Here are the second batch of First Kisses from five more authors. Sigh. Is there anything more romantic?
Here’s whats happening. Today and tomorrow, i will be posting 4 batches of First Kisses from some wonderful authors. With each batch, you have the chance to add another entry to WIN a $35 GC, a $10 GC, and books, books, books! Here are the official rules:
Answer the question after each kiss in the comments below (comments will be screened) for a chance to win a $35 GC and a bundle of ebooks, plus a runners up prize of a $10 GC! Every set of five questions you answer correctly gives you another entry to the draw. Good luck – and enjoy those kisses! Excerpts are predominately m/m, but include some m/f and menage – we proudly swing all ways.
And remember to check out MORE kisses and chances to WIN at my co-host Kay Berrisford’s website. Go there and answer her questions as soon as you finish these. Then come back her around noon EST for a new batch of Kisses. And don’t forget to scroll down and see the kisses from this morning! Tomorrow there will be more at midnight and noon EST!
Answer the questions and Email them to me at tara at taralain dot com. Don’t leave them here on the blog. Remember to Leave Your Email.
Excerpt One: Compulsion by Clare London
I FOLLOWED him, never more than a foot behind, as he cut his way through the gyrating bodies on the dance floor toward the back of the room. We still hadn’t touched in any way. I probably looked calm, but I felt like a lamb to the slaughter, and I knew in my heart that was exactly what I was. I told myself we were going to find a quieter room and talk, we were going to share a joint, or maybe I’d take him up on that offer of a drink. After all, we couldn’t do much of that over the noise and scramble in this place. And then I’d get that taxi, go home, make strong coffee, and write the whole damned evening off to a moment’s madness.
He stopped at the far wall in front of a door. It was flush against the dark paintwork and wouldn’t have been noticed by most of the clients there tonight. There were no signs on it, nor a strip handle like the usual fire exit. A member of security stood nearby, and as we approached, she turned as if to stop us. But she stepped back when the man from the bar made a slight gesture with his hand. Then he pushed the door as if he knew it’d be open, it slid outward easily, and I followed him through.
It closed behind us with a heavy clunk, and the sudden drop in noise was a shock. I could only hear the beat of the music now, a regular throbbing bass that seemed to make the whole wall shudder. We’d stepped right outside of the building, and the chilly night air sent goose bumps along my skin after the heat of the dance floor. I took a quick glance around, wondering if this had been the most deceptive throwing-out I’d ever encountered, but I wasn’t back out on the street. It was an enclosed space like a backyard, with brick walls of head height and rubbish bins full of plastic bags and packaging over in one corner. A couple of security bulbs were placed high on the back wall of the club, giving a pale, misty arc of light across the area in front of the doorway. Something moved behind the bins—maybe an urban fox. I heard the sudden rustle of dislodged cardboard and saw tiny eyes glinting warily in case we threatened its territory.
And then a hand landed heavily on my shoulder, I was spun around so my back hit the cold bricks of the nearest wall, and the mystery guy’s mouth was on mine. Not a word, not a request, just hard, wet lips crushing mine and a fierce tongue pushing for admittance. My palms were flat against the wall, but he didn’t try to hold me there. It was enough that his mouth claimed me. I surrendered immediately and willingly and damn, damn eagerly!
I could genuinely say I’d rarely felt this rush of consuming, desperate lust—not since I was a teenager, first discovering I liked men and all their strong, sweaty, solid sexuality.
Tonight I felt swamped by a terrible need, just like this guy had said. A purely physical reaction that made my head spin and my heart tighten in my chest. A deep desire to touch—to grab—to possess. I didn’t know if the urgency was coming from him or from inside myself. His hands roamed over me as greedily and fiercely as if he were afraid I’d escape, so it seemed he felt the same way. Harsh breaths escaped him like gasps, as if he was startled or angry about it. I was too consumed by my own desire to ask which it was.
How long had it been since I’d had a fuck? I genuinely couldn’t remember. Something strange had happened tonight, from the minute I saw him. Something had loosened all my bonds.
We never spoke a word, though I’d have found it difficult with his probing tongue inside my mouth. I opened up even faster than he asked of me and I sucked him in, rolling my own tongue against him, tasting the hot skin and the cool taint of iced vodka in his mouth. He was panting, and I knew damn well that I was.
We broke apart from the kiss and his hands landed back on my shoulders like a blow, pressing me down the wall. I struggled for a minute, not sure what game we were playing. I clapped my hands onto his shoulders, acting instinctively, seeking to restrain him in return. I tried the same pressure myself, seeing if he would buckle instead. To see who’d surrender first.
Something flared in his eyes, but they were too close to me and he was too much of a stranger for me to understand it. But there was excitement there, and a challenge that I’d never had before.
