Merry & Seduced Page 19

  “Okay. Give our love to everyone,” Amme said and clicked off. “They’ve made better time than expected and will be out of range after tomorrow.”

  “We’ll all miss them. If Max doesn’t have time to teach you to ride, we’ll take lessons. Me too. How does that sound?”

  “Yes. I wondered if we could get a puppy-creature. I think it would be good for all of us. Camryn said there are places where you can adopt unwanted creatures.”

  “A puppy.” He nodded in approval. “Let me get my laptop and we’ll see what’s available for adoption.”

  “We’re getting a puppy-creature. I mean puppy,” Amme said the next night, before Camryn could speak. “Max and Ellen rang to say they couldn’t come. Ellen isn’t feeling well, and Max wanted her to rest. They said to say goodbye.”

  “It’s Ry.”

  “What’s wrong?” Amme said immediately.

  “I need to speak with Marcus,” Ry said. “It’s important.”

  “He’s in his office. I’ll go and get him.”

  “He should be able to hear me through your com if you put your heads close together. Nanu assures me that should work.”

  Worried now, Amme ran to find Marcus. “It’s Ry. He needs to speak to you.” She plonked on his knee before he could speak. “If we sit close, you’ll be able to hear.”

  Marcus took her hand in his and squeezed gently. “We’re both here, Ry.”

  “I take it you haven’t heard from Olivia?”

  “No, but I didn’t expect to since she said she was spending a few days with her friend,” Marcus said.

  “She’s here on the Indy,” Ry said.

  “Pardon?” Marcus exchanged a glance with her. “What, Ry? I just thought you said she’s with you.”

  “Gweneth helped her get on board the Indy and has kept her hidden. I was sure I could scent her, but Gweneth said it was her sweater. She lied,” Ry snapped, and there was no mistaking his testy tone. “The thing is we’re too far from Earth to bring her back. I’m sorry. I know it’s going to cause problems.”

  Amme took one glance at a flummoxed Marcus and seized the opportunity to talk. “What do you suggest?”

  Camryn interrupted. “We have two options. We can leave Olivia with Kaya’s brother on Slyvia. He’s a trader and she’d be safe there, plus she should manage to find work. Kaya’s brother has a housekeeper, so she could stay with him. Kaya just said he’s hardly ever at home. The other alternative is taking her to Viros. None of us have been there before.”

  “What does Olivia say? Could she get transport back to Earth if she stayed on Slyvia?” Amme asked.

  “Olivia is refusing to talk.” Camryn sounded grim and disapproving. “Gweneth isn’t talking either and they’re both in disgrace.”

  “What do you think is best?” Marcus asked.

  “If it were me, I think she’d do better on Slyvia,” Camryn said. “The planet is advanced and peaceful. If Olivia uses her brain, she’ll find opportunities, and it’s helpful that Kaya’s brother is there. I trust him. Ry trusts him too.”

  “Amme, what do you think?” Marcus asked.

  Amme didn’t hesitate. “Slyvia would work best.”

  “Slyvia, it is,” Ry said. “We’re almost at the next gate. I’ll hand you over to Camryn.”

  “Thank you, Ry,” Marcus said. “I’m sorry about Olivia. I had no idea.”

  “Neither did I.” Ry’s voice held grimness, and Amme felt a little sorry for Olivia and Gweneth. “It won’t happen again. Wait, here’s Olivia. I’ll put her on.”

  “Marcus?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Are you angry with me?”

  “Not really. I just wish you’d talked to me, to Camryn and Ry first, rather than putting them in this position.”

  “I know. I’m sorry I’ve caused trouble, but I’m not sorry I’m in the middle of space. Marcus, it’s incredible. Earth from space. Wow.”

  Amme imagined Olivia shaking her head, her incredulous expression and smiled because she understood the wonder of new and shiny, the buzz-buzz-buzz of excitement. “Camryn and Ry are suggesting that you stay with Kaya’s brother. Are you okay with that?”

  “I guess. I should talk to Ry,” Olivia said.

