B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.
Or so he believes.
When he intercepts a communication mentioning the existence of one of his kind, he has to investigate its source. The message could be a trap set by his enemies. He’ll take that risk if it secures him the companionship he requires to be fully functional.
What he finds is a daring brown-eyed female who activates all his systems. She proudly proclaims she’s a researcher, brandishing that information like a weapon before her. He wants to kiss the sass off her beautiful face, protect her from the dangers around them, claim her forever.
Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.
When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.
She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.
Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.
“If you joined Beings For Peace, you would always have nourishment bars.” Levi-Lucas The Third moved closer to her. “You’d be saving beings, not things. And you would be making a difference in the universe. As I am.” He puffed out his chest.
“I am making a difference in the universe.” She backed away from him. “We are both facing early planet rotations, and the rest cycle is progressing.” She preferred to confront the mystery male alone rather than deal with the operative’s persistence. “We—”
“You’re correct.” Levi-Lucas The Third looked at his reflection, touched the skin under his right eye. “I wish to sleep a full rest cycle.” He turned and strode in the direction from which he’d come. “If you change your mind, contact me before sunrise.”
She wouldn’t change her mind. Quinn watched him until he disappeared back into the darkness. Then she waited outside her ship for a few more moments. She—
“The pretty human isn’t the being for you.” Her mystery male’s dark tones rolled like thunder through the darkness. “If he touches you again, I’ll rip his arms off.”
Quinn trembled, turned on by the speaker’s dominance.
There would be no need for violence. Levi-Lucas The Third was pretty and the Beings For Peace operative knew it. He was also nice when he wasn’t being condescending about her role.
But he didn’t interest her.
The stranger lurking between the trees, threatening to maim a perceived rival, had captured her complete attention. Her body hummed with awareness.
She pushed her inappropriate desires to the side and applied herself to what she did best—uncovering facts. “Who are you and why are you following me?”
“What objects are you risking others’ lifespans to obtain?” The unidentified male countered her question with one of his own.
She frowned into the void. “Why are you interested in the objects I’m obtaining?”
Alarm filled her as she thought of one possible reason.
“Are you working for the Humanoid Alliance?” She slipped her right hand into her pocket. Her fingers curled around the handle of the gun hidden there. “Because if you are…”
“What will you do, tiny female?” Metal creaked.
A large booted foot and a gray hand emerged from the shadows, and her breath hitched.
Judging by the size of those exposed body parts, the male was massive, would tower head and shoulders above her. His boots were military issue, the type warriors wore. The enlarged joints on his fingers were almost…B Model-like.
But that was impossible. None of those cyborgs had survived. His gray skin, however, also indicated he wasn’t human, was something other.
That combination excited her.
“Will you shoot me with the gun you have stored in your flight suit?” His visible hand blurred and, before she could blink, an immaculately maintained gun appeared in it.
She gaped at him. The male was fast. And he was skilled. The way he held his weapon told her he knew how to use it. A tremor of awe skittered down her spine.
“How many beings have you shot?” He blasted her with that question.
“I’ve never shot anyone.” Lying wasn’t a skill of hers. “But I’ve seen it done.” She’d experienced it through her connections with objects, especially with guns.
“You’ve seen it done.” His chuckle was low and deep and held no humor. “If I was working for the Humanoid Alliance, you’d already be dead.”
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USA Today Bestselling author Cynthia Sax is currently writing cyborg and alien romances with high heat levels. These stories are set in a shared dark, gritty, sometimes violent world. There is always a romantic happy ending between the main characters and this happy ending is FOREVER. But everyone else is in danger.
Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of… top ten lists.
She loves writing fated to mate or instalove romances as this is her personal experience with love. She fell in love with her Dear Wonderful Hubby at first sight and 25 plus years later, they’re still very much in love. This is what she wishes for her characters and for her readers.
Opposites attract in this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about a free-spirited lawyer who is determined to find the perfect match for the grumpy bachelor at her cousin’s wedding.
After a devastating break-up, celebrity-obsessed lawyer Zara Patel is determined never to open her heart again. She puts her energy into building her career and helping her friends find their happily-ever-afters. She’s never faced a guest at the singles table she couldn’t match, until she crosses paths with the sinfully sexy Jay Dayal.
Former military security specialist Jay has no time for love. His life is about working hard, staying focused, and winning at all costs. When charismatic Zara crashes into his life, he’s thrown into close contact with exactly the kind of chaos he wants to avoid. Worse, they’re stuck together for the entire wedding season.
