The Warriors of Sidereal Command by Clare-Her Beauty Turned His World Upside Down And He Was Going To Have Her #ScifiRomance #MF #MilitaryRomance

Blurb

Caitlin Driskoll awakens nearly a century later to find everything changed around her. Forced to be a cryo soldier, her once promising life hangs in the balance in the midst of an interstellar war.

Lt. Colonel Medoro Keegan, is the one charged with keeping his crew safe but finds that his feelings for Caitlin are doing more harm than good.

Together they must fight for their planet in order to have a chance at love. Because for The Warriors of Sidereal Command, the only heat they feel is when two bodies share one bed.

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Cold Warriors (Book 1)

Left in cryogenic stasis for nearly a century, Caitlin Driskoll is awakened and drafted into a war she knows nothing about. Expected to defend a world where her kind is despised and expendable, she discovers love and respect from the one man who can’t be associated with her.

Lieutenant Colonel Medoro Keegan has spent a lifetime in the Marines. With no family to speak of, the Corps and his ship, the USS Blanchard, are all the loved ones he needs…until Caitlin sparks a fire within, that threatens to consume him if he doesn’t walk away.

Will he choose a life of certainty in the only world he knows or give it all to Caitlin and run the risk of losing someone, yet again?


Excerpt

He didn’t know what to say. His first clash with her had distracted him to the point of madness. It had been some time since he’d had such a powerful encounter with a woman. The last one to push his buttons that hard, he wound up marrying.

Caitlin was stubborn, mouthy, somewhat insubordinate, and filled with an innate force he had not seen in sometime. She had no problem in standing up for who or what she believed in. He didn’t like the feelings she stirred in him. He dare not consider them. Especially with her. She was a subordinate and a cryo. It was against regulations for him to even think of starting anything with her.

He shifted his stance. His heart pounded in his ears and breaths quickened. “Ms. Driskoll. I don’t know what you expect from me.”

“Nothing more than I expect from myself.”

Before he knew it, he crossed the distance between them and swept her into a searing kiss. He caressed her body, touching every curve. Arousal sped through his body like lightening. He dug his fingers in her hair and hungrily dominated her mouth, his tongue delving in, playing with hers. Gripping her waist, he lifted her up and placed on her the table. She arched her neck exposing her creamy skin. He nipped and bit at it enjoying its smoothness. He reached up and caressed her breasts, a need filling him to see them, taste them.

He was ready to slip off into oblivion when he remembered himself. It was the middle of the day; they were in a briefing room and would be caught. Breaking off the kiss, he raised his hands in surrender.

“Jesus,” he said in between breaths.

“What?” she panted, as she straightened her uniform.

“Please leave. Just go.” He closed his eyes, wrestling his feelings into submission. Holding them down, he shuddered. Dear God, help me. He needed her so badly. His breathing slowed to a normal rate. When he opened his eyes, she was gone.

“Sir, you’re needed on the bridge,” the voice on the com said.

“Be right there,” he replied, grateful for the distraction.

---

Ice and Peace (Book 2)

Blurb

A New Threat? After a long and vicious war, peace is on the horizon for Earth and its allies. However, a series of mysterious attacks on several secret military installations causes hostilities to rise once again.

Redemption. Having left under a cloud of disgrace, retired Marine Colonel Medoro Keegan is called back to duty.

Bound. His wife Caitlin, the only surviving member of her team, chooses to embrace life, albeit grudgingly, as a cryo soldier. Seen as sub-human, she is forced to serve a planet that denies her rights as a person.

Driven. Guided by their sense of duty and belief that some things are bigger than them, they are determined to risk it all.

Hope. The cost of war is high. Can their love and marriage survive? Or will it be killed off by the very same mission that brought them together?


Excerpt

Caitlin was a sight for sore eyes. She was beautiful. Her petite frame was perfectly accented by the curves of her figure. And her brown eyes and coffee-brown skin was smooth, creamy.

Standing at attention, she did not meet his gaze. Though it was customary not to do as a sign of military courtesy, he could tell she was not doing it for that reason. Her gaze was different. Circling her, he tried to see if he could catch her watching him out of the corner of her eye. In fact, she appeared to be staring blankly ahead.

Peering directly at her, he spoke in a soft tone. “At ease.”

She relaxed.

“Cate. Can you hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” she responded mechanically.

Pain pierced his insides. She was definitely not there. Keegan placed his hands on his hips and hung his head in defeat. The one thing that was supposed to go right did not. For whatever reason, they had placed her in a deeper state of mental control than she’d ever been in. He controlled the hostile emotions brewing with him. Touching her face gently, he felt her icy skin.

This is unacceptable! Not here. I will not let this happen here. Not under my command.

“Chief, listen up,” he said in an authoritative tone. He knew in this state, it was the only way he could speak to her and still have her respond.

“Yes, sir.” Her gaze became even more distant.

Her response fueled his anger. “You are going to hightail it down to the doc and receive a full examination. Tell him it is based on my orders. He will know what to do. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Knowing that she was under the influence of cryo neurotransmitters, Keegan figured the only way to combat it was to get someone to reverse it. They usually wore off once she was away from the stimulus triggers for a long period of time. But considering her stimulus triggers were high-ranking officers in uniform and combat situations, being around here meant she was going to be in a drone zone for a very long time. The last thing he needed was a zombie on board, especially one in charge of the lives others.

Only the jerks in psyche warfare thought doing this to someone would be a good idea. As long as he was running the ship, none of that would be allowed. There weren’t going to be any super zombies soldiers on board his ship. And he’d rollover in his grave before he let them do it to his wife.

“After you come back from the doc, you will report to me, understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are there any questions?”

“No, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

She did an about face before leaving the room. Keegan clasped his hands behind his back. In the blink of an eye, his joy had turned to sorrow. Now faced with the responsibility of looking after his wife, he wondered how could he handle the burden of command and still protect the woman he loved.

