Starkissed (34 page)

“Shhh.” She pressed her hand to his mouth. “Dr. Mitchel doesn’t think it will come to that. She doesn’t think he will do me any harm.”

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Starkissed

197

“He?”

“Well, we don’t know. With your hidden equipment, there’s no way to tell. J’Qhir, would you mind if your child has hair?”

He ran his fingers through her long locks. “
Ssshe
will have your hair. Why would I mind?”

“He or she will be a part of us both.” She hesitated, then whispered, “There is something I have wanted to tell you for a long time…I love you, J’Qhir.”

He thought a moment. “You do not mean lovemaking, do you?”

“No. Love is the emotion I feel for you. Do the Zi love? Can you love?”

“We have no word for love. We ressspect and we honor and we have obligation and duty, but we do not love.” He paused. “Yet, if love meansss I ache when we are apart and I am filled with joy when you are near and I want you more than anything in the galaxy then yesss, I love you, Leith.”

Leith sighed happily, pressing her mouth to his. She made a mental note to tell her mother she had indeed been starkissed.

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About the Author

Lanette Curington, who also writes as Lani Aames, was born and raised in west Tennessee and resides there with her husband, two daughters, and a clowder of cats. She is the author of the critically acclaimed futuristic romance, Starkissed, her first release with Samhain Publishing. As Lani Aames, she writes erotic romance and is multi-published in a variety of sub-genres, including Master of Disaster, coming soon from Samhain Publishing. For the latest information, visit her author websites

www.lanettecurington.com and
www.laniaames.com.

A sexy alien with secrets to hide, an irresistible reporter determined to expose the truth;
when resistance succumbs to temptation, they are forced to pay…

The Price of Discovery

© 2006 Jordanna Kay

On the hunt for a juicy story and a promotion, Erin Price is

determined to prove she can move beyond her past mistakes. An eerie Victorian house in the middle of nowhere and a sexy stranger hiding secrets could be her ticket to success. Racing against time and a competing journalist, Erin breaks every rule to be near the stranger. When she discovers the truth, she’ll be forced to decide if her career is more important than her heart.

Drakor has nothing but contempt for Earth after his best friend

disappeared on the planet during a previous assignment. When his family accepts a critical mission to find a cure for bone crippling disease at home, Drakor is forced to return to the planet he despises. As his birthday nears, Drakor is losing time to find his life mate. Will his encounters with a nosy reporter change his opinion of Earth and is his deep attraction to her proof that his true life-mate is human? When a series of failures force Drakor to take his family and run, will he leave behind the only person he can ever love?

Enjoy this excerpt from
The Price of Discovery
.

Erin wiped her palms on Drakor’s shirt and tested the door at the end of the hall. The room she snuck in earlier. It was unlocked! She slipped inside and quickly closed the door behind her, locking it.

This room too was darkened by the shadows of the moon. If only she could have gone home and gotten her flashlight. Now, she’d have to poke around in the dark. There had to be something in this massive bookshelf to her left. She already knew that nothing was on the other side of the room other than a bed. This must have been his parents’

bedroom. It seemed creepy to be in here when they only died two days ago. But still she had work to do and she couldn’t let anything stand in her way.

She went closer to the screen on the desk. It looked similar to a computer monitor, but much flatter and shinier. Erin reached out to touch it when a sound startled her from behind.

Had someone come in? She locked the door, she was sure of it.

Erin tried to ignore the galloping of her heart and slowly turned to face the dark corner of the room. She could see nothing against that shadowed wall but then a figure stepped forward.

“So this is the real Erin.”

Her breath stilled but her heart jumped for an entirely different reason. Drakor.

But how did he get in here? Or was he in here all along? There was no sense in lying like she tried to with Brundor. Drakor knew what she did for a living and why she was here.

She folded her arms under her breasts, suddenly very aware of her bare legs and his scent on her collar. “And? What of it?”

