Things Could Get Hot in OPERATION CODE NAME: DESERT LOVE by Constance Bretes #RomanceGems

Howdy! To welcome in the weekend we are featuring today my Romance Gem friend Constance Bretes and her OPERATION CODE NAME: DESERT LOVE. And Connie brought friends with her, Len and Clarissa Let's get to know them...

Tell me about yourself? What is your occupation? Why? What are your strengths & weaknesses?

I am Sergeant Major Len Roberts, I’m with the Delta Force. I cannot reveal to you anything more than that.

Well, this is going to be a very short interview then, wink, wink. ;) Let's try this one--what’s your family like and how does your upbringing affect you now?

I don’t know if I can be a good father to any children. I came from an abusive home, and I don’t want to be abusive to my children, if I were to have any. I actually don’t consider my biological father my real father. My real father and inspiration, is General Maason. The man who took me and my sister in when we needed him. If I were to be a father, I’d like to be like him. But I don’t know if I can do it.

Hmm. Tell me a little about Clarissa. How did you two meet? What was your first impression of her?

I’ve known Clarissa all her life. I am best friends with her brother, Terrence. When we were hanging together, we often included Clarissa in with us as she was a tomboy. I also took Clarissa to her Senior Prom. I’ve always been impressed with her, as I stated, she was a tomboy and could play just as hard as we did.

Besides that, what do you like about the her?

Her dedication to the people of Afghanistan and her desire to help young mothers and their babies. She was a very caring humanitarian aid worker.

What is it that you want out of life?

To get out of Afghanistan alive, and with all my limbs.


That would seem like a good goal to have. Thanks for talking with us. Let's give Clarissa the stage now...

Tell me about yourself? What’s your family like and how does your upbringing affect you now?

My father is the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, a 4 star general, and his boss is the President of the United States. My mother died when I was very young. My father brought into our home a young woman named Kaitlin, and her brother, Len Roberts, who is best friends with my brother, after they were severely beaten by their father. Their father tripped over something and fell down the stairs and broke his neck. He died, and my dad brought them over to our home and fed and clothed them. Eventually, my father married Kaitlin. Len and Terrence went into the military together. My life was always surrounded by military and our life was always about law and order.

What is your earliest childhood memory?

Swinging on a swing and having Len push me higher and higher.

Describe your hero. What was your first impression of him and did it change over time?

I’ve been in love with Len since I was about ten years old. I always loved going to places with him and Terrence, and we always did the coolest things like sky diving, rocky mountain climbing, dirt bike riding, volleyball, all things that guys do, I love doing too because I got to be around Len. As I grew up, I learned to love him with teenager eyes, then as a woman. My love never swayed and I always knew in my heart we were to be together.

Aww! That's beautiful! Let's hear more about your story...

Blurb ~

Her best hope for survival is the one man she never wants to see again.

Clarissa Maasen is a humanitarian relief worker who’s stationed in Afghanistan. When she and two of her coworkers are kidnapped by insurgents and held hostage, she can only hope that her father, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will send his best men to rescue them—more specifically, Len Roberts of the Delta Force.

The last time Len saw Clarissa, it did not end on good terms. But he will risk his life to rescue this woman who is never far from his thoughts.

Can he rescue her in time? And will they be able to control the passion erupting between them?



Book release date: April 26, 2021

Bio ~

Constance started writing contemporary romance and romantic suspense fifteen years ago. She was born and raised in Michigan. After working for the State of Michigan for 38 years, she retired. She and her husband moved to Montana and lived in the mountainside of a small town. There, locked in her office overlooking the mountains, was where this story, Operation Code Name: Desert Love, was written. After living in Montana for three years, they moved to Alabama with her cat, Sunny, who owns both her and her husband. Her hobbies include basket weaving, reading mafia romance books, diamond painting, and fiddling at the piano.


Constance’s Website: www.constancebretes.com Reader eMail: cbretes@constancebretes.com

Thank you for joining us, Constance, Len and Clarissa! It was nice having you!

