TRS End of Summer Bash is starting tomorrow. If you’re a fan of romance, free books, authors or all of the above, make sure you pop by and join in the fun.
There may even be a sneak peak at my upcoming release – Running From the Cyborg!
It’s all right here: https://trsparties.com
I’ve always loved the idea that dragons really do exist so it’s no surprise that when I see a book that features dragons and hot hero’s I’ll jump on it. This is a new series by one of my favorite authors, Cara Bristol, and it is definitely a must read!
(Disclaimer – Cara Bristol did not solicit this post. I bought the book on Amazon and thought it worth sharing )
I’m really not good at reviews. I don’t want to give away any of the plot lines. Yeah. Multiple. This is a romance, thriller, scifi, fantasy with some political intrigue just in case you needed a bit more tension. There is a really hot alpha dragon shifter who is gifted a feisty human female in a political exchange. Seems some brilliant person thought putting the two of them together might bring about world peace, or in this case peace in the galaxy. Any idea how well that’s going to turn out?
I’m going to cheat and grab the blurb and details from Amazon.
BLURB:
Betrayed by her people, does she dare trust a dragon?
The alien dragon shapeshifters who discover Earth come in peace—at first. Then, inexplicably, they threaten to attack. In an attempt to show goodwill and appease the dragons, Earth sends a human woman to become a concubine to one of the Draconian king’s sons, Prince K’ev.
K’ev would sooner give up his ability to breathe fire than accept a human, but when he meets Rhianna, sparks fly, and his dragon realizes she’s his mate.
Rhianna falls for the hot-blooded prince, unaware she’s a key link in a desperate scheme to defeat the dragons, a strike that could backfire with devastating consequences. Will she figure out what Earth has planned in time to save her dragon mate? And if she does, will K’ev be able to save her planet from an angry king’s retaliation?
Here’s the US kindle link:https://www.amazon.com/Under-Fyre-Alien-Dragon-Shifters-ebook/dp/B07NYZ3VW9/
And the Canadian link: https://www.amazon.ca/Under-Fyre-Alien-Dragon-Shifters-ebook/dp/B07NYZ3VW9/
Happy Reading!
Anne Kane
Why I Don’t Plan To Ever Stop Writing Cyborg Romance by Cynthia SaxI was a cyborg romance reader long before I was a cyborg romance writer. Series like Laurann Dohner’s Cyborg Seduction and Eve Langlais’ Cyborgs: More than Machines got me hooked. I continue to read awesome cyborgs series like Anne Kane’s Terra Five and Naomi Lucas’ Cyborg Shifters.
I also write cyborg romance. I’ve written 15 cyborg romances, plan to write dozens, perhaps hundreds more…depending on how long I live. (grins) I don’t foresee a time I will ever not write cyborg romance.
Why?
Well, first, let’s talk about what a cyborg is. According to Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg ), a cyborg is “a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts.” He is part man, part machine. Many of our wounded warriors are technically cyborgs.
(As an aside, I once told a wounded warrior that I wrote about cyborgs, about military men who were part machine as he was. That blew his mind. He couldn’t believe that women would read, would fantasize about men like him, men with robotic legs and other parts. It totally changed his view of himself.)
How much man and how much machine a cyborg is can vary. My cyborgs are about half and half. Some writers’ cyborgs are more machine. Some writers’ cyborgs are more man.
The machine component can be fairly standard (My cyborgs do vary with their different models. They have evolved over the years.) but the human part guarantees that every cyborg hero or heroine is unique. No two humans are alike. No two cyborgs are alike (unless they are clones but even then they might vary).
That means every cyborg romance is different also. Yes, there are often themes we can expect. Usually there’s that delicious conflict between man and machine, emotion and logic that I love. Will the cyborg set aside logic and love, making decisions based on an emotion that often doesn’t adhere to rational thinking? Because every cyborg is unique, they will deal with that conflict in different ways.
The uniqueness of these characters ensures I am unlikely to ever grow restless writing OR reading cyborg romance. There are SO many stories I want to write and read. I can’t wait to enjoy them!
What do you love about reading or writing cyborg romance?
Bio:
USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes SciFi, contemporary and paranormal erotic romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of romance top ten lists.
Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled release day newsletter and visit her on the web at http://www.CynthiaSax.com
Website: http://cynthiasax.com/
Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.sax
Twitter: @CynthiaSax
Blog: http://tasteofcyn.com/
A Cynical Cyborg Meets A Bad, Bad Female.
