HIS By Design – “I’m in serious trouble, aren’t I?
Thanks for having me over, Morganna. Just loved Naturally Naughty, although it was a terrible distraction for me! Why not check out my review on Amazon. I’ll never get to write my scenes for my own books if you keep writing such good stuff to entertain me!
I am so excited to have you here Helen! I’ve already pre-ordered the complete book His by Design and I can’t wait! What did you bring us today?
I thought I’d share an excerpt from my latest book HIS By Design. A friends to lovers spanking romance, it’s available for pre-order at the special price of $2.99 reverting to $4.99 after release. If you can’t wait for the complete book, the first episode Coveting Claire is out now for $0.99 for a limited time and FREE to borrow on Kindle Unlimited. This excerpt is from the next episode to be released later this week. It joins Julian and Claire almost a week after Julian has warned Claire he will punish her severely if she is not more careful with her keys. She promised she’d try and she’s been good all week until Friday when she’s distracted by a commission from her editor. When Julian arrives to take her for dinner, much to his frustration, he finds exactly what he warned her against.
Julian sat across from Claire watching as she studied her menu, pondering her dessert choice. His own thoughts were contemplating what he’d found when he arrived at her apartment earlier that evening. It meant he’d no choice other than to deal with her as he’d warned her last Sunday. He found himself considering what effect that would have on his determined courtship of her. Since the first night of her return he’d hopes of marrying her, but he wasn’t arrogant enough to consider it a sure thing. Just because she was attracted to him didn’t mean she’d fall in love with him.
“Chocolate Brownie Delight.”
“Huh.” He looked at her, confused.
She closed her menu and threw him a flirtatious look. “Dessert, silly. What are you having?”
Julian smiled sexily and raised his eyebrow unable to resist the opportunity she’d naively presented. He laughed delightedly when she blushed and threw him what she meant to be a quelling look, but only revealed the sexual longing awakened by his blatant innuendo. He took pity on her – almost. “Just coffee. For now.”
“You’re shameless.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you! Don’t look so innocent. You’re evil. Working your sexy magic on me in a public place. Embarrassing me because I can’t hide my reaction. Especially considering some paparazzi might snap me with lust written all over my face!”
“Just lust, Claire?” He asked, his voice lowered meaningfully.
She looked down at that, her face flushed at his question, well aware that it harked back to their discussion over lust turning into love. He took pity on her for real this time. “Don’t worry. You know I never eat in places that allow paparazzi or any press presence for that matter.”
She looked up at that. “Really? What about me? I’m press.”
Now who’s being silly? You’re my companion. Besides, you’re magazine has no interest in me.”
She bit her lip at this and then looked him square in the eye. It was then that Julian realized there was more to this than flirting. “Actually that’s not true. Stella called me into her office today and asked me to persuade you to agree to a profile for the front cover. She wants it as the first in a series on the ‘movers and shakers’ in the L.A. film and fashion scene.”
Julian gaped at her, not sure what to say. His first reaction was surprise. “What for, Claire? Your readers are interested in the clothes I design, not me.”
“No, Julian, you’re wrong. People are always interested in someone like you. Don’t tell me no one’s asked to interview you before.”
“Yes, but that was because of Susanna. Mainly after her death. I refused to talk about her then and word got around that I didn’t give interviews and after a while they stopped bothering me. No one has wanted to do a profile on just me. I’m not a celebrity.”
“Yes you are. You’re one of the top names in fashion design here in L.A. and you have a romantic past. Not that I’d make that the center of my article.”
She went on to tell him her ideas, her eyes sparkling. Looking across the table at her animated features, he realized this wasn’t just a commission from her editor. This was something she really wanted to do. He reached out and covered her hands that were curled around her wineglass with his own.
“You really want to do this, don’t you?”
She looked at him, straight into his eyes. “Yes, I do.” Then she looked down at their hands intertwined together on the white tablecloth. “But I don’t want you to say yes for that reason, if you really don’t want to do it.”
He nodded. “Alright, I won’t. Let me think about it and I’ll give you my decision soon. Okay?”
