Hero of the Week: Sam Starrett

Sam F**king Starrett

Crack!

The sound came from outside, from the port side of the plane, and Stan went to one of the windows to look out. "Ah Christ!"

Teri looked, too. The port wing had broken clear off. She could see Lieutenant Starrett on the ground, his face grim as he surveyed the damaage.

He looked up, directly at Stan. "Will you please f***ing go and f***ing get me a real f***ing World Airlines 747, Senior Chief? Right f***ing now?"

Stan looked at Teri. "Looks like I'm going to need a ride to the ariport."

"Don't you mean the f***king airport?" she asked, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling.

*grin*

I love it! Sam and his cursing makes him a stud in my eyes! haha.

When we first meet Sam Starrett, he's one of those big time jerks that you just want to slap upside his head. He says rude and sexist things to get a rise out of Alyssa Locke, but the man has a heart of gold. He may be a goofball and a dork, but he gets the job done. Nothing is more important to him than his job. He's a big, bad Navy SEAL and it actually means something to him. We don't know why it means so much to him until we read his book, but when we first meet him and are getting to know him, we know that he means business when he's going over special training ops, shooting the bad guys and keeping us all toasty warm and safe here in the States.

What I liked most about Sam Starrett is the growth we see in his character in the six books that we saw him in. When we first meet him, he's this sexist womanizer who thinks that all women should be at home, keeping his house clean and making his dinner.

And then he fell like a rock for Dylan Alyssa Locke.

And Alyssa Locke isn't the kind of woman who'd stay home and make anyone's dinner or do their laundry, she's a tough as nails woman trying to make it in the Navy. And though Sam tried not to, he fell for her anyway.

Now, Sam isn't a very popular hero among people, but that's okay because I love him more than enough for 20 women. I can go on and on about why I love this man, but what I loved most about him was...

..Sam was real.

There have been plenty of times that I'll read a book and the Hero would be this perfect cookie cutter hero who does NO wrong and is just PERFECT....well Sam isn't like that and I loved that about him. We saw the way he reacted to things that happened to him, he made mistakes, he learned from his mistakes and he was a big time dick sometimes, but he was also very sweet. And all because...

...he was REAL.

He reacted the way a man would react and I just love that. He kept it real and did what he thought was right. When it turned out that he didn't do the right thing, he did what any normal guy would do, he stewed for a bit but then he woke up and he took action.

Among his other things, the man is good in bed. And I'm talking real good in bed.

...Oh, he liked the sound of that. He liked the way she was looking at the syrup, looking at him. His body was responding enthusiastically, even though it was still just a little too soon. But give him fifteen more minutes with Alyssa Locke and a bottle of chocolate syrup...Oh, baby, he'd be ready for anything.

She opened the top, squeezed some of the syrup onto one finger.

He took her hand, looked directly into her sea green eyes, and slowly licked her finger clean.

Alyssa shivered.

And Sam knew that no matter how much he'd loved chocolate in the past, from now on, it was going to hold an even more special place in his heart.

You see what I'm talking about? I cannot eat M&M's without thinking about Sam Starrett and every damn time that I drizzle chocolate syrup on my ice cream, you can bet the farm that that scene above pops right into my mind. And when I think of that scene, the following scene sticks out in my mind and I get a little faint hearted because gosh, Sam is the bomb!

"No comment, huh? You know, to this day, I can't eat chocolate without thinking about you, Lys." He shifted in the darkness, and she knew he was looking at her. "I can't taste it without tasting you."

I'm telling you, there's so much to love about this man but just so you guys can see for yourself some of my favorite Samisms..

"I love you," he whispered. "I want as much from you as you're willing to give. So if you have any desire at all to turn this thing-I don't know, what do you call it, this get trached and go slumming thing with me every six months?- into something more regular, I'm right here. I'm ready."

*sigh* Do you remember in Over the Edge when he told her how he felt about her? *sigh* I frickin' love this guy!

"That's...that's great." Sam nodded. "I'm really happy for you, Lys. I'm..." He put down his coffee, ran one hand down his face as he made a sound that might've been laughter. "I'm so fu@#$&* jealous I can hardly breathe."

Remember in Out of Control, how bad he wanted to be with her and how jealous he was of her relationship with Max Beghat? Poor Sam.

It's my body," she said quietly. "Shouldn't the choice be mine?"
"Yes. It should," he told her. "And it is. I'm not saying it's not. But it's also our baby, and ....I know you think I'm a jerk, but I really do want to have a family with you. I know it's way too early for me to tell you that, but it's true and I think you need to know it before you go taking some pill, just in case you were maybe thinking that it was something I didn't want. I just think it's fair-and important-for you to know how I feel."

Alyssa was quiet for a long time.

So Sam kept going. He'd completely jumped the gun anyway. Might as well go big. "I am going to marry you, Alyssa. And if not now, then someday we will have a baby together. I'm determined. You might want to start bracing yourself for the inevitability of that."

Remember when he finally just went for the whole enchilada and let her know what his intentions were, he'd been through Hell and back and so what the hell, this time around he was going for what HE wanted....YAY!

It was only then, as they were hustling the injured boy down the trail, that Roger dropped to his knees and threw up in the dirt.

Remember THAT? Awwww, I love it! haha...makes him real and solid because that's such a human thing to do and I don't think it's dumb or stupid, Holly...I think it's cute!

There are so many reasons why I chose Sam Starrett for this week's Hero of the Week and this post is just a tiny bit of that...Sam Starrett ROCKS MY SOCKS!

And some pictures of this sexy man...





Until next week...

Hero of the Week: Constantine Draegon

I think it's pretty much general consensus with those of us in Romancelandia that the Tortured Hero is the best one to read about. There's just something about a man with a tortured past being brought low by love that makes our hearts melt and our spirits sing.

Constantine Draegon from Rene Lyons' The Daystar definitely fits the bill.

We first meet Constantine in Midnight Sun. I was immediately intrigued by his sarcastic, broody attitude and couldn't wait to read more of him. His dark sense of humor called to me, and his often gruff - almost mean - comments and standoffish personality made him that more lovable.

When The Daystar was released earlier this week, I snatched it up as fast as I could, unable to wait for more of Constantine. I wasn't disappointed, either.

Born in the 13th Century to 2 very unloving, cruel parents, Con fought through a nightmarish childhood, doing his best to become the best warrior he could, partially to prove himself to his cold parents, and partially so he could protect himself from the brutal lord his parents sold him to.

At the age of 15 Con is forced to make the toughest decision of his life: Kill, or be killed. Angry, bitter and disillusioned, he escapes his prison and is taken in by a lovely woman who sees great potential in him. He eventually goes on to Crusade and then becomes one of the most feared warriors in history: A Templar Knight.

But something goes terribly wrong. He and 50 other Warrior Monks are captured, and after spending three years in a French prison being tortured, are burned to death. That should have been the end, but sadly, it was only the beginning. For Constantine had lost his faith in God, though it hadn't stopped him from killing in the Lord's name. And so, upon his death, the Archangel Michael damned him and four others, piercing them through the heart and taking their souls. But God, in his mercy, offered them a chance at redemption. They were sent back to Earth with a precious burden to guard, a new set of rules, and immortality. They were sent back as Vampires, knowing if they made even one mistake, they'd be sent to Hell.

Do you see now how he captured my heart? I just wanted to wrap him up and put him in my pocket. And through each page I read, he just captured me more.

Just to show you a bit of what I saw:

He just had a look about him that screamed, “don’t fuck with me”


It was clear he wanted to bite her.
God forgive her, but she wanted to know what it would feel like to have Constantine take her blood.
He must have been reading her mind, since he let out a sound horrific enough to chill her blood. She’d almost reached the door when his voice cut through the quiet.
“Lex,” Her name was a harsh curse falling from his lips. She stopped and turned back to him. “Lock your door.”


“I wish I could take it all away. I wish I could just make it all go away.”
He ran a hand through her hair, loving the way it flowed through her fingers. “You do.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.” He assured her. He took her cool, wet cheeks in his hands. His callused palms pressed against the smoothness of her face. “Whenever I’m near you the past doesn’t matter.”
Lex laid her head in the crook of his shoulder. Her heartbeat thundered against him. He held her close as she trembled. Close enough that she touched his goddamn heart.
“I love you, Constantine.”
He wanted to tell her he loved her too, but the words died on his tongue. She seemed to accept his silence with the quiet grace he’d come to treasure about her. He hoped she knew what was in his heart and his mind.
When Lex slipped back into sleep, she stopped shivering. Constantine closed his eyes and prayed. He prayed to God with everything he was, hoping the Lord granted him this one boon—just this once.
“Dear God, please don’t take her from me.”


Dangerously close to crying, Lex swallowed down the lump of emotion that leapt up into her throat. “Swear to me you won’t ever forget your oath to God. Don’t give up on the hope of Heaven, Constantine. Please.”
“No matter what happens, be assured that I’ve already seen Heaven. I see it every time I look at you.”
Lex didn’t even try to hold back the tears. “If things go badly and I’m—taken—know that I’ll still be with you for as long as you want me around.”
He pulled her head down until their lips were practically touching. “Forever, elf. I want you forever.”
That was all the ”I love you” Lex needed.

*sigh*

Do yourself a favor and read this book pronto, I promise you, you won't regret it!

And just because I know you want to see it, here's his picture!



Enjoy ladies!

Hero of the Week: Jordan Townsende

This week is a goody week for me because we voted on one of my favorite Judith McNaught hero's for this week spotlight Hero.

Jordan Addison Matthew Townsende.

Man of many titles, lands and riches. Husband to one young and very naive woman, named Dylan I mean, Alexandra. What I liked most about Jordan was that throughout his book, Something Wonderful we see the change in Jordan from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. In the beginning of the book we meet Jordan and he's 18 years old and he doesn't have a very high opinion of women, thanks to the women in his life, mainly his mother and the wives of the men that share his bed from time to time. You can tell that because he's a man of privilege, he's very intelligent and he's very cynical.

Mild cynicism marred the youthful handsomeness of his lean features as Jordan watched his mother and her newest lover cross the lawns and saunter into the arbor. A few moments later, his father emerged from the same hedge maze, looked about him, then retrieved Lady Milborne, his current paramour from the bushes.

"Aparently, my mother has found a new lover," Jordan drawled sarcastically.

"Really?" Lady Harrington asked, peering out the window. "Who?"

"Your husband." Turning fully torward her, Jordan studied her lovely face, searching for some sign of surprise. When he saw none, his own features hardened into an ironic mask. "You knew they were in the maze together and that accounts for your unprecedented interest in MY bed, is that it?"

She nodded, uneasy under the unrelenting gaze of those cool grey eyes.

..."Poor little Catherine," he said dryly, reaching out and brushing his knuckles against her cheek. "What a miserable lot you women have, from the day you're born, anything is yours for the asking and so you have nothing to work for, and even if you did, you wouldn't be permitted to work for it. We don't allow you to study and you're forbidden sports, so you cannot exercise your mind or your body. You don't even have honor to cling to, for although a man's honor is his to hold to for as long as he wishes, yours is between your legs and you lose it to the first man who has you. How unjust life is for you!" he finished. "No wonder you're all so bored, amoral and frivolous."

That's the Jordan we meet.

As the saying goes, it's gonna get worst before it gets better. So yeah you guessed it, it got worst.

Jordan meets Alex, his heroine when she's trying to save him from being robbed and killed, he mistakes her for a boy and when she's fallen (but not dead, obviously) he carries her into a bedroom at the nearby Inn and attends to her.

Not too long after they part ways and little Alex makes an impression on him that there IS goodness in the world his hopes are dashed when Alex comes to his home on the heels of her enraged Mother, who demands that Jordan marries Alex for tarnishing her reputation. Her poor daughter was only trying to save him and he thanks her by ruining her chances at any sort of a decent marriage.

So you can just imagine the kind of jerk Jordan turned into. He wasn't very nice to his new bride, he made plans that would have embarrassed and ashamed Alex and chipped at her self worth. He did all of this because of the way he was brought up. He was brought up thinking that he had a duty and he was to see to it. All his life, he'd been disappointed by women, his mother, the women who shared his bed, they were all shallow and cared for nothing and no one. There wasn't anyone in his life that could have shown him the positive side of life.

All he knew growing up was harsh and cold reality. The magnitude of his calling as the future Duke of Hawthorne. He was pushed and bullied by his father to be this hard and unyielding man and it was no wonder that he was so far gone by the time Alex came into this life that he didn't even realize the gem he had by marrying Alex until it was almost too late.

She changed him and shared her world with him and it was the little part of Alex's world that helped him through the hard times of trying to escape the bad guys who stole him. It was the goodness he saw in Alex and the goodness she shared with him that kept him alive and kicking, Alex and the goodness in her was what gave Jordan something to hold on to and something to look forward to returning to.

She gave him something to fight for.

It was a long road back home and and an even rockier road once returned. He had a lot of making up to do but you can see in the book how much he fought for her. His struggle with his feelings, his struggle with the facts presented to him, you saw all of that and you felt for him even though you were kicking him in the knee caps because he was always doubting everything around him. His past and his childhood were so engrained in his mind that he had a hard time coming to grips with trust and love.

But at the end, you saw the growth of Jordan Townsende as a man and you saw the goodness you knew from the beginning was inside him come out. And the strength it took to finally be at a place where he loved openly and with all that he was was such a reward because Jordan Townsende was one hunky ass hero.

My first hero, the one that captured me, the one that hooked me on romance novels in the beginning. He's my first hero love.

It was quotes like these that sealed Jordan's hotness in for me.

"Oh, Alex," he wept rocking her in his arms like a baby, "how will I go living without you? Take me with you, he whispered. "I want to go with you..."

Oh holy goodness, this whole scene, which I would post for you but I really want you to read the whole of it for yourself in the book because gosh it's a good scene, one of the best scenes, one that had me bawling buckets like a baby, it was so good. All the promises he makes just so that she doesn't do the unthinkable and leave him, all the things he says to her to make her realize the goodness she's brought into his life, all the places he wants to take her, the things he wants her to see with him...oh gosh it was such a good scene.

and...

"My pride was hurt that you left me in the middle of the night," he admitted.

For someone as powerful and prideful as Jordan to even ADMIT this to Alex endeared Jordan to me because the Jordan from the beginning of the book would never have admitted such a thing and yet, here he is, admitting it to her. *sigh*

The change in Jordan from the beginning to the end and all the sweetness in between is why we voted Jordan for this week's Hero of the Week, his sexy grey eyes and dark hair helped his cause a whole lot as well and because we know that you're dying to see it...here's our picture of Lord Jordan Townsende, Duke of Hawthorne.

Hero of the Week: Cian Mac Cionaoith

Okay so it's been a heck of a long time since we've last had one of these and I promise, dear readers, that I will work harder to get one of these out every week, as doing this I remember how much fun I used to have trying to woo you lovely readers into reading the book of the spotlight hero of the week.

Anyway, this week's Hero of the Week goes to a hero who was damned by one greedy, power hungry bitch, named Lillith. She approached said hero and seduced him and when they were in the throes of passion, she revealed unto him who she was and though he fought her, she was much too powerful for him to defeat so he fell to this ugly nasty bitch who I hope to all that is holy gets hers in his book.

I'm not quite finished with his book (which by the way is Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts, the third and final book in The Circle Trilogy, well duh but yeah that's his book), but I'm so enchanted with this hero's character and his book that I couldn't wait to make him the spotlight of the week. So here he is, in all his glory.

Cian Mac Cionaoith.

He's brother to Hoyt the Sorcerer and part of the Circle of Six that the Goddess Morrigan has chosen to take on the evil Lillith and her Vampire Army. As he IS a vampire, he's considered a traitor amongst the Vampire World, but he's loyal to his human brother and their cause. He's also the sexiest vampire this series boasts of. From the jump, I was drawn to Cian, though he played his role in the shadow of both Hoyt and Larkin. He's quiet, mean and rude and ruthless in his training. He goes easy on no one, feels nothing but annoyed tolerance for everyone, even his brother...because developing feelings for others isn't worth the empty ache they'll leave inside him once they're done with this life and he continues with his, being the immortal vampire that he is.

So he has lived a solitary life, enjoying the company of scores of women, but in the nine hundred years he's lived the life of an undead, he's loved no one....until Moira.

*sigh*

For a vampire who lived in the shadows most of his undead life, it was good to finally see him come out of the shadow and be apart of the story instead of in the shadows of the story. To see the world through Cian's eyes was sobering. The way the people that he was fighting FOR and WITH, feared him and were repulsed by him made my heart hurt for him. When I read about how people cringed away from him it hurt me because I knew he was used to it. He was used to the cruelty of humans. And the way the humans treated him as if he killed and plundered his way through them nowadays made me mad on his behalf because his reasons for not feeding from humans was sweet and he was such a lonely spirit. If anyone needed someone in their corner, someone to care for him, it was Cian.

My favorite scenes from Cian Mac Cionaoith's book were these memorable ones:

..."I find that a very human sort of choice."

"Do you?" And the words were a shrug. "I find it merely an impulsive--and painful--one."

He slipped out to make his way to his own room on the northern side of the castle. Impulse, he thought again, and, he could admit to himself, an instant of raw fear. If he'd seen the arrow fly a second later, or moved with a fraction less speed, she'd be dead.

And in that instant of impulse and fear, he'd seen her dead. The arrow still quivering as it pierced her flesh, her blood spilling the life out of her onto her dark green gown and the hard gray stones.

He feared that, feared the end of her, where she would be beyond him. Where she would go to a place he couldn't see or touch. Lilith would have taken one last thing from him with that arrow, one last thing he could never regain.

For he'd lied to his brother. He had loved a woman, despite his best--or worst--intentions, he loved the new crowned queen of Geall.

***

"Damn it." Cian slammed down the cup, then scowled at the blood that splattered on the maps. "You humans crowd me with these feelings. You push them at me, and into me without a single thought for how I can survive them."

"How can you survive without them?" Larkin wondered.

"Comfortably. What difference does it make to you what I feel? She needed someone."

"Not someone. You."

"Her mistake," Cian said quietly. "My damnation. I love her, or I would have taken her before this for the sport of it. How, I'm not sure, but I love her otherwise I wouldn't feel so goddamn desperate. And you repeat that to anyone, I'll snap your head from your shoulders, friend or not."

And then my absolute favorite quote from the sexy, Cian Mac Cionaoith...

"Moira." He kept her hand in his, then laid hers against his chest. "If it beat, it would beat for you."

*sigh*

And THAT dear readers, is why Cian Mac Cionaoith is this week's Hero of the Week. Here's a picture of him...sexy, huh?




Until next week...

Hero of the Week: Sebastian of Rydon

It's been a hot minute since we've had a HotW, so I thought I'd start one up today and highlight my favorite hero that I've read lately.

Sebastian of Rydon.

Not too long ago, we all reviewed Rene Lyon's, Midnight Sun and we all made fools of ourselves over Sebastian of Rydon. We only do that for heroes we really love and since most of our heroes share some of the same qualities, like quiet, lethal and demanding, you know all the good stuff, for Sebastian's HotW post, I'm going to concentrate on what makes me melt when I read his story.

There were plenty times in MS where I was positively drooling over how scrumptious Seb was, I was even contemplating stealing him from right under Grace's nose (Rene has let Grace claim Seb, the lucky wench) and seriously, can you blame me? I mean, look at this hunk of hot man.







Isn't he positively delicious?

I think so too.

But there's so much more to love to Sebastian than just his studliness. Remember when he tried to stay away from Allie but couldn't, remember how miserable he was without Allie? Remember how Allie felt after their first kiss?

A wonderful shiver passed through her, as she wished she were still lost in his kiss. His raw masculinity woke everything feminine in her. He was all grace and beauty, with a deadly ferocity simmering under the cool façade he presented to the world.

Damn...talk about sexy vampire.

And what about this one:

Ripped with thick cords of muscle, he oozed strength and sex appeal. Everything about him appealed to her, from his shorn head to the dragon tattoo on his upper arm. He was sexy as hell and it drove her insane how he pointedly ignored her when all she wanted to do was rip his clothes off.

Holy crap in the pants! Can I have one, seriously, Rene can I have one?

*sigh*

Sebastian's honor and the way he was around Allie, how much he cared, knowing he was damned and caring anyway, knowing that there was no way their relationship could work, but going for it anyway, because he loved her..now that is what I call, love.

Sebastian had it in spades for Allie Parker and I for one, am green with envy that his love is for her and not me...so there you have it, ladies..your Hero of the Week, I promise or try to anyway to have one up a week, like we used to...hehe.

Enjoy and a huge THANKS to Rene Lyons for introducing us to her sexy Vampire Templar, Sebastian and her dark world...we love it and we love you!

Hero of the Week: James Diaz

Hero of the Week is BACK!

We've been missing for the past couple of weeks but SF is back with a hero of the week, and this week's hero of the week comes from Linda Howard, an author that I haven't been too happy with lately. (Mostly just the past week or so) But, since I didn't like Killing Time so much, I thought I'd take a glance back to better books by Linda Howard, one of them being, Cry No More.

With the delicious James Diaz.

Take a look at him in all his deliciousness.



YUM!

You see, the reason we chose James Diaz as this week's Hero of the Week, is because if you've read his book, you'd know that he was one of those Alpha Males the ones that are quiet and lethal. He's a mean son of a bitch and he doesn't care who knows it.

He's got an intense personality and even though he was really mean and cold hearted, he wasn't completely dead, because he was funny. A few weeks ago, Holly used one of the scenes from Diaz's book as the Quote of the Week, let me refresh your memories with all that.

The scene:

He watched her for a minute, his dark eyes narrowed against the afternoon sun. Then he said, "I'd give my left nut to be inside of you right now."

Squinting up at the sun, trying to find something solid to hold on to, since the ground had just shifted beneath her, she said, "Why do men always offer their left nut and never their right one? Is something wrong with it? Or is the right one somehow more important?"

"You wrong us." He closed his eyes with a tired sigh and that slight smile touched his mouth again. "A man takes both his nuts seriously."

"In that case, I'm flattered."

HA!

This man, is lethal and persistent when it comes to stalking his prey. He was tender and sweet when it came to loving his woman and he was down right, hella sexy to boot! What more can a woman ask for?

If you haven't read his book already, you should soon because his book is REALLY good.

Until next week...

Hero of the Week: Cal Morrisey

Women the world over want one thing from men. One of many things I'm sure but one thing in particular.

To be accepted and loved for who they really are, both inside and out. Now, let's face it, most guys, especially the hot guys don't really notice the wallflower or the plain jane and they most definitely don't notice the chubby chick sitting across from them checking them out, how often do you hear a really hot guy say, "Holy cow, look at the brain on that girl? That's hot."

Not so often.

You hardly EVER hear of a gorgeous man, falling head over heels in love with a chubby Plain Jane type. It just doesn't happen these days, society these days have brainwashed everyone to think that you're only hot stuff if you're super duper skinny and don't eat for twenty days. If you're not rocking the latest hip threads and dressed and looking like a million bucks, odds are you're not going to get a Justin Timberlake or a Hugh Jackman. It really sucks but that's the way of things these days.

But that's not the case with Cal Morrissey.

When we first meet Cal Morrissey we're furious with him because of what he agrees to do with Minn Dobb but he makes up for that and more when he fell in love with Plain Jane Chubby Minn Dobbs. With everyone that was trying to change Minn to be skinny and NOT herself, it was a refreshing change to see Cal, this gorgeous Greek God trying to make her realize that she was perfect the way she was, plus size and all. He accepted and loved her just the way she was and it made me love Cal Morrissey all the more.

There are plenty of stories where the heroine is not so skinny and the hero falls in love with her anyway. But, usually the heroine goes through a tremendous change in appearance where she goes from a really chubby chick to a really skinny and gorgeous heroine and we're made to believe that the hero loved her for who she really was and not who she became. In Susan Donovan's He Loves Lucy, we know that Theo Redmond, the hero falls in love with Lucy O'Callahan, the heroine while he's helping her lose weight for her job. So yeah, he falls in love with her, but by the time they fall in love, she's not so chubby anymore and I'm not saying that Theo didn't love Lucy any less than Cal loved Minn, I'm just saying that it would have been nice to see Theo fall in love with Lucy BEFORE she lost all of the weight.

The difference between Theo and Cal, is Cal loved Minn just the way she was, Minn didn't have to lose all this weight for him to love her more, she just was who she was and Cal fell in love with that. He was in love with her and loved how she completed him as a man.

One of my favorite scenes in Cal's book, Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie is the scene where Cal goes to meet Minn's family for the first time. You see, Minn's sister is getting married and she has to lose all this weight to please her mother and to fit into the dress that they got a size too small for Minn to get her to lose weight before the wedding. The following scene insues and it just made me love Cal Morrissey all the more.

"Bread?" Min said, shoving the basket under Cal's nose.

"Yes, thank you." Cal took a roll and handed her the basket back. She took one, too, and her mother spoke again.

"Min."

"Right," Min said and put the roll back.

"So you own your own business," George said, skepticism heavy in his voice.

"Yes." Cal frowned down at Min. "Why can't you have a roll?"

"I told you, I have this dress I have to fit into," Min said. "It's all right. I can eat bread again in July."

"Min is Diana's maid of honor next weekend," Nanette said. "We don't want her to get too big for the dress."

"I'm already too big for the dress," Min said.

"You should come," Diana said to Cal, leaning across the table. She hadn't touched the bread, the butter, or her beef, Cal noticed. Her water glass was getting quite a workout, though. "To the wedding. And the rehearsal dinner. Min needs a date."

Before Cal could answer, George said, "Who are some of your clients?" and Nanette said, "How long have you and Min been dating?" and Min tugged on his sleeve. When he looked down at her, she said, "Do you have family?"

"Yes," Cal said, trying to sound noncommittal about it.

"Are they this awful?" Min said.

"Minerva," Nanette said, warning in her voice.

"Well, they do let me eat bread," Cal said, keeping his eye on Nanette. "Other than that, pretty much."

"I beg your pardon?" George said.

"Look, I don't mind you grilling me about what I do for a living," Cal said. "Your daughter's brought me home and that has some significance. And I don't mind your wife asking about my personal life for the same reason. But Min is an amazing woman, and so far during this meal, you've either ignored her or hassled her about some dumb dress. For the record, she is not too big for the dress. The dress is too small for her. She's perfect." Cal buttered a roll and passed it over to Min. "Eat."

Min blinked at him and took the roll.

Cal looked past her to her mother. "I've never been married. I've never been engaged. My last relationship ended about two months ago. I met your daughter three weeks ago." He turned back to Min's father. "The business is in the black and has been for some time. I can give you references if you'd like to check. Should things between Min and me ever grow serious, I can support her."

"Hey, I can support me," Min said, still holding her roll.

"I know," Cal said. "Your dad wants to know that I can. Eat." Min bit into the roll and he looked around the table. "Anything else anybody wants to know?"

Diana held up her hand.

"Yes?" Cal said.

"Are you Min's date for the wedding?"

Min tried to swallow the bite she'd just taken.

"She hasn't asked me." Cal looked down at Min. "Want to go to your sister's wedding with me?"

Min choked on her roll and he pounded her on the back.

"Of course she wants to go with you." Nanette said, smiling for the first time. "We'd be delighted to have you. The rehearsal dinner, too."

"Good," Cal said, feeling progress had been made as Min gasped for air.

You gotta love the way Cal took control of the situation and put everyone's mind at ease at the same time. Cal is a tall, dark and extremely handsome man and he could have any woman in the world, him turning his nose up to all those model types and falling for someone as plain and simple as Minn gives all of us normal girls hope that we too can end up with the boy. Not just any boy or a boy, but the boy. I love it.

Cal wasn't the perfect hero and that worked for me, he had his issues like any normal family but I loved the way he stood up for Min and I loved it when he called her insufferable mother, a dragon of a mother. I just loved it. I loved how he was always on Min's side no matter what, he didn't play with her emotions, he couldn't help falling in love with her and when he came to grips with it, there was no turning back for him, he went after her with all he had, what more could you ask for in a man?

Not much, which is why I have chosen him for this week's Hero of the Week. Here's a picture of this sexy stud.



Until next week...

Hero of the Week: Jacques Dubrinsky

***This was supposed to go up on Wednesday, but I had a helluva week and didn't have time to work on it. Thanks for being patient!***

I have a thing for tortured heroes. Come on, admit it, most of you do, too. We love reading about a wild, dark, tortured man who has hidden depths. Seeing a man like that fall in love and become a slave to his woman just makes my heart turn over. So this week, I've chosen one of the most tortured heroes I've ever read about. Literally.

A Carpathian, Jacques Dubrinsky has spent his life fighting vampires, but one night he's captured and he spends the next seven years suffering the most unspeakable torture you can ever imagine. Since I can't explain it better than Christine Feehan herself, I'm going to let you hear for yourself just what he suffered.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this series, Christine Feehan takes us into the world of vampires and paranormal activities. Before I continue, let me clarify something: Carpathians are not humans. They're an entirely different race. The can shapeshift, they can read minds, they can command the elements. And after 200 years of existing alone on Earth, they lose all sense of feeling. They can't see colors or feel emotions. So the spend eternity after that in a blank void. Until they find their true lifemate. And once they do, they're emotions are restored. They go from seeing nothing but grey to experiencing color again. But for some, the wait is too long, and so they turn vampire, killing innocent humans for the small rush it gives them. The brief spurt of power. It is then that the warriors fight their hardest to remain true, to not fall to the darkside. Because they have to go and hunt their brethren, men they loved. Their family. Their friends. The ones they grew up with. Keep that in mind while reading this post, because you can't hold them to the same standards as we do other heroes.

There was blood, a river of it running. There was pain, a sea he was floating in. Would it never end? A thousand cuts, burns, the taunting laughter telling him it would go on for all eternity. He could not believe he was so helpless, could not believe his incredible power and strength had been drained from him, leaving him reduced to such a pitiful state.
His tormentors had somehow managed to capture him, paralyze him so that he could feel yet not move, not even his vocal cords. He was totally helpless, vulnerable to the puny humans tearing his body apart. He heard their taunts, the endless questions, felt the rage in them when he refused to acknowledge their presence or the pain they inflicted on him. He wanted death, welcomed it, and his eyes, cold as ice, never left their faces, never blinked, the eyes of a predator waiting, watching, promising retaliation. It maddened them, but they refused to administer the finishing blow.
Droplets of blood began to seep from his pores. Red Blood. He clearly saw that his blood was red. It meant something important, yet he was confused, unable to discern why it was significant and what it meant. His mind was becoming hazy, as if a great veil were being drawn over his brain. He couldn't remember how they had managed to capture him. He struggled to "see' the image of the one of his own kind who had betrayed him, but the picture would not return to his mind. There was only pain. Terrible, endless pain. He could no make a sound, even when his mind shattered into a million fragments and he could no longer remember what, or whom, he was struggling to protect.

And then they staked him in the heart, put him in a casket and buried him alive. Only it didn't kill him. So for seven long years, he suffered like that. Until Shea, his heroine, comes and rescues him. At first he doesn't understand her purpose and he tries to fight her, but as soon as he realizes he can see color because of her, he does everything in his power to protect him. He has no memory of anything but the pain, his mind is shattered and his body ravaged, but even so, he still puts himself in front of his lifemate and protects her, willing to give up his life if need be.

He comforts her as she tries to understand things she's never known before, and he takes care of her, even though he's the one who needs care. He's not afraid to admit how much he needs her either.

He released her wrist reluctantly, traced his fingertips along her high cheekbone. His mind touched hers, found genuine fear and confusion. "I am as much in the dark as you are. I know only that you ended my suffering, that you came to my call, that I recognize my other half. You are the light to my darkness."

"My imprisonment may have destroyed whatever I originally was, and I do not know who I am now. But I know that I need you. Would you really leave me alone?"

"I may be insane, Shea. I have thought about it for a long while. I know my nature is that of a predator." He sounded very thoughtful, giving each of her worries his strict attention. "But if I am truly insane, then I cannot be without you. I will need you every moment by my side to ensure the safety of all mankind."

His fingers tightened around hers, his breath warm along her knuckles. "I want you with every cell in my body, with my mind and my heart. Your soul is the other half of mine. When you are with me, I feel. Joy, desire, anger, even laughter. You are my lifemate. I have waited over eight hundred years to find you. I could not see color until you came into my life." His black eyes, worn with suffering, fastened on her green ones. "I cannot lose you. I can never be alone again."

Tell me you aren't melted by this man. Read more about him in Christine Feehan's Dark Desire.

And here's a pic* to help you along...



*Thanks to Dee-Baby for finding the picture for me. You're the best!

Hero of the Week: Sin MacAllister

Sin.

Just saying his name alone is enough to make my toes curl, it's so sinful and sexual and enticing just like the man himself. Tortured and betrayed by the people that he loved most in the world, he fast became one of my favorite brothers in the MacAllister series, it's funny too because in the first book, which is Sin's brother Braden's book, I was drawn more to Sin then to Braden and Braden was a great hero, but he wasn't a memorable one, not like Sin was.

Sin MacAllister has the ability to capture your attention and keep it. He's one of those sneaky characters that is dead sexy gorgeous but oblivious to his looks, he's quiet and keeps to himself and there's this air of mystery that surrounds him, he's a man you can't help but gravitate to, a man you can't help but picture in your bed, wanting him to give you a chance to warm him up because he's so cold and bitter...

The illegitimate and oldest son of Laird MacAllister, he came to the Laird's home without a name and so the Laird's wife, named him Sin, because he was born in sin and he will die in sin. Sin was thrown to the wolves so to speak when he was sent away from his home, at the Kings request. Though, really it was supposed to be the youngest son that was sent to the King, his father's wife couldn't stand to be parted with any of her sons so she made sure that it was Sin who was taken away from their home.

Unable to believe that his father would let it happen, Sin fought against the hold of the guards who took him. When he was sure his father wasn't going to put up a fight for him, Sin left his Scottish home and never returned. Not too long after he was taken from his home, he was taken captive by the Saracens and was a slave. The only way to survive in the Saracen camp was to become a henchman for the Saracens and kill those he was told to kill.

He killed who he was told to kill and he did what he had to do to survive and even with the troubled life that he lived, he still had a generous heart, he was loyal to those around him and with all that he suffered in his life, he was still capable of loving with all that he was.

To have suffered all that he suffered, it was just so sweet to read about him falling in love with Callie. He was such a good man, troubled and tortured but good nonetheless, suffered for things that had nothing to do with him and taken out of the family he knew and loved and yet he still ended up beign a good, upstanding man, sexy to boot.

For all of this, Sin MacAllister deserves a spot of honor on our Hero of the Week wall.

Here's a little snippet of why I love this man so much:

She found him outside her door, leaning against the wall with his sword beside him.

"Sin? What are you doing?"

"‘Twould appear I am sitting."

"And why are you sitting there?"

"Because it’s rather difficult to sleep while standing."

Callie faltered as his meaning became clear. "You are sleeping outside my door? Why?"

"Because if I slept outside of Simon’s door, the innkeeper might think I’m strange."

His sarcasm was beginning to wear on her. Still, a smile hovered on the edges of her lips. "You could come inside and sleep."

Sin stared at her body wrapped in plaid. Her curves evident from the light behind her, she wore her coppery hair loose around her shoulders. She looked like a goddess standing there. A breathtaking angel come to save his rotten soul.

And he wanted to devour her like some ravenous wolf. To take her into his arms and sate the aching burn in his blood. It was an urge so strong, he was quite amazed to find himself still on the floor and not inside her.

Nay, he couldn’t sleep in her room. Not with her. Not when he felt so out of control with himself. "I am quite fine where I am."

"Sitting on the floor?"

"Exactly."

To his astonishment, she knelt beside him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. His skin burned from the softness of her lips. "Thank you, my fierce protector. I shall sleep much better knowing you are out here growing stiff and cold."

Sin arched a brow at her sarcasm. He was stiff all right, but far from cold.

She rose and moved back into her room. "By the way, should you see the demon Old Red Cap, please give him my best."

Sin snorted as she closed the door. Little did his wife know, he was Old Red Cap.

Callie tried her best to sleep, but after an hour, she couldn’t stand it anymore. The thought of Sin outside on the cold floor was more than she could stand.

Getting up, she grabbed her blanket and pillow and opened the door, then paused. Sin slept with his back to her, stretched out across the doorframe.

Her heart lurched at the sight of him lying there on the cold, hard floor where his black armor no doubt bit into him. He didn’t even have a blanket to cover him. There was no way he could possibly be comfortable lying that way.

Wanting to give him whatever comfort she could, she took a step forward.

Faster than she could blink, Sin rolled over, drawing his sword and angling it at her. The tip of it was barely an inch from her throat.

She gasped in panic.

Blinking and frowning, Sin lowered his sword. "Forgive me, milady. I should have warned you that I sleep lightly and that I come awake ready to fight."

"I shall remember that."

Awkwardly, she handed him the pillow and blanket in her hands. "I thought you might have need of these."

Sin stared at the items. In all his life, no one had ever seen to his comfort. Indeed, he remembered a time once when his step-mother had purchased apple drinks at a local faire for his brothers.

Barely seven, he had watched them gulp down the cider while his own parched throat had burned.

"Might I have some, too, please?" he’d asked.

His step-mother had curled her lip at him, and scowled as if he had asked her to give over one of her limbs. "Find water if you’re able. It’s free and good enough for the worthless likes of you."

It had been the last time he had ever asked for anything. "Thank you," he said, taking the pillow and blanket from Callie’s hand.

She smiled and returned to her room.

Sin placed the pillow on the floor and returned to lie down. As soon as his head touched it, he caught of whiff of lavender. Callie’s scent. Closing his eyes, he savored the sweet smell of her and imagined the way her thighs had felt as he ran his hand over them.

The entire time he’d touched her, all he had thought about was burying himself deep inside her. Of feeling her arms holding him tightly.

Pain assailed him. Why was she kind to him when she, even more than the others, should hate him? He was her enemy. Her father had hated all things English and yet she showed compassion and kindness to him.

Morbidly, he tucked his sword back under his body where he had learned long ago to sleep with it. The cool steel pressed against the heat of his chest as the hilt and chain mail bit into his flesh. It reminded him of what he was. A warrior. There was no place in his life for comfort. No place in his beleaguered heart for a wife.

Alone was what he knew and alone was how he intended to stay.

*sigh*

Here's a pic of Sin to hold you over until next week:

Enjoy ladies!

Hero of the Week: Ben Lewis.

Have you ever crushed on a guy who oozes sex appeal, even when he’s not at his best? How much do you love a guy who can look so utterly sexy right after rolling out of bed in the morning? You know, the guys that stretch up in bed, and scratches their tummy while yawning, a big loud like yawn that totally makes your toes curl? You can’t figure out why his messy hair that’s matted to his head and his scruffy face and whiskers that scratch your face when you get close turns you on, all you know that it does…and you like it.

That’s exactly how I picture Ben Lewis from Linda Howard’s Heart of Fire to be, rough around the edges and sloppy but still Oh.So.Sexy.

He’s the kind of guy that will crack jokes to ease the tension in a room, the kind of guy that will flirt his way into your heart without trying, he just is and women fall for him, at every turn. But all joking aside, you know that this man is not a man to mess with, there’s an intensity about him that draws women to him, like a moth to a flame. I mean check out his description:

…where a lone man lazed as if half asleep, an open bottle of whiskey in front of him. Even from beneath those half-lowered lids she could see intensity gleaming in his eyes. As they approached, he shoved out a chair with his foot and gave Jillian a look that had about as much in common with the looks from the men at the bar as a shark had in common with a trout. The men at the bar might have speculated, but they kept their thoughts to themselves. This man, in his mind, already had her stripped, spread-eagled, and penetrated, and didn’t care if she knew it.

He oozes sex appeal, an appeal that not anyone can get away with, he’s confident, more than that, he’s arrogant and doesn’t give a damn. He knows that if one woman won’t take him, another one will…but if you capture his attention, nothing or no one is going to get in his way because he’s got his eye on the prize, and this guy always wins.

Ben Lewis is a pleasant mixture of a fun loving guy who doesn’t give a flying flip about what you want or what you need, because he’s looking out for his number one and the mysterious guy with shady secrets and a dangerous past. He’s intense and thorough and hot damn the man is the biggest horn dog in the world and he don’t give a hootin’ heck who knows it. He’s actually proud of that fact. He makes no effort to hide who he is, what you see is what you get and you really can’t ask for more than that, because you know it will always be an adventure with Ben around.

With a guy like this you would think that you could trust him, but you can’t. The guy is a sneaky bastard but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s one sexy ass sneak. He’s the kind of guy you’d have to hide the silver from because he’ll grin wide for you while he’s robbing you blind, see how sexy he is? LOL.

Some of my favorite scenes are:

Sometimes, such as when he’d massaged her sore back, he could actually be considerate.

…Considerate my foot, Jillian thought five minutes later. Diabolical was more like it. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him and he knew it.

He stripped down to the skin with an utter lack of modesty that told her he was accustomed to being naked with a woman. Why would any woman in her right mind want him to wear clothes anyway? He was tall and lean and superbly muscled, and his buttocks were so round and taut that her hands instinctively curled into fists in an effort to resist patting them. He had the shoulders of a stevesdore and the legs of an athlete, long and powerful. She had never enjoyed looking at a man more.

He stepped under the waterfall and let the water splash over him while he tiled his head back and shook his hair. Sunlight dappled on the flexing muscles of that marvelously strong body, and the water droplets spraying through the air glittered like diamonds. His genitals hung heavily between his thighs and he was so perfectly, utterly male that her chest constricted, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Then he looked straight at her, the blue of his eyes so intense that she could see it even across the forty feet that separated them. He stepped forward a little, so that the main force of the water was hitting his back, he was right on the edge of the rock shelf above the pool of water. He was totally exposed to her, without the stream of water to blur the powerful lines of his body. As he stared at her, his shaft began to stir, to grow thick and long, to rise fiercely toward his belly.

Damn him, she thought feverishly. A more graphic demonstration of desire wasn’t possible. Nothing was so seductive as knowing that you’re wanted, and he knew it. The potent reaction of his body to simply looking at her did ten times more damage to her resistance than any of his slick, playfully profane cajoling, or even those bone melting kisses.

…She dragged her gaze back up and met his, bright and expectant. Oh, yes, heknew exactly what he was doing to her. The man was so diabolical that she had another almost irresistible urge to throw rocks at him.

Humming, he finished his bath and even scrubbed his clothes, taking his time about it. Jillian’s hands tightened on the shotgun that lay across her lap and she forced herself to scan the path that led back up to the camp.

…”You aren’t a very good guard,” he charged, a smile lurking around his mouth. “You spent more time looking at me than at the surroundings.”

“Well you were doing everything but waving a flag at me to attract my attention, she replied. “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“A flag wasn’t what I was waving,” he pointed out. “Now, if you said flagpole, I’d have to agree, but—,“

…he gave the area a thorough survey before leaning down to kiss her. ”Okay, it’s your turn.”

Her mouth throbbed from even that light touch, “Do you swear you’ll stay here and keep guard?”

His blue eyes turned cool. “This is something I take seriously, sweetcakes.”

…Ben settled back and got comfortable, ready to enjoy the show, though he gave the area another intense survey before returning his attention to Jillian. His heart began pounding heavily at the prospect of seeing her naked.

…Ben watched the blur of her body in an agony of anticipation. Turn, he kept thinking, as if he could bend her to his will with his thoughts. Turn. He wanted to see her; he needed to see her. Not that he didn’t enjoy looking at her ass, what he could see of it, through the water, but he wanted more. He wanted to see her breasts, to have an image of reality to replace his fevered imagination.

His hands were sweating, and he wiped them off on his pants. His chest was heaving with the harshness of his breathing. Damn this perverse little witch, she wasn’t showing him anything. Didn’t she know how much he needed to see her?

Holy hot damn, this guy is something else, sorry that was a bit long but I just absolutely love this scene, I love how Jillian stole Ben’s thunder and I just love how everything is between these two, he bites she bites back and he grins…love it when a guy grins…Ben Lewis is one of the most sexiest guys ever written and by the length of this post, can you tell how much I love him? Hehe.

Here’s a picture of this week’s Hero of the Week:




Enjoy, until next week…

Hero of the Week: Cian MacKeltar

To describe Cian MacKeltar in one word would be a very hard task indeed, because there are too many delightful words one could use to describe, such a man as himself.

Delightful is not one of them, that's for sure.

Sexy.

Meh that goes to show...but Cian is oh so much more than just merely, sexy.

Sensual.

Again, not good enough to describe the sexiness that is Cian MacKeltar.

Luscious.

Yeah, getting closer because he is indeed a verra, verra luscious man, but meh, that's not unique enough to describe Cian.

Didn't I tell you, it'd be hard to describe this sexy beast in one word? We'd be here for days, weeks, months...

He's oh so much more male then any one female can handle, me thinks. Because you see, it's like this...we first hear about Cian MacKeltar in I believe it's Drustan's book and then we hear about him again in Dageus' book and then finally, we meet up with the mysterious MacKeltar ancestor in his very own story, Spell of the Highlander. The whole mystery surrounding Cian is, he's the Ancestor of Drustan and Dageus MacKeltar, who turned bad and was cursed into a mirror, never to be heard of or seen again.

So fast forward hundreds of years later, he comes into the hands of a professor and then into the curious hands of one, Jessi St. James.

Throughout his entire book, you can just feel how powerful he is and how consuming his rage is to the guy that trapped him in the mirror. You can feel how bad he wants his revenge, but one of the stipulations of his curse is that he can come out of the mirror, once he is summoned out, but it's only a temporary reprieve from the mirror and he never knows how long he has outside of the mirror. One minute he can be taking a shower and the next he'll be zapped back into the mirror with the soap, or to my utter delight, the conditioner in his hand, with his still slippery and hard all over and wet and well, you get what I mean...LOL.

The total devotion he had for Jessi was truly breathtaking. He was this hard, unbending man who fell like a rock for his mate and when he said the sacred Druid vows to Jessi, it really ripped me apart because he didn't want her to say the words back to him because he knew he was going to die and he didn't want her to suffer the way he knew she would if she repeated the vows.

So not only was he one big, Billy Bad Ass, he was also very dominating and just powerful. You would think love was something he would never care for, but the way he loved Jessi, the way he took care of her whenever he could, was so charming.

I fell in love with this man when Dageus stole his car, trapping him inside the mirror and left Jessi behind, all by her lonesome. I loved how he was stubborn and wouldn't give an inch or say a word until Dageus returned with Jessi, and he saw for himself that she was alive and well. I loved his fierce protectiveness of Jessi and I just absolutely loved when he took the shower and did what he did with the conditioner, remember that??? Huh, huh? Do you remember all of that badness? LOL...LOVE IT and LOVE HIM!

If you haven't read his book, you should definitely remedy that because this man is all kinds of the best hero and everyone should know how awesome he is...here's some swoonworthy quotes from his book that made us melt and should make you melt as well...


"Look, I've been thinking, what's your plan, anyway?"
"To bed you."
"No, I mean, your plan that might actually work."
"Ah, that plan. That would be to cross this room right now and kiss you until you start rearing off your clothing and begging me to f---"

Hehe, ever the confident and arrogant man...

"I will rue for all eternity every moment of suffering I've caused you. The entire time I'm burning in Hell, I'll regret each tear I made you weep. But if Hell were the price for twenty days with you, I'd condemn myself again and again."

Oh gosh, LOVE this man...

He searched her gaze a long silent moment. "You truly donna ken it, do you? Excepting with you, Jessica. You, lass, are the exception to everything," he said softly.
"You mean, you're not just stuck with me? You like me?" She wanted to kick herself the moment she blurted the stupid question. Puh-thetic, Jessi, she winced inwardly. That was worse than the "I carried a watermelon " line from Dirty Dancing.
Suddenly he smiled, and the sadness was vanquished by whisky heat. "Aye, Jessica, I like you. And I'm not just stuck with you. You fit me here, woman." He thumped his chest with his fist.
Wow. He wasn't a man of many words, but when he used them, he certainly used the right ones. You fit me here. You are the exception to everything.
Crimeny.

*sigh* Yeah, this man would do well to serve as this week's Hero of the Week and this is why:



Yeah, thats what I'm talking about....ORGASMIC! There's the word...

Until next week...

Hero of the Week: Jamie Fraser

The Hero of this Week is dedicated to the other ladies here at Sanctuary, who have yet to read about the oh-so swoonworthy Jamie Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser, Laird of Lallybroch. I think it's a shame that they're missing out on such a wonderful hero, who truly makes the heart beat faster and slower and absolutely melt...so this one is for you girls!

We first meet Jamie Fraser in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, when Claire Randall is accidentally transported from the 1940s back into the 1740s. Utterly dazed and confused by the time travel, Claire is faced with not only understanding how she came to be in such a place, but also how on earth she'd find her way back home. It is then she meets an injured solider, Jamie Fraser, who she nurses back to health..and who inevitably changes her life path. The two become ensared in battles, betrayal, hardship and along the way, a romance begins to bloom that even time could not crush.

For those of you who love a tortured hero, for those of you who lust over strong scottish lairds, for those of you who sigh with a dreamy expression over heartwarming declarations of love made by heroes with a surprising vulnerability..Jamie Fraser is definitely the man for you.

Many men may declare that they'd lay their lives on the line for the people they love, but when the time came, would visibly blanch at the idea. But not Jamie. He willing risked his life for those he loved, time and time again, and for a cause he believed in. He sacrificed his flesh and blood, literally, for the greater good and to protect his own. And more than anything, he loved his lifemate Claire Randall with so much passion and intensity, it makes readers yearn for such tenderness and love in their own lives.

He is the man every woman would want to love and be loved by and the man every other man would strive to be. He's fierce and courageous, hardened by the betrayals and obscenities he has suffered in his lifetime, and yet has the ability to love with his entire soul. That's the only way I can explain his unconditional, undying love for Claire, which surpasses time and space itself. Too often we see tortured heroes unable to accept some goodness in their lives for many reasons; fear of losing it, belief that they don't deserve it or that they are incapable of being loved or loving someone. In this instance, Jamie feared that he'd lose his Claire to his enemies and time itself and he believed that she deserved far better and should return to her own time..and yet, knowing all this, he held onto his Claire with both hands. His heart burned with desire and love and he wasn't scared to let Claire see. And when the time came to make some of the hardest decisions of his life, he sacrifced without hesitation to ensure that his Claire would be safe, to go on living, even if he could not.

I can't say enough how much I love Jamie Fraser, for his loyalty, for his courage, for his vulnerabilities and most of all, for loving his Claire with fierceness that warms the heart. And oh, how endearing the word Sassenach (which is what Jamie called his Claire) became throughout the series of these books.

Now if you haven't been convinced enough by my raves that Jamie Fraser belongs on the keeper shelf, here are a few quotes from the Outlander series:

"You're mine, mo duinne," he said softly, pressing himself into my depths. "Mine alone, now and forever. Mine, whether ye will it or no." I pulled against his grip, and sucked in my breath with a faint "ah" as he pressed even deeper. "Aye, I mean to use ye hard, my Sassenach," he whispered. "I want to own you, to possess you, body and soul." I struggled slightly and he pressed me down, hammering me, a solid, inexorable pounding that reached my womb with each stroke. "I mean to make ye call me 'master', Sassenach." His soft voice was a threat of revenge for the agonies of the last minutes. "I mean to make you mine." -- from Outlander

"I prayed all the way up that hill yesterday," he said softly. "Not for you to stay; I didna think that would be right. I prayed I'd be strong enough to send ye away." He shook his head, still gazing up the hill, a faraway look in his eyes.
"I said 'Lord, if I've never had courage in my life before, let me have it now. Let me be brave enough not to fall on my knees and beg her to stay.'" He pulled his eyes away from the cottage and smiled briefly at me. "Hardest thing I ever did, Sassenach." -- from Outlander

"Don't move, Sassenach," Jamie's voice came softly, next to me. "Just for a moment, mo duinne---be still." I obligingly froze, until he touched me on the shoulder. "That's all right, Sassenach," he said, with a smile in his voice. "It's only that ye looked so beautiful, wi' the fire on your face, and your hair waving in the wind. I wanted to remember it." I turned to face him, then, and smiled at him, across the body of the child. The night was dark and cold, alive with people all around, but there was nothing where we sat but light and warmth---and each other. -- from Dragonfly in Amber

"I will find you," he whispered in my ear. "I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you---then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest." His voice dropped, nearly to a whisper, and his arms tightened around me."Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well." -- from Dragonfly in Amber

Do ye not understand?" he said, in near desperation. "I would lay the world at your feet, Claire---and I have nothing to give ye!"He honestly thought it mattered. -- from Drums of Autumn

"So long as my body lives, and yours---we are one flesh," he whispered. His fingers touched me, hair and chin and neck and breast, and I breathed his breath and felt him solid under my hand. Then I lay with my head on his shoulder, the strength of him supporting me, the words deep and soft in his chest. "And when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours. Claire---I swear by my hope of heaven, I will not be parted from you." -- from Drums of Autumn

"I've seen ye so many times," he said, his voice whispering warm in my ear. "You've come to me so often. When I dreamed sometimes. When I lay in fever. When I was so afraid and so lonely I knew I must die. When I needed you, I would always see ye, smiling, with your hair curling up about your face. But ye never spoke. And ye never touched me." "I can touch you now." I reached up and drew my hand gently down his temple, his ear, the cheek and jaw that I could see. My hand went to the nape of his neck, under the clubbed bronze hair, and he raised his head at last, and cupped my face between his hands, love glowing strong in the dark blue eyes.
"Dinna be afraid," he said softly. "There's the two of us now." -- Voyager

"Only you," he said, so softly I could barely hear him. "To worship ye with my body, give ye all the service of my hands. To give ye my name, and all my heart and soul with it. Only you. Because ye will not let me lie---and yet ye love me." -- Voyager

And finally...

Jamie's hand still lay on mine. It tightened a little, and I glanced at him, but his eyes were still fixed somewhere past the dooryard; past the mountains, and the distant clouds. His grip tightened further, and I felt the edges of my ring press into my flesh. "When the day shall come, that we do part," he said softly, and turned to look at me, "if my last words are not 'I love you'--ye'll ken it was because I didna have time." -- from The Fiery Cross

How can you not fall in love with this man? *dreamy sigh* Especially since he looks like this:



If you'd like to pick up this long but very worthwhile series, it's as follows:
Outlander
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross
A Breath of Snow and Ashes

Until next week..

Hero of the Week: Vane Kattalakis

This week's Hero of the Week is totally dedicated to Holly.

You see, between us folks here at Sanctuary's Finest when we read a book that has a really hot hero, we'll claim the hero as our very own between the whole lot of us, and Holly has called dibs on Vane Kattalakis from the very beginning (before I even read the books), which in turn turned me off of Vane the very first time I read his book, Night Play.

But after a second reading of Night Play a few weeks ago, I've got to say that not only did Vane raise a whole lot of notches in my esteem, he became so much more sexier that I thought I would have to turn myself over to the loony people because clearly, something was wrong with me because I didn't think Vane was all that.

Boy was I wrong.

Why you ask? Well, here's how SK herself has described this hunk of male hunkiness.

The eldest of six, Vane has spent his entire life watching over his younger siblings-- especially his sister Anya and his brother Fang. He would kill or die to protect his family from the Arcadians who stalk them.

The Arcadians proclaimed him a Slayer on his twenty-fifth birthday and they have pursued him ever since. The bounty on his head is staggering.

A vicious Slayer, he is extremely territorial and is merciless to any who dare tread on his turf-- be they Katagaria or Arcadian. His powers are legendary and few Sentinels dare challenge him. Those who have, paid with their lives.

Only Anya has ever seen his tender side. To the rest of the world, he is hard-edged and single-minded. He does whatever he must to secure his patria. To challenge him is to challenge death itself.

A hardened man wolf who is wild in battle and does whatever it takes to protect what's his. Crappy things happened to Vane but he didn't cower from the world, he didn't sit back and let things happen to him, oh no, Vane fought back with everything he was and he was fiercely loyal to those around him, you can't ask for a better person to have your back then Vane Kattalakis and his pack of wolves. Be very very afraid if you find out that Vane is after your ass because he WILL get your ass and it won't be nice.

But aside from his prowess on the fighting field, oh gosh the things he did for Bride McTierney was just so out of this world sweet that it was at odds with the Vane we know from the Katagaria world. I remember when he first meets Bride, she's an overweight person and she's getting dicked by her current boyfriend and boy does Vane come in and play the knight in shining armor for her, that first scene when Vane finally meets up with Bride after having seeing her at Serena's cart, the way he goes out of his way to be sweet to her is a real treat for the readers because he wasn't worried about looks, her insecurities, all he was thinking about was pleasing her and he pleased her and so much more.

I loved Vanes fierce protectiveness of his pack and then of Bride. I loved how he was an all balls to the wall type of guy who loved with everything that he was. He never backed down from anyone and he played by his own rules, to hell with everyone else. He sang to his own tune and he wasn't too over the top with his Alpha male attitude, he was just...perfect.

And then reading his love scenes with Bride, the things that man can do in the sack, made me want to sleep with a Katagaria male and those of you guys who have read it, knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about, well I know that Izzy and Holly know what I'm talking about....talk about, ORGASMIC!

Ya'll should totally read his book because it's all kinds of the bomb and Vane is more than worthy enough to be this week's Hero of the Week.

A picture of Vane from SK's site...yummy.



Until next week....

Hero Spotlight of the Week: Wrath.

Okay, so the folks here at Sanctuary's Finest have decided that each week, we'll spotlight one of the heroes from our books, because we want to.

The hero that we're going to spotlight is some worthy hero from any book that we've read that we can't get enough of, a hero that we can't get out of our minds and a hero that totally steamed up our glasses and what not. Each week, a different staff member will spotlight whatever hero they're feeling and it'll just be a little something that we'll do to entertain ourselves and our readers as well...

Our first Hero of the Week Spotlight will be on: Wrath from J.R. Ward's Dark Lover.



Talk about total Alpha Male. Wrath is dominating, powerful and he's King.

One very sexy King to boot. He's not afraid to show his feelings, once his feelings are known to himself and it's uber sexy when a man is not afraid to show his true feelings for his love in front of everyone, because most alpha males are uncomfortable with public displays of affection, I found it very sexy and very appealing that Wrath didn't care who saw how much he loved his, shellan. I found it very sexy that Wrath wasn't ashamed to call Beth by the endearment that he uses for her in private, that he would call her his leelan, in front of all the brothers. It spoke volumes about his feelings for her and there's just nothing sexier than a powerful man who is man enough to own up to his feelings.

He is the last Pure bred vampire around and he's the King of all Vampires, nicknamed the Blind King because he's got poor vision but that doesn't take away from just how sexy this alpha vampire is...it enhances his sexuality if you ask me. His determination to protect Beth from anything and everything that would cause her harm is something that I find utterly fetching in a man and it gave me goose bumps to read about his love for Beth.

A discription of this fine hunky Vampire.

He was wearing a biker jacket in spite of the heat, and his long legs were covered in leather as well. He had steel-toed shitkicker boots on, and he moved like a predator.

Beth craned her neck to look up at his face.

God, he was gorgeous.

His jaw was a straight shot of bone, his lips full, the hollows under his cheeks casting heavy shadows. His hair was straight and black, falling to his shoulders from a widow's peak, and he had the shadow of a dark beard. The black sunglasses he wore, wraparounds that fit his carved face perfectly, made him look like a hit man.

Gosh, talk about gorgeous.

Here's a scene from his book, that made me love him so much more than I did before.

He began to get agitated, his pale, wild eyes imploring her.

"Shh, it's okay." She kissed his forehead. "Just calm down. We'll figure out what you need. We've got plenty of time."

His eyes fixated on their linked hands and came back to her face. Then his gaze locked on their hands and returned again.

"Me?" she whisperd. "You need me?"

He squeezed and wouldn't stop.

"Oh, Wrath...You have me. We're together love."

Tears poured out of him in a mad rush, his chest quaking from the sobs, his breathing jagged and raw.

She took his face in his hands, trying to soothe him. "It's all right. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you. I promise you. Oh, love..."

Eventually, he relaxed a little. The tears slowed.

A croak came out of his mouth.

"What?" she leaned down.

"Wanted to...save you."

"You did. Wrath, you did save me."

His lips tembled. "Love. You."

She kissed him gently on the mouth. "I love you, too."

"You.Go.Sleep.Now."

And then he closed his eyes from exhaustion.

Any man that can be that scared and that strong and possesive who can cry in front of his woman, because he thought he lost her and would have been desolate without her, is one sexy mother brother to me.

And that is why I've chosen Wrath as the Hero Spotlight of the Week.

If you guys are interested in reading this book, you can buy the book from here or here. You can also read more on Wrath and an excerpt from Dark Lover, over here.