Lion's Crossing has released! This MM MPreg Shifter Romance is part of both the multi-author shared world of Love Sync Mates Season Two and my Shifter Towers series.

It was partially inspired by the Via Rail incident that happened at the end of August last year, where passengers were stranded on a broken down train for over 10 hours. If you want to read an more about what conditions were like for passengers on that train, check out this article from CBC. 

Also, Linc, who is the alpha in this book, was also mentioned previously in my Shifter Towers series, in His Omega on Stage. 

​“Attention passengers,” the voice came over the coach’s static-filled PA system. “There has been a brief delay in our travels, and we are working quickly to get on our way again.”
 
That didn’t tell us much. It could have meant there was a problem with one of the passengers, or there was an engine malfunction. Either way, I hoped to be moving again soon. I was supposed to arrive ahead of the check-in time at my hotel, but with the delay, I would likely arrive right on time.
 
The alpha beside me began typing furiously on his phone, so I leaned back and pressed play on my music streaming app. I had my playlist on shuffle, so I didn’t know which song would play first. “Fated For Forever” was the first random song I heard, sung by the pop group FNL about how when an alpha finds their fated mate, they will love them forever. The group had since disbanded, but I still enjoyed the music they had released. I wasn’t a huge fan of theirs, didn’t know all their names or anything, but appreciated their sound. A short clip of the group played on the app, showing the group dancing to the music. And that’s when I realized the identity of the alpha sitting beside me. He was a former member of FNL.
 
I froze for a moment, hoping he hadn’t looked over to see what music I listened to on my phone. I didn’t want him to think I was some crazed fan who would be all over him because of his celebrity status. Leaning into the corner of my seat, away from the alpha, I switched to a new song then brought up my search engine. Looking up FNL, I tried to find a list of the members to figure out which one sat beside me. After checking out a few fan pages, I learned his name was Linc, he was a lion shifter, and he lived in Shifter Crossing before heading to Saramto to become a pop star. And after leaving FNL, he’d become a music producer for Adan Records.
 
It all made sense why he hid his identity. I would have, too, if I rode on a train with all these people. Most wouldn’t care about his identity, but one fan pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable behavior would be enough to ruin the ride. And I didn’t want to witness that, either.
 
I made a mental note to only talk to him about being from Shifter Crossing. That was, if he decided to talk to me. Because, so far, he seemed engrossed in his phone. Even though we weren’t moving, I returned to looking out the window and listening to my music. It wasn’t as if I could do anything else.

Today's First Chapter Friday is from the first book in my Alien Next Door series, Alien Adoration. This was the first title I self-published after having several titles out with Decadent Publishing and one with another publisher now gone. It was inspired by the song "Spaceman" by Bif Naked. If you listen to the song and read the book, you'll see some key similarities. In Alien Adoration, Rachel admires her "playboy" neighbor through the window while wishing to meet a man who looks like him, but without the rotating dates. But Luke is nothing like she imagined. He's not even from Earth. Read the beginning of Alien Adoration below...

A car door slammed. Rachel flicked her eyes open, a flush of adrenaline racing through her body. Not again.

Even though common sense told her to go back to sleep, she slid off the bed and peered out the window. The driver of the red Camaro squealed the tires, tearing off down the street.

Rachel cursed the woman with long, bleached-blonde hair, tiny waist, and the biggest breasts she’d ever seen. Why did her neighbor go for women like that?

Stilettos and sports cars? They were all the same, reminding her she didn’t stand a chance with her neighbor.

Luke Jones.

Whether he wore his work clothes of jeans and a T-shirt that clung tight against his muscular body, or leather pants and a jacket when riding his motorcycle, he defined sexy, making every other guy seem drab. She licked her lips, thinking of him, the hero in every single one of her fantasies since moving in two years earlier, and obviously as the leading man for so many other women, bringing home several each month. Though not one of them ever returned for a second visit. They all left with a commotion, waking her in the middle of the night.

What she wouldn’t give to experience an evening with him. She rolled her eyes. No, never going to happen. Putting out on the first date led to one night stands. And sex on the second night didn’t hold much promise for a long-term relationship, based on her past experiences. One month of seeing Dirk Chambers, the grocery store manager, and she still hadn’t slept with him. Maybe if he didn’t wind up drunk on every single date, she might consider it. Though his suggestions of making out in the bathroom of the local pub, and in the back seat of his car did not appeal to her. So not how she wanted their first time together to be. Those places were fine for the second round of sex and beyond. But, for the first time, she wanted romance, to be swept off her feet.

