First Kiss Friday with C.H. Admirand & a Giveaway!

Thanks for joining me here on my blog for another First Kiss Friday. My guest today is author C.H. Admirand who has a first kiss scene from The Duke’s Enforcer. Isn’t the cover just divine? Be sure to read to the end to be in the running for C.H.’s giveaway! Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies.

Excerpt:

Garahan was on his feet when the vicar entered the room. His head felt light and his stomach uneasy, but he would not give in to weakness—he was about to marry the woman who’d captured his heart with one glance.

The vicar cleared his throat and said, “Everything is in order, Garahan. Do you have any questions before I begin?”

“Nay. I’m ready to marry the lass.”

The vicar studied him intently but did not ask about his injuries. No doubt someone had filled him in ahead of time so he would not be shocked by Garahan’s appearance. Should he have asked O’Malley for a looking glass to see how much damage had been done to his face? Well, ’twas too late now.

“Ah, Miss Anderson.” The vicar beamed. “Please stand on Garahan’s left and we will begin.”

The vicar’s voice rose and fell as he read the words that would bind Garahan and the lass together in front of the viscount, the captain, O’Malley, and the others. His mind kept coming back to the problem he would be facing—keeping his lips and his hands to himself tonight…and until the lass was ready to trust him with more than his promise to protect her with his life. Hadn’t he already done that when he was knifed rescuing her from the boarding house—and again when he was jumped in the alley? Burke had sent word, confirming their suspicions—the thugs had been hired by the owners of the brothels connected with the boarding house, and the scheme luring young women to London from the countryside.

“Is there any objection as to why this couple should not be wed?”

The vicar paused too long to suit O’Malley, who spoke up. “Ye won’t get an argument from anyone here, vicar.”

The soft laughter that followed his cousin’s pronouncement relieved the tension in Garahan’s shoulders. He should have been focused completely on the vicar and his words—and not thinking about those that needed to be rounded up, convicted, and put behind bars. He leaned close to the woman standing beside him. “Lass, I—”

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

He turned, wobbled, and was steadied by O’Malley from behind and the viscount on his right. “Better make it quick, lass—I need to sit down.” Concern filled her gaze, and he said, “Not to worry. I’ll be kissing ye first.”

Hope replaced the worry in her eyes. She leaned toward him as he slipped his arm around her waist and drew her closer. “Mo chroí,” he rasped. “Me heart.” Their mouths a breath apart, he murmured, “Mo ghrá—me love,” before pressing his lips to hers in a kiss as soft as the brush of a faerie’s wings.

The viscount was the first to offer his congratulations, then the captain added his. Garahan hated to ask for help, but his strength was waning. O’Malley must have been watching him closely, as he placed his arm beneath Garahan’s. “Best have a seat now, boy-o.”

Garahan nodded and let his cousin help him sit without jarring his ribs or shoulder overmuch. “Thank ye.”

“Me pleasure.” O’Malley grinned and turned to the bride. “Now then, Cousin Aimee.” He offered his arm and helped her to the chair beside Garahan. “We’ll be raising a glass to toast yer marriage and then will be leaving the two of ye alone.”

“When was this decided?” Garahan asked.

“When ye were busy arguing with me. Mrs. O’Toole thought it more expedient to toast yer marriage and then feed the others in the dining room while yerself and yer bride enjoy sharing yer first meal together as man and wife.”

Aimee reached for Garahan’s hand. “Thank you, O’Malley.”

“Call me Emmett, if ye don’t mind.”

“Thank you, Emmett. You have been more than kind to me from the moment we met.”

“’Tis just to remind ye that the O’Malleys aren’t as easily goaded into losing their tempers as the man you married—or the rest of the Garahans.”

Her laughter lightened Garahan’s heart.

O’Malley straightened, accepted a glass from Mrs. O’Toole, and raised it high. “To Darby and Aimee. May they always be as happy as they are at this moment”—he grinned at Garahan and added—“and have a dozen children with eyes the same soft blue of his bride…and tempers to match the groom!”

Garahan felt his wife tremble and bent his head to assure her, “I’m in no hurry, but would settle for a babe as pretty as her ma, with a temperament to match.”

He saw the uncertainty in her eyes and sighed. “I’m a patient man, lass.” Nodding to her glass, he urged, “Have a sip, I’m thinking Mrs. O’Toole will have something wonderful prepared for us to eat.”

The others laughingly repeated O’Malley’s toast, offered their own well wishes, and followed Mrs. O’Toole from the room.

The concern was back in his bride’s eyes, and he wanted to erase it. “I thought they’d never leave.” When she remained silent, he added, “Ye’ve been given a reprieve from what I know is at the root of yer worries from the lieutenant, in the form of an order not to share me bed tonight. Is me word not to rush ye enough to calm yer fears, lass?”

