14 Days of Love - Day 9 - Lynn Crain Talks About Kisses in Stories

Today Lynn Crain shares her first real kisses and the ones she creates in her stories.  Join Lynn for a delightful read on how she creates that all important first kiss between the characters through the samples she includes here. 

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First Kiss: My Perspective By Lynn Crain 

For readers, the first kiss in any budding relationship can be the one that defines the hero and heroine as a couple. When thinking about how to approach this subject, I thought about just how I would put it into perspective. I thought about my own first kisses: my very first was when I was two apparently with a neighbor boy, I obviously really liked him. Then there was the kid who kicked me then decided I was his long, lost love. I didn’t like that one either.

My real first kiss in high school was with another neighborhood boy and it got my heart to pounding a little bit. As I matured during those four years, I learned a lot about kissing and its different nuances: tongue, no tongue, a peck, a lingering peck and on and on. It wasn’t until I was in college that I actually met a man that knew how to kiss and didn’t mind showing me what I lacked. His first lesson was that kissing didn’t always need to be on the mouth.

I distinctly remember the first kiss I had with my husband. I’d been sleeping on his couch for a week as it was mid-terms. I had needed all the study time I could get and he kindly offered his abode. Now, if I were picky I’d have wondered just why he didn’t offer me his bed but I was happy to get his couch as the place was only three blocks from the university. It just happened naturally, one morning over breakfast as he leaned in to kiss me and I gladly accepted the peck. It went on to be hot and heavy after classes that day and we haven’t been apart since.

It is those primordial feelings that writers want to tap into when describing a first lip encounter to the reader. I thought about all the first kisses that I’ve brought to readers over the years and just in case you’ve missed any, here are some of the highlights.

In my first book, The View From Santa’s Sleigh, Tessa is brought home by Santa for one of his elves, Jedrick and she’s just woke up to find herself in the elf’s bed.

Putting his hand behind her head, he snaked his other one up under her dress to tenderly tug at her nipple as he brought her face close to his. “I hope you don’t mind that I kiss you now.”

“Okay,” she breathed. The smoldering flame of his eyes startled her with its intensity. “I think I would like that very much.” Tessa allowed him to tip back her head and she watched him through slit eyes.

“Beautiful…just beautiful,” he leaned toward her, taking her lower lip into his mouth and gently sucking on it. Sliding his tongue along its cherry redness, he soothed any hurts he might have caused. Slowly, his mouth covered hers completely and he tasted the fruitiness of her lip-gloss. Sliding his tongue inside, he felt her sigh of satisfaction. “I hope that meets with your approval.”

Tessa just stayed there, eyes closed, mouth half open. She took a shuddering breath. “Uh…yeah… that definitely has my approval.”

Then there was the second book in that series, The Thing About Elves, where Jedrick’s brother, Ardan tries hard to resist Tessa’s friend, Angie.

“That’s a nice legend. It’s great that they got back together.”

“I suppose.” He reached up and gently caressed the side of her face.

“You suppose?” Angie leaned into his hand and rubbed her check tenderly in its palm.

“If you like that sort of thing,” he whispered and tilted her face upward. “The Celts had a whole different legend. And if I recall it correctly, it had a lot to do with war.”

Angie almost panicked. This was the very thing that they said they wouldn’t do. But she couldn’t help herself. Her body was meant for sin and this was the man she wanted to perform the act with right now. Unhurriedly, he leaned in until his lips were almost touching hers.

“I really shouldn’t you know,” he breathed, his breath caressing her lips and face.

“I know.”

Firm lips pressed against hers and it wasn’t long till his warm tongue sought entrance to her mouth. She could feel every muscle in his body and the bulge caressing her stomach got larger with each thrust of his tongue. Grabbing his tongue gently with her teeth, she sucked on it before allowing him to take it back. Reaching her hand out of the warmth of the blanket, she gently rolled her fingers around his ear relishing the feel of the pointy top.

Ardan pulled back. “Do you know what that does to an elf?” he whispered, and touched his forehead to hers while clasping her face with one hand.

“I have some idea. I asked Jedrick to show me once.” She didn’t hedge. Her reply was strong and confident. Angie knew what she wanted and she planned to get it.

He breathed in her scent for a moment or two longer. “Leave it to my brother. Let’s go back inside.” He opened the door and practically drug her behind him. Shutting the door with a slam, he guided her to the couch. “If we start this there will be no turning back.”

While these first kisses were nice they were nothing compared to a book later in the series where I really started getting into the emotional aspects of the characters. In the book, Giselle’s Elf, Ronan felt compelled to protect Giselle, first cousin to the Locklin siblings but he couldn’t tell her that as noted in these few paragraphs.

Ronan Ferguson stood there facing the blonde. She was light to his dark. She was his antithesis, everything he wanted in a woman but couldn’t have. Or so he thought. From the moment he had stepped into that alley, he had been on a roller coaster ride, both physically and mentally. It was almost more than his old body could bear. And he was old by human standards, almost middle aged by elven.

