Day 24 – July Fever – Kris Pearson with DIY July Fever

1 blog + 31 authors = 31 Days Of Hotness

I’m a fan of fellow kiwi writer Kris Pearson and I’m delighted to welcome her to  July Fever

She’s giving away an ebook bundle of  Her Man with Iceberg Eyes and Ravishing Rose naughtie novellas to one lucky winner. To enter the draw, simply leave a comment and your email address.

Way down here at the end of the world (as New Zealand sometimes feels) it’s mid winter, and we have to make our own July Fever. Roaring log fires, hot chocolate, mulled wine, bubbling spa baths and warm beds are a great consolation when it’s frosty outside. Especially if there’s someone nice to share the warm bed with.

My latest book, ‘Her Man with Iceberg Eyes’, is set in mid-winter – way down in the south of New Zealand in an alpine resort called Queenstown. Matthew interviews Kate for a job on behalf of famous painter Lottie, but he’d rather have her for himself.

There’s plenty of wintertime food in this book. Cannelloni at the Italian restaurant during a business interview (yeah, right!), hot Indonesian curry for a family dinner, toast and pate by the fire (which never gets eaten because Matthew and Kate get too distracted by each other), all sorts of food at the vineyard birthday party when the Black Moment hits and they can’t stand each other any longer… and the grilled bacon and cheese on toast where Matthew’s in real danger of injuring his greatest asset!

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Okay – best mid-winter dessert ever – and very cheap and easy to make:

Mocha self-saucing pudding. Serves four greedily or six adequately.

Set oven to 180C.  Find a casserole dish big enough to hold at least six cups of water. (Throw out the water and grease the dish.)

Sift into a bowl, one cup S/R flour, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, half a cup of caster sugar.

Melt and cool 70g butter, then add an egg and half a cup of milk. Combine these and add them to the flour mixture. Once smooth, pour into the casserole dish and level the top.

Boil some water. Sprinkle over the top of the raw pudding half a cup of soft brown sugar, another two tablespoons of cocoa powder and one tablespoon of instant coffee granules. Then carefully pour on one and a half cups of boiling water. It now looks as though you need a miracle.

Put the lid on the dish and bake for 40 minutes. Leave to stand for five minutes so the sauce (underneath by now) thickens a little more, and serve with whipped cream. No calories at all if you eat it fast! 🙂

Visit me at http://krispearson.com and check out all my sizzling e-books and the stories behind them. There are some photos of Queenstown where ‘Her Man with Iceberg Eyes’ is set.

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Kate Pleasance is on her best behavior. Matthew McLeod is certainly not. She really needs the job he’s interviewing her for. He totally wants the unexpected candidate in his bed.

But is Kate spying for her famous father? Should Matthew trust her in the least? Join them in the beautiful New Zealand alpine resort of Queenstown, famous for its daredevil extreme sports.

Will Kate dare? And is Matthew the devil he seems to be?

WARNING: Contains one tall tortured man who’s super-talented in bedrooms and boardrooms.

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Excerpt from Her Man With Iceberg Eyes

They sat. Kate was now wedged right beside him for the rest of the evening. She held her arms close against her sides so they wouldn’t rub against his, but the scent of his cologne floated in her direction. The heat of his big lean body came with it, wrapping around her. She became ever more conscious of his impressive physicality, his broad shoulders, his unyielding strength. No-one had yet arrived to claim the next seat, so she leaned a little in that direction while she could.

It was exquisite torture to be so close, and to still have no answer to her ‘Sis’ dilemma. How could she ask him without giving herself away? The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was curious about his marital status and open to starting anything that could have no satisfactory end.

After two or three excruciating minutes, the lights dimmed. The service club president appeared with a microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s wonderful to see so many of you here this evening. I thank you for your generosity in supporting these two most worthy causes.” A scattering of applause broke out and she waited for silence. “Yes, our community will be making a substantial donation towards child cancer research. New Zealand has leading scientists in this field, and your money will be put to excellent use.” Again, the audience applauded. “And,” the president continued, “of huge importance in this area of the country is the work of the mountain rescue teams. The police and experienced volunteers pluck locals and tourists alike from life-threatening situations in our mountains and rivers. They need specialised equipment to carry out this dangerous work, and that’s where the other half of this evening’s contributions are headed.”

