Amidst a Crowd of Stars Page 6

  Eddie was quick, but I’m just faster. Relava flew past him. Her eyes met mine for one startled minute, and then she was past me too. I whirled in place and followed.

  She pushed through the doors and into the lobby, and I was close enough on her heels to smell the stench of ozone that clung to her like bad perfume. I swiped a hand at my stunner, but she put on an extra burst of speed as we rounded the edge of the desk and I couldn’t get close enough to reach her.

  In another moment, she hit the street. The plazglass doors cracked behind us, but we kept going. Relava lurched through the crowd, which had become larger as night fell.

  I switched easily into hyperdrive with nothing more than a mental push. The muscles and tendons in my legs took energy from organs getting less use at the moment, like intestines and kidneys. My lungs expanded the additional fraction that allowed me to take in extra air. I pushed off from the pavement. I’m not truly able to fly, but in those moments of hyperdrive, it’s as close as any person can ever get. My hand swiped at her and caught the trailing strands of her dark hair. My fingers tangled, and she stumbled.

  It wasn’t quite enough to stop her. She kept going for another few feet, right into the path of traffic. The hovertaxi screeched to a stop, but not soon enough. The vehicle struck her, hard, in the midsection.

  Her torso split, and her limbs separated from her body. Her head rolled along the ground. She was still smiling.

  Blue sparks arced for a moment between the sad, scattered pieces of her body before fizzling to black smoke. A finger twitched, and one eye closed. As quickly as that, she was deactivated.

  “God-of-choice, I hate doing a Blade Runner,” I muttered. My stomach twisted.

  The crowd didn’t pause to gawk. The hovertaxi driver got out and inspected the front of his undamaged vehicle, asked me if he needed to stick around, and cursed when I told him he’d have to fill out some paperwork.

  Eddie appeared with a tarp from inside, and we waited until a cleanup crew arrived to pick up the pieces. That and the inevitable forms we had to fill out took a good part of an hour, and by that time, darkness had fallen over this part of the District.

  Eddie clapped a hand to his stomach. “I’m starving.”

  Relava’s flight and demise had stolen my appetite. “Let’s call it a day.”

  “Hey, G,” Eddie said with a glance at his timepiece. “Didn’t you have a date tonight?”

  The world seemed to stand still for a moment. I checked my internal clock. “Oh, no.”

  I’d forgotten all about Declan.

  When the heart sets its course, even home is no escape…

  Force of Attraction

  © 2009 Mandy M. Roth

  Project Exorcism, Book 2

  With a Commission uniform on her back and an engagement ring from the ship commander on her finger, a normal life is finally within Dr. Marisa Langston’s reach. If she can just learn to love her fiancé, everything will be perfect. Except for the perfectly arrogant Lieutenant Commander Bradi Janelle. He not only gets on her last nerve, he makes her body burn with a hunger only he can satisfy. Distraction is dangerous for a woman who has something to hide…especially when the ship is sabotaged.

  Bradi isn’t looking for a mate. Hell, he goes out of his way to avoid the prospect altogether—until the sexy little number in the infirmary makes a mockery of his ladies’ man façade. Now, trapped with her in an escape pod, she’s way too close for comfort. Too close to deny himself the heaven of her body. And her semi-conscious ramblings reveal way too much information—secrets that are dangerous for them both.

  Their out-of-control hormones are the least of their problems. The pod is careening toward his home planet. Once there, Marisa won’t be the only one with nothing left to hide…

  This book has been previously published and has been revised from its original release.

  Warning: Contains steaming hot baby-making in close quarters, sexy shifters in a galaxy far, far away, and a giant eel. Don’t worry, it’s friendly. Most of the time.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Force of Attraction:

  Bradi woke slowly, his joints aching and his body on fire. It was normal with his condition for his body to react to changes in the temperature automatically. It was also common for him to run several degrees hotter than a human. That was just one of the reasons why he’d refused to allow Dr. Marisa Langston to evaluate him. Hell, he hadn’t ever allowed any Commission doctor to examine him. It’d cost him a pretty penny to pay others to forge his documents, but it was necessary all the same. Besides, he had no family so money wasn’t really a concern for him.

