Bad Boys of Romance Giveaway Hop

I don't know who first said you've gotta love the bad boy but for eons it seems to have been true. Personally I'm going to stick to romance bad boys from now on rather than real ones, the real life ones never seem to work out, not that I'm surprised about that. But a romance bad boy, that's a different story all together.

So what is it about a bad boy that attracts so many of us? The answer is...I don't know. Research often talks about women being attracted to the element of danger associated with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. Theories of women wanting to rebel against society or family, opposites attracting and Florence Nightingale syndromes, where women need to save or fix whatever makes our bad boy the way he is abound. The theories may be true, as I said, I have know idea. I just know I like what I like and bad boys do it for me. It does pose some difficulty when writing romance though, especially when Florence Nightingale raises her ugly head.

While I was writing Finding Angel I became so attached to my villain that his role in the book changed significantly from the original story I'd plotted. In short, I redeem him somewhat. As I got to know him I couldn't do anything other than offer him a modicum of salvation. My villain,  Adrian Hastings is a crime boss, he's involved in some horrible activities but as the book progressed I learnt he had the capacity to love and, as he'd aged he'd grown, changed, even regretted some of his actions. Yes he was a villain, a bad boy, but there was something endearing about him. 

 If you'd like to decide about Adrian for yourself, enter the competition below to win a copy of Finding Angel. All you need to do is comment below and answer this question...Which "bad boy" revs your motor? Is it a hero or a villain or even a secondary character? Remember to include your email address when you comment.

Excerpt: Finding Angel

Angel woke with a start as she felt a hand run up her stocking-covered leg. She was just about to scream when a large hand covered her mouth, and she thought she saw the glint of steel out of the corner of her eye.

“Samuel,” she gasped in her semi awake state as the hand tightened over her mouth.

“Hello, Angel, you look particularly ravishing. I hope you wore that dress for me,” Adrian said, one hand still firmly over her mouth and the other climbing slowly up toward her thigh. “Do you promise me that you won’t scream if I take my hand away?”

Angel nodded beneath his grip, Adrian removed his hand from her mouth.

“You look incredibly tempting this morning.” Adrian smiled down at her. He ran his hand down the side of her face and neck before letting it roam around the cleavage at the top of her dress. Angel tried to sit up, attempting to push him away as she shimmied closer to the head of the bed.

“What are you doing here, Adrian?” Angel’s voice was flat and emotionless. She realised the lounge room light was on, casting a soft light into the bedroom. She had been sleeping so peacefully before his intrusion. “How did you get in here, and who is in the lounge room?”

“I used my key, and I’m here alone. I put the light on when I walked in, but you didn’t wake up. You were sleeping like a baby. I made myself a drink, had a look around, and decided that you were definitely the most interesting thing in this whole house. By the way, you haven’t said you’re happy to see me.” Adrian smirked.

“I’m not, and how do you have a key to my house?” Angel pushed his hand out from under her dress. “Stop touching me and tell me what you want,” she demanded as forcefully as she could.

Adrian stood up, removing his jacket and hanging it on the handle of the wardrobe. He walked around the other side of the bed and lay down next to her.

“I want many things from you, Angel, but mainly I want to talk.” He rolled onto one elbow to face her. “I want to say thank you for finding the information that Samuel had in regard to me. Did you read any of it before you called me?”

“No, Adrian, I just assumed when I saw pictures of you in the envelope that it must have been what you were looking for. I didn’t read any of the papers because I didn’t want to know anything about you. I have no intention of knowing anything in case you feel I may be some sort of threat. I happen to value my life,” Angel responded honestly.

“You are very wise. I knew you were more than a pretty face. The only problem is you didn’t give me everything that I wanted. You see, I am missing an accounts ledger, and Samuel had it before he passed away.” Adrian moved closer to Angel. The smell of his expensive aftershave tantalised her senses. If nothing else, Adrian always smelt delicious. “You don’t happen to know where that might be, do you?”

“I didn’t find any ledger. I gave you everything I found. Anything I didn’t give you is in garbage bags in Samuel’s bedroom.” Angel moved slightly, trying to extend the distance between Adrian and her. She’d be damned if she’d give into the urge to nuzzle into the crook of his neck just to take in more of his scent. Moving away was the best option to relieve the strange desire to do so. Not wanting to let her go anywhere, Adrian placed his arm around her waist and pulled her closer until he had her virtually underneath him.

“I collected that rubbish earlier tonight, just in case you overlooked something important while you were cleaning up.” He nuzzled his head into her neck, brushing against her hair with his face. “You do smell so nice. I’d rather fuck you than kill you, Angel. I need that ledger.”

Angel couldn’t believe he had just placed her right where she didn’t want to be, surrounded by the delicious smell of that aftershave that was now mixed with male body heat as he lay against her.

