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Saturday, February 9, 2013

The "first kiss" in The Burning Seal...


Welcome to MFRW’s “Firsts” blog hop! 
The moment is upon you...
Your heart races with nervous anticipation...this is it...you’re seconds away from sharing your first kiss. Will there be fire? Will it fall flat? Excitement, worry, hope, all of these emotions play havoc with your feigned easygoing attitude. 
Psychologist William Cane notes that kissing in Western society is most often a romantic act and describes a few of its attributes:
“It's not hard to tell when two people are in love. Maybe they're trying to hide it from the world, still they cannot conceal their inner excitement. Men will give themselves away by a certain excited trembling in the muscles of the lower jaw upon seeing their beloved. Women will often turn pale immediately of seeing their lover and then get slightly red in the face as their sweetheart draws near. ... This is the effect of physical closeness upon two people who are in love.”
I hope you enjoy the “First Kiss” excerpt from my Paranormal Romantic Suspense, The Burning Seal. The main characters, Danni and Chase are working together to solve a series of murders while battling their growing desire for one another. 

I'm happy to give away two copies of my ebook The Burning Seal to two random commenters. Please leave a comment about your first kiss, or the blog post to enter the giveaway. Include your email and the type of format you would like the book sent. 

Thank you!

The First Kiss...

She tucked her hair behind her ear. His eyes narrowed on her trembling hand. 
“What about yourself? Look at the effect this case is having on you.”  
He moved toward her. She couldn’t breathe for other reasons now. He placed his hand over her heart; his palm was wide enough he touched the skin exposed by the V of her shirt. Her heart jumped. Her stomach flipped and pulled. She resisted moving closer.
“If you can’t handle the case then you need to back out before Sam pulls you off.” 
She stepped away. “Sam doesn’t have any reason to, unless you plan to give him one.” He folded his arms across his chest, stubborn and strong. She forced herself to speak calmer. “I know what I’m doing. I’m fine.”
He snapped, “Stop saying that. You’re not fine. Your heart’s racing. Body shaking. Your face is pale and I keep thinking you’re going to pass out at any moment.” 
“It’s not easy to touch someone so evil and not be affected. Look at me, I’m not physically hurt.”  
He shoved his hands in his pockets. His mouth pressed into a hard line.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m done for the night,” she said. 
With a stiff nod, he followed her to collect personal effects from their desks before departing. He was quiet as they walked to the parking lot which suited her fine since she was busy fighting powerful feelings that had nothing to do with the case. Was she the only one who felt the connection? Was it her imagination or did being with Chase feel familiar? 
They stopped at her car. 
“See you tomorrow.” She got in and shut the door, relieved to escape him, only to tense back up when his knuckles banged the window. She slid the key into the ignition and lowered it. 
His forearms rested on the opening. His face inches from hers. “Call if you need anything.”
Her eyes had a will of their own and kept dropping to his lips. She wondered how they would feel. Would the kiss sizzle or fall flat?
“I mean it, Danni. No matter when, no matter what time.”
Was it wicked hope or had his face drawn closer to hers? She parted her lips as much to breathe through her nervousness as to finally satisfy her curiosity.
Closing the distance between them, she seized his face between her hands and kissed him. His lips opened from shock, or desire, she didn’t know. At this point she didn’t care. She took advantage and finally tasted him. Warm cinnamon. His kiss was a mirror of his personality, bold and confident. She recognized the rough feel of his skin under her palms, the pressure, and rhythm of his kiss. Why did she feel so attuned to this man?
The thought and her attraction frightened her. She released him abruptly. The car and everything around her seemed to shift, and then jerk back in place. Wow.
She rolled her lips together. His heat and taste remained on them. “Thanks. I’ll call if I need you.” She tapped the silver button so the window shot up a notch. He jerked back and stayed there until she reversed and fled the lot.   
Oh man what was I thinking? Her cheeks flamed from her boldness, yet, it felt good to do something so out of character. She didn’t know where the compulsion to kiss him came from but it felt right to go with it. And to answer her earlier question—oh yeah, there was heat.

22 comments:

  1. Very nice first kiss. :) Looking forward to this read.

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  2. Awesome first kiss!
    bidelia78@yahoo.com

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  3. Very nice first kiss. :) Looking forward to this read.

    parisfan_ca@yahoo.com

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  4. Love it when the woman takes charge! Great post.

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  5. That sounds like a fabulous first kiss. You know...I can't even remember mine. I was too young to really appreciate it I think!

    dreammie_angel at yahoo dot com

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    1. Lol! I remember my first kiss...8th grade party. Spin the bottle. Nothing exciting at all except I finally could say I kissed someone!

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  6. Oh...I miss the exciting first kiss....

    jennirv4967 at gmail dot com

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  7. Wonderful first kiss. Do you sometimes envy your characters and the adventures they get to have?

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    1. Sometimes I do. Their lives are action packed but in reality I would probably be terrified to experience the danger they do.

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  8. Enjoying the blog hop so much fun to see different author sites.

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  9. Great first kiss, Jenna. MuseItUp Books rock and I strongly recommend checking out there bevy of wonderful reads!

    Warm regards,
    Christine London

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  10. Thanks Karen! I'm still checking out everyone's sites.

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  11. Thanks everyone for stopping by!

    Christine, I love Muse's books too. I'm very lucky to have them as my publisher.

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  12. Love that first, bold kiss!

    Marlie

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  13. Amazing first kiss

    flanagan@mebtel.net

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  14. My first kiss? I remember it well...I was 13 and went on a "date" with a gang of kids. Sat with Donald and at the very end of the movie, he grabbed me and pulled me to him across the theater seat arm practically breaking my ribs. When he kissed me, all I thought of was the lights were coming up and everyone would see I kissed him and my parents would find out!! Trauma...I don't even remember the kiss. LOL Best wishes with the Burning Seal. Sounds like a winner!!

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  15. What a first kiss, nothing like mine. I was 13 and very nervous. But I learned fast and still to this day love to kiss. :)
    Great excerpt, thanks for sharing
    Lynda

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  17. Great snippet! Nice first kiss. I love them in stories. It starts the sparks! :D Thanks for sharing! And thanks for the awesome hop and giveaway!
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

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  18. So nice she took the initiative! Great post.

    Sorry for being late to the hop, but I've enjoyed my tour today.

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  19. Thanks everyone for coming to the blog! I wanted to announce the winners. The comments were numbered and then I had someone pick two numbers.

    Winners:
    Karen Cote
    and
    Shadow

    I've sent emails to the winners and asked which format they would like The Burning Seal sent to them. If they've already won a copy of my paranormal in other contests I'll select new winners :)

    Thanks again for commenting. It was fun hearing about others first kiss experiences!

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