  Marisa was still sleeping and he didn’t want to wake her. She looked like an angel lying there with her arms pulled up close to her chest and it took everything in him not to reach out and touch her. The cut on her arm had finally stopped bleeding but the slightest bump could easily break it open. Rolling on his side, Bradi winced when pain radiated through his shoulder.

  Peeking out the POD window, his stomach dropped. There, in the distance, he saw the tell-tale aquamarine color of Margaidia, their original destination and the destination that had been programmed into all the escape PODs should there be trouble. The POD had overshot the planet and was headed on a direct path for Sargaidia, the uncharted sister planet to Margaidia, and the last place in the universe he wanted to go back to.

  Bradi checked the computer and found it frozen over. Looking around the POD, he realized that the entire thing was covered with a thin frost.

  Marisa.

  Dropping down next to her, he touched her lightly. Her body was rigid and extremely cool to the touch.

  “Doc?” he asked, shaking her gently. She didn’t respond and his gut twisted. The thought of her freezing to death before he was able to get the POD operational again was a very real possibility.

  “Come on, babe,” he said, hoping to goad her into responding. The faint blue line around her lips told him that no amount of prodding would help. Acting quickly, Bradi pulled his shirt off and reached for her. Groaning softly from the pain shooting through him, he covered Marisa’s body with his own. “This isn’t enough.”

  Bradi worked his boots and pants off before reaching for Marisa’s uniform. He’d been dying to get her out of her clothes from day one, but this wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. He worked her shirt over her head and did his best not to stare at the luscious pale globes before him. Her pink nipples looked good enough to eat and everything in him wanted to sample them. The faint light from the navigational controls reflected off her pale skin and he had to be closer to her.

  The nasty cut on her upper arm seemed to be holding, but the fear of breaking it open left him moving slower than he should to warm her body. Working her boots and pants off, Bradi lingered a little too long near the top of her panty line. Thoughts of Pete kept him from peeking further.

  Placing his body over hers, Bradi willed himself to be hotter. His body reacted to his command and he felt his core temperature rise even more. If he had to, he’d shift forms, but the last thing he wanted was for Marisa to wake and find herself under a partially changed man. Somehow, he didn’t think that would go over so well. Fully shifting wasn’t an option either. It wouldn’t make it any easier on her to find herself pinned beneath a black panther.

  Marisa moaned and he looked down to see if she was awake yet. Her eyes remained closed, but she moved her hands slightly. Bradi tensed when he felt her fingers running over his back.

  “Doc?”

  “Mmm,” she whispered, grinding her hips upwards.

  The sweet scent of her cream filled his head. His erection, which he seemed to permanently sport while around Marisa, ached to dive into her, sample her flesh and claim her for his own. The tiny silken barrier of her panties served as a reminder that he couldn’t—or rather shouldn’t—take her.

  She shifted a bit. “Mmm, I want you in me.”

  Bradi froze as she grabbed his ass. “Doc, wake up.”

&n
bsp; Cool lips met his and he fought to keep his body from responding. The minute her tongue pushed through and found his, he lost all control.

  If I’m going to die out here anyway, I might as well die making love to her. Marisa is the closest to heaven I’m ever going to be.

  Marisa’s hands pushed between their bodies. She wrapped her fingers around his cock and he nearly came on her bare stomach. Never before had a woman’s touch brought him so much pleasure so quickly. Reason fought its way through to him. “Doc, baby, wake up, now! You don’t want to do this. It’s not right.”

  Her lips fastened onto his as she pushed her panties to the side and rubbed the head of his cock in her wet juices. “It’s more than right. I want you. I’ve dreamed of touching you from the moment I boarded the ship.”