Chuckles hates all humans. In the past, humans betrayed him. That treachery caused permanent damage to his muscular form, resulting in a lifespan of pain.
When the primitive D Model cyborg answers a distress call sent by a pink-and-blue haired, sparkly human female, he knows it’s a trap. He still has to respond to her fake cry for help. She belongs to him, is the one being genetically fabricated for him. But he plans to be her captor, not her captive.
Bettina, aka Bait, works with a team of females, snaring sexual predators in space, seizing their ships and transporting them to primitive planets. As soon as she speaks with Chuckles, she knows he’s not like the others. He has honor, is a being worthy of respect, of caring.
But she can’t let him go. She has to trap him. His dominance thrills her. His deep voice evokes desires she’d never experienced in the past. She’ll risk it all, breaking every rule for one wild encounter with the male she calls Sir.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Choosing-Chuckles-Cyborg-Space-Exploration-ebook/dp/B07MXQ13WS
Amazon UK:
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/choosing-chuckles/id1450000541
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/choosing-chuckles-cynthia-sax/1130326339
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/choosing-chuckles
Smashwords:
Our gift to you — use the discount code
and take 15% off any order, as many books as you can fit in your cart, all month long — even on discounted titles
PSSSSSTTTT!!! – You could use this code to get all of my Cyborg series books! Just saying…
Title: Love and Wishes
Genres: Paranormal, Futuristic
Themes: Interracial, Magic and Mayhem
Author: Anne Kane
BLURB:
Jenna has a secret — her alien blood makes her completely lose control during sex. It takes a strong man to be able to stand up to her demands, and so far she hasn’t found one strong enough to want to come back for more. On the eve of the biggest Sci-Fi convention in the known universe, she makes a wish. Now it’s up to Doug, the sexy troubleshooter from the Wishes Gone Wrong department of Wishlabz Inc. to make sure it comes out right. Because a wish gone wrong can be a very dangerous thing…
“You killed him?” She couldn’t help it. Her voice rose to a high-pitched squeak.
Doug laughed. “Hell no. He’s just out for the next forty-eight hours or so. Little known fact about Tra’toni; they have a very sensitive pressure point at the base of their skulls. Press it hard enough, they drop like a stone and stay there for a long time.”
Relief flooded through her. “So why don’t we stay and clear things up with security?” She looked around as he changed direction, hustling her down a long corridor away from the main conference area. “The exhibits are all the other way. Where are we going?”
Doug draped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a long heated kiss just as a couple of people decked out in futuristic armor exited one of the side corridors and hurried past, chattering away in galactic standard.
His lips locked over hers and he thrust his tongue deep. Want and need slammed into her like a freight train careening out of control, while his hands slid down to mold the shape of her ass. She’d been anticipating a long night of passionate lovemaking before she’d realized her wish had gone so horribly wrong.
Heat coiled in the pit of her stomach and sent tendrils of erotic fire darting through every nerve. She suddenly didn’t care where he was taking her, so long as there was a sleeping platform there. Or a table. Or a floor. Or a kitchen counter. Right now, she’d be quite happy to fuck standing up right here in the corridor. Damn! She needed some action, and soon. He broke off the kiss as quickly as he’d started it, and Jenna shook her head in bewilderment. “What the hell?”
“I didn’t want that couple to be able to identify us later. Now all they are going to recall is two people making out in the corridor. They didn’t even get a good look at our faces.” He urged her further down the corridor. “My job is somewhat discreet, and I don’t want anyone connecting us with the big guy lying on the floor back there.”
He stopped in front of an access panel, and Jenna realized that they were in the outer rings where the passenger ships docked. Producing a plastic data card, Doug slipped it into the I.D. panel. The door cycled open with a quiet $swoosh, and he motioned her to precede him.
A short walk down the corridor led them to a ship’s entrance port. “Welcome to the $Gryphon.” He patted the ship affectionately before placing his hand on the security panel to allow it to identify him. “Best little spaceship in the galaxy.” The entry slid open smoothly.
“Nice.” Jenna couldn’t care less about a bucket of bolts. “Where’s your stateroom? You do have a stateroom, don’t you?” She ran a finger down the thin material of his shirt. “With a bed?”
Doug blinked, looking nonplussed for a second before a dark grin lit up his face. “Oh, yeah. I see you aren’t the shy and retiring type.”
“Nope.” Jenna shook her head and slipped aboard the ship. “I like my sex hot and hard, and I don’t care who knows it.”
