Military Muscle Blog Tour & Giveaway

Rebecca Zanetti, Jessica Scott, and Marilyn Pappano are stopping by to share their favorite romantic, and favorite emotional, quotes from their books.

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First up Rebecca Zanetti, author of Forgotten Sins.

 

Here’s a quick blurb from FORGOTTEN SINS that I really liked.  The hero and heroine are on the run and are taking a break to sleep in a cheap hotel room in different beds.

Shane twitched. Then gave a low moan. Pain suffused the sound. 

Josie’s heart lurched. Her mind spun. 

No matter who he was, she could only be herself. If he was in pain, she couldn’t sit by and watch. She didn’t want to be a person who’d sit by and watch. 

An agonized growl rumbled from his chest. 

Oh, this was a bad idea. She crept forward, gingerly resting one knee on his bed and crawling forward. Reaching his side, she snuggled down, her head on his outstretched arm. Warm cedar filled her senses. She placed her hand over his heart. “It’s okay, Shane. Only good dreams tonight,” she whispered. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes. 

*** 

Shane kept his breathing even, his body relaxed. His heart thumped against her palm. Awakening, he’d heard her move from the bed and had wondered. Would she head for the door? No. She hadn’t. The woman had cuddled up with danger to provide comfort for him. Security. Love. His heart warmed until it hurt. Vulnerability and need filtered through him followed by determination. He didn’t know how the hell he’d lost her before. No matter what it took, whoever he had to walk through, he wouldn’t lose her again.

Here’s a spicy blurb from Josie and Shane in FORGOTTEN SINS:

Holding her gaze, Shane stalked forward as graceful as any jungle cat.  Slow and sure—closing the distance between them until she inhaled his scent of heated cedar.  A hum began in her abdomen.  Heat flushed along her skin. 

One of his thick knuckles lifted her chin.  She should step back.  Away from danger.  But something…something kept her still.  Maybe it was curiosity.  Maybe it was hope that she could still feel on fire.  Her limbs grew heavy.  Too heavy to move.  Her heart rate picked up. 

Slowly, so slowly they both knew she had eons to move away, he lowered his head.  His lips brushed hers.  Firm, knowing, so hot.  Once, twice, and then a third time.

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Next is Jessica Scott, author of All For You.

I picked this quote because I just love the strength that Emily shows every time Reza tries to push her away.

“Don’t feel sorry for me.” He moved then, cradling her face in his palms, his big hands inexplicably gentle. “I wear their names to honor them. To remember.”

“So much pain,” she whispered.

“Don’t pity me.” Harsh judgment of his own actions. A warrior resigned to his fate.

She met his gaze then, closing her fingers over his. “I don’t pity you, Reza.” She brushed her lips against his. “I admire you.”

His smile was cold, his eyes an abyss stretching into eternity. “Don’t think you can crawl inside my head just because we’re getting naked.”

She stepped close to him then, because to do anything less would be an admission of defeat. Instantly, she was surrounded by the heat from his body. The black ink of the tattoo seemed to writhe against his skin, urging her to touch. She lifted her index finger, sliding it along the edge of Death’s Sickle. She was almost surprised when her finger did not bleed. 

“It’s not your head I’m interested in,” she whispered, threading her arms around his neck.

I picked this scene because as much as Reza needs Emily, she needs him too. He grounds her and makes her feel whole.

She met his gaze. “I wanted to make a difference and all I feel like I’m doing is putting out fires.”

Reza shifted. “Welcome to the army. That’s all we ever do.” He twisted the cap back on. Set the pint down by his hip. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who managed to get ahead of everything.”

“That’s so cynical,” she whispered.

He shrugged and let his gaze drift down her exposed legs. “I suppose cynical is just a way we get through this stuff,” he said.

“There are other ways to cope with stressors in life.”

“You sound like a shrink,” he murmured. But then he glanced up. Surprised to find her watching him, her eyes dark, her cheeks flushed. What would she do if he touched her? He reached out, cupping her calf, still slick with sweat.

She stilled, her eyes going wide as he slid his hand down her smooth skin. She was slick and soft and hot beneath his touch. Her lips parted.

But she didn’t pull away.

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And last, but not least it is A Man To Hold On To's author, Marilyn Pappano's, turn.

Quote 1 - He wanted to marry her. Spend the rest of his life with her. Help her raise Paul's and Sabrina's kids. Trudge through the hard times together and celebrate the good times the same way. To make love with her and make a family with her and make them all feel whole and wanted and safe. To tell her how much he adored her tonight and every night for sixty years to come. To protect her, to be strong for her, to have her to lean on when it was her turn to be strong.

He wanted nothing but her and these kids and this life.

 

Quote 2 - Some decisions were so easy to make. When Therese had been offered a job in Georgia after college, she’d taken about sixty seconds to consider accepting, even though it meant moving far from Montana and her family, and she’d never regretted it. When she’d  met Paul after he and some buddies helped her with a broken-down car, she hadn’t thought twice about his invitation to dinner—or to bed. She’d never regretted that, either.

Not even when she’d stood beside his grave, clutching the flag presented to her by a solemn-faced general.

 

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