by Anna Hackett
“Tattoos? Like yours.”
He nodded. “It is an Aurelian tradition.”
She smiled. “I love your ink, Raiden. I’d be honored.” Her nose wrinkled. “It’s going to hurt, isn’t it?”
“There is a talented artist here in the market. I trust her. And I’ll hold your hand, little gladiator.”
She pushed him backward, climbing on top of him, knees digging into his chest. “You’ll owe me. I want my name on your skin.”
He’d already planned that. “Done.” He wondered if Harper realized he’d do anything for her.
She leaned down, her lips brushing his. “I really do love you. Gladiator, prince, man…you’re all of those things to me.”
“Gladiator, lover, and my heart. You’re all those things to me.”
“Pretty words for a tough, alpha-male gladiator.” She rolled them so he was on top. “Now, how about you show me how much you love me?”
Raiden pressed his mouth to hers, pulling her close. Love and desire stormed through him. He’d spend the rest of his life ensuring his little gladiator knew just how much she was loved.
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I hope you enjoyed Raiden and Harper’s story!
Galactic Gladiators continues with WARRIOR, the story of big, wild gladiator Thorin, and will be out in November 2016. Read on for a sneak peek.
For more action-packed romance, read on for a preview of the first chapter of Marcus, the first book in my bestselling Hell Squad series.
Don’t miss out! For updates about new releases, action romance info, free books, and other fun stuff, sign up for my VIP mailing list and get your free box set containing three action-packed romances.
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Sneak Peek – Warrior
The roar of the crowd was electrifying.
Regan Forrest felt the hairs on her arms rise. She could feel the excitement and energy pumping off the crowd sitting in the stands around her. Some people were chanting, others were shouting out the names of their favorite gladiators, waiting for the fight to begin.
As she scanned the huge, old stone arena, she could almost imagine she was sitting back in the Colosseum in Ancient Rome. But then she blinked and she saw the different alien species sitting on the tiered seats. She heard the roar of engines and a giant starship shot overhead as it took off from the nearby spaceport.
No, she was nowhere near Earth.
Instead, she’d been abducted by alien slavers and transported to the other side of the galaxy.
The warm cream stone of the Kor Magna Arena might be old and worn by hundreds of years of gladiatorial fights, but around her, people were holding high-tech devices: communicators, binoculars, and who knew what else. Most of the technology wouldn’t have looked out of place on the space station where she worked.
Correction. Where she had worked. She swallowed, her throat tightening. The Fortuna Space Station orbiting Jupiter probably didn’t even exist anymore after the Thraxians had attacked it. Regan still couldn’t believe that she’d gone from botanist to slave in the blink of an eye.
You’re free now, Regan. She stared up. Free, but still lightyears from Earth with no way to get home. She blinked as bright strobe lights hit her eyes. The arena’s lights were coming on even though the sun hadn’t set yet. Correction. Suns. She watched the huge dual sons of Carthago sinking over the walls of the arena, heading toward the horizon of the desert planet.
Everything closed in on her. The noise thundered in her head, disorientating her. Her heart raced and she shifted in her seat, trying to find some calm. The Thraxians had kept her locked up in a cell on their ship for so long that sitting here surrounded by thousands of screaming people was too much. She felt a trickle of sweat down her spine and once again looked up at the sky. But the two giant suns just reminded her that she wasn’t on Earth and never would be again.
“Are you okay, Regan?”
The voice beside Regan instantly made the pressure in her head ease. She smiled at her friend Harper and reminded herself that she wasn’t alone. “Getting there.” She nodded toward the stands. “This is pretty crazy, isn’t it?”
Her friend smiled and bumped her shoulder against Regan’s. “It’s insane. But you’ll get used to it.” Harper’s eagle-eyed gaze moved back down to the sand-covered floor of the arena. There was anticipation on her face. “The fights can be brutal, but there is no doubting that they’re also amazing.”
