Hottest Hero...Play-at-Home Edition (Final Round) Hottest Excerpt!

This is the last installment of the Hottest Hero Play-at-Home edition. Did you guys have fun? 

I had too much fun going through these prompts from ARe not to share them.

Thanks for visiting over these last few weeks and thank you for supporting some truly wonderful authors by voting for your favorites.

So who do you think is going to win? I know I can't wait to see who  has you all the hottest under the collar. ;p

This last round is an excerpt from the hero's story and his introduction of what you're about to read. I wanted something steamy this round. So without further ado...Craig is going to tell you what you get to read.

Craig: It took far too long for me to accept what I needed from Mary. We danced around each other, until we couldn’t stay apart any longer. I shouldn’t have been surprised at the beauty of Mary giving herself to me, but as it happened, it took my breath away. Hers too.

Instead of letting me tuck my tail between my legs and get away, he circled me. Even though the fire was not close enough to hurt me, I swore it was flames that licked my body wherever his eyes caressed me. I felt the pull of him as he strode within inches of me. His breath was warm on my face, and my traitorous nipples perked and tried to close the gap.

“Mary, there’s no need to lie about what you want. You’re hot for me. Your body wants mine. I can smell your desire.” And I could see his. That cocky grin sucked. When did he take control back? Craig might not be a vampire, but he’d dazzled me. There was no escape. Did I really want one? “I love that you’re already wet for me.”

Gulp.

“I made up my mind, Mary. No. Screw that. You made it up for me. I don’t doubt you can handle yourself. I just want the chance to handle you quite a bit in the process,” He stalked around me in long lazy steps. His fingers drew a pattern of heat as he reached out to touch me. “I want you. I’ll try and be gentle, but you know I’m not a refined guy.”

“I can’t believe I’m talking with a werewolf who’s trying to seduce me.” The red grew and I had to look to find the trees, through the billowing aura. I didn’t want to look though. The outside world had been so harsh and I was relieved to see it fade away.

Bending over, Craig reached for something, but his golden eyes stayed on me. “You know that’s our problem, Mary.” When he stood back up to full height he had that damn book in his hand. “We’ve spent all this time talking. These books you read tortured me.”

“They weren’t that bad.” Okay, I’m pretty sure I knew what he meant, but I wasn’t going to take that step until he did. Call me a wuss, or old-fashioned, but I wanted him to make that move. My nails dug into my jeans and gripped the seam. No way was I going to let my nails dig in where they really wanted. Yet.

“Mary, shut up.” And then his lips were on mine. The stolen kiss in Kari’s house was nothing compared to this. There weren’t people in the next room. Our small tent, with one small sleeping bag, was just behind us. The two lovers I drew on that paper paled in comparison to this. My drawing and the reality blended together when I opened my eyelids. Red billowing aura pulsed and bled from Craig. I leaned my head back to watch the cloud of sex explode upwards. I couldn’t take my eyes off the dance of crimson in the air, until Craig licked my neck. My eyes crossed before rolling back into my head.

His tongue made my skin sizzle. His hands gripped my ass and pulled me tight against him. My hands wouldn’t stay at my sides any longer. I felt his abs, his chest, and swept my fingers up to tangle in that gorgeous blond hair. My hands tensed and scored his scalp, the strands were so soft and thick between my fingers. My breath pushed my breasts closer to him. When that tongue dipped into my cleavage, there wasn’t a part of me that didn’t beg for his hands.

“Mary, if you are going to tell me no, do it now. But I don’t want to stop.”

“I don’t want to stop either. But…” It took everything I had to push him away. I was taking a meal from a starving man. He took deep breaths and flexed his hands. His jaw ticked. He thought I was going to stop—until I lifted my shirt over my head, and pushed down my jeans.

I stood there in my little t-shirt bra and white cotton panties. It was getting dark, and the bright white of my underwear glowed in the moon and firelight.

“I was wearing too many clothes.”

*passes cool water* 

Just kidding. We all know it gets way hotter than that. 

Good luck to the finalists, and thanks again for reading my Play-at-Home edition. 

~Roxy

 Available Now: ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS
                           AMAZON
                           BARNES & NOBLE
                           KOBO
                           SAMHAIN PUBLISHING

Hottest Hero...Play-at-Home Edition (Round 4) What Makes a Man Strong?

Are you getting excited to find out who the hottest hero is over at All Romance Ebooks?

Even though Craig didn't win, he's still playing along with those left standing. 

This week the ARe crew asked the heroes to tell them "What makes a man strong?"

As a Beta wolf, Craig's strength comes not from leadership, but an inner strength. When I asked him what makes a man strong, this is what he told me.

"What makes a man strong? It sure as shit isn’t hiding from your emotions. I learned that the hard way. 

Strength comes from letting yourself admit you need others. Over the past few weeks, I’ve learned that I need to allow myself to rely on people, and to support them when they need me back. 

I might have taken my sweet ass time getting around to that conclusion, but let me save you the trouble. Strength comes in numbers, and a strong man supports his Clan, fights for what’s right, and loves his woman with every damn bit of himself. 

To truly trust someone, to truly love someone…that proves your strength." - Craig

Craig wasn't the only one avoiding his destiny. His mate was pretty overwhelmed with the whole ordeal too. It's not easy going from believing vampires and werewolves are make-believe to having your bestie gnaw on your arm.

If you want to see how they both came to realize they needed to stop hiding, check out their story in Love's a Witch.

Available now at: AMAZON

                             BARNES & NOBLE

                             ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS

                             KOBO

                      

Did you ever run screaming from love because you weren't ready? Tell me about it. I might have taken my sweet time with hubby too. He didn't pick up on subtlety when we first met. ;p

~Roxy

Hottest Hero...Play-at-Home Edition (Round 3) Dining with Hybrids

The Hottest Hero Contest is still going on over at All Romance Ebooks. Which hero are you rooting for? Did your favorite make the cut?