  “Definitely,” Marcus said. “Ask for advice before jumping feet first into a new situation, especially up there. Okay?”

  “Will do,” Olivia said, sounding more cheerful.

  “Make yourself useful meantime.”

  “Don’t think I’ll have a choice. Ry is muttering about punishments and cleaning something,” Olivia said. “Camryn wants to talk to Amme. Bye. I love you guys.”

  Amme chatted to Camryn for a few mins, told her about the puppy they hoped to adopt and started to say her final goodbyes. Halfway through, the com cut out. After secs of static, Amme clicked off and removed the earpiece.

  “Are you okay? What are you going to tell your parents about Olivia?”

  Marcus snorted out a laugh. “Not the truth, that’s for sure. Maybe we can tell them she’s gone traveling and is backpacking through South America. If I’m lucky, they won’t contact me for a week or so and give me time to work out a strategy.”

  “Tell them she’s staying with a friend while she decides what she wants to do with her future,” Amme said. “That’s the truth, after all.”

  “I think I’ll finish this later,” Marcus said. “There’s nothing urgent in the email that can’t wait. Why don’t we have an early night?”

  Amme frowned. “I am not tired, Marcus. I don’t wish to sleep.”

  Marcus’s grin turned wolfish. “Sleeping wasn’t what I had in mind.”

  “Ah,” said Amme, and she took his hand, ready to walk into the future at his side.

  The End

  Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed Merry & Seduced, please consider leaving a review—even a few lines would be a big help.

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  And while you’re waiting for Seized & Seduced, the next book in my House of the Cat series, maybe you’d like to check out an excerpt from one of my contemporary romances, One Night of Misbehavior. Turn the page for a glimpse of this romance, a sneak preview of Seized & Seduced and a list of my other releases.

  Happy reading,

  Shelley xx

  Excerpt – Seized & Seduced

  Copyright 2014 Shelley Munro

  Read an excerpt from the next book in the House of the Cat series, due out early 2015!

  A shrill cry echoed through the arid valley. Unexpected, it set a shudder rippling the length of her body. Jannike Hondros, second-in-command of the Indefatigable, came to an abrupt halt, her stomach twisting anxiously even as she grabbed her blaster out of her hip holster and flicked off the safety.

  “Tracker lizards.” At her side, Ry Coppersmith, captain of the space ship, confirmed her fears. He edged his petite mate behind him, but despite her size Camryn O’Sullivan was no pushover.

  She neatly sidestepped him, wincing at a repeat head-splitting shriek, closer this time. “What are tracker lizards, and why are they making that infernal noise?”

  “Trackers are the best available means of tracking an object or person. They never fail to capture their target. Never. The cries mean they’re on a scent,” Jannike said tersely, eyes scanning the far end of the valley. She’d experienced their tenacity before and hadn’t emerged on the winning side.

  “Us.” Ry glanced at Jannike and with the ease of a long friendship they came to a decision without words.

  Jannike gave him an imperceptible nod. “We need to split up,” she said abruptly, attention on the horizon. In the distance, maybe four or five clicks, she caught the swirl of approaching dust. “You need to shift, change your scents.”

  “But Mogens said shifting might be dangerous.” Camryn cupped her slim belly in protest.

  “We’re going to have to risk it,” Ry said without hesitation. “It’s either that or capture.”

  “Capture? What’s going on? This sort of thing doesn’t happen on Earth. Usually,” Camryn added, obviously thinking about her own kidnapping several cycles earlier.

  “I’ll keep going away from the ship,” Jannike said, a lump the size of a rock closing up her throat, making the words gravely. She swallowed dryly, silently cursing both the situation and this god-awful heat from the planet’s sun. The dry temperatures sucked the juice from everything, animal and vegetable. “Go.” It was surprisingly difficult to force out the order.

  Camryn still frowned, not understanding. She squinted at her husband, shifted her attention to Jannike. “But—”

  “Change. Now,” Ry barked. “Jannike, if you’re captured, we’ll come for you. We will not give up. That’s a pledge.”

