Sunburn: To Be Released January 7th!

Happy New Year to Danica and everyone reading today! Thanks for hosting me, Danica.

I’ve come to you today as we launch into a new year. 2013. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Well, imagine if you’d lived all those years.

My new book Sunburn is about the Greek god Apollo, a guy who’s been around the block once or twice. He’s not only glimpsed history, he’s lived it. And when you look at paranormal romance, that is often the case with dishy supernatural heroes. It’s one of the things that makes these heroes so appealing: they’ve lived.

But living can often feel like surviving to characters like Apollo, especially when your existence is couple with a dreadful sense of guilt for past errors. My Apollo is a somewhat darker hero than some of my previous heroes because he has a past, and it wasn’t always a pretty place. He made some bad decisions, and pays for them daily in his conscience.

It takes the love of a good woman to help Apollo move out of his past and peel away his layers of regret.

So many paranormal heroes come with baggage because of the actions they’ve been forced to take over the years. Please leave me a comment and tell me about some of your favourite “dark” heroes. Why did they tug at your heartstrings? Would you forgive the mistakes they made?

Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll check out Sunburn!

 

Rosanna Leo

Sunburn blurb:

Patience O’Conner is a travel blogger who lives for her work. Her dedication to her readers brings her to the famed Helios Resort in Mexico, a locale that stuns her with its beauty but at which she suffers from some very strange accidents.
Luckily, hunky resort bartender Apollo Delos is always there in the nick of time, a malcontent guardian angel. Apollo stuns Patience again and again with his life-saving abilities, to say nothing of his smoldering looks and apparent desire to keep her alive.
Before long, Patience wonders if there is more to the sexy bartender than mixed cocktails and insane first-aid skills. Something strange is happening at Helios and Apollo doesn’t want to talk about it.
Can Patience open herself up to this enigmatic man, even though she is terrified to be vulnerable again? And can Apollo recover from an eternity of hurt and learn to trust once more? They must both decide before Death comes calling.

Sunburn Excerpt:

She put her hand on his arm to get his attention. A sensual shiver ran up his spine. “You do understand why I can’t drink, right? I come from a family of addicts. The addictive gene is in me. I can’t slip up even once. I’m terrified I’ll fall into the same patterns.” She paused, her eyes haunted and dark. “I was addicted to something, to someone, once. And I didn’t recognize myself by the end. I can’t go back there again. I have to stay strong.”
His head spun. Who was this person to whom she was addicted? He had to know. Was she married before? Was it a boyfriend?
Who hurt her?
He had to know, but there’d be time to find out later. Right now, she looked ready to crumple. Damn. Their conversation had struck a nerve in her.
He rushed out from behind the bar, knowing only he had to make her feel better, and pulled her into his arms. She yielded, all warmth and softness against him. She laid her head against his neck, and a tear dripped onto his skin.
Shit.
“Patience,” he whispered into her hair. “Please don’t cry. I won’t let him hurt you.”
Apollo with all his heart was making a vow. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her; not the demon, and certainly not the little shit who’d hurt her once before.
She looked up, tears streaming down her face and her chest rising and falling with shaky breaths. “I’m sorry. It’s not like me to cry. I don’t know what came over me!”
“By all the gods,” he murmured, in a trance. Even in pain, she was mesmerizing. There was a healthy sheen to her skin. Her cheeks were rosy with emotion. Stray hairs had escaped her ponytail, ornamenting her face. “You are so beautiful.”
Her lips parted in a welcome she probably didn’t even realize she was extending. She sighed, and her breath poured over him, heating him to the core. He had to kiss her. There was suddenly no option but to kiss her.
He brushed his lips against hers, feeling no resistance. He moved slowly, bestowing feather-light kisses all over her mouth. And then, shocking and exciting him, her tongue slid into his mouth. Penetrating, seeking more.
Hungry.
Inflamed, he held her tighter, moving his body between her legs as she sat on the bar stool. Their kiss deepened as their tongues played and probed. He bit her lip, none too gently, and she moaned.
Oh, sweet Pandora’s box!
But as quickly as the kiss had crushed them, it was over. Patience pulled away and out of his arms. Dazed, his heart palpitated as she scrambled off the stool. And before he could recover to stop her, Patience ran away down the wooden path toward the lobby.

 

Sunburn is available Jan 7 at www.lsbooks.com