Happy to be able to offer this series starter for .99 through Valentines day! Also available from other retailers and in UK, AU, CA.
The only thing he wants more than his freedom is HER. But will she accept their ways?
US: Kindle | Nook | Kobo | iBooks
Book Two, Tempting Jupiter is also discounted to 2.99 (Amazon US only). A great time to catch up with the Arena Dogs or gift them to a friend.
US: Kindle
Another fun Tempting Jupiter excerpt…
Seneca kept his voice soft to keep from waking the woman. “How’s she doing?”
Jupiter pressed his fingers to her forehead. “She’s cool. No sign of fever.”
“That’s good.” He might not trust her, but Seneca didn’t wish her any further harm.
Jupiter sat on the edge of the bed. “Fee, we have food prepared.” He too, spoke softly.
If she still needed sleep, they would let her sleep. But her body also needed fuel to aid the accelerated healing injection they’d given her.
Eyes still shut, she stretched her good arm over her head and pointed her toes, stretching out everything in between.
Jupiter watched intently as her movements shifted the blanket. “How’s your shoulder?”
“The pain seems manageable at the moment,” she said. Her voice was sleepy and warm and Jupiter responded with a soft growl that did funny things to Seneca’s gut. Did it affect her the same? He didn’t miss the way Jupiter leaned toward the woman, breathing in her scent. That didn’t affect anything so low as his abdomen, it tightened a fist around his heart.
“You haven’t tried moving the arm yet,” Jupiter teased.
She opened her eyes and frowned. “There’s no rush, is there?”
Jupiter barked under his breath. “You can stay in bed as long as you like, but I have no intention of letting my food get cold.”
Feeona lifted her head from the bed, eyes taking in her surroundings. “Well, why didn’t you say the food was warm?”
Seneca stilled, making himself just another item in the room. He wasn’t ready to know if she would include him into their banter or use her wit to put him firmly on the outside.
Jupiter moved off the bed and squatted down within her reaching distance. “Do you want something for the pain before you try getting up?”
“No.” Her head dropped back to the bed with a thump. “I don’t want to pass out again. How long was I out this time?”
“A day,” Jupiter rumbled.
“Not too bad.” She reached for Jupiter, using her good arm. She wrapped her fingers around his biceps and used him to slowly pull herself up into a seated position. She touched him like a woman sure of her mate.
Seneca had to look away. The ache in his chest insisted, but her scent, her voice painted a picture in his mind.
“Good,” she said. “Plenty of time for a meal before I have to check on the ship’s systems.” There was a buoyancy to her voice that Seneca found appealing. He could see how that might draw Jupiter.
Seneca’s own weakness defeated him and he let his gaze slip back to his pack-brother and the woman.
Jupiter lifted her out of the bed and into his arms. The night before, he’d urged her out of all but her under-things and into a Dog-sized tunic. It left her legs bare from just above the knee. When they’d found the tunic for her, they’d also found the clothes they were now wearing.
Jupiter carried Feeona to the table. She wrapped her good arm around his neck, pressing against him more than necessary, but not enough to be overtly seductive. She liked being in his arms—Seneca couldn’t fault her for that.
Jupiter put her down in one of the Dog-sized seats. Her bare feet didn’t reach the floor and she looked almost child-like. The lines of strain etched into her face, the way she held herself stiffly upright, made it impossible for Seneca to dislike her. She didn’t complain. She didn’t demand consideration. There was no need. Her quiet resilience did more to focus Jupiter’s attention than any play for his interest. His pack mate grabbed a pillow from the bed and stuffed it behind her back. She relaxed instantly, a result that stamped satisfaction across Jupiter’s face.
“Well, hello-there, Seneca.” Her words snapped his gaze to hers.
“Hello.” He’d been too busy studying Jupiter’s focus on her to realize hers had shifted to him. He went back to portioning the food onto platters. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“Starved.” She sniffed the air then pressed her lips together and made an mmm of approval. She shot him a smile, then her eyes went wide as she took a look at the cooking equipment. “Wow. That’s not your average food prepper.”
Seneca dipped his chin in agreement. “This room seems to have been converted for the use of Arena Dogs.”
She chuckled. “I’ll say. Looks like the standard nutrition processor units have been ripped out and replaced.” She narrowed her eyes. “Is that real meat?”
Jupiter chuckled. “We found packs of them in the ship’s supplies.”
