McKenna Jeffries

A kiss is such an intimate moment between two people. It can express such ranges of emotions. Demure to wild. Tender to untamed. Sad and Joyous. It can be anything rip people apart or solidify them as a unit. Today’s snippet theme is First Kiss. Below is a scene from a book I co-authored Aliyah Burke which will be released in August 2009 by Liquid Silver Books as part of their Hearts Afire theme. This is an unedited excerpt.

A snippet from Wicked Burn….

A shadow fell over her, and she looked up at the man who stood a few inches taller than her. He stared down at her with a longing in his gaze. Her belly churned, and her legs became shaky. Everything in the room shrank to the two of them, nothing more, and nothing less. In slow motion, he cupped the side of her face and lowered his mouth to hers.

Nothing else mattered, aside from the fact his lips were nearing hers. At first touch, she whimpered. His lips were made for kissing. He nibbled gently before covering her mouth. She moaned as his tongue slid along her lips and sought entrance. Yasmine opened on a sigh.

It was a slow exploration of the recess of her mouth, and Yasmine allowed him to set his pace. Her fingers curled into her palms so she didn’t grab him. It was over almost before it started, and when he pulled back, his eyes swirled with barely restrained passion.

“Hate me if you must, Yasmine Van Cort, but I had to do that,” he mumbled against her lips.

Yasmine studied him. If she hated him, it would have been easier. Hate was far from what she was feeling.

“Less talk, more kissing.” She reached for his shirt and jerked him to her.

His startled laugh tickled her lips. She sighed as their mouths met. His firm lips felt delicious against hers. He murmured, and his arms came around her. She shuddered as her body touched his. All those fine muscles were even better up close and personal. Sedeo kissed her hungrily and thoroughly. His tongue licked along the side of her mouth. She leaned against him, rubbing slightly.

He moaned and continued to savor her. That was what it felt like to her, the way he kissed her, taking everything in. Her taste, the soft furrows of his tongue finding all the recess of her mouth, and the hunger that made her know he wanted her. It was all so sexy and tender.

Copyright © McKenna Jeffries and Aliyah Burke, 2009.
All Rights Reserved.

Go to the following sites to check out these other great authors snippets:

Lauren Dane
Cynthia Eden
Vivi Anna
Sylvia Day
Moira Rogers
Mandy Roth
Anya Bast
Viv Arend
Beth Williamson
Elisabeth Naughton
Michelle Pillow
Jaci Burton
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Victoria Janssen
Shelli Stevens
Maggie Robinson
Juliana Stone
Sasha White
Maura Anderson
Shelley Munro
Jody Wallace
Eliza Gayle
Kelly Maher

There are so many various types of moments that define people’s lives. When I heard the theme for this week – defining moments – I knew instantly what I would post for today’s snippet. It is a scene from a book I co-authored Aliyah Burke which will be released in August 2009 by Liquid Silver Books as part of their Hearts Afire theme. This is an unedited excerpt.

A snippet from Wicked Burn….

His words pulled her from her thoughts.

“I’ve had such mixed feelings. I was grateful to you for saving Shelby, yet I blamed you, all of you, who were at the fire for not saving my sister and her husband.”

Yasmine stopped, disentangling her hand from his. Rufus whined, but sat, waiting for her to move. She gave her attention to Sedeo. He put Shelby down and held her hand. He met her gaze steadily.

“Why are you telling me this now, so suddenly?”

His statement had come out of the blue. They had been having such a good night.

“I had to.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m so angry with you, but I can’t stay away!” he cried.

She stared at him. She could understand both things. The same need is what drove her to use the picture as an excuse to see him. As a firefighter, she had faced the anger before from the survivors. They needed someone to blame, and it was easy to make the firefighters a scapegoat. Although she understood, it still hurt that he blamed her.

This is what you get for letting yourself get involved with a fire survivor. He might not have been in the actual fire, but he was still a survivor. He had to live with the aftermath. The blame, anger, and results. Yasmine crossed her arms under her breasts.

“I had to tell you. I’ve been doing research on the internet. On firefighters. Trying to understand what you do. Why do you do it? What’s the draw?”

“It’s my job. I love it. I’m not about to defend or explain it to you. ‘Nuff said.”

She wondered if this was some sort of survivor syndrome. Yasmine knew when people were put in such tragic circumstances they could develop an unhealthy attachment to those they perceived had helped them. She couldn’t believe she had missed it with Sedeo.

“This is not some survivor syndrome,” he said, as if reading her mind.

She glanced at him, startled. His look was steady.

“I looked into that, too. My feelings were so strong when I meet you, despite the circumstances. When I saw you again, it was out of control. I’ve never felt that way–this instantaneous attraction, a connection that seems like I’ve known you for so long, instead of the brief time I have.” He stopped, closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.

She gasped at the intensity of his gaze.

He continued. “I wanted to be sure of what I was feeling. I read everything I could find. Talked with a therapist about it, even. Ultimately, I figured out it wasn’t a false connection, but real. If this was untrue, I would have come to you weeks ago. I wouldn’t have fought coming to you for so long, even after I knew I wanted to know more about you…be with you…see where this could go. I didn’t come.”

His frustration was clear.

“Why did you come tonight?” she asked.

“I couldn’t stay away anymore,” he said softly.

Yasmine observed the need battling with his guilt, a guilt she was sure stemmed from him being alive while his family was gone. Sedeo reached out and cupped her cheek.

“I want to be here. Here with you. I’m afraid of you being a firefighter, but I can’t let that stop me. I need to be here. Let’s see how this goes.”

She couldn’t fault him for his truthfulness. If he had said he had come to terms with her profession, she would have walked away. With what he said, she couldn’t.

Be real. You wanted him from the very beginning. At least now, you know what you’re up against. And he wants you as much as you want him.

Yasmine turned her head and kissed his palm.

Copyright © McKenna Jeffries and Aliyah Burke, 2009.
All Rights Reserved.

Go to the following sites to check out these other great authors snippets:

Lauren Dane
Cynthia Eden
Vivi Anna
SJ Day
Moira Rogers
Leah Braemel
Mandy Roth
Anya Bast
Viv Arend
Juliana Stone
Savannah Foley
Beth Williamson
Elisabeth Naughton
Michelle Pillow
Jaci Burton
Taige Crenshaw
Sasha White

On Saturday a new feature will be started here on my blog. I along with various other authors will be posting snippets of our work. Each week the snippets will be based on a theme. At the end of each authors post there will be url’s of all the participating authors for that day’s snippets. You can go by the various authors’ blogs and read their snippets based on the weekly theme.

Thanks to Lauren Dane who came up with this fabulous idea.

See you tomorrow for my first snippet!