Hi everyone,

Thank you for asking me to be a guest on your blog today, Delilah, and speak to your many fans.  I’m Meg Lacey, and I have a new series Million Dollar Men, with the first book, Million Dollar Mistake, coming October 23, 2012 from Samhain Publishing.  I’ve previously written for Harlequin/Silhouette and am really excited to join the Samhain Family.

It’s a rainy day where I live, the perfect day to forget about everything and sit down with a good book and have a “Me” Day. I can hear some of you thinking, “Yeah, right, never going to happen! I have too much to do.”

As women, we come with guilt programmed into our DNA. Work, family, school, etc.—got it! I don’t relax well.I wrote my first novel in the sixth grade, but my writing career didn’t last. Instead I went into theatre before ending up in television as a writer-producer.

Over the years, I’ve been an actress, director, producer, copywriter, creative director, college instructor, creative dramatics teacher, author, mime, mom, and a school bus driver—wow, are there stories in that experience!  I’ve started two creative marketing companies and worked in all media from network cable programming to games and corporate initiatives; but always returned to writing. I have children, a husband and tons of obligations, so I understand busy. But lately I’ve been forcing myself to haul out my inner diva and say, “Screw it. I’m taking time for me!”

Knowing how busy most of us are got me wondering what it would be like to have no obligations, and have the time and money to do anything I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. That thought translated into Million Dollar Mistake.

Warning: Million Dollar Mistake contains a tabloid sweetheart who loves to be bad, a sexy hero with little patience for mind games, and a game of strip pool that will make you rethink your weekend plans.   

In addition to overseeing the financial affairs of the wealthy Kristoff family, Nicholas Demetrious specializes in hauling its rambunctious members out of trouble. Especially his distant cousin, Raven Rutledge.

The tabloids love her bad-girl antics, sexy pout, and body made for sin. Nicholas would love to spank the bejesus out of her, but this time the situation is too serious to entertain such a fantasy. A lucrative business deal with the Exeters is in jeopardy, and Jackson Exeter Sr.’s ultimatum is clear: Remove this man-eater from my country house, or the deal is off.

Raven is in way over her head. She accepted the invitation to the Exeters’ Adirondack house party as a refreshing change from her jet-setting lifestyle—until she learns the guest list includes his entire family. His ex-girlfriend. And the junior Exeter’s intention to propose.

If ever she needed suave, sophisticated Nicholas’s persuasive powers, it’s now. Then he’s there with a plan to get her out of this tangle: sweep her off her feet. But their pretend passion turns all too real. And what started out as a weekend of fun threatens to shatter into betrayal and heartbreak.

I had a great time writing this book. There’s a lot of hot sex, but there is also a lot of humor in my writing, with the result that this book is a fun, sexy read. Million Dollar Mistake is actually a continuation of a minor character introduced in my novel, Million Dollar Stud from Harlequin (available in ebook.) You might want to check it out to get some background on Nicholas. Meanwhile, I can’t wait to bring you more stories about Million Dollar Men and the women who love them.

Oh yeah, one more thing before I go. I also have a paranormal series coming out from Imajinn Books this fall—Tales of the Sparrow.  The first book is The Sparrow and The Hawk. As the book is still in production, I can’t share the cover with you yet, but I can tell you a little bit about the story that will also come out in Autumn, 2012.

Tales of the Sparrow is a humorous, paranormal romantic adventure series set one week into the future—a time when magic, myths, shapeshifters and other mystical creatures were all possible because the veil between this world and the next had been stripped away.

