NSFW content: please note that our ‘hot toddies’ series contains explicit language and (very) adult situations.

Here in Australia, the weather is getting colder. We’re dragging out the blankets and brewing up the cocoa, but it’s not doing the job. We need something hot.

Luckily, Escape artists have come to the rescue. They’ve provided some of the most scorching scenes from their books for us to enjoy. As the cold winds blow outside, we’ll be heating up with some ‘hot toddies’.

Winter is coming. And so our are heroes and heroines.

From Hot Chocolate by Charlotte de Pace (released June 5, available for preorder now!)

Alessandro reached behind Annabella and dipped his finger into the creamy mousse, offering it to her mouth. She slowly sucked his finger clean, closing her eyes and relishing its sweetness. The classic Piedmont combination of dark chocolate and hazelnuts.

‘Deja vu?’ He grinned, reminding them both of their first kiss in the De Costa kitchen.

‘Uh-huh,’ Annabella whispered. It seemed like a lifetime ago. But this time there was a closeness that wasn’t there before. This time it wasn’t a test, there was no uncertainty. Kissing and caressing Alessandro felt completely natural. Sofia was right. This was love.

Alessandro lifted Annabella onto the countertop then slowly raised her T-shirt over her head, exposing her bare breasts. He reached for the bowl again, he looked at her intently, his mouth crooked in a grin as he slowly covered each of her pert nipples with mousse.

‘A match made in heaven,’ he growled. Annabella arched back while he slowly savoured each breast. His sensuous touch enlivened her entire being beyond physical need. He possessed all of her, mind and body.

He trailed his hot kisses down her torso and paused between her legs. His lips brushed softly against her inner thighs, the tingling of his stubble against her delicate skin sent shivers throughout her body.

Ale teasingly sucked through the lace of her knickers. She moaned with aching desire, longing for him to rip off her underwear; she wanted him closer, closer than ever before. But not just yet. She summoned all her strength to draw herself away from Ale’s electrifying touch and sat up.

‘Not yet,’ she said. ‘It’s your turn.’

Annabella hopped off the counter and smiled at him cheekily, cupping his face and drawing him to her mouth, kissing him passionately as she tugged at the towel around his waist, letting it drop to the floor. ‘Sit up here.’ She patted the countertop.

‘With pleasure,’ he drawled, hoisting himself up onto the bench.

Annabella thrilled at the sight of Alessandro’s erection that virtually throbbed with need. Electricity pulsed through her body as she took control. She reached into the bowl beside Ale and scooped up a small handful of the silky mousse. She spread the confection down the length of his shaft, her small hands working their way around its girth. Alessandro groaned with animalistic need.

‘Now, let me taste you,’ she said huskily, holding eye contact as she took his velvety tip into her mouth.

As though unable to contain himself, Ale closed his eyes and arched backwards. Annabella took him fully into her mouth, delighting in the sweet chocolate taste as well as the obvious pleasure she was giving him. His delight had her own body pulsing with a deep need in her moistening core.

‘Oh bella, I can’t take any more.’ Alessandro jumped off the counter and swiftly lifted Annabella into his arms. He strode them over to the bed on the other side of the loft. The bed that had so intimidated Annabella only weeks before was now a welcoming haven.

Alessandro lay her down gently on the soft linen. He kissed her deeply on the mouth while he swiftly sheathed his erection. Annabella impatiently wriggled out of her underwear and pulled Alessandro on top of her as he began circling her glistening opening and teasing her aching bud.

‘Now, Ale, please.’ She raised her hips to meet his, closer, always closer.

Needing no further invitation, Alessandro groaned and finally filled her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned with pleasure. Her voice, her body, was no longer under her control, she was on a one-way trajectory and she was soaring.

She rocked in time with Ale’s thrusting movements, heightening the intensity of their mutual pleasure. They locked their gaze, lost in each other, as they swayed back and forth, their bodies entwined, becoming one. Rising together forever upwards into the blissful unknown, building to the ultimate crescendo and coming in harmony.

They finally collapsed into each other’s arms and lay quietly beside each other as they descended into a peaceful slumber.

‘I’ve got so much to tell you,’ Annabella whispered as she nestled into the crook of Ale’s arm, her head on his chest, soothed by the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat.

‘Shhh, bella,’ Alessandro said sleepily as he stroked her hair. ‘Go to sleep. We can talk in the morning.’

Cocooned in Alessandro’s comforting embrace, Annabella realised that she’d been crazy to think she’d be able to let him go.

She’s always been the good girl, but this trip to Italy will show Annabella that love and chocolate can both be sweet, tempting — and dangerously addictive.