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Genre: Science
Fiction/Futuristic Romance
Sex, Love, and Aliens. A
science-fiction anthology, which includes:
Tangled Webs by Imogene Nix
In the course of a
single day Gia Montgomery loses her job and discovers that her boyfriend—now
ex-boyfriend—is a two-timing sleaze. After downing a bottle of wine, she
catches sight of Cedun in her backyard. He's the Ba'Tua heir who has been
living on Earth for several years. Gia struggles to ignore the strong
attraction between them, because she's sure he's seeing someone else. Someone
very close to her, in fact.
When the situation with
her ex turns nasty, Cedun finally has a chance to set things straight between
himself and Gia, but nothing is as simple as it seems. Cedun must protect Gia
and sort out an impossible love-life tangle before it's too late.
Content Warning: this
title contains sexy aliens and feisty heroines, together with enough action—of
every kind—to keep readers on the edge of their seats
Tangled Webs Excerpt:
Turning away from her
position, Gia caught sight of movement from the corner of her eye. This time
she looked out the window and in her garden was a Ba'Tua male.
"Holy hell, what's he
doing here?"
Gia headed for the door
just as Cedun was removing his Montgomery Industries t-shirt by the side of the
pool. Her mind was sluggish and her coordination impaired, and she slammed into
the edge of the door as she scurried through it.
"Shit!" The
curse escaped her mouth as she kept moving, her hand rubbing the injured
section of her side. "Cedun, what the hell are you doing in my
backyard?" In her haste, she didn't see the hose on the deck and tripped.
She did notice the
bright violet of his eyes—wide and startled—and the bronzed rippling muscles as
she cartwheeled, flailing for something to grab onto, then she was falling
backward. It's all so slow! A thunk sound married with the explosion of pain in
her head.
The water closed around
her and invaded her mouth and lungs. Her chest burned as the water weighed her
down. Just as it all seemed too much, strong, vise-like arms slid around her
middle, hauling her up to the surface.
"Do not struggle,
Gia. Let me help you." He did, hauling her out of the pool and laying her
flat on the concrete.
Then he rolled her over
as she hacked and coughed. Water gushed from her mouth and nose, and she moaned
once the indignity was over.
"Now, De' Gia, tell
me why you ran out of the house and threw yourself into the pool. De' Valerie
told me that you had been removed from your post. It cannot be that which is
distressing?"
"Job," she
corrected, quietly hoping to stop his liquid voice. Her head and chest ached
viciously, and all she wanted was bed. "I want to go to bed."
Cedun stilled. "Is
that not precipitous?" A smiled crept over his face, and it turned her
insides to molten lava.
Clarity speared her.
Their grasp of the English language was literal. She said she wanted to go to
bed and was speaking to him, ergo, he thought sex. Horror filled her.
Cedun was probably the
most relaxed and least repressed of all the Ba'Tua she'd met. Gia also
suspected he'd been involved with Valerie for some time. After all, Valerie was
still young at forty-two.
Gia groped for his
t-shirt, meaning to push him away. The realization of being so close to Cedun's
muscular and unclothed chest flooded her as her hands made contact with hard
and well-formed naked flesh. He'd removed that covering before her fall into
the pool. Heat flared beneath her fingers as her heart rate sped up.
"Cedun, I didn't mean…"
He chuckled. "I
laugh with you, De' Gia."
She struggled to free
herself. "Go laugh with someone else."
The Spaceship Captain's Wife by Ashlynn Monroe
Some treasures are the
hardest to see.
On a dying planet,
treasure waits for an honorable man to claim it. Captain Ric Julius believes
the cargo of gems is what he's come for, but there is one jewel he never
expected. Her name is Kateri, and she changes everything.
Saving the woman's life,
and making a fortune in the process, requires only one thing of Ric—his
freedom. In order to obtain the gems he has to agree to take Kateri to
safety…and to make her his wife. Every man has a price, but is Ric willing to
pay in full on a debt he owes to a dead man on a decomposing world?
Content Warning:
contains sensual sex scenes
The Spaceship Captain's
Wife Excerpt:
Why am I doing this to
myself? Damn, if I didn't need the money… But he did.
As the girl came to
kneel beside her father, Ric realized he'd rather face a laser pistol-wielding
hijacker than this woman. The traditional charado robe that consisted of many
layers of light, sheer fabric did nothing to hide the outline of her body. His
mouth went dry and sweat stung his eyes.