“Get down,” he growled. Out here in the fresh air, his voice reverberated in my ear. It was richer than I’d heard in the club, a match to his dark good looks. I slid, less than elegantly, down onto my arse.
When I glanced back up, I saw tall, shadowed buildings looming above my head from over the wall. Nothing but the featureless rear view of converted flats, where no one would venture out again until the brighter morning. This yard was obviously private. It was quiet except for the beat from the club behind us and the occasional wailing siren from the direction of the marina. It was a pregnant quiet, as we waited for each other’s next move. I was fleetingly thankful the night was dry; I knew we weren’t going back inside for a while yet.
QUESTION ONE: When the narrator rolls his tongue against his lover, what does he taste?
Excerpt Two: The Scientist and the Supermodel by Tara Lain
A soft sound made him look up.
His beauty was wearing only a towel; the black hair clung to his forehead and neck, wet from the shower. Clear green eyes stared at Jake with some intense but indescribable emotion. Jake knew for certain he’d never seen anything so beautiful. A fully clothed guy — really big — stood behind Roan. The model looked over his shoulder. “It’s okay, Jimmy. He’s a friend. Give us a minute, okay?” The big man disappeared around the lockers.
A friend? Oh shit, yeah.
Maybe a stop-action camera could have shown who moved first, but Jake couldn’t describe how he was one moment standing by the lockers and the next locked in Roan’s arms, his mouth crushed against those full, soft lips. He’d never kissed a man before, but this wasn’t “a man,” it was Roan, and Jake couldn’t suck his tongue far enough into his throat.
The model moaned and whimpered as Jake’s arms pulled him tighter. It was like the boy softened in his arms, the curved lips opening to receive him. And Jake somehow understood that when Roan said he was a bottom, he meant it. Despite the audacious beauty and aura of confidence, the man was deeply submissive. The very idea raged straight to Jake’s cock like he’d been struck by lightning.
QUESTION TWO: What is Roan wearing in this scene?
Excerpt Three: Bedtime Story for a Stolen Child by Anna Mayle
He asked the first question that came to him. “Why do you look like me?”
“I don’t,” it corrected. “You look like me.”
He stood on shaking legs and glowered at the calm, still smiling thing.
“That isn’t possible. Why would I look like you?!”
“Good question. Think hard.”
Daniel had no idea what he was meant to think of.
“Broken.”
“I’m not broken!” he growled bravely but tensed and tried to back away when it moved to
stand.
It rose in a flowing motion, so smooth it almost didn’t look as if it were really moving. More like it simply had always been standing, and Daniel had only seen things incorrectly to think otherwise. The overall affect was disconcerting. When it began to walk closer, he noticed that the birdlike features were brought out by the light of the moon through the trees, giving it the ever changing effect from before. Daniel wondered which image was real, or if they both were. Would it be able to exist in daylight, or was it like a vampire, and harmed by the sun’s clarity? His musings caused him to lose focus, which was brought back to him in a rush when that face, that strange, shifting countenance, was only a breath from his own. He threw himself backward, but the hands caught him, human hands, no matter if they were scaled and tipped with talons, they were still human, somehow. “Taking it back,” the thing insisted.
“Taking what back?”
It studied him as it spoke, “My life, my face. I’ll take you, too. Bonus, for being a slave to your kind for so long.”
Daniel’s lips parted, though whatever he’d been about to say was instantly stolen, along with his breath. The moment before he spoke, the creature was there, slick tongue slipping past Daniel’s chapped lips and into his unguarded mouth. He gasped and tried to fight its hold, but it was too strong, too sure. He gradually felt his will to run slipping away, as if the creature were sucking it from him by way of his own captive tongue.
It was surreal. He couldn’t understand what was happening, let alone why. He was aware of the odd fact here and there, but his mind refused to put things together in any kind of rational order.
The monster smelled nice. Like the smell of the spring woods at dawn. He tried to blink and only then did he realize that he’d closed his eyes. They opened again, quickly, he needed to watch it. No telling what it would try if he didn’t.
It was obviously trying to suck his face off through his mouth.
I am going insane.
There was a faint taste of wood smoke, black licorice, and cloves.
Daniel clenched his teeth shut in desperation, but missed the thing’s tongue.
It licked him! Licked against his cheek and nipped at his nose before laving the crease of his lips.
“Stop!” He swung his fist, wincing when he connected solidly against where an ear might have been hiding beneath the feathers. Its head snapped hard to the side then struck back around with the force of a cobra, latching onto Daniel’s neck. The fangs hooked in solidly, and he realized they were barbed, like tiny fishhooks.