In the first book, The Sparrow and The Hawk, Jillie Harte, the Sparrow, is a documentary filmmaker who also works undercover for the “NAS (Normal, Abnormal & Strange) Agency”, a secret private agency sponsored by an eccentric billionaire and run by her uncle whose mission is to protect the world from evil in any form—from that done by ordinary humans to that done through mystical direction.  Under the guise of creating a TV documentary on “Fashion and Decoration throughout history,” Jillie is sent undercover to recover an ancient necklace with the power to unleash evil on the world if it falls into the wrong hands. A lot of people want the necklace, including her new cameraman, Griff Ryland. Griff, The Hawk, is actually from an alternative dimension and as a shapechanger is able to change to a cougar and a hawk when circumstances demand. Magic, witchcraft, alternative dimensions and dragging around a cameraman who looks like ‘sex-on-a-stick’ makes the team’s chase after the necklace dangerous, exciting, sexy and fun.  From San Francisco, to New Mexico to New Orleans, and finally to San Diego, CA.  Sparrow and Hawk must overcome each obstacle until they finally find the ‘manipulator’, the ultimate evil whom they must defeat to recover the necklace and eliminate the curse that surrounds it. That’s not all happening though—Jillie and Griff must also face their developing relationship and decide what to do about it. And they thought saving the world from evil and chaos was hard!!!!

Thanks again, Delilah, for inviting me to share news with all of your fans about my forthcoming books. If you want to know more, or read excerpts, please visit my new website: www.meglacey.com or send an email to: meg@meglacey.com.

Be sure to register for the contests that will accompany the release dates of Million Dollar Mistake and The Sparrow and the Hawk.

So today, or sometime soon make time for the Me in You. Forget the guilt and just go for it. Grab a glass of wine, a book and take a bubble bath, find a corner and indulge in yoga followed by dark chocolate, watch a sad movie and cry your eyes out, or do what I’m going to do today—go for a long walk in the rain.

Take care and smile.

Meg

The best laid plans…

Thanks so much for having me here, Delilah!

I’m perked to be here with you all today. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty hyped-up over all. This is a very exciting time in my life. You see, my kids are grown and stepping out into the world, and that means my husband and I are empty-nesters for the time in our marriage… Uh-huh. Life is good.

But all these changes have me thinking about plans in general. At last, my husband and I are making plans for just the two of us. We chuckle because it seems our children’s plans change with the wind, but that’s to be expected at their age. When I think back on who I was and what I thought I wanted when I was in my early twenties, I marvel at how far I strayed from my plan.

Here are a couple examples:

The plan: Marry somewhere around twenty-five, first kid by twenty-eight, done having kids by my early thirties.

The reality: At the age of thirty-two, I married a man with two children from his previous marriage and raised them as my own.

The plan: To become super-business-woman like Tess McGill in Working Girl and live the big city dream with Harrison Ford.

The reality: I stumbled into a career I didn’t even know existed when I was in my twenties and married a small-town guy from the south who bears a striking resemblance to Sheriff Woody from Toy Story.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. At. All. Although my life has taken a different path than the one I envisioned when I was a young adult, I have no regrets. So far, it’s been pretty darn awesome. That realization got me thinking about how lucky I was to have the nerve to jump out of line.

By letting go of “The Plan”, I lived my life instead of programming it.

The conflict between dreams and reality is a central theme in most of my novels. In Contentment, Tracy Sullivan almost flushes her idyllic life down the toilet because she can’t let go of her old dreams. Commitment was the story of Maggie McCann, a woman who discovers unanticipated happiness in a change of plan. Spring Chickens focuses on a couple brave enough to take a chance on a second chance at happiness. Even my paranormal romances, Paramour and its sequel Inamorata, feature characters who must learn to let go of the past in order to move forward.

Was it my plan to weave a common theme through every novel I’ve written thus far? *snort* Not at all. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even realize that I had until I was explaining the premise of one of the books to an acquaintance this past weekend. How cool is that?

Tell me, what plans have you changed when the prospect for something different came along?

I’d be happy to give one commenter their choice of any story from my backlist (including the steamier stuff I write as Maggie Wells,
but you have to promise not to tell my mom).

If you’d like to check them out, here are the links to my webpages:
www.margaretethridge.com
https://maggiewells.weebly.com/

The winner of Kate’s contest is…mylilypad! See note #36 in the comments! ~DD

Release Day—DREAM BOUND is out!

