Meet the hero: Gabe from Power Shift
Here is Gabe Pejovic from Power Shift. Gabe is a unique hero for me because:
- He is the oldest hero I’ve ever written (age 40)
- He’s the only hero I’ve written not born in either Canada or the US (he’s from Bosnia)
We first met Gabe in Power Struggle. He and Tori were play partners at Le Château, and as an experienced Dom, he gives Dev some good advice. But lately Gabe’s been tired of that scene and decides to take a break from it. Nothing is satisfying him. His painful past still haunts him and he’s a bit dark and broody, but also devoted to his dying mother. He has a powerful presence, is forceful and maybe a bit impatient. His first job when he moved to America was in construction. He then started his own construction business which has made him very wealthy. He likes to give back and help other men who are starting in America with nothing and who may not speak English well.
Here’s an excerpt from Power Shift:
Reagan watched the man sitting across from her, trying to control her drumming heart beat and her jumping nerves. She hadn’t been prepared for this.
Well, she’d been prepared for the meeting. She was always prepared for business. That was never a doubt. She just hadn’t been prepared for him.
He sat there, well…smoldering. He gave off waves of intensity—waves of testosterone and dark brooding strength. His presence filled the room, even more so than Joe’s, who was a pretty spectacular hunk of masculinity. Between the two of them they definitely dominated the space, but Gabe even more so.
When he ran hand over his short dark hair, or rubbed a hand over his darkly stubbled chin, it made her want to touch him too. When he spoke in that faintly accented, dark and delicious voice, it made her all fluttery inside. When his mesmerizing cobalt blue eyes fastened on her, it made her clench down low inside and want to drop her eyes. All this friction between them was generating a lot of heat, which was completely inappropriate and totally unwelcome. Good lord, what was wrong with her?
She prided herself on anticipating people’s reactions and having a plan to deal with them, and yet she’d never anticipated that he would object to the design-build job she was proposing. And she’d never anticipated her reaction to him being so powerfully...sexual.
She tried to keep her voice from rising, tried to be businesslike and objective, suddenly impatient with his arguments and reluctance. “Should we just put this out to tender? Or find another contractor?”
He met her gaze and she didn’t back down, lifted her chin and held his gaze.
“No,” Tara said.
Shit. She’d been so provoked by Gabe Pejovic she’d forgotten about her clients and their best interests.
