Spotlight & Giveaway: Their Diamond Ring Ruse by Bella Mason

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Bella Mason to HJ!

Hi Bella and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Their Diamond Ring Ruse!

 
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Their Diamond Ring Ruse is a fake engagement romance in which Julian Ford, a rags to riches billionaire struggling to gain acceptance amongst the old money clique of San Francisco, proposes to Lily Barnes Shah who is from one of these families in the hopes that it will finally give him an in with them as well as save her from an arranged marriage she is desperate to escape. It’s a good idea until they develop very real feelings for each other.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“It was an interesting thing, watching a person make a decision of some gravity. Watching the emotions play out on their face. First uncertainty, followed by a ripple of fear, and then, as their will solidified, and they became certain of their choice, their features would set. Sometimes with determination, other times with confidence, at times even with aloofness.
Watching Lily closely from his place at the bar, Julian saw her push her shoulders back and lift her chin, as if she’d suddenly remembered she was San Franciscan royalty.”

I love this so much because at this point they don’t know each other but Julian is already watching her so closely and in that moment she chooses to be brave and go to him.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• There are a few interesting things about this book.
• Julian was actually inspired by one of my favourite anime characters and when I spoke to my friend (the book is actually dedicated to her) about my idea for him she was all for it and we agreed he would have to be a redhead because she had always wanted a redhead hero. She’s a redhead. Even when I had the idea for the spicy scene after Lily and Julian visit Versailles, I spoke to her about it which she made me write down immediately and after that I ran it past my editor asking her if it’s too spicy. She said write it. If it’s too much we can sort it out afterwards . I’m happy to say it was unchanged.
• I also had to do so much research on renewable energy and San Francisco. Actually, one of the San Fran wallpapers came up on the Apple TV and I was able to tell my husband exactly where that was in reference to my book because I had looked at so many maps and street views and directions to get from place to place!
• I also listened to a bunch of songs that helped me develop these characters and story. The full playlist is on my site but I was listening to Monster by Skillet (not very romantic, I know ) and it felt like I met Julian. Also, my husband and I were driving back home and Demons by Imagine Dragons came on which gave me one of my very first ideas for the book which was the break up scene and I told him to send me a message with “Julian – Demons” so I wouldn’t forget my idea. He doesn’t even question me when I tell him to do random things lol

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Julian first notices her yellow dress which made for a nice change to all the monochrome in the room but he takes her in, how graceful she is and in the book I describe him as feeling “kissed by the sun” which is important because he later tells her that when one grows up in the dark, they crave the light. But once he starts talking to her, he enjoys her wit and that she is willing to go toe to toe with him. Challenge him.

With Lily, she first notices that there’s a presence about him. Something predatory and it pulls her in, but it’s that she finds his depth alluring and his honesty refreshing that keeps her talking to him. He offers her a kindness and it makes her feel like maybe she found someone willing to help her.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Oh so many! I think the scene in France had me blushing pretty hard. It’s one thing to write a sex scene, but a whole other when it’s erotic and the point is for each of them to see the other. The exhibitionism of it and having to live it with your characters. Julian isn’t just exposing himself physically to Lily, but also emotionally. And Lily finding her power not just sexually but also over him is one of my favourite things. But you do have to see this character who is initially shy and then puts her pleasure on display for this man, in your mind and then translate it into words on paper.

“Julian pulled his own shirt over his head and threw it to one side. Lily paused her movement, her gaze raking over his body, and he could have sworn he felt it like a touch. Drawing the corner of her lip between her teeth, she removed the rest of her clothing, with Julian just a step behind.
Then she climbed into the centre of the large, four-poster canopied bed and leaned back against the pillows.
‘Touch yourself,’ he said, hoarse.
Her skin flamed, and he could see her swallow hard, but despite her shyness Lily raised a hand and trailed it down her stomach. Teasing.
As hard as he was, he knew it wasn’t just arousal that coursed through him, but pride. He was so proud of this woman who didn’t back down from any challenge. She just reached within herself and pulled from her limitless reserves of strength.
So he would make her invincible. No one was ever going to try to control her again. She wouldn’t be shy about her pleasure, wouldn’t worry about her freedom, nor care if anyone was there to support her. Because he would make sure she knew she needed no one. The world should be bowing to her, begging to be allowed into her universe.
And even though he couldn’t say the words playing in his mind, Julian knew that he loved her. It was an absolute, immutable truth. Even though he’d tried to fight it. Even though he knew what love could do to a person. Even though he knew this couldn’t be for ever. Julian had fallen in love with her.
He watched her fingers slide lazily over her sex, heard a gasp escaping her at her own touch, and with eyes locked on hers he grasped his hardness, matching her slow, languid pace. “

