"A female vet returning home with PTSD finds more than she bargains for with this guy and his great smile"
Reviewed by Kay Quintin
Posted February 25, 2015
Romance Contemporary
Lena Clark moves to Independence Falls, Oregon hoping to
find "normal".
At twenty-eight, Lena leaves the battlefield with PTSD
attached, ending
her marriage in Portland. Eighteen months have gone by
and she is no
closer to overcoming her fears and anxiety. Traveling
with her is Hero, her
golden retriever service dog. Katie Summers offers her
the apartment
above the barn where she and her three brothers, Josh,
Chad and Brody
live in the main house in the small logging town. Meeting
Chad at a get
together has Lena wishing her PTSD didn't keep her from
pursuing the
sexy guy with the panty-melting smile.
Chad is taken in by Lena's beauty but quickly learns she's
a loner.
Arranging to meet a one-night stand at the very apartment
offered to Lena
causes a catastrophe when he slips into bed with the wrong
woman.
Lena isn't the one supposed to be there. Having an erotic
dream, it takes
Lena a little time to awaken to reality and the hunk
trying to share her
bed.
Chad is shaken at finding his error and quickly sets it to
rights since
Hero has taken a stance between Chad and Lena. Chad has a
reputation
of a love 'em and leave 'em guy caused by the desertion of
his mother
years ago. Eric, his partner in the logging business,
wants him to settle
down with one woman to keep his mind on operating his
helicopter and
preventing accidents.
Befriending Lena she eventually suggests the ruse
of being involved, solving Chad's problem and her need for
privacy. He
begins to gain Lena's trust with his patience at not
forcing her in
conquering her PTSD. If it was only that simple! Chad is
falling fast and
like a fish out of water. Saving seven soldiers in
Afghanistan, Lena is a hero.
She is receiving a Silver Star from the Vice-President of
the United States,
the army's third highest honor, for her bravery. Arriving to receive the
honor, Lena is spooked and her PTSD causes her to bulk at
being
surrounded by all the people. Chad instigates a more
private setting to
give her the honor and award she rightly deserves.
Realizing that her
problem is at square one again she breaks off the
relationship with Chad,
feeling it is no longer fair to him. Now what will it
take for Chad to earn
her respect and trust again to become a part of her
forever life?
HERO BY NIGHT is the third book in the Independence
Falls series. This is
the second book I have had the pleasure of reading in the
series and
enjoyed this one equally as much as the first. The
characters are
wonderful, sexy and loveable as well as Hero, the golden
retriever service
dog. Delving into the thoughts and fears of a veteran
suffering from PTSD
definitely gives the reader a better understanding of the
sickness and
what it takes to succeed. The sex between Chad and Lena
is sizzling,
even substituting with a pink vibrator!! I will
absolutely read the new
installment coming out in April. Sara Jane Stone is
extremely gifted keeping
HERO BY NIGHT fun, loveable and totally interesting
throughout as well as
educational.
SUMMARY
He was nobody's hero until he landed in the wrong bed …
Armed with a golden retriever and a concealed weapons
permit, Lena Clark is fighting for normal. She served her
country, but the experience left her emotionally numb and
estranged from her career-military family. Staying in
Independence Falls seems like the first step to reclaiming
her life until the town playboy stumbles into her bed … Chad Summers is living his dream—helicopter logging by day
and slipping between the sheets with Mrs. Right Now by
night. Until his wild nights threaten his day job, leaving
Chad with a choice: prove he can settle down or kiss his
dream goodbye. But when he ends up in the wrong bed, the
one
woman in Independence Falls he can't touch offers a
tempting
proposition. Chad is ready and willing to give in to the
primal desire to make Lena his at night—on one condition.
By
day, they pretend their relationship is real. But their connection extends beyond the bedroom,
threatening
to turn their sham into reality if Chad can prove he's the
hero Lena needs night and day … forever.
ExcerptShe didn’t give an inch. And hell, he liked that. Rocking
back on his heels, Chad pretended to think. “What did you
do
before? I might know someone who is looking.”“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I can’t go back to it.” “Being a model is that tough?” He offered her a teasing
look
that he knew for a fact helped separate women from their
panties. Lena raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t know. And you can drop
the sweet-talking act.” “You’d prefer I talk dirty?” Chad cocked his head,
studying
her. There it was. A spark of interest in her blue eyes.
But
she hid it quickly. “I’ve spent most of my life on army bases. I’m betting you
don’t have anything I haven’t heard before.” So the drop-dead gorgeous, not-a-model woman was a
military
brat? He took that tidbit and filed it away. He wanted to
know more about her—where she’d grown up, where she’d
worked, if she screamed during sex or maintained the calm
control he was finding wildly attractive. “I might use some of the same words,” he said. “But they
would have a different effect on you.” “You’re that good with your words?” “Yes. And that’s not the only thing I’m good with.” He
paused for a beat, expecting a laugh and hoping for a
breathy sigh. Nothing. Her face was an impartial mask. “So
how about that dance? I could whisper naughty things in
your
ear.” “No.” The way she said that one word sounded like a
reflex. “A walk under the stars?” “Romantic, but I can’t.” She stepped away even though he’d
been careful not to move a muscle in her direction. “I
wish
I could.” This time her words were not a quick dismissal. She said
the
word “wish” with the fervor of a kid looking up to the
stars
and asking for a snow day in July. Hell, if there was one
thing he understood, it was wishing and hoping for things
he
couldn’t have. His mother walking through the front door to the farmhouse
and admitting that leaving her family had been a mistake …
His dad seated beside him in a helicopter one last time … “Can I ask you something?” Chad said. She nodded. A strand of blond hair fell across her face
and
he resisted the urge to brush it away. With any other
woman,
he would not have thought twice about an innocent touch in
a
public space. But he sensed Lena had boundaries that
demanded respect. “Where did you meet Georgia?” “In therapy.” The words, coupled with her matter-of-fact tone, nearly
knocked him on his ass. “You’re a veteran. I never would have guessed that one.” “A little different from a model,” she said with a small
smile. “I was in the army. Until eighteen months ago.” “The job you can’t go back to,” he said, shifting his
weight
from one foot to the other.
She nodded, her blue eyes trained on him as if tracking
his
movements. Had someone hurt her? The thought of it pissed
him off. Or had the time spent serving her country left
her
battle-scarred on the inside? Either way, he wasn’t the
man
to fix her problems. He’d never been drawn to wounded
creatures. Chad glanced at the dog. Whatever had happened to her,
Lena
already had her hero. She didn’t need him. And he didn’t
want a woman in his life he couldn’t walk away from come
sunrise. Or a woman he couldn’t touch … He looked up at the patio and spotted another blonde. With
her jeans and low-cut blouse, the other woman possessed
the
same petite build as Lena. But there was nothing striking
about her. Looking at her didn’t leave him wanting to pull
her hair, or hear his name on her lips, never mind learn
her
secrets. “She looks like fun,” Lena said. Busted. He glanced at the woman who made him want to do all those
things and more. “Sure you’re not?” “I can be,” she said with a wry smile, as if this bit of
information was a carefully guarded secret. “But not the
kind you’re in the market for. Not tonight.” “That’s a shame. I was looking forward to whispering dirty
things in your ear.”
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