It's wedding season and last week I shared a scene from DUKE where Duke and Carla were discussing their ideal weddings.
This week I'm sharing a scene from Selina and Benjamin's wedding reception from Scar, Secrets & Scores: The Ben & Selina Trilogy. This is a steamy, interracial, BWWM, marriage-of-convenience contemporary romance set in London, South Africa and Sierra Leone.
Enjoy the teaser.
"I look forward to having you naked in bed tonight."
Benjamin's rich voice whispered hotly against the skin on the back of her ears. The image of her bare body sprawled against the Egyptian cotton sheets of their five-star hotel bed loomed large in Selina's mind. Sparks of arousal travelled down her spine to her very core.
"All your beautiful chocolate skin on display for me."
His hand stroked her thigh—slow, purposeful strokes, igniting into flames of desire that licked her sex, melting it like wax.
She bit her lip, holding back a moan as she turned her head, needing to see his face, taste his lips.
"Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Moss." The strange voice cut through the spell that held her. She looked up, and a guest stood next to their high table, his short glass of what looked like brandy raised in salutation.
“Thank you,” Selina smiled at the dark-haired, olive-skinned man she didn’t recognise. He was probably one of Benjamin's colleagues or acquaintances.
"You made it, then, Juan." Her new husband stood. "Selina, this is Juan Roberto. He's part of Moss Star Security team."
Benjamin's words confirmed her thoughts.
"It's good to finally meet you." There was something of a knowing glint in Juan's eyes as he leaned in and gave her a brief kiss on both cheeks. With her senses heightened from wedding day excitement, his aftershave reminded her of sun-baked sandy shores and salty sea air.
"Same here." Cheeks smarting, she wondered if there were any members of his firm who didn't know about her.
The two men continued in conversation, something about Juan returning from a trip providing security for a pop star on a live tour in Europe. Selina relaxed back into her chair as the men talked shop.
Benjamin owned a security firm that supplied bodyguards to high profile executives and celebrities in the UK and internationally. As a result, their wedding guests were made of gorgeous hunks of men built like armoured tanks and their equally beautiful girlfriends or escorts. She'd met most of them during the six months she'd dated Benjamin and had gotten the impression they were a close family.
The private banquet room, though small, was tastefully decorated. White brocade covered chairs and tables, thin-stemmed centre-piece flower arrangements, the red and black theme she'd chosen reflected in the colours.
They'd catered for fifty guests, small by African wedding proportions.
Selina hadn't wanted a big wedding and would've done without a wedding at all. But under the circumstances this one was unavoidable.
Large crowds in enclosed spaces agitated her. So, the smaller the group invited, the better.
Having to deal with people was nothing in the scale of concern compared to what she had to face up to later tonight in the privacy of their hotel suite. There were things she'd held close to her chest, something she'd hidden from Benjamin. Secrets she was afraid to share.
All your beautiful chocolate skin on display for me. Benjamin's earlier words came back to mock her. How was she going to get through her wedding night without him finding out she wasn't as beautiful as he thought?
Wine glasses tinkled; cutlery clattered on crockery. Laughter rang out, the cacophony of voices and music overwhelming. Flashes of images of a celebration from a distant past merged with the present—joyous laughter and rhythmic dancing. General merriment.
The rat-tat-tat of gunfire. Pounding boots on the hard floor. Terrified shouts. Menacing mirth. Faces contorted with malevolence.
Selina's mouth dried out. Pins and needles pricking sensations travelled up her arm. Her body flushed with heat.
"Are you still with me?" Benjamin's sonorous voice drew Selina's attention back from her daydream.
Her chest constricted. Her corset felt as if it was cutting off her breathing.
"Breathe, Selina. Breathe."
The tone of his voice compelled her. She took a slow breath, drawing much-needed oxygen into her lungs, held it, and then let it out steadily. She repeated the process. There was no other way to breathe in this stiffened garment.
His hand covered the back of her neck, providing a cool respite from the suddenly elevated room temperature. Memories of the past had her in its grip, unpleasant recollections that had her heart pounding with fear.
She tilted her head up and gazed into her husband's grey eyes. His dark gaze seemed to see so much, know so much. Concern etched lines on his tanned rugged face, his neatly trimmed beard the colour of chestnut, the same as the hair on his head.
His hold on her neck turned into brush strokes on canvas, light and erotic, his Da Vinci to her Mona Lisa, making her catch her breath as delicious tingles shot down her spine.
Come back next week for more wedding season teasers.
Scars, Secrets & Scores: The Ben & Selina Trilogy is out now in ebook and paperback
BOOK ONE: SCARS
She clutches at control to cover her flaws. He wants to strip her bare because she’s beautiful.
Selina Moss hides a secret beneath her controlled happy exterior. Her body is covered in scars and she’s never revealed them to anyone. However, it’s her wedding night and husband, Benjamin Moss, is determined to strip down her barriers.
Benjamin is not playing fair, not when he’s deploying breath-stealing seduction as well as mind-melting sex toys. But will he still want her when she bares all?
BOOK TWO: SECRETS
Her body is his to command, her heart his to win.
Selina bared her body to her husband and allowed him to see her and touch her like no one else has ever done. When a member of the family visits, she realizes there is still so much about her husband she doesn’t know.
Benjamin’s remorse about his family history drives his actions. Selina is his present and he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her from being contaminated by his past, including revealing the shame that burns his soul.
But for Selina, finding out about Benjamin’s past means investing emotionally in a man who’s only going to walk away once their temporary arrangement comes to an end. Is she ready to bare her heart to him along with the secrets of their past?
BOOK THREE: SCORES
His love possesses her. Will it protect her too?
Benjamin has proven how much he cares about his wife, Selina. She pushed him to shred his iron control and bare his soul to her. In return he’s earned her much guarded heart as well as her body.
But her past has finally caught up with her and scores will have to be settled before they can have a happy ending. Can Benjamin’s love protect her from those who seek to destroy both of them? Or will she finally lose the man who’s possessed her body as well as her heart?