“You’re not completely human, are you?” Doug flicked his palm across the control panel, and the entry port slid silently shut behind them.
“Not entirely.” Jenna wondered exactly how much he knew. Someone had obviously sent him to rescue her from her wish, but had they told him about her alien blood?
“Not that it matters, but your eyes have an exotic look to them that’s a real turn-on.” He lifted a hand to trace the line of her eyebrow. “And the color is the most amazing mix of blue and green… I’ve never seen anything quite like them.” He shook his head. “Sorry, sometimes I get carried away. Would you like a tour of the $Gryphon?”
“Just the stateroom.” She could feel darts of liquid heat roaring deep inside her; something about Doug had her libido racing into overdrive. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could resist the urge to rip his clothes off and have her way with him. “You did say there was a bed in there?”
“Right.” A sexy grin turned up the corner of his mouth. “Personal attention first. Tour of the $Gryphon later.”
Jenna leaned in to place a tantalizing kiss square on his lips. “Much later. Lead on.”
Doug dropped his arm around her shoulder, reaching down to brush his fingers over the outline of her breast. Jenna found herself glad that she’d worn a thin skin-suit to her disastrous meeting with the alien. She looked forward to removing even that small barrier to his hands.
“Bulkhead’s down here.” Doug wrapped both arms around her waist as they stepped into a void in the deck. Her breath caught in her throat as the floor fell away beneath her feet and they dropped for a fraction of a second until the levitation field kicked in to moderate their descent. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt solid ground beneath her feet. Doug tugged her down the corridor and stopped in front of a doorway. Plucking his helmet off with a gallant flourish, he gestured her to precede him. “Welcome to my lair.”
If you knew this was your last day to live, what would you do? Would you face the end with a clear conscience? Would you fight for one more day?
Look for that person you wronged and make it right? Run away? Turn and fight? What would you do?
In Lights Out by Kayelle Allen, the hero knows his end is near. Instead of running, Tornahdo makes a choice. He will face death with a clear conscience and the knowledge that his death will serve mankind. He will join…
GHOST CORPS
He can save mankind. After he does one important thing. Die.
Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You’ll live forever, they said. You’ll save mankind, they said. They didn’t say that to do it, first he had to die.
When Tornahdo signs on the dotted line, he puts his life into the steady hands of the mighty Ghost Corps. Three grisly deaths and three agonizing resurrections later, he’s assigned duty on Enderium Six.
He’s facing his most dangerous mission yet, the very reason the corps exists.
Do they expect him to win? Fat chance. Tornahdo and his team are already dead and this mission is codenamed “Lights Out.” No, there’s more to this than he can see.
To discover the truth, he must face an unbeatable, unkillable enemy, and this time–somehow–find a way to keep himself alive…
The air reeked of antiseptic and starch stiffened the pillowcase. If only the mind-numbing jabbering would stop.
Tornahdo pried open his eyes. The flattened blood bag above him, stenciled equipment and gray walls screamed military hospital.
He’d died. Again.
Spanish curses slipped out. His abuela would’ve taken a switch to him. He made the sign of the cross and kissed his fingertips.
After yanking the tube out of his arm, he pressed a thumb over the entry point. Thankfully, this time, he wasn’t writhing on the floor in agony. Well, not yet.
A faceless android in a Ghost Corps uniform loomed over a bank of equipment displaying Tornahdo’s name and vitals. First impression was right. Military hospital.
The weapons-grade yapping continued.
“Did you hear?” a youthful voice bragged. “He killed six of ’em last night.”
“Yeah, but they don’t stay dead. They never do.”
“If Ultras didn’t come back to life, their plasma wouldn’t bring our own people back.”
The transfusion of enemy blood healed the hole in Tornahdo’s arm in seconds. He thumbed off the red smear and rolled over on the gurney.
An open door led to a sink and toilet built to let gravity do its work. Which meant this was a planet. You hadn’t lived until you were in space, floating in zero gravity while your body’s final twitches sent your corpse spinning.
Notices on the wall confirmed this was San Xavier in the Colonies of Man. Same place he’d bought it the first time.
This was getting old.
Lights Out
part of the Science Fiction/Space Opera anthology
The Expanding Universe Vol 4
edited by Craig Martelle
Available Sept 17, 2018
Exclusively on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited
https://kayelleallen.com/lights-out-save-mankind/
Go behind the scenes with the world and characters of Lights Out with an exclusive illustrated PDF book. Nothing to sign for or opt in to get. Just click and read:
http://bit.ly/peek-lights-out
Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi and Space Opera with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She’s a US Navy veteran who’s been married so long she’s tenured. She is the author of seven books, three novellas, and multiple short stories.
