Meet the bad guys from For Women Only by Kayelle Allen #SciFi #Romance #MFRWhooks #MFRWorg

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

For Women Only Excerpt

"Why the drama, Pietas?"

"Your assistant wouldn't let me see you without an appointment."

"You insufferable..." She palmed the weapon fastened beneath her desk, then withdrew it and aimed at his head.

Pietas laughed, but he raised his hands. "I should've known you'd be armed."

With her other hand, she picked up his gun and aimed it at him. "Ambidextrous, remember?"

He started to put his hands down and she thumbed his weapon to full. His hands went back up. "Fine, Dessy. But I had to see you, and he wouldn't let me in. You know how I hate waiting."

"For that, you made my favorite your hostage and instigated a riot among my Praetorian?"

He shrugged.

She sighed and clicked the safety into place on both weapons. "What do you want?"

"I haven't seen you in twenty years, and that's all you have to say to me?"

"It's been eleven years, and according to the rules of Peril, I shouldn't have seen you for at least ten more. And you had no right to interfere with anyone I claim as mine. Don't you ever touch Alitus again. If you do, I'll kill you in every way you hate." She tapped the desk. "And I know them all, my dear brother. Is that clear?"

He twisted his mouth. "Fine. I won't touch your pet."

"Or allow anyone within your control or influence to do so. So help me, Pietas, promise me or I'll--"

"Yes, yes. I promise. Don't be tedious. I get the point." He dropped his huge frame into a wingback chair and hung one leg over an arm of it. "Besides, you're impossibly nasty when anyone touches your pets."

She snorted and slid his gun toward him. "Fine. Now tell me what you want."

---
Pietas model: Nik Nitsvetov

Posted in Blog Hop | Tagged Antonello Brothers, At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, Blog Hop, Bro, Kayelle Allen, Luc Saint-Cyr, MFRW, Senth Antonello |

Luc’s house is lit up. Everyone is home. Uh oh! #SpaceOpera #YA #MFRWhooks #MFRWorg

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

Luc's House

Luc arrives home and knows the status of his house will be chaos. Luc's house is orderly. Unless the boys are back.

By the time they drove into the neighborhood where Luc lived, sleet pelted the hoversine. The splash-slide sound of it freezing and then slipping off the vehicle's shields set up an irregular rhythm, a heartbeat out of sync.

Of all the domiciles he owned on multiple planets, this house felt most like home. Dark brown marble trimmed a lighter brown stone and the windows showed lights behind the white curtains.

Which meant his Deshai were back.

Which, in turn, meant his usually immaculate house was no longer so.

What was it about boys? They walked into a house and it was like unsealing an inflatable boat. All available space immediately disappeared. Items fell off them and landed everywhere, scattering across furniture, onto tables, and into every room. Within an hour of anyone's arrival the house looked like it hadn't been picked up in a month.

Surprising how much he'd missed that.

After this, no one was graduating. No one would come back. If they did, it wouldn't be to see him. After all, their new homes would be wherever they decided to work and Luc could think of no reason he'd be invited. They'd want to see each other.

Family. Not him.

A dull ache bloomed in his chest.

Posted in Blog Hop | Tagged A Stolen Heart, Antonello Brothers, Immortal Heroes, Luc Saint-Cyr, MFRW, Pietas, Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels, Space Opera |

Share a sweet but awkward father and son moment with Senth (from Bro) #MFRWhooks #YA #SpaceOpera

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

Father and Son

"Is that the info?" Senthys nudged his chin toward the reader. "What else does it say?"

"In good time," Luc responded. "I adopted you but didn't change your last name to Saint-Cyr so if your family looked for you, they'd find you, and that's how it happened. A worker at the Guild mentioned to this person that he knew another Antonello. One thing led to another."

"That's why you kept my name?"

"Of course." Luc frowned. "Why else?"

"I thought--" Senthys eased back into his chair. "Never mind."

"Say what you're thinking."

His son didn't react at first, but finally lifted his head. "I figured... you were--you know." He gave a small shrug. "Ashamed of me."

"What? No! I am inordinately proud of you." Why did his son not see that? "Why would you think I wasn't?"

The youth traced a pattern in the wood. "I figured if you were proud, you'd have wanted to tell people about me." He peeked up under his lashes. "Instead of making me hide."

His son could not have cut out Luc's heart any better with a knife.