You Should Choose A BRIDE FOR SHANE by #RomanceGems Kathleen Lawless

Hello! I'm writing this post on Monday of this week and there is snow forecasted for tomorrow! It's April showers bring May flowers, not snowflakes! Oh, well. It gives us an excuse to curl up with a good read. And speaking of which...



I have another Gem of a writer on this week. Please welcome Kathleen Lawless who is giving us a look at her romance A BRIDE FOR SHANE. But let's learn a little bit more about Kathleen first...




When did your love for writing start? 

I remember being quite young and walking home from school and all these people and their stories were in my head, I just had to start writing them down. Writing was the one thing that made sense in my world, and the only career I ever saw outside of motherhood.

What is the best thing you’ve learned about writing and/or the publishing business? 

Writing for a living is like the weather, constantly changing, but good story telling will never go out of fashion.

Give us a brief glimpse at your road to publication. 

Got an hour? I’m self-taught, so it was a long bumpy road to finally getting ‘the call’ from my agent, years before on-line was a ‘thing’. 20 years of rejections, revisions, conferences, networking, contests, and I can not tell you how much invested in postage to finally being a published author. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t get published before my work was ready to go out in the world on its own and I’ve never looked back. I see too many new writers rushing out their very first attempt when it really should stay under the bed to marinate and improve with age. It’s a rare first book that is born ready for publication. My first published books were a far cry from my earliest efforts and they are really flawed.

Where do you live? Where would you love to live? 

There is nowhere else in Canada I would rather live than my little cottage near the beach here on the west coast, but I do long for a second home someplace tropical to escape our cold, wet winters.

I get that, as shown in my earlier statement about April showers! Share with us a little about your family. 

After 15 years on my own doing a lot of (wink, wink) research, I was lucky enough to meet my soul mate. I wish everyone could know the kind of Happy Ever After I have with him. He’s so romantic, it makes it easy to write about love that lasts a lifetime.

What was one of the best Mother’s Day presents you ever received? 

As a divorced single mom, I had to work as well as write to support us and I was away from home on business trips a fair amount when the kids were growing up. I came home one Mother’s Day to find they had cleared out a weed-choked patch of garden where I had always wanted to grow roses. They had planted 3 rose bushes (one from each of them) and made a plaque for each with the title from my first three published novels. I still tear up at the memory of all that love and support.


Aww! What a great gift! 

My Proxy Bride romance A BRIDE FOR SHANE RELEASES ON MAY 18TH.

Blurb ~

Her brother’s bad-boy best friend needs a wife!

American heiress and champion horse breeder, Lacey has always been in love with her brother’s rough-and-tumble, bad boy best friend. She doesn’t care if Shane is a pauper and a convicted thief, so when she learns he is sentenced to death, his only reprieve hinging on a proxy marriage, she doesn’t hesitate to sign the papers, ship her horses, and head West.

Proud and fiercely independent, Shane hates being beholden to anyone almost as much as he hated being in prison. Years ago, his best friend’s twin sister threw herself at him, a temptation that drove him West to seek his fortune. Now it seems someone wants to take that fortune away from him. Why else was he tried and found guilty for a crime he didn’t commit?

Aware he owes Lacey his life, Shane guards his secrets, determined to find out who framed him so he can prove his innocence and annul the marriage. Then a dead body shows up on their ranch, making it obvious that Shane’s goals clash with whoever wants him out of the picture permanently.

Lacey has no intention of accepting an annulment, and schemes to make their marriage binding in every way. A move Shane finds impossible to resist, even though it means putting them both in harm’s way, and possibly landing him back in jail. Lacey’s move to solidify their union pits the couple against the villain and reveals the secret Shane is hiding. Why has he deceived her? What else is he keeping from her? And how will it affect their future?



Link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WRNS4P7

Excerpt ~

“I’m not afraid of dying,” Shane told Jones, the smartly-dressed lawyer who had been a frequent visitor to his jail cell lately.

“Only a foolish man would die for something he didn’t do,” Jones said. “And I don’t consider you a foolish man.”

“Just unlucky,” Shane muttered.

