by Kai Andersen
“You feel wonderful.”
Rodin raised himself up on his arms and wiped the sweat away from her face. He tucked some tendrils of hair behind her ear. “You are wonderful.”
She smiled mischievously. “Thank you, kind sir.”
He gave her a slow kiss. “I’m only telling the truth.”
“Tell me again.”
“I love you.”
“You can read my mind.”
He laughed. “I guessed.”
“Thank you.” She cupped his cheek with one hand. “For loving me.” Love for him filled her and expanded to flow into every part of her being. “I think our quest ended quite well, don’t you?”
“Absolutely perfect. But I believe there will be more great adventures waiting for us down the road.” Rodin’s big hand was warm against her belly. “Something involving this little one here, for example.”
“I am looking forward to them.” Giselda smiled. Life with Rodin would be one great adventure. “To each and every one of them.”
Kai Andersen
Kai has always loved books. For as long as she can remember, she has been fascinated by stories. The humdrum of her life forced her to seek the excitement that could be found in books. As Belle said in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, far off places, daring swordfights, magic spells, a prince in disguise... What can top that?
Her real life was pretty boring until... until... that day in June 2004 (of course I remember, it's a momentous day in my life!), when one of Loose Id's editors contacted her for her full manuscript. It wasn't even an acceptance, but already her heart was bursting with joy.
So these days, she still tries to trick the world into thinking that she's a tough, no-nonsense career woman, her boss however is not fooled. He sees through the conservative clothes to the passionate woman beneath and decides to make her his.
At least, that's her latest favorite fantasy. ;) It's so much more fulfilling than real life, don't you think?
You can find Kai Andersen on the Web at www.kai-andersen.com , or email her at [email protected].
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Read on for a tantalizing glimpse of
The Rea Cheveyo Chronicles: Kiana
by Rayne Forrest
Available Now from Loose Id
The Rea Cheveyo Chronicles: Kiana
What she needed was wrong by everything her culture taught. Ian was human. Human . It was their very likeness that made them so feared on Adonica.
The humans were everything she'd ever heard they were. Arrogant. Stubborn. Prideful. Self-absorbed. But they were also so much more.
Kind. Generous. Friendly. Witty.
Without consciously thinking about it, Kiana went back to the planetarium. She ordered the computer to call up the stars of her home. As she lay on the reclining chair, looking up, the stars seemed foreign.
She followed the outlines of the more familiar ones -- the fisherman and his fish, the sea swimmers, the mythical gnovi beast with his long, forked tail. Kiana closed her eyes, and Orion the Hunter rose before her. Forever in her mind, she would see those stars as Ian.
Enough of this, she told herself. She called up the view of the area where the Natara had last been reported.
“If only I knew the distance from Adonica,” she mused aloud.
The computer flashed numbers, bright white against the darkness of space. Kiana's mouth dropped open. She ordered the information to be displayed in Adonican. The computer complied. She grew bolder and asked the computer for travel times as well as distance. The information appeared.
She worked with the computer for over an hour. Pieces of a puzzle began to fall into place, only to disappear a few moves later. The picture teased at her mind, but she couldn't bring it into focus. Maybe it was better that she could not.
Her sense of unease grew, and she ordered the computer to cease computations and display Orion as he appeared from Adonica. He vanished, like smoke on the wind.
She sighed deeply and lay back on the chair. Sleep was what she needed. In only a few hours, she needed to be rested and alert. She sniffed the leather of the chair, imagining she could detect Ian's scent. It had been masked under an applied fragrance at dinner.
Applying fragrance was something Adonican males did, too, in their quest for mating. She'd hidden her smile from Ian, not wanting to embarrass either of them by having to explain her amusement. Then he'd been so quiet.
Kiana finally began to doze off, slowly, as her imagination let her sleep in Ian's arms. A gentle touch on her hip woke her. She scrambled to sit up and blink Ian into focus.
He touched her face. “You looked so peaceful. Perhaps I should not have disturbed you.”
“I'm glad thee did.”
“Why?”
“Don't thee know, Ian Logan?”
His jaw worked. He looked away. When he spoke, his voice was low, and rough.
“What should I know, Kiana? That I've put you in an awkward position? That anything you do is used against your family? That us being alone together is being reported back to your superiors?”
“Thee are a good man, that thee care about these things.” She laid her hand over his. “Do thee know more?” Kiana beat back the temptation to open herself up to her gifts and feel his emotions.