“Yes.” Seneca turned to offer the server of food and the motion shifted the shirt he’d pulled on when he’d crawled out of bed. He hadn’t bothered to fasten it and the movement gave Fee a fair view of his chest. It surprised him to realize she noticed. He’d been ogled by humans plenty, but her momentary fascination didn’t bother him. Especially after she realized she’d been caught looking and her embarrassment showed on her face. He smiled pleasantly to let her off the hook then handed the server to Jupiter.
His pack mate took the food, but his gaze was fixed on Feeona. He was still shirtless and he quickly captured her attention. She seemed to find it hard to keep her concentration on Jupiter’s face. Seneca understood the temptation of Jupiter’s body, but he found Jupiter’s face even more fascinating. Those broad, masculine features and brown eyes warmed as he soaked in her appreciation.
“Sorry,” she blurted out. “You’re both just damn distracting freaks of nature. In my experience, men don’t look like you.”
Jupiter’s eyes flashed and she threw up a hand to stop his anger. “No,” she said firmly. “That was a compliment.”
Seneca swallowed a chuckle at her bluntness.
“Less compliments,” grumbled Jupiter. “More eating.”
To celebrate TJ’s official release date, here is a fun snippet for you!
Tempting Jupiter Excerpt: good ideas
Feeona shot him a look. “I am known to have good ideas on occasion.”
He pulled her into his arms and pressed her body up against his, meeting her eyes with fierce concentration. Slowly, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her with small nips. His tongue slipped out to tease her lips open and he pushed into her mouth.
She kissed him back. Her senses were full of him. His scent. The heat of his body pressed all along hers. As slowly as he’d started he withdrew, leaving her bereft and glorious at the same time. Her heart beat strong and impatient. Her lips tingled. Heat from somewhere inside her pressed against her too tight skin.
Jupiter’s lips slowly stretched into a wide smile. “I have plenty of my own ideas right now. You can take the rest of the night off.”
Ideas? Oh yeah. They’d been talking about good ideas. She let her happiness escape on a laugh. She peeked around his shoulder to Seneca who was still sprawled on the cushions. “How about you? Do you have any good ideas we should consider?” It was her way to let him know she wanted him to join in the game they were playing.
Seneca raised his silver eyebrows. “I have ideas, but I’m content to follow Jupiter’s lead.”
She winked. “Me too. He is the biggest.”
“Pleasingly so, I’m sure.” Seneca’s gaze shifted to Jupiter’s ass in his form fitting training pants.
She shifted her attention to Jupiter’s well deserved smirk. He was big all over and she remembered just how good that had felt. “Can we go to bed now?”
“Demanding female,” Jupiter complained. Warmth coated the mock gruffness in his voice.
Seneca shifted across the cushions then stood. “I think she deserves a little indulgence.”
Jupiter lifted her up and guided her thighs to his hips. “I agree.” He pressed one more soft kiss to her lips then carried her up the steps.
Looking over his shoulder, she had a great view of Seneca flowing up the stairs behind them. Despite being all Dog, his body was part dancer, part cat. Grace and lazy confidence. Whatever had been in the way before, had been resolved.
Tonight she would have them both.
If you’ve already read Tempting Jupiter and enjoyed it, please help spread the news on social media or shelve the book on Goodreads. And reviews are always appreciated. Have questions about the Arena Dogs? Ask your questions here or on Goodreads–the Q&A thread is now open.
Happy hump day,
Charlee
It’s here! Amazon was kind and processed the book more quickly than I expected. Tempting Jupiter is now available as an ebook on Amazon and is available for preorder on iTunes and Kobo. It should be available on Nook any time now. So excited! There will also be a print copy available in a few weeks.
Int’l: Kindle AU | DE | UK | CA
Tempting Jupiter is available to be added to your shelf on GoodReads and I have re-opened the Q&A threads there.
Happy reading!
Sci-fi romance author Anna Hackett has a new book out in her brand new series, Galactic Gladiators! As part of the Gladiator Release Celebration, Anna, myself, and fellow sci-fi romance authors SE Smith and Susan Grant are giving away some action-packed, science fiction romance paperbacks.
All these books center around fierce arenas and gaming set in our distant future. THREE lucky winners will win copies of Anna’s book, Hell Squad: Marcus PLUS my book, Stealing Mercury or Susan’s Champion of Baresh, or SE’s Dagger’s Hope.
To enter the paperback giveaway, just leave a comment on Anna’s blog(international entries welcome): http://annahackettbooks.com/gladiator-release-celebration-and-paperback-giveaway
The paperback giveaway is open until close of business Friday, don’t miss out!
And be sure to check out Anna’s new series. Currently at $.99!
