First Kiss Friday – An Excerpt from “Hooked on a Phoenix” by Ashlyn Chase

Today on First Kiss Friday, we welcome romance author, Ashlyn Chase, and an excerpt from her Light Paranormal Romance, “Hooked on a Phoenix (Phoenix Brothers Series).”

Locked in a bank vault together...

Misty Carlisle works as a bank teller in Boston's financial district. She's had more rotten luck in her life than most, except when her childhood crush shows up to cash his paycheck. Then her heart races and her mouth goes dry.

They might redefine the meaning of "Safe Sex."

Gabe Fierro is a firefighter--and a phoenix. Like his brothers, his biggest challenge is finding a woman open-minded enough to accept a shapeshifter into her life. When his boyhood friend asks him to watch over his little sister, Misty, he reluctantly agrees. But when the bank she works at gets held up,

Gabe does everything he can to protect her. The two of them get locked in the bank's vault...where things get steamier than either of them ever imagined.

First Kiss Excerpt

“Gabe? When this is all over, can we go out for coffee or something? I don’t want you to just walk out of my life. I’m betting that as soon as your firefighter buddies show up, you’re going to drop me like a hot potato and saunter off with them.”

He tried to muffle his laugh in his sleeve. She didn’t know he was supposed to be keeping an eye on her, but even if he weren’t, he wouldn’t just walk off with his buddies and leave her there.

“Sure. Coffee sounds great.”

He opened his eyes briefly to check the progress of the hole in the ceiling. More light shone through now, and he could see they were working on two sections at the same time. More voices were rumbling. He wondered how many guys were up there. Probably a dozen or more. It wouldn’t be much longer.

Gabe suddenly became aware of the fact that he was stroking Misty’s arm from her elbow up to her shoulder and down. She sighed and sagged against him. The impulse to enclose her in his arms and hold her close was something he had been battling since this all started.

The dust was almost overwhelming. Misty’s voice was muffled when she asked, “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re trying to breathe through a leather jacket. I have the only handkerchief. Maybe we could share it.”

He almost snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“Gabe!” She kicked him.

“Oww.”

“Am I that hideous that you don’t want to look at my face up close?”

“Of course not. It’s just that… Well, it’s the opposite.”

She seemed to take a deeper breath and relax into him a little more “Oh. Well then, here.” She slapped her hand behind his head and pulled him down to her face, then dragged the handkerchief over their eyes, noses, and mouths. They were not only sharing a cloth; their mouths were inches from each other. Not even inches.

He suddenly felt her lip touch his, and without even thinking, he leaned in and increased the pressure.

It started as a chaste kiss, but soon grew in intensity. She opened her mouth, and their tongues found each other. She cupped the nape of his neck. This girl could kiss! Before he realized it, his hands were pulling her closer and wandering over the dip in her lower back. Trying to stop at her hip was killing him. He wanted to squeeze her delectable buttocks.

He didn’t know how long they stood there kissing, because his brain had left the building. At one point, he realized what he was doing and knew he should pull away. But another big part of him—growing bigger by the second—thought, that ship has sailed, and it won’t be turning around.

“Hooked on a Phoenix” is available through:

ALL RETAILERS (Amazon, iBooks, Nook, and Google Play)

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