Winner: Lorenzo

Lorenzo vs Josh
Round 2 Match 2

Thank you to In Between the Pages & What I’m Reading for their continued support of these two fine men!
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Top 5 Reasons why Lorenzo is the Ultimate Hero

Super-Sweet-NYT
Hey there, I’m Rachel Harris, and I write fun and flirty YA and adult romance. I’m thrilled that my very first hero from my YA debut My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century has made it to the second round of March Madness!

I totally think Lorenzo deserves to win. Of course, I’m a tad biased. He stole my heart right along with Cat Crawford’s, aka Patience D’Angeli’s. Read on for the the top five reasons why I believe Lorenzo is the ultimate hero, and fun excerpts from the book that highlight these swoon-worthy qualities.
1. He’s Italian.

Honestly, I kind of feel like that’s enough said right there! Admittedly, I have a thing for Italian men (I married one, after all), but I’m also such a sucker for accents, y’all. Pretty much any accent makes me swoon, but when it’s an Italian accent, coming out of a particularly attractive guy’s mouth (see below), I’m a very, very happy girl indeed.

Italian men can pretty much say anything and it sounds incredible. But they happen to be pretty smooth with the lines, too. Here’s one instance of that from the book:

Lorenzo gazes down at our joined hands and begins rubbing slow circles on my palm. In the dark, with the moonlight causing his golden curls to shine, he almost looks like an angel. The right side of his mouth kicks up.

A fallen angel.

A soft laugh escapes his lips. “Patience D’Angeli, you fascinate me.” He shakes his head as if he can’t believe it, and his eyes travel across my face.

2. He’s a wildly passionate artist.

Artists live life with energy and enthusiasm. They see life in a different way, looking past the mundane and seeing the beautiful. It’s intoxicating and addicting…and so so HOT!

Here’s a passage that totally shows what I’m talking about. *fans self*

If beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, I want the world to see me the way he does. Every flaw, every imperfection that I hate about myself has been made beautiful through his eyes and with his hand. The sketch manages to both look like me and like a gorgeous stranger at the same time, but I know it’s not his creative interpretation. It’s how he honestly sees me. It’s as obvious as his signature in the corner, in the way he composed it, the way he used the strokes, the areas he highlighted.

3. Plus, I modeled him after the actor Alex Pettyfer, so that gives you a hint about his hotness, yes?

The following snippet is from when Cat meets Lorenzo for the first time:
“Lorenzo, this is the cousin I was telling you about.”

Slowly the guy turns, and I fall headfirst into the richest chocolate-brown eyes I’ve ever seen. He blinks, and long, luscious lashes feather across his bronzed cheeks. I feel myself gawking, just like I did with Skater Boy yesterday at the piazza, but I physically can’t drag my eyes away. Lorenzo doesn’t smirk or act all conceited like the other guy, either. He simply stares back, his eyes casually skimming over me, causing my skin to warm and break out in a whole body tingle.

Time seems to stop, and the sounds of the market mute. Alessandra was right. This boy is beautiful.

And he’s looking at me.

4. He’s from the sixteenth century, so he has that whole sexy chivalrous thing going on.

Hey, I’m all for girl power, but I can’t deny that there is something unbelievably sexy and romantic about a guy who wants to take care of you, who cherishes you. Lorenzo felt that for Cat in spades.

Like in this excerpt:

Lorenzo gently places his hands on either side of my face, lowering his head to stare directly into my eyes. His voice is barely above a whisper as he says, “Patience D’Angeli—Cat—you are my dream now.”

5. Lorenzo is willing to do anything for Cat, his time traveling lady love.

Unfortunately, I can’t share an excerpt for this quality without spoiling some major fun. But trust me, Lorenzo is prepared to uproot his entire world if it means keeping Cat safe.

I don’t know about you, but in my book, that’s what Ultimate Heroes are made of.

