FIRST KISS=TUESDAY (from THE COWBOY NEXT DOOR by Roxanne Snopek)
Please welcome one of my Tule Publishing sisters, the delightful Roxanne Snopek to First Kiss=Tuesday. I’m excited to share two of Roxanne’s connected books this month. Today, you’ll read a darling snippet from THE COWBOY NEXT DOOR (Book 3 in the This Old House series), and releasing in two weeks will be Book 4: CINDERELLA’S COWBOY.
Here’s Roxanne to give you the set up for this scene:
Hello readers! I’m delighted to share with you a brief First Kiss scene from THE COWBOY NEXT DOOR. This is actually a “sort-of” First Kiss scene, as you’ll see soon, but I hope it conveys the push-pull of their growing relationship as well as the humor that runs between these characters.
My hero, Eric Anders, is worried because Jackson, the old dog next door, showed up at his place alone and is now leading him and his own dog, Blue-Girl, out into the pasture, apparently searching for someone.
Night is falling and Eric thinks he hears Leda, the girl he can’t stop thinking about. He fears she’s out here somewhere, lost, cold or hurt.
THE COWBOY NEXT DOOR
by Roxanne Snopek
A shiver ran down his spine. Coyotes could sound like women crying, babies crying, too, luring out unsuspecting, curious dogs. A pack of them would make short work of Jackson.
“Come here, buddy, stay close,” he said. The dog complied.
But what if it wasn’t coyotes? What if it was a woman? Or a child?
What if it was a woman, a child, and coyotes?
He stepped up his pace. It could only be Melinda or Leda. And Mel would never do something like that to Austin.
That left Leda. Who had no one looking out for her.
Even if she’d just gone for a walk and gotten turned around, even without coyotes or wolves or bears or jagged rocks and hidden logs to stumble over, darkness would fall quickly and with it, the temperature.
“Hello?” he called. “Can you hear me?”
Instantly, the sound stopped. Then it started up again, changed and very, very recognizable.
Leda. And she was mad.
Unlike her usual Gollum dig-it language, this was the real meal deal. Curses of every color floated over the evening air, creative, expressive and sometimes hilarious.
But definitely the adult version. Nothing sanitized here. Such nasty words to come from such a sweet mouth. The intrigue he couldn’t help feeling around her turned to something else. Something more.
Something dangerous.
She might be spouting r-rated language, but she was just a kid. A kid with a kid, someone he had no business feeling… intrigued… about.
“Go away!”
His heart slipped. She was definitely crying. Crying and cursing at the same time. That was never good.
The words came from a gully to the left of the trail, he thought.
“Come on, Jackson.”
They wound their way along the rocky ground and suddenly, there she was, huddled against a mossy rock.
Sobbing.
“Leda!” He was on his knees beside her before he knew what he was doing. “What’s wrong, honey? Are you hurt?”
“Go away!”
She was shivering. He shucked off his jacket and set it on her shoulders, where it hung like a tablecloth.
“I don’t need you,” she said, her voice hitching.
Jackson pressed against her side, nudging her with his muzzle. She put her arm around him and he crept halfway onto her lap. Good. The dog would help warm her up.
Eric sat down on her other side. The rock was still warm from the sun but the ground beneath them was cool. He lifted his face to the sky and took a deep breath.
“Nice out here, isn’t it?” he said.
He could feel her body beside his, her slender thigh running alongside his own leg. She was vibrating.
“What?”
He adjusted his position and casually slung his arm across her shoulders. He felt like the kid in a movie theater, pretending to stretch so he could get closer to his date. Only this time, he was doing it to keep her warm.
And maybe keep her from bolting.
“The sky. The air. Smells good. And look at those colors.”
“I came out here to be alone, you know.”
“I don’t know. I’m only here because of Jackson.”
She put her face down and kissed the dog’s head. “Sweetie boy. Come here, Blue-Girl. You’re a good girl, too.”
“Oh sure,” said Eric. “The dogs get kissed. I on the other hand, don’t get so much as a civil word. That hurts my feelings.”
She sniffed, but some of the tension left her body.
“You sounded like a pack of coyotes.”
At that, Leda lifted her head. She turned to face him, which put her once more well within kissing range. Inches away, it seemed. Her eyes shone in the light of the setting sun, her lashes damp, her lips swollen.
All very kissable.
“Coyotes, huh?” One eyebrow lifted, as did one corner of her mouth, but she didn’t move away.
“Rabid ones, maybe.”
He moved closer. It would be a shame to waste an opportunity like this, after all. She needed comforting. It would be a comforting kiss, nothing more.
“That might have been safer,” she murmured. Her eyes dropped to his mouth. “For you.”
The dogs squirmed then and knocked against Leda’s shoulder. Her face collided with his, in a cheek-bumping, tooth-clattering connection that was nothing like a kiss.
“Ow!” Leda sat back, and put her hand to her mouth. “You bit my lip!”
“I most certainly did not!” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and tasted salt. “You bit mine.”
Heat ran through Eric like an electrical current, the touch of her mouth on his like lightning, leaving him smoking and shaken. If that’s what an accidental kiss felt like, what would a real, full-on kiss feel like?
Jackson lifted his head. With one swipe of his enormous tongue, he French-kissed them both and the moment was broken.
Please welcome one of my Tule Publishing sisters, the delightful Roxanne Snopek to First Kiss=Tuesday. I’m excited to share two of Roxanne’s connected books this month. Today, you’ll read a darling snippet from THE COWBOY NEXT DOOR (Book 3 in the This Old House series), and releasing in two weeks will be Book 4: CINDERELLA’S COWBOY.
sizzling! 🙂
And fun! I love her writing.
Very well done!
My favorite thing about this blog is: every kiss is different! I have such creative friends.
Thanks for hosting me today, Debra!
You’re so welcome. I can’t wait for the next one. I love your writing!
I loved this story Roxanne! It was so warm and enduring. Thank you for posting here today.
Great comment, Eileen.