“Whoever stole those horses deserves to be the one staring down the hangman’s noose, not you. The true thief will keep right on thieving, and get away with it because you took the fall.”

“I don’t need to be rehabilitated,” Shane said stubbornly. “I’ve got no truck with a bunch of stuffy church ladies going all preachy on me and minding my business.”

“Taking on a wife will help prove to society that you’ve reformed,” the lawyer said.

Shane half-snorted, half-laughed. “Who’d marry me?”

“Apparently, Lacey Collins has agreed to that honor,” Jones said drily.

Shane straightened. “Lacey Collins! Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

“So, you agree?”

“Heck, no.” He tamped down the image of Lacey that drifted into the recesses of his memory. A cascade of wavy dark auburn hair and a temper to match. Beautiful, willful, and used to getting what she wanted. As his best friend’s twin sister, Lacey was out of his league and completely off limits!

“She’s agreed to save your sorry hide, allowing me time to find the real perpetrator and get you pardoned,” Jones continued. “As long as the union isn’t consummated, it can be annulled later.” The man gave him a closer look. “Judging by your reaction, that doesn’t seem like it should be an issue.”

Shane eyed him straight back. Clearly, the lawyer had never met Lacey.

He doubted she still had a schoolgirl crush on him, but all these years and miles between them hadn’t lessened his feelings for her. Or the dead set knowledge that he wasn’t worthy of her and never would be.

Bio ~

Kathleen Lawless blames a misspent youth watching Rawhide, Maverick and Bonanza for her fascination with cowboys, which doesn’t stop her from creating a wide variety of interests and occupations for her many alpha male heroes.

Her hero, Steele, in HER UNDERCOVER COWBOY, is a modern-day cowboy, so when she was wooed by a man called Steel— while he’s not a cowboy, he is an alpha male and her forever hero. Which is why all of her stories end Happily Ever After.

Sign up for Kathleen’s VIP Reader Newsletter to receive a free book, updates, special giveaways and fan-priced offers. http://eepurl.com/bV0sb1

AMAZON | WEBSITE | FACEBOOK |

Thanks for joining us today, Kathleen! I hope you'll return to share your next release with us!

Have a nice day, everyone! Thanks for reading.

We Could All Use a Little HEALING SUMMER ~ Liz Flaherty #RomanceGem

Hello! I've got another gem of a writer this morning! Romance Gem and USA Today bestselling author Liz Flaherty has joined us to tell us a little bit about herself and her romance THE HEALING SUMMER. First, let's ask Liz a few questions...

When did your love for writing start?

I’m not positive, to tell the truth, but I can give three possibilities. (1) In the first grade, when I got my first Dick and Jane book and it was discovered that I was a really good reader and I figured out that was how I wanted to spend all my time. (2) I read Little Women until the covers literally fell off and I had to Elmer’s Glue new cardboard covers onto the book. (3) My aunt had a Royal manual typewriter my brothers and I were fascinated by. I spent an exhausting afternoon hunting-and-pecking a story on it when I was nine. The story was awful, but I was permanently hooked on the process.

What is something you struggle with when you write?

Focus. I am too all-over-the-place. Because I am much more character-driven than plot-driven, I’m sooo interested in my people (and everyone else’s) that I write much more into them than is necessary for a story.

Hmm...sounds like someone else I know...

Where do you live? Where would you love to live?

I live in the country in north central Indiana. I have lived here always. It’s politically uncomfortable and I don’t always love its weather, but it is nevertheless home. If there was only me to consider, I’d love to live in Vermont. It’s my single favorite place in the world. Of course, I’m fairly certain I’d skip town in a heartbeat during the months of January and February to go somewhere warm—preferably with a beach attached.

I feel those beach vibes, too!

Name your favorite children's story.

How much room do you have here? I loved so many of them, but if I could only have one, it would be Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s Understood Betsy. I first read it when I was eight or nine and have probably read it 50 times since then. It gave birth to my love for Vermont. There is something about Betsy’s character arc, and the arcs of some of the other characters, that is so satisfying to me. I even have it on my Kindle, and there are certain scenes I’ll seek out and read for the comfort of them.

