Today on First Kiss Friday, we welcome romance author, Viviana
MacKade, and an excerpt from her Romantic Suspense, “She Came With The Tide:
Crescent Creek 0.5.”
He’s impulsive, fearless, and fun loving.
Erik Axelsson, Ax, had it all: talent, fame, money. He’d lived the rock & roll life fully and with gusto until it wasn’t fun anymore. Without a second thought, he’d traded the spotlight with the Floridian sun, and the guitar with a surfboard. Rich, and free from anything - what more he could need?
She’s innocent, scared, and in trouble.
Andrea Smith escaped the life imposed to her when her parents joined a cult. After years on the run, hunger pushed her to accept a stranger’s offer for breakfast. She had no clue her life changed with that simple ‘yes’.
But the past catches up with her, forcing Andrea to choose what person she wants to be: the scared cult member that obeyed in silence, or the new woman Erik made blossom.
Erik Axelsson, Ax, had it all: talent, fame, money. He’d lived the rock & roll life fully and with gusto until it wasn’t fun anymore. Without a second thought, he’d traded the spotlight with the Floridian sun, and the guitar with a surfboard. Rich, and free from anything - what more he could need?
She’s innocent, scared, and in trouble.
Andrea Smith escaped the life imposed to her when her parents joined a cult. After years on the run, hunger pushed her to accept a stranger’s offer for breakfast. She had no clue her life changed with that simple ‘yes’.
But the past catches up with her, forcing Andrea to choose what person she wants to be: the scared cult member that obeyed in silence, or the new woman Erik made blossom.
First Kiss Excerpt
“Maybe. But you know when Father says you're
alone? That you're nothing outside the Children? It’s the truth. Some of the
people were alone to begin with, but those with families had cut all ties to
any previous life. There is no world outside the Children.”
“That's
bullshit, there must be something you can do.”
“Keep
moving. It’s the only way to be free from them.”
Anger
flashed again on his face. “This ain’t freedom. You were dying there and you’re
not living now, either. These creeps still run your life."
“Do you
think I don’t know it?” she whispered, trembling. She wanted to shout, but pain
barely allowed her to speak. A knot bigger and stronger than herself clogged
her throat, tears stung, and the heart pumped fast, so fast. The look of
concern on his face was gasoline on the already burning fire of a desperation
she couldn't keep inside anymore. “You think I like having no friends, no home.
No dreams?” A fat tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away with an
angry swipe of hand. “I look at you and wonder how it would be to kiss you. To
hope you kiss me back, and maybe, maybe, get the chance to say stupid things
like ‘hey, let’s see if this goes somewhere.'”
Erik was
on her in one leap. A moment she stood alone against the extent of the truth,
and the next she was in his arms, clenching his T-shirt and sobbing, soaking
the cotton with years of hopelessness. “I can’t,” she whispered. “Can't.”
Andrea
squeezed her eyes tighter at the sweet pressure of his hand in her hair, how he
angled her face to keep wiping away those stubborn tears with small brushes of
loving lips. He picked her up and carried her inside. The chilled air raised
goose bumps on her overheated body, and she nestled more into his warmth. Erik
sat on the couch, settled her on his lap.
“I’m sorry,
baby,” he crooned, rocking her. “So, so sorry. For everything. But I promise
you, it's safe here. With me. Nobody’s gonna come.” He kissed her temple. “Just
don’t go, not yet. Let’s take a breather, think this crap through for a while.”
“Nothing’s
ever going to change,” she murmured, exhausted by the outburst, lulled by the
rhythm of his heartbeat and voice.
She
didn’t resist when he pulled her chin up with a finger. “Please, Pixie,
bet me on that. I’d love to prove you wrong.”
She would
win that bet, for sure. The thought would only bring more tears, but his mouth
lingered so close, so warm. He was so big, hard, and smelled like the beach on
a hot summer day. Would he taste like that, too? Would his kiss be as bold? His
touch as daring? With an effort, she raised her eyes, saw a blue fire blazing
in his.
No, no,
no, she needed to get away from him if she wanted to keep breathing. It was too
much; he was too much. It was plain wrong. No, not wrong. Stupid. He was so
alive, almost vibrating with energy. “Why are you doing all this?” she asked
him again, like the first day they had met.
Now,
though, the focus of the question had changed.
And god,
he pulled her even closer. “You know why.”
Dazzled
by his voice, paralyzed by the fierce answer of her body, she only shook her
head.
“Come on,
baby,” he hummed. “Say it. Say those stupid words to me, Andrea.”
Spellbound,
she spoke. “Let’s see if this goes somewhere.”
“That’s
good.” His cheek skimmed hers, their lips just shy of touching, her heart just
shy of bursting. “Now kiss me,” he asked low, so low. “So you can see if I kiss
you back.”
When had
she slid into this world of sensual laziness? There was no control, no fear,
only her brain soaked in hot honey, her body singing a foreign need.
The
drumming heart subsided to a still silence when she touched her lips to
his. A memory of cranberry juice, the soft scrub of an unshaved
face. The pleasure in that simple contact overwhelmed her, led the
tumbling awakening of senses. The universe existed in his breathing, his hands,
his acceptance of her pace.
Sudden
worry pushed her to break the closeness. “You’re not kissing me back.”
The tip
of his tongue traced his lips as he frowned, lost in thoughts. “Sorry,” he
murmured. “It was my first time.”
“Excuse
me?”
Erik chuckled.
“Not that kind of first time. I’ve had my fair share of kisses.” He tipped his
head, contemplated her face. “Never like this.”
“How was
this?"
“It was…”
he stopped, touched her mouth with his fingertips. “Like there’s nothing else
in the world but this kiss. Nowhere to go but here.”
“And it’s
bad?”
“Not one
bit.”
“So will
you kiss me back?”
“Oh,
baby, count on that.”
And when
he did, her head swayed. He took her mouth not in an attack, but in sexy,
wholesome pleasure so thick and full Andrea melted into his lead. When he
pulled her up by the waist, strong muscles tensed under her fingertips and
pushed her a little more over the edge. She straddled him, got lost in that
heat. Her sighs, his, she couldn’t tell anymore, all hands on hungry skin, pressure
building inside, as she pressed into him. Breathing was hard, but she
didn’t need to, not as long as he held her, kissed her, wanted her like that.
His teeth
scratched her throat, his tongue licked a hot spot behind the ear.
Then she
realized her hips rocked, rubbed, moved. Too far, too fast. “Erik,” she pleaded
pushing weakly on his chest. “Erik, we have to stop."
“No,” he
argued, sucking the corner of her mouth. “We don’t.”
“She Came With The Tide” is available through:
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with Viviana
Thank you for letting Erik and Andrea share their first kiss! I love First Kiss Fridays!
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