“I don’t have it, Adrian, and I would certainly rather be fucked than killed.” Angel knew it was a stupid thing to say, but she was starting to get anxious, and strangely aroused…Good God, she was never going to drink again. All she had to do was keep her wits about her. If she did the wrong thing, Adrian would kill her without even blinking. He was that kind of man.

“Take your time and give a little thought as to where it might be…I’m in no rush.” Adrian kissed the side of her neck before looking into her eyes. “Where would Samuel keep a ledger?”

Angel felt Adrian’s hand move from her waist upward, cupping her breast. He smiled at her as her nipple hardened under the tight bodice. His fingers flicked over the tiny bump a few times only moving away after he had elicited a reluctant little moan from Angel’s lips.

“Are you thinking about what I asked, Angel?” His hand left her breast and slid firmly down over her abdomen.

“Yes.” Angel hated the fact that he had aroused her. She reminded herself that she hated this man, feared him. She wanted nothing to do with him.

Enter the grand prize draw by clicking here and don't forget to visit the other blog hop participants and see what else you might be able to win.

1.	herding cats & burning soup (INT)	2.	Blue Remy
3.	Rantings from a Reading Addict	4.	Rookie Romance (INT)
5.	Books Books and More Books (INT)	6.	Demons do it Better
7.	Read Your Writes Book Reviews	8.	Shayna Renee's Spicy Reads
9.	Mimmi's Musings	10.	Lucy Felthouse
11.	Book Lovin' Mamas (US)	12.	Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Reviews
13.	Laura Kaye (INT)	14.	Romancing Rakes For The Love of Romance (INT)
15.	Riverina Romantics	16.	Literal Hotties Naughty Book Reviews
17.	Malia Mallory (INT)	18.	Victoria Danann
19.	Suddenly *Not So* Single Journey	20.	Romance Book Club (US)
21.	Bookswagger	22.	Aubrey Rose
23.	Paranormal Romance Author Rose Wynters	24.	Tabitha Conall
25.	Amanda "Where the Night Kind Roam"	26.	Eden Connor
27.	Clara Bayard	28.	Nancy Gideon
29.	Avalon	30.	Caffeinated Book Reviewer (INT)
31.	Bad Boys of Romance Hop : Meet the Boys from Kingdom!	32.	Fictional Candy (INT)
33.	Adria's Romance Reviews	34.	Another Look Book Reviews (CAD/US)
35.	Stories and Swag	36.	Jill Prand
37.	Shhh, Mommy's in the Bathroom.,.Reading	38.	Diane Thorne - Erotic Romance Author (US/CAN)
39.	Naomi Bellina Adventurous Erotic Romance (INT)	40.	Misa Buckley (INT)
41.	Susan Arden	42.	[Insert Clever Quip Here]
43.	Normandie Alleman	44.	Sheri Fredricks, Modern Mythic Romance (US)
45.	Romance with a Bite (CAN)	46.	Carrie Lane
47.	Urban Girl Reader (INT)	48.	Tory Richards
49.	FOR THE LOVE OF READING (INT)	50.	Salacious Reads
51.	Felicity Heaton PNR Author (INT)	52.	Justus Roux
53.	Penny Alley (US)	54.	Mary @Sweeping Me (Int)
55.	She Likes It Verbal	56.	Close Encounters Of the Night Kind
57.	E.B Walters Weblog	58.	Share My Destiny (INT)
59.	Read for your future	60.	Jacqueline's Reads
61.	cupcake's book cupboard	62.	Musings and Ramblings (INT)
63.	Elisabeth Staab	64.	Jan Graham - Author
65.	A.R. Von DreamZ of Dragons (INT)	66.	Crystal's Many Reviews
67.	Susan Wicked Writing	68.	Buku-Buku Didi (INT)
69.	Natasha Blackthorne (US)	70.	Jess Dee (INT)
71.	Under the Covers (INT)	72.	R. Lee Smith
73.	Natalie-Nicole Bates (INT)	74.	Christine Murphy - Sphinx Warriors Series (US)
75.	Basia's Bookshelf (INT)	76.	BookHounds (INT)
77.	Dianne Duvall, Paranormal Romance Author (INT)	78.	Twisting Minds One Word at a Time (INT)
79.	Bibliophile Mystery (INT)	80.	Jess Buffett (INT)
81.	Passionat Encounters	82.	Lisa Carlisle
83.	Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews	84.	I am, Indeed (US)
85.	Buffy's Ramblings	86.	RomFan Recuews
87.	This is not your mother's romance(INT)	88.	Sarah M?kel?
89.	Celebrate Bad Boys with All Romance	90.	Sharon Kleve's Romantic Ramblings
91.	Anne Lange (CAN/US)	92.	Tasha Blackstone Erotic Romance (INT)
93.	Victoria Pinder	94.	Readers Confession
95.	Mandy Earles