One Lucky Hero is the first book in the Men in Uniform series by Cody Gary. We’re always happy to drool over men in uniform. Excerpts are one of our favorite things about books that are releasing soon and we’ve got a good one for this one. Check it out!
One Lucky Hero by Cody Gary
Men in Uniform #1
Released on June 7, 2016 by Avon Impulse
She was looking for a little fun…
Violet Douglas wants one night where she can be normal. Where she can do something for herself and not be just her sibling’s guardian. So when she spies a tall, dark and sexy stranger, she’s ready to let her wild side roar. The last thing she expects is to see her one night stand one week later, when she drags her delinquent kid brother to the Alpha Dog Training Program.
He wasn’t looking for a commitment…
Sgt. Dean Sparks is used to keeping women at a distance, and yet he can’t resist Violet’s snapping wit or smile. So when he suggests a friends-with-benefits arrangement, it seems like the perfect solution to their undeniable attraction. No emotional entanglement, just mind-blowing sex.
But with their lives becoming more and more entwined, Dean realizes that casual isn’t enough for him anymore. And as Violet finds herself leaning on Dean in a way she never has, will her fears put more distance between them? Or can she let go of the past, and take a chance on happily ever after?
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Dealing with Deep Issues in Romance
I published my first book in 2013, but I’ve been writing full time since 2012. By the time 2016 comes to a close, I will have fifteen published works out there in the world, three that were never published, and one waiting to be published in 2017. So, it’s easy to understand why I push myself with every story, every character background. I want to continue to grow as a writer, and sometimes that means touching on deeper issues and conflicts in my hero and heroine’s pasts and personalities. Because in real life, not everyone has grown up with the cookie cutter perfect family and lived in a bubble of safety. Bad stuff happens, a lot, and sometimes we can feel like a magnet for it…which is essentially how my heroine, Violet, feels.
In my past books, I haven’t strayed away from heavy subjects. Rape, drinking and driving, post-traumatic stress, body issues, substance abuse and alcoholism; some of these hit me on a personal level and at times, I found it hard to write about, especially with particularly heart wrenching scenes. But with Violet, who lost her mother at a young age and whose father was a drug addict, I had a young woman who had been dealt an impossible hand, but she never crumbled because she had two younger siblings to care for. Violet and her brother and sister all experience multiple trauma because realistically, sometimes that happens. I didn’t just make up; over the years I’ve read multiple news articles, victim statements on crime library, and true crime novels to know that it is sometimes hard to escape a cycle of violence.
The pattern with these issues and stories is that the people it is happening to can’t escape. Whether it is because they feel like it is their fault, or that they deserve it, or that they’ve never felt safe, had someone they could trust and rely on…there are so many reasons for why people experience multiple traumas they can’t escape from.
But despite the dark elements in One Lucky Hero, it has to have a happily ever right? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a romance. So, even as I broke these characters, I wanted to find a way to put them back together. To help them grow, to overcome, survive, and ultimately…forgive. Forgive themselves. Each other. And even the people who had wronged them.
I am very proud of this book. Sure, it has the moments of humor, the intimate moments, and super-hot sexy times, but it is also about growing. About changing and overcoming obstacles so that my characters can take a leap and earn their happily ever after.
And it was totally worth it.
Excerpt
Dean’s eyes narrowed and glittered. “You don’t know me well enough to screw with me. I might be dangerous.”
For a half a second, his words kick-started Violet’s heart rate. He was right about that, and he definitely had the guns to twist her head off with one jerk.
“Are you?” she asked.
He leaned over her slowly, and she stiffened, her body screaming to step back.
“No, I’m not.”
His soft words sank in, and she let out a huge breathless laugh. “That’s not something you should joke about.”
“Hey, you were messing with me first.”
And now the heat radiating off his body was screwing with her senses, drawing her closer to him. The light scent of cologne drifted up, and she had the craziest urge to press her nose against his chest and get a better sniff. Violet caught herself in the nick of time, knowing that there was no coming back from that.
“I wasn’t threatening and trying to intimidate you with my very presence. I don’t know who told you that you were a funny guy, but you aren’t. At all.”
“You’re right, it was a bad joke,” he said. “I’m not really used to being around civilized company. Most days, I just hang with this guy”—Dean pointed at Tyler—“and a bunch of other dudes who think I’m hysterical.”
“Are you the boss?” she asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Then they really don’t think you’re funny, they are just lying because they don’t want to get fired.”
She said it all with a straight face and was secretly delighted when he chuckled. He was close enough still that the rise of his chest was only a few inches from her, and her gaze was drawn to the definition of his muscles through his T-shirt.
Geez, was she really so desperate that she was willing to hook up with a jerk with a weird sense of humor? She waited for her subconscious to give her a definite hell no, but apparently, the jury in her head was still deliberating.
“We don’t really get fired from the military, unless we are suddenly unable to do the job.”
“Well, regardless, if that’s a sample of your humor, you need to watch some comedy. And not dark comedy like The Cable Guy or The Ladykillers.” Violet glanced over at Tracy and Tyler, who were still nursing their beers. She was running out of witty things to say to Dean and wouldn’t mind another drink in her system, but waiting on Tyler to buy another round was slow going.
Besides, it wasn’t like she couldn’t buy her own alcohol. Especially if it was something other than hops.
“I’m going to grab another drink. You want one?”
“I’ll come with you and get one myself.” He drained the remainder of his plastic cup, and she sighed in exasperation.
“It’s a beer, not a proposal. You can grab the next round.” Violet tapped Tracy and Tyler on the shoulders. “Another?”
“Sure, thanks,” Tyler said.
Tracy nodded and mouthed, Isn’t he hot?
Violet answered with a large smile, although he wasn’t in her opinion. No, she preferred her men with dark eyes and no manners, apparently.
Except maybe the rudeness was an act. For a second there, she’d thought Dean might have a sense of humor. Granted, a dark and twisty sense of humor, but she liked that.
Liked him.
Maybe he wasn’t a total loss. He might be suffering the effects of a bad breakup, and saw all women as the enemy.
Or you’ve been watching too many Hallmark Channel movies.
She could take the pressure off, give him notice that she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. Boyfriends were just one more thing to add to her ever-growing list of responsibilities; they were time consuming, needy, and the last thing she wanted was to put one more person’s needs before her own.
As she grabbed their empty cups, saving Dean’s for last, she looked up at him from beneath her lashes and went for broke.
“By the way . . . I wasn’t looking for a date.”
Giveaway Alert
About the Author
An obsessive bookworm, Codi Gary likes to write sexy contemporary romances with humor, grand gestures, and blush-worthy moments. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading her favorite authors, squealing over her must-watch shows, and playing with her children. She lives in Idaho with her family.
Website: http://www.codigarysbooks.com/
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