Fighting for love, honor, and freedom on the galaxy’s lawless outer rim…
When Earth space marine Harper Adams finds herself abducted by alien slavers off a space station, her life turns into a battle for survival. Dumped into an arena on a desert planet on the outer rim, she finds herself face to face with a big, tattooed alien gladiator…the champion of the Kor Magna Arena.
A former prince abandoned to the arena as a teen, Raiden Tiago has long ago earned his freedom. Now he rules the arena, but he doesn’t fight for the glory, but instead for his own dark purpose–revenge against the Thraxian aliens who destroyed his planet. Then his existence is rocked by one small, fierce female fighter from an unknown planet called Earth.
Harper is determined to find a way home, but when she spots her best friend in the arena–a slave of the evil Thraxian aliens–she’ll do anything to save her friend…even join forces with the tough alpha male who sets her body on fire. But as Harper and Raiden step foot onto the blood-soaked sands of the arena, Harper worries that Raiden has his own dangerous agenda…
Note to readers: This sci fi romance contains a lot of action (think wild gladiatorial fights and daring rescues), tough gladiators (the warriors of the House of Galen) and a steamy romance (between a fierce space marine and a gritty alpha male gladiator). So if you like it fast, and gritty, and sexy, this is for you!
Is Arena Dogs a series? You bet! The second book is called Tempting Jupiter and I finally have a cover to show off. I was hoping to have a release date, too. But alas, I’m not quite there yet. Still, it is on the way and I have not only the cover, but also the book description and the first scene of the book ready for you.
These great blogs are helping me reveal the cover and description:
6 Feet Under Book Blog
Angel’s Guilty Pleasures
Boundless Book Reviews
Monlatable Book Reviews
SFR Station
The Galaxy Express
The Reading Cafe
I Love Books Blog
You can read the opening of Tempting Jupiter here: Tempting Jupiter, Scene One
To help celebrate the cover reveal, I am doing a mystery swag giveaway. Visit any of the blogs above to enter!
Enjoy!
I’m excited to be participating the Super Nova Week of the SFRB Summer Cafe!
First, let me tell you about the opportunities to win! There is a rafflecopter giveaway for the week, linked at the bottom of the post. I’m also giving away your choice of Stealing Mercury e-book, Deadly Lover e-book, or Stealing Mercury print edition (US only). To enter, just comment below with which book prize you’re interested in and I’ll draw one random winner on Thursday.
The Theme of the blog hop is the “summer Cafe” and I’ve been asked to post something that ties into the theme: recipes, excerpts, or food from the book.
I’ve selected an excerpt from Stealing Mercury, that I like to call:
Samantha learns that making sure everyone gets to eat could be a recipe for disaster.
“You can’t be serious.” Samantha spun around to face Drake. He and Resler sat at the table tucked into a corner of the crew commons room. Twenty-four hours into the journey and they already looked comfortable and relaxed, while she was still suffering from the nerves chewing a hole through the lining of her stomach.
Drake had again dressed in all black, wearing the synth and leather like a macabre uniform. The precise cut of the thin beard that defined his jaw provided a stark contrast to Resler’s unkempt appearance. The man must not own a comb. A deck of silver and white lambda cards stretched across the shiny black expanse of the tabletop like an asteroid field. Their half-eaten meals had been shoved aside to make way for the game.
“Very serious,” said Drake. “No food for the Dogs, Sam. None.” He met her glare with a calm that beat against Samantha’s outrage like water on baked coolie-clay. One good tap and she’d explode like a shower of pottery shards. “Come, sit.” He waved her forward with a flick of his wrist then scooped up the cards and shuffled them. “We’ll deal you in.”
“Hey,” Resler grumbled, “I was winning.”
“Don’t be an ass.” Drake tapped the cards on the table.
Samantha rolled her shoulders and waited for their bickering to die down. Stars she was tired. It had been twenty grueling hours of flight prep, getting up to speed on the peculiarities of the Dove and getting them all safely into skipspace—that wonderful state that bent the laws of ordinary physics and made faster than light travel possible.
She’d spent the last four hours walking the ship, doing systems checks, and she needed sleep before she had to be back at the pilot’s station to prep for the first skip-point. At each skip-point the ship had to drop back to normal space for the skip-field generator’s cool-down period before jumping again. The Dove was top of the line. She could probably recalculate to a 48 hour interval between skip-points. Unfortunately, she had to stick to the standard 36, if she wanted to end up at the rendezvous coordinates on schedule to meet Sevti’s people.
