GUEST: Sabine Priestley #PetsInSpace

One of the reasons I love writing fiction is the sheer breadth of possibilities. I write Sci-Fi and Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance, and world building is my favorite part. Let’s face it, normal is boring.

I wrote a contemporary once. It was my proverbial first book, and I’m sure it’s an odorous heap of badly formed plotlines. The problem I have is that I keep wanting to do things that are impossible. You know, like flying without a plane and interstellar travel that doesn’t take light-years.

In order to get from planet A to planet B in my worlds, I use portals. Until the fall of the Sandarian Empire in the Alien Attachments series, portals were under the control of the Portal Masters. Things have changed, and those with a certain type of psi can travel using Distorters.

Due to the intervention of a mysterious advanced alien, called Orion, my main characters in Orion’s Gate end up traveling back in time. This event takes place in two books, from different perspectives. The first is from Sensate, which is available now in Embrace the Romance, Pets In Space 2 anthology.

You have to love pets in space and there’s a crazy fun assortment in this 800+ page beast.

In the following excerpt Marco Dar has just narrowly escaped being fried by outlanders, and ports back to his ship to find a very different Armond Nolde. The stoic, emotionless albino is smiling and Cleary bonded with a sapphire skinned woman from another galaxy.

Zara swung around just as Marco slammed into her, sending them both flying. They crashed onto the dining table. A flash of pain shot through her shoulder, and the table shattered on impact, spilling them to the ground. She landed on top of Marco just as Armond’s data pad skidded to a stop at the feet of a blue-black skinned woman of ample proportions who stood next to Armond himself.

Marco glanced around and laughed hysterically. “WhooHoo! What a f'ing ride that was!” He cupped her face with both hands and planted a kiss on her lips before she could protest.

Electricity shot through her, and her psi exploded in a wave of pleasure. She pushed off his chest, which left her straddling him. Memories flooded back. They’d always had chemistry, but their psi had never entwined. This was new. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to bolt or stay.

“Sorry, darling.” He held her upper arms, his touch hot and firm. Amusement danced in his brown eyes. “I almost died just now. Kind of glad to be here.”

Sitting on him like this had her body buzzing from his presence. She clambered off in a hurry and stood. “Are you ok?”

“Oh, baby you have no idea. I was running for my life back there, then you just popped right in front of me.” He rolled over and got to his feet facing Armond and the woman, rubbing the small of his back. “Dude, what happened? And who’s this?”

The strange woman said something to Armond in a language Zara had never heard and she’d heard a lot. Her voice was oddly stereophonic. Like two people speaking at once.

Marco shifted his gaze to her, and she fell into those brown eyes. “I just kissed you right? I’m not hallucinating this?”

“Yes, you just kissed me.” She could still feel the press of his lips and the resonance of her psi. “When that thing beeped, Armond touched it and disappeared. Scared me half to death.”

“You left her?” Marco demanded. “Where the hell did you go?”

“It appears the question isn’t where, but when,” Armond said.

Marco eyed Armond and the woman. Something was seriously off. And those weren’t the same clothes Armond had been wearing when he left. The woman rambled on in a strange language, and she had her hand in the crook of Armond’s elbow.

The albino was actually letting her touch him.

“Armond, when did you change your clothes, and who is this?” Marco asked.

“I could ask the same of her.” Armond nodded to Zara, then slid his arm around the waist of the woman in an openly affectionate move.

“What the hells is going on here?” Maybe he hadn’t survived after all and was, in fact, lying dead in that pit-hole back on Sigma. He met Zara’s gaze and she shook her head. He stepped closer to her. If he was dead, and she wasn’t real, he was going to make the most of it. Cupping her face in his hands he kissed her again. Their psi twirled into a sensual mist.

She opened to him for just a moment before shoving him backward. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Reality Check. I figure I must be hallucinating. None of this makes any sense.” And that damn psi thing, what was that?

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, but it wasn’t an aggressive move. More tender than anything.

