It’s First Kiss Friday but how about some Christmas in July? Who knew that was a thing? Well… apparently lots of authors because you’ll see a lot of us promoting our Christmas stories. So let’s take a look at the first kiss scene from my novella One Last Kiss: The Knights of Berwyck, A Quest Through Time (Book Five). I really do enjoy writing my time travel adventures. Read down to the end to be in the running for an eBook of this medieval/time travel story! Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!
Excerpt:
“Your name is Thomas,” she stated the obvious and finally took a seat opposite him, but she perched on the edge of her chair, at the ready to take flight if the need arose.
Thomas leaned back, attempting to appear calm when he was anything but composed. “Aye, I am Thomas Kincaid, lately of Berwyck, and you are one of those future women who continues to plague this place.”
“How do you know that?” she questioned, afore reaching for the jug of wine and pouring a cup. She offered him the chalice, and when their hands briefly touched, tingling sensations ran up his arm.
“We have met afore in my dreams. I will assume the same holds true for you since you knew my name as well.”
“Yes… I have dreamed of you, too,” she whispered, afore standing to pace the length of the room. “How is this even possible?”
Thomas shrugged, but he watched her every move, expecting her to disappear from view. “One does not tend to question such a gift, or so I have heard from the others who came afore you.”
She cocked her head to one side as though reliving some memory. “A gift or a curse?” she whispered, afore she crossed her arms and placed her hands beneath her underarms as though hugging herself.
“I would prefer to think on it as a gift and certainly nary a curse that you are here with us.”
“I am a long way from home, Thomas,” she murmured, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“Perchance ’tis a Christmas blessing you appear to us for the holiday,” he mused aloud. He leaned his arms upon the chair, his hands forming a steeple whilst inspecting her further. “Will you be missed? In your own time, that is?”
She shook her head, and Thomas was thoroughly captivated as her blonde hair swayed to and fro. “No. Well, that isn’t necessarily true, I suppose. I have a few friends who might wonder where I am, but I have no family that I can claim.”
He nodded, feeling her plight. “I, too, am without my family, although I had hoped such circumstances might change in my future. Berwyck has been my home now for many a year. The MacLaren clan took me in when my father disowned me.”
Jade stopped her pacing. “Oh, Thomas, I’m so sorry. How horrible that must have been for you.”
Thomas let out a low curse. “I am not certain why I even shared such a private matter with you, my lady.”
“You don’t have to call me that.”
“Call you what?” he asked, pondering where he had erred.
“My lady. You don’t have to call me that.”
Thomas’s mouth dropped open. Was she mayhap of yeoman stock or a woman of ill repute? He frowned for he had never thought of her as such when he dreamed of her. “Of course, I do. You are a lady, are you not?”
She laughed, and the pleasant sound rang through the room like a fresh breath of springtime. “Well, I am a woman, Thomas, but I certainly don’t have a title or anything. I’m just me… Jade… from America.”
A-mer-i-ca, he silently mouthed the words of her origins. “You are a long way from home, for I have not heard of such a place.”
“So, I have been told. Out of place and time it appears,” she whispered so softly, he almost missed her words.
Silence descended upon the room with only the crackling fire to break the mood that had come upon them. He stood and went to her.
He was pleasantly surprised when she watched him as carefully as he observed her. “You are not afraid of me?”
A small smile lit her face. “No, of course not, unless you think I should be.”
“Nay, I do not,” he answered honestly before giving her a short bow. “Mayhap, we should start again. I am Sir Thomas, ever at your service, my lady.”
“And I’m Jade. A pleasure to finally meet you, Sir Thomas.” A short giggle escaped her afore she held out her hand for him to take.
“I am certain the pleasure is mine,” he murmured. Bending to brush a kiss across her knuckles, his eyes widened when he became distracted by a strange glow coming from her opposite hand. ’Twas then that he recognized she wore his ring!
Suddenly, her left arm swept around his neck with alarming speed. The force brought their bodies together, and he could feel for himself when Jade attempted to catch her breath. “Thomas! I swear I didn’t do that on purpose.”
“Aye, I know,” he muttered as his eyes widened in surprise when a power bigger than either of them could have imagined began to bring their lips closer together.
“Thomas…” she said in a breathy whisper.
“Jade…” he returned as their breaths mingled on a heartbeat afore they surrendered to their first real kiss.
***
Jade was unsure what madness had overcome her to be kissing a man she barely knew, but, in many ways, she felt as though Thomas had always been a part of her. Crazy as it may seem to even have such thoughts, she gave in to the invisible energy surrounding and pulling them together.
The moment their lips touched, everything changed. Where before she felt as though she were being forced into something she didn’t want, now, it was as if this was where she was always meant to be. With Thomas… in his arms… kissing him with all the love she could muster up for another human being.
Their kiss ended just as quickly as it had started. Their breaths ragged, they could only stare into each other eyes. Thomas reached down to caress her cheek, and a sense of wonderment filled her, knowing she had truly crossed time. He gave her a half smile as though he had heard her thoughts before he leaned down to taste what she now freely offered. It was as though they were now in control of their destiny.
Thomas deepened their kiss, and she heard his moan of pleasure even as she held back one of her own. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been kissed before, but there was a reason she had remained single for so long and not married right out of high school like so many had done. No man had ever stepped into her life that seemed to be the other half of herself or just the piece of her that had been missing. She had sworn to herself she would never settle, but with Thomas, she had an instant connection she knew she would never find again in any other man. In an instant, the universe tilted as though they became as one, almost as though Zoe’s words pulled them together from across the centuries.
As though she watched the scene in a movie theater, his arm wrapped around her waist, and he held her even tighter, bending her over. He made her swoon as no other man had ever done before. Her hand reached up and took ahold of his hair. Gosh, she never wanted to let him go. Emptiness surrounded her when he abruptly tore his lips from hers and pushed away from her. The cooler air of the room coming into contact with her flushed skin caused her to shiver.
One Last Kiss: The Knights of Berwyck,
A Quest Through Time (Book Five)
By Sherry Ewing
Sometimes it takes a miracle to find your heart’s desire…
Scotland, 1182: Banished from his homeland, Thomas of Clan Kincaid lives among distant relatives, reluctantly accepting he may never return home… Until an encounter with the castle’s healer tells him of a woman traveling across time—for him.
Dare he believe the impossible?
Present Day, Michigan: Jade Calloway is used to being alone, and as Christmas approaches, she’s skeptical when told she’ll embark on an extraordinary journey. How could a trip to San Francisco be anything but ordinary? But when a ring magically appears, and she sees a ghostly man in her dreams…
Dare she believe in the possible?
Thrust back in time, Jade encounters Thomas—her fantasy ghost. Talk about extraordinary. But as time works against them, they must learn to trust in miracles.
Can they accept impossible love before time interferes?
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Author Bio:
I picked up my first historical romance when I was a teenager and have been hooked ever since. A bestselling author, I write historical and time travel romances to awaken the soul one heart at a time. When not writing, I can be found in the San Francisco area at my day job as an Information Technology Specialist.
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Giveaway!
Since today we’re celebrating Christmas in July, tell me one of your favorite Christmas or holiday traditions. I’ll leave this giveaway open through the weekend before generating a random comment as the winner of an eBook of One Last Kiss! Good luck and thanks for stopping by my blog!
