My Book Boyfriend: Etienne St. Clair

My Book Boyfriend is an awesome meme highlighting the many fictional boys who make us swoon. It's hosted by the lovely Missie over at The Unread Reader. It'll come as no surprise to those who know I read Anna and the French Kiss this week that I'm currently in the middle of a full-on, daydream-inducing, life-crippling obsession with Étienne St. Clair.

How do I love him? Let me count the ways...

• He's sexy, with messy-but-beautiful brown hair and expressive, dark eyes. He also dresses well.
• He has a hot English accent and can also speak French fluently.
• He's genuinely nice, has a good sense of humour and is fun to be around.
• He loves his mum (and not in a creepy way).
• He is ridiculously sweet and adorable, and gives amazing, thoughtful gifts - like LOVE POETRY, complete with STARRED verses that he later QUOTES. Sigh. This is nowhere near as wanky as it sounds.
• He's intelligent and loves history. History! I love history. I love him.

Swoon-worthy Quotes (Spoiler Alert!)

"St Clair coughs and shifts again. His leg brushes against mine. It stays there. I’m paralyzed. I should move it; it feels too unnatural. How can he not notice his leg touching my leg? From the corner of my eye, I see the profile of his chin and nose—oh, dear God—the curve oh his lips. There. He glanced at me. I know he did... I risk a glance, and St Clair stares back. Deeply. He has not looked at me like this before. I turn away first, then feel him turn a few beats later. I know he is smiling, and my heart races.”

"Étienne follows my body with his eyes. He finds the rhythm, and we move together. The room spins around us. His hair is sweaty. My hair is sweaty. I grab him closer, and he doesn’t protest. I writhe down his body to the beat. When I come up, his eyes are closed, his mouth slightly parted. We match each other thrust to thrust." [Taken out of context, would you guess these two were dancing?!]

“I’ll only be a twenty-minute train ride from your school, and I’ll make the commute to see you every night. I’d take a commute ten times that just to be with you every night."

"Our lips brush lightly. 'If you ask me to kiss you, I will,' he says. His fingers stroke the inside of my wrists, and I burst into flames. 'Kiss me,' I say. He does."

"'Did you just have a foodgasm?' he asks, wiping ricotta from his lips."

Updated: The below clip is especially for Nic and Andra. With love.