Website https://kayelleallen.com
Facebook http://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/kayelleallen/
Amazon Author page http://amazon.com/author/kayelleallen
Join one of Kayelle’s reader groups and get four free books right away https://kayelleallen.com/reader-groups
Our attraction unleashes a perfect storm…
I’m Stormy Weathers. My love life on Earth is one natural disaster after the other. I’m attracted to bad boys, rebels, commitment-phobes. In a crowd of choirboys, I’ll manage to find the jerk. All I want is a man who’ll love me and my young son, so I’m going to an icy planet to become an alien’s mail-order bride. This time will be different! The chemistry I feel with Romando is electric. It doesn’t matter what my sister or her mate or their tribe says, mutual attraction this strong can’t be wrong, so I’ll do anything to get him…
I’m Romando, an outcast in my own tribe. One rash, angry act turned me into a pariah and almost got me banished. But what everyone resents the most is that I’m one of the lucky few who’ll be getting a mate. The instant Stormy Weathers blows into Dakon with the other Earth females, my horns tingle. She is meant for me, but I resist the instinct to claim her. You see, she’s related to my nemesis responsible for my outcast state. Honor and pride dictate that I reject her as a suitable mate before she undermines my good intentions. If only I could get her out of my mind…
Alien Intention is a standalone read in the Alien Mate series. Grab your copy of this steamy, funny science fiction romance today!
Alien Intention Excerpt
Holy alien hotness. I couldn’t stop staring at the brooding Dakonian. Leaning against the wall apart from the others, he didn’t mingle and jostle with the rest. Dark, nearly black, waist-length hair swept back from a widow’s peak to reveal pronounced dark brown, leathery horns. He caught me looking at him, and they pulsed!
He stood, literally and figuratively, horns above the others; he was one of the tallest men in the room and the sexiest. A buckskin-like tunic stretched across a broad chest and rippling abs before blending into leggings of the same material to mold long, powerful thighs. The beads and shells fringing the hem of his tunic would have looked silly on other men but, on him, heightened his masculinity, his alienness. It was like he’d wanted to look his best and had dressed up for the occasion—which none of the others had bothered to. Or maybe the adornment signified some special status? Maybe he was a like a tribe leader or something?
“You don’t want Romando, trust me. You came here for a fresh start, remember?” My sister had warned me off him when she noticed my interest.
Romando. A romantic, manly name. And those eyes! They were so brooding, so mysterious. My stomach fluttered.
Sunny meant well, but she and I didn’t go for the same type. She preferred quiet, shy, nice guys. Boring. I had to give her credit this time. She’d done okay with Darq. He had that alien sex appeal going on, although, again, he struck me as sweet. If you brought an alien home to meet Mom and Dad, Darq would be the one they would approve of.
Romando would have gotten me grounded. He was seven-and-a-half feet of alien attitude, captured in an I-don’t-give-a-damn shrug.
Yeah, yeah, I came here to make better choices, but was Romando such a bad one? Weren’t all the Dakonians supposed to be good guys? Loyal, appreciative, family-oriented?
I snuck another peek. Oh baby. I fanned my hot face with one hand and clutched Devon’s with the other. The moment Romando and I made eye contact, my body felt as if it could melt into a puddle of goo. Standing apart from the others, he had an aura of confidence, like he would do whatever he wanted no matter what anybody else thought. He did things his way. Cue Frank Sinatra.
Oh please, pick me. According to my sister and the head alien, Enoki, the men did the choosing. How traditional. How quaint. How…frustrating!
I sought Romando’s gaze, gave a little wave, and smiled. He didn’t smile back, but his eyes smoldered like two hot coals. His horns pulsed. Yep, those babies were throbbing.
I’d screwed up in the past, had gotten involved with the wrong sort of man, but you had to kiss some frogs before you found your prince, right? I’d always believed soul mates existed, that we were all one half of a pair. I’d mistakenly thought I’d met my true love before, but Romando was the real deal. I could feel it. Chemistry this intense couldn’t be wrong.
“If a man does not meet with your approval, you may refuse him, and he will pick somebody else,” Enoki said.
My sister elbowed Darq, who whispered to a man while gesturing to me. I had a bad feeling they were playing matchmaker.
