Launch Party! Kate Carlisle's SWEET SURRENDER!

By Kate

Hurray! The big day has finally arrived! It's SWEET SURRENDER, BABY SURPRISE release day.

This calls for a cake! No, make that cupcakes, in honor of Julia Parrish, my heroine, who has taken the West Coast by storm with her world-class cupcake creations. We’ll decorate our Cupcake Party with pictures of fabulous, colorful cupcakes.

Julia is sexy and she knows how to bake almost anything. How can Cameron Duke possibly resist her? Not to mention, she’s the mother of the son he didn’t know he had.

Seriously, what man can resist a woman who travels with her own ingredients for hot chocolate and whipped cream? Certainly not Cameron Duke! See for yourself in this excerpt ...

She reached into a drawer and pulled out her own hand mixer, poured cream into a bowl, threw in a heaping spoonful of sugar, and began to mix it up. Less than four minutes later, she had a bowl of thick, pillowy whipped cream. She poured the thick, creamy chocolate into two small coffee cups, added a dollop of whipped cream on top, and handed one to Cameron.

“Sip the chocolate through the cream,” she instructed. “That way, you get the hot with the cold, but you don’t dilute either.”

She stood inches away, watching him as he tried the concoction. He watched her, too, as he sipped the hot, creamy chocolate through the cool, soft whipped cream. It was possibly the most sweetly decadent thing he’d ever eaten.

“Well?” she said.

He stared at her and wondered what the chocolate and whipped cream might taste like when licked off her breasts.

“It’s almost immoral, it’s so good,” he said, his voice husky.

Her cheeks began to turn pink again and he found he enjoyed making her blush. He also savored watching her realize the direction his thoughts were traveling.

She coughed to clear her throat. “So, you like it?”

“Like it?” He took another long sip and emptied the cup. “Yeah. I’d suggest you package it, but I’m afraid it might be banned in thirty or forty states.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said demurely, and placed her cup on the counter. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you. It was delicious.” He put down his cup and reached for her. “I want to taste it on your tongue.”

Before she could utter a word of protest, his mouth consumed hers.

Consumed. Isn’t that a great word? Devoured. Another good one. He hungered for her. Passion and food are closely intertwined, and poor Cameron is besieged on both counts. His deepest, darkest fear is that his father’s abusive anger lives inside of him, so he’s determined never to fall in love. If he keeps his flings frothy and casual, then he’ll never hurt a woman the way his father hurt his mother. But although Julia’s cupcakes are whimsical, she clearly isn’t made for “casual.” She’s a forever kind of girl, and Cameron doesn’t do forever.

Thank you for celebrating with me! Let's get the party going! What’s your favorite flavor of cake or cupcake? What was the last occasion on which you had it? What is your go-to treat when you want to celebrate a big event in your life? How do you feel about whipped cream?

I’ll give a random commenter a $25 Amazon e-gift card, which you can use to buy SWEET SURRENDER, BABY SURPRISE, naturally, or any of these cupcake books -- or whatever strikes your fantasy. The contest is open to anyone in the world who can use an Amazon e-gift card.

And don’t forget to sign up for my mailing list at www.katecarlisle.com!