I've never heard of it. I'll have to check it out. I love to hear when others love the same books I do, but it's also good to discover others. Thanks for sharing that!

What is your concept of a fruitful day?

I’m in my office before daybreak. I get some words in. My husband and I spend time together. We may go out for lunch. I might see a kid or a grandkid. More words. I laugh a lot.

That sounds wonderful! Well-balanced! Thanks for joining us, Liz, and we look forward to hearing more from you in the future!

Bio ~

Retired from the post office and married to Duane for…a really long time, USA Today bestselling author Liz Flaherty has had a heart-shaped adult life, populated with kids and grands and wonderful friends. She admits she can be boring, but hopes her curiosity about everyone and everything around her keeps her from it. She likes traveling and quilting and reading. And she loves writing.

YOU CAN FIND LIZ HERE:

Email her at lizkflaherty@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlizflaherty/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LizFlaherty1

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liz-flaherty

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3336348.Liz_Flaherty

Newsletter signup: http://eepurl.com/df7dhP

Blurb ~

It’s a summer romance--what happens come September?

When Steven Elliott accidentally rides his bike into Carol Whitney’s car at the cemetery, the summer takes on new and exciting possibilities. Long friendship wends its way into something deeper when their hearts get involved. Feelings neither of them had expected to experience again enrich their days and nights. But what happens when the long summer ends? When Carol wants a family and commitment and a future, Steven isn't so sure. He’s had his heart broken before—can he risk it again?

YOU CAN BUY THE HEALING SUMMER HERE:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X8DGPM6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i6

B & N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-healing-summer-liz-flaherty/1133411458

Google Books: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Healing_Summer.html?id=kj64DwAAQBAJ

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-healing-summer

Excerpt ~

Once inside the cemetery, Steven left some flowers on his mother’s grave and more on Promise’s mother’s before lowering himself to the ground beside his wife’s granite marker. “Hey,” he said, leaning forward to straighten the flowers he’d stuffed into the vase on the base of the stone, “what’s new, darlin’? I had a rotten morning, let me tell you.”

And tell her he did. Not only about this morning but about the six weeks since he’d last been here. He knew people who swore their dead loved ones talked to them, but he never expected that. It would have scared the bejesus right out of him if Promise answered his ramblings, although he knew what she’d say.

Get a life, Desperado.

He wanted to. Some days, anyway. Other times, most times, he didn’t give a good damn. If he hadn’t realized the depth of losses his sister and his best friend had already endured, he’d have considered an “accidental” overdose a long time ago. They wouldn’t forgive him if he offed himself, and God probably wouldn’t either. Steven didn’t always attend the church in which he’d been raised, but he believed in the hereafter, and he certainly didn’t want to piss off the One who ran things there.

The cemetery was shadowy with approaching evening by the time he straddled Dillon’s bicycle again. The air had cooled considerably. He was exhausted, wrung out by the emotional merry-go-round the day had been. With any luck at all, the weariness and the quietude of home would make for a good night’s sleep. Peacock wasn’t referred to in travel brochures as a “sleepy little town” for nothing.

That was, in retrospect, the only possible reason he could come up with for not looking either way before he rode the bicycle into the one-lane road that dissected the cemetery.

Ooh! Great hook! I can't wait to read it!

RELAX, PUT YOUR FEET UP, AND BREATHE ~ LUCINDA RACE #RomanceGem

Hey, all! I've got one gem of an author here for ya! That's right, one of my Romance Gems blog friends. Please welcome Lucinda Race who's here today to tell us a little bit about herself and her newest release, BREATHE. Let's start by asking her a few questions...

How do you balance the demands of your everyday life and your writing life? 

I struggle with balance as I'm all in when it comes to life. When I'm writing a new book it's always on my mind so I might not be in front of a keyboard but I'm still working, like pieces of a puzzle. Everyday life does require my attention as life is hectic but writing it my relaxation, well and reading too.


Where do you live? Where would you love to live? 