Delilah, I really appreciate your invitation to blog—today is pretty special because I’ve got a new book out: Dream Bound is the first of the two book Dream Catchers series. The final story, Dream Unchained, will release in November, but Dream Bound is another one of those stories that started with an idea that sort of took on a life of its own.

I was thinking about that tonight, and I realized that in all of my stories for Kensington’s Aphrodisia imprint, I’ve started out intending to write a totally sexy yet traditional romance—Aphrodisia is, after all, an erotic romance imprint. What I don’t actually plan, and what always seems to happen, is the various relationships that aren’t in the original synopsis I send to my editor!

When Kensington bought the Wolf Tales series, my editor knew she was getting into a story line with same sex relationships. I hadn’t planned to write the stories that way—they just sort of happened within the context of the Chanku characters and their powerful libidos. When I wrote the novella that introduced the Dream Catchers series, I gave my editor a brief synopsis about a young computer geek in 1992, in the Silicon Valley, who falls for a woman who is literally the product of his sexual fantasies. Zianne is also an alien, and her story is the basis for the entire series.

What I didn’t expect was the hero, MacArthur Dugan, and the relationship that developed between him and Nils “Dink” Dinkemann, his childhood friend who has remained his best buddy into young adulthood. Dink is openly gay, but Mac isn’t, though Mac is aware Dink has loved him for years. It’s something they both sort of ignore as best they can, but bringing Zianne into the relationship changes everything.

When I was writing the story, I realized that the sexual dynamic between the two men was every bit as powerful as what I was writing between Mac and Zianne, which, of course, led to a really sexy scene with Dink and Mac, and then an even hotter one with the three of them together. Thank goodness my editor is open-minded enough to go with whatever I send her, because I don’t think she was expecting the Mac/Zianne/Dink part of the story, which of course carries over into Dream Bound and Dream Unchained.

In my convoluted manner (and no, my books are actually a lot better organized, but when I blog I sort of let my thoughts wander and you get whatever dribbles across the page…) I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t intentionally sit down and say, “Okay, I’m going to write a book with forty gazillion sex scenes and they’re going to include every combination known—or unknown.”

What I do is sit down at my computer and start a conversation with my lead character, and I essentially let them tell the story. I have no idea that Mac really wanted to experience sex with Dink, or that Zianne was interested in sex with two men. I ran into the same thing with the Dream Team, the six young men and women who are brought together by Mac Dugan in 2012, twenty years after Zianne disappeared (after the novella ends) but since she was traveling through time to see Mac, it’s only been twenty-four hours for her.

It’s been two decades for Mac while he struggles to develop the technology and raise enough money to mount a rescue of his beloved alien lover. Well, when Dream Bound starts, he’s got the money and his satellite array is built, and he’s bringing together his team. But Dink comes back into his life, too, and the story once again took off in some directions I wasn’t planning on. I do hope you’ll give Dream Bound a chance. I’m really pleased with the way the story came together—it was one of those that felt as if it was meant to be written, and it was a nice break between my Wolf Tales/Sexy Beast stories, and the new Chanku series, Spirit Wild, which will debut next May. I just turned the first book, To Love a Dark Wolf, in to my editor on Friday.

And yep, that one’s got a same sex relationship I didn’t see coming, either. You’ll get to see Lily Cheval all grown up, and I discovered that Anton is a wonderful father, but he’s also a pain in the butt at times. It was wonderful, going back into that world and reconnecting with characters who are like old friends.

Do you ever have that happen? Get so caught up in a fictional character that they’re like real people to you? Happens to me all the time—I think it’s the very best part about being an author. Well, that and meeting readers. Definitely love that part! And if you’re going to be anywhere near Anaheim, California on July 25, the humongous book signing for the Romance Writers of America National Convention will be going on. From the RWA website:

Romance Writers of America is pleased to announce that the 2012 “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, which is conveniently located next to the Anaheim Marriott (RWA’s conference hotel). RWA would like to thank Avon Books for generously underwriting the event, which takes place Wednesday, July 25, 2012, from 5–8 p.m. PT in the Ballroom (third floor) at the convention center.

