It's Getting Hot In Here Blog Hop

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm thrilled to participate in today's "It's Getting Hot in Here" Valentine's Day blog hop, where the objective is to share a sexy kissing scene - either from a book you've read, your WIP, or a memorable smooch of your own.

I'm cheating a bit.

The following scene is from the first book in my Heartless series.

JAGGER VALENTINE is jaded on all things to do with love...lust, on the other hand, she can handle just fine. Check out how this Cupid handles sexy Nic Bazzano.

And then be sure to check out the rest of the fabulous blogs taking part in the hop. Whoopa - it IS getting hot in here.

“You going to stand up, or do you plan on just crawling to the bedroom?”

Nic reached into his pocket and produced a small, light blue box, thin white ribbon wrapped around the center.

Jagger's stomach lurched as though she’d been sucker punched. Sticky perspiration beaded along the small of her back and behind her thighs.

She turned and walked away, disgusted with herself for trusting Nic to respect the boundaries of their relationship. She’d accepted his declarations of love in the past, dismissing them as the mutterings of a mad man. But this?

Bloody hell.

How could she avoid this?

“Jagger, just open it.”

She had every mind to kick him out, send him and that vile Tiffany box across the city. Of all the stupid –

She set the wine on the kitchen counter and ripped open the floral packaging. A bouquet of Gerbera daisies leapt free, their vibrant colors somehow lightening her dark thoughts, and reminding her of Seth. She couldn’t leave her dog without a sitter when she took off for India, and it was too late to find a back-up plan.

She looked back at the door where Nic remained on bended knees, his cheeks flushed and his eyes glinting with mischief.

Not the look of a romantic, she thought as the gears in her mind began working again. The face of a jokester. A lock of his dark chocolate hair curled over an arched eyebrow and the corners of his mouth twisted into a smirk.

Shit.

“Bring it here.”

He hopped to his feet but didn’t step forward. “Half way?”

And so it begins, she thought. She inched toward him, sidestepping the coffee table and he reciprocated, pushing past the loveseat, until they stood on either side of a burgundy recliner. She leaned her hip against the cushioned arm and extended her hand.

He set the box into her palm and waited while she tugged on the ends of the ribbon to release the bow. Half expecting a spider or some comparable creepy to jump from the package, she lifted the lid with hesitation.

And pushed out a breath.

Inside nestled a pink heart-shaped candy, not a diamond ring. Not a symbol of promise she couldn’t keep, but yet another token of acknowledgement – for while she remained jaded on all things love, she had a well-known affliction for sweets.

She heard Nic’s soft chuckle over the purr of relief from her throat.

“Asshole.”

“Guilty,” he said. “Read it.”

She lifted the candy from the box and flipped it over. Kiss me.

Nic had already stepped around the recliner and leaned in, his lips slack and waiting. Jagger popped the candy into her mouth, moved in close enough for him to smell the sweetness of her breath, and snapped the heart in half with her teeth. “Dream on.”

                                                                 - 30 -

Want more? Head over to Jagger's site where she dishes up unsolicited advice and general snark about all affairs of the heart.

The Book In My Bag Today: Matched, Ally Condie