Kiss Me...

HAPPY

ST. PATRICK'S

DAY!! 

WHAT'S THE LAST LINE OF DIALOGUE OR THOUGHT BEFORE THE FIRST KISS IN YOUR CURRENT WORK-IN-PROGRESS? Please share just a couple of lines about the scene.

FORSAKEN by B.J. Daniels

Beartooth, Montana series, October 2013

“You don’t always have to be so strong.”

She laughed. “Shows how much you know.” She didn’t feel strong at all right now. She felt her nipples harden and goose bumps ripple across her skin.

Her breath caught as he bent to press his lips to her throat. His warm breath made her shiver. She desperately wanted to pull away, afraid of what she would let happen if she didn’t.

But instead she clung to him as desperate to stay in his arms as she was to run. “Jamison.” She’d breathed his name, a plea, a prayer.

EXPLOSIVE ATTRACTION by Lena Diaz 

Harlequin Intrigue, May 2013

THE SET-UP: EXPLOSIVE ATTRACTION: The hero and heroine are trapped in the rafters above a tiled ceiling, hiding from the gunman in the room below. The heroine is claustrophobic, and terrified to be in the dark, enclosed space. The hero is holding the heroine to keep her from falling, because she's too terrified to hang on. His hands are full, and, well, you'll see...

A noise sounded below. The creak of the bathroom door opening.

Darby's eyes widened, and she let out a low moan.

Rafe did the only thing he could do. He clamped his mouth down on hers to stifle the sound.

The response was intense, immediate. But not from Darby.

Rafe's pulse kicked into high gear. Blood pumped away from his brain to another part of his anatomy. As if his hand had a life of its own, it spanned down her back, cupping her bottom.

WORK IN PROGRESS by Carol Ericson

Harlequin Intrigue

THE SET-UP: The hero has been hired to track down the heroine, who is a suspected traitor.  The hero and heroine shared one night of passion three years prior to this meeting, which resulted in a son about whom the hero knows nothing.  It’s their first contact in three years and the sparks are igniting already! 

“If you say so.”

WORK IN PROGRESS by Paula Graves

Harlequin Intrigue

THE SET-UP: my hero and heroine have just waited out a blizzard and are now heading back down the mountain toward civilization when someone starts taking potshots at them.  They hole up in a cave to evade the shooter, and after a non-stop adrenaline rush, one thing starts leading to another.

His breath heated her cheeks as he bent his head until his forehead touched hers. "Tell me it's not just me," he whispered.

She didn't have to ask what he meant. She felt it, in the singing of desire in her blood and the languid pooling of heat at her center.  "It's not just you," she answered, her words little more than breath against his lips.

STAR WITNESS by Mallory Kane   

Harlequin Intrigue, April 2013

THE SET-UP: Harte, an assistant D.A., and Dani, his only witness to the murder of her grandfather, are on the run after the safe house where Dani was hiding out until the trial has been compromised. There's a huge storm brewing and Dani and Harte are trapped at the end of an alley. To Harte's surprise, Dani pulls a small tool from her purse and picks the lock on a warehouse door. Soon they're inside, soaked, but for the moment, safe.

He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "How the hell did you do that?"

She felt his lips graze the sensitive skin of her ear, and her insides quivered with longing. It took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about. "Oh, the lock," she muttered; then deliberately, she turned her head so that her mouth was close to his. "I picked it," she whispered.

He made a small noise like a gasp as her mouth brushed his. "You what?"

"Picked the lock. Granddad gave me his lock-pick kit when I was ten. He said, 'You never know when you might need to get through a door.'"

She felt his chest rumble with laughter. "That's illegal."

"So sue me," she said lightly, then turned in his arms, rose on her tiptoes and kissed him. It was a tentative brushing of lips against lips, but it sent desire arrowing through her, all the way down to her toes.

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by Mallory Kane

Harlequin Intrigue, Jan. 2013

Laney saw the question in Ethan's eyes. She had no idea how to respond, wasn't even sure she was reading his expression correctly.

He leaned forward, his gaze moving from her eyes to her lips. Then, as she let her eyes drift shut, he brushed her mouth with his, nothing more than a feather-like touch, but the impact of it was stunning. For that brief second, she'd felt as though someone had lit her lips on fire.

