First Kisses: a Book+Main Bites anthology

by Book+Main Inc.

  She stared at him. He was speaking through his heart. The reflection of his soul was in his eyes. “Tell me who you really are?”

  “I’ve already involved you too much. But I’ll make you a promise.”

  “What?”

  “Niall won’t get the stones or hurt you. Never again.”

  “Yeah, I was afraid you would say something like that, Gryphon. Just stop whatever you’re thinking about. Before you get killed. Whatever attacked you had something to do with Niall. I know it, though you’re not saying so. I can ask a million times. You’re going to evade every question about that night!”

  He simply stared at the floor.

  She dragged her hands through her hair. “Gryph, stay here tonight. I promise I’ll shut up, and not question your deep, dark secrets. I want just a few hours of your time.”

  “This is the very last place I should be. But, I’ll stay for a short while. To make sure you’re going to be all right.”

  “Would it be asking too much if you held me?”

  “I’ve…I’ve actually wanted to. For a while now,” he softly admitted.

  The feel of his arms, as they slowly and gently wrapped around her, was intoxicating. His body molded to hers so perfectly, and his hands moved so slowly over her body.

  “You feel good,” she murmured. “I’ve wanted someone to hold. For such a long time.”

  “Rest,” he softly told her.

  Some minutes went by, and they said nothing. She just held him as if she never had to let him go.

  She felt his strong heart beating because his chest was so close to hers. His very presence made her feel like anything was possible, if they stuck together.

  “Why do I feel so safe with you?” she whispered.

  “Your instincts tell you that I won’t ever hurt you. But…”

  “But what?”

  He moved away. “I have to leave now. It’s for the best.”

  Without the warmth of his body, she felt alone in the world again. Still, she couldn’t hold him if he didn’t want to be there. “I won’t ask you to do something that’s wrong for you. But, if you’re using my safety as an excuse to leave, don’t! I can look after myself. I’ve been doing that for a very long time. I did it tonight!”

  “Please, try to understand,” he said as he gently touched her hair. “I’m not who you think I am.”

  “Who do I think you are?”

  “I think you want me to be some hero. I’m not.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short.” She blinked back tears. “I want you. It isn’t something I can help.”

  “Damn!” he muttered. “Woman, if I stay, I might not want to leave. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, Heather. I’ve told you…for the love of all that’s holy!” He passed a hand over the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have come.”

  Her response was to wrap her arms around his waist, and kiss him. Hard. She didn’t even notice the cut on her lip. There was no pain in that contact. Only joy.

  He moaned, then broke the embrace. “For your own sake, let me go.”

  “You can go. Anytime you want to,” she told him as she gazed deeply into his eyes.

  “We’ll both be damned, and by sources you can’t begin to imagine,” he murmured against her lips.

  For more Bites by Candace Sams, visit her at https://bookandmainbites.com/CandaceSams

  If you loved this Bite, read Gryphon’s Quest on Amazon

  About Candace Sams

  Candace Sams has published over 75 titles in the fantasy, science fiction, Gothic, paranormal and action-adventure genres. She’s received more than thirty awards from various organizations, and is a five-time National Readers’ Choice Award® winner. Her Tales of The Order™ series and other titles are now being vetted for movie options. Hailing from Texas, Candace and her husband live in a rural area of the US. A plethora of dogs and cats have adopted them. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted through Facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/CandaceSamsAuthor/ or Twitter (@CandaceSams). Also contact her from this website: www.candacesams.com

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  His First Kiss

  Cara McKinnon

  Olivia proved to be a good student, chanting “Lam” with Savit and accessing her root chakra, grounding her energies and reaching the first stage of meditation. From there, he explained the other chakras, and how hers were out of balance, with too much energy pulling from the lower chakras and not enough from the higher ones.

  He didn’t expect her to be able to balance things on her own, so it was no surprise when, after opening her sacral chakra, she started to tremble with magical energy. This was one of her stronger affinities: her sexual drive and emotions. She pulled magic from the chamber where they sat into the chakra, but it was too much for her to channel on to the next.

  Savit took her hands in his and redirected the flow up and out. Each of her chakras opened like a blossoming flower, and he felt the echoes of that unfurling within himself. His sacral chakra pulsed in unison with hers, and yet he was still in perfect balance. He’d feared this, feared he would be overwhelmed by her passion and his, and yet…he wasn’t. Instead, he felt alive. Alive, and aware of the universe in ways he had never experienced before.

  He remembered the way she’d touched his throat chakra in the carriage, how the blockage there had been pulling his magic and his awareness out of balance. He’d been suppressing his intuition, forcing his desire and need for emotional intimacy down where they could not affect his mind and crown chakras. Even as a novice, Olivia had seen what he’d done, and had instinctively reached for the knot of tangled energy.

  What would happen if, instead of suppressing those feelings, he gave in to them?

