Long-haired heroes - Yay or Nay?
By Cassandra Carr
I wrote my first long-haired hero
for On Display. Normally I'm not a huge fan of long hair, especially really
long or 80's rocker-style hair, but my hero Hunter's hair only reaches his
shoulders. And it's thick and wavy.
Confession time: I modeled him
originally after one of the Cavemen: Axl. You can see pics of him HERE.
Axl is incredibly sweet, which is
why I wanted to do a hero inspired by him. Unfortunately he's not the cover
model for On Display because all Ellora's Cave Quickies covers are "canned
covers" - you pick one of several photos and they add your name and story
title. It would cost them a fortune to make custom covers for all the shorter
works they put out.
Oh, and don't worry, Axl knows I
modeled Hunter after him. I'm pretty open about that stuff.
Axl does his hair two ways -
shoulder-length and curly or straightened and longer. You can see both on the
link above. He definitely looks more rugged with it curly, and since Hunter's a
bouncer, that's the way I went.
So what do you think - do you like
long-haired heroes? If so, why? If not, why not?
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Blurb: On Display
Hunter wants Olivia, and the
feeling is mutual. She decides to take her secret attraction public and show up
at the club where he’s bouncing, ready to lay everything on the line to snag
him. Hunter can’t believe his luck, and soon makes his own move on the woman
he’s lusted after for months. Things heat up between them during an
exciting—and exhibitionist—evening that leaves them both anticipating more sexy
times to come.
An Exotika® contemporary erotica story from
Ellora’s Cave
Excerpt:
By reading any further, you are stating that
you are at least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of 18, please exit
this site.
An Excerpt From: ON DISPLAY
Copyright © CASSANDRA CARR, 2013
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave
Publishing, Inc.
Shit, where did he go?
“Nice dancing.”
Olivia jumped and a large hand shot out to steady her with a
solid grip to her waist. She looked up. Hunter.
“You scared me.”
“I see that.” He tilted his head. “You look flushed. You
okay?”
“Yeah. I just get hot when I dance.”
“You were hot before that.” A shocked expression flitted over
his face before he looked down and coughed. Olivia had to fight a laugh.
Well, at least it’s
more evidence he’s interested.
He shifted his weight, crossing his arms over his chest, and
she had to suppress the urge to drool. The man was beautiful. There was no
other way to describe him. Olivia loved his hair. It was thick and wavy and
when it was down it hung to his shoulders. His face was angular as if he had
some Native American ancestry and his chocolate-brown eyes could be either
intense or full of mirth, depending on his mood. She’d spent more than one
night with her Hitachi Magic Wand, imagining his full lips skating over her
heated skin.
That same skin was definitely warm now. If she’d thought
dancing had made her sweat, this was torture. How was a woman expected to just
sit there and let hotness like Hunter go unexplored?
“Do you, um,” Hunter gestured toward the back of the club,
“want to get some air?” Her eyebrows drew down. There was no exit that way.
Clearing his throat and sending her a smile, he continued. “There’s a patio no
one uses on a night like tonight when it’s so freaking hot. It was a smoking
patio, now Vince uses it for private parties and stuff.” Hunter looked away and
then back at her. He was babbling. It was adorable and sexy all at the same
time.
“Sure, that sounds good. Can’t be any hotter than it is in
here.”
He laughed. Dimples.
I’m a dead woman. “Yeah, it’s like an oven, isn’t it? The air-conditioning
is no match for all the people.”
She attempted to hop off her bar stool without flashing him
and realized he’d never let her waist go. His other hand joined in the act and
he brought her gracefully to the floor. “Thanks.” He was dangerously close and
Olivia hoped like hell she’d have the courage to make it known how much she
wanted him. Maybe he’d make it unnecessary.
He placed a hand on her back right above the swell of her ass
and guided her through the crowd and toward a dimly lit hallway. As Hunter
leaned in, his breath fanned over her ear. Olivia shivered. “We don’t keep the
lights on anymore. It discourages people from coming back here now that there’s
nowhere for them to go.”
Olivia nodded mutely and Hunter guided her farther into the
recesses of the hallway until they came to a door, which he pushed open and
held for her.
She took a few seconds to assess her surroundings. “Wow, this
is really nice.”
He closed the door behind them. “Yeah, now that the smoke
smell is finally getting better and Vince added some crap customers like, it’s
not bad.”
Her hand shot up to cover her mouth after a laugh tumbled
out. Hunter grinned and those dimples made another appearance. “I’m sorry.”
“About what? Laughing at me?”
“I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at your description of
this area. ‘Crap customers like’?”
“You know what I mean.” He gestured to the various potted
plants scattered throughout the area and the grill in the corner. “Customers
love the trees with the little white lights, no matter how boring and common
they are now. And the grill? I don’t remember the last time that was used,
except at our employee party about eight months ago.”
“Fair enough.”
He caressed her cheek. “You have no idea how gorgeous you
look in the moonlight.”
She shook her head with a chuckle. “That’s quite a line.”
“Not a line. The truth.” Before she could comment further,
he’d moved his hand to the back of her neck and brought her face to his. “I
need to kiss you.”
“O-okay.”
Their lips met and Olivia moaned. As if that was the sign he
was looking for, Hunter snaked his other arm around her waist and pulled her
flush against him, sliding a thick thigh between her legs as he deepened the
kiss. His tongue demanded entrance to her mouth, and with a sigh, she opened to
him. Hunter wasted no time, pushing inside and exploring her depths. Her tongue
chased his when he retreated and he groaned.
Even if they went no further she’d have fodder for hundreds
of nights of fantasies. Oh, could the man kiss. He put his entire body into it,
slowly stoking the fire inside her. Finally they came up for air, both panting.
He leaned back a little more and fixed a heated stare on her.
“I’m on break with about twenty minutes left. I need you.”
She couldn’t deny him. Hell, she didn’t want to. “Then take
me.”
About Cassandra Carr:
So who am I? I've been writing my whole life, but only decided to pursue
writing as a career in the past couple of years. I'm lucky to have an
incredibly supportive husband named Inspiration who brings home the bacon so I
can stay home and fry it (and eat it all before he's able to fight through the
rush hour traffic - I'm mean that way, but like I always say, don't get between
a woman and her bacon).
I live in Western New York with Inspiration and our
young daughter, Too Cute for Words. I'm a major hockey fan, which explains why
many of my heroes are hockey players. If you haven't looked at the guys playing
the sport today, search for some images. You won't be disappointed.
I'm a member of the leading professional association
for romance novelists, Romance Writers of America, and also serve as president
of my local chapter. I've met so many interesting people through these
organizations and highly recommend them to any aspiring writer!
I'm represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of
Sanford J Greenburg and Associates.
As you can see, my life is pretty busy, but I try to
take as much time as I can to write. And re-write. And re-write. It's a
never-ending, vicious circle, and I love it!
CONTEST: Be sure to comment to get in on the drawing for the above contest!! Good luck and thank you all for stopping by!
Thanks for having me here today!
ReplyDeleteGlad you stopped by on your tour! My readers are sure to love your books, Cassandra! Congrats on the new releases!
ReplyDeleteWoot, Cassandra! I tend to prefer shorter haired heroes, but I'm sure I could quite love a long-haired one as well--it all depends on the story, and sometimes, those fabulous covers :)
ReplyDeleteit depends on how the character's written
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Hey, like any good hockey girl, I appreciate long hair!
ReplyDeletevitajex(at)aol(dot)com