  “Same goes.” Secs later she started running, veering around the pile of rocks and sprinting down the rolling sand hill, away from Ry and Camryn. It had to be the cargo ship they’d seen earlier, but why had they set tracker lizards on them?

  A thought sprang into her mind, and she stumbled before regaining her balance. Holy fukk. No, it couldn’t be her. No, that was impossible when Jannike was light years away from her home planet.

  Behind her, the baying shrieks of the lizards intensified. Sweat trickled down her forehead, stinging her eyes. She slipped in the shifting sand, arms flailing before she toppled, hitting the ground hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs.

  No time to baby herself. She had to move. Faster. She had to give Ry and Camryn time to get to the ship otherwise the entire crew could get sucked into whatever trouble they’d blundered into this day. Her blue tunic clung like a lover. A skin wet from sweat. The dry rocks in
her throat closed her windpipe. She panted, a painful wheeze. Gods, she had to keep going. She twisted, rolling and pushing to her feet. She lurched her first steps, only her fitness and determination propelling her forward.

  Concentrate on running. Forget the trackers. Don’t think about the past.

  The landscape stretched endlessly in front of her—one big, inhospitable sandpit. Overhead, the planet’s sun beat down, frying everything in its path. And still she kept trying to run. One foot in front of the other, leading the trackers farther away from the Indy. Faster. Faster. The Indy’s crew were her friends, her family, and she’d do anything to keep them safe.

  Determination gave her a burst of speed, but a glance over her shoulder told her the trackers had dramatically closed the distance between them. Their brown-blue bodies glinted in the bright light, strangely beautiful despite their ferocity. Their baying cries filled her head, lent panic to her adrenaline-fueled flight. She rounded a corner and came to an abrupt halt. A box canyon. The wall of rock stretched into the distance as far as she could see.

  Trapped.

  Nowhere to go.

  Slowly, chest rising and falling in uneven gasps, she turned to face the four snapping trackers. Their bulging eyes blinked slowly, their wicked teeth white against the brown-blue of their skin. Their stubby tails shifted lazily from side to side, strong muscles in their haunches poised to spring should she attempt a sudden move. She edged along the rock wall, and they moved with her. She’d heard their bite was nasty and some people were highly allergic to their saliva.

  But she refused to go without a fight. She reached for a handhold on the rock wall, digging her fingertips, attempted to lever her body upward.

  “Ho, my beauties. What have you caught me today?” The mountain of a man rode up on a cyber-beest—a combination of machine and cheetahbeest by the look of the tawny coat and spots. The cyber-beest snorted, pawing at the ground, restive under the firm restraint. The large rider wore a tight, light gray suit, shaped to his body. The man was all muscle with no fat. With his left hand, he controlled the cyber-beest while his right rested lightly on a coiled whip.

  Jannike glanced left, speared a look right. A tracker bite or the nip of Mountain Man’s whip. Both would hurt.

  “You won’t escape,” Mountain Man said with almost a kind smile. But the smile didn’t reach his wintry-blue eyes and she knew, deep in her gut, he wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever he needed to do to capture her. Fukk, her past had come back to bite her in the bum. There was no other explanation. “Why are you chasing me?”

  “Why did you run?” the man countered.

  Seized & Seduced coming soon!

  Excerpt – One Night of Misbehavior

  Copyright 2013 Shelley Munro

  “Charlotte Joanna Dixon!” A shrill voice—her stepmother’s—hacked through Charlotte’s Saturday morning lie-in and intensified the boom, boom, boom of her aching head. “Of all the mornings for you to sleep late,” Elizabeth screeched. “Didn’t you set your alarm clock? I have to meet the fundraising committee in an hour.” The sharp accusations kept coming, accompanied by a thunk on her bedroom door.

  Charlotte stared up at the damp spot on her bedroom ceiling and started silently counting to ten. One. Two. Three. Snippets of music, memories of a sexy masculine form crept into her mind, and her count faltered. Last night she’d experienced the dizzy taste of freedom and now the thought of her normal routine rubbed like a raw blister. Her mouth settled into a mutinous line. Maybe she’d stay here all day.