  He pressed his thumbs into Olivia’s palms, rubbing firmly on the base of her hand. Trickles of magic seeped from his skin to hers. He’d never done this before—never initiated intimacy.

  The only time he’d even touched a woman had been that dancing girl in the tavern when he was still a young man. Then his untrained magic had latched onto her thoughts, and he’d discovered she only wanted his coin and the experience of having an exotically dark man in her bed. He’d pushed her away, repulsed.

  But that was years ago, and not Olivia. Olivia saw him, Savitendra. Sometimes more than he would have liked. Before he could doubt and question himself out of the action, he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers.

  Olivia hadn’t anticipated a lesson. She’d thought he would reach into her with his magic as he’d done in the carriage, bringing her pleasure so she could open her Sight. But after a while, she grasped that he was teaching her what she had done, instinctively, after her orgasm. If she knew the steps, she could take them on her own.

  Except that something went wrong on what he called the sacral chakra. She’d felt a steady stream of magical warmth coming up through her body, but when she accessed that point deep in her pelvis, power surged up like a gaslight with the gas opened all the way.

  Her eyelids fluttered, but Savit grasped her hands and she shut her eyes again, letting him take control of the wild power. Whatever he did brought every nerve and sensation in her body alive and awake. Her spine lengthened and straightened of its own accord, the rise and fall of her lungs and even her heartbeat falling into perfect sync with Savit’s.

  Something else pulsed between them—an awareness that made her skin tingle and heat pool between her legs. The brush of her outstretched arms against the sides of her breasts made her shudder, and Savit’s thumbs on her palms were a point of molten pleasure.

  And then, he did the very last thing she would have expected.

  His lips were tentative, almost wary. He pressed and shifted against her awkwardly, his mouth closed, and she suddenly knew that he’d never done this before.

  He’d ne
ver kissed anyone.

  Yes, he’d proudly declaimed his celibacy before, but she’d assumed that was a choice he’d made in the full knowledge of what he’d be giving up. She was wrong. Now she understood. He was a virgin. And yet his unpracticed kiss made her burn hotter than any lover she’d ever taken.

  Liv angled her head and opened her mouth, teasing her tongue along the seam of his lips. They parted for her with surprised alacrity, and she took her prize with relish. His tongue was hesitant, but after she stroked it tenderly twice he reciprocated, and shocks of pleasure burst through her from the contact. She groaned into his mouth and yanked her hands out of his grasp to caress his chest, his back, down to his waist, then up his stiff arms to his shoulders and neck.

  She giggled, and his tongue froze. She broke the kiss and murmured, “Relax. Touch me back.”

  Her heart pounded hard against her ribs as his finger traced her arm from shoulder to wrist. The touch was light—only a hint of a caress—and she craved more. Her nipples had hardened to tight peaks beneath the soft fabric of her blouse. She grabbed his other hand and placed it over one breast.

  He cupped it gently, almost reverently, and she couldn’t help arching a little to rub the pebbled flesh against his palm. He slid his fingers down, grazing the taut nipple, and stroked it with his thumb.

  Olivia gasped in pleasure and he jerked his hand away. Laughter burbled up in uncontrollable delight. “It doesn’t hurt. It feels good. You can do it harder, even pinch it a little. I’m not made of glass.”

  He reached out again, still tentative, and closed thumb and forefinger over the other nipple. Pleasure coursed through her, along with a jolt of magic when he sealed his mouth to hers again, and then the world dissolved into another vision.

  For more Bites by Cara McKinnon, visit her at https://bookandmainbites.com/CaraMcKinnon

  If you loved this Bite, read Memories of Magic on Amazon or iBooks

  About Cara McKinnon

  Cara McKinnon is the author of the Fay of Skye gaslamp fantasy romance series and the host of the Feminist Romantic podcast. Cara has an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and before that studied mythology and folklore at the University of Maryland. She lives on the East Coast of the US with her husband, two kids, and an oversized lapdog named Jake. Visit her on her website or email her at cara@caramckinnon.com. She loves to hear from readers!

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  When an Angel Falls for His Charge

  Carrie Pulkinen

  He reached for her hand, and a jolt of energy shot through her.

  Why did that always happen when he touched her? She considered asking him, but he’d probably have thought she was nuts. Instead, she let him lead her back to his home. Their home for the time being. Living with Damian would be weird, even if they weren’t sharing a bedroom. But part of her was relieved she wouldn’t have to be by herself. She’d depended on Jared for so long, she didn’t know how to be alone.

  But she would not be dependent on Damian. She had no delusions of making a life with him. Not like she did with Jared. Hell, with the way Damian was hot one minute and cold the next, she couldn’t tell if he liked her or hated her. She wondered if he even knew.

  “There’s so much color here. Why does everyone wear white? And why are all the buildings white? Seems like you’d take advantage of all the beauty and make your stuff more colorful.”

  He shrugged. “You can’t beat natural beauty, so why even try? White is simple and pure. The way our lives are supposed to be.” He let out a cynical laugh.

