There’s a price for knowing his father’s name #SciFi #Romance #Excerpt

Updated on 10/12/2023 by Kayelle Allen

In this scene from For Women Only, Khyff has received a notereader (a tablet-type device) filled with information about his mother, who died when he was three. More info is available to him, including his father’s name, but at what price?

Khyff flung himself back in his chair. Every time he and his brother talked, they ended up arguing. He rubbed his eyes. The pleasant meal they’d started lay almost untouched and any appetite he’d had was gone.

It had taken seconds to read the all too short bio of their mother that his brother was perusing now.

Sileenya Antonello had run away from home on Trien at age ten and been arrested for theft at eleven. While still on probation, she’d disappeared at thirteen and been arrested at age fourteen for unlicensed prostitution. When her pregnancy test had come back positive, they’d placed her back on probation. She’d run away again and been fifteen when she’d given birth to Khyff.

Two years later she began living with an armada-enlisted man who transferred to Felidae, taking Sileenya and Khyff with him, but then he abandoned them. Her next boyfriend addicted her to drugs and prostituted her to newly recruited male Kin soldiers eager to spend their first pay to experience sex with a human female. When she became pregnant, he transferred off-planet, leaving them to fend for themselves.

An Elder of the Ruh clan found Sileenya huddled in an alley during a thunderstorm, holding the nearly lifeless Khyff in her arms. A scant month later, the Tzesar of the Kin ordered the halfbreed newborn destroyed, but the elder intervened and sold Senth to slavers to save his life.

Sileenya and Khyff had been cast into the streets.

Days later, she was dead by her own hand and Khyff was a slave. Senth ended up at an orphanage where he was later adopted by Luc Saint-Cyr.

Senth poked at the notereader’s buttons. “This thing is encrypted. What if the Empress knows who my father is? Don’t I have a right to know that? You have to talk to her. Find out what she wants. Maybe she’ll give you the key.”

“Destoiya’s not going to give me information without demanding a favor. I have nothing left to give that woman. She’s already taken way too much.”

“Khyff, that’s unfair. I need this. You can’t ice up and go all mental.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

His brother growled, a predatory cat sound that made the hair on Khyff’s neck stand up. He scrambled out of his chair and stepped back from the table.

“That”–Senth pointed a finger at him–“is what I mean. I do anything Kin-like and you freak. Get hold of yourself, Khyff. You’re falling apart. The brother I knew two years ago would’ve done whatever it took to find out who his father was. He would’ve helped me find mine.”

Khyff shoved his chair under the table and leaned over it. “Don’t lecture me about doing whatever it takes. If it wasn’t for me interceding with Destoiya, you’d be dead.”

“I’d be dead? I rescued you, in case you don’t remember.”

“NarrAy rescued me. You were unconscious. I carried you in my arms when we transported back aboard the ship. You had nothing to do with it.”

Senth stood. “If it hadn’t been for me, we wouldn’t have gotten in the palace and found you.”

“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been a captive in the first place!” He stepped around the chair and set a hand on the corner of the table. “I got my freedom and the next day the Empress held me hostage to control you!”

He's a broken hero. She's a warrior. The love neither expected holds them captive in the middle #scifi #romance Click To Tweet

Fawni’s people destroyed Khyff’s family. To protect his only brother he accepts a mission that will remove her from power. After meeting the female warrior and discovering her noble heart, he begins to doubt his cause, his past and even his own memories.

Khyff’s secret truth could devastate her family and make her an outcast. She should shun this human, return to her own people and forget him. Yet how can she let him suffer in the darkness that binds his heart?

His secret truth is her people’s darkest lie.

For Women Only is a quick-reading sci fi romance with an edge. He’s a broken hero who hungers for revenge. She’s a warrior who thirsts for justice. The love neither expected holds them captive in the middle.

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The prequel for this book is At the Mercy of Her Pleasure.
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Grab both At the Mercy of Her Pleasure and For Women Only plus a third book all in one boxed set.