"No! That was never why. Son." He reached for Senthys but placed his hand flat on the table. "I promise you." He held his son's gaze, willing him to understand. "I am indeed proud of you. I hide you to protect you."

"You're my father. It's public record. You own the house where I live. You sponsored me into the Guild. I don't see how that's hiding."

Luc sagged in his chair. "Do you have any idea how much it costs to buy off the media? There are almost two dozen planets in this empire. The media exacts a heavy toll on silence when--" He stopped himself. Lowered his voice. "You don't need to know the deals I make and you don't need to make it more difficult--or expensive--for me to protect you from the fame that dogs my every step. A thief can't work in a spotlight." He drew back. "Most of the time, neither can I."

"What you're saying is--you've been protecting me?"

How many times had he said that exact thing? Did this child never listen? With yet another reminder to pick his battles, Luc tamped down his frustration. "Yes."

The adorable blue eyes and shy smile that had charmed Luc when Senthys was a toddler flashed across his son's face and then was gone.

No sweet little kitten remained a kitten forever. No matter how much you wished they could.

Posted in Blog Hop | Tagged Antonello Brothers, At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, Bro, For Women Only, Kayelle Allen, Khyff Antonello, Luc Saint-Cyr, MFRW, Senth Antonello |

Life speaks louder than beads #Excerpt from A Stolen Heart #SpaceOpera #MFRWauthor

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

Beads: an excerpt from A Stolen Heart

"This is Shohn, sir. As of a few days ago, your permanent liaison."

"Permanent." Luc scoffed. "That remains to be seen."

"Oh, you won't fire me."

His attention jerked from the changing scenery outside. "What did you say?"

"That you won't fire me."

What audacity. "Indeed? Put yourself on holophone. I want to see the person cocky enough to say that."

When she appeared, the substantial holopresence smiled. She had dark hair, golden-hued skin. Athletic, she dressed in the green and black uniform of an idBot Guard. Catlike ears perched atop her head and she had the slit pupils of a cat in a very human face.

A Kin. He should have known, judging by the level of sass.

"How are you, Mr. Saint-Cyr?" She wore a blue bead of a Lexius clan warrior in her hair. It hung in a single braid on her left, designating the highest privilege among her people. The long string of ornate beads beneath it meant she'd earned the right to wear it many times over.

What was that Kin insult? You don't have the beads to fight me. Apparently, this one thought she did.

"So, you're a Kin."

"I'm a Kin?" She reached up, felt one pointed ear. "I think you're right." She gave the ear a swipe, looking for all the worlds like a cat grooming itself. "And you're human."

"According to my DNA." He steepled his fingers. "Whoever assigned you to me either wants to get rid of you, or they think the fact I speak Felis will make a difference."

"Dok cho," she said, in the slow, breathy tone of the language. "Sten til du?"

Any schoolchild knew Hello, how are you?

"Seeyoo, skah," he responded. "Yl tu?" Fine, thanks, and you?

"Not much accent. Well done." With one claw extended, she toyed with that single braid. "I've been told you're a warrior among your people and hold great honor despite a lamentable lack of beads to prove it." She angled one ear out at the side. "Although your curls are long enough to hold two or three, if you had beading skill."

"Skah." He inclined his head. "Nahtay shah cohahkka nokk."

"You're welcome. And you're right. Life speaks louder than beads." She tossed back her braid. "My people say that to face an enemy, you must sharpen three things; your wits, your blade, and your fangs. I hear you fired the last ten people who worked for you. You'll keep me."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Threaten the man half the empire calls the Harbinger and the other half is owned by? I have no death wish."

"I own no slaves." Luc sat straighter.

"Forgive my poor choice of words. I'll restate. You are the power half the empire bows to."

He would not argue that. It had taken multiple lifetimes to set it up.

"Sir, you'll keep me because the others didn't get results. They were trofee. Beadless. Useless. Results are my specialty."

"That remains to be seen. Say your first name again, Ms. Lexius."

"Shohn. Like the stars at night. And may I say, I'm impressed you know my clan. By my beads, I assume." She tugged on the long dangle of braid. "Good eyesight, even wearing those solid black contacts."

"You might be worth keeping purely for your sense of humor." And sass, though he'd never admit that to her.

