Every night for the last six years, Jolene Benate has dreamt of her late husband.  No man can fill the hole his death left in her heart, and so she remains faithful to the man who is now but a memory.

Six years ago, Paul Benate did the hardest thing he’d ever had to do – let go of the wife he cherished above all else.  He did it for her own safety, that’s what his superiors convinced him of and he agreed at the time.  His life is far too dangerous to afford him the luxury of loved ones, especially a young, delicate wife.

But Jo isn’t so delicate anymore.  She has worked hard to achieve her goal of becoming a Deputy, and has earned the respect of both her teammates and her superior.  That doesn’t prevent someone from trying to kidnap her, though.  The question is, why would anyone want to kidnap her?

When the answer is presented to her in the form of her not-so-deceased husband, Jo’s world is turned on its axis, and the fireworks really begin!  She wants answers; he wants her.

I love a good action adventure romance – more than that, I love the kind where the heroine can kick you-know-what all by her lonesome, and often does.  That is exactly the kind of story that Mary Wine brings us with her new release from Samhain Publishing, STILL MINE.

With Jolene “Jo” Benate, we find a heroine to be admired.  Jo doesn’t sit around waiting to be rescued.  No, she takes her safety in her own hands, being more than capable of handling her own self-defense.  As the target of the villains in this tale, Jo has ample opportunity to prove her combat skills again and again, simultaneously disconcerting her wayward husband and making him proud. 

Paul hardly recognizes the woman he left six years earlier with the fierce little warrior standing before him now, but he is certainly appreciative of the changes her new career has wrought in her.  Yes, he loved her before, but worried constantly for her safety.  The bad guys who haunt his life would do anything to get their hands on him, and wouldn’t think twice about doing some pretty dastardly things to his wife in order to control him for their own nefarious ambitions. 

So the reason he left Jo all those years ago is understandable, if misguided.  Luckily for readers and Jo, Paul is a man who is quick to see the error of his ways, and is even quicker to rectify them once he does.  Shouldn’t be too hard for him with his genius IQ, right?

Easier said than done. Although our hero and his methods of seduction are irresistible, it is earning Jo’s trust again that is the hard part.  Her love and desire are never in doubt, but having been betrayed and deserted once before, how can our heroine every fully believe in him again?

Actions, of course, prove louder than words, and the action in this story serves well to propel our intrepid couple back into each others arms for good.

Along with the starring lovebirds, Mary Wine peppers the cast with some oh-so intriguing supporting cast members that I am eager to see star in some sequels to STILL MINE.  Between the cast of military hunks guarding Paul’s work and the team full of hot deputies that Jo works with, I can’t decide who I want to see next!  Of course, I am happy to be at the mercy of the author’s inspiration, especially when it results in books like this one.

For readers who like a kick-butt heroine guaranteed to confound her hero and a plot with as much action as there is romance, STILL MINE is definitely a sexy little must-read!