Regan managed a nod. Harper was her best friend and the space marine had also been snatched off the space station. But while Regan was still trying to put on the weight she’d lost in captivity and negotiate this strange new world, Harper looked…great.
With her tall, athletic body and sleek, dark hair, Harper was glowing. She wore dark-leather pants and a leather vest that showed off her toned arms. It also showed off the gorgeous alien tattoos that covered her left arm.
A symbol that one of the big, tough gladiators who were about to step into the arena had claimed her.
Regan still couldn’t quite believe that her friend had fallen in love with an alien gladiator, but she couldn’t dispute the fact that Harper had found a place here in Kor Magna. She’d found a home, a place in the arena, and love. She wasn’t just surviving, she was thriving.
And perhaps Regan could as well.
She shifted in her seat again. Maybe. Galen, the Imperator of the House of Galen, had taken her in when Harper and his gladiators had rescued her. The intimidating man was in charge of everything to do with his house. He’d given her a room to stay in and recently, another small space where she’d set up a tiny lab. She’d been going crazy doing nothing, and unlike Harper, who was trained in security and fighting, Regan couldn’t even hold a sword, let alone fight in the arena.
Analyzing some of the fascinating alien substances she’d come across was keeping her sane. Her lab was her own little space in the midst of chaos.
For a brief second, she thought of her parents back on Earth. Did they miss her? Were they grieving for her? A pain seared her heart. No, probably not. Her parents had disowned her long before she’d been abducted.
The cries of the crowd rose to deafening levels. Around them, lots of people leaped to their feet, waving their hands in the air.
“Here they come,” Harper said.
They were sitting in the House of Galen seats, right up close to the arena floor. Regan had a perfect view as the gladiators entered the arena.
She felt a lick of excitement. She knew exactly who she was waiting to see.
Coming in November 2016
Preview – Hell Squad: Marcus
Her team was under attack.
Elle Milton pressed her fingers to her small earpiece. “Squad Six, you have seven more raptors inbound from the east.” Her other hand gripped the edge of her comp screen, showing the enhanced drone feed.
She watched, her belly tight, as seven glowing red dots converged on the blue ones huddled together in the burned-out ruin of an office building in downtown Sydney. Each blue dot was a squad member and one of them was their leader.
“Marcus? Do you copy?” Elle fought to keep her voice calm. No way she’d let them hear her alarm.
“Roger that, Elle.” Marcus’ gravelly voice filled her ear. Along with the roar of laser fire. “We see them.”
She sagged back in her chair. This was the worst part. Just sitting there knowing that Marcus and the others were fighting for their lives. In the six months she’d been comms officer for the squad, she’d worked hard to learn the ropes. But there were days she wished she was out there, aiming a gun and taking out as many alien raptors as she could.
You’re not a soldier, Ellianna. No, she was a useless party-girl-turned-survivor. She watched as a red dot disappeared off the screen, then another, and another. She finally drew a breath. Marcus and his team were the experienced soldiers. She’d just be a big fat liability in the field.
But she was a damn good comms officer.<
br />
Just then, a new cluster of red dots appeared near the team. She tapped the screen, took a measurement. “Marcus! More raptors are en route. They’re about one kilometer away. North.” God, would these invading aliens ever leave them alone?
“Shit,” Marcus bit out. Then he went silent.
She didn’t know if he was thinking or fighting. She pictured his rugged, scarred face creased in thought as he formulated a plan.
Then his deep, rasping voice was back. “Elle, we need an escape route and an evac now. Shaw’s been hit in the leg, Cruz is carrying him. We can’t engage more raptors.”
She tapped the screen rapidly, pulling up drone images and archived maps. Escape route, escape route. Her mind clicked through the options. She knew Shaw was taller and heavier than Cruz, but the armor they wore had slim-line exoskeletons built into them allowing the soldiers to lift heavier loads and run faster and longer than normal. She tapped the screen again. Come on. She needed somewhere safe for a Hawk quadcopter to set down and pick them up.