  “But you can wear anything you want. Any designer is yours with just a thought. It’s a dream come true.” She grinned as she closed her eyes and changed her outfit. The buzzing, tickling sensation against her skin made her shiver.

  He chuckled. “I guess when you can have anything—create it with your mind—acquiring material things isn’t that important.”

  “Hmm... Well, I love nice clothes. It’s not against the rules for me to wear colors is it?”

  “No. I don’t know anyone else who does it, but you’ve never been one to follow the crowd.”

  “You wear blue jeans.”

  His smirk flattened as he looked down at his own clothes and raised one shoulder in a dismissive shrug. “I like to do things my way.”

  “I can tell.”

  They continued to walk hand-in-hand until they reached a familiar meadow. She recognized the field as the one she saw outside Damian’s window. A moment later, his home came into view—a simple white structure as plain on the outside as it was on the inside. Even in its bareness, though, the home felt like just that—a home.

  “Here we are.” He opened the door for her and followed her in. “Let me make you a room, and then we can get started.” He waved his hand in front of the wall, and a door appeared, identical to the one farther down.

  He made it look so easy. With some practice, maybe she’d be able to make her own home someday with flower beds and a picket fence. She could still have her dream home here in the Angelic Realm. Maybe even her dream life.

  “This is just temporary. Once you’re trained you’ll get your own place.” His serious expression made her smile.

  “Of course.”

  He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Several moments passed in silence as he focused on building her room. When he finally opened his eyes, he motioned for her to go inside.

  “There you go. But it’s just temporary.”

  “You already said that.”

  He blew out a hard breath and swallowed. She padded past him into her new room. The walls were white, as she expected, but her breath caught at the splash of color he created. A queen-size bed sat in the center of the room and was covered in a luxurious lavender duvet. Matching sheer curtains draped across the bright window, and a bouquet of pink and purple tulips sat on the bedside table.

  “What do you think?” His breath against her ear made her jump.

  She spun around to face him and found herself inches from his body. An electric charge danced between them, drawing her even closer.

  “It’s perfect.” And it was. The gesture was so sweet, her heart jumped into her throat. He knew lavender was her favorite color. The flowers, the color, everything about the room was so her. He knew her. Sure, he’d been watching her her entire life, but he hadn’t simply observed. How could he possibly hate her if he’d taken the time to know her so well? The simple act of designing her room so perfectly revealed a tenderness in him she’d never seen before.

  She gazed into his eyes and felt like she would drown in them. His intoxicating scent drew her in. The warmth of his body held her. She couldn’t help herself. She inched forward, her mouth so close to his she could feel his rapid breaths against her lips. When he didn’t pull away, she kissed him.

  Their lips met, and the rest of the world slipped away. Fire shot through her limbs as his tongue slipped inside her mouth. His hands came up to cup her face, his touch ever so tender. She slipped her hands behind his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. The passion inside her flared to life, and she pressed her body to his.

  He inhaled deeply and slid his hands into her hair. His tongue traced the contours of her lips, his warm breath tickling her skin. He tasted like cinnamon, and she leaned into him, drinking in all she could of the exquisite Angel.

  The feel of his sculpted muscles against her chest made her knees weak, and she stumbled into the wall when he jerked out of their embrace. Anger fumed from his body as he clenched his fists and paced her bedroom.

  “That shouldn’t have happened. It was a mistake.” He spoke through clenched teeth, his eyes trained on the floor. He wouldn’t even look at her.

  “I’m sorry. I...I don’t know what came o
ver me. I just...”

  “It won’t happen again.” His steely gaze met hers for a split second before he disappeared.

  Great. Smooth move, April.

  She plopped onto the edge of her bed and put her head in her hands. What the hell was she thinking?

  She’d kissed him.

  He did one sweet thing for her, and she’d lost control and kissed him. And what a kiss. Embers still burned in her core from the passion that surged through her body. She’d never felt anything like it. The way he touched her...like she was fragile. Precious. She’d never seen that side of him, and it left her wanting more.

  Get it under control, girl. He’s not for you.

  Hopefully they could forget the kiss ever happened and get on with her training. She needed to get far, far away from him before she lost more than her human life. She would not lose her heart.

  Past the meadow and over the rolling hills, Damian found solace in the stillness. The golden sun warmed his skin as he stretched out on the soft grass. He knew April could find him with a simple thought, but he prayed she wouldn’t. He needed to be alone. As far away from her as possible, so he could sort out the emotional mess he’d made of his heart.

  How could he have let that happen? He should’ve known better than to make her room like that. He knew she’d love it. He knew it would melt her heart just a little. And deep down, that’s what he wanted, wasn’t it? Deep down, he wanted her to like him.

  Was he insane? April was a giver, and plenty of men were happy to take. She’d never been with a man who showered her with the tenderness and affection she deserved. And that was a shame.