“Mom, what’s happening now?” Devon whispered.
“We’re going to meet Mom’s alien,” I murmured and squeezed his hand.
Universal link: https://books2read.com/u/4XK6Xv
Cara Bristol – Author Bio
Cara Bristol writes character-driven science fiction romance with humor, heart, and heat. She loves introducing new readers to science fiction romance and likes to say she writes sci-fi for readers who don’t like sci-fi. She’s been a number one best seller in multiple book categories and has hit the USA Today bestseller list twice! She has three science fiction romance series: the action-packed Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance cyborg series; the dark, intense Breeder series; and the new light and funny Alien Mate series. When she’s not writing (ha ha ha – she’s almost always writing) she enjoys traveling to exotic destinations and chillaxin’ with her favorite reality TV shows. Cara lives in Missouri with her own alpha hero, her husband.
Cara’s Website: http://carabristol.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cara.bristol.3
Reader Newsletter: http://carabristol.com/get-your-free-book/
Chat with Cara (Reader Facebook group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1761424733891183/
Twitter: @CaraBristol https://twitter.com/CaraBristol
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carabristol/
Enter for Your Chance to Win!
https://bookwrapt.com/distant-worlds-giveaway/
Love science fiction, fantasy, and romantic F/SF? How would you like to win an ebook prize pack where YOU choose the books YOU want to win and read from Amazon? Enter and you could take home one of four ebook prize packs, a Kindle Fire 7, or Amazon gift card.
(Sponsored by the 36 authors listed below)
Anne Kane • Anne McClane • Aurora Springer • Calinda B • Candace Sams • Cara Bristol • Carol Van Natta • Christine Myers • Crystal Dawn • Cynthia Sax • Debra Jess • Edward Hoornaert • EG Manetti • Emmy Chandler • Eva Caye • Genevieve St-Yves • Jessie Kwak • Jon Del Arroz • Karina Kantas • Kayelle Allen • Kristine Smith • Lea Kirk • Lexi Post • Linda Mooney • Livia Quinn • Monica Enderle Pierce • Pauline Baird Jones • Regine Abel • Sarah Marsh • Shona Husk • Stephanie West • Susan A. Royal • Tiffany Roberts • Tonya Cannariato • Vicki Stiefel • Wesley Britton
https://bookwrapt.com/distant-worlds-fair/
Join us at the TBR Pile for Scifi Fantasy Week! The schedule is as follows:
July 20th:
8 am: Introduction Post
1pm: A Deliciously Bothersome Cyborg by Anne Kane (m/f)
Lie to Me by Christine Anna Kirchoff
July 21st:
8am: Lie to Me by Christine Anna Kirchoff (m/f)
Alien Mate Experiment by Zenobia Renquist
1pm: Transcending Fire by CR Moss (m/f)
Lie to Me by Christine Anna Kirchoff
July 22nd:
8am: Surrender by Sarah Marsh (m/m/f)
Calling All Villains by James Cox
1pm: Rapture by Jessica Marting (m/f)
Lie to Me by Christine Anna Kirchoff
July 23rd:
8am: Shelter The Beginning by Peri Elizabeth Scott and Allyson Young (m/f)
Lie to Me by Christine Anna Kirchoff
1pm: Vanquished by Allyson Young (m/f)
Lie to Me by Christine Anna Kirchoff
July 24th:
8am: The Gathering by Jacey Holbrand (m/m)
The Forest of Dark Delight by James Cox
1pm: The Tiger Queen by Raisa Greywood (m/f)
Lie to me by Christine Anna Kirchoff
July 25th:
8am: The Great Cock Hunt by James Cox (m/m)
The Gathering by Jacey Holbrand
1pm: Rena and the Alien Warrior by Jessica Coulter Smith (m/f)
Prize List Book (readers choice)
July 26th:
8am: Bred by Niki Cluff (m/f)
Prize List Book (reader’s choice)
1pm: Alien mate Experiment by Zenobia Renquist
Prize List Book (Reader’s choice)
3pm: Scfi Fantasy Week End Post
http://books2read.com/u/3yDe6V
Blurb:
An intergalactic game of hide and seek, with a sexy human female as the prize.
Zoe is five feet, six inches of green-eyed, red-haired militant activist. A deeply ingrained need to help those who can’t help themselves — human and otherwise — motivates her every move. She snuck into the Mailon research facility to investigate rumors of experiments being conducted on a rare and highly intelligent species of sentient mammals. Now she finds herself in need of help to rescue one very sick little battle rat.
