Passion makes the world go round.
Love just makes it a safer place.

OK kiddies. It's been a real long time since I wrote about something really hot and passionate. Unfortunately, I haven't had any steamy encounters in which to write about. And my usual source of inspiration for passionate encounters has succumbed to its namesake's laziness (or possibly his lack of funds). So what does one lonely woman do for "inspiration"? Well, she reads the latest installment of her favorite literary series.

Ten Big Ones arrived in my mailbox today. And of course, I sat down and ripped the box open ... and read it cover-to-cover. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of Ranger lovin - particularly after Stephanie ended up in his bed (it's really rather innocent, in a bounty-hunter-getting-stalked-by-a-gang-banger-sort-of-way). I had certainly hoped for a Ranger/Stephanie reunion, but that's not what Evanovich had in mind. I'll still hold out for it, as I'm one Plum Crazy "Babe" for sure.

As part of the entire "Plum" series, Ranger is Stephanie's mentor, lover, and a constant source of her romantic confuzzlement. It's a total love/lust/hate relationship. She loves him, but the love is fueled by a total unbridled passion that is unquestionable. The hate comes in when she realizes that she knows nothing about him, his family, or his life - he's just all smoke and mirrors. He protects her, saves her life on a regular basis, but then disappears for weeks at a time. Meanwhile, Joe Morelli is the city's hottest cop - that owns a house in her hometown, everyone knows him (and his former bad reputation), he's honest and open with Stephanie, and he's ... dare I say it ... stable.

This all is a metaphor for every woman's life, honestly. Do you go for the pure passion and hot sex, or do you go for stability, honesty, and openness? I think that there has to be a certain someone out there for every person that not only kindles the spark of passion, but also calms the sea of life. And it really is possible for both passion and calm to come from the same person; a Ranger and a Morelli all wrapped up into one. You know, I think that a "bad boy" can also be passionate and loving. Case in point, the author of today's title ... Ice-T.

Oh, and a 10:00 PM edit for Drama Queen ... Googlism returned today's gem ... christ is da bomb. Word to yo mutha.