The older woman offered
him a light meal of native Darooian nuts and fruit. Ric shook his head. He
didn't want to risk polluting himself with radiated food. But this transaction
was too important for him to offend them.
"Forgive me, I am
far too full of…of joy to eat," Ric said.
Marit's woman gazed at
him for a moment. Her shrewd eyes narrowed with doubt, but she nodded and
pulled the offered tray away.
The kneeling girl was so
still he couldn't even tell if she was breathing. His host was watching the
silent female with an unfathomable sorrow. Then he turned to study Ric without
speaking for a drawn out length of anxiety-filled time. Ric fidgeted nervously.
Oh damn, I hope I
haven't blown this. I'll lose the ship without this deal. Ric tried to hide his
worry from the other man by keeping his face expressionless.
"We only eat food
that arrives in bio locked containers. Our offering is safe. Kateri has not
left this house since she was a girl of ten. She has spent half her life hiding
from death, it's long past time she was allowed to live," said Marit in
the gentle tone. There was no anger or censor on his face, just sadness.
The quiet girl flinched.
The movement was subtle, but Ric was used to watching for the slightest tells
during negotiations. The girl's posture stiffened.
So she was twenty. He
relaxed a bit. She was a decade younger than he was, but at least she wasn't
some underage child.
Embarrassed, Ric looked
away. "Forgive me," he said, unsure if he was apologizing for the
planet's destruction or his behavior.
"You have nothing
to apologize for. Caution is an admirable trait. Integrity is another thing I
respect. She will make a good wife…"
Marit paused as a string
of quickly spoken Dar, their language, interrupted him. Her outraged voice
drifted up from under the veils and proved she had a bit of spirit.
The older man's fatherly
tone ebbed between anger and softness. Ric only caught a few words, but he was
almost positive the girl hadn't known she was part of the conditions for this
export.
When she was silent, Ric
could see her shaking. The strangest urge to comfort her came over him, but he shoved
it away. Perhaps it was the camaraderie of being tricked, but the
protectiveness her reaction stirred in him didn't go away.
She muttered something,
and he fought to suppress his grin. He had the most inappropriate urge to peek
under her veil and see her expression. Was she seething with rage, or was she
pouting? He wanted to know. The veil tormented his naturally overactive Metrician
curiosity.
"Kateri is a good
girl, dutiful. She is…uncomfortable leaving her family behind," said the
anxious man democratically.
Ric cleared his throat
awkwardly. He could respect the answer. If he truly cared about anyone, he
wouldn't want to leave them to die either. A planet hadn't died since the days
of old Earth. Pain squeezed his heart in a metaphoric vise. Guilt. His people
treated their world like it was garbage, and yet Metricia would live on long
after Daroo was space dust.
"Don't look so
dour, Captain Aydric Julius. We will die with our gods, but our daughter will
live on for us and remember our names. Saving her life is worth risking my
soul," Marit said quietly. "She is the most precious gem in your
cargo."
Ric nodded. No one had
ever loved him as this man loved his daughter. It was astounding and humbling
to be entrusted with her life. He'd never wanted such a responsibility thrust
on him, but now that it was, he couldn't turn them down.
Is she willing to marry
a stranger? What am I getting myself into?
Ric could tell the girl
was looking at him. He wanted to talk to her and make sure she was willing. He
didn't believe in much, but his honor mattered to him.
His Human by Jaye Shields
Can a human clone
trained to kill also learn to love?
Elara Roberts is the
captain of a space shuttle sent to retrieve a group of cloned soldiers from the
planet US-2. As soon as she lands, the shuttle is overtaken and all of her men
killed.
Svarog aka Rogue, is the
leader of a rebel group of clones who desire freedom. He's been trained his
entire life for one thing—to kill. But when he lays eyes on Elara, the only
woman he's ever seen, his first instinct is to love. Taking her for himself, his
new mission becomes exploring the body of the creature, and punishing any other
clone male who dares come close.
Elara witnessed how
easily Rogue killed her men and fears she is next. But instead, the beast seems
curious and more lustful than anything else. Her best survival strategy is to
play along. But when she gets a chance to escape she realizes she may not be
ready to leave Rogue behind.
Content Warning: this
story includes a deadly, devastatingly sexy clone who isn't above foul language
and dirty sex
His Human Excerpt:
"Why do you want to
go to Earth so bad?" Elara asked.