The ship was in tip-top shape, but she couldn’t boast the same. She needed to find a bed and climb in, but first she needed fuel. And she refused to fill her own belly until the Arena Dogs had been fed. Their cages had built-in waste and water units, but no rations. She couldn’t let Drake’s decree stand.
Patience gone, she filled her lungs, ready to shout for their attention. “The Arena Dogs, Mr. Drake. I won’t let them go hungry.”
He flipped the triangular cards through his hands again. “It’s not your concern, Sam.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and willed away the building headache. “As pilot, the wellbeing of everyone on board is my responsibility.”
Drake set the cards down in a tidy stack. “They aren’t passengers.” He twisted in his seat to face her more fully. “They’re property. And my responsibility, not yours. But, if it will ease your mind, there’s nothing to worry about. The Dogs were engineered for endurance and efficiency. They can easily survive without food for the three week journey.”
That stopped her for a half a minute. He said it so casually and looked at her like he thought it made everything all right. “It might be true, but it’s also cruel. The ship is fully stocked. There’s no reason to let them suffer.”
Resler smirked then reached over and snagged a chunk of tuber from his plate. “You should tell her.”
Drake shot the man a glare to rival the chill of space.
“Tell me what?” She considered that look and what it might mean. If there was something, anything, she could use to break through his resolve she’d jump at it and worry about the consequences later. Fisting her hands on her hips, she stepped close enough to tower over the seated men. “I get it. You’re afraid.”
All expression slipped off Drake’s face. “Afraid? Of you?”
“Not me. The Arena Dogs.”
“Ha!” Drake slid off of the seat then stood, forcing her to look up to hold his gaze.
Samantha resisted the urge to step back.
He leaned in, crowding her even more. “They’re afraid of me, not the other way around.”
She’d been bullied by bigger men. “You’d have to get close to the cages to feed them. I think you’re afraid they’d make a grab for you.”
He shook his head and smiled. “Did you really think I’d be that easy to provoke?”
She shrugged, impressed that he saw through her ploy. She’d have to be careful not to underestimate him again, but that didn’t mean she was ready to give up. “Prove it then. Feed them.”
The smile tightened, giving him the pinched look of a man wearing a belt synched one notch too far. “I’ve worked with them—no bars between us—for years. If I wanted to feed them, I would.”
Samantha nodded. “Sure. But I bet you had a bunch of guards there to back you up.”
He stepped forward and her muscles tensed in reaction, but he brushed past. The pop of a storage bin opening drew her around as he dug into one of the built-in containers that lined the wall.
He pulled out a protein ration bar and tossed it to her. “If you want to bet, I’ve got a better wager.”
Stealing Mercury is available now at:
US: Kindle | Nook | Kobo | iBooks | Inketera
Kindle Int’l AU | DE | FR | UK | CA
This week, visit each blog below to learn more about all of the SuperNova, SuperHot SFR Stories we have on tap for you. Many of the blogs have giveaways, all have something fun for readers!
And don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter prize draw:
I’m doing a bit of guest blogging this week.
Today I’m visiting Veronica Scott on her blog and talking about the future I’d like to see: https://veronicascott.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/guest-author-charlee-allden-stealing-mercury/
If you missed it, I visited The Galaxy express to talk about packing for an erotic space adventure: http://www.thegalaxyexpress.net/2015/05/the-top-ten-things-to-pack-for-erotic.html
I hope you’ll visit these great blogger/authors.
And thank you all for all the support and enthusiasm for the release of Stealing Mercury!
It has been an exciting week here in balmy Florida (pouring rain right now). I want to thank everyone who is giving Stealing Mercury a try. Lot of super nice bloggers have been saying nice things about Stealing Mercury. Here are just a few:
“The character building in this book is amazing.”
~Amy from the 6 Feet Under blog“I loved this book! It was like gladiator meets sci-fi, with a modern twist to boot!”
Kawehi from Kawehi’s Book Blog“If you are a fan of Laurann Dohner you are definitely gonna love this one too!”
Jolanda of Jolanda Loves Books and cyborg Lover’s reviews on Goodreads.
Plus, tonight the books arrived for the Goodreads giveaway I’m doing for Stealing Mercury. Pretty fun to open this box!
Just waiting on Goodreads to select the winners then I get to send these out to the lucky 15 winners. I wish I had some good swag to send with them, but I haven’t gotten anything yet. Hopefully the books will be prize enough.
If you haven’t entered and would like to, the contest is open for 2 more days. Here’s the info:
Giveaway ends May 01, 2015.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.