Yet, this human woman made him feel more alive than he’d ever felt all the days of his life. He remembered the day she had been born as she was only a few months younger than Bevan’s and Janice’s second son. But there had been something even when she was being christened in that church long ago which he had noticed. Something which made him know he would need to always stay as far away from her if possible.

So he had left his elven post of protector of other elves to wander the world doing other council bidding because he didn’t want to be chosen as her protector. That is until that night he had heard her bloodcurdling scream. It had been different from all the other times he had heard her through the years. This time she needed him. And he was there in an instant, pulled from the place he had been to where she was. And she had been in danger. Grave danger.

Ronan obviously didn’t want to be anywhere near Giselle but he was compelled to be close for reasons even he couldn’t fathom. When he finally does get around to kissing her, it is explosive.

Ronan stood there for a moment and realized this was the crux of his problem. He never wanted her to see him as anything but protector, man was never to enter the equation. But just what was he to this woman? What did he want to be? And just as suddenly, he knew without a doubt what he wanted to be. Sliding his hand up her arm, he caressed her neck in gentle strokes. “Tha mi airson sibh. Cha’n urrainn domh t’àideadh tuilleadh.”

Leaning down, he gently touched her exposed flesh with his lips. She tasted like the nectar of the gods. And he could get so lost in her. Reaching his other hand around her body, he gently stroked her breast through the silky material of her party dress, not caring what it cost or even what it might be to her. He just had to touch her body, had to feel her response as she pushed back into him even closer.

His body had a mind of its own as his pressed himself into her feminine softness, his cock getting harder with each touch against her butt. His hand moved down on its own to cup her crotch, stroking her through the thin material. Suddenly, he had to taste her and he twirled her around looking into her heavy-lidded eyes for a moment before swooping down to claim her lips.

*****

His touch wasn’t at all tentative. Not that she expected it to be. No, Giselle knew this man had always taken what he wanted first then asked questions later. But this time, something was different and how she could tell was a mystery even to her. Something she had done flipped a switch in him and she knew nothing would ever be the same in her life.

She opened her mouth to him as she wanted to open everything to this man. She wanted to give everything to this man forever, she didn’t care that he was an elf sent to protect her. Her parents would have been appalled to know she was having thoughts like this but since her attack, she was different. And whether they believed it or not, she was changed in a very good way. And her family of elves had to be protected at all costs.

He tasted like a fine liqueur, all warm and spicy, as his tongue moved in to plunge her depths. She gave back as good as she got, pulling in his bottom lip and nipping before releasing it. She watched his blue eyes grow darker with desire and knew she wanted him to fuck her senseless more than anything in the world. She needed to have him touch her, be in her, to feel the release of the sexual tension that had been building between them since her attack and he had announced he would always be there to protect him.

In this moment, there was nothing she wanted more than to get under this man’s skin. She wanted him to know just what he had become to her. And she wanted to jump his bones in the worst way as there was something about him which turned her on like no other. Moving her hands up his body, she reached under his shirt and caressed the hard muscles she felt, going slowly up to his nipples and tweaking them. She was rewarded with a gasp which made her spirit soar.

Pulling him closer to her, she felt his hard shaft press into her soft stomach and wanted to touch him, caress him into the frenzy she now suffered. Reaching around with one hand, she grabbed his hard bottom and pulled him yet even closer. She wanted to feel him everywhere.

The characters feelings are much more intense than when I first started to write. This is due to all writers growing while they hone their craft. The series evolved like I’d evolved as a writer. A relationship has the same natural progression.

In my book, More Than Robotics, I take a more direct and different approach to kissing. One that even a Captain can’t ignore.

I turned to look at him as I tried to mask the suspicion in my gaze. “What is she talking about?”

In less than the blink of an eye, he was again by my side, pulling me up from my chair, his hands taking my face to gaze in my eyes as he leaned toward me. “Don’t struggle,” he whispered close to my ears. “I think we have prying eyes.” His lips came down fiercely on mine, his tongue snaking in to dominate me and I wanted to do the very thing he asked that I not do. Instead I tried to let myself enjoy the moment as it had been quite some time since I had had this type of human contact.

My hands gripped his waist and pulled him even closer to me. I felt his legs press harder into me as his arms went completely around me. Within moments, I experienced the hard bulge of his body and mine responded in kind since my crotch dripped with need. There was nothing more I wanted to do except rip his clothes off that luscious male form. I let my thoughts drift away to what life might be like to have this young man all to myself for however long I needed to satisfy this itch.

He pulled away from me and shuddered, resting his forehead against mine. “We should stop.” His brown eyes looked deep into mine and I almost passed out as his next words flashed across my consciousness. You are an amazing woman and, rest assured, we will finish this. I want to finish this.

The last bit had exploded across my brain and I raised a shaky hand to rub my forehead. It was as if he were right inside me, whispering his thoughts. And I wasn’t sure I liked the implication one little bit.

This one went right to the point as it was a first kiss of a different nature. In the above scene, the kiss was because there was a need to transfer the technology called audio nanobots. Further in the book, I get to the good, romantic type of kisses.

