First Kiss: Rinny and Danny

Alrighty, here's my first contribution to the smooch-a-rama fest! Valentines is for romance, love, and, well, all things smooshy. Unless you're a gangster. Then it's about blood and massacre and all things bloody...

...Any-who. I was going to do the First Kiss post with the first Telomere Trilogy book, Revelations of Tomorrow, but Jetta and Galvin's kiss was not very valentine-sy. So, I thought I'd call back to my first SFR release, Duty and Devotion.

Sitting down to her music, Rinny meditated a few moments on her mood: upbeat and romantic. She pulled up a retro-romanticism Mendelssohn composition, one full of drama and energy. The notes flowed from her lips easier than any words ever could. All the passion and sensuality she buried during her average day released through her body and out the trumpet. Rinny reached for a depth of emotion and innermost truth through the composer's musical elements and harmonies.

On the last note, she relaxed in her chair and enjoyed the moment of accomplishment. She'd booked the room for two hours. It was a great space in the arts and entertainment wing, which used to be part of the civilian city. Since it was a temporary take-over, the militia left it as-is. The owners continued to run it for soldiers off-duty.

She caught sight of Lieutenant Gubvre through the glass wall. He gestured to the handle with an inquisitive expression. She set the trumpet down on its holder and waved him in.

"You and I shouldn't keep meeting like this," she joked.

He smiled and shrugged, then clasped his hands behind him. She realized this was a habit of his and for some reason it was appealing. The height of him was refreshing to someone who was always taller than everyone. From her sitting position, the feeling was exaggerated. By his posture, she could tell he came from an upper class family. Not from the Earth region, like her, but somewhere more exotic by his accent. Possibly the Saturn Rings.

"Yes. Well, I was passing through to see the painters and spotted you." He released a hand long enough to gesture towards the music sheets. "I didn't realize you played. You do it well."

A sound proof room, he wouldn't have heard her. Rinny patted the chair next to her. After he sat, she picked up the trumpet, pressed for another musical piece, and started to perform. Within the first few bars she closed her eyes and continued. She relished the feeling of power that rose in her as she made what so many couldn't. Felt from it what so many weren't able to. The notes created a whole world just for her and a select few. She'd loved playing in the concert group and suddenly realized she'd missed it.

Halfway through she stopped, opened her eyes, and grinned at him. It died on her lips. The intensity in his eyes flared the heat in her system. She lost her breath as his gaze dipped to her lips and then back at her eyes.

"Don't stop," he whispered. "Please."

Unable to trust her words, she picked the song up again. She closed her eyes once more, but this time to keep her concentration. His gaze unnerved her, sending the attraction she felt into overdrive. She felt him draw his chair closer, his knee lightly tap hers. Only years of experience enabled her to finish the song. For a moment, she kept her eyes closed.

They fluttered open when his fingers grazed along the side of her face. Her breath caught and started again, more shallow. His touch stopped at her chin before sliding beneath her hair to grasp her nape. He skimmed his gaze over her hair, her face, her eyes, then at her mouth before drawing in. The kiss was soft, exploring, and perfect. Rinny let the breath seep out as she leaned in and it deepened. Then it was over and he stood.