I live in western Massachusetts and I do enjoy traveling but to coin a phrase there's no place like home, other than I'd like to live near a beautiful lake in our area. Maybe someday.

What was the last song you listened to in your digital library? 

Drake White- Making me look good again - it actually is a song I use when writing my male hero in my upcoming August release, Blush book 3 Crescent Lake Winery

What one thing (modern convenience) could you not live without? 

My laptop - I have NO idea how writers did edits with typewriters or gasp long hand - here I just cut and retype and the offending words are poof gone like the wind.

What is something you struggle with when you write? 

Having enough time to write, it's like when I read a book I love to read until the book is done, same thing when I write I hate to leave the characters, its like walking out on a fascinating conversation and not hearing the best parts.

I hear you on that! I hate leaving my characters in a predicament, because, you know, they need me, and I really hate leaving them in the middle of a sex scene. That's just cruel! ;)

Well, thank you for sharing yourself with us, Lucinda! Now let's hear a little more about BREATHE.

Blurb ~

Romance and fine wine both need time to breathe…

Her family’s successful winery business in the Finger Lakes region of New York should have gone to Tessa Price. She’d always dreamed of running the winery, but when the “prodigal son” returns to take up the reins, she boldly strikes out on her own, purchasing Sand Creek Winery—a cash-strapped competitor—right out from under her family. She can forge her own destiny, using her marketing skills and big plans to bring new life to the winery. But first she has a proposition for the sexy previous owner. And he’s likely to hate it.

Kevin “Max” Maxwell would never have willingly sold his winery to anyone named “Price.” Family always comes first, and if paying for his sister’s cancer treatment cost him his business, it was worth it. But when the new owner offers him a one year contract to stay on as general manager, with a possible bonus, he really can’t afford to turn it down. He can ignore the effect her deep brown eyes and heart-shaped face have on his senses for a year, can’t he?

Relationships, like slowly ripening vineyards, take time. But Max has been keeping a secret from Tessa, one that could destroy her hopes for their future. Will a terrible accident force Tessa and Max to face how much they have to lose, or tear apart their budding relationship forever? Sometimes a romance is like a fine wine. To be its best, it just needs time to breathe.

Here's where to purchase BREATHE:

https://books2read.com/u/3JXYeK 

Here's where to find Lucinda: 

https://twitter.com/LucindaRace

FB https://www.facebook.com/LucindaRaceAuthor/

https://www.instagram.com/lucindaraceauthor/

Goodreads – Lucinda Race- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10174985.Lucinda_Race

Book + Main Lucinda Race https://bookandmainbites.com/search/Lucinda%20Race

Youtube Lucinda Race https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lucinda+race+author

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/lucindaraceauthor/

Universal Link https://books2read.com/ap/xyYO2g/Lucinda-Race

Bookbub Lucinda Race https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lucinda-race

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Lucinda-Race/e/B00Q0MMNUM

Lucinda’s Heart Racers Reader Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/118597305361578

https://lucindarace.com

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/feed/6

Thanks for joining us! Have a great day!

RETURN TO PIKE'S RUN AND LEARN ALL ABOUT THE EDITOR'S KISSES!

Good morning, all! Please help me welcome, Stephen Dawson, the editor with those kisses! Let's find out more about him...

Tell me about yourself? 

My name is Stephen Dawson, and I’m the owner and editor of my hometown’s newspaper, The Weekly Times. As a young boy, I always hungered for information about the world, and I collected newspapers from all over. This interest turned in to a profession, so I saved up for several years to buy a printing press and start my own paper.

What’s your family like and how does your upbringing affect you now? 

For most of my childhood, my family suffered under the neglect of my mother and her distaste for my father. I often tried to be whatever my mother wanted in hopes that she would become the person our family needed. It didn’t work. However, despite that, my brothers and I managed to form a bond as strong as hickory. We also have a close relationship with our father and step-mother. Family is important to me, and I use my paper to support the needs of others. No sensationalism.

What tangible object would symbolize you? 

