Thanks for dropping by my First Kiss Friday blog. Today I’d like to welcome my friend Rue Allyn who has a first kiss scene from her upcoming novel Cursed: A Corsair’s Tale. We hope you enjoy this excerpt. Happy reading, my lovelies, and take it away, Rue!

Cursed is a story about Lucien Flynn a man cursed to live as a specter until he earns the heart of a heartless woman?

So, Luc’s backstory is vital to understanding how he comes to meet, love and perhaps live happily ever after the Miss Grace Thibodaux, nearly 100 years after he became cursed. I won’t spoil the story by giving you more than that, except to tell you that while this short scene, that takes place on Luc’s ship, is the actual ‘first’ kiss that Luc and Grace share, there is much more to the kiss than appears here.

Excerpt:

“Your smile is very like Grainne’s. It hurts me sometimes to look at you.” Luc closed his eyes, and his shoulders slumped.

“I’m sorry.” 

Grace’s voice was closer. Her hand stroking his cheek forced his eyes open. He stared down into those misty green pools, filled with unshed tears. So much like that moment before he and the love of his youth had parted in Ireland. Luc couldn’t resist.

His arms went around her, pulling her to him, and he tilted his head.

Grace must’ve lifted on her toes, because their lips met. Her hands gripped his shoulders. He let himself drown in sweet passion. She fit him perfectly in every way. Her breasts pillowed on his chest. Her hips cradled his. Her woman’s heat matched the growing fire in his loins.

Too soon she pushed on his shoulders and stepped away.

What he saw in those mist green eyes was nothing like the raw lust he felt.

Tears dripped down her cheeks, one by one. Her body shook, but not with desire.

“You’re afraid,” he said. “Of me?”

“Yes, no, partly.” Grace bit her lower lip and twisted her hands. “I don’t know. I do know that I can’t do this. Not with you. Not tonight.”

… What is she afraid of?

He shouldn’t—couldn’t—ask.

Could he?

“I…I need to go home.”

“Now?”

“Yes.” Grace sucked in a breath, then another before squaring her shoulders and clearing her expression.

Luc had seen that specific expression before. Always when she was afraid, beyond terror. However, she knew how to hide it. Her show of calm insistence would fool anyone not cursed as he was.

“Thank you for the tour, and…and…everything.” She waved a hand in the air, grabbed the lantern, then parted the curtains, and ran. He sped after her. “Wait.”

Grace glanced over her shoulder, but kept moving. The tears brimmed once more. “No. I can’t.” She set foot on the ladder. If she wanted to leave, she was going the wrong way.

“You must. It’s dark out there, and even with a lantern you’ll lose your way.” He climbed after her. “Let me take you home.”

Nearly halfway across the deck, she stopped and stared into the night.

With a new moon, the land lay deep in shadow.

“You can’t do that. The moon’s waxing gibbous,” she said, continuing to stare. “You’ll vanish the instant you step off the Only Love’s deck.”

“I can take you. I might not be corporeal outside of the Only Love, but I still exist. At this phase of the moon, I am more in the spirit world and have all the powers of most phantoms.”

This time when she looked back at him, Grace’s green eyes were wide. “Now you’re telling me ghosts are real.” A frantic titter escaped her lips.

“Not that the topic is relevant at the moment, but I exist in that world most of the time, so yes, ghosts are real.”

She pivoted to face him. “A curse that condemns a man to live as a spirit and a man at the same time. Real ghosts. A VooDoo priestess praying for my protection. A pair of dogs that obey my every command without any training. A book with blank pages, that fill as a man tells me what is written there. A ship that should never have been able to sail into waters as shallow as these—a nearly invisible, broken ship at that. Until some magic makes it not just appear but exist in one piece with nearly no signs of the century it has been here. Sure, of course that man will be able to take me home, even though he has no physical body. Except that I kissed the man, and his body was almost too physical.” Her hands fisted at her sides, and she stepped toward him. “Just how many incredible events do you think I can believe at one time?” Grace flung her arms wide. “Yeah, go ahead. Do your ghostly worst and take me home.”

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Cursed: A Corsair’s Tale
By Rue Allyn

He’s been cursed to remain a specter until he earns the love of a heartless woman. Is she the one?

Privateer or pirate? Lucien Flynn never makes promises to any woman. Then a scorned lover curses him to live the life of a specter until he ‘earns the love of a heartless woman.’ Decades pass, and Luc abandons hope. When he meets a woman he cannot resist, a woman with too much heart, he knows he may never be set free. Can he avoid loving her, or will he give her his heart and be cursed forever?

Grace Thibodaux is a woman driven to escape her own demons. Hurt beyond hope of healing, she protects her tender heart, refusing to allow anyone, man or woman, close. However, she can’t escape the man who haunts her dreams and her life. Is he as cursed as he claims, or is she simply falling for another, heart-breaking rogue?

Find it here Amazon &  Books2Read

About Rue Allyn

Award winning romance author, Rue Allyn has a lifelong passion for happy ever after. She lives south of the border with her husband of more than forty years and their cat, Tanto. She has two sons and is a proud veteran of the US Navy. She writes heart melting romance in all sub-genres, but her favorite is historical romance, especially medieval. Subscribe to Rue’s News where you may learn more about Rue and receive a FREE download.