She agreed and they left the restaurant soon afterwards. They were traveling up in the elevator of her apartment building when the issue Julian had been anticipating all evening presented itself. Claire started rummaging around in her purse. At first her searching was casual, but when she failed to find what she was looking for, her movements started to become a little frantic. By the time they reached her apartment door, she was visibly upset and wouldn’t meet his eyes. When a furtive search on the ledge above her door proved fruitless, she turned to him with a mixture of shame and defiance.
Reaching into his pocket, Julian drew out the articles he’d stowed there earlier in the evening. He held them up unhurriedly in front of her. “These what you’re looking for?” Then he reached into his other pocket and held up her second set of keys. “Or maybe these?”
Her mouth fell open and he swore she just barely stopped herself from stamping her foot. “You’ve had those all evening, haven’t you?” She threw at him accusingly.
Some of the fury he’d felt when he’d arrived earlier to find her keys in her door for anyone to gain entrance to her apartment gripped him again. The fury had increased even further when a quick check had found the spare set on her door ledge. She hadn’t listened to a word that he told her on Sunday! When she hadn’t answered his knock, he was pretty certain she was in the bath.
Completely naked and vulnerable to an intruder!
It was all he could do not to storm in there, pull her out of the tub and paddle her wet, disobedient little ass scarlet, there and then. He hadn’t felt that strong an urge to severely punish a woman since Susanna’s antics. He’d taken numerous deep breaths and practically torn his hair out. It was not good. That kind of hot emotion did not fit with the plan. He’d taken the keys from her door to ensure no one could enter and gone for a brisk walk round the block several times to dissipate his anger so he could shelve the issue and deal with it now when it arose naturally and he was calmer.
He fixed Claire with a stern stare and spoke in a no nonsense tone. “You are in no position to be acting aggrieved.” He turned the key in the lock and pushed her door open wide. “I warned you about this last weekend, Claire.” Indicating with an angling of his head that she should enter the apartment, he told her sternly. “We’ll discuss this inside.”
Claire hesitated, hovering at the doorway. She didn’t look at him, seemingly fascinated with her shoes. Her voice revealed that she knew she’d crossed the line. “I’m in serious trouble, aren’t I?
Julian’s voice was tight. “Oh, yes. You most certainly are.”
She looked at him then. “I’ve tried hard all week. Thinking about profiling you threw me. Don’t I get any credit for my efforts?” She almost whined.
He smiled slightly at that, but gave her a knowing stare. “I know you’ve been trying, but I’d be more impressed with those efforts if I hadn’t found the spare set back on your ledge. You just put them right back after I checked the last time. I warned you and you blatantly defied me. I arrived here to find your keys in the lock, plus you opened the door in your towel without looking through the peephole to see who it was. Enough is enough, Claire. I’m going to spank the daylights out of you for this.” He held up his hand when she opened her mouth to protest. “No. Not another word. Get inside. The hallway is no place to have this discussion.”
Reluctantly she obeyed him. She dragged her feet about it and looked resentful, but she walked through the door into the middle of the living room. Julian followed her in, closing the door and locking it.
“Can we at least have a discussion about it before you spank me?”
“Sure we can. We’ll be discussing it before, during and after I spank you. However, not one single word of that discussion will get your sweet little ass off the hook.”
Blurb
New from #1 Amazon Bestselling Author of the Rancher’s Woman and Her Keeper
HIS By Design – Special Price $2.99 for pre-order only! Will revert to $4.99.
When a mutual friend convinces Hollywood haute couture designer Julian West to escort feature reporter Claire Fitzpatrick to the Annual Spring Charity Ball it is the start of an enduring friendship. A friendship where both comfortably forget the sizzling attraction that flared between them when they first met. Now, six years on, that attraction has re-emerged and Julian and Claire discover that the compatibility they share as best friends is echoed in their erotic preferences. As their romance blossoms, it is not long before he takes her across his knee to deliver lengthy bare bottomed spankings both erotic and disciplinary. But neither of them is prepared for the unexpected passion that rules them both. When they are finally faced with the release of overwhelming emotions Julian has spent years repressing, both Julian and Claire must decide if they will go their separate ways or if theirs will be a love designed to last.
Morganna Williams Blog 
Wow. I hafta wait for the whole story which I preordered. Very hot
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