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Buy Link- 

Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Sidereal-Command-Clare-Dargin/dp/1613335687

Paranormal Love Wednesday- Creation's Control; A Scifi Erotic BDSM M/M Romance by Marie Harte

It's all about control…

Blurb

Now freed from the labs where he was created, tested and tortured, Ryen can't cope with the violent needs pressing him. The men on planet Mardu can't fight worth a damn and he can't chance sex with the females because he doesn't want to hurt anyone. Then there's Drekk, always bugging him, pushing him, attracting him…?

Drekk knows what it's like to have the needs only a Creation can experience. He's learned to blend in with the populace and balance a Creation's desire to submit with his own powerful personality. He'll teach Ryen the same, but it won't be easy. With the help of some 'tough love', he's sure he can show Ryen a measure of peace. In the process, he'll find himself both the master and the slave when he submits to the connection growing between them and falls in love.


Excerpt

“You didn’t complain about the coya fruit last night.” Drekk’s bland tone contrasted with the wicked look in his eyes.

“Asshole,” Ryen muttered as he attacked the plate Drekk set before him. Much as Drekk annoyed him, the jerk also amused him.

“Damn, is that a smile I see?” Drekk stared in mock astonishment.

“Cut it out.” Ryen’s grin grew wider.

“I think I may pass out from the shock.”

“Good. Then I’ll get my hands on that controller and fly out of here.”

“Have fun searching for it.”Drekk rubbed his chest. “I hid it on my body today.”

Ryen wanted to look for it, right now. Shaking free of such thoughts, he tried to focus on his food. But as he ate, he couldn’t stop glancing at Drekk’s sculpted chest through the v-neck of the vest he wore. Nor could he avoid the large arms Drekk flashed as he gesticulated while he ate. The taciturn man he’d once thought Drekk to be never seemed to shut up.

Oddly, Synster’s warnings of perversions and unnatural longings seemed less significant each day Ryen spent in Drekk’s company. What could it hurt to indulge in some human curiosity? Drekk was a hardy male. Ryen wouldn’t break him, as Drekk had said. Which made Ryen wonder what it would be like to lose control during sex, to let it all out...

“Okay. Today we work on your control.” Drekk stood and put his dishes into the wash receptacle. “If you finish that mound on your plate, we’ll get started.”

Ryen finished his meal in record time, eager to see what Drekk had in mind—to hasten his exit out of this place, he reminded himself. “We going to lose the cuffs today?”

“You’re kidding, right? You’re going to need them later.”

Ryen immediately went on alert. “Why?”

“See? That’s why. I’m just screwing with you, and you’re ready to take my head off. I’m trying to teach you a new way to live, Ryen. I can’t be on my guard one hundred percent. Once you ‘hit the wall’, like I know you will, we’ll both be glad for the cuffs.”

“You keep threatening it. Just do it. Push me as hard as you can. Watch me handle it.”

Ryen could taste his excitement. “I’ve been good the past three days, haven’t I?”

Drekk shook his head. “You’re not ready yet. Get over here and assume Petal One hand position.” When Ryen hesitated, Drekk turned mean. “Now.”

The need to obey hit him hard. Off balance, Ryen grumbled as he sat down and crossed his legs, but he had no thought to refuse. He tuned out of his surroundings and followed Drekk’s instruction. Soon basking in the harmony within himself, Ryen came to a sudden realisation, one that both shocked and unnerved him. He wanted to submit to Drekk, to a male who had saved his life, but who hadn’t bested him in combat. Emotionally stable and even-tempered, superior when it came to control, Drekk had yet to prove himself in an all-out fight.

Why do I want to submit now that I’m free? How fucked up am I? Uncomfortable with the truth, Ryen pulled himself from his meditative state.

Drekk sat across from him, his legs crossed and his arms assuming Petal One position above his head, his hands entwined. Drekk’s sluggish pulse and stillness told Ryen he’d entered a similar state of calm.

The strong column of Drekk’s throat rippled when he swallowed. The scent of honeyed citrus lingered on his skin, from the blan juice he’d consumed. Muscles tanned by the harsh sun strained as he held his pose, and Ryen wanted to feel that skin under his palms. To cause the male’s rosy nipples to pebble, to feel the delineated form of Drekk’s abdomen as Ryen worked his way lower.

The temptation Drekk had planted, to see if sex with a male would equal what he imagined, taunted Ryen to take what he wanted. The advantage was his for the moment. With Drekk inwardly focused, Ryen could take him down. Not to harm him, but to test his friend’s—the man’s—reflexes. Now, when Drekk was vulnerable, Ryen could take what he needed, a warrior’s right. It wouldn’t be rape, he knew. Drekk had openly admitted he wanted Ryen. What better way, then, to see if Ryen returned the attraction wholeheartedly? But under Ryen’s direction, not Drekk’s. Ryen pounced.

He pinned Drekk underneath him in two seconds, one hand over the male’s entwined hands, holding him to the ground, the other around Drekk’s neck.

“One word from you and I’ll disable your tongue.” The angle of his fingers under Drekk’s jaw meant business. “Nod if you understand.”

Drekk glared and nodded.

“Good.” Ryen couldn’t help his arousal, nor could he miss the hardening bulge in Drekk’s trousers. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he mimicked. “I just need to confirm something.”

Drekk remained still, curiosity warring with the anger in his gaze. Ryen didn’t care. He’d danced to Drekk’s tune, now it was his turn.

Ryen studied Drekk’s face, lingering on his lips. Wanting more, he slowly lowered his mouth. Drekk started to speak and Ryen tightened his hand.

“I know you feel my hand around your neck. I’m not playing, Drekk. Shut up and let me...do this. I need to know.”

With a sigh, Drekk surrendered. The power crushing through Ryen swamped him. Heady that he’d regained control, he kissed Drekk full on the mouth. Unlike a female’s soft lips, Drekk’s felt firmer. Ryen plundered his mouth with a seeking tongue, tasting the sexual essence of Drekk as his excitement grew.

He ground into Drekk’s belly, rubbing his cock along Drekk’s while he deepened the kiss. Groaning, he loosened his hold on Drekk’s throat and devoured the male. He tasted so damned good, so familiar yet foreign at the same time. Lust built into an all-consuming blaze as Ryen took and took. Drekk moaned under his assault, and it was all Ryen could do to give him some air.

