Blurb:
An all expenses paid, trans-Atlantic cruise has romance
written all over it...unless you’re the poor sap who has to inspect the toilets
and time the cafeteria lines. As if secret-shopping her company's failing
cruise ship isn't bad enough, Lydia Johnson is forced to bring along a
"top talent" new hire as her assistant. With a heart barely healed
from her ex-fiancé’s deceit, she's in no mood to train a man who might cheat
her out of an overdue promotion.
Paul Thomas may be new to J.P. Theriot Enterprises, but he
certainly knows his way around cruise ships. The Cajun charmer also isn't shy
about pursuing his desires, including his wary, but oh-so-sexy-when-she
lets-her-hair-down manager. He's shared more about himself with Lydia than any
other woman...except who he really is--J.P. Theriot.
Excerpt:
Twilight had begun to
assert itself, tamping down the sun’s rays and casting long shadows. They
walked the length of the first pier and paused at the rail’s edge to look out
to sea. A light breeze skimmed the water and tousled Lydia’s hair. She paid it
no heed but let it have its way with the strands. Following the wind’s example,
he stepped closer to her, their arms lightly brushing as they stood side by
side.
“Every port has its own
special siren’s call,” she said, brushing the hair away from her mouth.
“Hard to resist,” he
said gazing at her.
She angled her body
toward him. “Except sirens usually lure the susceptible to their doom.”
He stepped closer. “A
nasty rumor begun by those with no heart or imagination.”
“I’m not so sure I
agree,” she whispered.
“Try.” He leaned down
and kissed her lips softly. Pulling back barely enough to end any contact but
still close enough for their breaths to mingle, he offered her an escape. When
she didn’t take it, he moved in again, encircling his arms around her waist and
pulling her closer.
The second kiss
obliterated the first. For the first time, he felt her surrender, reluctant as
it was, and reveled in it, taunted her with his triumph at proving she wanted
him as much as he wanted her. Deepening it further, her soft moans filled his
ears, her breasts pressed against his chest. His body responded to hers. Hands stole
lower to grasp her hips and press his erection into her. She had to know how
she affected him, there could be no doubt of the strength of his desire, the
urgency of his need to touch, taste and bury himself in her.
For a long while, she
moved with him, her hips grinding into his with a writhing need as their lips
and tongues dueled in a sensuous dance. It wasn’t enough. He needed more of
her. Lips traveled to her jaw and then to her neck, to the spot right below her
ear. Lydia caught her breath on a moan when he tasted the smooth skin there. An
answering groan, nearly a growl, came out of him. He hadn’t consciously made
it, and yet he would claim it. All his instincts rallied and urged him to claim
the woman in his arms, to drag her off somewhere private, to pin her beneath
him and take her to the heights of pleasure. Forces stronger than the debating
voices in his head whispering, “she’ll hate you for seducing her” and “yes,
yes, she wants you; she wants this; she just needs you to relieve her of a few
barriers.”
He slipped a hand
between them to cradle the warmth of her breast in his hand. Her shirt and the
bra beneath were both thin and minimal barriers, but barriers they still were. His
other hand dropped to the swell of her ass, full and curvy and a sensuous
delight to grip. The woman in his arms was sex incarnate. She was his siren and
he gladly went down with his ship, drowning in her seductive depths.
Author Page Buy Links:
Author Bio:
Claire Gillian is the pen name for a number-crunching
executive by day and a darkly romantic curmudgeon by night. She also writes
fifty shades naughtier stuff under the pen name of Lila Shaw
(but please don’t tell her mother) and young adult fiction as Iris St.
Clair. No matter which name she uses, Claire is happiest penning romance
drenched in humor with a dash of intrigue and loads of spice. Claire lives in
the boggy Pacific NW with her
husband and two teen-aged sons.
Claire loves to hear from and connect with readers:
Thanks for hosting me!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome, any time at all :)
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