Now that my public service announcement is over, if you leave a comment, you’ll be entered for a chance to win both a copy of DREAM BOUND, and a really cute little stuffed squirrel. And if you’re going to be in Anaheim, please let me know. I love the chance to actually get to meet my readers!

Buy Dream Bound at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million

Got Bondage?

Bondage. The word conjures such a strong gauntlet of emotions, doesn’t it? Fear. Arrousal. Curiosity. The scope of emotions is almost as limitless as the way bondage can, well, bind us. Debt bondage. Spiritual bondage. Bondage to our day-to-day lifestyles. And, of course, my favorite…sexual bondage. And if you’ve read my last book, Lust, Lace & Lingerie, I’m sure you’re not surprised by that fact!

There’s just something about giving up power to another person (when done sanely, safely and consensually, of course) that creates a heightened sensation of…everything. It gets the blood pumping and the brain spinning into overdrive. Giving your pleasure—or pain—over to someone else to experiment with is intense, something the heroine in my newest Ellora’s Cave novel, His Forbidden Submissive, found out the, um, hard way.

(Oh look, more shameless self promotion, LOL. It’s the last for this blog. Scout’s honor. *crosses fingers behind back*)

But my surprised heroine wasn’t the only person learning about BDSM and sexual bondage between the digital pages of His Forbidden Submissive. I was too. I’ve enjoyed BDSM stories by other authors and I’ve always been curious about the lifestyle, but I really didn’t know much about how it really worked. So I went to work scouring the internet for fun and sexy facts about BDSM and bondage.

I had a basic understanding of BDSM when I started my research, but some of the things I learned shocked me, made me laugh, and on more than one occasion, made some mighty interesting things happen between my thighs. *wink, wink* But in the end, it all came together to help me create a story that’s hot, emotional and brimming with leather, whips, chains and more bondage than my poor, poor heroine thinks she can handle.

I’m so mean, aren’t I?

But as it happens, when you start doing internet searches about anything sexual, you’ll get back a massive amount of results. Some interesting, some down right disturbing, and some you just can’t click out of fast enough—especially with kiddos around. But don’t worry. I won’t share any of that with you, LOL. Instead, I want to share with you 10 strange and fun facts I’ve discovered about the human penis.

Yep, you heard me right. Ten fun facts about the penis. Here we go…

1. The number of calories per tsp of semen is only 7.

Woot! Semen is a low calorie food. Good to know. So eat up, ladies—or guys—because this is one treat that defies the “minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips” rule!

2. Acidic fruits and alcohol have been shown to give semen a sugary flavor. On the other hand, foods like meat and fish produce a buttery flavor (although I’m not putting it on my popcorn).

So there there ya go, ladies. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, make sure and get your man hopped up on ice cream and booze before you go down on him.

3. The amount of time needed for a man to regain erection after orgasm can vary from 2 minutes to 2 weeks.

Two weeks! Could you imagine the romance novel that took a hero 2 weeks to form another erection? OMG, that’s a book I don’t want to read. Well, I guess it could work, depending on how crafty our hero is at, um, filling the void for his partner.

4. The average number of times a man will come in his lifetime is 7,200 times. And of those times, only 2,000 will be by his hand.

Only 2,000? I’d figured it’d be higher, wouldn’t you?

5. The average speed of an ejaculation is 28 mph!

Wait, what? 28? Wow. Just wow. This can’t be right, can it? I now have a completely new respect for the strength and ingenuity that goes into making condoms.

6. The smallest FUNCTIONAL penis was an incredible 5/8 of an inch.

Talk about coming up short! I’d really like to know the specifics on this one, wouldn’t you? Just who is/was this man? How tall was he? And now I’m thinking about the shoe size/penis size correlation. If that really holds true, he’s got to be like 2 feet tall, right? (Please, feel free to check my math, LOL.)

