I've been lured in to entering a M/M Challenge

After a blissful day with hubby, reading and just having a general off day I now find myself drafted in to a new challenge. It’s not that I haven’t seen the buttons for this challenge but I thought, nah, girl, you’ve got five now, enough! Read the M/M books whenever you feel like it and just pass up on this one. Yeah, well that is until this little she-devil a.k.a Janna from ErotRomReader came by my blog…

Leontine: I'm skipping the M/M Challenge

Janna: Oh no! Why oh why!? It's the most delicious one out there! ;)

Leontine: Do not tempt me, I didn’t even take a sneak peek over at the one who is holding the contest. No No No....No Janna *I say in my most serious voice* ;)

Janna: LOL!

*tempt, tempt, tempt*

It will be fun and I think you can start with 5 books! That's not much, is it? :D

Leontine: Why, why Janna? Why do you make me believe I can do this...to let it be the cherry on the cake. *Sigh* 5 books...crap, I can already here you going Barak Obama on my booty; Yes.You.Can!

*sigh*

I'm such a push over....

I'll go....

So now I’m creating this post letting y’all know I’m going for the cherry on the cake and give myself wholeheartedly over to a fabulous challenge. I’ve got Chris Owen/ Joey W Hill/ Sean Michael/ Jourdan Lane/ Mychael Black& Shayne Carmichael on my e-reader with M/M stories for me to dig in to. It’s more than enough for the 5 books I’m signing up for but if I can maintain a good book average this year perhaps I can push it to ten! This is the button that makes me go weak in the knees:

 

~click on button to be re-directed to original challenge post~

TIMELINE: January 1st to December 31st 2010


RULES: Read five (5) or more m/m romances in 2010

There are 5 reading levels to choose from:

- Read 5 M/M Romances

- Read 10 M/M Romances

- Read 15 M/M Romances

- Read 20 M/M Romances

- Read 20+ M/M Romances

DETAILS:

This challenge is for those who enjoy reading gay romances (also known as m/m or male/male romances) or those who are interested in starting. If you aren’t familiar with this genre, it consists of novels and stories where the main focus is the romantic relationship between the male protagonists.

• You must be 18 years old or older to join.

• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time. Even if you do, you can change your books as you go. Your books can crossover with other challenges.

• You don’t need a blog to participate. You can comment on this post if you’d like to share a book list or reading pool.

• Please create a post on your blog where you’ll be keeping track of your challenge reads and link back to this post so others can join in on the fun. If you use a “Current Challenges” page, or something similar, you can link back from that page instead of creating an individual post.

• You can use the large banner I’m using at the top of this post or you can use the smaller buttons I’ve provided below. Just copy the code provided. There’s no need to save the smaller buttons to your own server. (I have another large banner you can use here, if you’d like.)

• You can join at anytime between now and the latter part of 2010. Just give yourself enough time to read your chosen amount of books.

• Books chosen can be any length, sub-genre, or format. eBooks, paperbacks, young adult books, audio books, and re-reads are all okay.

• Once the challenge starts, I’ll create a page for everyone to post their reviews. Reviews are encouraged, but are entirely optional.

Well that makes it official...I'm in :)

Beefcake Preview Club Night: Brody

~purchase a copy~
~website author~
~excerpt Coming Undone~
~Leontine's Book Realm review~

COMING UNDONE
Berkley Heat
ISBN: 978-0425232705
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance: Related to Laid Bare
Length: Novel
Release Date: JANUARY 5, 2010

Cover Summary:
KEEPING IT TOGETHER

Brody Brown has always been responsible for others. After his parents’ death, he gave up a promising artistic career to care for his younger brother and sister. Now, with his siblings grown, Brody owns his own business, has a nice house, makes a nice living, and for the first time in years he’s on his own.

Elise Sorenson has come to Seattle with her young daughter to find peace. After years as a world-famous ballerina—(and just as many years in a marriage-gone-bad)—she’s looking for neither love nor attention. But she finds both in the handsome, honest man who befriends her with no strings attached.

More than friends, Brody and Elise discover in each other what they need—wild, physical passion without commitment. But it’ll take a shadow from Elise’s past to make them look beyond what they need—to what they truly desire.

Challenge:
Brody, humor me for a moment. If I were to ask you to describe yourself – your personality and physique - for a woman, what would you tell her?

Brody: Of course the first thing I would tell her is that I’m taken and my lady might look small, but she’s totally capable of kicking ass. *glances at Elise, who raises a brow and then smiles*

I’m a tall guy, so I can get things off shelves. Dark hair and eyes. I know what to do with my hands and mouth, also something I’m told is a popular trait. *wicked grin* I do okay, or I did okay. I don’t talk a lot unless something needs to be said. I don’t know, I guess I’m handsome. (He grins)

Elise: Sighs – Oh for heaven’s sake! He’s tall dark and handsome. Add the motorcycle and the tattoos and that’s pretty much a combo for irresistible, isn’t it? Broad shouldered in that way that makes a woman sort of breathless. He keeps his hair pretty short, but when it gets shaggy, like right before he gets it cut, it’s got the sweetest curls. Thick, dark, great to run your fingers through. Serious eyes, sexy though. Tattoos, but not too many. Muscles, flat belly, thick thighs. He does know what to do with all parts of himself and me. He cares about his family, he’s good to our daughter, he’s a decent, caring, intelligent man, what else could be more hot than that?

• Brody, many women are eager to know; how did you end up being a tattoo artist?

I’d been accepted to design school when my parents were killed in a car accident. I have two younger siblings and they needed me so I put off school and got a few jobs to make ends meet. One of them was in a tattoo shop where I started out sweeping floors. The owner took me under his wing and I began to apprentice to him. I found that I loved tattooing and never really looked back at design school again. I own the shop now.

• Do you also design the tattoos?

Sure, if that’s what a client wants. Design is one of my favorite parts of the gig. But sometimes they have their own ideas and designs and I work with them to execute it the way they want.

• What is the strangest or funniest request you ever received to tattoo on a person?

*laughs* Well, I try not to judge. People have all sorts of ideas for tats. I’ve done lots of cover ups of failed romance names. I’ve added “sucks” or “I hate” in front of ex girlfriend names. I don’t do portrait work, but one of my artists did a tattoo of Judge Judy on a guy’s calf. I try to gently remind people that ink is pretty much forever, or very painful and expensive to remove.

• How do you creatively challenge yourself as an artist?

I try to keep active in the community. I’ve worked out of other shops in trade for their artists working at mine. I take courses on design. Travel helps me a lot. Every time I go somewhere I learn something, see something from a new angle. I believe in mentoring, so I have protégés and I have my own mentors too.

• What would Adrian and Erin tell us about Brody the man and Brody the brother?

I hope they’d say I did the best I could and always put them first when they were growing up. Adrian is a good man, steadfast, committed to his art. That’s not really about me, but I’ll gladly say how proud of him I am. And Erin, she’s gone through more than any one person ever should have to and she’s moved past it, has become her own person while staying connected to those she loves. Again, not my doing, they were born good people, but I’m proud of them.

Elise: They’d say Brody has always been there for them, has supported them, cheered them on and kicked their butts when they needed it. They’d tell you he’s absolutely responsible for their success today.

Brody: *blushes* hush, I just made sure they had what they needed.

Elise: Pffft. You’ve been their mom and their dad and they love you for it. No harm in saying so.

• If you have one, what is your favorite romantic setting?

Anything with Elise in it. The less clothing she has on the better. (grins). I like taking her for a ride on the bike, nothing but the sunset and the road and her arms around my body.

• What do you consider your personal pros and cons?

Pro: I work hard. I keep my word. I take care of my people.

Con: I’m grouchy. I don’t take any crap. I could eat pizza seven days a week.

• What do you prefer, a car or a motor cycle?

I love my bike of course, but I’m a family man now and end up in the SUV more than I used to. (smiles). I prefer being with my favorite girls and that’s most possible in a car. With a new baby on the way in the family, it’ll be even better to have the extra car seat space.

• How and where do you prefer to sleep?

As long as there’s a lock on the door, naked next to Elise in our own bed.

• Do you read and if so, what is the last book you’ve read?

I don’t have as much time as I’d like to read, but Rennie and I are reading Rick Riordan’s Olympian series together. I also finished Richard K. Morgan’s Thirteen recently. Loved it.

• What music do you listen to if you want to unwind from the day?

Right now I’m digging Kings of Leon, The National, Muse, Metric, of course old Mud Bay and Adrian Brown.

• What is the one thing in a woman that instantly grabs your attention?

Some women just have it. Whatever it is, they own it. Elise doesn’t even know it, but when she walks into a room, you have to look at her. That’s sexy. Being your own person is sexy.

• Who can wake you up in the middle of the night for…?

*laughs* That’s why we have a lock on our door and I keep her naked in bed. *waggles brows* I love sleep, especially now that I’m a dad and all, but I’m always game for being woken up by my lovely lady.

• One thing you want to have done before your 50th birthday?

Once everyone is doing having babies and being on tour, I want for all the siblings and their families to take a trip to Italy together.

Word Game:

Brody, if I say one word what is your gut reaction?

• Winter – tight sweaters

• Red – blood

• Music – necessary

• Tattooing – life

• Night – quiet

• Shower – long and very hot

Wooing the ladies with an excerpt:

Elise managed to hold off fanning her face until she’d shut the door and locked it…and sneaked another look at a man who looked damn fine from the back. He’d startled her, but she’d learned enough from the neighbors to know he wasn’t a man prone to violence or harm.

On the ground as he’d been the weekend before, or in the distance, he hadn’t seemed so huge. But christamighty, he was gigantic. For a moment when he’d first reached her, he’d towered over her. Fear had washed through her, evoking that fight or flight response and it had been a hard-fought moment to get herself back under control.

He must have sensed something because he stepped back, not quickly and not really slowly. But he gave her space and it allowed her to breathe again. And that’s when she really began to see him.

He was…well there wasn’t any other man she could compare him to really. His hair was close-cropped, but tousled. If it had been longer she’d have bet he’d have thick curls. Dark as night. The neatly trimmed goatee and mustache worked for him, framed a mouth she was quite convinced would deliver some devastating goodness. He wasn’t going to hurt her, she knew that much.

No, she was threatened on a whole different level. Like a sensory bomb had gone off as she’d stood there, resisting the urge to rub herself on him. So alluring, this man. His voice, oh good lord, his voice was like suede. Deep and rough/soft. When he wasn’t on the ground out of it and bloody, he was hot. Up close, he was…a bit overwhelming. More than handsome— he was too hard edged to be handsome—he was compelling, magnetic.

I will give away one copy of COMING UNDONE, shipped by bookdepository.com. All you hvae to do is leave a way for me to contact you, either in your comment or via your blog profile.

As we like to toast to the New Year with all you ladies, we've come up with a few chapgne cocktails.

A Goodnight Kiss:
1 drop Angostura Bitters

1 sugar cube
1 splash Campari
Champagne

Ambrosia:
1 shot Applejack

1 shot brandy
1/4 shot triple sec
1/4 shot lemon juice
Champagne

and a classic of our own Passion:
1/2 cup strawberry
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice,freshly squeezed
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces champagne

Have fun ladies...

Book Chick City; Thriller And Suspense Challenge 2010

I've hooked myself up with a handful of challenges and pondered a while on Book Chick City's - Thriller And Suspense Challenge 2010. I hardly read thrillers but I've got myself a few Suspense books on the shelves that are *blush* gathering dust. So this challenge will be my last challenge of 2010 I will be entering and I feel I've got a bit of everything, fantasy, contemporary romance, erotica, historical and now suspense. So here are the

Details:

Timeline: 01 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2010

Rules: To read TWELVE (12) thrillers in 2010

• You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront then you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

• If you decide to participate in this challenge please use the links I have set up below with the buttons to post on your sidebar, this way others can find their way back to this post and join in the fun.

• If you decide to join this challenge be sure to create a post telling others, please make sure you add a link back to this post so others can join in.

• You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.

• There will be a place for you to link your reviews, but this is optional.

I hope more will join the group in this challenge, it's going to be fun!

Review: Suzanne Brockmann - The Unsung Hero

~purchase a copy here~

~website author~

Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages

Publisher: Ivy Books (June 6, 2000)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 080411952X

ISBN-13: 978-0804119528

Genre; Romance Suspense

Main Characters;Tom Paoletti and Kelly Ashton

Book Origin: Personal Library

Cover Summary:
After a near-fatal head injury, U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Tom Paoletti catches a terrifying glimpse of an international terrorist in his New England hometown. When he calls for help, the Navy dismisses the danger as injury-induced imaginings. In a desperate last-ditch effort to prevent disaster, Tom creates his own makeshift counterterrorist team, assembling his most loyal officers, two elderly veterans of the Second World War, a couple of misfit teenagers, and Dr. Kelly Ashton -- the sweet "girl next door" who has grown into a remarkable woman. Once known as the town’s infamous bad boy, Tom has always longed for Kelly. Now he has one final chance for happiness, one last chance to win her heart, and one desperate chance to save the day....

When a mission goes south for Tom he is on a medical leave for thirty days and he returns to his roots; the town Baldwin’s Ridge, his uncle Joe and his teenage crush Kelly Ashton. Completely convinced he will stay a few days, talk his uncle in to going on a vacation with him and upon return baffle the army psyches and go back to his team. But things go so very different upon the airport; there he recognizes a very dangerous terrorist named `The Merchant’.

Suddenly nothing is certain anymore, is this terrorist a figment of his head injury, or the real deal, which would mean a world of trouble for the small town of Baldwin’s Ridge. A town getting ready to celebrate and honor the efforts of the fifty-fifth in WOII.

THE UNSUNG HERO from Suzanne Brockmann leads me back to the days I couldn’t get enough of romance suspense and I remembered why I had such a burning torch for this genre. I felt I got three romances packed in one novel, each one connected, detailed and steeped with a range of emotions. There are not many authors who can pull of such a feat without surrendering some of the story quality. Each duo, may it be it Kelly and Tom, Mallory and David or Joe and Charles, irrevocably drew me in to a story that made me an instant fan of the TROUBLESHOOTER series.

The prologue immediately sets the pace for the whole story though at first I got a whirlwind of character introductions where the names dazzled in front of my eyes. I got to meet Tom Paoletti and his elite SEAL team 16 a.k.a `The Troubleshooters’. I decided to just go with the flow instead of trying to remember who was who and I was confident that the recurrent characters would stick out. As it turned out only two from the team became recurrent characters in this tale but each of the whole team, with their short and sweet introductions, captivated my interest.

For me what qualifies as a good romance suspense is where the threat is luring at all times, increasing the feeling of looming dangers for the characters and the intensity of the doubts and fears felt by them. Where a passion takes root that is scintillating and it doesn’t matter if it is a slow-burn one or a flaming inferno, you get to live it all up via the characters. I got that in a high dose from Suzanne Brockmann and more. I got Tom and Kelly who have a history together, what started in their teen age years is picked up now that they are adults. I got this sweet, budding romance with David and Mallory; he is a comic artist, she is trash of the town but together they connect and just fit each others quirks. And then there are Joe and Charles.

Now if I only got Tom and Kelly with David and Mallory and the mystery of the terrorist I would’ve been content, I would’ve loved this novel too. But the WOII story of Joe and Charles added such a profound, bittersweet intensity to the blend of this story that I was in a constant state of emotional involvement. Things happened in the fifty-fifth that put Charles and Joe in the center of all the action. At the present they are life-long friends, through the good and the bad and you can feel that through all they do or say. Without a doubt these two friends elevated this novel to greater heights for me.

Tom and Kelly together are the common thread throughout The Unsung Hero. Tom’s head injury brings credibility to his doubts of whether he actually spotted `The Merchant’ or if it was a figment of his imagination. His internal struggles are a major tension factor and I kept going between the yes and no team of whether this terrorist was real or not. Tom is the kind of SEAL hero that makes my toes curl in female delight. A bad-boy rebellious teenager grew in to a man who lives life on the edge with his Seal team. He is competent, sexy, has a magnetic personality, hasn’t lost all of his bad-boy habits and it is all wrapped up in a muscular package that make women go weak in the knees. Still his injury also gives him a vulnerability that makes him so very human. Tom is a romantic suspense hero to the core and he had me from his introduction. Opposed to Tom there is Kelly, and underneath the exterior of the nice, girl-next-door persona, hides a brazen, dead-honest, live-life-to-the-fullest woman for Tom to explore and get to know. The chemistry smoldering between them is off the chart good and it surprised me how mild the actual physical eroticism was. The emphasis was on that tantalizing increasing attraction, magnified to a delicious intensity that made me crave that physical release almost as much as the actual pair. In this I recognized the romance I loved to read in my mid-twenties and I hungrily devoured every page.

Another thing was how three major story threads were interwoven together, it all connected on various levels and managed to keep hold of detailed characterization, the pace and that intensity. It is with this kind of storytelling that I can read in to the middle of the night, I just had to know how all the things would find a conclusion. Last but not least, Mallory and David are young, vibrant yet serious for their age, and I was endeared by their budding romance. Everyone who ever felt like an awkward teenager will recognize something in these two and they will bring a smile to your face.

Whether or not `The Merchant’ is real I leave for you to find out as you might pick up your own copy. I was mesmerized by the dynamic storytelling of Suzanne Brockmann, how she managed to pack this novel from first till last page with characters who tell a story that almost overflowed with emotional ups and downs and a threat that lures around every corner. This is the kind of romantic suspense I will never grow tired of reading. Suzanne Brockmann has blown me away and she took the saying to heart; `You never get a second chance to make a first impression’. The Troubleshooter series has started with a bang and I’m still recovering from the aftershocks!

Quote Brandon;

“I thought you were in a hurry to get out of here tonight.” David said evenly. ”Me? No way. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be than right here, wearing my lovely little speedo, flexing my abs, playing superheroes with my new friend Mallory.”

Quote Kelly;

So, okay, maybe she was a little bit nice. But so what? Weren’t nice women allowed to want heart-stopping passionately sex? Wasn’t she allowed to long for the exhilarating sensation of Tom’s incredible body out of control inside of her? As if nice women would only want polite, careful sex…

As if nice women didn’t sometimes have healthy, short-term, no string relationships simply for the sake of fulfilling a lifelong fantasy, for the sake of feeling that powerful carnival ride, stomach dropping, I’ve-got-a-crush-on-you-attraction, for the simple sake of having someone to hold on to when the night got particularly dark and lonely. (<- I could only think; “Rock on me fellow “nice” sista!”)

4,5 stars

The book top 20 that rocked my shelves in 2009

My 2009 book top 20:


1. Joey W Hill - A Witch’s Beauty

Quote David:

Mind-shattering orgasm, a violent argument, a harrowing revelation, and now food. Mina would never be a dull companion.

2. Shannon McKenna – Edge Of Midnight

Quote:

Sean: “Do you want more?” he demanded […]
Liv: I think more might kill me.”
Sean: “Maybe,” he agreed. “But damn, what a way to go.”

3. Lora Leigh – Nauti Dreams

Quote Chaya about Natches:

He always looked like a dark avenging angel to her. But now, he looked like a savage warrior.

4. Lauren Dane - Laid Bare

Quote Todd:

I love you and I’m not leaving you. I love that you see me, all of me, and you embrace it. I’m free to be what I am. You get me Erin. In a way no one ever has. I love you, all of you. I want you to share with me because you trust me to protect you, to take the pain and bear part of it.

5. Nalini Singh - Angels’ Blood

Quote Elena to Ransom:
“Wow, hell froze over while I wasn’t looking. You care about her.”
”He dropped his arm. “I let her leave stuff at my place. Girly shit.”

6. Chris Owen – Bareback

Quote Tor to Jake:

“This time…this time I’m offering Jake, if you want me, I’m yours. Do anything I can for you, be everything you need. Give myself to you forever.”

7. Anne Bishop – Queen Of Darkness

Quote Lucivar:

Lucivar nodded. “She kept resisting because Eyrien females traditionally didn’t touch a warriors weapons. I told her if a male hurt her because she was too stubborn to learn how to defend herself, I’d beat the shit out of her. And she told me if I ever raised a hand to her, she’d gut me. I figured we were making progress.”

8. S.J. Day – Eve Of Darkness

Quote Cain to Eve

“If you’re looking for a buzz,” he bit out, “you won’t get one here.”
She paused mid movement.
“Your body doesn’t process alcohol – or any mind altering substance – the same way it used to.”
Her hand fell as a fist into the counter. [..]
“Are you saying I can’t get high?”
“You can orgasm from here to eternity,” he said roughly. “That high enough for you?”
“Fuck.”
“I’m happy to oblige.”

9. Diana Hunter – Secret Submission

Quote:

So helpless she had looked, so frightened—and yet, she let the wanton side of her be exposed as Anton took Jill before her eyes. He knew then that she was the one he had searched for.

10. Annette McCleave – Drawn Into Darkness

Quote Rachel and Lachlan:

“Maybe you’re reading way too much into my visit. Maybe I’m just looking for sex.”
He froze.
Encouraged by his subtle edge of anticipation in his stillness, Rachel added, “No strings attached, down and dirty, wild crazy monkey sex.”
A short breath hissed from his lips.
“Single moms don’t get out much, you know,” she went on, gaining momentum with every increasingly excited heartbeat. Nothing she knew about Lachlan was real…except the attraction. Maybe she was crazy, but salvaging something out of this train wreck – even if it was only the sexual romp she’d been imagining ever since she bumped into him in the stairwell – had tremendous appeal. She was tired of going to bed alone and unsatisfied. “It’s been a while since I had a screaming orgasm without the help of my vibrator.”
She heard him swallow, hard.

11. Nalini Singh – Blaze Of Memory

Quote Katya:

Something shifted between them the previous night – she could feel it deep within: a subtle tug, a bond barely formed.
But that wasn’t the change that distressed her.
Dev walked beside her, but gone was the man who kissed her with a passion that seared her soul. Only the director, hard, focused, unreadable remained.

12. Meredith Duran – Duke Of Shadows

Quote Julian:

There was so much to be said and asked between them. Being with her felt like charting the sea; there were marvels beneath, and they lured him, and he wondered whether he ever might reach the bottom.

13. Suzanne Brockmann – The Unsung Hero

Quote Brandon;

“I thought you were in a hurry to get out of here tonight.” David said evenly. ”Me? No way. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be than right here, wearing my lovely little speedo, flexing my abs, playing superheroes with my new friend Mallory.”

14. Pamela Clare – Surrender

Quote Annie about Iain:

He was a big man, a rough man, a man who lived by the sword. But he saved her life, shown her kindness, even compassion. He fought as the leader of a Ranger company. Yet his words were those of a traitor. There was something about him that frightened her, and yet…something drew her to him, as well

15. Kresley Cole – Kiss Of A Demon King
Quote Rydstrom to Sabine:

In an incredulous tone he said, “You don’t know the meaning of virtue!”
“Of course I do – it means your thong must be white.”

16. Lorelei James – Long Hard Ride

Quote Channing:

She always acted tongue-tied whenever she got within licking distance of Colby and his equally sexy traveling buddy, Trevor Glanzer.

17. Jennifer Ashley – The Madness Of Lord Ian MacKenzie

Quote Ian:

“All of us are mad in some way.” Ian said. “I have a memory that won’t let go of details. Hart is obsessed with politics and money. Cameron is a genius with horses, and Mac paints like a god.”

18. Alyssa Day – Atlantis Unleashed

Quote Keely:

Where Conlan had given the impression of royal command, and Ven was all rough-and-ready warrior, something in this one’s eerie green glowing eyes and the harsh lines of his face spoke of dark deeds whispered in shadow alleys. This one would draw blood before you even knew you’d been cut, and he enjoyed doing it.

19. Karen Moning – Dreamfever

Quote Mac:

“You are the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen,” I tell him.
“You are perfect.”
He makes a strangled sound and mutters something about how I might seriously reconsider that at some point. I ignore it. He says many mystifying things. I ignore them all. I admire the prenatural grace of his body. Dark, strong, he pads like a great beast, muscles rippling. Black and crimson symbols cover much of his skin. It’s exotic, exciting. He is large. The first time I almost couldn’t take him. He fills me, sates me completely. Until he is no longer inside me and I am empty again.

20. C.L. Wilson – Queen Of Souls And Song

Quote Rain:

Spirit spun from his fingers in wild waves, and the river around them blazed with fiery light. Hands, teeth, tongues, lips, wings, talons, spirit bodies – both fey and Tairen – caressed and tormented her, claimed and plundered. Gone was the gentle lover. He poured out upon her his magic, his essence, the blazing need of his soul, the primal core of him that existed when all else was stripped away; pure, dominant, male energy, unyielding and fierce, aggressor and defender, protector and conqueror, the darkness to her light. Ours, his Tairen hissed. She is ours. Our mate. Our female. Our pride.

Honorary mentions:
Elisabeth Naughton – Stolen Fury
Anna Campbell - Tempt The Devil
Lauren Dane -  Coming Undone
Joey W Hill - A Mermaid's Kiss
Carrie Lofty - Scoundrel's Kiss