First Kiss Friday with Sara Adrien

Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. I’d like to welcome Sara Adrien as my guest author who has an excerpt from her novel Instead of Harmony . We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene. Happy reading, my lovelies.

Excerpt:

Raphi chuckled. The baker’s daughter from next door has blossomed into a can-do, take-charge woman. She really was the material to spend a lifetime with. Loving.

Laila found a selection of pots, pans, and various cast iron bowls in unusual shapes that made her oddly happy. So weird, so sweet. Raphi’s stomach did that uncomfortable flip again that only happened when Laila was near. It only ever happened around her, never with other women, not even the gorgeous sirens he’d bedded in Italy. Her closeness and smiles triggered his insides to twirl every time. He needed to touch her. Or smell her. 

“What’s this?” Laila had found the vial in the bag from the apothecary and pulled the tiny cork open before Raphi could answer.

Raphi deflated; she’d found her gift. He’d forgotten to hide it because she was so distractingly beautiful.

Holding a vial with a clear liquid, she tilted her head and took a shallow sniff then closed her eyes. Raphi’s mouth grew dry watching her. Holding the vial further from her nose, she waved the air toward herself. Her smile widened as she took in the flowery scent of rose oil.

“I thought you might like something special,” Raphi rasped as the rich aroma reached him.

Laila waved the air from the vial to him now, enveloping him in a heady cloud of allure. “It’s Damask rose,” she marveled at the luxurious perfume. “Edible!”

Startled, Raphi took the vial from her. “It’s perfume. The lady at the shop said it is nice for baths or powders—”

“But you can eat the essential oil.” She smiled and tried to take the vial back.

He didn’t let go. Instead, he wrapped his hands around hers, the vial with the precious oil in the middle of their grasp. The air grew thin and Raphi waited as if on the prowl.

* * *

“D-damask rose oil is distilled from the petals.” She locked her gaze on their joined hands. “Did you know it takes about two tons of rose petals to produce just one liter of rose oil?”

He shook his head. His gaze lingered dangerously on her mouth.

“It ahem … it’s the most expensive and precious essential oil in the world.” She gulped.

“You are the most precious—”

She gasped when their eyes met, and he froze. 

Laila’s pulse raced, but her mind blanked. A tingle shot through her body from his gorgeous eyes, black with longing. They were rich, full of body and temperament, shimmering in the colors of finely milled black pepper. And that’s how hot and spicy his breath felt just before his lips touched hers. She dropped her hands, and he clutched the vial in his large hands as he pulled her body onto his. Desire rushed through her insides as her lips swelled against his.

Laila gasped and inadvertently opened her mouth. She’d forgotten how to kiss. The last time she had a real kiss was the all-consuming tear-drenched goodbye when they were torn apart just after they’d been one. That one time. All those years ago.

The contact of his mouth on hers made her bones simmer. His embrace was strong, tender, and oh, so masculine. For the first time in her life, Laila was being kissed by a man. Not Raphi, the boy, but Raphael. She nestled into his body while her lips clung to his.

He’d opened his mouth, and she could feel his power and heat. He swept his tongue into her mouth just as he tilted his head. The effect reverberated through her belly, and she lost her footing. 

“I have you,” he whispered as he clutched her waist and lifted her onto the countertop. 

Her arms wrapped around his neck. This time, she was higher than him, and her head leaned down to him. He received her kiss open-mouthed, as if he were sucking her back into his soul. He probed so expertly that Laila forgot to breathe. Her mouth was all sensation, and he stimulated her in a way that sent an echo of tenderness from her lips to her cheeks until the hairs on her neck pricked up in delight.

When she had to come up for air, he stepped back and reached out to help her hop off the countertop.

“R-Raphi—”

“Shh, not now.” Suddenly sad. “Not yet.” And he disappeared through the door.

It took Laila several minutes to regain her senses. Her stomach had flipped and felt as if it had jumped out of her entirely when Raphi had … oh my! Raphi had kissed her. Raphi. Raphi. Her mind was a whirlwind. She felt she should control herself, hold back, but she just couldn’t think why. The self-reproach had become second nature to her, and she couldn’t let go and just enjoy herself. For that was what one ought to do after such a kiss. Enjoy the aftertaste and tingle with the possibility of repetition.

