By Donna Gallagher (Guest Blogger)
I’ve
loved reading and rugby league for as long as I can remember. My
mother was one of those readers that had a book beside the bed, one
for the bus to work and another in the desk drawer. She passed that
love on to me, and while I can only manage one story at a time
reading has been a huge part of my life. My husband rues the day he
bought me a smart phone because now I can take my library with me
wherever I go. Writing is new for me and I have to admit that I just
woke up one morning to find these voices in my head telling me their
story. When I started to write them down I couldn’t stop, but I
never imagined I’d be lucky enough to see them published and added
to my ever growing library.
My
passion for rugby league was inherited from my father’s side of the
family, but I can probably thank my sister for my infatuation with
footy players – she used me as a cover to ask players for
autographs and photos! That same sister is now a sports commentator
here down-under.
So it
was just a natural progression to mix my two loves into one. What
better alpha male than a muscled sportsman, who spends a great deal
of time running around in skimpy shorts and chest hugging jerseys
acting fearless on the field but completely vulnerable when it comes
to the woman that steals his heart.
Caitlin’s
Hero is the first book in my League of Love series.
Falling
for him is easy. Dealing with his high-profile life—a life deemed
public property by his fans and the press, plus an ex-wife out for
blood—now, that’s the hard part.
Her
job, singing at a local Italian restaurant, brings Caitlin some
peace. On stage, she leaves her life and its troubles behind. Feeling
comfortable and sensuous, she is like a siren calling out to lost
souls. It’s on one of these nights that Caitlin begins a romance
with Australian Rugby League captain, Brodie James. Brodie, not
content with his so-called perfect life and struggling with
commitment issues following a disastrous marriage, falls hard for
Caitlin.
The
relationship does not run smoothly for the self-sacrificing Caitlin,
as she learns how to deal with Brodie’s nasty, jealous ex-wife, a
muck-raking reporter and intrusive but well-meaning rugby fans. Along
the way she makes new friends, and awakens the untapped sensual
desires of the woman inside
Excerpt
Caitlin did not know how or when it had
happened, but her blouse and bra were now undone, leaving her breasts
bare to his heated gaze. She loved the way he was looking at her,
touching her. She
had never gone this far before, and was
unprepared for the intensity of her feelings. Oddly, she was not
embarrassed at all to be so open to him. She wanted to touch him and
tried to pull his jumper up but couldn’t free him of it, so snugly
did it fit over his bulging biceps and chest. Brodie pulled the wool
garment over his head in one move, and she caught her breath at the
sight of his muscled, masculine chest.
Curly, light
brown, almost golden hair covered the upper part of his chest,
and she couldn’t help notice it tapering down to form a path to his
pants waistline and what lay beneath. She explored his chest,
getting to know the feel of it, touching the hair and twisting it,
brushing her hand across and around his distended nipple. He
groaned and before she
had taken another shallow breath,
she was lying beneath him. He had lifted her off his lap and laid her
on the sofa, stretching out next to her with his leg over hers.
Caitlin was unaware of how much time
had gone by. All she knew was this man. She wanted to climb right
under his skin and needed to feel closer. All the while he touched
her and stroked her, and the hardness of
his erection pushed into her hip. She
wanted to touch him, but he had both her hands held in one of his,
lightly pinning them above her head. The other hand was making its
way up her skirt—he touched
her through her panties. She felt the lips of her vulva swell at his
touch. She was so wet she
could feel the seep of liquid coming from her body.
Unsure, she
pulled away from him a little.
“Can I touch you, angel? Feel if
you’re all wet for me?” Brodie whispered in her ear, the words
both shocking and exciting Caitlin at the same time. “I sure hope
you are wet for me. It’ll make me feel so good knowing that you’re
as hot for me as I am for you. Trust me, angel, I won’t hurt you.
If I do anything that you don’t like or feel comfortable with, just
tell me and I’ll stop.”
She wasn’t scared,
though he was clearly in control. He pushed a finger into her
and moaned in her ear as he touched the
sensitive nub of nerves just inside her
folds. He began to swirl around it slowly.
An uncontrollable
wave of pleasure spread
through her, but never quite broke
over her. She panted, tossing
her head from side to side as she searched
for some sort of finality before she went mad.
Brodie hushed her and in a dark, sexy
whisper told her, “Come for me. Let go. I’ll catch you.”
Links
to Caitlin’s Hero and my website.
Bio
Sydney-born Donna Gallagher decided at
an early age that life needed be tackled head on. Leaving home at 15
she supported herself through her teen years.
In her twenties she married a
professional sportsman, her love of sport -- especially rugby league
-- probably overriding her good sense.
The seven-year marriage was an adventure. There were the emotional ups and downs of having a husband with a public profile in a sometimes glamorous but always high-pressure field.
There were always interesting characters to meet and observe and even the opportunity to live for a time in the UK.
Eventually Donna returned home a single woman, but she never lost her passion for watching sport, as well as the people in and around it.
Now happily re-married and with three sons, Donna loves coffee mornings with her female friends, sorting through problems from the personal to the international. But she's on even footing with the keenest man when it comes to watching and talking rugby league.
Donna considers herself something of a black sheep in a family of high achievers. Her brother has a doctorate in mathematics and her sister is a well-known sports journalist.
An avid reader, especially of romance, Donna finally found she couldn't stop the characters residing in her imagination from spilling onto paper. Naturally rugby league is the backdrop to her spicy 'League of Love Series' available through UK publisher Total-E-Bound, tales of hunky heroes and spunky heroines overcoming adversity to eventually find true love.
The seven-year marriage was an adventure. There were the emotional ups and downs of having a husband with a public profile in a sometimes glamorous but always high-pressure field.
There were always interesting characters to meet and observe and even the opportunity to live for a time in the UK.
Eventually Donna returned home a single woman, but she never lost her passion for watching sport, as well as the people in and around it.
Now happily re-married and with three sons, Donna loves coffee mornings with her female friends, sorting through problems from the personal to the international. But she's on even footing with the keenest man when it comes to watching and talking rugby league.
Donna considers herself something of a black sheep in a family of high achievers. Her brother has a doctorate in mathematics and her sister is a well-known sports journalist.
An avid reader, especially of romance, Donna finally found she couldn't stop the characters residing in her imagination from spilling onto paper. Naturally rugby league is the backdrop to her spicy 'League of Love Series' available through UK publisher Total-E-Bound, tales of hunky heroes and spunky heroines overcoming adversity to eventually find true love.