7. This one isn’t exactly about the penis itself, but it involves the penis so I’m throwing it in: 13% of men have said there’s actually been at least a moment in their lives where they were NOT interest in sex.

I have to say this one really, really surprised me. I wonder how many of these times were during an important sporting even. “Not right now, honey. The game’s tied with .3 seconds left on the clock!”

8. The average number of erections men have per day is 11, and 9 of these are while they’re sleeping.

I admit it. This one makes me laugh out loud. I’m not surprised that a guy would have 9 erections while sleeping, but what gets me is that he only has 2 while he’s awake. That just doesn’t seem right, especially when you couple it with #7.

9. The approximate cost for a year’s supply of condoms is $100.

But I don’t think this holds true for heroes of romance novels, do you? At least not the heroes I write. *wink*

10. And finally, the tissue that surrounds the testicles and the penis is more durable even than the tissue that surrounds the human brain.

Wow. If the body naturally protects the most important parts first, this put a whole new light on that old saying about men always thinking with their penises.

And there ya have it. Ten things I learned about the human penis while doing researching for books. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. I hoped you enjoyed these as much as I did. 😉

Today, I’m giving away a $5 Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter. To enter, all you have to do is tell me the most bizarre thing you know about sex. From positions to fetishes…dirty minds want to know!

Later, lovelies!

~Brandi Evans

p.s. And if you didn’t get enough sex-related fun facts, click here to read my blog post 10 Strange Facts About Sex.

His Forbidden Submissive releases June 27th from Ellora’s Cave!

Click banner to learn more!

Instant Attraction

Ever walk into a room full of strangers and see someone you just have to know? It’s not the smile, the clothes, the demeanor, it’s everything under the surface, creating a connection drawing you two together. It’s not necessarily lust or anything romantic.

This is the special thing we try to capture in our characters, in our books. (We say “our” because Ashleigh Raine is two authors writing under one pen name.) We’re not talking about love at first sight. We’re talking about something deeper, stronger, undeniable, something that’s difficult to describe, and you don’t always know it when it’s happening. It doesn’t matter what the person looks like, it’s what he or she just is like.

In Starstruck, Micah is a very hot hunk of manflesh, and Jenna’s a gorgeous sweetheart, but that’s not what makes their meeting special. In fact, they don’t even have much time to be attracted to each other by the time their worlds collide. They’re on the set of a television show where Jenna is a background actor and Micah is one of the stars.

“Rolling!” was shouted, and the makeup lady stepped away from Micah.

“Speed!”

“Background!”

Jenna repeated the same actions, glad she’d already done it twice before since her mind was still whirling from her close call. Crystal’s unprofessional phone interruption had done one good thing in this case—increased the tension. Both actors were more in the moment, the argument resonating with a stronger passion than earlier.

“I think you’re wrong.” Crystal spun toward Micah, glaring, hands fisted at her hips.

There was less room to get around Micah and Crystal, but Jenna figured she could still ease by without looking too unnatural. If her fake ducking drop before hadn’t been a problem, sliding behind the arguing duo shouldn’t be either.

Micah whipped around to face Crystal. “Didn’t you see—” Punctuating his words, he swung his arm out in a wide gesture.

Jenna tried to duck, but there wasn’t enough time or space. Micah’s arm struck her across the face, and she fell backward, landing flat on her ass, staring up at Mr. Sexy M.D. himself.

Crap. Somehow she didn’t think she would escape unnoticed this time.
———–
In thirty years of acting Micah had done just about everything…except punch an extra in the face. How great for him that he’d reached a new fucking low.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there. Are you okay?” He sank to the floor next to the poor girl while Steve, the First Assistant Director, shouted for a medic. Micah didn’t see any blood, and the girl’s eyes were open, wide open, shining a bright blue right up at him. Before he could offer her a hand, she started scrambling to her feet.

“I’m fine. Really.”

Taking her elbow, he helped her the rest of the way to standing. She was trembling, which made him feel like an even bigger shit. Even the small smile and whispered “Thank you” she gave him before stepping away didn’t ease his conscience.