Readers should read this book….

if they want a story that will tug at the heartstrings and if they are looking for two people that it’s just impossible not to root for. (Also if they want to be called a “Good girl”)

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’ve just finished revisions on my fourth book which is a royal romance and I’m so excited for everyone to meet my two leads who live in an island kingdom in the Mediterranean. We have a spare who must be king and a librarian who gets under his skin.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A signed set of my three books: Awakened by the Wild Billionaire, Secretly Pregnant by the Tycoon and Their Diamond Ring Ruse. Open internationally.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Hero, morally grey anti-hero or villain… who is your favourite and who should get the girl?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Their Diamond Ring Ruse:

She grew quiet, trying to put a picture of Julian together, but he was a highly complex puzzle and she only had a few pieces so far.
‘Just ask me what’s on your mind.’ He smirked. ‘I can see those cogs turning.’
She let out an embarrassed chuckle at having been caught, but she wasn’t going to squander the chance to collect more information.
‘Okay… You seem to have come up with this idea rather quickly, and I’m just wondering how you were able to. I mean, being my fiancé makes it impossible for you to have a partner.’
‘That’s easy. I don’t have one.’
‘How is that possible?’ she blurted.
Julian leaned forward, elbows folded on the table. ‘I’m glad you think I’m so desirable.’
‘I just meant—’
‘The answer is simple, Lily. I don’t do relationships.’
That seemed ridiculous. The man was smart, sexy, and so far seemed like a good enough person.
‘Why?’
‘Why do you want to know?’ He smirked again, but this time there was no humour in his expression. ‘Think you’ll be the one to fix me? I’m a grown man. I don’t need to offer reasons for my behaviour.’
He was right. He was free to do what he wanted. It just seemed wrong.
‘You don’t. And I don’t think that. One, I may not know you very well, but I don’t think there’s anything to fix. Two, I’m trying to get to know you since we will be engaged. And three, I’m very aware of what this is, Julian, but we don’t have to be strictly business partners—we can also be friends.’
‘I don’t have those either,’ he stated simply.
Didn’t that sound lonely?
‘Okay, so what do you do for fun?’
‘I work. I tinker.’
Lily thought about Crème and all the time she spent there. All the late nights perfecting recipes alone. She loved that time, so she really couldn’t say much to him because hadn’t she become the same way?
‘Ah, yes, the genius.’ She grinned. ‘It’s funny, you don’t look like a genius.’
Why was she trying to provoke this obviously tightly wound man?
‘Why? Because you buy the media’s narrow-minded depiction of what intelligence looks like?’
‘Of course not!’
Yet that was exactly what she was thinking—purely because the idea of Julian as a shy, socially awkward person was highly entertaining.
His eyes twinkled in that way they did whenever they flashed the smile the rest of his face wouldn’t allow. ‘It’s both good to know and a little concerning that you’re such a bad liar.’
‘That’s a compliment, Julian. No one should be good at lying. Are you?’
‘You have no idea…’
But she did. She’d heard him telling her brother he loved her. It was the first time a man had ever said he loved her, and it was a lie. A necessary one, but it left an awful taste in her mouth. And that was her problem, not his.
She pushed on with her questions, only pausing when their food was served before asking, ‘How old are you?’
‘I thought you’d heard all about me?’ He cocked a brow and it was maddening.
‘I don’t keep a dossier on you.’ She rolled her eyes.
He gave a chuckle! Finally! It seemed to surprise them both.
‘Thirty.’
As their dinner progressed, Lily found she was able to interpret Julian’s subtle tells. When he was amused, when he didn’t want to answer a question, when something deeper stirred in him but he wouldn’t let it see the light. And, as much as she hadn’t expected it, she found she was truly enjoying herself. Talking to Julian was easy, and he made her feel lighter, unburdened in a way that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. He drew laughter from her easily. Made her smile.
She watched him move their two glasses aside and reach over to take her hand in his.
‘Are you ready for this?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’ She was calmer than when he had collected her, comfortable now that she had got to know him just a little bit. Her life waited on the other side of this decision and she was ready to live it.