I'm super glad I didn't have to battle it out among some of my favorite authors. That would have been awkward. ;p

This is the next installment of the Play-at-Home edition, and in this round Craig is inviting you to dinner! (kind of)

Below is the menu he prepared and a personalized invitation, just for you! (play along here, okay?)

At the end is a ceasar dressing recipe that hubby and I loved making together. Using great romaine lettuce sprinkled with lemon juice and this dressing makes for a FANTASTIC salad. I don't use the raw egg element, because I'm paranoid. So this is how we do it in the Mews house.

Round 3

  "It’s not easy being on the run, but unlike my Hybrid Alpha, I need more than a bite to survive. Want to eat with me?" - Craig

*Appetizer: Garlic Bread (Garlic doesn’t really do anything against vampires, but it’s a nice sentiment)

*Salad: Fresh Caesar (More Garlic. Don’t worry, as long as people eat with you, the garlic cancels out.)

*Main Course: Stone soup. Just don’t ask what the meat is. I hunted it, and I wasn’t next to a farm.

*Dessert: Tim Tams. My Alpha says they are the best cookies ever. You can have them. I want a taste of something a bit more magical after dinner.

Caesar Dressing Recipe

2 cloves garlic (or 2 tsp pre-chopped)

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp dry mustard

½ tsp salt

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Process garlic, oil, parmesan, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and salt in a blender for 15 seconds. Add lemon juice, process until smooth. 

One guess what "magical thing" Craig wants to nibble on. *waggles brows* His mate wants to take a taste too...

If you want to know why he's got the urge to take a big bite out of his mate, just check out all the struggle it was to claim her in his story...Love's a Witch.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you love making with your significant other? OR something you nosh on that brings back a loving memory?

I'm always looking for a good recipe. Or something that goes well with bacon. ;p

~Roxy

Hottest Hero...the Play-at-Home Edition! (Round 2)

First, I again want to say thank you so so so so (you get the idea...I'd give you all inappropriately long hugs) much for voting for Craig in the Hottest Hero Contest. He's a beta at heart and really doesn't go for the spotlight anyway.

But since he prepped all kinds of goodies for the ARe contest I thought you'd like to see how he responded to the call for the prompts.

So in Round 2 we get to read about our hero's first kiss with his heroine (or hero).

Craig and Mary had a very non-traditional first kiss. Let's call it a first lick.

Love's a Witch Excerpt

Thoughts of sharing a room with Mary started to trickle into my brain, and in the next instant there she was standing in front of me. Blue diamond eyes looked up into mine. It was like I’d called her.

“Are you coming?” She had no idea how the buzz she had going made her words sound. The question should have been innocent enough. It was her breathlessness at hurrying into the room, and the way her pupils dilated that had very un-innocent thoughts banging around in my brain.

I couldn’t help the growl. “Not yet.”

She stepped back, shook herself off a bit, and then started backing into the doorway. “Oh…well…um…don’t blame me if Amber eats your food. She’s been eating a lot. Even for her. And…well…your choice. Ow!”

She tripped and fell on her butt, a ripple bouncing through her frame. How was a guy not supposed to think of her breasts bouncing for other, much more fun, reasons? I grabbed her hand to help her up. 

Lacking some of my famous self-control, I pulled a little hard. A squeak from her and she crashed into me. Her soft curves felt amazing pressed against my body. A deep breath and I knew I wasn’t the only one affected. She was getting wet just being close to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a bad looking guy. I was used to having women respond to me, but this was different. Hers was a scent I couldn’t ignore, and it caused my wolf to fight harder.

“Save me a plate, Mary. I’ll be in there in a minute.”

“Uh huh.” Making women breathless was fun. Making Mary breathless was dangerous.

This was something more than playful. Before my brain could process anything else, something on her neck really caught my attention. Right where her collarbone met the veins tracing delicately along the column of her throat I could see her pulse. I tilted my head to get a better look. She squirmed against me. She was getting wetter being held. So little Mary had some submissive tendencies. Interesting.

I couldn’t stop staring at that spot. What was that? I hated mysteries. Investigation was necessary. My wolf suddenly grabbed the reigns and he pushed my tongue from my mouth. I started laving Mary’s neck. She stiffened, but immediately softened with a moan. Her scent surrounded me and gave my wolf even more hold. I was drunk on her, and let my wolf hold my body up.

Then my teeth lengthened. A bone jarring feeling that hit me when I scraped them against her supple skin. It was the only thing that made me take the control back. Cold washed over me as my wolf’s intentions became all too obvious to my human brain.

He wanted more than sex from this woman. My wolf wanted Mary as his mate. She was mine. This was exactly what I had been trying to avoid. She couldn’t be mine. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.

Mary was still in my arms. She arched her back. The softness of her belly pressed against an erection that had a mind of its own. My wolf grabbed hold of my lust and pushed through. She smelled so good. I needed just one more taste. Just a little one.

Currently available at : ALL ROMANCE

                                      AMAZON

                                      BARNES & NOBLE

                                      KOBO

                                      SAMHAIN PUBLISHING STORE

                   

So there you have the first time Craig's tongue met Mary's neck. It's one of my favorite scenes in the book. 

I still remember the first kiss with my hubby, and I try to remember that feeling of a big ball of destiny knocking the breath from my body whenever I write one of these scenes. While everyone comes together in different ways, there is always that moment, and I felt like this was the moment for Craig. 

Don't forget to get your votes in over at ARe!  I'm making sure to support the wonderful authors who keep me in great stories. And thank you all again for the nomination, and the votes. It really was an honor to be up on the page with so many people I respect so highly.

~Roxy