Author Cheri Schmidt: YA Indie Carnival ~ Kiss and Tell

Welcome again to our Friday edition at YA Indie Carnival! Our theme...kiss and tell, baby! It's still February, the month of romance, so let's read about some more kissing, shall we? This is another excerpt from Fateful. Enjoy!

Shifting closer, Ethan brushed her tears away with his own cheeks, knowing she was crying even if he never looked at her directly.

When her only response to his words was to shed more tears, Ethan changed tactics and began exploring her face with his fingertips. As always the touch soothed her, and she pushed at his chest trying to escape it, because she could also smell the curse magic and it was starting to affect her.

Darn him, she thought when he only drew nearer. That wasn’t what she needed and the potion that made her want the death he could give further saturated her senses. It wasn’t long before she was doing the same to him, dragging careful fingers over his profile, over his cheeks, into his hair.

Taking a peek, she noticed his eyes were still closed and she could look as much as she liked without being overpowered by his trance-like gaze. Danielle felt herself become pulled into a burning moment of which something sweetly innocent became something more without ever crossing lines. They had been closer than this physically during the day, but for some reason, this limited contact, before the sun made its morning appearance, felt more intense. Danielle slid closer, pressing her wet cheek to his.

They had never allowed themselves to be this close at night, not even the first night they tested his influence on her, and while she knew in the back of her mind this wasn’t wise ... as her brain became drunk with dark magic she found she didn’t particularly care.

Aware of the fact Ethan wasn’t allowing himself to breathe, she believed it was because he didn’t want to smell her blood, and secretly thanked him for it. Or, she thought, as she smashed against his body, maybe it was so he wouldn’t overpower her with his super-potent breath.

Knowing full well it was probably reckless of her, Danielle decided she could partake in the less-potent version from his skin. She slid her nose under the line of his chiseled jawbone, filling her lungs selfishly with his delectable bouquet. Moving her nose up to meet with his she stole the forbidden kiss she wanted.

She never stopped tracing his skin with the pads of her fingers, dragging them along his nape and then into his hair. With palms sliding up her back, he grasped handfuls of hers. She sighed, and rolled her head back. Had she really just exposed her neck to a vampire? Did her curse-poisoned brain care? When Ethan accepted the invitation and pressed his lips to her skin, her breaths came faster as he tickled her throat with feathery kisses.

During the day this contact would have been perfectly fine, but at night … they were playing with fire. And it seemed that neither one of them was willing to stop.

He traced his lips down to her collarbone and tickled her further, gliding them across her sensitive skin. He slid his fingers along her neck, across the top of her shoulder and onto her arm, where he gave her a tender squeeze.

When she placed her hand on the side of his cheek, trying to bring him back to her, Ethan hesitated, and turned his face away as if he feared he had bad breath. Watching his expression, she thought she saw an internal battle wage within before he took a big breath of air, held it and turned back like he was diving deep under water. As Ethan pressed firmly closed lips to hers, Danielle wondered if maybe they were underwater. But the thought was almost too far away to really grasp with the logical and responsible parts of her brain.