Shiver (21 page)
The response was immediate. A male voice filled the airwaves, issuing from the speakers by the helm’s controls.
“Yeah, you could say that. I was beginning to think that hunk of junk ship you got there would never make it here in time.”
Deep and rough, like barbed wire over steel, the voice triggered every feminine reaction she had and froze her to the deck-plating at the same time.
She knew that voice. It was one she’d prayed she’d never hear again. Her ex-husband, Kelwin Sayeed. The rat who had been so drunk on their wedding day that he’d propositioned at least three of the ushers and tried to kiss her aunt. And that was before she’d found out what he’d been up to the night before.
“Hey, you still there? Could do with a hand before the shear crushes me.”
“Oh, keep your fricking panties on,” she shot back, wincing at the squeak that had replaced her normal voice. She resisted the urge to clear her throat and try again. At least sounding like that there was less chance of him recognizing her. He was just as bad as her father, but in a totally different way. Her father had only been interested in his offspring when it suited him, whereas Kelwin had been extremely attentive to everything with a pulse. His behavior on the holo-vid her father had obtained… She shuddered. She’d had a lucky escape.
The last thing she needed was him realizing who she was now. Not after her fall from grace. Everyone she’d known from her previous life had wanted to do nothing more than gloat and gossip. A McQuaid daughter brought low and working for a living? It was a drama worthy of the holo-soaps, and that was before society at large knew the whole story. What would they say if they knew the truth…that her father had planned to strip a war-hero of his retirement money—a veritable fortune given the settlement an enhanced soldier received as recompense for the surgery they underwent.
She put the whole tangled mess from her mind with the ease of long practice. All she had to do was haul Sayeed back onto the road and leave him to do his own thing. She didn’t need to invite him aboard for tea and a heart-to-heart.
“Panties? Honey, who says I’m wearing any?”
Typical Kelwin. She ignored the heat filling her cheeks as she maneuvered the Lady into place and cast the ropes. Self-propelled, they wrapped around the smaller craft in a snug embrace.
“Cute. I guess it’s less washing for your mother.” Her finger hovered over the retract button. “You’re gonna need to drop those fancy quads, sailor-boy. Unless you want to lose them as I come about.”
“Sweetheart, you get me out of this and I’ll drop anything you like.”
She shook her head but couldn’t stop the slight quirk of her lips. He’d always been a charming bastard. “Save it for the ladies back at the station. You’re not my type.”
“Oh?”
“That’s right.”
“Honey, give me an hour and I can be anyone’s type.”
There was no mistaking the sudden interest in his voice. She cursed under her breath as the quads began to fold down. Despite herself, she was impressed. Real smooth action. She’d never seen that configuration before, so they were either top of the line or a custom job.
Nerys snorted. “Yeah right, Slick. Perhaps I’m not into guys. Might want to hold onto something—shear can pull like a bitch. Wouldn’t want you to bust your pretty face.”
Making sure the fancy little sails were nice and neat in their cradles, she punched the retract button. Motors whirred in a metallic symphony as the ropes pulled the smaller craft tight against the Lady’s side. She tapped her fingers on the helm impatiently as the Artemis was reeled in.
There was a long pause. So long she was about to break radio silence to make sure he was okay. It would be just her luck for him to fall and crack his skull—then she’d have to nurse him.
“So…” His voice was light, but she could hear the intent behind it. “How do you know what I look like?”
Shiver
Yolanda Sfetsos
Blood made him a monster. Passion could be his salvation.
Recast, Book 3
After narrowly escaping brutal captivity in the Clash Arena and the bite of a bloodsucking creature, all Eniell Knox wants is to get off the crappy planet that ruined his life. When he steals an abandoned ship and is shot down over freezing northern Fray, he finds nothing but more trouble. An alluring young woman who stirs his hunger—and her shackle-happy mother—could push him over the edge.
Day after day, Lian Shan lives like a prisoner, fending off a parade of creepy potential husbands her mother tries to force upon her. She longs to experience life outside the confines of her ice castle and meet the man whose face haunts her dreams.
When a handsome, mysterious man crashes onto the estate her world breaks apart, spilling unfathomable secrets. Some of them her own.
Though Eniell and Lian’s mutual attraction explodes off any known star chart, there’s something her dreams left out—he’s been bitten by a monster. Which means if he turns into one, the first thing on his menu could be her neck…
Warning: This book contains shared temptation hot enough to melt ice caps, a warrior with a blood craving, a rebellious heroine who isn’t afraid to share hers, and the galaxy’s most dysfunctional family.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Shiver
Copyright © 2014 by Yolanda Sfetsos
ISBN: 978-1-61921-876-5
Edited by Holly Atkinson
Cover by Kanaxa
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: January 2014