He looked at her, his gaze naked with desire. Her heart skipped a few beats, and then started to pound. Her stomach did a strange little flip, and the ache deep inside her flared back to life.
“I know I want you. And I know, for your sake, I can't act on it.”
A single tear slid down her cheek.
“I want thee, Ian Logan. I do not care the right or wrong of it. This one time, I want something for myself. Can thee understand?”
“I don't want to hurt you, Kiana.” He swallowed hard.
“I know. It is my choice. I choose thee.” She slipped her arms around his neck and raised her lips to his.
Ian's arms came around her and tightened. He pushed her down beneath him, claiming her mouth. She felt the breathy rumble in his chest as his lips moved on hers. His hand quickly found its way under the softness of the robe and cupped the roundness of her bare bottom. She gasped in surprise, arching to him. His strong fingers caressed lightly down the back of her thigh and brushed across moist, tingling flesh. She tried to open herself more to him, but his body and her gown pinned her. She made a frustrated noise, and he pulled away.
Very slowly, almost reverently, he pulled the fabric from beneath him and slid it up her legs as she watched. It pooled in small ripples, covering her pelvis. The cool air brushed her limbs. Ian bent and kissed the inside of one quivering thigh. The breath clogged in her throat.
He inhaled sharply. She knew he'd caught the scent of her arousal. He slipped his hand under the fabric, resting it in the soft valley where her leg joined her body. Kiana's hips jerked up to him. The robe freed, he slowly stretched out beside her, settling them into a tangle of arms and legs.
Kiana tugged on his shirt, freeing it from his trousers. She slipped her hand beneath it and caressed Ian's warm skin. Small ridges of muscle covered his ribs, and she lightly traced them with one finger. Gooseflesh rose in her wake.
He took her hand and guided it to the bulge of his erection. He opened the snap of his pants with quick fingers, an unspoken request, and permission, for her to touch him as she wished.
Her inner flesh clenched. The tingling gave way to an insistent throbbing, a drumbeat pulse at her core that filled her with a desperate need. She moved her hand across the bulge, learning his shape.
Ian wrapped his hand around hers and drew it back up to his chest. Just the thought of those slim, elegant hands touching him made him wild. In his mind he could see them wrapped around his shaft, slowly stroking him. He needed to calm his ass down or he'd never last for her.
Her skin was soft and smooth under his fingertips, and the color of new ivory. His hand, browned from being outdoors and under a sun at every opportunity, contrasted sharply. His surprise
that she wore nothing under the gown passed and he pushed the fabric up her body. She trembled under his hand.
He cupped the soft mounds of her breasts and gently squeezed a peaked nipple. She cried out, a soft sound that shot to Ian's groin. He took the light brown tip into his mouth, teasing and suckling until she was pushing her hips against him. Her hand clasped his head, holding his mouth to her. Her legs moved restlessly. Her thighs parted, leaving her open to him.
Ian trailed kisses up her neck on his way back to her lips. Their tongues danced in a mock battle for supremacy. Ian would gladly surrender to her. She had the victory well in hand. Her busy fingers worked open his zipper and brushed his swollen penis in a light caress, then quickly withdrew.
His hand moved to cup her female flesh. Combing his fingers through the soft, damp curls, he knew without opening his eyes and looking that she was dark there. His mind supplied the image of a black vee against the pale glow of her skin.
He slipped his fingers deeper into her secret folds. She was slick with desire. A part of his mind clinically registered she was the same as a human female. Bolder because of it, he teased at the gate to paradise, and then smoothly slipped his middle finger into her.
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What people are saying about the writing of Rayne Forrest
Across Time
Across Time is a fast paced story with strong characters… The new worlds and civilizations that authors create always amaze me, and Across Time is one of the best. Ms. Forrest’s stellar imagination has given us another science fiction romance to be in awe of. Across Time will certainly be worth your time.
-- Tina Burns, Road to Romance
Rayne Forrest delivers an adventure that not only satisfies the romantic heart, but also the desire for the mysterious danger looming in the forest. Across Time becomes an addiction from page one. Demanding attention, this story called to me until I had finished the final words and said goodnight.
-- Charity, Romance Junkies
The passion is explosive, the storyline is unique and fun, the adventures exciting and the scenes in which they explain their previous behavior heart-rending. This is a book that I would highly recommend to everyone looking for a fabulous romance!!!!!
-- Pam L., A Romance Review