Earth Day Tribute

Last week’s Sunday Six honored Earth Day by – er – being earthy. Since I was out of town, I didn’t get to post. However, I thought I’d go ahead a post my Earthy Six a week late. Actually, I spent the week playing in the great outdoors with a few hundred 8th graders and a few handfuls of adults possessing a spirit of adventure.

I hiked, climbed, white-water rafted, and rode horses. I enjoyed fabulous sunsets and relished the clouds and rain rolling in over the mountain view.

However, we all know that a great many other activities can be conducted outside. I didn’t get involved with “those” activities last week. As I said, I was with a bunch of teenagers. I also had to leave the dear husband at home. I do, however, I have a mini-vacation for just the two of us planned back in those majestic mountains – a get-away consisting of all kinds of outdoor activities – wink, wink.

The following books contain some of my favorite outdoor trysts. Read on for inspiration for worshiping of each other romantically in the presence of Mother Earth.

The first outdoor escapade that comes to mind is Karen Marie Moning’s first love scene between Drusten and Gwen in Kiss of the Highlander. He’s inadvertently traveled forward in time. He’s a five century old Highlander. She’s a modern day woman on a quest to find the right man to -- uh – you know. They make love for the first time in a circle of runes as he prepares to travel back to his own time. It’s his first exposure to thongs. It’s her first exposure to just about everything. The rest of the book is fabulous as they enter his time, but he can’t remember who she is. The book is one of my favorites. I should go dig it out and reread it.

The second scene is fresh on my mind as I’ve recently read it. In Susan Elizabeth’s Phillip’s Match Me if You Can. Annabelle Granger and Heath Champion find themselves unable to resist each other as they share a cabin on Annabelle’s book club retreat. Heath invited himself along and after a night out of exploring the wild side with her friends, Annabelle finds herself unable to resist Heath as they explore, er, the great outdoors from the mattress Heath had tossed onto the porch.

In Flashpoint, a knock-out novel by Suzanne Brockmann, Jimmy and Tess find themselves up against a wall – literally. Jimmy has just rescued Tess from a Middle-East jail. Both are so relieved that they find themselves unable to control their passion in the middle of a sandstorm.

While not an actual love scene, the chase through the woods in Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton sets up the following love scene perfectly. Anita basically throws down a gauntlet challenging Richard, her on again-off again werewolf boyfriend to catch her before any of the rest of his pack catches her. The first one to catch her gets her – in bed. Anita is just a little possessed by the spirit of the sadistic, but dead, former lupa of the pack. It’s a race through the woods from the lunipar to the cabin where Anita is staying. In the end, Richard can’t imagine anyone else being with Anita, and he manages to catch her. So, the love scene is sort of in the woods, but it’s the chase the heats up the tension.

In Sunny Chandler’s Return, Sandra Brown writes one of the hottest-nonsex sexual tension scenes I’ve read. Sunny and Ty flirt on the dock of the house where she is staying. He’s made a bet with a buddy that he’ll have her, and she’s vowed it won’t happen. However, in that flirt scene, you might as well be out there in the sun with them because you’ll definitely feel the heat.

Whew! This is getting difficult. I obviously need to seek out more books with great outdoor love scenes. I’m sure that after I post this, I’ll think of a dozen I could have listed, but oh, well, here’s the last one.

Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer’s first collaboration, Don’t Look Down, chronicles the love story of Lucy Armstrong and J.T. Wilder. I’ve read hotter love scenes before, but what I love about this one is that Lucy decides she wants J.T. and treks out into the swamp where he is camping to find him. I like it when women go for what they want. I like that she put herself out there and pursued him into the swamp for their first time. Nice touch.

Well, that wraps it up. Can you think of others? Post them here.

Happy reading and writing,
Macy