He took another step forward and Erin had to muffle the intake of breath in her dry throat. The glow from the window lit up his bare chest, narrowed waist, and arms, casting shadows along the hard lines of his muscles. He wore a pair of shorts, unbuttoned but zipped, and nothing else.

Drakor leaned one hand against the shelves near her. “I never imagined you would use my sisters to get what you want.”

Erin tilted her head, trying to not be tempted by the allure of his body.

He moved closer still and Erin backed up until her butt hit the edge of the desk.

Drakor put an arm on either side of her head, blocking an escape.

Erin stared up at him, wanting to run from him but knowing she could not. Not when he was this close. Not when shivers coursed through her body in the anticipation of his next move. She licked her lips but couldn’t control the deep yearning crashing through her blood. He held her spellbound, intoxicated by his raw sexuality.

Drakor leaned toward her face, stopping just inches from her lips. “You and I are playing this game, but only one of us can win.”

Why couldn’t she respond to him with some witty comment? One glance into those mysterious eyes made her heart skip a beat. His heady, masculine presence enveloped her so completely that all logical thought emptied from her brain.

Erin muttered something unintelligible and lifted her chin a little. Damn it, why didn’t he kiss her?

A hot hand clamped down on her thigh and Erin gasped. Her pulse rocketed. She could see one corner of his lips curl as he slid a knee between her legs. “What do you hope to find, Erin?”

She tried to answer but her mouth was too dry to even swallow. If only he would kiss her…

Dreams bring passion, passion births lust, lust feeds violence.

Violence brings chaos. Chaos stands against The Order.

Tears of Myhu

© 2007 Clarie Michaels

What if the truth is locked inside your dreams?

For years Officer Elite Daniel Barrows has fought for his place in The Order, overcoming the bigotry of being born a tribal. His adoptive father rescued him during a devastating raid, but Daniel cannot forget his childhood and the beautiful, enchanting friend who long ago lost her life.

Now in charge of tribal raids for The Order, Daniel’s success is

jeopardized when he comes face to face with a mysterious woman. Nya turns his structured world upside down. His draw to her defies all logic, all reason, and goes against everything he was raised to believe.

With Nya’s life in danger, Daniel must choose between duty and what he feels to be right. With that choice, he will discover who he is and find his destiny.

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language.

Enjoy this excerpt from
Tears of Myhu
.

Daniel heard a strange sound, a soft whistling just at the edge of hearing. At first, he thought the wind blew through a small crack of window space. He did his best to ignore it, find sleep again. Yet, he could not ignore the persistent sound.

His eyes fluttered open. It was late. His father must have left. Cala slept next to him.

Daniel rose from their bed and made his way to the bathroom.

“Cool water, forty degrees Fahrenheit.”

“Warning, Daniel Barrows,” an automated voice replied. “Such extreme temperature may cause bodily discomfort. Shall I continue?”

“Yes, please.”

“Very well. Water, forty degrees Fahrenheit, to commence in three, two, one…”

Water flowed from a spout in the hand sink. He gathered the icy substance in his palms and lifted it to his face, wincing as the frigid liquid numbed his skin. He repeated

the process, trying to will away the lethargic side effects of Entaxia. Daniel bent to scoop up one more handful and caught sight of the inside of his wrist.

“Stop water,” he whispered.

The faucet ceased its downpour.

Daniel grabbed the towel by the sink and wiped off his face. He dried his hands and sat on the wide rim of the bathtub, still staring down at his wrist.

He did everything he could to hide the marking there. It had been his greatest shame for years, a mark he could never rid himself of. Most of the time he wore a thick band around his wrist. He had removed the band to gain access to the gathering last night. If he needed to prove to anyone what he was, the mark would be all that was required.

A tribal mark, a brand, one given to him as a child. Each tribe had their own markings, a way to identify themselves in the encampments. As far as he knew, his tribe was wiped out. The only two left after the raid were himself and Hido’ni. It was what he’d known to be true. Until today.