“It isn’t that,” she whispered. She lifted her chin and met his one-eyed gaze. “You could have married someone worthy of you, Darby. You did not have to saddle yourself with a woman with no prospects and a reputation damaged beyond redemption.”

“I can see it’s going to take more than a few days to convince ye that I meant what I said. Ye have me heart whether ye believe me or not. Once given, I cannot accept it back. Though ye may not love me—and wish to leave me—know that ye’ll be carrying me heart with ye wherever ye go.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “My heart refused to listen to my head when you swept me into your arms and away from Purgatory. You hold my heart too. If you decide I am not worth the wait—”

His gentle kiss interrupted her. He was encouraged when her lips softened beneath his. Careful not to reopen the split on his lip, he ended the kiss, watching her eyelashes flutter as she opened her eyes. “Accept that ye have me love now and always. I may not be easy to live with while I heal, but never doubt me heart again, lass.”

“I won’t. I know how important it is not to put off sealing our union. As soon as you are well enough—”

“Lass… Do ye not realize that I’m fully capable of bedding ye right now?”

Her eyes widened as she shook her head. “But you’re severely injured, and the doctor said—”

“That part of me did not suffer any damage and is ready, willing, and able—but I gave me word to the lieutenant, as ye did. We’ll wait. I’ll have a full night’s sleep, then will no doubt be receiving his blessing.”

THE DUKE’S ENFORCER (The Duke’s Guard, Bk 8)
By C.H. Admirand

“Ye’re under me protection now, lass. ‘Tis yers, whether ye accept it or not.”

The Duke’s Guard: The men in black who have sworn an oath to protect the Duke of Wyndmere and his family from enemies that would stop at nothing to discredit and destroy him!

Darby Garahan’s latest assignment, to uncover the source behind the threat to kill the duke’s brother-in-law, is complicated when the angel of the streets asks for his help. He must rescue a young woman who has been lured to London with the promise of employment—only to end up at a boarding house rumored to be a front for a brothel.

Aimee Anderson answers an advert for a position at a milliner’s shop in London, taking charge of her life after a lord compromised her on the way to Gretna Green a few years earlier, leaving her stranded at an inn.

The handsome-as-sin Irishman who rescues Aimee reminds her that the past does not have to define the future if she has the courage to make a change.

Rescuing her is just the beginning. He must convince her that she is not damaged goods in order to gain her trust and win her heart and her hand in marriage.

Danger stalks in the night, but it will have to challenge The Duke’s Enforcer. Nothing short of dying will deter him from his duty to protect the duke and his family!

Read Free in Kindle Unlimited!

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVZ5WQY7

The Duke’s Guard
Book 1 – The Duke’s Sword
Book 2 – The Duke’s Protector
Book 3 – The Duke’s Shield
Book 4 – The Duke’s Dragoon
Book 5 – The Duke’s Hammer
Book 6 – The Duke’s Defender
Book 7 – The Duke’s Saber
Book 8 – The Duke’s Enforcer
Book 9 – The Duke’s Mercenary
Book 10 – The Duke’s Rapier
Book 11 – The Duke’s Man-at-Arms
Book 12 – The Duke’s Lance
Book 13 – The Duke’s Champion
Book 14 – The Duke’s Sharpshooter
Book 15 – The Duke’s Cavalier
Book 16 – The Duke’s Blade

About the Author:

I write Historical & Contemporary Romance featuring: Hardheaded Heroes & Feisty Heroines.

I fell in love at first sight, when I was seventeen, with the man who will hold my heart forever. DJ and I were married for 41 wonderful years until my darling lost his battle with cancer. We have three grown children—one son-in-law, two grandsons, two rescue dogs, and two rescue grand-cats and one grand-dog.

My Hardheaded Heroes and Feisty Heroines rarely listen to me. In fact, I think they enjoy messing with my plans for them. BUT if there is one thing I’ve learned in dealing with my characters for the past 29 years, it is to listen to them!  My heroes always have a few of DJ’s best qualities: his honesty, his integrity, his compassion for those in need, and his killer broad shoulders.

I have always used family names in my books and love adding bits and pieces of my ancestors and ancestry in them, too. I write about the things I love most: My Family, my Irish and English Ancestry, Baking and Gardening.

  C.H.’s Social Media Links:

Website: https://www.chadmirand.com/

Amazon:BookBub: https://www.amazon.com/stores/C.-H.-Admirand/author/B001JPBUMC

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-h-admirand

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/CHAdmirandAuthor

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/212657.C_H_Admirand

Dragonblade Publishing: https://www.dragonbladepublishing.com/team/c-h-admirand/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.h.admirand/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdmirandH

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRSXBeqEY52VV3mHdtg5fXw

C.H. is giving away an eBook copy of The Duke’s Enforcer. To enter, please answer this question: What is your favorite trope? Winner will be announced on Monday. Good luck!