Update- The winner is DarkBloodyVamp (@DarkBloodyVamp).

 

An entire blog hop dedicated to books about hot men (and women) in uniform? Oh, yeah, I got this! It seems I’m a wee bit addicted to writing about military men. They even creep into my cowboy books and I have quite a few heroes now who own both cowboy and combat boots. Mmm, mmm. The best of both worlds, wouldn’t you say? My characters span from elite Spec Ops to heroic Army infantrymen. There are officers, SNCOs and new recruits.

Give me a pair of cammies and that sexy military haircut and it seems I’m happy. That’s why it’s no chore to write them, and why I have 3 military novels releasing before next March. MODEL SOLDIER (a Red, Hot & Blue novel) in December from Samhain. ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY from Kensington Brava in February–that one features one of those yummy cowboy/soldiers I mentioned. And then A PRINCE AMONG MEN (a Red, Hot & Blue novel) releases from Samhain in March. Lots to look forward to. And what fun promo I’ve been buying for the conventions I have booked for 2013. Anyone at RT in Kansas City in May or Authors After Dark in Savannah in August, keep your eye out for my camouflage-print can coolies and pens.

To get us in the mood for Veterans Day, how about an excerpt from MODEL SOLDIER? And don’t forget to scroll down to find out about the contest and get the link to the other participating blogs.

Enjoy!

Cat

MODEL SOLDIER by Cat Johnson

When love presents itself, take your shot.

Red, Hot & Blue, Book 8

When Emily Price is assigned to an ad campaign featuring one of Uncle Sam’s finest soldiers, she’s thrilled. Who better to break up the monotonous parade of smooth, perfect models than a rough, war-hardened alpha male?

Maybe she’ll even get lucky like one of her colleagues and find romance. Unfortunately, when she meets her model, he’s more caveman than Prince Charming. Now her dreams of love—and her career—are dangling precariously from his callused fingertips.

Staff Sergeant David Hawk Hawkins never imagined refusing a command…until he loses a bet and is ordered off the battlefield and into a new role: poster boy for the Army’s recruiting campaign.

From the start, their relationship is more fire-and-ice than fairytale. Yet beneath their sparring simmers an attraction that finally explodes into a night of lovemaking that, after they part, haunts them to opposite sides of the globe.

But love isn’t through with them—and neither is the public. The campaign is a hit and Hawk becomes a star. Soon he and Emily are thrown together again, but this time it’s on Hawk’s turf, where flying bullets could settle their battle before it begins.

Warning: Contains sex hot enough to travel halfway around the world, and a love strong enough to bring them back home again.

MODEL SOLDIER EXCERPT:

It was the strangest thing, but bickering with Hawk kind of got her excited. Even his calling her doll was starting to sound sexy, and she hadn’t even drunk the beer that Jai was now carrying her way.

Hawk, looking like he got as much pleasure from the sparring as she, grinned wide as Jai joined them.

“Sergeant, did Emily tell you? The shots we took at the training village today are awesome.”

“Good, I’m glad.” Strangely, Hawk looked like he meant it.

Emily grasped the topic of work before she gave in to imagining running her fingers down Hawk’s massive forearm, and other things.

“I agree with Jai. The SpecOp ads Katie shot with BB were all taken in a studio. They were good but nothing like ours. The ones we took outdoors today look really authentic, like we actually shot in the war zone. As great as BB was, I think our Army ads will be even more effective because they look so real. Right down to our caveman model, here.” Emily grinned and sipped her beer.

Hawk raised his glass in a salute. “Thanks. I think that may be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Emily laughed. “You’re welcome.”

“Fucking Dalton.” Hawk shook his head and took another swallow from his own glass.

That got Emily’s defenses up. He could pick on her, but no one picked on her boss’s fiancé in front of her. “What’s wrong with BB? He’s practically perfect.”

Hawk laughed. “If he’s your perfect man, sweet thing, then I don’t know what the hell you’re doing hanging around with me.”

Annoyed with him all over again, she stood a little straighter, but he still towered over her. “I’m not hanging around with you. You’re hanging around with me. Jai and I came here tonight to absorb some local color before we leave tomorrow morning.”