He curled his fingers into fists, only noticing afterward that they had been resting, one against the beast’s chest and one against the side of its face. Daniel found himself clenching it closer to him. The longer they stayed locked in that unmoving tableau, the more confused Daniel became. He couldn’t quite recall what he was doing there, why he was fighting, if he was fighting. The teeth were motionless, and the ache from them a dull, echoing throb.
Then it pulled back.
He screamed.
QUESTION THREE: What does the monster smell of?
Excerpt Four: Snow by Pelaam
Buy link: https://spsilverpublishing.com/
He dived beneath the water and emerged, his arms around Snow’s hips, lifting the younger man into the air. As he gently let Snow slide through his arms, he could see something had changed. The younger man slipped a hand into his and led him back to shore. He was urged onto a thick covering of maroon moss and Snow lay beside him.
“Why do I feel I’ve known you all my life? Why do I feel I was waiting for you?” Snow asked him.
Snow’s eyes were full of anguish and confusion as Nolen gazed into them. I was waiting for you, too, he thought to himself. The realisation hit him full-force and he knew it with every cell of his being. No one could ever replace Snow in his heart.
It explained why his early romances were arm’s-length dances, and why his choices over the last couple of years were ones he knew deep in his soul were never going to lead anywhere; for example, his relationship with Terrian. They had been wrong for each other on so many levels it was almost unreal. He cupped a too-thin cheek in his hand. He couldn’t do this while Snow was oblivious to who they were. He felt as if he was taking some kind of unfair advantage.
I want to. Dear God in Heaven, I want to with every cell of my being, but Snow doesn’t know me. He doesn’t even know himself. I can’t take advantage of him, a man who has amnesia and will have to re-learn everything about himself. Perhaps when we’re back home…
“Snow, you’re just—” he began.
“I’m not a child! I’m not a child!” Snow shouted angrily.
The outburst was completely unexpected and so were the cool lips pressing urgently on his. Nolen heard the low rumble that emanated from deep in his chest. It was as much a sound of defeat as it was victory. He could feel Snow’s erection. Its heat branded Nolan’s naked thigh. He thrust his tongue deep into the warm recesses of Snow’s mouth, crushing the slighter form against his bare chest, determined to possess the younger man. To ensure that Snow would never look at or want another again, even with his memories restored.
Snow rubbed desperately against his thigh and Nolen knew what Snow wanted—no, needed. He pressed Snow downwards, the thick moss creating a soft cushion for the thin body of his soon-to-be lover. Kissing his way down Snow’s writhing body, Nolen fed greedily at his large, dark areolas, nipping and sucking at the peaked nipples.
QUESTION FOUR: What was completely unexpected?
Excerpt five: Something to Believe In by Sloan Parker
He opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, licked his lips as he kept his focus on mine. Finally, he met my stare. “I love you, Sean.” He held on to me and flipped us around until my back was pressing into the mattress, his body molded to mine. “I fucking love you. Always have.” He ran a palm along my cheek and caressed my lower lip with the pad of his thumb. “Just once I want something real. Something beautiful with you.”
Was I still asleep, dreaming while he showered?
He cupped the back of my head and leaned down, then paused with our mouths an inch apart. “Tell me to stop.”
Right. I’d get right on that.
I wasn’t sure I could breathe much less say something utterly ridiculous like stop. No matter what I’d been picturing for the past year, I hadn’t hoped for anything even close to this moment, to hear those words from him.
He came the rest of the way and brushed his lips against mine. The soft kiss had a tender quality to it I’d never known possible, so different from the intimacy—or lack of—I’d had in my life.
He swept his lips over mine again. Then the kiss—and the moment—was about so much more as he opened his mouth and his tongue came out to caress my bottom lip. Instinctively, I followed suit. Our tongues met and the kiss deepened. We were wrapped up in each other, his scent and touch were all over me, all around me, like the air I breathed.
QUESTION FIVE: What does Sean’s lover ask him to tell him?
Did you get them all? Email your comments to tara at taralain dot com and then scroll down to this mornings post and answer those questions for another entry! Then hop over to Kay Berrisford’s blog and answer the Kisses questions there. You may win! Then come back TOMORROW for 2 more chances to win. : )
Email: jen.f {at} mac {dot} com
First preference: m/m
Second preference: mixed
QUESTION ONE: When the narrator rolls his tongue against his lover, what does he taste?
ANSWER ONE: “hot skin and the cool taint of iced vodka in his mouth”
QUESTION TWO: What is Roan wearing in this scene?
ANSWER TWO: a towel
QUESTION THREE: What does the monster smell of?
ANSWER THREE: spring woods at dawn
QUESTION FOUR: What was completely unexpected?
ANSWER FOUR: Snow’s outburst and his cool lips pressing urgently on Nolen’s.
QUESTION FIVE: What does Sean’s lover ask him to tell him?
ANSWER FIVE: To stop.
Happy New Year!