“Elle? We need it now!”
Just then her comp beeped. She looked at the image and saw a hazy patch of red appear in the broken shell of a nearby building. The heat sensor had detected something else down there. Something big.
Right next to the team.
She touched her ear. “Rex! Marcus, a rex has just woken up in the building beside you.”
“Fuck! Get us out of here. Now.”
Oh, God. Elle swallowed back bile. Images of rexes, with their huge, dinosaur-like bodies and mouths full of teeth, flashed in her head.
More laser fire ripped through her earpiece and she heard the wild roar of the awakening beast.
Block it out. She focused on the screen. Marcus needed her. The team needed her.
“Run past the rex.” One hand curled into a tight fist, her nails cutting into her skin. “Go through its hiding place.”
“Through its nest?” Marcus’ voice was incredulous. “You know how territorial they are.”
“It’s the best way out. On the other side you’ll find a railway tunnel. Head south along it about eight hundred meters, and you’ll find an emergency exit ladder that you can take to the surface. I’ll have a Hawk pick you up there.”
A harsh expulsion of breath. “Okay, Elle. You’ve gotten us out of too many tight spots for me to doubt you now.”
His words had heat creeping into her cheeks. His praise…it left her giddy. In her life BAI—before alien invasion—no one had valued her opinions. Her father, her mother, even her almost-fiancé, they’d all thought her nothing more than a pretty ornament. Hell, she had been a silly, pretty party girl.
And because she’d been inept, her parents were dead. Elle swallowed. A year had passed since that horrible night during the first wave of the alien attack, when their giant ships had appeared in the skies. Her parents had died that night, along with most of the world.
“Hell Squad, ready to go to hell?” Marcus called out.
“Hell, yeah!” the team responded. “The devil needs an ass-kicking!”
“Woo-hoo!” Another voice blasted through her headset, pulling her from the past. “Ellie, baby, this dirty alien’s nest stinks like Cruz’s socks. You should be here.”
A smile tugged at Elle’s lips. Shaw Baird always knew how to ease the tension of a life-or-death situation.
“Oh, yeah, Hell Squad gets the best missions,” Shaw added.
Elle watched the screen, her smile slipping. Everyone called Squad Six the Hell Squad. She was never quite sure if it was because they were hellions, or because they got sent into hell to do the toughest, dirtiest missions.
There was no doubt they were a bunch of rebels. Marcus had a rep for not following orders. Just the previous week, he’d led the squad in to destroy a raptor outpost but had detoured to rescue survivors huddled in an abandoned hospital that was under attack. At the debrief, the general’s yelling had echoed through the entire base. Marcus, as always, had been silent.
“Shut up, Shaw, you moron.” The deep female voice carried an edge.
Elle had decided there were two words that best described the only female soldier on Hell Squad—loner and tough. Claudia Frost was everything Elle wasn’t. Elle cleared her throat. “Just get yourselves back to base.”
As she listened to the team fight their way through the rex nest, she tapped in the command for one of the Hawk quadcopters to pick them up.
The line crackled. “Okay, Elle, we’re through. Heading to the evac point.”
Marcus’ deep voice flowed over her and the tense muscles in her shoulders relaxed a fraction. They’d be back soon. They were okay. He was okay.
She pressed a finger to the blue dot leading the team. “The bird’s en route, Marcus.”
“Thanks. See you soon.”
She watched on the screen as the large, black shadow of the Hawk hovered above the ground and the team boarded. The rex was headed in their direction, but they were already in the air.
Elle stood and ran her hands down her trousers. She shot a wry smile at the camouflage fabric. It felt like a dream to think that she’d ever owned a very expensive, designer wardrobe. And heels—God, how long had it been since she’d worn heels? These days, fatigues were all that hung in her closet. Well-worn ones, at that.
As she headed through the tunnels of the underground base toward the landing pads, she forced herself not to run. She’d see him—them—soon enough. She rounded a corner and almost collided with someone.
