First Kiss Friday – Unearthed by Jerri Drennen

Today’s First Kiss Friday featured guest is Jerri Drennen, author of paranormal romance Unearthed.  Welcome Jerri!  Here’s the first kiss between Jack Trader and Lila Monclair.

Lila wiped the last of the kitchen counters and tucked the towel onto a rack, then released a heavy sigh. She was finished with everything that needed to be done here.

After Jack and Cody ate, she thought it best to stay out of their way. She planned to treat them like any other guest at the inn, and that meant making sure their rooms were up to par.

She walked to the dining room. Cody was at the table, watching the feed on their computer. She smiled at him on her way to the front room.

On the staircase, she checked to make sure there weren’t any new puddles. She didn’t need anyone falling. At the top of the stairs, her gaze was drawn to the closed door of the room Jack had chosen. He must be inside.

What was he doing?

She walked over and leaned in to listen. She could hear water running. He must be taking a shower. Just the thought of the man standing naked in the stall sent a rush of heat across her body.

She shook her head, angry she allowed herself to spy on the man yet again.

Lila sprinted to Cody’s room and quickly stripped the bedding from the mattress. She piled the linens outside the door and retrieved an extra set of sheets from the closet in the hallway. She made up the bed, then went to the bathroom and cleaned the sink and toilet. Before leaving, she restocked the towels and piled the wet ones on top of the sheets near the door.

She grabbed all the dirty laundry and descended the steps. She’d take them to the basement, then return to do the same with Jack’s room. Hopefully when she came back, he’d be finished with his shower.

The minute she opened the cellar door, she sneezed. It never failed. Every single time she came down to the basement. She must have some kind of allergy to the mold and dankness.

As quick as she could, she placed the bedding and towels into the washing machine. She wouldn’t start the load yet. She’d wait for the other room’s linens first.

She raced up the stairs, leery of spending time in the basement after her confrontation with the dark-headed woman. Stupid, really, she chided herself.

Are you going to avoid the pantry as well?

She returned upstairs and was disappointed to find Jack’s door still closed.

As she turned to leave, the door creaked open and Jack stepped out, his hair wet from his shower, a curl in its texture that gave him a somewhat boyish appearance.

What she wouldn’t give to run her hands through the stuff.

“Did you need something?” The low timbre of his voice set off a vibration in her belly.

Lila tried to say something, but words refused to come out of her mouth.

“Are you okay?” He stepped closer and, yet again, that wonderful piney, sandalwood scent enveloped her. Everything about Jack Trader spoke to her in one form or another.

His hands cupped her shoulders, and Lila experienced something she never had before, a quiver that left her weak in the knees.

“Lila?” Worry lines furrowed his forehead. “What’s wrong?”

An urge to kiss him overwhelmed her, and she reached around his neck to pull his head down, smashing her lips to his. Lila had barely ever touched a man, let alone kissed one with so much abandon. A strange sensation built inside her, and she craved more. She didn’t even mind the roughness of his beard next to her skin—it only managed to heighten her awareness of him.

His grip on her shoulder tightened for an instant before he thrust her away.

The second her lips lost contact with his, Lila felt as if her world had ended.

She swallowed and looked up at him, his eyes now narrow slits.

Oh my God. What have I done?