She studied the water stain on her ceiling, visible by the light of the street lamp. Yet another thing she couldn’t afford to fix. If a man offered to fix her roof for her, she’d find that romantic, and break her first date rule. But did any guy know the meaning of romance anymore? Surely no one from Hanton. The small town boasted the highest rate of divorce in the province due to extramarital affairs. No one in town got married anymore, expecting all vows to be broken within the first year. Those of her classmates who’d been lucky enough to move away bragged of their success in both their marriages and their careers.

Rachel hadn’t had the chance to move away. Thankfully, the view next door didn’t hurt. Though he would never be more than a fantasy. She wanted a relationship, not a one-night stand.

Ready to return to her bed, she squinted at the glow of moonlight reflecting off her neighbor’s front screen door. She sucked in a breath, hoping to catch a glimpse of him to use as a happy thought before going to sleep.

He walked out to his LJ Construction truck in only flannel pants hanging low on his hips. Opening the door, he ducked inside, grabbing…something. Then he slammed the door behind him. The view provided plenty of inspiration for her fantasies, his back muscles just as appealing as his washboard abs. Her pussy clenched, and she craved the toy she hid in her nightstand drawer.

Luke reached for the handle, but turned around before he opened it. Something above her house caught his attention. An airplane? The moon? No, his focus was on her. Shit.

He lifted his hand and waved and without so much as a smile, he returned inside.

Her cheeks burned. God, he’d caught her gawking. Did he think she was spying on him? It’s not as if she gaped into his home. No one could with every window covered in heavy drapery at all times. It only added to his mysterious appeal.

She yanked her curtains closed and slipped back into bed, pulling the blankets over her head. The first time he noticed her, and she wore battered pajamas, her hair likely looking like a rat’s nest. Groaning, she turned onto her side, trying to ignore the queasiness in her stomach. In a couple hours for work, she had to get up for work. And the late night interruption meant an extra large black coffee in the morning, just to stay awake. Closing her eyes, she locked away the images of her neighbor’s bare chest for another night.
 
***
 
Luke rubbed the back of his neck. Rachel had seen him, glaring wide-eyed like she expected him to attack. Why did she keep her distance, never say hello? Did she remember him from years ago, or had she woken, disgusted with him because of the loud departure of another of the women he used to try and forget about her?

But he never could get her out of his head. From the moment he’d first met her, she’d implanted herself in his heart. She’d been so kind, so accepting. Now she stared at him from her bedroom, wouldn’t even talk to him. Over the years, she must have become afraid of him, of what he was. An alien.

He trudged up the stairs to his room where the red glow from the orb—his only connection to the world he came from—had finally faded. After dinner, he and Marnie had moved to the couch to get more comfortable. Then the light had appeared. And it grew brighter while she tried to seduce him. Even though he imagined his neighbor in her place, he could never give any woman what she wanted. A brick wall always stood between him and his dates. His neighbor. The unattainable woman. And he refused to stop his female companions as they stormed from his house, calling him a tease, among other names.

He flopped onto his bed. They were right. No one could ever replace Rachel in his heart, and he refused to try anymore. Until she told him outright she didn’t want him, he would never invite another woman over. But if she decided to accept an invitation to dinner, spend some time with him….
​
Smiling, he closed his eyes and visualized the possibilities.

Today's First Chapter Friday is from the first book in my Romance Tales from the Quadrants series, 4 United. I didn't want to leave behind the universe I created for my Kaddim Brothers series, so I decided to write more love stories that take place in that distant world. While the stories in Romance Tales from the Quadrants involve many different pairings/groupings, they are all about finding true love. And in 4 United, Eta is reunited with her three childhood friends when an assignment sends her back to the planet where she was born. There are many reasons why she does not want to return, but she does and finds far more than she expected. Below is an excerpt from the beginning of chapter one. I've skipped the two prologues which take place at two time periods before Eta is assigned to return to Ma'an.

I jumped awake, the buzz of a message rattling me from sleep. It came through my private USRA channel, my in-ear instead of on my handheld comm unit. Someone from the Universal Space Racer Association wanted to talk to me right away. Probably my supervisor. But why so early?

Slipping out from under the covers, I tried not to disturb the sleeping space racer beside me. I had no recollection of his name or what team he raced for. But he had been a good ride.

In the dim glow of light from his comm-charging pad, I collected my clothing from various corners of his sleeping pod and dressed. Yeah, it had been a wild night. But it didn’t matter. I had no connection with him. No spark of longing. No desire for something more. I had to leave before he woke.

After gathering the few belongings I’d brought with me for the hookup, I headed for the door. Once it slid open, I sneaked out, hoping not to run into any of the sleeping guy’s roommates.

I cleared the dorm without any awkward encounters then headed toward the closest tube shuttle port. On my way, I pressed my comm sensor behind my ear to receive the message.

