Last week, we found the hero and heroine of Courting Disaster had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start over the accommodations for the heroine's pet StarDog, Luna.
This passage is a continuation from the previous snippet, which you can read by clicking here.
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| The future cover of Courting Disaster |
Now her black eyes snapped with
alarm. “You won’t be stowing her anywhere. She stays with me. And her name is
Luna.”
No Sundog—or whatever she’d
called the creature—was going to have free run of his ship. “I’m sorry, ma’am,
but we have strict protocols regarding live cargo.”
“With all due respect, Captain,
it seems your military protocols have been thoroughly dispensed with for this
mission. Luna stays with me.”
So this beautiful face had a bite
to it? He didn’t like making exceptions, but he owed a lot to Jaeo, and by
extension, his family. Jagger backed off a step, dropping his voice a full
octave to rumble, “Noted. I can allow it a trial, but if it causes any
mischief, I’ll insist it be confined.”
“She won’t be any trouble.” Ketsia lowered her head to soothe the
creature in a voice soft with affection. “Will you, baby?” That gentle lilt
caressed Jagger’s awareness like a whisper, making his imagination fire and his
traitorous pulse rate spike.
Lock it down! He gave his face a mental slap. Even if women were still on your menu, this one is totally off-limits.
Ketsia lifted her chin, and her
black gaze returned to his face. “So, as I understand it, we’re supposed to be
married?”
Jagger managed not to choke on
his tongue. “Pardon?”
“I was told in case of trouble,
our story is that we’re Dallan and Adey Tion, a bonded pair of independent
freighters, transporting seeds to the new colony on Arst.”
“Now there’s a brilliant cover.”
Jagger huffed out a breath and donned his helmet, snapping the chin strap into
place. Not bad enough that they’d given him a shoddy relic to fly, but they’d
married him off, as well?
Ketsia lowered her head, but her
eyes remained fixed on his faceplate. “They didn’t tell you this?”
“Only the essentials for now, due
to the short window.” Jagger subconsciously ran a hand over the code card in
the thigh pocket of his coveralls. As soon as they disembarked, he’d pull the
datacube and get up to speed.
“Captain Jagger, am I to
understand you don’t fully comprehend your mission?”
She was questioning his fitness?
“Ms. Mennelsohn, if you have any doubts about my qualifications or my
suitability—”
“It’s Ms. Tayah.”
“—then it’s your prerogative to
request a different escort. But the truth is I’m woefully overqualified to carry out my orders.”
She lifted an eyebrow and crossed
her arms. “I’m aware of your sterling qualifications, Captain.”
He returned her glare, satisfied
the faceplate concealed the ire heating his face. She wouldn’t hear it in his
words. “Further, Ambassador Mennelsohn specifically requested me for this
duty.”
“Ambassador Gant. He hasn’t gone
by Mennelsohn for many calendars.” She peered up at him dubiously.
He met her skepticism with a deep
frown. “I’m aware of that.”
“Could you please take that off?”
she asked quietly. “Because I feel like I’m talking to a machine.”
A machine, was he? With one quick
swipe at the catch under his chin, Jagger clamped his hands on the sides of the
helmet and lifted it free of his head, stowing it under one arm.
“I imagine—”
He savored the satisfaction of
seeing her eyes widen and her mouth part slightly, truncating her thought.
His subspecies tended to sport
sharp, pinched features and a pronounced beak for a nose. Jagger’s face was
atypical for his kind. Most women found him attractive, and downright alpha when
his eyes went stormy. Miss Rathskian Ambassador’s Daughter appeared to be no
exception.
Find out what happens next in Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2.
Read a review from Delighted Reader review site.
Find out what happens next in Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2.
Read a review from Delighted Reader review site.
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Thanks for joining me for Snippet Saturday. I hope you enjoyed this snippet from Courting Disaster: StarDog 2. It's one of 12 science fiction romance stories in Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 written by bestselling and award-winning authors. You can find it here:
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HUGE congratulations to all of you ladies on the BL - just amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sharon. It was quite a milestone! :)
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