No Kiss Blogfest

Love is in the air!  

That must mean it's time for the No Kiss Blogfest!  I'd like to thank Frankie Diane Mallis for hosting this event.

In the realm of fiction, we love a good kiss.  Yet, the almost kiss builds tension and leaves you wondering how the real kiss will happen, if it happens at all.  It keeps you turning the page out of frustration and excitement.

Here's a flash piece I wrote for the occasion.  Though I have only written this little scene, I'm now tempted to write more.  I pulled myself into my own story, which is always a good sign.

Enjoy!

Fire

         Imparis stepped through the sliding doors, and the crisp evening air pierced the thin fabric of her evening dress.  She sighted Darvyn leaning over the deck railing.  Dark strands of hair shielded his face as he turned a glowing orb of tamed fire over in hands. 

Though Imparis knew the heat would not burn him, the sight still sent her heart racing.  “How’s my fire tamer?”  She kept her tone brazen as always, though standing beside him made her insides melt like a comet blazing through a star’s corona.

“Pensive,” Darvyn replied.  He kept his eyes fixed on the fiery sphere, and Imparis wondered what he saw in those flames that she couldn’t.  “I can tame most any fire, but some challenges still defy me.”

“If anyone can manage the fury of these people, it’s you,” Imparis insisted.  “You can win anyone over with your words.”

He finally looked at her, and his expression seemed hesitant.  “I wouldn’t say that.  I haven’t been able to win over one person in particular.”

Imparis blushed.  Goosebumps formed on her skin, and they definitely weren’t a response to the cool breeze that fluttered her dress.

“Some people must be more cautious than others, if only out of necessity,” Imparis replied.  This time, her voice wavered some, shattering the shell of indifference she’d worked so hard to maintain.  “You’re a negotiator.  You must understand that.”

Darvyn nodded.  “Of course I do.”  Balancing the glowing orb in one hand, he brushed his fingers through her hair.

Casting aside her inhibitions, she trapped his hand and pressed the palm against her cheek.  She sighed as the intense warmth of his skin radiated through her body.    The heat wasn’t enough to blister her tender skin, but it ignited every nerve ending, momentarily wiping away all the reasons she’d used to justify keeping her distance in the first place.

“That’s nice,” Darvyn whispered.

Though his words were so simple on the surface, they contained such a depth of feeling that she had to look up.  His arm migrated to her waist, and the heat of the fireball embraced them both.

Image courtesy of chrisroll
 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Staring into his golden eyes, she noticed they were shimmering.  His whole body is on fire, Imparis thought irrationally.  He is fire.

They were so close now, his breath danced on her lips.  She closed her eyes and held her breath as she waited for that singular moment, the moment she could never admit she’d been craving since they first met . . .

“Excuse me.”

Those hateful words shattered the trance.  Imparis looked away, unable to face anyone as she realized how close they’d come.

“What is it, Brentyl?” Somehow, Darvyn’s voice sounded calm.  Composed.  The polar opposite of everything she was feeling.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.  The Wan delegation just arrived, and they wish to begin negotiations immediately.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Darvyn assured his flustered assistant.  Then, placing a hand on her shoulder, he addressed Imparis in his diplomatic tone.  “Are you prepared for the negotiations?”

Concentrating on the task at hand, Imparis was able to pull herself together.  She met his gaze and gave him a brisk nod.  “Absolutely.”

Brentyl bowed and went inside.

Darvyn tossed the flaming sphere into the air, and with one swift wave of his hand, it vanished.

Imparis wished she knew how he did that.

“Let’s go avert an interstellar war,” Darvyn whispered in her ear.  “We can pick up where we left off afterwards.”