Welcome to Round Two of the March Madness Men of Bliss tournament! Things are going to get heated as these final 16 heroes battle it out to be number one!
Today we have the final 4 matches for you and they are VERY exciting! So get that voting finger ready to go if you want to see your man advance!
Match #5:
Cane
vs
Marcus
Amazon | B&N
What Readers Are Saying About Cane:
” I found Cane to be such an amazing man with an immensely huge heart. I really began to understand a lot more about him when I saw why he kept himself so guarded. It was so intriguing to see how he broke pieces from his wall bit by bit while spending time with Angelle. He became very protective over Angelle and I adored him for that.”- Crystal
“Cane is a maths-loving, fact-loving, bookish guy who can also cook, loves kids, plays guitar and has won best a best-abs competition. Don’t worry he isn’t sleazy, it was for charity! I love, love Cane!”- Trish
“Uh….can I bottle Cane up and keep him? Seriously! The tattoo clad, restaurant owning, “city” boy stole my heart along with Angelle’s.”- Heather
Amazon | B&N
About Marcus Troy:
Marcus Troy is a globally worshipped musician and a dutiful parent who does everything he can to not take himself too seriously. But can you blame the drop-dead gorgeous rock star if he fails from time to time? After all, he’s surrounded by autograph hounds, lustful groupies, and staff members who say yes to his every request. Who wouldn’t let that go to his head occasionally?
Last year, the complications in Marcus’s life in Los Angeles started to pile up: his marriage died, and he couldn’t find a moment of privacy from the paparazzi who harassed him around the clock. So he decided to move to a little corner of heaven in Big Sky Country: Bigfork, Montana.
With a beautiful log-cabin home on the Swan River, and a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains, Marcus found the kind of peace in Bigfork that he hadn’t experienced in a long time. He found, too, that in the countryside, he was a better parent to his children Charlotte and Miles. Everything was going great in Bigfork…until the beautiful Ryan Evans came along and complicated Marcus’s life all over again.
Ryan is kind, smart, tough, and super-sexy. Marcus has never met anyone quite like her. But will another chance at true love be worth upsetting the balance that he’s worked so hard to achieve? There’s only one way to find out…
Excerpt: (Gotta love a family man…)
“Whoa,” Ryan said under her breath. She had never seen a male form so beautiful. Marcus’s skin was perfectly bronzed, his chest bare and sculpted. His shoulders were broad as a swimmer’s, and his arms were covered in sexy, intricate tattoos. His brown hair had a slight wave to it.
She couldn’t see his eyes, of course, though she did take note of his high cheekbones and strong jawline. To features like those, she had no objection. But it was his rock-hard abdomen that made Ryan feel so light-headed she found herself looking for the nearest place to sit. Even as Marcus lay still, his insanely defined abs seemed to shimmer when they caught the sunlight coming through the window.
But as much as she was enjoying the view, Ryan was a little freaked out, too. What was going on here? Had a girlfriend of Marcus’s tied him up and left him here after a kinky sexcapade? Had a groupie stalked him and inflicted some kind of horrible revenge fantasy on him? She covered her eyes with her hand, but then, she peeked through her fingers. It seemed wrong, but she just couldn’t help herself.
Slowly, a smile curled across Marcus’s lips, but still he said nothing. He seemed to be waiting for something, moving his neck lightly as if to better listen. Turning his head toward Ryan and Serena, he raised his index finger to his lips. Why was he shushing them?
Suddenly, a closet door across the room swung open, and two children ran out toward Marcus, screaming—a boy of four or five carrying a plastic ax and a girl who looked about ten wielding an enormous Nerf bat and wearing a football helmet. Their battle cries were so shrill that Serena stuck her fingers in her ears, while the children began beating the hell out of their dad, who tried and failed to defend himself against the punishing blows.
“Do you surrender, prisoner?” the girl demanded. She kept her game face on. She was something fierce.
The boy was giggling, though, as he repeated his sister’s words. “Surrendah! Surrendah!”
“I give up! I’ve had enough,” Marcus cried, his fear and terror sounding real enough. “Just don’t hurt me anymore. I can’t take the pain!”
The children collapsed into giggles and fell upon their father. Of course, it wasn’t every day that Ryan interviewed with a gorgeous, captive man, but she was nearly as surprised by the sexy prisoner’s parenting skills. By all appearances, Marcus was a fantastic dad, easy and affectionate with his kids, not someone who would leave the child-rearing to professionals while he wrote chart-topping singles and bedded breathless groupies.
He took off his blindfold and hopped over to Ryan and Serena, still struggling with the cloth ties that bound his ankles and wrists.
“Hi, are you the nanny?” he said excitedly.
“That’s me,” Ryan said, as calmly as she could manage.
“Ryan Evans, at your service.”
“I’m Marcus,” he said. “I’d shake your hand, but I’m all tied up at the moment.”
