TAWNY WEBER: A Kiss Is Still A Kiss.

Tawny Weber is visiting us with a fun topic—kisses. There are all sorts of kisses. Moms give them out regularly. We kiss our pets, our friends,  boo-boos to make them well, a quick peck as a goodbye to family. Our fairy tales speak of magical kisses that awaken the princess or turn a frog into a prince. There are devotional kisses —such as many Catholics do when making the sign of the cross. Knights kissed their lady fair's hand. The French kiss their fingers in appreciation of good food, or for something excellent— c'est magnifique! Not to be confused with French kissing, which is usually considered intimate, romantic, or sexual.


Let's not forget kisses under the mistletoe or at the stroke of midnight on New Years, which brings me to Tawny's contribution (you get to contribute at the end):

Ten-Nine-Eight-Seven-Six-Five-Four-Three-Two-One and... Kaboom!  It’s kissing time. 

Happy New Years!!!!

Oh, sure, that midnight chime means other things.  Welcoming a new year.  Resolution time.  A clean slate.  Tooty horns and confetti.  Champagne toasts.  You know, all the fun things about changing to a new calendar.

But New Year’s kisses got me thinking about all those other special kisses.

First kisses – I was seven when I had my first kiss. He was the preacher’s grandson and so cute!  He was also my first date, since he (and his grandma) took me to see Disney’s Robin Hood.

Wedding kisses – “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”  How often did I dream of those words growing up?  Pretty often, actually.  I played that scene out with my Barbie and my brother’s Frankenstein doll (Hey, he was alpha!)  so often, but it was nowhere near as wonderful as the real thing.  And while I wasn’t able to pry the photo of my wedding kiss out of the album to scan it, I did have this one on my hard drive.

Tawny and her husband

Which brings me to the next kiss on my list...

Storybook kisses (not hot sexy storybooks, though – that’d be a totally different blog post. Or, well, hey, I have a few you can check out if you’d like J SEX, LIES AND MIDNIGHT is out now and it’s chock full of sexy story kisses!).  The romantic, deep sigh inducing kind of kisses in fairytales and historical romance novels. These storybook kisses are the ones that reel us in first, which makes us believe in romance and sigh at the sweet, gentle promise they offer.

And then there are the sexy kisses.  The first time you kiss a particular person and know, just know, you have to see what comes next (pun unintended, but it made me grin so I’ll keep it there). There is an early episode of my favorite TV show, Friends, where the gang is all talking about kissing vs sex. The guys compared sex to seeing Pink Floyd in concert, and the kiss to the comedian opening act. The girls  explained that everything you need to know about a guy is in that first kiss. I’d have to agree. Whether it’s in real life, or in a book!

Okay, since I mentioned it, I should share a kiss from SEX, LIES AND MIDNIGHT, right?  So this isn’t Maya and Simon’s New Year’s Eve kiss (they were otherwise occupied at midnight on NYE  J ) but this is their first kiss...

~*~*~

            Triumph was so close, Simon could taste it.
            But...
            His gaze traveled down over her body, noting that she once again wore a dress that covered her from neck to mid-thigh, yet screamed hot and sexy.  The way the midnight blue fabric draped and hugged her curves made his fingers itch to see if the fabric was soft enough to touch that glorious flesh.
No.  Even though his hardening body screamed in protest, he put on the mental brakes.  That wasn't a road he was going down.  She was a case.  A tool at the most.  Sexy, gorgeous and apparently fun, but still means to an end.
            She was so damned hard to resist.  Telling himself it was all in the name of the job, he took her hands again, lifting them both to his mouth.  He brushed soft kisses over her silky knuckles, then placed her hands, palms flat, against his shoulders.
“I need to get this out of the way,” he said quietly.  “It’s got nothing to do with the deal, and everything to do with how I’m feeling.”
She shook her head, looking like she wanted to protest.  But instead her fingers dug into his shoulders.
            Hips brushing a tempting invitation against hers, his hands smoothed down the tiny curve of her waist to the sweet roundness of her hips.  Her breath shuddered, just a little.  Simon almost groaned aloud.  She was so delicious.  Was the reality of her as tasty as the promise?
            Totally forgetting his plan—hell, his own name—Simon pulled her closer, so their bodies were close.  So close, but not quite touching.  Her warm scent wrapped around him like its own caress, making his mouth water, his dick harden.
            Crazy, he thought, as he leaned down to take her mouth with his.
            Their lips brushed, soft and sweet.  Just this side of innocent.  Safe, he told himself.  A Happy Holidays kind of kiss.  Totally acceptable.
            Then she made this tiny sound.  Somewhere between a purr and a growl, deep in her throat.
            And he lost it.
            His mouth took hers.  His tongue slipped between her full lips, taking hers in a dance as old as time.  He coaxed, he battled, he challenged.  And damned if she didn’t do exactly the same.
            Simon’s body screamed in pleasure.  Passion, way out of line for such a simple kiss, demanded release.  His muscles tensed as he forced himself to not grab her and find a dark corner to explore just how good this could get.
            Having to grab control before he went over the edge, he pulled his mouth from hers.  Her eyes were closed; thick dark lashes curving over the tops of her cheeks.  She took a deep breath and slowly lifted those lashes.
            Absolutely crazy.  Breathless, Simon stared into her deep, golden eyes and wondered if she was the answer to his prayers.  Or the curse that would finally take him down.

~*~*~*~              

So... c’mon, sharsies.  

• Did you have a wonderful New Year’s kiss to welcome 2012 into your life?  
• And what kiss stands out as your absolute favorite that you've ever read?
• And which special kiss do you think has the most lasting impression on someone’s life?

***

Tawny Weber has been writing sassy, sexy stories for Harlequin Blaze since her first book hit the shelves in 2007.  When not obsessing over deadlines, she’s shopping for cute shoes, scrapbooking or hanging out on Facebook and Twitter.  Come by and visit her on the web at www.tawnyweber.com 

In December of 2011 Tawny launched her Undercover Ops series with SEX, LIES AND MISTLETOE.  The second book in the series, SEX, LIES & MIDNIGHT is on shelves in January 2012, quickly followed in February by SEX, LIES & VALENTINES.  You can read the first chapter of SEX, LIES & MIDNIGHT on her website, too – all you have to do is join the Reader LoveFest!  Be sure to follow Tawny on her Holiday Survival Tour as she celebrates these three books with tons of fun and a chance for readers to win a $100 giftcard!