Eta, this is Skyranked Rayne. Please come to my office at 0900. I want to review your last assignment and discuss your next one.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I shook my head in disbelief. Real, or had someone hacked into my comm? I’d just returned from my assignment on Oloria. And already the USRA had a new planet to send me to? I rested a hand against the wall and sighed, glad I’d spent the night having fun. If the message came from my supervisor, I didn’t know when I would get another chance.

Stepping into the tube, I entered my building and floor number. I barely had enough time to wash up before my meeting with my supervisor, but I couldn’t go to her office smelling like sex.

Once the contraption dinged, I braced for the ride. The tube rocketed quickly up, down, and around corners. Closing in on my destination, I grabbed the bar along the edge. If I didn’t hold on, I would fall on my ass when it stopped. As past experience had taught me.

In less than a minute, I reached my destination, thankful to no longer feel the dizzying effects of the ride as I had when I first used one. Leaving the tube behind, I walked down the hall to my apartment. I scanned my wrist in front of the sensor to unlock the door then went inside, unsure if my roommate had made it home. They had gone out last night, too, and without any message from Rumi, I didn’t know if they had returned or spent the night elsewhere as I had.

Listening closely, I heard the faint music from their home planet, Kalpier, they always played while sleeping. Good, at least they’d made it home. But I had to be quiet not to wake them. If any noise interrupted the music, they would wake at once.

I tiptoed through our common area, all the way to my side of the apartment, taking the few stairs down to my closet space. My sleep pod was installed above, a place I hadn’t been in several lunar cycles. And if another assignment already waited for me, I didn’t know how many nights I would spend there before I traveled off planet again.

With Rumi sleeping, I couldn’t turn on the clothes steamer. It made too much noise starting up. So, after finding a fresh uniform, I took it with me into the bathroom. It would get steamed in there with me as I washed up.

Clean and in a fresh uniform, I left the apartment with very little time before my meeting with Skyranked Rayne. Another tube ride transported me away from the racer and employee dorms to deep into the metropolis where the USRA headquarters stood tall.

I found it amazing how Eurebly grew every time I left. More teams meant more offices and training facilities. And teams needed a dorm, too, even if the members didn’t live on the planet full-time. Each team still had to train for a prescribed amount of time on Eurebly. So, I approved a team if they met all of the qualifications, only after their facilities had been built and reserved. The tube system wasn’t that old, the final stage of it having been completed shortly after I received my promotion from Runner to the Team Development Department.

At my stop, I raced out of the tube and down the hall. Skyranked Rayne wasn’t mean, but she didn’t like tardiness. She preferred when her staff were early, but with my last-minute call, I could only hope to make it on time.

I stumbled into her office, her assistant glancing up from zir comm unit as I tried to right myself.

“Oh good. You got her message.” Ze gestured toward the inner door. “You can go right in.”

Real message. Not a fake. But another assignment already?

The metal door slid open, and I headed inside the office. Every time I entered the room, the view behind my supervisor’s desk captivated me. Most buildings only had small UV protected windows to let in a minimal amount of light. Probably to protect light-sensitive beings. Yet, Skyranked Rayne had an entire outer wall of windows, revealing an amazing view of the metropolis. Especially from fifty stories up. Masses of buildings gave way to a clear, blue sky, dotted with various spacecraft. Cargo ships, pleasure craft, interplanetary shuttles, and more carried passengers and freight from Eurebly to spaceports all across the universe.

“Eta, thank you for meeting me on such short notice.” My supervisor gestured to one of the faux phalagump-hyde covered loungers on the other side of her desk. “Please, make yourself comfortable.” She activated the shutters for the windows, allowing the artificial lights to illuminate the space instead.

Though tempted to lean into the lounger, I sat on the edge of the cushion. I didn’t want to doze off after my late night and early morning.

Focusing on my supervisor, I tried to figure out her mood based on the current color of her skin. Most Derinjians I’d met had green skin, except when experiencing extreme emotions. But Skyranked Rayne never seemed to hide her feelings. Strangely, she appeared a bit yellow. Perhaps a little gray, too. Did that mean she was nervous? Then, very quickly, her skin turned bluish-green. Stars, what was she hiding? Had I gotten a complaint at my last assignment?

She sat cross-legged on the bench behind her desk. “I know I usually give you a couple days upon your return to complete your files and turn in your final report. But, seeing how you seemed to keep all your findings up to date in your files while on Oloria, and a pressing matter we need to discuss, I thought we could make a decision now regarding the planet’s racing status.”

I sat there, unsure how to respond. She’d said so much and I hadn’t fully woken. “Um, sure.” I wasn’t prepared for the meeting, hadn’t thought to buy a koobee on my way there, but I didn’t think I had any choice. And what pressing matter concerned either me or my supervisor? I thought I had another assignment already. Oh no, was she getting promoted and someone else would take her place? I hoped it wasn’t Skyranked Egdoe. I didn’t get along with them. They had been my supervisor when I first started as a runner for the USRA. Expected me to do things for the teams that weren’t part of my duties. When some other runners and I complained, they’d been reassigned to another department. But, last I heard from my roommate, they constantly begged to be transferred to the Team Development Department.