He removed his hands from Drekk’s throat and wrists, caught in his own game. Leaning up on one elbow, he ripped Drekk’s shirt down the middle and pinched his nipples. Harder, with a roughness that made him want to burst.

“Fuck,” Ryen growled and latched onto Drekk’s nipple. So unlike the flesh he normally played with, the feel of solid muscle under the taut nipple aroused Ryen with its difference. No fleshy mound, but a steely plane of strength under such tender skin.

Drekk arched into his mouth and thrust against him, pushing Ryen to take more. In a frenzy, he shoved his hand down Drekk’s trousers and gripped his hot cock. Drekk moaned his name.

“Oh yeah. Better.” Ryen returned his attention to Drekk’s chest. He bit hard. Drekk sucked in a breath and moisture beaded at the tip of his shaft. “Stop,” Drekk breathed when Ryen let go of his shaft to massage his balls.

The feel of another man’s shaft hard and slick for him sent Ryen over the edge. Like an animal, he tore at Drekk’s clothes. He nipped and sucked, laving his way down Drekk’s body, using any and all excuse to rub against his grey-eyed seducer.

“More,” Ryen rasped until he captured Drekk’s cock in his mouth. So fucking good... He let go of the pheromones bursting at the seams.


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Buy Link- 

https://www.totallybound.com/creations-control

An InLinkz Link-up

Slow and Tender by Leah Blake. Book One in the Love Your Dragon Series

[Siren Everlasting Classic ManLove: Erotic Alternative Paranormal Sci-Fi Romance, M/M, shape-shifters, HEA]


Blurb

Tallis Hynes knows he is different, but a dragon? After being kidnapped from his apartment during the night and locked in a cell with two strangers claiming to be his lost brothers, he is mercilessly exposed to secrets that had been withheld all his life. Unfortunately, their enemies want the power they possess, and won't stop until they get it, at any cost.

Zhett Rhiodan, chaos dragon by birth and fierce warrior of the Khoronian race, is on a mission to find the four lost Hynesin heirs and return them to the king of Khorone. Like everything in his life, his mission is complicated when he locates three of the four brothers and learns Tallis is his mate. 

When the threat to the heirs makes an appearance, the entire mission is at risk for failure. Can Zhett keep his mate safe when all hell breaks loose? Or will the Khoronian people fall into the hands of evil?



STORY EXCERPT

A strange swish kept him from curling around the pillow and humping it like a dog marking territory.

Heat crept along his cheeks. He peeled back his eyelids and stared at the dark wall directly in front of him. His flesh tingled along his naked back.

“You’re awake.”

Tallis swallowed down a whimper. He’d heard that same deep, velvety voice so many times since the fight in the forest. It belonged to a man that left him yearning for more than talk. The fierce onslaught of need was almost as crippling as the serum he’d suffered through again.

Slowly, trying to keep his wits about him, Tallis rolled over. His gaze landed on a tall, solid man with the most beautiful amber eyes. His hair was as jet as the leathers that covered him from throat to toe. The strands shone under the dim lighting. He had a cruel ruggedness about him, an air of “don’t fuck with me if you want to keep your balls” that thickened the air in the room. The gentle slant of his eyes, the enhancing arch of his dark brows, and the hint of whiskers that lined his strong jaw left Tallis breathless.

His heart beat in his throat. The burn along his shaft intensified the moment the man’s nostrils flared and a hunger that matched his own swallowed up his eyes.

The man who came around this bad boy rolled his eyes to the ceiling and motioned leather-man to a chair.

“Good afternoon,” this acquaintance greeted. Tallis spared him a glance before his attention returned to leather-man. He licked his lips and earned a low-resonating growl from his target. “My name is Doryan. I’m the physician on the Dalistine. Zhett brought you on board after you were injected with a neuromuscular control agent. How are you feeling?”

“Good,” Tallis whispered. God, he’d feel so much better if that lovely piece of manliness would help out with his growing—he wiggled against the mattress—problem.

“Wonderful. Do you recall your name?”

“Tallis Hynes.”

Leather-man scowled. “Tallis Castalline. Castalline is your birth name.”

Castalline.  Where had he heard that before?

Tallis finally managed to tear his gaze away from leather-man and look at the doctor as he pulled a penlight from his lab coat pocket. When he turned it on, an ice-blue light spread down the side of the pen and drew a hot path along his body.

“What is that?” Tallis demanded, shoving himself out from under the strange light, smacking his head against the wall. “Why is it hot?”

“I’m scanning your body for potential remnants of the agent.” Doryan patted the bed. “Lie down, son. It’ll take a minute.”

Tallis shook his head, scurrying away from the physician. “I’ve never seen something like that before and I don’t know you.”

“I understand, but I must check your systems to ensure the antidote worked. Your reaction to the injection was”—the man cast leather-man—Zhett—a shaded glance—“worrisome.”

A strangled sound rushed past his lips as his feet hit the floor at the foot of the bed. The doctor blocked his escape.

Zhett crossed the small space to the doctor and forced him aside, only to take his place. Tallis sank back until he stepped into the wall.

“Come to me,” Zhett said. Tallis stared at him, allowing the sound of his low, husky voice to unfurl throughout his body and calm the sparks of anxiety his doctor friend elicited. His feet moved without his consent, but he didn’t care, because they brought him to Zhett, a man who made his mind mush and his flesh tingle. A man who poured fire into his cool blood and who intoxicated his senses.

Tallis didn’t recoil at the man’s airy touch across the bone of his cheek. The faintest sensation of sparks followed the path he drew. His eyelids grew heavy, weighted down with both arousal and comfort. An alien breath coiled up his throat, a combination of hot and cold. It slid along his tongue and a faint plume of foggy vapor filled the immediate space beyond his lips as he exhaled.

“He will not harm you,” Zhett assured, his calming touch slipping down the side of his neck. Tallis fought to hold onto a clear image of the man as he swayed. “Doryan created an antidote when the Bhrykis attacked me a few months ago.”