How could he not have seen her? Had she done the same cross in every take? Dammit, he was as bad as Crystal, ignoring everything outside his little bubble and fucking things up in the process.

After she walks away something deep within him makes him seek her out before it’s too late. Something more that pushes him to make plans to see her that night. Neither one of them is aware of the deep connection growing between them. Not yet anyway. Read the rest of this entry »

[Sorry—photos removed!]

Casea Major – Everyone Loves a Good K.I.S.A.

Thank you for having me today, Delilah. It’s a pleasure to be here.

What is a K.I.S.A?

A KISA is the most sought-after hero in all of romance. He is the original and what all heroes strive to be. He is the Knight In Shining Armor (K.I.S.A) and in honor of your love for the modern-day KISA – The Fireman, I thought I would share a few hunks of burning love with you.

I’m not sure which these guys do better – put out the fire or start one up.

Fireman really are the modern day KISA, and there’s nothing we romance readers like better than a good KISA, especially one that’s as accessible as 9-1-1.

That was part of the inspiration for my 1-Night Stand Story, One Knight in Brooklyn.

My hero, Robert, a fireman and business owner from Brooklyn, hasn’t dated since the death of his wife 3 years before.  But at the prodding, cajoling, and general pain-in-the-assin’ of his in-laws (That’s right in-laws.) he books a one-night stand at the Castillo Resort in Niagara Falls.

He doesn’t know how the fuck it happened, but he ends up in a castle near a forest where he meets a smokin’ hot Lady Marianne.  According to Robert, “If she was a fire, she’d be a goddamn 5-alarm ringer! And she’s what the guys at the station call a 10/10 – which means on a scale from 1 to 10, she’s the top no matta which way she’s facin’,  if ya know what I mean.”

One Knight in Brooklyn

After signing up for a one-night stand through an exclusive matching agency, hopeless romantic Marianne Caldwell is swept away to a medieval land where she hopes to spend the night with a worthy man of honor.

Unsure of how she got from the Castillo Hotel in Las Vegas to a castle in the English countryside, Mare finds Robert, whose stunning physique and winning smile immediately convince her he’s the Robin Hood she’s been seeking.  But despite his efforts in saving her from a corrupt sheriff, his Jersey Shore accent and coarse ways unravel her romantic visions.

With her fairytale fantasies coming unhinged, Mare must decide if Robert is just a crass car salesman from Brooklyn or the chivalrous knight she’s looking for.

One Knight in Brooklyn is on sale now at Decadent Publishing, Amazon and all major retailers.

You can find me and my other stories at my blog:  https://caseamajor.wordpress.com/ or any of the following places.

FACEBOOK / GOODREADS / THE ROMANCE REVIEWS /
MANIC READERS/ AMAZON PROFILE

First Kisses

One of my favourite parts to write in any story is that all-important first kiss. This is the moment—at least for me—where the relationship changes from an idea and an emotion to that first step towards physical intimacy. Depending on the story, we may go a lot further than a kiss, or we may not.  But that kiss is chemistry in action, when all the senses are on high alert.

Each kiss is different because each character is different. Therefore the emotions are different and as we know it’s not just the actual kiss that counts but how it feels to the character emotionally.

I wasn’t sure how it was all going to go in my current release, actually. Clara Ferguson is a former victim of abuse so physical contact is a real challenge for her. I knew that Ty had to be gentle so she wasn’t physically overwhelmed. At the same time, I wanted it to be fan-flipping-tastic. For both of them. I wanted it to be romantic and the stepping stone into the next step of their relationship.

Here’s a sneak peek at that kiss:

They were nearly to the door now and it seemed every nerve ending Clara possessed was on high alert. She was interested in Ty. She thought about him far too often and she was way too aware of him. But that wasn’t the same thing as being interested in a relationship. They were two very different things. Attraction was momentary. Relationships represented a commitment too scary to even really comprehend.

But it didn’t stop the tingling sensations she felt as his arm brushed hers, sliding the barn door a few feet to the side, letting in a chilly puff of air.

