I just read a new Maya Banks erotic novella called Soul Possession, which is part of the Men Out of Uniform anthology. Talk about a scorcher; the last Banks romance I read was part of the sexy, suspenseful Kelly Series, and her latest Highlander book was just released. Both of those are sexy, but they’re not nearly as highly-charged and erotic as this novella.

One thing I’ve discovered over the years is that sometimes I’m in the mood for something…more. Sort of like when my husband and I watch NCIS with our son during the week, but catch up on Dexter by ourselves on the weekend. I’m intrigued by the imagination of an author who can spin a good yarn, yet cast it with such a wide array of intensity. Sometimes, I like a little erotic fantasy in my romance.

And I’m pretty certain I’m not alone. Let’s look at three of Ms. Banks’s other erotic stories.

[Yes, please!...]

I’ve got a great relationship with my car, a Nissan Altima I call Mrs. Gladys. Her zippy 2.5 liter, 5-speed manual transmission gets me where I need to be, and fast. And while I comfort myself with the fact she’s efficient, she’s no sleek Porsche Cayman. But don’t tell her that.

My best friend in high school had a brother four years older than us, and she, her brother and her father used to restore old hot rods. The ’68 Camaro was my favorite, and I loved the sensation of unleashed power that flowed through my veins when I was invited to tag along in those hot machines. Tied up in those memories is her brother, with his long, heavy metal wild blonde hair that made him look like Roger Daltrey (in the Tommy years). Wow. That memory is probably why I had such a visceral reaction to Tara Janzen’s first title in her Steele Street series, Crazy Hot.

Everything about the book made me breathless, from the hot desert weather, to the hot classic cars, to the hot alpha males plaguing the McKinney sisters. The setup is classic romance suspense: Regan McKinney’s grandfather is missing, so she seeks out the one man who is sure to be able to find him— Quinn Younger. But there’s much more than a formula.

[“Like, does he have a car?”...]

I can remember the exact second I fell in love with romantic adventure: My mom and I were at the movie theatre watching Romancing the Stone. In one of the first scenes, Joan Wilder was standing on a cliff in the Columbian jungle when the cliff loses its battle in the deluge of rain and crumbles, sending her toppling down the mountainside. Oh, man, what an exhilarating feeling … watching Joan slide along in that awful puffy winter coat and landing with an inglorious thud! in a mud puddle. And to my eleven year old self, seeing Jack T. Colton sliding along after her, Pete Rose-style, landing face first between her thighs. Scandalous! I had no idea … (Oh, my) That clinched it for me.

Fortunately, age and experience are good for the, uh, libido and I wouldn’t be so scandalized nowadays. But my love for adventure has grown exponentially, and the first books I gravitate toward are romantic adventure. We all need a little Jack T. Colton in our lives, right?

One of my favorite romantic adventure authors is Cherry Adair. She’s got a whole slew of adventures, but the five linked titles about the Wright siblings in the T-FLAC series: Kiss and Tell (2000); Hide and Seek (2001); In Too Deep (2002); Out of Sight (2003); and On Thin Ice (2004) are exceptional.

[Allow me to elaborate...]