Zhett pulled his hand away, severing their connection, and unfastened an intricate line of gold clasps along his neck. He tipped his head to the side and tugged the leather down, exposing a scar just above the juncture of his shoulder.

“I didn’t suffer the convulsions like you did, but it was a painful experience nonetheless.” Zhett smoothed up the collar of his suit and fastened the clasps. “The men you encountered in the woods launched an attack on your grandfather. Only by happenstance was I there discussing the final details of this mission with him.”

The mention of a grandfather whipped him right into reality. He stepped back, eyes narrowed, and shook his head. “I don’t have a grandfather. Living, at least.”

Confusion cut across Zhett’s devastatingly handsome face. Those gleaming amber eyes flecked with obsidian shot to Doryan and left Tallis to stare at his sharp profile.

God, he wanted to lick him. Maybe devour him if Zhett didn’t do the devouring first.


ADULT EXCERPT

Zhett’s eyes pulsed with an unseen backlight, but the shape of his pupils stunned him. A vertical slit replaced the circular blackness. Several small, black scales lined his eyes. The man looked downright fierce and starved and passionate all in one. In that instant, Tallis saw the creature in his mind, a magnificent black image of fantasy come reality.

“My dragon,” he whispered, his knees falling open. The scales stretched over Zhett’s temples and Tallis craved to see his mate in his dragon form. When only a short time ago he balked at the idea of dragons, Zhett had made him a believer in his simple and tender deliverance of proof. “I want to see you.”

Zhett tipped his chin up and flicked open each fastening along his neck. “Let yours out, little mate. He’s prowling your mind, waiting for you to open yourself. Let me see him.”

Tallis’s eyes widened as the leather suit fell open behind Zhett’s fast-working fingers. The man was a powerhouse of hard, formed muscle, from the deep cuts of his pecs to the rippling terrain of his abs. Cords of honed muscle created the beautiful geography of his shoulders, his biceps, all the way down to his forearms. Zhett peeled the suit off his wrist.

Tallis gasped and fell flat on his back when Zhett came over him, laying his hips flush to Tallis’s. Those reptilian eyes held him in awe. He reached up and traced a finger along the path of the finer scales around his eyes.

“Let him play, precious,” Zhett coaxed in his riveting husk that honey-coated Tallis’s senses. Tallis moaned, biting his swollen lower lip and arching off the mattress. Zhett teased him with a slow, tight thrust of his hips, sliding their dicks together. Cream had already drenched the inside of Tallis’s pants. Zhett’s lips brushed along his throat. “Accept him.” Another airy brush of heat. “Don’t force him back.”

Zhett was inside his mind. Tallis crooned, absorbing the powerful presence that filled the voids inside him. He did not speak like Cyon and Tae had, but the very essence of his being connecting on this intimate level was beyond words. He guided the entity within him forward, bringing the unseen creature closer and closer to the surface of Tallis’s mind.

“Wear your scales, Tallis. Wear them for me.”

The sensation of hot and cold merged with his skin. The creature Zhett guided broke through the surface, releasing a rush of pure excitement and heightened pleasure.

“Ah, ah. Oh god.” Tallis’s eyes shot open. The clarity with which he stared at Zhett made him momentarily dizzy. He knew about his strange night vision gift, but this was different. It was him, but it wasn’t him, staring up at Zhett, whose black scales had climbed between his brows, split across his forehead, and disappeared into his hair.

A dark, hungry smile settled over his mouth. “Beautiful.”

The warrior didn’t give him a chance to speak before consuming him once more in a soul-penetrating kiss. Tallis writhed beneath the tender touch of his mate, his flesh on fire from each light pathway the man’s hand drew over his chest, his stomach, his side. His pants were inched lower, the tip of his cock finally released from its wet confines.

Zhett reared up with a low, rumbling growl. His gaze fell to Tallis’s waist. He licked his lips and took a deep breath.

“Gods, you smell like summer heat after a long winter’s eve.” Zhett tugged the pants down his legs until he freed Tallis completely. The room’s warm air kissed his cream, igniting a rippling of pleasure down his shaft. He fisted the base of his cock and stroked his erection, enamored by Zhett’s agility as he peeled off the rest of his leather. His eyes dropped to the jutting dick, glistening with moisture over a swollen, purple head.

But it was the potent aroma of earthy musk and the hint of sweetness that robbed him of thought.

Tallis sat up and grabbed Zhett’s hips, ignoring the pain in his own dick to wrap his lips around that bulbous head and suckle every drop of juice dribbling out of Zhett’s slit. He moaned over and over, urging more of the man’s flavor to slide over his tongue. Closing his eyes, he savored the texture of Zhett’s cock, every silky ridge and firm inch.

Zhett fucked his mouth. One of his strong hands laced in his hair and held him close. Tallis didn’t need the silent cue. He wanted more and more, and he swallowed Zhett back as far as he could. The man was large, like the rest of him. Tallis cupped the firm globes of his mate’s ass, kneading the muscled mounds, rocking the man into his mouth.

“Take me, little mate.” Zhett braced a knee on the edge of the bed beside Tallis. “Yes, precious. Gods bless, I’m going to bust.”

Tallis sucked hard, running his mouth up and down Zhett’s length. The man’s dick swelled over his tongue.

When the first wave of Zhett’s orgasm broke free, Tallis cried out, swallowing down the fierce jets of cum as his own body shuddered in delight. Zhett’s ferocious roar filled his ears, his chest, his heart, and he took every last drop of his salty-sweet cream with pleasure.

Zhett pulled him off his cock and stepped back, raking his carnal gaze over Tallis. The man was still hard, that sexy organ erect and wet from Tallis’s mouth.

“I’ll be right back,” Zhett said.

“Better be.” Tallis flashed him a smile when he cast another glowing look over his shoulder before disappearing through a door. He situated himself at the center of the bed, and waited for his mate to return and give him a little more than his stolen taste of sin.

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Buy Link:

http://www.bookstrand.com/slow-and-tender

Dark Matter by C.S. Chatterly

Two weary veterans of an intergalactic war find common ground aboard an earth-based, interstellar cruise ship.

