It's not the years, honey,
it's the mileage.
Guest Post by Clare Dargin
A very cool quote that meant absolutely nothing to me when Indiana Jones
first said it back in 1981 but now that its 2013 I totally understand it. And now that I think about it, I guess it was
the same thing that the makers of the Expendables were trying to say when they
made those two movies. Some guys just
get hotter with time.
From Edward Norton, Patrick Wilson, Shemar Moore to Dwayne the Rock
Johnson, I love a man with a little mileage on him. Be it with experience, age or a combination
of both there’s nothing hotter than a man who’s a bit older and still got
it. Yes there are some hotties out there
rockin’ their twenties but thirty-somethings and older should not be left out
the game!
I guess it all started with Star Wars.
You see, when I was a kid, my dad took me and my brother and my mother
to see Star Wars when it first came out.
And of course like everyone else I was blown away by the whole
thing. But my six year old mind, though
enthralled by all the characters on the screen, only saw Luke as the cool
friend but was enthralled by Darth Vader and had a major crush (or my child
like equivalent of one) on Han
Solo. The loveable rogue who’d seen it
all, Han Solo with his cool ship and loyal best friend made me swoon.
Of course that dissipated as he fell madly in love with Leia and while
Luke morphed into his acrobatic sword wielding Dark Jeddi. I soon kick Han to the curb and fell for Luke
and his hardened gaze. The black double
breasted shirt (yes ladies and gentlemen it was the 80’s what can I say? He was
sharp!) pants with the tall boots and the black glove on the injured hand, he
was hot! Yes the dye was cast.
The difference between the Luke in Star Wars and the one in Jedi was
age and experience. He’d seen it all and
lived to tell the tale. Not only did he
have that compassion in his heart for the people he loved but he was willing to
do what he had to in order to defend them
from the threat that sought to destroy them.
And then that hot bod too.
Mmmmmm.
Some of the coolest heroes of late have not been in their twenties. Like Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Hawkeye in the
Avengers. Or if you go to tv don’t
forget Aaron Hotchner and Derek Morgan in Criminal Minds two men who are forty
plus! So who says an alpha male hero has
to be in his twenties to be hot? Not me!
Colonel Medoro Keegan is just such a man. Forty-two years old he’s seen it all and somehow managed to keep that boyish gleam in
his eye despite having lived through his fair share of hell. A passionate man who knows what he wants and
not afraid to go after it, he still understands that none of it means anything
without someone to share it with.
The second book in my futuristic romance series The Cold Warriors
Universe is now available.
A New Threat? After a long and vicious war, peace is on the horizon for
Earth and its allies. However, a series of mysterious attacks on several secret
military installations causes hostilities to rise once again.
Redemption. Having left under a cloud of disgrace, retired Marine
Colonel Medoro Keegan is called back to duty.
Bound. His wife Caitlin, the only surviving member of her team, chooses
to embrace life, albeit grudgingly, as a cryo soldier. Seen as sub-human, she
is forced to serve a planet that denies her rights as a person.
Driven. Guided by their sense of duty and belief that some things are
bigger than them, they are determined to risk it all.
Hope. The cost of war is high. Can their love and marriage survive? Or
will it be killed off by the very same mission that brought them together?
Genre: Sci-fi romance, military romance,
interracial/multicultural, futuristic, end of the world
Heat level: 2
Word count – 43k
Cover art by LFD Designs
Excerpt from Ice & Peace
Caitlin was a sight for sore eyes. She was beautiful. Her petite frame
was perfectly accented by the curves of her figure. And her brown eyes and
coffee-brown skin was smooth, creamy.
Standing at attention, she did not meet his gaze. Though it was
customary not to do as a sign of military courtesy, he could tell she was not
doing it for that reason. Her gaze was different. Circling her, he tried to see
if he could catch her watching him out of the corner of her eye. In fact, she
appeared to be staring blankly ahead.
Peering directly at her, he spoke in a soft tone. “At ease.”
She relaxed.
“Cate. Can you hear me?”
“Yes, sir,” she responded mechanically.
Pain pierced his insides. She was definitely not there. Keegan placed
his hands on his hips and hung his head in defeat. The one thing that was
supposed to go right did not. For whatever reason, they had placed her in a
deeper state of mental control than she’d ever been in. He controlled the
hostile emotions brewing with him. Touching her face gently, he felt her icy
skin.
This is unacceptable! Not here. I will not let this happen here. Not
under my command.
“Chief, listen up,” he said in an authoritative tone. He knew in this
state, it was the only way he could speak to her and still have her respond.
“Yes, sir.” Her gaze became even more distant.
Her response fueled his anger. “You are going to hightail it down to the
doc and receive a full examination. Tell him it is based on my orders. He will
know what to do. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Knowing that she was under the influence of cryo neurotransmitters,
Keegan figured the only way to combat it was to get someone to reverse it. They
usually wore off once she was away from the stimulus triggers for a long period
of time. But considering her stimulus triggers were high-ranking officers in
uniform and combat situations, being around here meant she was going to be in a
drone zone for a very long time. The last thing he needed was a zombie on
board, especially one in charge of the lives others.
Only the jerks in psyche warfare thought doing this to someone would be
a good idea. As long as he was running the ship, none of that would be allowed.
There weren’t going to be any super zombies soldiers on board his ship. And he’d
rollover in his grave before he let them do it to his wife.
“After you come back from the doc, you will report to me, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are there any questions?”
“No, sir.”
“Dismissed.”
She did an about face before leaving the room. Keegan clasped his hands
behind his back. In the blink of an eye, his joy had turned to sorrow. Now
faced with the responsibility of looking after his wife, he wondered how could
he handle the burden of command and still protect the woman he loved.
Ice & Peace is available from
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