Match #6:
Charlie
vs
Connor
Amazon | B&N
About Charlie “Big Game Hunter” Johansson:
Charlie is a Staff Sargent in the US Army and stands at 6’2. With short, light hair and piercing blue eyes, he wipes up the rink at hockey, sucks at the tango, but he’s happy to get stuck in a sand trap with Ellie any old day. PS: He looks like Dean Winchester. *swoon*
Excerpt: (Damn, I love the tango!)
He slid his arms around her back, holding her so tightly against him that her back bowed and her arms fell loose at her sides like she was floating, being swept away. His breath on her skin shot delicious shivers through her limbs. When her knees buckled, she didn’t think, she grabbed him around the neck, tasting his sweet mouth, never wanting the kiss to end.
He led her backward, still in rhythm, though Elvis’s voice had died out. Her back hit the wall and he leaned into her, pulling away from her mouth to smoothly maneuver to the side of her neck. Ellie sucked in a breath and tilted her head, giving him free access to whatever he wanted while she slid her fingers over the sides of his hair.
A tiny corner of her mind knew what she was doing might technically be against the rules—so many rules—but she couldn’t stop. He was so much fun and gorgeous, and
man alive was he a good kisser. Slow-slow-quick-quick-slow went her heart.
“Damn, I love the tango,” he whispered, tickling her ear.
Amazon | B&N
Excerpt: (Helloooo delicious!)
When the knocking came again, Faith padded to the door and swung it open. Connor stood on the other side. He wore a light blue collared shirt with a police logo, black pants, and a belt with all the bells and whistles, including a gun and handcuffs.
In other words, he looked like uniformed police hotness, and she wasn’t entirely uninterested in being cuffed. Wait. That’s a bad thought. I don’t mean it. She took him in again, her throat suddenly dry. Well, she didn’t exactly not mean it, but she knew better than to want it. Or something like that. She was still too asleep to think clearly.
Favorite Connor Quotes:
“He caught her staring and waggled his eyebrows. Heat flooded her cheeks, and she worked to recover. “The minivan suits you. I think you should get one.”
“Sweetheart, I already have to beat the ladies off me with a stick. If I get one of these bad boys, I might cause a riot.”
“Do you ever stop?”
“I can go all. Night. Long.”
“You started that one.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I didn’t say anything!”
“Sweetheart, your eyes said it all.” He lowered his hand from his cuffs and jerked his chin out toward the darkness lit with twinkling bug butts. “Now, behave, will you? I’m trying to watch bugs catch a mate. See if I can’t get some tips.”
“Hell, make your ass glow, and I might take back everything I’ve said about you.”
Match #7:
Cole
vs
Jack
Amazon | B&N
About Cole Collins:
Cole Collins is the sexy All Star first baseman for the Washington Nationals. Free and easy, he’s a blond haired, blue-eyed southern boy who’s got a swoony North Carolina drawl. Six-four and two-twenty, he’s all lean muscle, with long legs and broad shoulders and the grace of a stallion. He’s been nicknamed “Crush” by Nats fans because he consistently crushes baseballs out of the park. Oh, yeah. Game on!
Favorite Cole Quotes:
“I’ll have the Walk of Shame burrito.”
“You don’t want to lose your wiener in the fire.”
“Let’s leave the curtains open so I can see you in the moonlight.”
“I pretended with every girl I ever dated, and it was a hell of a lonely life. Then there was you. The girl who actually got me. Who knew my past and didn’t judge me. Who saw my flaws and stuck around anyway. Who sparked a crazy chemistry I’d never felt before.”
Sweet Tweets with Cole:
Cole Collins @ColeCollins
@LizaSutherland A girl without freckles is like a night without stars. Wish you were here…
Cole Collins @ColeCollins
@LizaSutherland Comfort zone = not so comfortable. Wish you were riding shotgun. #wantyouwithme
Excerpt: (In too deep…)
Cole knew he shouldn’t risk kissing her again, but he had to know if he’d imagined the fireworks between them last night. He gently put his arm around her, splaying his hand across the small of her back. She gazed at him with questions lingering in her pale-green eyes, her lush lips parted. Pulling her to him, he lightly touched his lips to hers. Soft and supple. Satiny and smooth. Just the feathery wisp of his mouth on hers sent desire pulsing through him.
He worried she would pull away, but she didn’t. She lifted her chin and took his face in her hands, deepening their kiss with the sensuous sweep of her tongue.
Holy… Last night’s kiss began to pale in comparison. Cole twined his fingers in her silky hair, stirring the scent of wildflowers, and cradled her head in his hand.
She clutched the tense muscles along his back. Arching against him, she whimpered, and it might have been the hottest sound he’d ever heard.
The things I could do with this woman…
Could he afford to get involved with her and her grief and her parents? He’d just wanted a new contract. But this kiss could lead places he knew he shouldn’t go…
Get a hold of yourself, man.
She had his blood pumping more than a full-count pitch with the bases loaded and the game on the line. He wasn’t supposed to want her.
Amazon | B&N
About Jack Marshall:
Jack is a football coach by profession and a gym rat for fun, which should paint a very nice picture of his body. He’s got dark, wavy hair and blue eyes. He can outstroke Tess at the butterfly, but he’s first to admit that she kills him off the high dive—probably because he’s always too distracted while admiring Tess’s long legs in her bathing suit.
