Character Reading: Hunter Anderson

This is a reading for Hunter Anderson. He’s the hero of Anne Calhoun’s latest Liberating Lacey. Anne’s bio reads:

After doing time at Fortune 500 companies on both coasts, I found myself living in the suburbs of a small Midwestern city. The glamour of various cube farm jobs had worn off, so I gave up making a decent living to take Joseph Campbell’s advice and follow my bliss: writing romance.

And she’s doing it well! Liberating Lacey is her first Ellora’s Cave release, but she’s also sold two stories to Harlequin’s Spice Brief line. Learn more about Anne at her website.

Here is a bit about Hunter’s story.

Newly divorced Lacey Meyers wasted too many years yawning through sex in the missionary position. Now she’s looking for a hookup with a man who can make her shatter. What she gets is a hot younger cop with handcuffs…and he’s not afraid to use them.

Hunter Anderson knows the score—though classy, successful women like Lacey might play with guys like him, at the end of the evening, they walk. But when one night leads to another and then another, he finds himself getting too attached to a woman he can’t have.

Lacey knows Hunter—gorgeous, hard-edged and eight years younger—won’t want anything permanent. No matter how hot and daring he makes her first public sex, quickie, backseat encounter and secret fantasy role-play, she can’t mistake adventurous sex for emotional involvement.

They both know it’s got to end, and soon, or someone’s going to get hurt. But can either of them go back to life without the other?

Reader Advisory: Lacey’s highly erotic “forced” sex fantasy comes true in this book. Lucky her!

1. How do you see the people around you? You seem tired of the party attitude of those around you. You value what is on the inside of a person more than the external trappings.

The Three of Cups is also about transitions. You watch people closely. You see them change. I think there is a lack of trust in you for people around you. You do not see them as dedicated like yourself.

This card also shows a yearning for some happiness in your own life. Watching others waste what could be good really bugs your Leo soul, doesn’t it, Hunter.

Hunter’s Response: I’m a cop. I look for suspicious behavior in almost every situation and I definitely value the loyalty I get from my fellow officers. I trust them and my father. That’s it. And because I see so much on the job, external trappings don’t matter to me at all. Drunk drivers are just as likely to be in a luxury car as an old beater; I take domestic violence calls in gated neighborhoods as frequently as I do in the projects. As a cop I’m always looking for the suspicious character, the liar, or even the guy whose body language tells me he’s hiding something, even when he swears everything’s all right. Maybe that’s why Lacey took me home, not any of the other guys in the bar. I looked at her and saw beyond the sexy clothes, the smart, savvy woman who knew exactly what she wanted. No blinders, no illusions. Totally honest about who she is and what she wants. Her ex-husband was an idiot for leaving her…talk about wasting something really good. Whether I’m good enough for Lacey…that’s another question.

2. How are you seen by the people around you?

Seeker, or Knight, of Wands is a passionate man who doesn’t seem to have a real goal in life right now. He’s letting his passion carry him through.

Someone around you knows your passion but doesn’t think you are heading anywhere fast. You are though. They just don’t see it. This has to do with your age and not being taken seriously.

People around you know you have a temper but value that you keep that under control—for the most part. There are times when you let the Leo temper out. Usually when someone you see as under your protection is hurt. Then the gloves come off.

Hunter’s Response: I’m 6’2”, 220 lbs, and a uniformed cop. People don’t take me seriously at their own risk. And I don’t have a temper, either. In my job a temper is a liability. People trust me to do the right thing, every single time I put on my uniform and go to work. If anything, I’d say Lacey thinks I’m TOO controlled. I’m having a hard time letting her know how far under my skin she really is. She trusts me, and I’m starting to let myself trust her. To me that’s scarier than losing my temper. But I can’t get past the thought that her ex let something amazing slip away. I’m shaking things up for her, taking her on a journey through all the unpredictable sexy firsts she never shared with her ex. What that will mean for me…I don’t know.
3. What is your most important goal?

The King of Pentacles is a man of sound business who takes care of his own. He is the little Emperor of the Tarot so he is also very much a father figure.

I think that secretly you just want to be a dad and husband. While others see you as that Knight of Wands who can be a bit of a party boy, you are ready to put some roots down.

You also have a keen head for business and probably have more money saved than your peers. The King of Coins is the one most turn to for money loans, but you are not their bank.

You are trying to show that you are not like someone in your past, I think. There seems to be a failed King of Coins in your life—someone who did not protect what was theirs and squandered their money.

Hunter’s Response: No one in my past squandered money. Andersons aren’t rich enough to waste money. We work hard, take care of our own, but Lacey’s got way more money than I do. Always will – I’m a cop and she brokers multi-million dollar real estate deals. She works hard to take care of herself and I respect her for it, just like she respects my job. If anything, I don’t respect people who walk away from family for money. That’s a story I haven’t told Lacey…

4. Where do you get your strength from?

The Two of Swords is balance—mental agility. You get your strength from getting the job done while getting another job done as well. Your protective instincts lend you strength but so does your very active imagination.

Protection seems to be a theme in your life. Now I know you are a cop, but this seems to go beyond just normal “thin blue line” attitude.

You represent more than one side as well. Lots of multi-tasking in this area. So you actually do better when you have more than one project to focus on.

Hunter’s Response: Yeah, this is accurate. I pick up extra shifts most weeks but I always make time to help my dad in his construction business. I like to stay busy and Dad can use the help. But this guy makes me think of someone who can straddle two worlds. He’s balanced even though he can’t see where he’s going. I don’t know if I can do that. I like known outcomes. If a situation gets out of my control on the job, people get hurt. Lacey’s from one world and I’m from another. Those worlds don’t mix with much success. She can do it, but can I?
5. Why do you want to be remembered?

Seer, Page, of Swords is the young man who wants to be remembered for getting it right. For carrying the message of focus to others.

You seem to have a need to show someone it can be done. This seems to relate to relationships as well as your work. There is an intensity here in your need to be known as someone who doesn’t skip any details.

You are very focused when you are working on a project. There is a warning here that you can get overfocused if you are not careful.

I imagine you also work with needy youth but I wonder if that is because of them or because of your own past.

Hunter’s Response:

Nope, no work with needy youth. I want to be remembered for hard work and loyalty – to my father, to my job and my fellow officers, and to my own family. But I’m not looking for that family right now. And neither is Lacey. She was very clear about what she wanted that night in the bar – a hookup, a guy who could show her what she’d missed out on with her social-climbing husband. I’m that guy, and if that’s all she wants… Well, that’s all she’s going to want from someone like me.

Check out a sexy excerpt from Liberating Lacey here.

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