Blurb

Captain Rorcan Darr fought in a galactic war lasting many years. Now that Armistice has arrived, he's taking a well-earned break aboard an Earth-based cruise ship. All he wants is to put the past behind him. But going home again isn't the pleasurable task he'd once believed. 

Because of his family's royal lineage, he's expected to take a mate of his father's choosing, and breed a family for political empowerment. Outwardly, he's always acted agreeable - the epitome of patriotic discretion. However, the war deeply changed him as much as it altered everyone else. His future behind a bureaucratic desk seems more like a prison than a life choice.

When he meets a beautiful songstress aboard the cruise ship — one who is a veteran like him and who shares so much sad history — Rorcan is torn between his duty and her lovely body. She's everything he's always wanted, all rolled into one desirable package. Now, all they need do is reconcile their differences. She's from Earth…he's from Vega. Though allied in war, neither planet's authorities will tolerate interspecies mingling. He must make the choice between his sworn duty and his family…or a life in deep space with a woman he craves.


Excerpt

“All right…your point is taken, but you are missing mine. And not for the first time.”

Rorcan wearily unbuttoned the front of his uniform jacket before responding. “I’m not missing anything, Dreyar. You have long heard about Earth women and have wanted to bed one, as many of our brethren already have. Why not be honest and just say so, forgoing the tedious philosophising about how we should ‘all just be friends’ now the war is over.”

“Rorcan…the Earthers died right alongside Vegans! Their blood mingled with that of our own warriors.” Dreyar persisted as he put down his beverage and finished his speech. “You may want to spend this Armistice celebration alone…spouting old, inane, bigoted garbage. As for me, I’m attaching myself to that little blonde. She’s lovely. And if I can find a way to woo said lady…well…do not come looking for me.”

“And what makes you think I will have the time?” Rorcan snapped.

“Because no man or woman who is not Vegan is good enough for you, old friend, and there are no other Vegans on this vessel so far. That means in six weeks, as this Earth ship measures time, I fully expect you will be sitting right here at this bar, just where I left you…alone, miserable and using drink to push your troubles into oblivion.”

“I am not…” Rorcan let his voice trail away. 

His best friend and second-in-command had already walked off, in pursuit of the blonde girl wearing an infantry uniform jacket. That she was an Earther was indisputable. The markings on her sleeves, if not her very human appearance, indicated that much. But his argument about Dreyar’s pursuit had less to do with his perceived bigotry and more to do with the other Earth males on the vessel who might take exception to a Vegan stealing their thunder. As he’d been told, there were roughly eight men on this ship to every woman. It had been a long war and many males hadn’t had the company of a female of any race in a very long time.

He looked over his shoulder, fully expecting the girl in question to turn up her nose at a Vegan suitor. But his brows rose in surprise when Dreyar’s introduction was not only accepted, but the girl smilingly looped her arm through his as he led her to a table, apparently to buy her dinner or drinks.

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Buy Link: 

https://www.totallybound.com/dark-matter

Love Travels Faster Than Light. Bodies of Light by Lisabet Sarai

Blurb

Physicist Dr Christine Monroe has devoted her lonely life to research on hyper-space travel. Her continued failure leads her to sign on to the Archimedes, a sub-light-speed mission aimed at establishing a colony in the Sirius B system.

Waking from suspended animation, she discovers that the ship is wildly off course and the rest of the crew are dead due to equipment failure. At first she thinks the two handsome strangers who show up on the ship are figments of her imagination - erotic hallucinations created by isolation and stress.

However, Alyn and Zed are solid, real, and ready to sacrifice their lives for the strong woman they've found stranded in deep space. As her ship begins to disintegrate, Christine must choose between the planet she was sent to save and the two alien beings she's come to cherish.

Publisher's Note: This story has been previously released as part of the Seeing Stars anthology by Totally Bound Publishing.


Excerpt

She had failed.

Suspension was supposed to be dreamless. Still, frustration and disappointment swirled through her consciousness. Pain nagged her, the ache of goals missed, work left undone. What work? She could not recall. She knew only that it had been critically important.

Layers of confusion swaddled her mind like heavy blankets, smothering any attempt at logic. The incoherence of her thoughts disturbed her further. Images, words and symbols crept into focus then faded before she could decipher their meanings. The need to understand was an itch she could not scratch.

She hung in a dark, foggy void, disembodied and disoriented. Only her emotions had any clarity. She could not banish the certainty that she had been tested and found wanting.

Then came the light.

In the void there was no time. Without transition, light arced through her, golden arrows that pierced and scattered her despair. She had no eyes but somehow she was drenched in rainbow-edged glory. Shimmering waves of aquamarine and cerise danced before her—through her—banishing her darkness. She heard the light as well as saw it, a strange melody that pulsed in rhythm with the glow, tugging at her heart. Irrational joy flooded her.

“Christine.” The voice wound in and out among the chords. It caressed her being, promising comfort and release from care.

“Christine.” A second voice (yet how could she know this, without ears to hear?) whispered in the brief pauses between notes, deeper, darker, a gorgeous contrast with the flaring colours that bathed her thoughts. 

The new voice spoke of pleasure, of desire and exquisite satisfaction.

“You are not alone,” the first voice murmured.

“We are with you,” the second announced, bold and bright as a trumpet call. At the same time, sensation rippled through her. 

Invisible hands cupped and massaged her breasts (but she had no body, no breasts…) until sparks flew from the nipples to merge with the spiralling brightness. Fingertips trailed along her non-existent skin, triggering pleasure so intense it frightened her. The silver voice—as she pictured the first—soothed her without words. The bronze voice laughed like ringing bells and coaxed ever more unbearable delight from her insubstantial body. Her soundless moans rose to join the prismatic symphony in which she floated.

The twin voices teased and enticed her, urging her to let go. “We will support you,” they crooned as pleasure suffused her. She stopped trying to understand how she could experience such arousal when she had no limbs, no sex. She was the pleasure, a multi-hued whirl of harmonious vibration in crescendo.