Greyson is six and a half feet of ruggedly muscular cyborg with a penchant for violence. He loves to fight, and he fights to win. What he hates is being sent to the Mailon research facility on a petty errand. When he catches a glimpse of a former lover flitting around the facility like an impossibly sexy cat burglar, he is intrigued. What is the saucy little wench up to, and why is she stalking him through the corridors of the alien laboratory?
EXCERPT
“So what’s the plan?” Greyson swiveled the command seat to look at his passenger. Passengers, actually. Since bringing the bedraggled little bundle of fur aboard, he’d come to realize that the battle rat was definitely a sentient being, and understood most, if not all of what was being discussed.
She might not look like much, and he certainly didn’t expect the battle rat to be an asset in an actual battle but she was starting to grow on him. Who would have believed he had a compassionate side? Certainly none of his platoon mates in the outer rim battalion!
Zoe let out a long sigh. “I hadn’t actually got past the part where I used your trip to the research facility to facilitate getting her out of there. I’d like to take her back to her home, to her own kind but I have no idea where that is.”
Greyson titled his head to study her. “So how did you find out she was in the facility?”
“Mailon carelessness. They did a news release on some new tech development and she showed up in the background of one of the info shots. One of my contacts sent me a still frame of it, and the location of the facility. They knew I’d find a way to get her out of there.”
“So why didn’t you just go for the usual media route to get her freed?”
Zoe shook her head. “Wouldn’t work. The Mailons have a lot of clout with the big stations and they’d be leery of airing anything that might cut off the gravy train. These little critters might be cute, but they don’t have any hard currency to barter with.”
Greyson reached down to scoop up the battle rat. The little creature cooed at him. She sounded happy, although for all he knew maybe that sound was her battle cry. She batted her eyelids at him, and he chuckled. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was playing coy.
He looked over at Zoe. “You should give her a name. We can’t keep calling her ‘the thing.’”
Zoe shrugged, her attention on the star chart dancing in the air in front of her. “I would imagine she has a name. We just have no idea of what it is.”
“Well, she needs a name we can pronounce.”
Zoe let go of the star chart and it blinked out of existence. She glided over to his side with a graceful movement that set his libido in gear. It took more than a little self-control to quash the urge to take her in his arms and ravish her.
Again.
They’d done little else in the time they’d been cooped up together on his shuttle. In his defense, there wasn’t a lot else to do as the ship hurtled through space on auto-pilot. It wasn’t outfitted for entertaining. As a bonus, Zoe seemed to derive as much, or more, satisfaction from their erotic activities as he did.
She cocked her head and studied the creature. “How about Joan? As in Joan of Arc from the stories from Old Earth? I don’t recall the whole story but she was a female warrior of some sort. It seems suitable for a battle rat.”
Greyson still had his doubts about the thing’s ability to defend itself, let alone wage battle but he saw no reason to bring that up. He reached out to ruffle her fur. “Joan it is. What do you think of your new name?”
As if she understood the conversation, the newly named Joan chortled happily and bounced up his arm to drape herself across the back of the command chair.
“I think she’s adopted you.” Zoe grinned at him.
“You might try explaining to her that you were the one who rescued her.” No way was he going to admit that he enjoyed the little fur ball’s company.
“Nope. Too late. She’s bonding with you. Maybe we won’t have to worry about where her home is.”
“Well right now we’re on course to the supply station in the Gliese system. Once we get there we need to figure out where we’re going next. “
“Where were you heading before I interrupted your plans?”
“Terras Five, but I’m not sure you want to go there with me.”
Zoe wrinkled her nose.
Gods. Even that small gesture went straight to his groin.
“Have to say you have a point there. Maybe you could drop me off on one of the human space stations? There must be one in the vicinity.”
“There is, but it’s a military facility. I’m not sure you’d pass their security clearances. I seem to recall you have a bit of a checkered history.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “I have a couple of alternate sets of I.D. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
He arched his brow. “There’s also the other problem with that idea. What if I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave you on a base crowded with testosterone-driven males?”
She laughed. “Are you serious? You think they’d be worse than you? We barely keep our clothes on long enough to eat.”
“On the contrary, I think they’d be exactly like me — which is why I object.” He leaned back in his chair and grinned up at her. “Although they wouldn’t be as proficient at the sensual arts of course. I’m sure you’d be disappointed.”
Changeling Press:
http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=2739
Everywhere else:
Anne Kanes Blog 