A noise startled her awake. A quick look around showed that the suns were setting. Another crash downstairs had her jolting upright. Was that Bane?
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood slowly, making sure they would hold her weight. Surprisingly, she felt almost a hundred percent better. Whatever the doctor had given her to wake her at the hospital, combined with the food she’d had and the nap she’d taken, had done wonders for her.
She heard a chittering sound and frowned. Bane didn’t have pets that she knew of. Deciding to be brave and investigate, she made her way downstairs only to stop in open-mouthed shock at the sight before her when she’d reached the bottom step. She had no clue what the furry critters were that were bounding around the lower level, but they were blue with swirling pink eyes, pointed ears and bushy tails. They kind of reminded her of the squirrels on her home planet, if squirrels were the size of small dogs. At the moment, the beasts were intent on wreaking havoc on the few knick-knacks Bane had scattered around his home. She cringed as something else crashed to the ground, shattering on impact.
Ariana stepped further into the room. “Stop it!”
The chittering stopped. A dozen beady eyes focused on her. Was it her imagination or did the one by the window just lick its lips? What exactly did an alien squirrel eat? She hoped to God it wasn’t people.
They began to converge on her, creeping along, their eyes intent on their prey. Should she throw a stick? Did they play fetch? Looking around for an escape, she saw that they had maneuvered behind her and blocked the stairs. The path to the front door was clear, but she didn’t have the alarm codes. As the creatures inched closer, those eerie eyes glued to her, she realized she had little choice but to make a dash for the yard and hope they scattered when they hit the outside.
Sprinting for the door, she burst through it, alarms blaring. She’d just cleared the walkway, with a dozen blue fur balls of fury on her heels, as Bane zoomed into the driveway. He looked startled at first and then amused. She didn’t see the humor in the situation. A bunch of overgrown neon rodents were about to devour her. Where was the humor?
She ran for him and launched herself into his arms.
“I take it the zirrels got into the house again,” he said, a trace of laughter in his voice.
“Zirrels? Is that was that those things are called?”
He nodded. “We actually engineered them from the squirrels on your planet about fifty years ago. One of our warriors saw them, thought they were cute and brought some back with him. Something went horribly wrong with the cloning process though, and that’s what we ended up with. They’re mischievous, but they won’t harm you.”
“I’m not convinced. They chased me from the house! Did you see the looks in their eyes? They wanted to eat me!”
Bane laughed. “They eat plants, and occasionally get into my kitchen pantry and eat my fruits and vegetables I have stored there. They have the ability to shift from one place to another, sort of like teleporting so walls aren’t a deterrent.”
“Are you trying to tell me those fur balls from hell can just come in the house whenever they want?”
His smile broadened. “Pretty much.”
She shivered.
Entwined (Intergalactic Loyalties #1)
by Jessica Coulter Smith
Published by Changeling Press
Available February 6, 2014
Buy Link: http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=2195
She’s his everything, and he’s nothing without her.
Bane has wanted Ariana since the first moment he met her, except she belongs to his brother Arko. When a tragedy happens, Bane steps forward to claim Ariana as his own, but Keshpan law states a slave can never be a bonded mate. That isn’t going to stop Bane from loving her every day for the rest of his life, though.
When Ariana is kidnapped by space pirates, Bane is determined to rescue her, no matter the cost. But things are getting bad back home on Keshpa. A political storm is brewing that just may rip Ariana from his arms the moment he returns with her. Bane will walk away from everything he knows to have the woman he loves by his side.