Each week I welcome a guest author to share an excerpt of a first meeting. Today, Gem Sivad brings us a snippet of her American historical romance, Outrageous Pride. Gem’s fun fact is that she loves horses!
Here is the setup of the scene: Irish bare-knuckle boxer Kellan Lonigan is in Texas inspecting his investments when he engineers a meeting with Natalia Fitzwilliam, a young lady he soon decides is fated to be his wife. They meet in the local town Mercantile.
EXCERPT:
”Tá tú iontach álainn,” you are verra beautiful, Kell muttered in Gaelic when he looked upon the vision of loveliness crouched on the floor.
“What?” she asked, giving him a perplexed stare from eyes the sweet, clear blue of a summer sky over the River Lagan. Instead of accurately translating, Kell squatted in front of her and brushed his fingers across the smudge on her nose.
“A wee speck of dirt has taken up residence here.” He could see the incongruity of his scarred knuckles against her delicate flesh, and it surprised him that she didn’t flinch from his big paw. When he removed the streak of dust and unnecessarily dragged the back of his hand across her flushed cheek, nothing had ever felt as exquisite as the silken skin beneath his calloused touch.
“You’re Kellan Lonigan, Edge Grayson’s friend,” she said in a husky whisper.
“That I am,” he agreed. “And you would be…?” He waited for her response, watching rose colored lips form her answer.
“Tali. Natalia Fitzwilliam.” Her dark brows and darker lashes accented the warmth in her expressive eyes as she introduced herself.
Bluidy hell. As Kell savored the look of her moist pink lips, the dimples that indented each rosy cheek and the tiny creased laugh lines fanning from the corners of her beautiful eyes, his usually quite sensible cock became unruly. And then the miscreant reared its foolish head, unfurled into full stance, and left him shifting from thigh to thigh, trying to disguise his condition.
“An bhfuil tu posta?”he murmured.
“That’s very rude you know,” she scolded him. His face flooded with color and then he almost collapsed in relief when she added, “Speaking in a language I can’t understand.”
“Is it now?” He felt a bit hoarse and struggled to get out something sensible that wouldn’t scare her away. “I’ve lived by meself for a bit and forgotten the niceties of getting along. Are you married is what I ask.”
“I’m not wed yet, but will be soon.” Her cheeks took on an even rosier glow as she shook her head.
“So yer betrothed; what is the name of this lucky man?” Insanely, he thought of hunting the fellow down and persuading him to move on. Then, of course, he cast that idea aside as barbaric and unworthy of such as her. Still…
Her blush deepened. “My engagement isn’t official.”
“Ahh…” He looked at her thoughtfully. Reprieve. She hadn’t spoken a name, so perhaps some gobshite was toying with her affections.
“Bluidy fool to let one such as yerself go unclaimed. Were you mine…” He stopped, realizing that he’d said too much, leaned too close, and blabbered the wrong things.
END OF EXCERPT
You can find Gem Sivad and Outrageous Pride at the following links:
Web / Twitter / FB / Amazon / GR /
Gem and I welcome your questions and comments. I hope you’ll come back every Saturday for a first meeting excerpt from a new guest author.
Thank you for hostessing me today, Jill. Happy New Year!!
You’re welcome, Gem. Your hero seems intriguing!
Great excerpt! Sounds like a sexy tale! All the best!
Thanks for stopping by Melissa. You are a great supporter of authors!