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I'm glad this is tagged as erotic (and erotica but I think it's more the first) because that is what I was here for. The story is a dime a dozen in rom-suspense. Uptight book editor city gal Julia witnesses a murder committed by a mafia guy and has to go into witness protection. She gets sent to in the boonies small town Idaho and is given the cover as a school teacher(????). There she meets former Navy SEAL now turned rancher(LOVE it, lol) Cooper. He's the looming strong silent type who also comes from a cursed family, for generations women have either died or ran away from the ranch leaving their menfolk and one child they were only able to bear. There's also sinister povs of an assassin who is hunting Julia to kill her and collect on the $1 million (later bumped up to $2mil!) bounty on her head to stop her from testifying against mafia guy and povs from the US Marshall in charge of Julia's case.

It's all a little suspenseful and a little predictable (this was published in 1999 and I think more modern readers are going to guess and spoil the supposed to be shock reveal of the assassin) but enjoyable typical rom-suspense. You even get an O.K. Corral like shooting ending. Fun! I'm getting impatient because I want to talk about what had me reading this book in one setting but there's some Julia finding her place and helping/becoming friends with townspeople for setting and her and Cooper do talk and bond, and when the Marshall's have a flub on their end, he gets to be take charge alpha man and protective of Julia. Per one of my updates, I also learned about the (maybe) fun fact about champagne glasses and Maria Antoinette's boobs and what a fern bar was (I was born in the 80s and must have missed this 70s phenomenon). All cool and will hopefully clench a bar trivia win for me someday.

But honestly, just whatever to all that because, my friends, thank goodness this was tagged as erotic/a because that became what I was solely here for lol.

He’s magnificent, was all Julia could think as Cooper approached her slowly, broad shoulders blocking out the rest of the room. Moisture—condensation? rain?—clung to his inky hair and Julia’s hands itched to run her fingers through the thick dark pelt. His expression was stern as always. She wanted to touch his face, see if she could make the frown lines go away, trace that hard, beautiful mouth with her finger. Cooper came up so close to her that she had to tilt her head. He looked down at her and his face had never seemed more harsh, more angular.
“Come with me,” he said. “Now.”
“Yes, Cooper,” Julia whispered, and put her curried drumstick down on the tablecloth, missing her plate by a good ten inches. Cooper grabbed her hand and dragged her through the door and towards a black pickup. “Where are we going?” Julia cried.
Cooper practically threw her into the cab, got in and pulled away with a squeal of tires. “To your house,” he said tightly. “This time we’re going to get it right. We’re going to fuck all night.”

The curried drumstick not only got put the f down, it didn't even make the plate!!!! Now, I know posting quotes like this out of context can sometimes seem cheesy but as a someone who more often than not loathes insta-lust, again, I was HERE for it. These two had chemistry and as I said in my first update, examples of why they were lusting, it didn't feel empty at all, that heat was there, present, and shown. When he dropped that last line, it was gawd damn! from me. This sweater set woman was clutching her pearls but that hand was SWEATY. I loved it how lusty she was for him and how it was written to deliver emotions and make me the reader believe in their lusty heat.

So, yeah, I finally have an insta-lust story to recommend :)

Also, ol' Coop wasn't just raging hormones:
The only other time in his life in which his hand trembled had been the first time with her. Sally Anderson was slowly undoing him. Then putting him back together. A better man.
Sally is Julia's witness protection alias ( )

This was a great read. Fun sex, some nice suspense, and a guy that's a ... guy. A nice sense of the lesser characters as well. And a bit of a surprise ending... noice. ( )

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Associate Reviewer - Marta C:
*eARC received in exchange for an honest review

Fabulous book!

I haven't read a lot of romantic suspense novels and certainly never one from this author but confess to being blown away by it! I really wasn't that intrigued by the idea of a woman on witness protection acting as a teacher whilst meeting and falling for an ex Navy Seal but boy was I in for a very pleasant surprise!

From their first meeting which was hilarious and involved the heroine Julia Devaux hitting Sam Cooper(Coop) over the head with a pumpkin of all things to their very steamy and passionate relationship there was nothing that I didn't like. This hero puts the T in taciturn! Truly a man of few words but boy did he provide action! A sensitive and caring heroine and well fleshed out supporting characters made this an interesting story.

I will confess that I realized who the "bad guy" was, but then I do read an awful lot of fiction and I am sure many readers will be pleasantly surprised by the ending of this book and the epilogue was especially sweet! I will also admit that I just sat and read this in one sitting and ignored housework as it was that good. :)

Would I recommend this book? Definitely! Will I try more from this author? Silly question as the answer is one hundred percent yes!

LITERAL ADDICTION's Associate Reviewer gives Woman on the Run 5 Skulls. ( )

This romantic suspense by Lisa Marie Rice was written in 2004 when email and mobile phones weren’t quite so prevalent and data encryption wasn’t as good as it is now. But, leaving those things aside, this book was a win for me. LMR books have a kind of a crackalicious flavour to me – like those glorious B movies some people love. Julia Devaux witnesses a mob murder and is placed on the Witness Protection Program. Her new name is Sally Anderson and she’s relocated to the tiny town of Simpson, Idaho. There, she meets Sam Cooper, former Navy SEAL and current millionaire horse breeder/rancher. He’s a typical LMR hero – once he sets eyes on Julia/Sally, he’s gone for all money, has an instant and persistent hard-on and will literally do anything to keep her safe. Julia/Sally is suitably clueless about how to be safe and, while she borders on TSTL territory from time to time, I was able to accept that most of her stupidity was actually due to her naiveté. How Julia/Sally didn’t have at the very least a massive and constant UTI was beyond me because once this pair start having sex, they are at it all night long. Literally. He’s inside her all the time!! Cooper is not big with words and isn’t much for foreplay either – he just wants to be inside her and with the power of his mighty wang of loving, he is able to give Julia/Sally instant and repeated orgasms. They don’t use condoms so there’s a lot of... fluid about the place but after 4 or 5 orgasms, he has a really smooth ride! The sex isn’t really terribly sexy as mostly it’s plain missionary, there’s not a lot of dirty talk (or any other kind actually) and, like I said before, not much foreplay.But, despite Cooper’s lack of verbosity, we do get to see inside his head and WE know he’s a complete goner over this woman. And there is something so terribly appealing (if in a slightly guilty way) of the hero who would do anything for his lady, with single-minded purpose. Jane from Dear Author said on Twitter that a LMR hero would carry his heroine around all day if he could and she wasn't wrong. The truly wonderful thing about the book was that it didn’t take itself too seriously. There were some wonderful lines and a few laugh out loud moments for me as Julia/Sally contemplates life in a podunk town Being the object of a woman-hunt, exiled to Simpson, being terrorized by school kids trick-or-treating, lusing after an around non-talker with superb thighs. It was all too much.and Julia listened to him in rising panic, having a sudden image of herself zigging when she was supposed to zag, driving in frantic loops around the vast empty countryside until the gas ran out and wolves ate her.and the hilarity of the townsfolk repeatedly telling her that they’re “just really happy that Coop is finally getting laid”.Despite the flaws in the book, I found myself really enjoying it. If you like B movies and schlocky goodness, this could be for you. ( )

one of her best stories. lots of action and emotion. very alpha...strong and silent. entertaining ( )