Silver-voice sang her to the top. Bronze-voice held her there, his power shuddering through her, driving out the fear. 

“Now fly,” said the darker voice and released her.

Pure white energy bloomed from her, rushing outwards. Bliss followed in the wake of the blossoming brilliance. The music swelled to a blinding chorus then thundered into silence.

Darkness descended once more, warm and welcoming, cradling Christine like a beloved child. She reached out mentally for the two voices, but caught only faint echoes of their presence. A twinge of sorrow marred her comfort for a moment, then evaporated. All was well.

Christine slipped deeper into the sweet unconsciousness of suspension, forgetting her doubts and regrets.

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Buy Link-  https://www.totallybound.com/bodies-of-light

Healing In His Wings; A Futuristic Erotic Romance by Ariel Tachna and Nicki Bennett

Blurb

When the Starfire is struck by a mysterious and deadly plague, the captain and crew have no choice but to throw themselves on the mercy of the healers of a nearby, uncharted planet. 

First Officer Ryan Nelson accompanies the sickest patients to the planet’s surface, where he is put under the supervision of Juo-ta-ri, an apprentice to one of the healers who is helping the crew. The two have barely begun to explore the chemistry between them when Ryan’s body betrays him and he falls ill as well. 

Now it’s a race against time to see if Juo can bring the fever down before Ryan’s hallucinations kill him.

Note: This short story was originally published in the Dreamspinner Press anthology Size Matters.


Excerpt

Captain Portia Rusk  sat alone on the bridge, the lights dimmed at all but her station, her usually smooth, pale skin wrinkled with worry as she pondered the various options open to her. They had gone from few to almost none in the ten days since this plague of unknown origin had begun killing her crew. Dr. Shelton continued to insist that he could find a cure given more time, and she believed him, but she had no more time to give him. Her crew was dying. When their sensors had detected the planet yesterday, she had grabbed onto it as a new option, a new hope for her people. 

They had only been able to tell for sure that it was capable of supporting oxygen-breathing life, not whether it actually did, or if so, of what level of technological advancement, but she had not been able to shake the gut feeling that this was their salvation. She did not say anything aloud, not wanting to raise hopes prematurely, but she had immediately ordered the quarantine in hope of slowing the disease’s progress through the crew and giving them a little longer to see what the planet had to offer. They had sent out the standard introductory message on every frequency available to them, hoping for a positive response that could perhaps lead to some assistance, either academic or practical.

A beeping on the screen in front of her drew her attention. It seemed that someone was, in fact, listening. Quickly, she called her first officer, the communications officer, pilot, and chief xenologist to the bridge. It was not the full complement of bridge crew, but she did not want to break quarantine more than necessary until she knew if her instincts were right.

Rising with careful poise, she brushed her hands over her uniform, making sure she was the picture of command, not a hair out of place in the blond chignon she wore, her green eyes serene. Her officers would know it was a mask, for they had seen her sick with worry, as distraught over each death as if she had lost her own children, but her mask was not for their benefit anyway. She would not allow her fear and grief to show when dealing with an alien race for the first time.

“We’ve been hailed,” the captain informed her officers when they had all filed in and taken their places. “Pontil, bring up a link.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the Altarian replied, identifying the signal coming from the nearby planet and keying their communications equipment to match it. “Link completed, ma’am,” the blue-haired man informed the captain.

Captain Rusk punched the button next to the screen and brought up the video link, allowing her to see as well as hear the person on the other end, assuming the other person’s technology was compatible with theirs. She had been pleasantly surprised at how many times it had worked. The image was fuzzy at first, then cleared to reveal a silver-haired male with dark skin and a serious face.

“I am Teo-ta-dar-ri, Chair of the Governing Council of Petarus,” he informed her. “We received your message.”

“Thank you for replying, sir,” the captain replied, hiding her relief that the ship’s translator could make out the language. “I am Captain Portia Rusk of the Starfire. We are explorers under the aegis of Amalgamated Exploration, tasked with plotting areas of space previously unexplored by our home world.”

“We are not in need of exploration, Captain,” the Petari said abruptly.

“Wait,” Captain Rusk pleaded. “We contacted you in the hope that you might be able to assist us. We have been struck by a plague of unknown origin and my crew is dying. We hoped your doctors might be able to help us.”

Teo-da-tar-ri frowned. “This is a most unusual request, and not one I can grant without consultation with the Council and our healers.”

“If there is information we can provide that will help them make up their minds, we will do so gladly,” the captain promised. “Just tell us what you need to know.”

The sound stopped on the transmission as Teo-da-tar-ri spoke to someone not visible to those on the ship. When his voice began transmitting again, he said, “Send records of your travels over the past month as well as all medical records pertaining to this so-called plague. Our healers will look at them while the Council discusses your request. I will contact you again when we have reached a decision.” He signed off before the captain could reply.

At her side, Ryan murmured, “Let’s hope they talk fast or it won’t matter what they decide.”

“At least they’re willing to discuss it, Ry,” Pontil chimed in. “You know as well as I do that a lot of the species we’ve met wouldn’t have even considered it.”

“I know, Narshan,” Ryan retorted, “but a discussion like the one he mentioned could take weeks. You know what governments are like. The Altari government is as bad as the Earth government. And while they’re flapping their gums, we’re up here dying.”

“Gentlemen,” the captain interrupted calmly, “we can’t do anything to speed up their council meeting except give them the data they requested that will hopefully show the urgency of our problem. Mr. Pontil, get the ship’s travel log ready to send while I ask Dr. Shelton for the medical records. Let’s not make them wait for us.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Pontil replied, though he shot Ryan a cheeky grin as he carried out his orders.

Captain Rusk barely refrained from shaking her head. If her crew were not so damn good, she would have them all up on insubordination charges. Reminding herself that they had no time to lose, she used the ship’s intercom system to contact Dr. Shelton who promised to send her the records immediately.

“I have the medical records, Captain,” Pontil informed her.

“Then send them on to the planet,” she directed before turning to Dr. Stanovitch, the Chief Xenologist for the ship.

