Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

Taking a Risk: MEMORIES OF US by Linda Winfree Releases Today!

This may be the book that gets me fired*.

The fact I write romantic suspense, rather steamy romantic suspense, really hasn’t been an issue in my other profession, the one where I teach high school kids. It’s pretty common knowledge that I write, some of my kids have read my books (with their parents’ permission), lots of their parents have read my books, and for the most part, the feedback has been positive. I’ve been teaching a long time, my administrators and students and parents like me, so the books I write (which my uncle informed my sister are “very sexy”) don’t seem to be a problem.

Well, then there’s Tom and Celia. Let’s just say this is the sexiest book I’ve ever written. They make me blush, and it takes a lot to do that. The level of emotion I try to bring to a book is still there, but there’s definitely a difference to the sex in this book, maybe because this couple starts with sex before romance, when in my other books, the emotion has come before the sex.

But when the emotion comes . . . oh, my. The unfolding of love between these two is what made this book such a joy to write. I hope you like it too. I’m sharing a brief excerpt below:

He edged a finger along the wrought-iron table. He should take the file and go, not continue standing here, looking at her, feeling relieved that the tension between them had diminished, wanting this conversation to go on and on. Not delve into her mysteries the way he craved. What he should do was keep everything on a professional footing before he got himself into major trouble.
His impulses refused to listen to his rational brain. “You’re very close, aren’t you?”
She caressed the edge of the folder, a winsome expression on her face. “We are. Can’t imagine my life without her.”
He nodded. “It’s good that you have someone like that.”
Her hand drifted up to fiddle with the chain about her neck. He followed the movement with his eyes, wondering again what hid between her breasts at the end of the delicate links. She tilted her head to the side, hair shifting over her bare shoulder. “What about you? Any siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child.” This was getting too personal, too much like first-date-getting-to-know-you talk. Time to make an exit. He moved forward and extended his hand. “I should be going. I’ve taken enough of your evening.”
“Of course.” Her expression closed, her eyes going cool again. She held out the folder. “This is what you came for.”
“Thanks.” He took it, fingers brushing hers in the process, a prickling warmth spreading up his arm. Yep. Definitely obsessive. Definitely time to go. Swallowing, he saluted her with the folder. “See you in the morning.”
He strode to the door, intent on showing himself out.
“McMillian.” Her voice, soft and a little strangled, stopped him.
He glanced back. She leaned against the plush armchair’s back. Silver glinted at him again along her narrow waist. “Yes?”
She pushed her hair behind her ear again. “Have you eaten?”
“No, not yet.”
“Would you like to stay for dinner?”
Dinner followed by breakfast tomorrow morning. He passed a hand over his hair. “Celia, it’s not a good idea for us to—”
“Do you take the high road in everything you do?” Her chin tilted in clear challenge.
No. He possessed gray areas even he didn’t want to admit to. “We work together. Any kind of involvement would be…difficult.”
“It’s a simple dinner invitation, not a lifelong commitment. And working with you now is beyond difficult,” she muttered.
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
Her knuckles whitened where she gripped the edge of the chair back. “It means…” Her eyes slid closed and opened, something he’d never before seen in her gaze burning in the blue depths when she looked at him. “I want you.”
The words slammed into him, a punch to the gut, and he tried to process what she was saying. “Celia…”
“I want you and it’s driving me crazy.” She blew out a long breath and ran her hands through her hair, mussing it. “Obviously. God, I can’t believe I’m saying this.”
He couldn’t either, but damn if he was going to blow this. Holding her gaze, he advanced on her to stop inches away. He dropped the folder on a side table and it slid to the floor, papers spilling across the polished wood. He wrapped his hands over hers and leaned in, close enough to see her pupils dilate. She smelled clean and uniquely female—no perfume, simply a mingling of her soap with the pure scent of her skin.
Desire pulsed through him, a buzzing ache starting in his groin and beating out along his veins. “I’m glad you did.”
She stared at him for a long heartbeat before lifting her chin once more, fitting her mouth to his. Sensation exploded in him, awareness of the warm suppleness of her lips, the fine bones of her hands beneath his, the incredible heat of her form along his. She kissed him, a soft brush of lips, followed by a firmer caress. He held her hands tighter and kissed her back, teasing the line of her mouth, coaxing her to open to him.
With a soft exhale, she did, the tip of her tongue slipping along his mouth. He pushed closer, hips fitted into hers, trying to assuage the throbbing below his belt. He groaned. “God, I can’t believe the way you taste.”
She arched into him, her fingers flexing below his. “Kiss me again.”

For more, including the blurb and another excerpt, click HERE.

*Just for the record, I don’t really think I’ll get fired.

At least I hope not!