  “Charlotte!” Doors slammed. The water pipes in the old Victorian groaned as they gave up water for the shower. “Hurry up.”

  Or not. Sighing, Charlotte scrambled into jeans and a T-shirt and trudged down the sweeping stairs to the kitchen. On automatic pilot, she started the coffeemaker then filled the jug to boil for Gran’s tea. While she waited, she trotted outside to grab the early morning post from the mailbox.

  Soon the scent of fresh coffee flooded the kitchen, making her stomach lurch in protest. Maybe the last glass of Champagne hadn’t been the best idea. Gritting her teeth, she set the breakfast table, then swallowed down two headache tablets and assembled a tea tray for her grandmother. When she carried the tray and three letters upstairs, she found her grandmother was already awake, perusing one of the new craft magazines she’d had Charlotte purchase for her the previous day.

  “Morning, Gran. How are you feeling? You have mail from your friends.”

  “Charlotte.” Gran put down the magazine and peered over her glasses. Her blonde curls were already brushed into submission and a pale pink lipstick gave her face a touch of color. She cocked her head in Charlotte’s direction like an inquisitive bird. “You were late home. Tell me about the ball.”

  “Shush, someone will hear.” Heat suffused Charlotte’s cheeks as memories of the previous evening rose to thump her over the head—seductive music, dancing, glasses of tickly Champagne. Many glasses of crisp, fruity Champagne. And Zorro.

  Her entire evening summed up in a few words. She’d let a tall, masked man seduce her with his charisma and endless glasses of Champagne. The night of freedom had gone to her head along with the alcoholic buzz, and for one night, the mysterious and very sexy Zorro had shoved her loneliness aside. Unsteady hands poured tea for her grandmother. After adding a touch of milk, she handed over the cup and saucer.

  “I danced so much my feet are sore,” she said, opting for a partial truth. She did have a blister on her little toe.

  “Good. Did you see Elizabeth at the ball? What about Jenny and Rachel?”

  Charlotte plopped on the end of Gran’s bed and nodded cautiously. The pain was muted now, the tablets working their magic. “They seemed to enjoy the ball. Everyone danced all night. The band was excellent.”

  Gran’s faded blue eyes twinkled behind the lenses of her glasses. “Did they recognize you?”

  “They didn’t glance at me twice.”

  “I told you so.” Her grandmother’s gaze zeroed in on her neck.

  Charlotte recalled the addictive kisses Zorro had trailed down her throat, the sensual bite and suck, and groaned inwardly. Kisses plus suction equaled one thing. Hickeys.

  “Did you meet someone special?”

  “No,” Charlotte said quickly. Too quickly.

  “I see.”

  Charlotte was glad someone saw because she didn’t understand her actions of the previous night. Yes, she’d had too much Champagne, but she’d known what she was doing. No one had forced her to kiss Zorro or to run her hands down his naked chest. Heck, no one had forced her to scream with the pleasure of her orgasm either. It was as if an alien had taken possession of her—one who enjoyed the heck out of sex.

  “I think I’ll go down to breakfast this morning,” Gran said unexpectedly. “I want to hear about the ball.”

  “I’ll help you dress.”

  “There’s a tube of concealer in my dressing table drawer,” Gran said. “Perhaps you should apply some to your neck while I’m taking a shower. You don’t want Elizabeth asking embarrassing questions.”

  Discover more about One Night of Misbehavior here.

  About Shelley Munro

  Shelley Munro is tall and curvaceous with blue eyes and a smile that turns masculine heads everywhere she goes. She’s a university tutor and an explorer/treasure hunter during her vacations. Skilled with weapons and combat, she is currently in talks with a producer about a television series based on her world adventures.

  Shelley is also a writer blessed with a VERY vivid imagination and lives with her own hero and a rambunctious puppy in New Zealand. She writes erotic romance in the contemporary, paranormal and historical genres and has several self-published titles. You can learn more about Shelley and her books at her website, or keep up to date by joining her newsletter. You might even find her lurking at Facebook or Twitter.

  Visit Shelley at her website.

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