Rogue didn't answer
readily, instead, he appraised her, his gaze lingering on her sweat-soaked
blouse. "You haven't been here long, woman, but surely long enough to see
this planet rivals the hell that the humans make us read about. It's dry here,
hot enough to melt the skin right off your body during certain seasons. Those
tunnels you saw dotting the landscape, those were burrowed by one of US-2's
many creatures. Leave my side, and they'll snatch you up and swallow you whole.
It'd probably be an easier death than you deserve."
"Excuse me?"
Elara glared at him. "Did you keep me alive to insult me to death?"
"Why would you sign
up to take men as slaves, take them to a war they can't even understand?"
"I'm not the bad
guy here!" Her voice echoed through the cave, the sound suddenly making
her feel more brave.
"Neither am I.
Unless I'm crossed." He stood, still nude, his well-muscled body towering
over her. "Now that you're my captive, perhaps you can appreciate what we
are fighting for. Freedom." With that, the clone walked away from her. She
glanced away, trying to avoid looking at the well-carved butt cheeks as the
massive soldier walked away. He had a perfect body. The kind of body that was
built to kill.
Elara's mind spun. Not
only had two clones tried to rape her, but her epic plan to seduce Rogue didn't
work. He'd never before had a woman, and she still couldn't please him. Yet
he'd protected her from those men.
As far as Rogue was
concerned, she wasn't sure what happened. He'd seemed so close to coming. He'd
moaned, but then he'd been disgusted by her, shoving her away. She should have
been happy that his cum didn't fill her mouth, but it also meant her death.
But if he was going to
kill her, why didn't he just leave her to those men?
Finally alone, the
terror of the day washed over her. She'd watched her peers murdered, she'd gone
down on her captor, and she'd nearly been raped by two killers. Tears leaked
down her cheeks, quickly dried by the intense heat on US-2.
Just as soon as he'd
left, Rogue returned. His strong hand pulled her out of the fetal position to
face him. When he saw her tears, he sneered in disgust. "I'm leaving to
retrieve rations. Don't try to escape."
Hope bloomed within her.
Of course she'd try to escape. Was this clone daft? She just never thought
she'd be left alone to try.
Elara thought back to
the initial attack on the space shuttle. The interior had sustained damage, but
clearly the clones had been careful, obviously planning to try to take it to
Earth themselves.
Rogue pulled on his
military cargo shorts, not bothering with a shirt. He pulled a sachet of lotion
out of his pocket and slathered it over his hard chest and chiseled stomach. It
was a body meant to punish.
She barely heard Rogue's
final warning before he departed. Something about danger. Duh. Elara may have
been surrounded by a planet of rebel clones, but she was a military captain,
specially chosen for this very mission. Her femme fatale Plan A had failed, but
now she had no other choice but to try to ass kick her way off this planet. She
was sure as dead anyway, might as well die trying.
Gravitation by Beth D. Carter
Can Bree and Niah's love
overcome their species being at war with one another?
Bree has spent her whole
life hiding from the aliens who destroyed what was once Earth. When she
stumbles across a wounded alien, common sense tells her to kill him before he
can kill her, but her compassionate side refuses to obey. Instead, she helps
him.
The two forge a
temporary truce when they're forced to band together for protection. But as the
days slip by, the alien Niah won't leave her, and as friendship gives way to
something more, she can't help but wonder when, or if, them being on opposite
sides will break the fragile bonds of love forming between them.
Content Warning:
contains sexual content, strong language, and some violence
Gravitation Excerpt:
Niah's leg must be
healing nicely if he was able to move around to her side of the cold fire pit.
She should be feeling fear because now he could easily overpower her. Kill her.
Only he did neither. He just laid there with his hand on her hip and his eyes
staring deeply into her own.
This was wrong. So
horribly wrong.
And yet…it didn't feel
wrong.
And that scared her more
than anything.
"Shh," he
whispered, and his hand ran soothing circles across her hip bone.
Bree closed her eyes
because she couldn't stand looking at him anymore, couldn't face the attraction
she was developing. And somehow she must have fallen asleep because the next
time she opened her eyes it was daylight.
She sat up quickly,
looking around. Niah was gone. His leg splints were in a nice pile, the only
testament that he'd been there. She ignored the stab of pain that pierced
through her and told herself it was better this way. He had gone back to his
people, to where he came from. It was time she went to where she belonged.
As she gathered her
things and slipped her backpack over her shoulders, she thought about when she
asked him to save one life as a thank you. Well, it seemed like he'd done just
that.
He'd spared hers.
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