“Thoughts, Doctor?” she asked the tall albino. Like most of her race, the Regulosian had no pigment in her skin, an evolutionary trait developed from their subterranean existence.

“I only have a little to go on, of course,” the xenologist replied, “but they are technologically advanced enough to communicate with us through space and organized enough politically to have a governing council. That suggests we’re dealing with an advanced civilization that we would do well to approach as equals.” She knew the captain did not need to hear that caution, being one of the most open-minded explorers she had ever had the chance to work with, but it bore stating for the less open-minded crew. Not that any of them were currently on the bridge. Captain Rusk chose her officers for a variety of reasons, not purely for their skills. “As for the rest, only time and more contact will tell.”

Captain Rusk nodded. They were much the same conclusions she had reached herself, but it never hurt to have her thoughts confirmed by their resident expert. “Anyone else have any comments?”

They all shook their heads. Ryan might have added something had it been one of the other xenologists speaking, but he found it difficult even after all these months to look at Dr. Stanovitch, much less interact with her. Everything about her reminded him of Nikolai.

“Very well. Dismissed. Return to your quarters. I will call you when we hear back from the Petari.”

They all obeyed the order except Ryan, who lingered on the bridge after the others were gone.

“Mr. Nelson?”

“It’s just us now, Portia,” Ryan admonished. “Talk to me.”

“About what?” she asked. “How desperate the situation is? You’re as aware of that as I am. How scared I am that the Petari won’t be able to help us even if they agree? We’ve worked together too long for me to need to tell you that.”

“Hey,” he cajoled, “where’s my ever-optimistic captain?”

“In stasis with the ones we couldn’t save,” she replied sadly, the tears she refused to shed glittering on her lashes despite her determination not to show any weakness.

“Foolish woman,” Ryan scolded, setting aside all shipboard protocol and embracing her firmly. “Go ahead and cry so you’ll be done with it and can deal with whatever the Petari say. I did.”

Captain Rusk looked up at the strong face of the man who held her in disbelief. Ryan Nelson was the epitome of stoicism. The thought of him giving in to his emotions that way was almost beyond her. His clipped mustache twitched as he smiled down at her, making her laugh. “You’re having me on.”

“No, I’m not,” he promised, “but a laugh will do just as well, and I’m much better at dealing with those than with feminine tears.”

“Than feminine anything,” she retorted, knowing Ryan’s preferences ran to his own gender. In some ways, that made their jobs easier, with no sexual tension between them to muck up the works. She could admit, privately, that he was an attractive man, with his sculpted features, closely-trimmed dark hair, and surprisingly blue eyes, but she did not have to worry about his looks, or her own, interfering with their working relationship.

“Touché,” Ryan quipped. “Are you all right now?”

Captain Rusk nodded. “As well as I can be with people in the infirmary, probably dying as we speak, and only the barest possibility of hope from a planet whose people I know nothing about.”

“We’ll find a way through this, Portia,” Ryan insisted with a hope he was not sure he truly felt. “The Petari would have to be heartless to refuse us aid if it’s in their power to give it, and if it’s not, we’ll keep looking. This isn’t the only planet in the sector. We can’t give up hope.”

“I know,” she sighed.

“Get some rest,” Ryan suggested. “I don’t think you’ve slept since Corm got sick, and that’s been ten days ago. I don’t know why you don’t look like hell, but you won’t do us any good if you’re too tired to negotiate with the Petari when they call back.”

“If I lie down now, I won’t wake up for a week,” she protested.

“All the more reason for you to rest,” Ryan insisted. “I can handle them if you want me to.”

“I know you can,” she agreed, “but this is my responsibility. I will go rest, though, until they hail us again. I’ll be in my quarters.” She pulled from his loose embrace and headed toward the hatch that led to her cabin, turning back when she reached the door. “Do not fail to notify me, Mr. Nelson.”

“As you say, ma’am,” he replied, the very image of a responsible first officer again.

She gave him a curt nod and disappeared, leaving Ryan alone on the bridge. He settled in to wait, knowing it could be a long vigil.

******

Several hours later, the beeping of an incoming signal roused Ryan from his light doze. Glancing at the comm pad and seeing the same signature as earlier, he buzzed the captain’s cabin. “Incoming signal from the Petari, ma’am,” he informed her, hope dancing along his nerves despite the uncertainty of what the decision would be. The Petari could still reject them and send them on to die alone in space if Dr. Shelton did not find a cure. He knew that, but his pulse sped up anyway.

“On my way,” she replied.

A minute later, she strode onto the bridge, her face its usual carefully composed mask. Ryan could see a hope to match his own, though, in her eyes. “Bring up the link.”

Ryan hit the button and stepped back, leaving the captain center stage. “Teo-ta-dar-ri,” she acknowledged with a short bow, her voice deliberately even.

“Captain Rusk,” the Petari leader replied, inclining his head. “We have considered your request and our healers tell us they can help you. They also stress that time is of the essence. The Council, however, still has some concerns about letting your ship land, possibly releasing this plague on our populace. Therefore, the Council has some stipulations. I will let you talk with the healer who will be coordinating the relief effort. He understands the limits placed by the Council.”

“Thank you, Teo-ta-dar-ri,” Captain Rusk replied emphatically, relief surging through her. She wanted to shout with excitement, jump up and down like a little kid on Christmas morning, hug her first mate and the rest of the crew besides, but she kept her face unchanged and her voice level. “We will do our best to comply with anything your healer or the Council requests. As you say, the situation has grown urgent.”

She gestured for Ryan to page the doctor to join the transmission. Moving softly out of the sight of the video feed, Ryan called the infirmary, getting Dr. Shelton almost immediately. “The Petari healer wants to talk to us,” he said quietly, his voice reflecting the joy he felt nonetheless. “They think they can help us.”

“Thank the gods,” Dr. Shelton breathed softly. “What do they want us to do?”

“I don’t know yet. The captain is waiting for the healer. She wanted you to listen in, too.”

“Captain Rusk? It is an honor to meet you.” The image on the screen changed, Teo-ta-dar-ri’s sour face replaced by one even more lined and careworn, but with a kind smile and a mischievous spark that Ryan immediately liked. He could not have explained it rationally, but while Teo-ta-dar-ri raised his hackles, he trusted this one instinctively.