  Bradi wanted to take the time to love her as she should be loved before entering her, but he was no longer in control. The beast within could smell her cream, her sex, and the desire to mate with her was overpowering. Easing his cock head into her opening, he gritted his teeth at how tight she was. Inching in a bit more, she cried out and grabbed hold of his arms. The pleasure of her tight channel wrapped around the tip of his dick overshadowed the pain in his shoulder as he worked himself into her more.

  “Oh…yes,” she whispered, kissing his face feverishly.

  He savored the feel of her. “You’re so fucking tight, Doc.” He briefly wondered how she could be this difficult to enter when she and Pete had been together for so long, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, not wanting to think about his betrayal. This was his moment to be in Marissa—the woman who called to him on a primitive level.

  Marisa’s erect nipples rubbed against his chest as he pushed a bit further into her. Meeting with slight resistance, Bradi hesitated. Could it be? He stopped. She’d been with Pete for close to two years, they had to have had sex—right? There was no way she was a virgin. Not the sexually charged doctor who made him weak in the knees. No.

  Marisa dug her nails into his arms and thrust her head back. “More!”

  Any concerns he had flew away at the sound of her command. Thrusting into her, she cried out as he brought himself to the hilt. Somehow, she’d managed to accept all of him, her channel fisting his dick to the point he wanted to come, and he’d only just started.

  She’s got him right where he wants her.

  Enslaved

  © 2008 Sydney Somers

  Dominion sentinel Kaela Garrett will go to any lengths to gather evidence against a suspected traitor, even if it means auctioning off her body to the highest bidder. Posing as a slave should have been the perfect cover to gain access to an exclusive gala. Only she hadn’t anticipated a sexy treasure salvager with a grudge outbidding everyone—including her mark—to possess her.

  Lorcan Hunt can’t believe the very sentinel who had him arrested six weeks ago is on the auction block, completely at his mercy. What better way to get even—and pass the time until his next job—than force her to submit to every new and wicked revenge he can imagine? His every demand for her submission, however, comes with a price: a burning need that slides under his skin and grows stronger with every concession she makes.

  When Kaela finally gives in to the fierce desire between them, Lorcan finds himself hopelessly caught in an impossible choice. Honor the commitment binding him to his next job—or hold onto the one woman he can never have.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Enslaved:

  Kaela scowled at the restraints, jerking their joined wrists up to eye level. “Don’t feel obligated to lavish me with gifts so soon, Hunt. Might give a girl expectations.” And make it a whole lot harder to maintain a respectable distance between them.

  A satisfied smile caught the corner of his mouth. “I wouldn’t want to lose my slave in the crowd.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  Without warning, he snaked an arm around her, hauling her closer.

  Too close. Breathing now meant drawing him in, letting him overwhelm her senses when she was still reeling from the unexpected turn of events. Events that gave him every legal right to drag her around. For now. She’d taken the mission knowing the risks, agreed to the terms set forth by the bondskeeper and hadn’t complained, even when the final step meant accepting the mark of an indentured slave on her hip.

  But she sure as hell wanted to complain now. The arm looped around her back felt too tight, the grip too possessive, the man holding her too dangerous, arrogant and out of his ever-lovin’ mind. Plastered to his front, the hard planes of his chest made her increasingly aware of how little she wore, and each steady inhale only made the silk bunched between their bodies less noticeable. Seeing as how his gaze dropped to her cleavage, which was perilously close to spilling over his hasty tie job, he knew it too.

  “The only expectations you need to worry about,” he growled, “are mine. More specifically, how many ways I’ll want your legs wrapped around me.” His rough voice and the hypnotic sweep of his thumb along her jaw made for a treacherous combination. Made it impossible not to think about it—his body covering hers, his mouth sliding down her throat and her legs anchored around his hips, locking him against her, inside her.

  Which made it pretty damn impressive she could respond at all. “Either they left you in solitary confinement too long, or you’ve always been this deluded.”

