Is there anything sexier than a sexy man reading a book? I THINK NOT! And I don’t appear to be alone because there’s a whole website devoted to pictures of Hot Guys Reading Books.
FBI Special Agent Lucas Vasco, the hero of my romantic suspense novel, Hold Me, is as addicted to books as I am – and that’s saying something. His bedroom is a massive lava flow of books. Here’s Katie’s (the heroine’s) first impression when she enters the room:
Not only were there bookcases full of books, there were piles and piles and piles of books in every position, covering every surface, seemingly on every topic. She wandered farther into the room, intrigued and, in a way, enchanted. There were books on the floor, books on the dressers, books on the nightstands, and an impressive stack of volumes teetering next to the bed. It was just so completely unexpected that if the space hadn’t been so obviously occupied she would have thought she’d made a mistake.
A couple of weeks ago, Luc and I got together so I could interview him for my blog. And when two bibliophiles get together the conversation is bound to turn to books. Here’s that part of our discussion.
“So, Luc,” I flipped a few pages in my stenopad to get to the right notes, then looked up at him. “You like books.”
“Yes, Betsy. I like books.” Luc settled into his chair, fingers laced on his flat stomach. He balanced the heel of one worn running shoe on the opposite knee. I saw no evidence of socks.
I pulled my focus back to my notes. “I’ve been in your bedroom–”
His dark eyebrows flew up. “You have?”
“Um, yeah.” I fidgeted a little. “I had to go in there. I was writing.”
“Uh huh.” He looked unconvinced.
“Anyway,” I shuffled papers. “What books do you have up there?”
Luc shrugged. “All kinds. If I like something, I buy it. I just got an eReader, so now I’m really dangerous.”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered. “Okay, give me some examples.”
“Examples?”
“Well, I know you were reading The Illiad during the time period covered in Hold Me.”
“Oh, yeah.” He settled further back in his chair, a dreamy look in his beautiful dark eyes. “Katie noticed I was reading it and brought it down to me. She wasn’t wearing any–”
“Luc!”
“Sorry.” He looked at me directly and his eyes twinkled. “Yeah, I was reading The Illiad. I read all kind of things.”
“Maybe tell me what you like best.”
“It depends on the day.” He frowned. “Graphic novels. Comics. I like some of the classics, but others put me to sleep. Shakespeare’s great if you can figure out what he’s saying. I love Stephen King.”
“Ew. I don’t like to read Stephen King. He scares me.”
“Well, you don’t have to read him, hun. This is me, not you.”
“Hello! I WRITE you.”
“Good point. Anyway, I like sci-fi, mystery, and thrillers, of course.”
Now we were getting somewhere. “Which authors?”
“Oh, God. There are so many. For sci-fi, Silverberg and Heinlien. Theodore Sturgeon. For mystery, uh, Robert B. Parker. Shirley Wells. Julie Moffett makes me laugh. I like early James Patterson. J.D. Robb–”
“Wait!” I flapped my hand in front of his face. “You like J.D. Robb?”
“Sure. Great futuristic police procedurals.”
“You know that’s Nora Roberts, right?”
Luc shrugged. “I read Nora Roberts.”
I stared at him. “You’re kidding.”
“Why?” He scowled at me. “I read a lot of romance. You know what I do for a living. I see a lot of bad stuff. Romance reminds me there are good things in this world. People really do love each other. Plus, there’s sex. So, yeah. I read romance.”
“Oh.” My voice sounded a little faint even to my own ears. “Who?”
“Well, Nora Roberts, of course. Jenny Crusie. Love Nalini Singh. Maureen Miller. Adrienne Giordano. Loretta Chase is great.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
“That’s why I got an eReader,” Luc continued. “Carina Press is putting out a lot of great books in all different genres, so I thought I’d go crazy. Did you know they’re having a Romantic Suspense week this week?”
“Yeah,” I said. “We’re kind of…part of it.”
“We are?” He smiled fully and deep crevices appeared around his mouth. “Cool.”
I couldn’t go on. I don’t know if it was his smile, or his beautiful dark eyes, or the fact that Lucas Vasco, super tough FBI Special Agent liked to read romance novels. I felt myself melting into a pool of unprofessional goo at his feet.
Maybe it was just the fact that he was talking about…books. Be still my heart.
A sexy guy reading a book only makes the sexy guy sexier, in my humble opinion. What about you? What kinds of books does your idea of a sexy man read? Thrillers? Romance? Everything and anything? Come on, spill! Inquiring minds want to know.
Hold Me
Available now from Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books On Board,
and anywhere fine ebooks are sold.
Katie McCabe’s life is going nowhere fast when FBI Special Agent Lucas Vasco jumps into her car at an intersection. Luc, his undercover guise blown, is on the run from the Mafia and expects to be killed at any moment. What he doesn’t plan on is finding himself attracted to the firecracker beside him. He feels compelled to protect her when her life is threatened, and insists she stay with him for her own safety.
After learning she has become the target of a psychotic hit man, Katie is whisked off to Luc’s house to hide. Once there, she’s shocked to discover that she and Luc have an unexpected connection—a connection Luc already knew existed, but withheld. Will their intense attraction reach flashpoint despite their misunderstandings and the pain of the past?
************
Betsy Horvath was raised on MGM musicals, old skool Harlequins, and Nancy Drew, so it should not have come as a shock that one day she’d be writing romance novels. The biggest surprise was that it took her so long to actually buckle down and do it. Hold Me is her debut romantic suspense novel. You can usually find Betsy wasting time on her website, Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.
Oh, the holidays. Admittedly, a many of us start the holidays with a little trepidation. After all, there’s a lot to be done and not a lot of time to get there. Shopping and cards and baking and wrapping and shipping. But there is one thing that gets the juices flowing at the holiday season, and that’s food.