So they make a deal. She’ll find his special someone if he introduces her to his celebrity clients. But when their arrangement brings them together in ways they never expected, they realize that the perfect match might just be their own.
“So what kind of woman are you looking for? Let me guess. Professional. Sophisticated. Classy. Intelligent. Basically, Lucia but younger, or do you like a little Mrs. Robinson between the sheets?” She took another bite of her hot dog. Was there any better food?
“My relationship with Lucia is strictly professional,” Jay said. “But yes, I’d be interested in someone similar.”
“So, you want a mini-me,” she teased. “I mean a mini-you. Not me. Obviously. Lucia is pretty much the opposite of me, which is another reason I knew that job wouldn’t work out.”
“You have ketchup on your cheek.” He took a napkin and gently dabbed it at the corner of her mouth.
Desire flooded her veins followed by a wave of desolation. She could easily fall for a man like Jay. Smart, handsome, ambitious, successful, and yet she sensed a longing in him, a secret Jay waiting to be free.
“Is it gone?” Her voice came out in a whisper.
He leaned in and studied her with a serious intensity that took her breath away. He was so close she could see the gentle dip in his chin, the dark stubble of his five-o’clock shadow even though it couldn’t be much past four o’clock. His lips were firm and soft, his mouth the perfect size for kissing. She drew in his scent: pine and mountains and the rich, earthy scent of the soil she’d turned in the garden when her family was whole and she never had to wonder whose house she was in when she woke up in the morning.
But this wasn’t the time to be thinking about being held in Jay’s strong arms or what it would be like to kiss him, or how just being near him calmed all the wayward thoughts in her head. She was supposed to be concentrating on finding him a match and where she should get autographed when he made the promised celebrity introduction.
“We should go.” She jumped up so abruptly her half-eaten hot dog fell to the grass. “I have to get back to the office, and I don’t want to exceed your two-hour-and-forty-five-minute time limit.”
Jay picked up the hot dog and carried it to the nearest bin. “When do you want to meet again?”
His question sent a curious thrill rocketing through her veins. She hadn’t put him off with her rambling, or her quest for the perfect hot dog, or even the uncomfortable questions she’d asked as they lounged in the sun. She couldn’t have been more excited if he’d asked her on second date. Except he wasn’t really interested in her that way, and she needed to keep that in mind. The last thing she wanted was to get into a Cyrano situation where she would be forced to help someone else win the heart of the man she loved. She made a mental note to rewatch the 1973 Broadway version of the play with its soaring ballads and rousing word- and swordplay as a reminder of the heartbreak that could result.
She pulled out her phone and pretended to study the screen to stop herself from saying something stupid like how about tonight? “Hmmm. I have a big settlement meeting on Friday so the rest of my week is shot. I’ll have to let you know.” If he noticed her cool dismissal, he didn’t react. Instead, he said the one thing that would ensure she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she saw him again. “I’ll be waiting.”
Sara Desai has been a lawyer, radio DJ, marathon runner, historian, bouncer and librarian. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband, kids and an assortment of forest creatures who think they are pets. Sara writes sexy romantic comedy and contemporary romance with a multicultural twist. When not laughing at her own jokes, Sara can be found eating nachos.
Title: The Ritual Author: Shantel Tessier Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
The Chosen One
I vow. You vow. We vow.
Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all—the most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one.
People think growing up with money is freeing, but I promise you, it’s not. My entire life has been planned out for me. I never got the chance to do what I wanted until Ryat Alexander Archer came along and gave me an option for a better life. He offered me what no one else ever had—freedom.
I chose to be his. He made me believe that anyway, but it was just another lie. A way that the Lords manipulate you into doing what they want.
After being sucked into the dark, twisted world of the Lords, I embraced my new role and allowed Ryat to parade me around like the trophy I was to him. But like all things, what started out as a game soon became a fight for survival. And the only way out was death.
Shantel is a USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author. Who lives in Oklahoma with her high school sweetheart, who is a wonderful, supportive husband and their two daughters. She loves to spend time cuddled up on the couch with a good book. She considers herself extremely lucky to get to do what she loves while wearing pajamas. Going to concerts and the movies are just a few of her favorite things to do. She hates coffee, but loves wine. Although she has a passion to write, her family is most important to her. She loves spending evenings at home with her husband and daughters, watching Netflix.
