He admired her courage and her calm and her sense of humor, even in the desperate situation.
And she’s so beautiful, even now, even after all she’s gone through tonight.
Reaching out, he shackled her wrist with his hand, drawing her closer. The clean, crisp scent of her no doubt expensive perfume drifted into his nostrils, and he took a deep breath. Who do I think I am, contemplating a future with this high-powered, stunning woman? His courage had never failed him in combat, but he was reluctant to risk rejection from her. "You may change your mind, once we get to Sector Hub, and the adrenalin of this crisis wears off." Releasing her wrist, Nick stepped away, swallowing hard. "Maybe we should forget it for now, see how the idea of dinner strikes you after we're rescued and we return to our proper orbits in society."
Apparently Mara wasn't having any of his self doubt. She placed one hand on the carton he was about to toss aside, stopping him. Gently, she caressed his check with her other hand. "Nicholas Jameson, don't be an idiot," she commanded with a small smile. “I know what I’m doing. I wanted to have dinner with you long before this misbegotten ship took its detour and plowed into an asteroid field, or whatever the disaster was.”
She fixed him with that electric stare from her turquoise eyes. Lost in her gaze, he couldn’t have been distracted if the Mawreg had come crashing into the hold in the next minute. Mara bit her lip before smiling crookedly. “I tried to have the AI call you, you know, during the day, I– I missed you. It said you weren’t listed on the Passenger Directory. I tried three different times; does that tell you anything?” She poked him in the chest with her finger to emphasize her point.
Taking her in his arms, slowly, so she could protest if this wasn’t what she wanted, he lowered his head and brushed her inviting lips with a fleeting kiss, which was all he dared to allow himself in this time and place. Mara pressed her soft body to his, looping her arm around his neck to hold him close, and he kissed her again, lingering, savoring for a long minute. Still holding her close, he rested his head against hers. "All right, it's on for dinner, then."
This First Kiss is from Wreck of the Nebula Dream, available from Amazon for the kindle and Barnes & Noble for the Nook at a special 99 cent price.
The blurb:
Traveling unexpectedly aboard the luxury liner Nebula Dream on its maiden voyage across the galaxy, Sectors Special Forces Captain Nick Jameson is ready for ten relaxing days, and hoping to forget his last disastrous mission behind enemy lines. He figures he’ll gamble at the casino, take in the shows, maybe even have a shipboard fling with Mara Lyrae, the beautiful but reserved businesswoman he meets.
All his plans vaporize when the ship suffers a wreck of Titanic proportions. Captain and crew abandon ship, leaving the 8000 passengers stranded without enough lifeboats and drifting unarmed in enemy territory. Aided by Mara, Nick must find a way off the doomed ship for himself and several other innocent people before deadly enemy forces reach them or the ship’s malfunctioning engines finish ticking down to self destruction.
But can Nick conquer the demons from his past that tell him he’ll fail these innocent people just as he failed to save his Special Forces team? Will he outpace his own doubts to win this vital race against time?
You can find Veronica Scott at her blog http://veronicascott.wordpress.com/ or on twitter @vscotttheauthor
Special thanks to guest author Veronica Scott for this wonderful first kiss! Please be sure to check out her website and learn more about this exciting book.
Always happy to share a good kiss!
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