“The moon’s bright tonight,” Ty murmured. His body blocked the door part way; there was no way she could slip through the gap without brushing against him. She swiped her tongue over her lips that seemed suddenly dry.

“It was full two nights ago,” she replied, closing her eyes briefly as she realized how breathy she sounded.

“But cloudy.” Ty still didn’t move. He pointed upwards. “Look. It’s so clear the stars go on forever. The unending sky is my favourite thing about the prairies.”

She moved forward a bit but her view was blocked by the breadth of Ty’s chest. He slid back against the heavy wood frame of the doorway, making room for her to peer through.

The sky was enormous and stunning, full of twinkling stars and the steady, watchful gaze of planets. A cloud of breath frosted the view for a moment as she tilted her head up to watch a satellite cross the sky in a steady, perfect arc.

“What do you suppose it’s watching?” she whispered, pointing at the moving dot.

When Ty didn’t answer, she turned her head. He wasn’t watching the stars at all. Instead he was looking at her. He wasn’t smiling. But there was something about him that made her forget the fall air and made her warm all over.

“Look at the stars,” she chided softly. “They’re beautiful.”

“No more beautiful than you.”

Her breath caught in her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

“Why did you really come out here tonight?”

She couldn’t answer. Instead she bit down on her lip as she stayed suspended in the delicious sensation of being the sole focus of Ty’s attention.

He lifted his hand and rested it on the side of her neck while his thumb brushed the curve of her jaw. Breathing was torturous now as Ty’s face seemed to come closer. His eyes were open – those gloriously velvet eyes with gold flecks dancing around his pupils. The cotton of his shirt touched the knit of her sweater as their bodies drifted closer.

But Clara was totally lost when he raised his other hand and cradled her face in his palms, like he was holding something precious and fragile. There was no fear here. No hesitation. There was no darkness, only light.

“Clara,” he murmured, and he shifted his head the tiniest bit, closing the remaining gap and touching his lips to hers.

Her lips drifted closed as the sensation rippled through her. His lips were soft and gently persuasive. Instinctively hers parted beneath his, willingly yet carefully tasting what he was offering. What she discovered was sweetness. She hadn’t expected sweetness from a man like Ty.

His hands moved from her face to cup her neck, his fingers tangling with her hair, moving through her curls but demanding nothing. All her preconceptions drifted away on the night air. He was the Cadence Creek bad boy. She’d expected him to take. But he wasn’t. He was giving, instead, and she rested a trembling hand on his chest for balance as she tilted her head and leaned into the kiss.

He was a solid wall of muscle and man; steady and strong. As she slid her hand up to his shoulder the kiss deepened, losing a touch of its sweetness and replacing it with a wildness that was a promise of what lay ahead. It was an urgency that was somehow unrushed – an acknowledgement of the flare of passion without the need to let it burn out.

It was the most incredible kiss she’d ever experienced.

Ty broke away first, resting his forehead against hers for a few seconds. His breath fanned her cheek in small gasps and she felt the accelerated rise and fall of his chest and shoulders beneath her fingers.

The last thing she expected to see when she pulled back and looked into his face was concern.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly. “I didn’t mean to push. To rush you. I…”

Emotion rushed through her veins – relief and gratitude and affection and awe. She stood on her tiptoes and put her arms around his neck, drawing him into a hug.

“Hey,” he soothed, but he didn’t push her away. He looped his arms around her back and rubbed the base of her spine. “It’s okay. Right?” His breath was warm on her hair. “Should I have asked first?”

He sounded so unsure. It was a revelation and a smile blossomed on her lips.  She nodded against his neck. “It’s okay,” she said, the words muffled but discernible. He tightened his arms around her and she wanted to weep with the wonder of it. It was more than a kiss between them. He knew. He understood.

Today I’m giving away a kindle copy of THE REBEL RANCHER to one lucky commenter! All you have to do is tell me about a favourite first kiss – real or fictional!