Jai glanced from her to Hawk and back again with a strange expression on his face. “Um, I see Sergeant Pettit over there. I think I’ll go ask him…something.”

Hawk grabbed Jai’s arm. “Pettit knows the truth about all this, and he also knows I’ll kill him if he spills the beans. But as far as the rest of them know—” he bobbed a head in the direction of the soldiers across the room standing with Pettit, “—you and she were here for the last two days taking photos of the garrison, not of me. Let’s keep it that way, understood? As far as my squad is concerned, my assignment was to be your escort only. That’s all. Got it?”

Jai laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, I got it. Don’t worry, Sergeant.”

Hawk looked more than a bit concerned as he watched Jai cross the room.

“He’ll keep your secret,” Emily assured him, thinking all the secrecy was stupid since his face would soon be in ads pretty much everywhere.

Hawk continued to track Jai as he joined the group of soldiers. “How long have you known him?”

“Jai? A few years, I guess. He’s discreet, I promise.”

He raised a brow. “You two fucking?”

“What? No.” She nearly choked at the question. God, he could be so crude sometimes. “You are the rudest, biggest, nosiest…” Unable to figure out how to insult him more, she left the sentence open ended.

“And you hate how you find me attractive.” His treated her to a crooked grin before sipping at his beer.

“You? Attractive? Ha!” That accusation had her sputtering. Okay, maybe she did think he was hot, but he didn’t have to know that. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re a job. Nothing more.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Goldie. Maybe you’ll start believing it. Although, I find that alcohol usually has the opposite effect on a woman’s libido.”

Hawk smirked and glanced at the beer in her hand, which she had been steadily emptying during their sparring without even realizing it. She’d nearly finished it, and it was starting to affect her head but not her wit.

“I see. So what you’re saying is girls need to be drunk to find you attractive. That’s totally understandable.” Emily smirked right back.

Hawk shook his head. “You are cute when you try and fight with me. The question is why are you fighting this so hard, doll? I know you’re attracted to me. You know you’re attracted to me. You’re leaving tomorrow. I’m leaving in about a week.” He let the facts hang in the air for her to absorb and draw her own conclusions.

“Are you saying we should…” She could barely get the words out past the tightness his unspoken suggestion had caused in her throat.

“Have sex? Yup. I sure am.” He grinned.

Could she do it? Did she want to? Have sex just for fun with a man she barely knew?

Although she did know him, didn’t she? They’d spent two days together. She knew some of his personal and probably all of his military history from his file. She knew that for some reason, BB had chosen this man to represent the entire US Army. She could see that both Hawk’s superiors and his subordinates liked him. All of that had to count for something.

“You sure are doing a lot of thinking in there, Goldie.” Hawk ran one thick finger from her forehead, between her drawn brows and down her nose, tapping the tip playfully. “Stop frowning. You’ll get wrinkles.”

Emily fought the shiver that his touch sent down her spine and decided it wouldn’t hurt to play along, for a bit anyway. “Let’s say, under the influence of some sort of temporary insanity and German beer, that I did consider sleeping with you—”

“Oh, believe me, there’d be no sleeping. Just good old-fashioned sex. Incredible, unforgettable sex. Lots of it.”

Kindle Amazon US

Samhain

iTunes / iBookstore

Barnes & Noble Nook

More Info at http://catjohnson.net/books-2/model-soldier/

 Don’t miss the lead in to MODEL SOLDIER, the free BB DALTON, A Red, Hot & Blue Bonus Read

The Contest Fine Print:

• The giveaway is for one download of A FEW GOOD MEN (a Red, Hot & Blue Series Novel) written by Cat Johnson, and published by Samhain.
• Comment on this post between November 9th and 12 midnight Eastern Time on November 15th to enter to win. One entry per person.
• Winner will be chosen by Random.org and announced here on November 16th. The winner will be contacted via email and the eBook will be emailed to them, in their preferred choice of file format when possible.

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Thank you to THE JEEP DIVA for hosting this hop, and to the 120+ other participants.

Make sure to visit them!

Click on the image below to be taken to the full list of participating blogs.