Mini-Excerpts:
Jack narrowed his eyes roguishly. A second later, he forgot the pain in his shoulder, scooped Tess into his arms, and was on his feet. She shrieked in delight, wrapping her arms around his neck as her legs dangled in the air. He took a few running steps down the hall
but then realized he had no idea where he was going. It wouldn’t be the most romantic thing if he burst through a door only to find a linen closet.
“That one,” Tess said, pointed her foot toward the door on the right.
Jack looked down at her, then planted a firm kiss square on those gorgeous lips. “Thanks, baby,” he said, and then kicked the door open.
She breezed by him and started to walk down the hall at a pretty brisk clip. Jack caught up and strolled by her side.
“What are you doing?” she whispered, barely moving her lips.
“Walking next to you,” he said simply.
“Why?”
“Because if I tried to walk behind you at a moment like this, I would trip over my own feet.”
Match #8:
Luke
vs
Lane
Amazon | B&N
About Luke Watters:
Luke is a world-renowned extreme-sports photographer and thrives on adventure. He has a thing for bacon. And Sela. She’s his best friend’s little sister, but now the thrill of chasing her is the best adrenaline rush ever. He’s ready and willing to prove his love one long, slow kiss at a time.
Favorite Luke Quotes:
“Damn you’ve got an irresistible mouth. You should hold it against me more often.”
“Sometimes being bad can also be very good.”
“Sweetheart, there’s nothing small about me, and if you need proof, I’d be happy to show you.”
“I can think of several things we could do besides talk.”
Mini-Excerpt: (Who is it…?)
Luke pressed the buzzer for Sela’s apartment. He tightened his hold on the brown paper bag in his arm.
“Hello?” One word and his muscles grew taut.
“Hey, it’s Luke. I’ve got a special delivery.” She didn’t know he was coming and he hoped that enticed her to let him up even if she was busy.
“Luke who?”
He smiled like a damn teenager. “Luke, omigod, Luke, don’t stop, Luke. Ring a bell?”
Amazon | B&N
About Lane Anderson:
Lane Anderson is a cowboy hipster doctor, new in Maple Creek from Austin, Texas, where he picked up a sexy drawl. Super-casual and super-cool, he wears jeans, boots and a worn leather bomber jacket. He’s tall, lean, and muscular, with green eyes and an overlong tousle of brown curls. His angular face lights up with his easy smile and his trademark dimples. Book your appointment now!
Favorite Lane Quotes:
“Where’d you get the idea that I’m married? Because I’m not.”
“You had me at simmering and steamy.”
“Turn around. I’ll tie you back up, even though that sounds a little kinky.”
Excerpt:
Lane stood riveted as the rushing water unexpectedly loosened the back tie of Paige’s bikini top. With her arms still raised, the strings fell to her sides, yet the tie around the back of her neck stayed secure. She seemed unaware as, through a glaze of glistening water, he saw the perfect, supple curves of her breasts peek below the loose fabric. A battle raged inside him. He should look away or warn her. Surely she didn’t know what was happening and she’d no doubt be embarrassed. But the pure male parts of him begged him to keep quiet.
“Paige,” he called, loudly enough for her to hear him above the cascade.
A split second later she shrieked, cupped her hands over her breasts, and jumped from beneath the waterfall, nearly losing her balance on the rocky surface of the pool. Lane steadied her.
She squeezed her eyes closed. “Please tell me you didn’t see my boobs.”
Lane tried not to laugh. “Did you just say boobs?”
She popped open her eyes. “Boobs, breasts, mammary glands…whatever the hell you doctors call them. Please tell me mine weren’t out there.”
“Turn around. I’ll tie you back up, even though that sounds a little kinky.”
She turned. “Stop teasing me—and avoiding the question. Tell me what you saw.”
He got to work on the tie. After it was secured and she’d fussed over straightening the triangles in front, she faced him.
“A man never peeks and tells.” He smiled slyly.
She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh crap. You did see them.” Her words were muffled, but he understood her just fine. She looked up at him, pleading with those big, golden-brown eyes.
“I liked what I saw,” he said. “But it wasn’t anything too private.”
She lowered her eyebrows.
He reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder. “I promise.”
Seeming somewhat satisfied, she lowered her hand from her mouth, but she kept biting her bottom lip. Thanks to her, he’d seen plenty of stimulating sights today, but that sexy lip-biting was what finally got him.
“Do we have a truce or not?” he asked.
She nodded. “You did save me from flashing my boobs to all of St. Lucia.”
He was the only one around, but he wasn’t going to argue. “So we can kiss and make up?” The cliché was out of his mouth before he even thought about its implications. Now he was the one in an awkward position. His pulse raced as he waited for her reaction.
She cocked her head and grinned slyly. “We can kiss…”
That concludes Round Two! We’ll see you again on Monday to kick off Round 3 and meet our final 8 heroes!
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