Friday, April 3, 2015

Love is in the Air Blog Hop


GRAND PRIZE: $55 Gift Card
(Please visit each Blog Hop stop to qualify~see below for details)

MY INDIVIDUAL Blog prize: $10 Gift Card

(answer question in Rafflecopter after excerpt to enter)


There's nothing quite like the excitement of new love and first kisses...

The initial flush of attraction,
the flutter in your stomach,
the heady increase of your heartbeat as eyes meet,
breath shortens,
and awareness triggers the spread of delicious heat from head to toe.


Here is an excerpt of the first kiss between Halli and Trent in my romantic suspense LOST IN ITALY. While you get the kiss from Trent's point of view, and he obviously gets lost in the moment, you can also spot the moment Halli's wall of reservation crumbles (though she's quick to rebuild it).

She still didn't trust him. After he'd saved her butt twice already. What the hell would it take?
About ten minutes later, he put a hand on her arm as they reached an intersection. “The station is down that way about two blocks. I’m parked on the other side a couple streets away, so we'll have to go around.”
She remained silent, following his lead without resistance or comment. Finally. When he looked down and caught a look of exhaustion on her face, he was reminded of the fact that she wouldn’t have had any sleep since landing in the country.
A twinge of sympathy increased his step. The poor girl still had a long night ahead of her once she reached the consulate. And God knew she had to be worried sick about her brother and sister.
He breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his car a few minutes later. “This is it,” he said as he dug his keys from his pocket.
She slumped against the passenger side of the Mercedes while he unlocked the door and opened it for her. She straightened, then stepped back with a soft gasp, staring over his shoulder. A quick glance located the reason for her alarm and gave him his own jolt.
Three intersections away, a police car turned onto their street and slowly drove toward them. They had no time to run. Nowhere to hide.
Trent stepped closer to Halli, grasped both her arms and hauled her against him. He brought his mouth down on hers, betting the cop would ignore a passionate kiss and keep on driving. A hell of a gamble, but their only option.
Wide blue eyes staring into his, Halli made a sound of protest deep in her throat. She fought against his tight embrace, but Trent knew it had to look authentic. He moved his lips over hers, trying to communicate his intentions with his eyes. If she'd just relax—
Her foot jammed into his shin.
Stop it.”
“Let me go!”
“Just kiss me.”
“No way—”
Kiss me before I get arrested for assault,” he growled against her mouth. “Or have you forgotten about the damn cops?”
She stopped struggling and her eyes closed. Finally, the little idiot had figured it out.
Trent felt her body relax by degrees, enough that he loosened his arms and rubbed his hands over her back for full visual effect. Her head tilted a little to the right. Her lips softened. Her arms stole up around his neck.
Going into the kiss, he had every intention of keeping it an act. No tongue, all show. Keep his eyes open and once the cop passed, they'd be on their way. But her lips parted ever so slightly with a soft little sigh, and details began to register in his adrenaline-high brain. Her curves molded along his body, soft breasts crushed to his chest, slim hips snug against his.
His peripheral vision recorded the police vehicle gliding by. The officer didn't even give them a second glance. When the car continued down the street and turned a corner, relief tightened his arms around Halli.
God, her lips were so soft. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of a lipstick-free kiss. Compared to the women he usually dated, it was a rare, welcome treat. She smelled great, too, after her shower; all fresh with a hint of flowers. No cloying perfume to choke his lungs.
One hand slid up to cup the back of her head, and he discovered her hair was indeed as soft as it looked. He ran the tip of his tongue along her lower lip as a test, uncharacteristically cautious with this mistrusting woman who'd resisted him at every turn. Something else he wasn’t accustomed to. Because, as she’d guessed, often all it took was a crook of his finger. A wink. A smile.
Her hold around his neck tightened, pulling him closer as she opened to him without reservation. Trent forgot the cop; forgot their dire situation; forgot that earlier he’d claimed she wasn’t his type. He deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue inside her mouth. His taste buds registered a hint of espresso, but underneath, she was sweeter than he'd have imagined. Her tongue slid against his, advancing and retreating, teasing and seducing until his body responded to the rising passion.
Trent spun to lean back against his car, pulling Halli with him. A groan rumbled in his chest. He slid both hands down her back and kept going until her butt filled his palms. Perfect. One swift move lifted her to ride his thigh.  Desire pulsed harder and faster. His arms closed around her, pressing her body tight to his. It’d been forever since he’d enjoyed the simple act of kissing so much.
Directly following that thought he became aware of the fact she no longer clung tight to his shoulders. In fact, she'd stopped participating altogether. He was kissing her now, just like at the beginning, but add tongue and minus the resistance. Before he could more than withdraw his tongue, Halli spoke against his tingling lips.
“Is he gone?”
Trent opened his eyes to find her watching him, her expression calm, cool and collected. Heat flooded his face. He looked in the direction the cop had disappeared and practically dropped her as he straightened.
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat and put some space between them. “He's gone.”
She smoothed her hair back from her face and squared her shoulders. “Then let's go.”
Let's go? That's it? What the hell just happened?
~~~
Lost in Italy is available at all major ebook retailers, as well as book two, Run to Rome.

 

Lost in ItalyAmazon US  UK  CA  iBooks  BN  ARe  Kobo
Run to RomeAmazon US  UK  CA  iBooks  BN  ARe  Kobo
~~~
AND...Book 3 is available for Pre-Order now:



To enter my individual blog hop prize of a $10.00 gift card, please answer the question in the Rafflecopter (click on one of the pre-order links to find the answer): 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To enter to win the GRAND PRIZE of a $55.00 gift card, make sure you visit each stop on the blog hop, and then enter the grand prize Rafflecopter:


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you so much for visiting! Have a great day and happy reading!

16 comments:

  1. Love the excerpt. Can't wait to read. Thanks for the chance
    Nicole Ortiz
    Nicky0909@sbcglobal.net

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for being part of this blog hop

    ReplyDelete
  3. So looking forward to the new release!
    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  4. Loved the excerpt! =) Thanks for sharing it with us!

    Take care & I hope you have a great week! =)
    Brandi
    BLeigh1130 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Brandi--it's been a good week here--hope the same has been true for you. :)

      Delete
  5. nice excerpt

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Vanished in Venice releases on may 19th! Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Make sure to get your entry registered with the Rafflecopter, too. Thanks for stopping!

      Delete
  7. THANKS to all who participated in the blog hop! Not everyone who entered also commented, but the rafflecopter winner is displayed above, and I've contacted Miki about the prize.

    Wishing you all a great spring with lots of love in your life!

    ReplyDelete
  8. nice loading speed of your blog. And your articles and post also too good. You are providing best service of reading. Good job man. I appreciate you.

    Noida escorts
    http://blog.jaskaur.in/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Much thanks to you such a great amount for the great writeup. It's in truth was at one time a recreation accounnt it.
    http://bit.ly/collage-girls-sexy-pics

    ReplyDelete
  10. Might you want to have an Love Marriage Specialist reverence marriage, your family is getting
    hampered, intercaste love marriage specialist is your family not favoring of
    your sprinkle mula,Love inter caste love marriage specialistissue arrangement are you aggravated
    Love problem solution
    Love Breakup problem solution
    Breakup problem solution
    Kala Jadu Specialist
    Love Marriage Specialist
    intercaste love marriage specialist
    inter caste love marriage specialist
    Vashikaran Specialist
    Girlfriend Vashikaran
    Husband Wife Problem Solution
    How to Get Your Love Back
    Would you like to have a Love Marriage Specialist , your family is getting hampered, is your
    family not endorsing of your shower mula, Love issue solutionare you upset because of
    society, the issue is any arrangement. Contact Astrologer Shambhunath Breakup issue
    solutionji with extremely Breakup problem solution simple tantra mantra and complete love marriage effectively,
    through which he will almost certainly express love today. On the off chance that you
    need to carry on with an existence ofLove problem solution joy, be upbeat andVashikaran Specialist acknowledge
    it, at that point you need to take backing of Shambhu Baba, under which you will be effective
    in affection issue arrangement Vashikaran Specialist Hello companions welcome Shambhu Baba to the issue. I tell the
    solution, Love Breakup issue arrangement I frequently have beau sweetheart telephone calls

    ReplyDelete