You might think it would be a newspaper, but it’s really a fishing pole. If I’m not writing, I’m fishing with my brothers and father.

How did you meet Constance? What was your first impression of her? 

Constance and I grew up together and attended school together. The first day I met her, she won the class spelling bee. She didn’t gloat about it, either. She gets the job done without fuss. No nonsense -- that was my first impression of her.

What do you like about Constance? 

Her tenacity. She is also bright, loving and loyal.

What is it that you want out of life? 

To spend the rest of it with Constance. To raise our children to be happy, successful and caring adults. To leave a mark on the world that helps others in the future.

Has life handed you any major disappointments? 

Yes. My mother passed away when I was seventeen. Despite her neglect, I loved her very much. We all did. She made amends before she died, which helped some. But there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of her and wish for a second chance.

If you had an unexpected free day, what would you do with it? 

I’d go fishing.

Aside from Constance, tell me about your best friend. 

I have two. They are my brothers, Frank and Carl. Frank is older than me, and he’s the person I go to for advice. He’s calm, steady. He’s probably the backbone of our family. Carl is younger, and he’s the one who helps me lay down my burdens and enjoy life. I need both of them.

Thanks so much for joining us Stephen and Kara! Let's find out more about THE EDITOR'S KISSES...

Blurb ~

One kiss changes the whole game…

 

Constance Forrester is a suffragette determined to change society. When Stephen Dawson, her school chum, starts a newspaper, she asks Stephen to take a risk and employ her as a journalist.

Stephen immediately turns her down. But his interactions with Constance have made the town princess, Madeline Talbut, curious. Stephen has loved Madeline for years, and he concocts a plan: enter into a fake courtship with Constance, and in return, Constance can be a journalist for his newspaper.

It’s a chance Constance can't pass up. So what if she has to attend parties and withstand Stephen's heart-melting kisses? A suffragette must forge through barriers, but when Stephen changes the game, Constance finds herself the object of the editor's desire…

 

I am a huge fan of Kara's and I think 

after reading this excerpt you'll understand why.

A budding suffragette agrees to a fake courtship with the editor for a job…not love.

 

Excerpt ~

Setting: The Talbut Parlor

The Problem: An annoying parlor game

 

Madeline’s spinning of Constance was a little rough, but Stephen held his tongue. When their hostess let go, Constance fumbled for a moment before Stephen raised himself up and yanked her into his lap.

The shouts of excitement and delight that went around the room nearly deafened him. People playfully called out “cheater”, but Stephen didn’t care, especially when Constance whisked off her mask and looked immensely relieved to see he’d successfully caught her.

They headed to the closet without fuss. Constance almost looked as if she was dying to climb inside. She probably wanted to get the farce over with.

Once they were squeezed into the confining space, with their chests pressed together in a way Stephen had only fantasized about, she said, “Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done—”

He covered her mouth with his hand, having dislodged it from his side. Then he leaned near her ear. “They might be able to hear us,” he whispered.

She flinched.

He lowered his arm, and she let out a slow breath. He wished he could see her face. For more reasons than to satisfy his worry she was all right.

He did everything he could to ignore the touch of her body along his front. He tried not to remember how she looked, how her eyes lit up, how her expression sharpened when she was interested in something. Why had he watched her all night?

But he knew. He knew very well. She was captivating. Intriguing. And so damned lovely.

Why was he having feelings for her? Wasn’t his love for Madeline strong enough to withstand attraction for another woman? But if it was, he would be in the closet with his hostess and not the lady he pretended to the world held his fancy.

He had to kiss her. He had to discover if this attachment was real. Besides, if he didn’t kiss her, everyone would wonder why. And for some strange reason, he needed every fellow out there to understand Constance Forrester was his. He closed his eyes and realized his attitude was no better than a caveman’s. But the need to possess and brand raced through him without pause, and he couldn’t fathom how to check it. Except to kiss her and get her out of his system once and for all.

“Constance,” he uttered. “I’m gonna kiss you.”

She flinched again.