“I am Pol-ta-dar-ri,” the man continued. “I understand you have contracted a case of Mardonese plague.”

“If that’s what it’s called, then yes,” the captain replied, returning the man’s smile without even realizing it.

“That is our name for it anyway,” Pol-ta-dar-ri agreed. “We can help you, but Petari medicine is unique as far as we know, and is not something we can simply give you. I won’t bore you with the details, though I will be glad to share it with your healer.”

“Dr. Shelton?”

“I’m here, Captain,” the doctor’s voice came through the system.

“Very good,” the captain said, stepping back and letting Dr. Shelton’s face replace hers on the video screen. “I will let you and your esteemed Petari colleague work out the details then.” As soon as she knew the Petari could not see her, she turned to Ryan, her grin wide. His smile matched hers as he crossed the room to her side, checking to make sure they were off-screen before pulling her into a bear hug and twirling her around. “Stop,” she whispered. “They’ll hear us.”

“Dr. Shelton, is it?” Pol-ta-dar-ri verified. “Given our methods and the limited resources the Council is currently willing to free up to assist you, we need to determine which of your patients should come to the surface first.”

“Is that necessary?” Dr. Shelton asked, concern clear in his voice. “Could you not simply send me the antidote?”

At the mention of people going to the planet’s surface, the captain’s face grew serious again as she mentally rejoined the conversation. She would not intervene unless something the two doctors discussed seemed dangerous in her opinion, but she wanted to be aware of the course of their negotiations.

“Ah, if only it were that simple, doctor,” the Petari healer sighed. “Unfortunately, we do not use serums and pills and the sort of antidotes that are common among other civilizations. Our healing is more… natural, and requires a personal touch. We can help you, rest assured, but only a few at a time. My preference would have been to have your ship land near the village where I live, but the Council is concerned about overtaxing the delicate balance of our medical system and so has insisted we bring only those patients we can treat at any one time. Once someone is cured, we can bring someone else.”

“It seems like an awfully slow system,” Dr. Shelton commented. Silently, Ryan agreed, but then, he freely admitted he knew nothing about medicine. If Pol-ta-dar-ri said this was the only way it could be handled, he would certainly not be arguing.

“By your standards, it undoubtedly is,” Pol-ta-dar-ri agreed, “but it is the only system we have and it works quite well for us. If you can send blood samples of the patients you are currently treating, I can determine which are the most urgent. Eventually, we will need to scan the entire crew to make sure there are not any latent cases remaining before you return to your explorations.”

“I have fifteen patients currently in the infirmary,” Dr. Shelton told the Petari. “I’ve done standard analyses on blood samples of the entire crew. Would you prefer I send those rather than the actual samples? It would be faster.”

Pol-ta-dar-ri nodded. “Transmit the data and I will look at them. If I need more information, I will contact you. As you say, it would be faster than if I had to redo work you have already done.”

They could hear beeping through the comm as Dr. Shelton worked. “They’re sent,” he told the Petari healer. “I flagged the crew currently in the infirmary showing symptoms.”

“Very good. It will take me an hour or two to evaluate them and determine which ten we will help first. I do wish we could bring them all, as I said before, but the Council is adamant. Does your ship have docking capacities, Captain?” the healer asked, turning his attention back to Rusk.

“It does,” Captain Rusk confirmed, her mind racing as she considered the situation. It seemed they had no choice but to transfer the stricken to the planet’s surface, but she had no intention of letting them go alone. Her place was aboard the Starfire, but she trusted Ryan to act in her stead.

“We will need to have a small shuttle dock with your vessel so we can bring the patients to the surface,” Pol-ta-dar-ri explained.

“That can be arranged,” she assured him. “I know we are in no position to make demands, but would it be possible for my first officer to accompany the patients? Most of them are quite ill and I would feel better knowing there is a familiar face with them while they’re receiving treatment.”

Ryan frowned when he heard the captain’s plan, but he could see her logic. It bothered him, though, that he would be taking a seat on the shuttle that could be filled by someone in need of treatment.

Pol-ta-dar-ri nodded. “I understand your concern perfectly, Captain. If you would be good enough to give me the name of your first officer, I will check the blood sample. If he is uninfected, he is welcome to come. Otherwise, we will have to insist it be someone else, as the Council has clearly stipulated no more than ten patients at a time.”

Captain Rusk gave Ryan’s name as Ryan relaxed. His presence would be in addition to those who were ill. In that case, he had no hesitations about accompanying them. He trusted Pol-ta-dar-ri, but that did not mean he wanted his friends completely alone on a strange planet.

“Very good, Captain,” the healer said. “Let me do my analyses and I will be back in contact within the hour. In the meantime, I have transmitted some recommendations to help slow the spread of the plague until we can work our way through your crew.”

“Thank you, Pol-ta-dar-ri. We’ve received the file and we’ll await your contact for the next step.”

“We will notify you as soon as we’re ready to proceed.”

The screen went blank and Captain Rusk sagged back against her seat in relief. “It’s going to be all right, Ryan,” she said softly, looking up at her first officer. “I finally believe it’s going to be all right.”
expand

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Buy Link-  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1787&cPath=56_66

Yeoman's Curse; A Spine Tingling Futuristic Erotic Romance by T. C. Archer

Some things lost are too dangerous to be found.

Blurb

Some call her a pirate, but Destiny calls herself treasure hunter. When she and her lover Shane Richards happen upon a derelict Kirsoval harem slave ship, they chance a salvage operation that could be the bonanza of a lifetime…or a lifetime of horror. But when it comes to Kirsoval treasure, there may be no one better suited than Richards to face the dangers. His dark violet eyes are the only hint of the Kirsoval blood that flows through his veins—the very thing that might save them, or pit Destiny against the man she loves…


Read an excerpt:  http://tcarcher.tcarcher.com/2013/10/25/yeomans-curse—erotic-sci-fi-adult-excerpt.aspx

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Buy Links: 

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