First Kiss Friday – Between a Rock and a Mad Woman by Stephanie Queen

Today’s First Kiss Friday featured guest is Stephanie Queen, author of contemporary romance Between A Rock and A Mad Woman.  Welcome Stephanie!  Here’s the first kiss between Madeline Grace and Peter John Douglas.

He opened his eyes. She smiled gently. He let out his  breath. It wasn’t so bad after all, having her understand; having someone  understand better than him.

“You know you’re the best man I ever met…”

“But,” he interrupted her, “but you have bigger and better  things to do than to play second fiddle to me. I know I disappointed you once.”

She sighed. He knew she didn’t want to talk about it. He sighed too.

She stopped and really looked at the wry, somewhat sad smile  on his face. The smile would have been harmless—if it hadn’t been for his eyes.

Those crystal clear blue bedroom eyes. Sometimes they were  merely intense with passion, and other times they were like mirrors reflecting endlessly, but they were always compelling—and they were always sexy.

And he knew it. Oh no. She felt a split second of panic.

He stepped forward, cupped the back of her head with one hand, grabbing a handful of her hair, caressed her jaw with the other hand and covered her mouth with his in a hungry no-holds-barred kiss. She sunk into the moist dark abyss of their mouths connecting, tongues flicking and teeth nibbling. She felt her lips grow plump with stimulation and desire. He moved his lips from hers and moved his hands to hug her body close to his.

They’d always had the best kisses. She didn’t know if it was a match of anatomy or chemistry or just the linking of two souls. Whatever it was, the undeniable connection was there—still. When he spoke she held her breath, fearing what he might say.

“I think part of why I miss you is that you challenge me. It’s like in the movies when the good guy and bad guy meet each other and they hate everything each other stands for and yet they admire the way they stand—the strength and competence. They respect the ability; they need the challenge of an able foe. That’s sometimes how I think of you and me.”  He spoke somehow without melodrama and at least partly serious.

She let out her breath and laughed. She didn’t know what she had expected, but not that.

“Well, it’s a good thing this isn’t the movies. Otherwise I’d have to kill you. Of course with great regret,” she said. He laughed, a mellow, relaxed laugh. Maybe this is what she feared; the breaking down of all their barriers. Too late to worry.

“It’s not that we’re enemies,” he assured her.

“No. Foils for each other, maybe competitors?”

“A lot of partners are like that, even husbands and wives…” He smiled broadly, mocking his own wistfulness. This time she laughed with a spike of trepidation. So she shifted the subject.

“It’s amazing that the media never picked up on this… On our past.” It worked. He looked like she’d shoved ice down his pants.

“We’ve hardly begun. Wait.” He folded his arms and continued to look at her, back to his unreadable self.

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