by Kris Pearson
She flinched as Christian nudged his chin against her shoulder in the briefest of contacts, his early-morning stubbled face now only millimeters away from her flaming cheek.
She smelled the shampoo from his newly washed dark hair. Or maybe it was the soap from his shower, wafting up from his warm body? Certainly not aftershave. He hadn’t shaved yet. Fiona loved the toughness it lent his face, and wished so much she didn’t.
Why was he making things so difficult for her?
“Christian, it’s not the ideal holiday for me, being stuck here with you.” She spoke out toward the sparkling harbor and cloudless sky because she didn’t dare turn toward him. That way lay danger. It would be just too easy to be snared by his sexy brown eyes and then lose her resolve and seek his lips with her own. What a fiasco that would be…
“Then go,” he challenged her.
“I can’t,” she ground out with frustrated anguish. “Mom and Dad have lost their other daughter. They want to know their only grand-daughter is well looked after and as settled as possible. I promised them I’d help you for a while. I can do that much for them. I will do that much for them, and for you.”
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Something different – a romantic comedy.
The Bonk Squad
Kiwi romance-writers plot hot juicy novels – and their real lives sizzle right along with their storylines. They’re seeking publication and love with equal intensity. Some get luckier than they dreamed. Some…don’t.
The Bonk Squad is a quirky romp with three ‘real-life’ romances spanning the length of the book. There are also many shorter imaginary ones – all paying affectionate homage to the many faces of romance-writing.
You’ll meet hopeful Meg – librarian by day, writer by night – and her seventeen year old son Ben, who provides the inspiration for nubile Tigger’s self-published sexcapades. There’s quiet garden center owner Ian, glamorous and bitchy divorcee Liz, handsome Al who wants a playmate, elderly Vi who certainly doesn’t, and Nurse Mandy who has the medical jargon but very little more. Actress Eloise tries to write historical novels like her published friend Romy, and vegetarian virgin Bobbie has heard there’s money in erotica... Step inside the characters’ fertile minds and you’ll spot the authors who are never going to sell. Come on – laugh yourself silly!
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And a naughty shortie – Ravishing Rose
One shy girl is about to start living!
Francesca Ellison is swept off to an A-list party in a concealing mask, a decadent costume and sex-shop panties. There she meets the pirate, Captain Cool. Frankie tells him her name is Rose because for once she intends behaving very badly. The Captain outdoes her at every turn.
As sky-rockets scream skyward and guests start to demolish the party venue, Frankie loses her panties and her inhibitions. ‘Rose’ is thoroughly ravished, and the Captain gets more (and less) than he hoped for.
This naughty shortie is around fifty pages long - just right for a quick bedtime read.
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If you enjoyed the first of my Heartland Heroines series, you’ll enjoy my friend Diana Fraser’s The Marriage Trap which is also set in New Zealand’s beautiful South Island.
The Marriage Trap
Diana Fraser
“A shepherd’s hut, twenty-four hours, a stranger…” It’s not the perfect start to Gemma Winters’ new life—another man is the last thing she needs after the suffocating control of her ex. But, when she finds herself isolated with a ruggedly handsome stranger, the demands of her body take over.
Since his wife died, Callum Mackenzie’s relationships have been strictly practical, with his only real love affair being with his land. But his family wants him to re-marry and he wants heirs. When Gemma turns up, he begins to think marriage might be a possibility after all.
Their twenty-four hours of passion has shattering consequences—marriage and two people who are forced to face their worst fears…
Excerpt
“So, how long will this last—the storm, that is?”
“Hard to tell. Twelve to twenty-four hours. We’ll be here for a night at least.”
“Right.” She eyed the lone double bed warily.
He’d followed her gaze. “Uncomfortable with that?”
“Well, I just wondered... what the sleeping arrangements were going to be. Where should I sleep?”
He nodded to the bed. “In there.”
“But…what about you? Where will you sleep?”
“In there—with you.”
“Well, hang on a minute. I don’t know what you take me for but I’m not in the habit of sleeping with strangers.”
A smile flickered on his lips. “Perhaps you mistook my meaning. It wasn’t an invitation for sex, just sleep.”
“Er, right. Of course.” She guessed it wasn’t too late to learn that there were men out there not like Paul, men who saved her from disaster and who didn’t expect sex in return.
“You go ahead and strip while I make the bed.” Again the little tweak at the corner of his mouth. “I promise not to look.”
Perhaps he didn’t expect sex, but he was certainly enjoying the situation. She watched him closely as she pulled the huge towel loosely around her, clutching it with one hand while she peeled off the soaking jeans with the other.
Just the sight of him making the bed was enough to divert her mind from her predicament. His shirtsleeves were rolled up now the cottage was warm, revealing a haze of golden hairs on his tanned arms, covering the contours of his bunched muscles. And then there were his hands, large, strong and, she knew from experience, capable.
Somehow she managed to slip off her t-shirt and keep the towel in place. She threw it on top of her wet jeans. Then she looked down at her soaking underwear and across at Callum who’d found some pillows from a cupboard and had tossed them on the bed. Should she leave her underwear on? Soaking wet, she felt the chill of them in contrast to the warmth of her exposed skin. No choice.
She didn’t let her gaze leave Callum. She couldn’t—it was the only way she could make sure he didn’t watch her. But her eyes dropped from his face, noticing the way his shirt hung from broad shoulders and fell over his faded jeans, which were soaked where his coat had failed to cover them.
She kicked away her bra and panties, hiding them under the rest of her sodden clothes. She was naked now under the towel.
She watched as he flung the large duvet onto the bed. There was a control and restraint about his movements, made all the more impressive by his obvious strength. He didn’t look like the kind of man you’d want to get on the wrong side of. She knew his name now but he was still a stranger. She just hoped that by morning he would still be a stranger.
***
Romances that sizzle with love, life and laughter.
Kris loves to hear from her readers. Sign up for her newsletter and she’ll let you know when her next book is due to be launched.
http://www.krispearson.com
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Prologue
Chapter One
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