Welcome

Welcome to the SFR Brigade Showcase. Visit the other science fiction romance authors participating in the event. I’m pleased to share an exclusive excerpt from my recently released science fiction romance Race to Redemption (Green Rising Book #1).

Excerpt

In this scene, our heroine, Elaina Carteret and hero, Erik Johansen, are in an abandoned medical facility where Erik had to perform an emergency medical procedure on an alien child they both care for deeply, helped by an alien family.  Even knowing Elaina was on the enemy side, he was forced to ask her to pilot him through a storm to save the child, as she was the only one with the skills to do so.   In this scene, the child is healing, and Erik is at war with himself–attracted to Elaina and yet not wanting to be.

“You can cook,” Erik said, surprised by the burst of flavors that had his taste buds in gastric heaven.

He never figured she’d have any domestic skills. The way she walked around with her nose in the air always suggested she was above such things. But with Lainie, appearances had little to do with reality, and it wasn’t always bad.

“Yeah. I was eight when my mother died. I took over the cooking or we didn’t eat.”

Screeches interrupted, followed by slapping sounds—the Ranharran tribute to a good meal. Fintarl and his family patted their stomachs. Once with each hand to vocalize their joy, a contentment that was harsh on human ears. The subsistence nature of desert cultures elevated food to the top local etiquette. Gratitude had to be loud, obvious, and long.

With a quick head bow, one hand at the back of her head, the other on her neck guiding it down, she returned their acknowledgement to the degree she could manage with only two arms. Now that he thought about it, he realized Lainie had picked up a lot of the customs and languages—more than the average transport driver did. A subtle humility defined her, simple to miss under her easy arrogance. In what other ways have I been wrong about her?

After dinner, Erik scheduled a watch over Sen. They cleaned up several other beds for use.

Sleep remained elusive. His gut tied into knots as Elaina Carteret knocked down one brick after another from the walls he built around himself. Her deception should have fortified the barricade, but visceral carnal hunger and something much deeper kept dragging him back every time he tried to escape from her. And lookie here, he got out of bed and headed over to where she sat motionless on a sand block holding Sen’s hand.

“How’s he doing?” he whispered next to her ear, the brush of her hair crushed velvet against his cheek.

“No change, I guess that’s good.”

“Yeah. Scoot over.”

He sat down on the seat, their bodies forming a single line from foot up the leg, arms and shoulders. Fuck it. He put his arm around her, leaned his lips to her temple. “How are you doing?”

“You confuse me.”

No shit. He confused himself.

His head lifted and she turned toward him, eyes wide with questions. One finger under her chin, he lifted her mouth to his and took a long, slow taste. Lainie opened to him. Her tongue darted sexy little flicks along his, but her arms remained at her sides.

“Even more puzzled over here. I thought I was persona non grata. Top of your ten most likely to screw the world over list.” Still angry. He couldn’t blame her.

“I can’t seem to stay away.”

“But you want to.”

“Yes.” He kissed her hard. “And no.”

“It’s because I can cook, isn’t it?”

A laugh bubbled through him. For the first time since Kalkaskara, he glimpsed a future in the eyes of a woman.

 

Race to Redemption Blurb

A woman who lost everything.

Intergalactic storm racing champion Elaina Carteret had it all – fame, wealth, men – until a horrific accident took it away. To get it back, she agrees to pose as Lainie Carter, medical transport pilot and corporate spy. Her risk-taking attitude infuriates Dr. Erik Johansen, who runs the outpost with an iron hand, a permanent scowl and the tightest bod on the planet.

A man desperate for redemption.

Unable to forgive himself for a past tragedy, Erik works himself into an early grave. He has no patience for the insubordinate Lainie Carter, who can’t take an order, disrupts routine and flames his body to ash.

A planet at risk.

When the outpost is attached, they’re thrown together in a race across the desert to stop a deadly biogenetic weapon As a fragile trust blossoms between two damaged hearts, their pasts resurface and threaten their growing bond.

Be warned:  Heat level 5, gender neutral and bi-gendered characters.

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