We glared at each other for a moment before he leaned in and gently kissed my lips. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around all he told me. Not yet, but a kiss was not what I had expected. Why did you kiss me?

Because I wanted to. Hasn’t anyone ever kissed you because they wanted to do so?

I wasn’t about to reveal my secrets to this man no matter how much I wanted to do so. Wanting sex no way indicated wanting a relationship, but I didn’t think this man would want less. I would need to figure out a way to let him down gently, which was the right thing to do.

My favorite all-time first kiss in my books really wasn’t a first kiss but the first kiss of their second chance romance after being apart fifteen years. This comes from my award-winning story, Where’s My Underwear? that is making the NYC rounds.

“How long are you going to be here?” His voice was thick with emotion.

“Two and a half more weeks. I‘d thought after the conference I’d take in some of the countryside. You know how much I always loved the country here.” I glanced up and soon closed my eyes against what I was afraid he would see.

“It’ll do.”

I opened my eyes slightly as his head swooped toward mine and there was no way I would do anything to dissuade him as this was exactly where I wanted to be despite my misgivings. His mouth covered my mouth briefly, nibbling my lower lip and opened my lips for his complete invasion. Invasion it was as his tongue warred with mine for supremacy until I pushed him away from me a little. “You still haven’t told me all that happened two nights ago.”

His eyes laid me bare but I wanted to hear from him just what had happened. Not that it really mattered but the retelling would give me some space.

“It’s not gonna change what Aye want from yeu.” His accent was indistinguishable from the brogue I knew it could become. The only thing left was for him to talk to me in Gaelic. And if the sex got as hot and heavy as I remembered he would be seducing me with the flowing, yet guttural sounds of his native tongue.

“I know.” Leaning forward, I allowed my hands to move under his shirt, caressing his muscular torso. The boy had become a man. “I just need to know…” I trailed off.

“What? That your body betrayed you?”

I saw the fire still burning in his eyes…burning for me…and I could feel the heat in my own cheeks. God…he made me tingle like a schoolgirl with her very first crush…but if truth were told, this went beyond any schoolgirl crush. “Yes.”

“Aye, Aeryn lass, yewr body definitely betrayed yeu.” He leaned in and began to nibble on my neck. “And Aye’ll make it betray yeu again.”

Kisses do get better with time, just as in real life. Hope you enjoyed just some of the samplings of the first kisses found in my books. 

Lynn 

Lynn Crain realized at an early age she wanted to write. She took the long way to being published by doing a variety of things like nursing assistant, geologist, technical writer and computer manager all of which have added to her detail-oriented stories. Now she’s a full-time storyteller and weaves fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal tales, as well as erotic stories for various publishers. She normally lives in the very hot southwest with her husband, son, two dogs, three cats, and she’s gotten rid of her snakes. Don’t ask. Other members of her clan live nearby and include another son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons, plus various long-time friends. She is a past national board member of the RWA; founding president of Las Vegas Romance Writers Chapter of RWA; has held the positions of president, vice-president, secretary and contest chair of EPIC. Her latest adventure has taken her to Vienna, Austria with her husband as he works for a UN-affiliated organization. You can find her hanging out at A Writer In Vienna Blog (www.awriterinvienna.blogspot.com) and various other places on the net (www.theloglineblog.blogspot.com; www.twitter.com/oddlynn3; www.lynncrain.blogspot.com ). Still, the thing she loves most of all is hearing from her readers at lynncrain@cox.net.  

Lynn’s latest book is, A Lover for Rachel, an erotic paranormal romance set at the romantic setting of Stonehenge. It’s available at Amazon and Smashwords. 

Rachel Hamilton comes to Stonehenge to celebrate her birthday on Summer Solstice, only to find herself trapped beneath the massive rhyolite bluestones with sexy wizard, Dewin Kingston, who convinces her that she is the key to their escape.  

Excerpt: Dewin frowned and looked over her shoulder toward the fairy now sitting on a high shelf. “Nora, did you sprinkle Rachel?”

She turned, watching the small light bob up and down in the farthest corner of the chamber. “I guess she did then. So what does being sprinkled with fairy dust do?”

“This.”

His mouth swooped down to kiss her deeply. His kiss was extraordinary as he tugged on her lower lip with gentle nibbles. She leaned into him and snaked her tongue into his mouth, trying to elicit a response from him. She was rewarded with his tongue coming together with hers to war for supremacy. Deliberately, she pulled herself from the ever-enticing ritual.

Rachel gulped in a few deep breathes, her hand holding him at bay. “Okay…we’ve established that fairy dust heightens one’s sexual response. Is that all it does?”

He pulled up from kissing her neck, his large hand caressed her face. “No, the dust has a lot of magical properties. We will have to complete what we start. I hope you do not mind…it has been a long time for me. The fairy dust makes our lust palpable, like a living thing until the need is fulfilled we can do little else. Not doing so will only lead to torment everlasting.” 

PRIZE to be given away: A copy of the ebook, A Lover for Rachel, one ebook from the Santa’s Elves series and a $10 gift certificate from either Amazon or ARe.