end of a romantic comedy. You never get to see what happens after the credits roll, and whether their happy ever after eventually turns to disaster.

What will happen when Juliette finally reunites with Dale? How does a handsome B and B owner rescue her from potential disaster? And, most importantly, where do the ice skates fit in? The book is available to pre-order from Amazon, so slide on over there to find out more…

Masked Desires Is Free!

Yes, that’s right – from today until November 25th, you can download Masked Desires from Kindle for free. And if you need any more incentive to get a copy, here’s a little extract from this hot romance novella to whet your appetite. Summer needs a job, Eddie needs a barmaid – and when she steps into the bar in response to his want ad, the handsome bar owner makes an immediate impression on her:

‘Hey, what can I get you?’ the bartender asked as I approached.

My confident intended reply died in my throat. I could only stare at the guy who’d addressed me. Whatever I’d been expecting the owner of the want ad-clutching hands to look like, it wasn’t this combination of height and breadth, shaggy dark hair and scruffily bearded chin that had me taking an awestruck breath. The T-shirt he wore, emblazoned with the bar’s logo, stretched tight across his chest, like he might burst out of it at any moment. When he smiled, the creases at the corners of his hazel eyes crinkling, my insides seemed to turn to warm syrup, and my pussy clenched with need. It took me a little while to collect myself enough to speak.

‘I’m here about the barmaid job,’ I told him, glad the tears that had threatened to come as I’d cleared my desk hadn’t tumbled down my cheeks to ruin my make-up.

He gave a soft whistle. ‘Wow, that was fast. I only just this minute put the sign up.’

‘Well, I happened to be passing, and I hate to let an opportunity slip by,’ I offered by way of explanation. ‘Who do I need to speak to?’

‘That would be me. Eddie Quinn. I own this place.’ He held out a big paw of a hand for me to shake. I did so a little awkwardly, cradling the box containing everything I’d brought from my desk at the Reporter in the crook of my arms. The fuzzy leaves of the purple passion plant I’d received as a present from Delia the previous Christmas drooped forlornly over its rim.

‘Summer Kerrigan,’ I replied, feeling a sudden tingling as his skin touched mine. The sweetness of the contact reminded me of how long it had been since my last relationship had ended. I’d met Todd on a girls’ night out with Delia. We’d had one of those three-week flings that burns hot as fire at the start, then fizzles out as soon as you realise you have nothing in common outside the bedroom. Nice as it had been, I wasn’t looking for any more of the same. Next time, I wanted to meet someone who was in it for the long haul; someone who shared the same goals in life as I did. Though what those goals were, I wasn’t exactly sure any more, not now my former career path had so unexpectedly come to an end. Which reminded me of why I was standing here, still feeling the subtle pressure of Eddie’s hand against my own even though we’d long since broken the physical contact.

To find out what happens next, get your copy here, and surrender to those masked desires…

Behind The Mask

Ever found yourself pretending to be someone you weren’t, just to help you get closer to the man of your dreams? Well, that’s what happens to Summer Kerrigan, the heroine of my new Xcite Romance novella, Masked Desires. Taking a job in her local bar when she’s unceremoniously fired from her post in newspaper ad sales, she determines to seize the chance to start a new chapter in life and maybe enjoy some of the wild experiences that appear to happen to people around her on a regular basis. And that means she’s only too happy to help out her gorgeous boss, Eddie, by accompanying him to a masked ball – in the role of his girlfriend.

Summer thinks by doing this she’ll keep Eddie’s demanding sister, Heather, happy – but what she doesn’t know is that not only has Heather organised the ball, she also attempts to organise Eddie’s love life by driving away girlfriends she doesn’t approve of. Is Summer getting out of her depth, particularly as this sham relationship seems to be turning into the real thing…

Masked Desires is available exclusively on Kindle until February, but you can also pre-order it from the Xcite website – and find out what happens when the masks come off..

Cooking Up A Freebie

My Xcite Romance novella, Cooking Up Trouble, is available to download for free from the Kindle store from today until July 25th.

If you love the thought of two chefs with very different cooking styles, and outlooks on life, getting all hot and steamy in the kitchen, you won’t want to miss it. You can pick up a copy here. Bon appetit!