Skyranked Rayne loaded up my files from Oloria on her comm screen. As she flipped through them, a smile spread across her face. “Always so organized. That’s why I know you’re the ideal candidate for this next assignment.”

So, she wasn’t leaving. A relief for me. But I still didn’t know why I had another assignment already. The ideal candidate? Inspectors always received their assignments in order. I should be put into the queue the same as the others. Complaints would be filed when my colleagues learned about the change in protocol.

With a faint smile—she did compliment my work after all—I waited for her to continue.

Skyranked Rayne closed the files. “So, what is your overall assessment of the team from Oloria? Are they ready to join the USRA? Does the planet have the necessary facilities to support a team and the subsequent events?”

I nodded. They’d met all of the qualifications before I’d arrived. My three-lunar cycle stay had been nothing more than a formality. “Everything there meets or exceeds our standards. I have no doubts that the team from Oloria will make a great addition to the circuit. And the government is anxious to learn when they will get a chance to host their first official race.”

Several teams had already practiced on Oloria to get a feel for their course and to give the rookies a chance to race alongside more experienced racers. But the team and the planet couldn’t participate in any official events until the USRA approved their application.

“Okay, with your current reports, I will get their application sent for final approval. No need to write up a final report, as I need you to focus on your next assignment.”

Yaflats suddenly sprung to life in my stomach. The way the new assignment didn’t follow normal procedures made me nervous. Were they sending me beyond the quadrants? I didn’t think we knew much about the planets beyond the quadrants’ borders. But maybe things had changed since I’d been away. Though I probably would have heard about it, even on Oloria.

“Now…” She adjusted her sitting position, swinging her legs to her side. “For your next assignment, we’re sending you to your home planet, Ma’an.”

“No.” The word blurted out before I could stop it. I had never said no to an assignment before, but I couldn’t return to Ma’an. I had escaped from that planet for a reason. And while I had sneaked there once, that wasn’t a mistake I planned to make ever again. Why couldn’t someone else go?

Skyranked Rayne wrinkled her large forehead as her skin turned yellow then gray. “I thought you would be ecstatic at the chance to return. Don’t you have a cousin there?”

Gripping the edge of the cushion, I tried to withhold the urges to run, scream, and cry. While I certainly did not want to return to Ma’an, I had to show respect to my supervisor. Somehow, I had to make Skyranked Rayne understand my objections in a respectful manner. Even with my l’sida still on the planet.

I took a deep breath. “While I appreciate the confidence you have in me, I’m afraid I won’t be able to complete this mission. You see, my moema—mom—and I escaped from the planet when I was young. If I return, they won’t let me leave again.”

“Ah, so that’s what Chairman Lo’an referenced when he specifically asked for you to be assigned to his planet.” Her skin turned back to a blueish-green as she rested her forearms on her desk and leaned forward. “He assured me you will not be forced to marry anyone and will be assigned a shagard, someone to keep you safe while you complete your assignment. He also said, he’s working to change the laws regarding appointed marriages.”

I’m sure that would go well with the rest of the High Council, especially since they were the only ones on the planet who benefitted from the laws.

“I don’t know.” I sighed. So many doubts from the assignment churned through my mind. “As much as I would love to see my remaining family and my friends again, I don’t believe the planet has changed enough to assure my safe return at the end of the assignment.” If no one had concerns for my safety, why did I need a shagard?

“Eta.” Skyranked Rayne tapped away on her personal comm unit. “You are an employee of the USRA and thereby automatically protected by the Council of the Quadrants, of which Ma’an is a member of. I don’t think Chairman Lo’an is willing to break the many treaties he has signed, to keep you on the planet.”

When she finished typing, she pointed to my comm unit. “I’ve sent you all the necessary files pertaining to your assignment, including a personal video message from Chairman Lo’an. Please review them before you leave. Your shuttle is set to depart in two days.”

So, my objection meant nothing. I had to return to my home planet for an assignment with the likelihood of never returning. No one from the USRA bothered to check to ensure the planet had safety protocols in place. They simply took the word of Chairman Lo’an. And it was my responsibility to go there and ensure it proved safe to host events there, and for tourists to visit. Even if it meant sacrificing my own freedoms to prove the opposite.
​
I pocketed my comm unit and stood. “Okay.” Not waiting to be dismissed, I left my supervisor’s office. Somehow, I had to find a way out of the assignment. Maybe I could find a rule about not being allowed to evaluate your home planet. Or maybe some piece of information the chairman hadn’t provided. I wasn’t leaving right away. I still had time to find a loophole.