He wanted more of that.

“Did we make it?” Ru spoke up from his pocket.

“Dude, almost forgot you.” He pulled out the com.

“You made it,” Zara said smiling. “But we’ve got a little situation here.”

“A situation indeed,” Armond said. “Where are we?”

“Don’t you think we should get out of here before chatting?” Zara asked. “You know, outlanders and all.”

“We’re in outlander territory?” The concern in Armond’s voice was the most bizarre thing.

* * *

Figuring out what the f--- was happening was going to have to wait. Zara was right. He started to head to the bridge, but paused, and faced the Armond and his companion. “Do you know what ship you’re in?”

“This is the No Commitments. Delta class transport ship. One of twenty-three currently owned and operated by the Cavacent Clan, the head of which is Lord Rucon Cavacent, who was responsible for naming the vessel that is primarily yours.”

“And what’s our current passcode?”

“Snow White.”

That wasn’t right. But it was the correct topic. Rucon had a fascination with Earth’s fairy tales and always selected things having to do with them. “What’s the date? Earth date, relative.”

“March 19, 2018.”

“Dude, that’s three months from now.”

“Fascinating. It appears we have arrived from the future. Perhaps a singularity encountered during our jump.”

He didn’t know how, but that was definitely Armond.

He shot a glance at Zara. What was going on with their psi? He bolted for the bridge to set their course back to safer space. He set course to Xycor, and activated the hyperdrive before returning to the galley.

The others were sitting around the table. Zara had made a pot of tea, which Armond was actually drinking. Shit just got more and more crazy. He pulled out a chair, flipped it around, and straddled it next to Zara. He wanted her close. She was speaking animatedly to the woman who’d arrived with Armond.

Ru was propped at an angle on Zara’s com unit.

When he’d been running for his life, it wasn’t Ru or even himself he thought of. It was her. Zara Mancini.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Zara said. She placed her hand over his for a moment, then yanked it back, her eyes widening under furrowed brows. “Sorry.” It was almost a whisper.

“Don’t apologize. Now, someone tell me what’s going on.” He wanted to reach out and take her hand in his, but knew it wouldn’t be welcomed. Not yet.

“First, introductions,” Zara tapped on the table. “This lovely lady is Vin.

“She’s a friend of Armond’s.”

Marco shook her hand, which elicited a giggle from the woman, who spoke again in the strange language.

“What’s so funny?” Marco asked.

“Shaking of the hand,” Armond said. “It is not a custom where she’s from.”

Interesting. “So she’s not from Federation space?”

Vin and Armond shared a look. After she spoke again, Armond replied. “I don’t see any reason not to.”

“Huh?”

“Vin can understand us because of this here.” He tapped a colorful device in his ear. “I can understand her the same way, but we can’t speak each other’s language directly as yet. To answer your question, she’s not from our galaxy.”

“Not from our galaxy?” Marco turned to Zara. “Surely this warrants another reality check?” He wanted one, that was for sure.

“Don’t even think about it.”

And then Armond smiled.

And the universe backhanded him upside the head. Armond Nolde smiling? “You’re very different, you know that?”

“I’m sure I am.” He took Vin’s hand and kissed the back of it.

That was it. All the gods had returned to the galaxy and surely the hells had frozen over.

***

The creative minds of today’s leading SFR authors have joined forces to bring readers 12 amazing, original Science Fiction Romance stories all in one place! Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2

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Sabine grew up consuming Science Fiction, Fantasy and Romance novels (there was a brief bodice ripper period, but we won’t go into that).

She wanted to be an astronaut and travel the stars looking for aliens. She ended up an Electrical Engineer and Cultural Anthropologist. She's a geek with heart.

Seriously disappointed we’ve yet to establish so much as a moon base, she’s encouraged by the recent developments by superstars such as Elon Musk, Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, among others.

She’s a travel addict, beach-loving, stargazing disruptor.

You can find her here:

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