Posted in Blog Hop | Tagged A Stolen Heart, Antonello Brothers, Luc Saint-Cyr, MFRW, Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels, Space Opera |

Note? What note? #SciFi by Kayelle Allen #MFRWhooks #MFRWorg

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

Royal District, Royal Arms Hotel Suite 1221

NarrAy tipped the hotel android and tucked the note he'd delivered into the pocket of her robe. "Senth?" She walked back into the bedroom, heard water running, and poked her head inside the bathroom. Steam frosted the glass-enclosed shower. "Senth, honey, there's a--Whoa!"

Senth was pressed against the glass from his firm behind all the way up to his shoulders.

NarrAy gulped against a rush of pheromones. "Uh, there's a...a note."

"What?" Senth stepped away from the glass and came to the opening, both hands in his soapy hair. Shampoo bubbles trickled down his upraised arms, onto his shoulders, and down across his chest. Senth's nose wriggled. He'd done that several times during the night, inhaling her scent. It shot a tinge of warmth down her body. "I couldn't hear you, sweetie. There's a what?"

"Nothing." NarrAy cast off her robe and stepped into the shower, right into Senth's slippery, soapy, slick, sexy, and open arms.

Posted in Blog Hop | Tagged Antonello Brothers, At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, Blog Hop, Bro, Kayelle Allen, Luc Saint-Cyr, MFRW, Senth Antonello |

Advanced abilities – just what a thief needs #SciFi #MFRWhooks #Excerpt Bro by Kayelle Allen

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

Advanced Privilege

Senth pounded up the stairs, feeling the judgmental stares of hundreds of pairs of eyes on his back. He stepped up to the desk. "Morning. Here for my cloak."

The worker looked up, raked a glance down him. "Listen, kid, this is Advanced only. There's a line. Wait your turn."

"Yeah. I get it." Letting his fangs show, Senth gestured to himself. "I have a 'baby face.' I hear that every day, but I'm no kid. I'm old enough to join the Armada and vote."

A mocking smile painted itself across the worker's face. "If you were human."

Could he not get one day without being reminded he didn't belong?

"Plus," the worker continued, "in case you're new here, you should know you have to be a Level Fifteen or higher to get a cloak."

Oh, he was one of those? Judge the face and not the person. Time to pull out the big guns. Not his favorite way to deal, but if you had a tool that worked, you yanked it out of the bag and used it. Wasn't that the point of having a tool?

Senth leaned one hand on the desk and bent closer as if sharing a secret. "Speaking of being new here... When did you arrive?"

The guy drew back. "Transferred in from Tarth to help with the cloak distribution."

"Shh." Senth made a show of glancing around. "Quiet like, what level are you?"

The man gave him a smug smile. "My Guild ranking is Thirteen."

"Wow. Impressive. And how old are you?"

The worker frowned. "Not that it's your business, but I'm thirty."

"Yeah? You know when I hit Level Thirteen?" Senth picked lint off the man's jacket, dropped it onto the floor. "When I was nine."

The man scoffed. "Nobody's ever done that."

"Look it up. I hold the record for youngest ever reaching it." He stood straight, squaring his shoulders. "I'm a Level Nineteen now. You'll find me under Antonello, Senth, Advanced Interior Security. Or you can try Harbinger." He flashed his father's hand sign, showing the back of two fingers together straight across his waist. "Son of."

"The Harbin--" The man pushed back from the desk and tripped getting to his feet. "Oh, you're the-- You're the--" He muttered an oath. "I'll be right back with your cloak, sir. One moment." He hustled toward the storeroom.

Yep. Daddy had clout.

While Senth waited, a few other thieves in Advanced nodded to him. One of his professors, in full Guild robes and regalia, passed by. When Senth bowed, the man bowed in return. Respect. Mutual. What was so hard about showing it?

A couple females picking up their cloaks shot looks his way.

Had the women overheard his relationship to the Man?

Not that he could take up anyone's offer anyway. His father made sure of that.

Saint-Cyr didn't trust a male Kin, halfbreed or not, to wander around unShackled. Females could, sure. Females could control themselves. The drug his father injected him with kept Senth's feral side at bay, but that didn't mean he was kitten material.

He might not be able to--um--extend his claws, so to speak, but he had other...abilities. Too bad as a HalfKin he hadn't been blessed with his race's real claws. He had to make do with fingers. No advantage over humans.

Unless you knew how to use them. A thief had to be good with his hands.

He sent a slow smile back toward the women.