DEATHTRAP by Dana Marton

June 2013

“This is not going to work.” He leaned his forehead against hers.  

“This is not the right time for either of us.” His hands slid up her arms. “I’m not going to kiss you,” he said.

And then he kissed her.

TASK FORCE BRIDE by Julie Miller

Precinct: Task Force miniseries

Harlequin Intrigue, Sept. 2013

THE SET-UP:  A tough K-9 cop masquerades as a shy plain Jane’s fiancé to protect her from the serial rapist targeting her for terror.

Officer Pike Taylor intends to plant one on bridal shop owner Hope Lockhart in front of some customers and friends at her shop to establish the idea that they're a couple--but it backfires when he discovers that this reserved woman has some strength and sass and sexiness to her.  This one involves an undercover sting to lure the Rose Red Rapist into the task force's trap.  Hope has lost one friend too many to the Rose Red Rapist and wants to do something about it.  And when she reports a man following her who matches his description outside her shop, she becomes KCPD's best lead on tracking down their suspect.  As the neighborhood cop who has known Hope for months, Pike Taylor is the only man who can believably become a part of her world, to serve as her bodyguard and keep a cop on her 24/7 without scaring off the unsub they're trying to capture.  One of the biggest problems for Hope is that the rugged cop is a K-9 officer who never goes anywhere without his German Shepherd partner.  And Hope is terrified of dogs!

"You might want to make this look good," he whispered.

PROTECTING THEIR CHILD by Angi Morgan

Harlequin Intrigue, May 2013

THE SET-UP: Cord and Kate are running from the man determined to kill them. Kate's at a low point, wondering if they'll ever be free from the madman who'd cost them everything.

The fear of what Serna would do to her shook his core. He blocked it from his mind. If he got emotional, he'd lose focus. He needed to focus. Have a plan and a backup plan and a backup plan to that.

"Is this going to end, Cord?"

The words were on the tip of his tongue to tell her everything would be okay. Things would change. They'd be fine. He wanted to lie. He couldn't. Not to Kate. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him to her in a moment of frightened clarity. When she looked up at him, tears pooled in eyes that never deserved to cry but had too often. He bent closer and captured her lips.

Five months, five days without feeling the surge of power he'd always experienced with her kiss. A strengthening power that recharged his entire being. Knowing that she was the only person who'd ever made him feel…anything. The knowledge floored him. Knocked his feet out from under him when he realized he may never feel that again.

WRITTEN IN THE STARS by Patricia Rosemoor 

with Sherrill Bodine

Entangled Suspense, August 2013 

THE SET-UP: A reincarnation story, part 2, present day. Cordelia is a marine archeologist and Morgan Murphy has the reputation as a pirate. She wants to deny his rights to the sunken treasure. He wants to partner her, and so presents her with a find.

The touch of metal and jewels to her ring electrified Cordelia. Startled, she gasped at the power but wrapped her fingers around the jeweled moon so she wouldn’t drop it. Her heart beating too fast, she took a closer look and recognized its age. This was no modern copy of something old.

Fearing that Morgan had found this on his earlier dive, would somehow beat her to the motherlode, she panicked. “All right, partners, then, but we need to work out details–"

Before she could finish, Morgan curled his fingers over her hand with the crescent and kissed her.

Her wrist burned.

Her ring tightened.

Her head went light.

The chain trapped between their hands connected them like a live wire, kept them from pulling apart.

WORK IN PROGRESS by Aimee Thurlo

THE SET-UP: Well.... you didn't say it had to be a human kiss.... Hank's a camel and one of the characters in our summer Intrigue, Falcon's Run. (The heroine runs a special ranch for kids who are victims of abuse, illness, and poverty.)

"It’s all about showing respect and demanding the same in return.”

Hank stretched his rubbery lips, trying to kiss Preston.

Abby laughed. “They’re really gentle creatures. They’re calmer than horses but they’re more...emotional,” she said after a beat. “How would you feel about volunteering here sometime?”

WHAT DO YOU DO ON ST. PAT'S DAY? Do you wear green? Do you pinch those who don't? Ever have green beer? How about green eggs & ham?

We'd love to chat with you today...