“General. Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“No problem, Elle.” General Adam Holmes had a military-straight bearing he’d developed in the United Coalition Army and a head of dark hair with a brush of distinguished gray at his temples. He was classically handsome, and his eyes were a piercing blue. He was the top man in this last little outpost of humanity. “Squad Six on their way back?”
“Yes, sir.” They fell into step.
“And they secured the map?”
God, Elle had almost forgotten about the map. “Ah, yes. They got images of it just before they came under attack by raptors.”
“Well, let’s go welcome them home. That map might just be the key to the fate of mankind.”
They stepped into the landing areas. Staff in various military uniforms and civilian clothes raced around. After the raptors had attacked, bringing all manner of vicious creatures with them to take over the Earth, what was left of mankind had banded together.
Whoever had survived now lived here in an underground base in the Blue Mountains, just west of Sydney, or in the other, similar outposts scattered across the planet. All arms of the United Coalition’s military had been decimated. In the early days, many of the surviving soldiers had fought amongst themselves, trying to work out who outranked whom. But it didn’t take long before General Holmes had unified everyone against the aliens. Most squads were a mix of ranks and experience, but the teams eventually worked themselves out. Most didn’t even bother with titles and rank anymore.
Sirens blared, followed by the clang of metal. Huge doors overhead retracted into the roof.
A Hawk filled the opening, with its sleek gray body and four spinning rotors. It was near-silent, running on a small thermonuclear engine. It turned slowly as it descended to the landing pad.
Her team was home.
She threaded her hands together, her heart beating a little faster.
Marcus was home.
***
Marcus Steele wanted a shower and a beer.
Hot, sweaty and covered in raptor blood, he leaped down from the Hawk and waved at his team to follow. He kept a sharp eye on the medical team who raced out to tend to Shaw. Dr. Emerson Green was leading them, her white lab coat snapping around her curvy body. The blonde doctor caught his gaze and tossed him a salute.
Shaw was cursing and waving them off, but one look from Marcus and the lanky Australian sniper shut his mouth.
Marcus swung his laser carbine over hi
s shoulder and scraped a hand down his face. Man, he’d kill for a hot shower. Of course, he’d have to settle for a cold one since they only allowed hot water for two hours in the morning in order to conserve energy. But maybe after that beer he’d feel human again.
“Well done, Squad Six.” Holmes stepped forward. “Steele, I hear you got images of the map.”
Holmes might piss Marcus off sometimes, but at least the guy always got straight to the point. He was a general to the bone and always looked spit and polish. Everything about him screamed money and a fancy education, so not surprisingly, he tended to rub the troops the wrong way.
Marcus pulled the small, clear comp chip from his pocket. “We got it.”
Then he spotted her.
Shit. It was always a small kick in his chest. His gaze traveled up Elle Milton’s slim figure, coming to rest on a face he could stare at all day. She wasn’t very tall, but that didn’t matter. Something about her high cheekbones, pale-blue eyes, full lips, and rain of chocolate-brown hair…it all worked for him. Perfectly. She was beautiful, kind, and far too good to be stuck in this crappy underground maze of tunnels, dressed in hand-me-down fatigues.
She raised a slim hand. Marcus shot her a small nod.
“Hey, Ellie-girl. Gonna give me a kiss?”
Shaw passed on an iono-stretcher hovering off the ground and Marcus gritted his teeth. The tall, blond sniper with his lazy charm and Aussie drawl was popular with the ladies. Shaw flashed his killer smile at Elle.
She smiled back, her blue eyes twinkling and Marcus’ gut cramped.
Then she put one hand on her hip and gave the sniper a head-to-toe look. She shook her head. “I think you get enough kisses.”
Marcus released the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
“See you later, Sarge.” Zeke Jackson slapped Marcus on the back and strolled past. His usually-silent twin, Gabe, was beside him. The twins, both former Coalition Army Special Forces soldiers, were deadly in the field. Marcus was damned happy to have them on his squad.