First Kiss February – A Kiss of Lies by Bronwen Evans

Today’s Special First Kiss February featured guest is Bronwen Evans, author of historical romance A Kiss of Lies.  Welcome Bronwen, my fellow Love Historicals author!  Here’s the first kiss between Sarah and Christian.

Pulling the sheet up, she sat on the edge of the bed and laid the damp cloth on his forehead. She stroked his face and hair and softly sang a gentle lullaby. She felt stupid singing to a grown man, but it appeared to calm him. Gradually his thrashing eased.

She kept singing as she stroked his neck and let her fingers trail toward his chest, feeling the leashed power beneath his skin. Normally she was wary of strong men, but something in his abject helplessness gave her the courage to stay within his reach.

She felt his muscles relax, and she lowered her head to whisper in his ear, “Shush, everything is going to be all right. You’re safe. I’m here.” And she kissed his cheek as she would have kissed a child in distress.

She felt him stiffen at the touch of her lips. His head turned until his lips touched hers. His eyes were still closed, and his breathing was regular.

She became a statue, too afraid to move lest he wake and find her mouth upon his.

Then his lips fluttered over hers, so lightly it could have been her imagination. Unlike the rest of him, they were soft, and then she could feel herself sinking into their warmth.

With no warning he deepened the kiss, and an altogether different type of groan escaped from deep within his chest. His arms reached for her and he pulled her on top of him, her thin nightdress just a flimsy barricade against the heat and power of his body. She could feel him hardening against her stomach as his tongue swept into her mouth, seeking, conquering, and finally chasing away his demons.

She fought the panic and the need to struggle. Would he hurt her? She would bear it as she always did with Peter, because she was too scared to wake him. She could lose her hard-won job. She should not have entered his room. What if he dismissed her after only one night?

She gritted her teeth, prepared to endure his touch.

But his startling kiss was like none she’d ever experienced before. It was full of tenderness, gentleness, and longing—things Sarah had never experienced in her husband’s bed.

She closed her eyes and gave herself over to his kiss. For the first time she welcomed the arousing sensations besieging her as his lips moved enticingly over hers. Her body grew suddenly warm, her skin flushed as with a fever, and yet, oddly, she shivered under his expert onslaught. Surprisingly, she was aroused. After everything she’d endured in her husband’s bed, her body recognized the difference in Christian’s touch. Her breasts swelled, becoming heavy, full, and tingling; waves of heat fluttered and curled in her belly, and lower as well, right between her thighs. Her breath seemed to be suspended, even as it mingled with his.