So there you have it, five of the reasons why I believe Lorenzo deserves your vote! If attractive, Italian, passionate artists make your heart go wonky, too, I hope you consider giving him your support.

Hugs!!

Rachel

xoxo

Find out more about Lorenzo in My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

Top 5 Reasons Why Josh is the Ultimate Hero

LhF_500 Hi! I’m USA Today bestselling author Samanthe Beck. I write fun, crazy, filthy-dirty love stories for Entangled’s Brazen line, and I’m here to spell out the top 5 reasons why Josh Bradley from LIGHT HER FIRE is the Ultimate Hero.

1. In a word: Firefighter. That’s right, Josh is an actual, everyday hero, who risks life and limb to keep others safe. Even when the rescue-ee is a less-than-appreciative feline…

“So,” Melody wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, “you sped to the scene, sirens blazing, and did you rescue Ms. Van Hendler’s baby?”

“Yes, I did rescue her ugly, smelly, foul-tempered baby. Don’t as me why because that cat is a menace. The mangy thing ripped me to shreds.” Josh pointed to the thin, red scratches on his wrist. “That’s the thanks I got for my trouble.”

“My hero. Let me kiss it better.” She cupped his wrist and gently brushed her lips over the scratches.

Every other part of his body woke up and prepared for a turn under her lips.

2. He’s good with kids!

“You said a baaad word,” the biggest girl–Hope–shouted, and popped up from the couch. “I’m telling.”

“Hold on there, turbo-tattle. Can’t you pretend you didn’t hear that?”

“What do I get?”

Behind those narrowed blue eyes beat the heart of a mercenary. “What do you want?”

“Fifty spins.”

He had no clear idea what a spin was, but fifty sounded like a lot. “ten,” he countered, and bobbled the baby upright again. “Stop doing that. Why does she keep doing that?”

“She likes to go upside-down. Mommy yelled me it’s a phase. Twenty sis or I tell Aunt Melody you said the s-word.”

“Fine. Sold. What the fuuh…what’s a spin?”

3. He appreciates the color pink. ;)

“You wearing pink around me amounts to waving a flag in front of a bull. I see it, and I automatically think about every soft pink part of you. I think about touching, tasting…sinking into those parts until you shudder and scream. When you wear that color you’re saying, ‘I want you to fuck me.'”

4. He knows how to ask a woman to dinner.

“What I have in mind involves you putting on a pretty dress and sitting across from me in a crowded restaurant, smiling your Miss Bluelick smile while I stare at you and think up new ways to move you to tears. Most likely someone you know will stop by to say hello–a friend, a neighbor, and old Sunday school teacher. You’ll have to make small talk, and try very hard not to blush and squirm, even though you know I’m imagining your dress on the floor and your panties around your ankles, because the only thing I’m hungry for is between your legs. When you’re so hot you can’t sit still anymore, and you’re so wet you’re worried about leaving a damp spot on your skirt, you’ll give me the look–the one you’re giving me right now–and I’ll come to your rescue. I’ll toss some bills on the table, tell your friend we have to go, and drag you out the door. And everyone in the place will know good, proper Melody Merritt is about to get good and properly fucked.”

5. He sends encouraging texts.

“I sat here in all kinds of agony watching your tits bounce while you jogged around the square, remembering how it felt to be lodged between them. In not even going to tell you what the sight of your ass in those running shorts does to me. It’s begging to be spanked. I counted five laps. You do the math.”

What else can I say? Oh–if you’ve never been grocery shopping with Josh, you’ve never truly been grocery shopping. ;)

Hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know my growly, heroic, good-with-kids, dirty-talking firefighter. I always enjoy visiting Bluelick, KY, (the town where the Private Pleasures series takes place), but Josh was especially fun to go there with. I got to turn this city boy into a fish out of water in a small southern town…and watch him fall for a well-bred southern belle who just happens to be full of surprises.

Thanks for considering Josh Bradley as the Ultimate Hero!