The Enemies-to-Lovers Kiss

Book Title: THE SAMURAI'S DAUGHTER
Author: Brianna Shrum
Heat: Brianna says Steamy, I say HOT.

What do you think?

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The little blade is pressed against my throat; my pulse pounds hard against the steel. I question, for a moment, if I really could twist my way out of her grasp. How such a small person can have such power in her, I do not know.

“You tried to kill my father,” she says, and her voice is quiet and trembling.

I inhale slowly, and breathe, “Yes.”

She trembles more violently, and I close my eyes for an instant, willing myself to focus on the weapon at my neck, and not the feel of her legs shaking against mine.

“And you will try again, if I let you live.”

I stare at her, unblinking, unapologetic. “Yes.”

She is breathing rapidly, color pouring into her skin, and the knife presses harder into my throat, and then softer. I feel her hand at my chest, nails digging into my skin, pushing me roughly against the smooth bark of the tree at my back.

I glance down at her fingertips. “What is it that they say? You do not touch a man unless you are killing him, or making love to him?”

She swallows hard, and follows my gaze to her hand. Surprise registers in her eyes when she sees it there.

“Which will it be, Sakura?” I say, voice gravelly and low. She hesitates, and in a flash, her weapon is in my hand. Her pupils darken and she takes a step backward. I close the distance between us, barely able to think anything that is not wicked. Her mouth is just barely parted, and a muscle jerks in my jaw. I want, more than anything, to know what she tastes like.

Without breaking her gaze, I throw the weapon to the ground, and touch her waist with the tips of my fingers. She inhales sharply, but does not back away. So I press my fingers closer into her and slide my hands around to her lower back. The obi is in my fingers, and I untie it, letting it glide to the ground. Her kimono falls just barely open, and my mouth goes dry.

Her hand is still on my chest, shaking, light, and I take a step toward her. She doesn’t move, so her hand is firm against me now, my heartbeat pounding to the rhythm of the pulse in her wrist.

“Katsu-” she says, and the tiniest glimpse of her tongue pushes me over the edge. I cover her mouth with mine and spin her around til it is her back pressed against the wood of the cherry tree. She makes a high pitched little noise, and presses her other hand to my chest, and I kiss her deeper, harder, greedy. And the shift is small, but it is there. One second, her hands are pushing, and the next, they are pulling me into her. I lose control completely, thoughts jumbling together. The sweet taste of her tongue, the feel of her lips, the heat where her kimono has fallen open and her collarbone is touching my chest. She shifts, and her hips roll just slightly against mine. Fire. I let out a low growl.

She draws my mouth further into hers, and I relish it. My fingers glide across her back, her waist, and then, lower. She gasps my name, and I groan, needing to feel all of her. She says it again, Katsu, but there is tension in her voice, and I slowly pull my face back from hers.

She is breathless, eyes wide and dark and hungry. The thought of her wanting me, and she does, strips the rationale from me once more. But, before I can pin her again, she slides out from the tree. I stare after her, unable to speak. She looks out through the woods, away from me, then patters away, leaving me alone in the cherry grove.

***

*fans self* Wooo. What did you think, guys? Let us know!

:-*