150th Sunday Snog!

Welcome to the 150th Sunday Snog! You can party here, on a whole pile of other blogs and on Facebook, and to celebrate I'm sharing a super sexy snog from Breathe You In and I'm going to be giving a copy away to one lucky winner - just leave your email addy in the comments below and your preferred format (mobi, pdf, epub) and I'll pick a winner at the end of the week.

Back cover information for Breathe You In.

Soul-aching desire was just the beginning! 

If the road to Heaven starts in Hell then I was ready to start climbing my way out and Ruben Strong was the man to accompany me. With his devastating good looks, seductively sexy charm and lust for adrenaline he was sure to make it a sensual and erotic experience as well as one to re-awake the passionate, throw-caution-to-the-wind woman I’d once been. 

I’d given Ruben something, though, without him realizing, and that gift had come from the man I’d loved before. But I couldn’t tell Ruben. I had to keep that a tight secret even as our naked bodies wound together, sought out pleasure and hit the dizzy heights of ecstasy as one. Because Ruben had my husband’s heart, literally, and that heart was still in love with me, so it seemed, and now I was in love with Ruben. 

Emotions tangled with bliss, and fears were locked away as I surrendered to the touch of Ruben’s hands, the taste of his skin and the sounds of his pleasure. I couldn’t deny that Ruben had brought me back to life the same way I had him and there was no way I was giving up that feeling, not for anyone. 

Breathe You In was named a USA Today Reviewer's Recommended Read of 2013 

Excerpt

It seemed hardly no time had passed when the plates were cleared away and the disco music started.

“Please all circle the floor for the first dance,” the DJ called through his microphone.

Ruben took my hand, and we wandered to the outer rim of the large rectangular dance floor. Red, yellow, and blue spotlights spun around us as the first bars of an old, haunting U2 song, With or Without You, strummed out.

The crowd around us increased as Felicity and Neil embraced and began to sway to the music, eyes only for each other. Ruben slipped behind me to make room for someone smaller than him to see.

The bass guitar rumbled through my chest, its rhythm as familiar as a heartbeat. This had been Matt’s favorite song out of all the U2 ones he’d adored. I remembered sitting on his shoulders when it had played at the first concert he’d taken me to.

“Who sings this?” Ruben asked, winding his arms around my waist and pulling my back into his chest.

I tilted my chin and twisted to reply. “U2. It’s really old, though.”

“It’s good. I don’t know much of their stuff, I’m more of a Coldplay and Oasis kind of guy, but this…”

“You should get into them, I’ve got all of their music.”

“Can I borrow it?”

“Sure.”

He touched his lips to my temple, and as I listened to the song I melted into him, his support welcome. I was glad of the darkness, though. The words, living with or without someone, had created a ripple effect on my tightrope. It was like someone had given it a twang and it took all my efforts to stay steady.

I watched Felicity turn her head and smile at something Neil was whispering in her ear. A new memory for them, a perfect moment. I made it one of mine, too, and solidified my emotional stability.

The song came to an end, and I found myself tugged farther onto the dance floor. “Time for our first dance,” Ruben said, gathering me close.

I slipped my hands over his shoulders and linked my fingers at his nape. “And a perfect song for us,” I said, smiling as The Police started up with Every Breath You Take.

“Mmm.” He touched his lips to mine and planted several delicate kisses that made me fall into him all the more. Ruben’s taste, the way he made me feel, his arms around me, was like an addiction. Luckily it seemed he felt the same way about me and we were happy to feed each other what we needed.

He tucked a loose tendril of hair behind my ear, spun me one-eighty, and I smiled up at him.

“You’re doing so well, today,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“A wedding, it must be hard not to think of your own.”

“Yes, it is. But I have you here, and the difference that’s made is incredible. I feel like Katie around my friends again. I’m not sad and lonely and trying to cover it up with fake smiles. They can see that I’m happy and they don’t need to feel guilty for their own happiness. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, it’s like a domino effect when people feel sorry for you. The brighter you try and be, the more sympathy they project which in turn makes you feel worse inside.”

I loved it that he understood me so well. It made everything so much simpler. “That’s right.” I slid my hands down from his shoulders, settled them on his chest. He took my left one in his.

“Do you think you ever would again?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Get married.”

“I’ve never thought about it.” I’d thought about a future with Ruben, but marriage? “Why? Are you asking?” I smiled.

“Let’s just say I’m dipping my toe into the marriage pond to see what the temperature is.”

I laughed. “That’s a really silly analogy.”

He grinned. “But it made you laugh and that’s what thrills me the most.” He pressed our joined hands into his chest, over his heart. “But seriously, Katie. A minute without you is a wasted minute, and I for one know time should never be wasted.”

“I feel the same,” I said, looking into his eyes that were reflecting the fragments of bright lights bouncing around us.

“So we should do something about that.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Move in with me. My flat is big enough for the two of us. And I want to wake up with you every morning, go to sleep with you in my arms every night. It just makes so much sense to be together.”

I’d been moving gently to the music but stopped. “Really? Are you serious?”

“Absolutely. I’m in love with you, Katie, and I can’t bear to be apart from you. You’ve completely stolen my heart.”

“And you mine,” I said, curling my hand around the back of his head and pulling him closer. “I’m so in love with you,” I breathed onto his mouth. “And yes, I want you to be the first person I see each morning and the one I kiss goodnight.”

“So that’s a yes?” He gave a tentative smile.

“Oh, yes, a big fat yes with icing and cherries on the top.”

We kissed, in front of all of my friends, people who’d seen me with another man on my wedding day, seen me become a shell of myself after his death and now rise from the flames like a phoenix. I was so happy I wanted to burst with joy.

But I’d settle for getting naked and sweaty.

Buy Links

Amazon  Amazon UK   Kobo   iTunes  Barnes and Noble Scribd