  The dig had the desired effect. Lorcan’s expression darkened and he spun around, jerking her after him. Left with barely enough time to suck in a relieved breath, she had no choice but to follow. It was either that or be dragged. Taking a stand against her prime in the middle of the promenade would land her in the brig faster than being caught on the run.

  And that was the best-case scenario. She refused to consider the lengths to which some primes went to teach their slaves a lesson in obedience. Kaela hadn’t forgotten the party she’d attended while tracking a Battalian scientist wanted for testing his biological weapons on innocent settlers in the Astral quadrant.

  Lorcan strode away from the promenade, away from Varek’s slave dealer and Caplan. The farther he led her along the spaceport’s winding corridors, the more determined she became to devise a new plan.

  Getting him alone could give her the opportunity to incapacitate him, but wouldn’t solve the problem of disengaging the locking mechanism on the bands joining them. She’d need tools for that. Unfortunately, lugging around an unconscious man until she could track down something to do the job would be a bit too conspicuous.

  All of which left her back at square one.

  He picked up the pace, turning toward the port’s merchant district.

  “Hunt,” she began.

  “I think Master has a much better ring to it, don’t you?”

  “So does fuck y—”

  He turned a corner off the main corridor, one she suspected led to a maintenance shaft, and pivoted to face her. “I think you and I need to come to an understanding.”

  Kaela snorted. “I think you need to let go of me.” She stared at the hand that molded to her upper arm, mentally running down and discarding any maneuver that would involve breaking her own wrist or arm to get him to release her. Being Lorcan’s slave didn’t qualify for that kind of extreme measure. Yet.

  “Now that’s the beauty of this arrangement,” he continued. “What you think doesn’t matter.”

  An old anger flared to life inside her, his tone a little too reminiscent of superior officers who’d made it their personal mission to remind her, as often as possible, they didn’t believe she’d earned her position on merit alone. More than once she’d been tempted to point out her mother hadn’t involved herself in Kaela’s life since becoming a quadrant chancellor years ago, let alone pulled any strings where her career was concerned.

  Overtly disagreeing with those ignorant opinions had always landed her the shit assignments. She didn’t doubt that disagreeing with Lorcan now would invite retaliation, one she feared would prove she hadn’t been the right sentinel for this assignm
ent. Not taking into account Lorcan’s unexpected role.

  Stumbling across Hunt outside a trading settlement on the Outer Rim had given her a way to evade the handful of mercenaries looking for her. Escaping them without having obtained her mission objective or positively identifying the Dominion official Varek was suspected of bribing pissed her off more than getting caught. She hadn’t expected to find anything on Hunt’s ship when he gave her a ride to the closest spaceport, least of all cargo that didn’t belong to him. “It wasn’t personal.”

  A cold smile hugged his lips. “It was to me.”

  “I was doing my job.”

  “We both know you could have looked the other way.”

  Not when looking the other way meant ignoring the duties and responsibilities she took seriously. Once any Dominion officer started down that path, letting greed compromise their integrity, a one-way trip to Dadelus penal colony lurked right around the corner.

  Lorcan’s eyes narrowed. “You cost me a lot of money.”

  “Here’s a tip. Don’t steal.”

  “You made the wrong call.”

  “Not my problem.”

  He leaned in, his mouth hovering above her ear. “It is now.”

  Amidst a Crowd of Stars

  Megan Hart

  A love as rare—and precious—as a desert rain.

  Marrin Levy needs a man. Not to have children. Her husband gave her three before he died—along with a failing homestead and crushing debt. What she needs is a strong back to help her wrest a living from the harsh, desert planet of Lujawed.

  She’s sent away for a field-husband to take over the hard labor, nothing more. She never expected the devastatingly handsome, forever-young Seveeran, Keane Delacore, would fit so easily into her family’s life.

  Keane’s heart is as strong as his back, bringing Marrin more than just help in the fields. He offers her love she never thought she’d feel again…if she has the courage to reach out and take it.