Today on First Kiss Friday, we welcome romance author, Kris
Bock, and an excerpt from her Contemporary Romantic Adventure novel, “The Mad Monk’s Treasure.”
When a quiet history professor uncovers a clue to the
legendary lost Victorio Peak treasure, she prepares for adventure. But she’s
not the only one interested. Is the handsome pilot who rescued her a hero or
the enemy?
In this excerpt, Drew
gives Erin a ride home from the country bar, where they shared a romantic
dance. She's interested… But does she have the nerve to let him know?
First Kiss Excerpt
He pulled into her driveway and turned off the ignition.
Good. He wasn’t simply going to drop her off and drive away. Should she turn to
him in the car or wait for the porch? As she hesitated, he opened his door. The
porch, then.
What if he expected to come in? What if he expected – oh boy.
She fumbled for the seatbelt with trembling hands. By the time she’d freed
herself, he had her door open. She slid out of the big truck and smiled, glad
this back street had no streetlights. Maybe he wouldn’t see her nerves. “Thank
you.”
“My pleasure.” He turned and started up the walk beside her.
Should she invite him in? No, she didn’t think she could
stand the stress. She’d turn to him on the porch, tell him she had a wonderful
evening. She’d stretch up and kiss him – lightly, no expectations, simply a
friendly invitation. Her mind raced over the plan as her heart pounded. She
took a deep breath. She could do this.
She put her foot up on the first porch step. Something moved
low in the shadows.
Erin hesitated. Tiger stalked forward into the dim glow of
the porch light, yowling complaints.
Erin went cold. She was quite certain she’d left him inside,
with all the doors and windows closed.
Drew crouched and ran a hand over Tiger’s back. “Well hey
there, fellow.” Tiger gave a rumbling purr and head-butted Drew’s knee. Drew
chuckled and glanced up at Erin. He shot to his feet and grabbed her arm.
“What’s wrong?”
“He shouldn’t be out,” she whispered. “I left him inside.”
Drew glanced at Tiger and then the house. “A window, maybe?”
“No, everything was closed and locked. Since the break-in –
”
His hand tightened on her arm. “What break-in? When?”
“The night I was in the hospital. The police said probably
someone found out I was gone, but – ” She shook her head. She didn’t have to
get into all that. But she remembered the officer’s warning. “They said
sometimes burglars come back. I haven’t had any expensive electronics delivered
or anything, but what if they came back?”
“Give me your key and go wait in the truck. Lock the doors.”
“No, we can call the police! Let them search.” She was
trembling, too panicked even to feel foolish about the waves of anxiety that
rolled over her. They had come back. They might have found the book this time. They
might still be inside. They might hurt Drew. They might come after her, hurt
her again. She didn’t know what scared her most, but she was not going to sit
in the truck waiting while Drew went in.
“Erin – ” Drew sighed, the sound of a man impatient with a
woman’s foolish fears. But he gathered her close and stroked her back. “We can
do that if you want. But it will mean waiting a while – maybe hours. How do you
think the police will react if you tell them you’re worried because your cat
got out?”
“But he couldn’t have! Not unless someone has been here.”
“I know.” His arms tightened around her. “I believe you.”
She let herself lean against him and felt her heart slow.
Finally she said, “But the police wouldn’t.” She hadn’t had much contact with
the police before. She didn’t know how busy they would be in a town this size
or how they prioritized their calls. But on a Friday night they’d have drunk
drivers, accidents, fights. A hysterical woman with no evidence of a break-in
except a large orange cat probably wouldn’t make the top of their list. And
what if they went in and found everything normal? She’d be like the boy who
cried wolf and they might not take her seriously when she really needed them.
Drew waited, gently stroking her back. Erin smiled a little.
She recognized that a man could easily resent a woman holding him back when he
wanted to play the hero. Drew didn’t brush her off or get huffy and storm away
because she’d insulted his manhood according to some mysterious man-logic. He
was waiting for her to come to terms with the situation. She had to admit he
was right about the police. But she didn’t want him hurt.
Tiger wove around their ankles, purring. Would he be more
anxious if someone were still there? No sound came from the house. Any thief
should have heard them drive up, maybe heard their voices. They’d had plenty of
time to sneak out the back by now.
Erin took a deep breath and straightened. “All right, we’ll
go in. Together.” She wondered if he’d refuse. She met his gaze, determined not
to back down. No way was she going to sit in the truck worrying while he
searched the house.
His lips parted in a slow smile. He rubbed a thumb over her
cheek. “You’re one hell of a woman.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss and turned
toward the door.
“The Mad Monk’s
Treasure” is free through:
Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com
or visit her Amazon
page. Sign up for the Kris Bock
newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.
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