First Kiss Friday – Keeper of the Light by Cynthia Owens

Today’s First Kiss Friday featured guest is Cynthia Owens, author of historical romance Keeper of the Light.  Welcome Cynthia!  Here’s the first kiss between Cathal Donnelly and Laura Bainbridge.

He made a rough sound, deep in his throat. He desperately wanted to hold her. Wanted to feel her arms around him, feel the tenderness in her fingers. He knew…knew…that while he held her, he could hold the clawing terror and uncertainty at bay.

With a low growl, he reached blindly for her. “Laura.”

Her arms slid around his neck so naturally, as if he’d held her a thousand times before. He drew in a shuddering breath, the scent of her hair familiar in an alien world.

“Ah, you smell so good.” He buried his lips in the tangled strands. “Tangy, like the sea.” He burrowed deeper, his heartbeat accelerating, his hands tracing restless, rhythmic circles on her back. “Sweet, like cinnamon and sugar and strawberries.” He pulled her closer, closer still, wanting, needing to absorb as much of her as he could. “Sensual, like a full-blown rose…”

“Cathal.” Her voice was a seductive murmur. Her fingers sank into the hair at his nape, sending fierce shocks of desire through him. He had to kiss her, just once. Just a tiny taste of her sweetness.

He pulled back to look into her shining eyes. There was tenderness there. Passion.

And, yes, ah, yes. Desire shone hot and bright in the shimmering blue depths of her eyes.

“Laura.” His voice shook. He gently framed her face in his trembling hands. “I want to kiss you. I need to kiss you. Please…” He ran unsteady fingers down her cheek. “Let me kiss you, Laura.”

She was gazing at him, her expression slightly dazed, her lips parted just enough to expose her white, even teeth and the tip of her tongue. He groaned again and, not waiting for an answer, crushed his mouth to hers.

She tasted so sweet, her lips soft and yielding beneath his. Her fingers stroked the back of his neck, a touch as soothing to his tortured soul as it was arousing to his heated body. He slanted his mouth across hers, taking all she offered in tender exploration. He ran his hands down her back, absorbing her startled shiver and molding her against him, savoring each curve of her lithe body.

“You taste so good. Laura…sweet Laura, I love the way you respond to me. Yes, like that.” He groaned as she pressed against him. “Just like that.”

He could lose himself so easily in this woman. She was all softness, yet he sensed passion singing in her blood. Her hair, lit by the bright sunlight, was a flame against his hands. Her skin was rose satin, her eyes deep, mysterious pools of salvation. And her body…ah, her body. Her hardened nipples pressed against his chest, and his whole body tightened in response.

They were in TirnaNog, Land of the Ever Young, where no one ever grew old or sickened or died.

The damp nudge on his shoulder jerked him back to reality. He let go of Laura and spun around, his hand instinctively reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there.

Big, long-lashed brown eyes regarded them solemnly.