Slowly, he rubbed his thumb across the brand. A part of him still disbelieved. It could not be possible, but somehow it was. The girl’s brand had been identical to his.

Searching his fragmented memories, he recalled his time in the camps. Daniel tried to recollect a child version of the mysterious girl, yet came up empty-handed. There had been many children in his tribe. All were killed, before his very eyes. Their faces were a blur to him. The only person he remembered with perfect clarity was Emi’le. The tribal girl he’d tried to capture must have been around, but he could not recall meeting her.

Judging by the look on her face when she discovered his brand, she had been just as shocked as he was.

The whole thing made his head spin. Why was this happening now? Why, when everything was falling into place?

The noise that had woken him began again—a quiet, odd sound, carried with the wind and much louder this time. Daniel got to his feet, trying to assess where it was coming from. He walked into the main room and stood in the center, waiting. Again, he heard it. This time it was loud, ringing in his ears like a bell.

He trembled when he heard the sound again.

It was accompanied by a female voice.

“Da’yel.”

Daniel gasped, searching the room frantically, looking for the source of the haunting sound.

“Da’yel,” the voice came again, just out of reach and impossible to pinpoint.

“Lights!”

The room illuminated brightly, dispelling any hiding places Daniel had missed.

“Da’yel,” he heard again.

Beginning to panic, Daniel ran over to his desk and fumbled with his receiver. He had to alert the Centre. Somehow, by some way, she was here. Triumphantly, he held up his portable communicator.

“Da’yel,” he heard again. This time, her voice sounded hurt, insecure.

Daniel lowered his hand and closed his eyes. She pulled him toward her, her voice pounding in his head. He dropped his receiver, listening to it hit the floor. The sound of the receiver against the floor twanged in his eardrums and tingled in the hollow spaces of his ear canals. Her voice came from somewhere else, somewhere deep inside of his head.

She was calling to him, using her mind to connect directly with his.

Following his long-buried instincts, Daniel allowed her to guide him He was floating. Belatedly, he wondered if it was his mysterious girl or the lingering effects of Entaxia. Before he could come to a decision, he stood on his back terrace. He searched the night.

His heart stopped.

He saw her crouched on the steel roof of his transportation storage unit. She watched him with curious eyes.

Daniel took a step into the darkness. He raised his hand, beckoning her down. The girl gave a shy smile and hopped off the roof. She landed silently, almost gracefully, and walked toward him.

Daniel felt the sides of his mouth tug upward. She had waited for him, followed him here. She was drawn to him, as intrigued as he was about their chance meeting. Not since his mother passed and he lost Emi’le had he felt so complete.

“Hello,” he said, at a sudden loss for words.

The girl smiled again and took another step forward. Suddenly, the night sky lit up like day had dawned. Loud sirens filled the air.

“Cease your hostility! You are surrounded!” an amplified voice boomed from above them.

The girl gasped, turned and tried to take a flying leap up to the roof. Daniel watched helplessly as long metal ropes tumbled out of the craft hovering above his building. One looped around the girl’s waist, another around a wrist. Soon, both of her hands were ensnared and she stood trapped.

Daniel felt paralyzed as the cables snaked around the girl’s ankles and pulled her to the ground with a sickening thud. She groaned, crying out in terror as four Centre officers came and stood over her, weapons drawn. One of them turned to Daniel.

“Good job, Officer Elite. We have been following her since her escape. We thought we had lost her until one of our units saw her on your roof. We were going to alert you, but saw you were already attempting to capture the hostile. We were glad to assist in her apprehension.”

The four men held the girl up, keeping a rifle to her temple. She squirmed, as if considering the odds of fighting back.

“Don’t,” Daniel called out, knowing the troops would end her existence if given half a reason.

The girl looked at him, her eyebrows knitted in pain and confusion. He could feel her emotions, her anguish. He realized then what had really happened. He had caused her capture, because he called to her and she naively had answered. Whatever happened to her now was of his doing.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

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