“I won’t hurt you, I swear it. But if I don’t kiss you…they’ll all question us and our…attachment.” He was an ass. He was using their agreement to coax her into acquiescence, and while he knew it, and was ashamed of it, he continued. “It will only be for a second. I’ll just brush my lips with yours.”

In the darkness, he felt her slight nod against his chin. His heart pounded at her quiet surrender.

When she pulled back as far as the space would allow and lifted her head to his, heat slashed through him. He’d never needed a kiss as much as he needed hers.

 

Madeline had kissed him. Once. Behind the schoolhouse when they were sixteen. And that moment hadn’t caused nearly the anticipation this one did.

He lowered his head and swallowed her gasp. It wasn’t a brush, even though he only set his lips on hers. It was a fire. A shot of whiskey that whipped through him and pooled in his gut. He deepened the connection, and she let him, sighing and sinking into him despite already being as close to him as he could get her.

He melted. He needed to move to the ground and cover her, press her down and make her his. He used his tongue, tasting her. She capitulated instantly and opened her mouth under his. He took what she allowed without hesitation as his free hand came up to grip her waist.

The damn closet was too small. His left hand was wedged between her side and the slender door. But though he couldn’t get his arms around her, he didn’t stop the kiss. It went on and on, stealing his breath, tightening his chest and making him doubt everything he’d ever known about his heart.

Rapid footsteps had him surging backward, and he knocked his head on the wall.

The door flew open, and cool air blasted his cheeks. He and Constance fell out of the space, their limbs tangling as they tried to right themselves.

Peals of laughter rung around them as Stephen reached out a hand to balance her. She latched on as if she didn’t want to let go, and his muscles vibrated with hope she had enjoyed the moment as he had.

It had taken less than a few seconds for him to realize kissing her had been the wrong thing to do. But also the most right, most perfect, most sound judgement he’d ever made in his life.

As those who’d crowded around the entrance to the kitchen went roaring with laughter back into the parlor, he gazed at Constance. And his world tilted.

Her flushed cheeks and bright eyes made his heart constrict with an emotion he was too afraid to name at the moment. But he knew what it was. He knew.

How in the devil had it happened? Was he a fool? A fickle man?

He swallowed. “Do you want to leave?”

And before his eyes, he witnessed a transformation that set his blood on fire. Determination changed her expression, and she lifted her chin.

“Certainly not. I’m quite all right, I assure you.” She gave a shake to her skirts. “We’ve a job to do, Stephen Dawson, and I’ll not let you down.”

She exited the kitchen with a swirl of satin, and he followed with less sure steps. She wouldn’t let him down, he knew it. But he feared he might disappoint her, for if she knew the direction of his thoughts, she would never forgive him. Constance Forrester had no time for any man. She had plans. Plans that didn’t include caring for the heart of the newspaper editor.

 

Beautifully written and compelling! Thank you for sharing this, Kara!

To purchase THE EDITOR'S KISSES:

https://books2read.com/u/31Y1ya

Bio~

Born and raised in Texas, I had to make the state the setting for my first series. From the food to the fun, like floating the rivers, it is the fire in my blood that inspires me. My family and friends take center stage in my books. My sisters and best friends are my heroines, and my husband created my favorite hero. Love and family are the point of my stories, and I seek to entertain, relieve stress, and inspire people. Books can take one on a journey that one can relive over and over. I am extremely grateful to those authors who did that very thing for me. I learned and I fell in love with their words and characters. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

 

To follow Kara:

Website –  www.karaoneal.com

Bookbub –  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kara-o-neal

Amazon –  http://www.amazon.com/Kara-ONeal/e/B00FL19TH8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1465007993&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble –  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/kara+o'neal?_requestid=845025

Facebook –  https://www.facebook.com/KaraONeal84/

Twitter –  https://twitter.com/KaraONealAuthor

Pinterest –  https://www.pinterest.com/karaoneal7/

Goodreads –  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7278350.Kara_O_Neal

Blog -- http://www.karaoneal.com/blog

Blog – The Story Continues -- http://www.karaoneal.com/the-story-continues

And catch these other wonderful reads!

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