He kept his eyes on hers, stroking his thumb back and forth across her knuckles, spreading a white-hot heat that pooled in her core. She watched him slip a hand into his coat pocket and withdraw a black velvet box that he placed between them, pulling his hand away from hers to open the lid with a click.
And even though Lily knew this wasn’t real, and she knew Julian didn’t love her, she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t reach into the box and pluck that amazing ring out. And it was amazing. Timeless. Something she would have chosen for herself. A large princess cut diamond in a platinum band set with a series of pavé diamonds.
‘Lily, marry me.’
It wasn’t a question…wasn’t a request. It was a statement convincing her that she could place her trust in him. Telling her that they were in this madness together.
‘Yes,’ she choked, surprising herself at how easily the word fell out.
She’d worried that it would be hard to say yes when the time came, but it wasn’t. For whatever reason, her ‘yes’ felt right.
Julian pinched the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger then brushed his lips across her knuckles. The world disappeared.
‘I’m going to kiss you now,’ he said softly, his eyes on hers, and when she nodded with a whispered ‘Okay’, he pulled her to her feet and stepped up to her until their bodies were almost touching. Until she had to crane her neck to look up at him. At the hunger in his eyes.
Lily had always avoided kissing Lincoln, and had thought she must be wired differently because she hated the idea of it. It was why she had turned away so his lips never met hers. Why she’d felt less than nothing.
But now…
Now her heart raced and her body pulsed. Now she could hear nothing but thunder in her ears. Now all she could do was drown in those darkened eyes, crave the heat of his body.
Julian grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, controlling her with ease as his lips lowered to hers. Brushing softly, gently. Once…twice. And then his tongue followed, tasting her.
She mewled, felt her legs growing weak, but a strong arm wrapped around her waist, fusing her to his hard body, and she gasped, allowing him to slide his tongue into her mouth, coaxing hers to dance with him.
And it did. Nervously at first, but then Julian growled deeply at the back of his throat, and it was the single most erotic sound she had ever heard. It made her confidence swell. Allowed her to take his bottom lip between hers, to press her hands against the hard muscle of his stomach, push them up until they landed on his chest, his white shirt bunched in her fingers.
And still he kissed her. Dominated her mouth. His lips slid with urgency now. They were lost. Lost to this stormy tempest of a kiss that kept sucking them into its depths only to crash into each other again and again.
His taste and his smell, like rich leather and spice and a hint of coffee, submerged her. She thought she could kiss him for ever. But the sound of clapping broke the spell and Julian wrenched away from her lips, his chest rising and falling as if he had run miles. His eyes were dark.
Lily hadn’t known what to expect in kissing Julian, but she couldn’t have imagined it would be like this. Kissing him had been life-altering. And she wanted to do it again.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Black sheep billionaire seeks fiancée…only heiresses need apply!

Self-made Julian Ford, a ruthless entrepreneur from the wrong side of the tracks, needs to secure funding from a group of traditional investors. His solution: announce an engagement to a woman from a long-established San Francisco family…and Lily Barnes-Shah fits the bill perfectly!

Julian’s business proposal provides Lily with an escape from an unwanted convenient marriage. But she couldn’t have envisaged the burning heat between them. Or that she’d be craving something outside of the bounds of their temporary agreement: A passionate surrender between Julian’s billion-dollar sheets…
Book Links: Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Bella Mason has been a bookworm from an early age. She has been regaling people with stories from the time she discovered she could hold the dinner table hostage with her re-imagined fairy tales. After earning a degree in Journalism, she rekindled her love of writing and she now writes full time. When she isn’t imagining dashing heroes and strong heroines, she can be found exploring Melbourne, with her nose in a book or lusting after fast cars.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |