FORBIDDEN
TERRITORY
Deleted
Scene
Because
the book went a different direction, I had to cut out this version of Lily
and McBride's first kiss. Let me tell you, I was not happy! I
loved this kiss scene. But unlike the first kiss I went with in the
book, which happened in the middle of a suspense scene, this one was too
static and didn't do double duty the way you have to in books this short.
(Hmm...that gives me an idea for my next Wednesday Writer's Workshop on my
blog--letting your scenes do double and triple duty).
Anyway, here's
the cut kiss. :::sappy sigh::: I loved this kiss.
The light
turned green before Lily reached him. Dragging his gaze from her, he
started across the street, trying to quicken his pace to keep her at a
distance. But he felt as if he were wading through mud.
She caught up
with him as he reached the other side of the street, falling into step.
"I won't give up on Abby, you know."
He faltered
to a stop. She stopped as well, turning to face him, her gaze steady
and intent.
"Why
not?" he asked.
She gave a
double take. "What do you mean, why not?"
"What
good do you think can come of it?"
"I can
help you figure out where she is before anything really bad happens to
her." She held up her hand as he started to speak.
"I know you think she's already dead. But I don't."
"I wish
I could believe that." He meant it.
Her
expression softening, she caught his hand, her fingers cold but petal
soft. She stood so close that her legs brushed against his, sending
heat shooting up his legs and blazing a path through his lower belly.
"I know
you're afraid to believe me," she said. "Maybe it's just
not in you. But I won't give up on Abby Walters while I know she's
alive and needs my help."
He tried to
take a step away from her but her nearness ensnared him. He put out
his hand to push her away but ended up pulling her to him instead,
tightening his hold until her breasts flattened against his chest.
Need hammered him, forcing the air from his lungs and leaving him
light-headed.
As he traced
the ridges of her spine through her blouse, the silk fabric snagged on his
calloused fingertips. From far away, a rational piece of his brain
shouted warnings at him. If she'd resisted at all, he might have
stopped right there.
But she
didn't resist. She slid her hand up his arms, clutching him closer.
When he pulled her with him into a narrow breezeway between two brick
buildings, she went willingly, her breath hot and quick against his
throat. When he pressed her back against the wall, she lifted her
face to him, lips parted in expectation, and he was lost.
He lowered
his mouth to hers, breathing her breath, pushing his tongue past her brief
resistance to tangle with hers. She clutched at his shoulders,
digging her fingers into his flesh, and for a moment he thought she was
pushing him away until she shifted in his arms, opening her thighs to him
until her hips lay flush against his.
He lifted her
to her toes and pressed her against the cold brick wall, tangling his
hands in her hair. Her soft exhalation filled his mouth. She
clutched at his shoulders, kneading, grasping. He closed his eyes,
groaning at the feel of her.
A few seconds
passed before he realized she was no longer responding but resisting.
It took another hard push of her hands against his chest before he let her
go. He staggered backwards until his back met the rough brick of the
wall on the other side of the narrow breezeway.
Leaning
heavily against the wall, he stared at her across the short distance
between them. She stared back, her eyes wild, her lips swollen from
his kiss.
As the haze
of lust began to lift, he realized that he should say something.
But what?
That he'd
lost control even though she'd done nothing more than brush against him?
That he'd never lost control that way before?
He couldn't
say those things, didn't even want to contemplate what they meant.
So he remained silent, staring into her wide eyes and waiting for her to
speak.
She said
nothing, moving instead, lightning quick, darting from the breezeway and
disappearing around the corner. Dulled by the heavy stupor of
desire, McBride reacted too slowly. By the time he emerged from
between the buildings, Lily was halfway to the police station.
Copyright
© 2005 by Paula Graves