Laila surveyed the antiquated kitchen. The old castle didn’t have a proper stove and oven. But she could make do. She had to bake something with all the ingredients they’d brought from the market. A few old copper ladles hung on hooks over the fireplace, which Raphi had stoked and was already burning hot. Beside them, was a large pot.

She filled the large pot with water and let it come to a boil.

Meanwhile, she measured about a pound of flour and spooned it onto the wooden counter. Then she cracked five eggs, saving the yolks in a teacup. She could make do with very little and was rather pleased that the ingredients were fresh and of good quality. Better to knead by hand than to use all sorts of fancy tools with low-quality ingredients. The butter was cold and hard, so she scraped bits of it into the flour. Flakes of cool butter made for extra scrumptious crusts. 

After she filled a small cast-iron vessel with the dough, she hung it over the steaming cauldron. Steam baking was a delicate process and she walked around the room, pulling the sack of flour against a crack in the window to minimize the air current. She didn’t want her cake to collapse when she took it off the heat.

Brushing a few hairs out of her face, Laila cracked a few walnuts. They were bright and smelled sweet. Fresh. She didn’t have time to roast them in such an antiquated kitchen, so she put them into the mortar and poured in some honey. With the pestle, she ground them into a fine paste. Finally, she dripped a tiny bit of the rose oil into the smooth paste. But she caught the drop from the mouth of the vial just before it was wasted on the ground and she rubbed it … hmm, there was probably some flour in her face. Her decolletage.

Instead of Harmony
By Sara Adrien

Sweethearts trapped in a childhood love triangle. He’s empty without his muse. She’s caught up in her parent’s missteps. Will their wounded souls find healing in each other’s arms?

London, 1814. Raphael Klonimus can fix anything but his broken heart. The son of a prominent Jewish family of jewelers, the talented pianist hasn’t felt whole since he lost the girl he loved to an arranged marriage. So he’s shocked when he discovers a letter on his bed leading to an old hiding spot where a surprise visitor waits in the cold.

Delilah “Laila” Mandel’s grief is mixed with desperate hope to reunite with the boy next door. Marrying a fatally ill friend to clear her mother’s debts, the new widow yearns for the embrace of the man who might have already moved on after she was forced to leave him behind. So when her deceased husband’s scheming cousin attempts to blackmail her to wed again, she flees to the capital city hoping her childhood sweetheart will help.

Considering himself a coward for once letting her go, Raphael sweeps the beautiful woman off to a secret castle despite seeing himself as unworthy of her affections. But after a bone-melting kiss that starts to mend their hurts, Laila fears others’ greed and desires could crush their second chance at happiness.

Will they break free of the chains that bind them and grab hold of a rapturous forever?

Instead of Harmony is the swoon-worthy first book in the Diamond Dynasty historical romance series. If you like smart and loyal heroines, stately prose, and steamy but elegant scenes, then you’ll adore Sara Adrien’s rich adventure.

Buy Instead of Harmony to reclaim the past for a better future today!

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BM6PX525
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/rxBxzcNgILY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/63339827
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/instead-of-harmony-by-sara-adrien

About the Author:

Bestselling author Sara Adrien writes hot and heart-melting regency romance with a Jewish twist. As a law professor-turned-author, she writes about clandestine identities, whims of fate, and sizzling seduction. If you like unique and intelligent characters, deliciously sexy scenes, and the nostalgia of afternoon tea, then you’ll adore Sara Adrien’s tender tear-jerkers. She is the author of the series Infiltrating the Ton, Diamond Dynasty, Check Mates (coming in 2024), and Miracles on Harley Street (coming in 2024). Sign up for her newsletter at SaraAdrien.com to stay up-to-date with new releases, audiobooks, translations, and more!

Find Sara at https://SaraAdrien.com
Follow Sara on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/jewishregencyromance