This time louder applause erupted from the audience.

And as the lights slowly dimmed further, Matthew slid an arm around Kate’s shoulders.

She drew a sharp breath as the warm weight settled about her.

“This is pleasant, isn’t it?” he said.

She shot him a venomous glare. His lips twitched, laughing at her, teasing her.

“As long as it stays pleasant,” she said in a tight voice.

“I’m sure I can promise you that,” he murmured as the lights faded to full darkness.

“Take your arm away please.”

The opening music was strident…the volume high. He either hadn’t heard or pretended he hadn’t.

She leaned closer and put her lips against his ear. “Take your arm away please.”

It lifted from her shoulders, but instantly his big hand cradled the back of her head, holding her captive unnervingly near to his face. He nudged the tip of her nose with his own, and slowly, softly, began to explore her mouth. Gentle kisses. Hardly making contact. But Kate sensed every nerve ending leaping to panic level as he moved his lips over hers with delicate butterfly brushes. His tongue traced the outline of her mouth, and he leisurely kissed the bow of her top lip, each corner, and then nipped softly as he slid lower.

She’d instantly tried to pull away, but his grip was sure. His mouth swallowed her exclamation of annoyance, and then her resistance fled on swift feet. She’d wanted this. Wanted him. Wanted to know the taste of him. Wanted to touch and take. Her fingers slid though his short thick hair, caressed his neck, cupped his jaw.

His scent swirled around her—earthy, musky, male.

He tasted sweet. Dark. Dangerous.

Kate parted her lips, and he responded by deepening his kiss, plunging his tongue inside her mouth to duel with hers. She heard herself moan. Thank God for the noisy movie soundtrack!

She’d not been expecting to have to fend him off so soon.

Fend him off? What a joke. She was pulling him closer with each passing second.

She dismissed a twinge of guilt about Lottie. Lottie would never know. Must never know. It was just a kiss. Only a kiss. No way would it lead to anything more.

And she mightn’t be his wife, anyway.

Delicious warmth ricocheted everywhere as his assured tongue explored. Deep in her belly, she quivered, hot and liquid. Tiny muscles clenched and relaxed in a foretaste of ecstasy.

You should pull away from him right now, her brain commanded.

But not for a few more seconds, her body argued.

And to her utter devastation, it was Matthew who broke the contact, leaving her confused and abandoned, awakened and shaking, and on fire.

He settled back into his seat with a sigh, linked his fingers through hers, and laid her hand high on his thigh, confining it there with the pressure of his own. The back of her wrist registered his cock was rock-hard. She sat there, stunned.

Her mind had embroidered that kiss into something truly sinful. It had obviously affected Matthew, too, but it seemed he’d remembered he was married. Or decided she wasn’t really worth the bother. Or, worse still, proved he could get her to respond to him and felt no need to take the game further.

She’d wanted him so much. Today was Thursday. She had three days to enjoy being close to him without actually falling into his bed. Now he seemed engrossed in the movie! She felt his long thigh muscles responding to the action…tensing with the car-chase excitement…shaking with laughter during the lighter moments…jerking with the gunshots. He made no other move in her direction, but he was sure as hell still violently aroused.

She seethed—furious with him, even more furious with herself. He thought she was so easy, did he? And she’d damned well proved him right.

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Buy Her Man With Iceberg Eyes at AMAZON

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Author details

Kris lives way down in the South Pacific in New Zealand. She writes and gardens, and these days is in business with her husband in the decor field.

She has an advertising background, and has worked for radio, television, several advertising agencies and as advertising manager for a chain of large furnishing stores. She’s the current membership secretary for Romance Writers of New Zealand.

Kris writes hot, passionate, contemporary romances full of love and laughter. Happy endings are guaranteed, but often her heroes and heroines have to travel very rocky roads to reach them. Titles include Seduction on the Cards, The Wrong Sister, Taken by the Sheikh, The Boat Builder’s Bed, Out of Bounds, Resisting Nick, The Bonk Squad (a comedy), Ravishing Rose (a novella), Her Man with Iceberg Eyes, and Five Short Romantic Reads.

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Please join me tomorrow, when I welcome Lisa Owens to July Fever