Posted in Character Insights | Tagged Excerpt, For Women Only, Kayelle Allen Characters, Khyff Antonello, Sci-Fi Romance, Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels, Senth Antonello |

He should eat. But he headed for the bar #Excerpt Surrender Love by Kayelle Allen #SciFi #GayRomance #MFRWhooks

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

Surrender Love
Antonello Brothers: Immortal

Reprint - previously published under the same title (as erotic)
Genre: Scifi Romance, Gay Romance

Length: Full novel (130k words)
Heat level: Mainstream, sweetly sensual (PG13)

A little feral, a little innocent, all male, Izzorah Ceeow flees a world that denies him basic rights. Forced into a human society blind to his needs, the young Kin male lives for his music. When a freak accident throws him into the care of Luc Saint-Cyr, the most powerful human in the empire, the attention Izzorah receives is beyond anything he'd ever dreamed. But is the attraction he feels toward his rescuer gratitude, lust, or a deeper, abiding call to yield all that he is?

The prestige of Luc's power, wealth, and influence direct an empire scattered across the stars. His word shapes the foundations of business and his financial prowess is of mythic proportions. Yet beneath the myths beats the heart of a man who craves what he has never given and is certain he will always be denied -- steadfast, faithful love.

This will take more than love. It needs full out surrender...

(This heavily edited second edition includes many new scenes and over 7k additional words).

Excerpt from Surrender Love

In this scene from the beginning of the book, Luc is arriving home from work, where "friends" have spent the day telling him how sorry they are he recently broke up with his lover. Aggravated beyond words, he runs into McDoth, his android major-domo, a stickler for rules who's been appointed watchdog by Luc's king, who is worried about him.
---

Outside the entrance to his home, Luc stopped, fingertips against his brow. He lifted his head, straightened his shoulders, and opened the door. The scent of polished wood and fresh flowers greeted him. A hint of baking bread beckoned and his stomach growled in answer. He should eat.

Instead, he headed straight for the bar.

As usual, McDoth lay in wait. The attentive butler / major-domo was as predictable as his immaculate tuxedo uniform. With his graying hair and wrinkles, most people mistook him for human. A kindly, aging grandfather who still worked for a living. Like his driver, James, the android was firepower mixed with grit. More tyrannical than a nagging wife and more tenacious than a steel weed. No matter how far Luc went, McDoth would follow, protecting him, serving him, while refusing to let him forget a single detail, rule, or obligation.

Were it his choice, Luc would fire McDoth tonight. In truth, the android deserved a medal. His tolerance and patience knew no bounds. Their relationship had lasted centuries and would for a thousand centuries more.

If their king had his way, Luc would never be rid of the human-shaped ball and chain. Which was the point of a referee. They kept you honest. At least...as much as they could.

"Welcome home, sir." The refined accent programmed into McDoth for this lifetime fit the look of a staid butler.

"McDoth."

The android dropped a few ice cubes into a tumbler and set it on the bar. "For your whiskey, sir. Do try to limit yourself to one this evening."

And there it was. The daily lecture. You drink too much. You eat too little. You work too late. You never stay home.

Luc reached past him and picked up a fresh bottle of his best whiskey, a Kelthian brand from a distillery he'd bought a few years prior.

"Allow me to take your overcoat." The butler reached for it.

He turned to give his servant access, changing the bottle from one hand to the other as he slipped off the garment.

"It's quite late, sir. You must be tired." McDoth folded the coat over his arm. "How was your day?"

"Same as yesterday. Busy, but I accomplished nothing." He darted toward the stairs.

"Sir?"

He halted, gripping the banister so hard he expected to see marks when he let go. The promise of solitude in his chambers above beckoned, but there would be no ignoring the interrogation. He checked an impatient sigh and turned back. "What?"

McDoth came to even sharper attention, his habitual passivity giving way to concern. "It is good to have you home, sir. We see little of you. Shall I bring you dinner? No records show you ate today, unless the earlier visit to your club included dining on someone else's account."

"I'm capable of asking for food if I'm hungry and I don't need a reminder you keep electronic tabs on me. I have no illusions about being your true employer. I'm not hungry. I'm fine. Stop fussing over me."

"As you wish, sir." The butler brought him the tumbler. "Remember, just one."

Luc lifted the bottle of whiskey and wagged it right in the android's face. "I will."

Posted in Character Insights | Tagged Antonello Brothers: Immortal, Blog Hop, Excerpt, Immortal Heroes, Luc Saint-Cyr, MFRW, MM Romance, Sempervians, Surrender Love |

Where are my plants? #Excerpt Ring of the Dragon #SciFi #Robots

Updated on 09/24/2023 by Kayelle Allen

Pietas halted in the doorway. Despite its multiple couches, statues, and art, his stateroom evoked an emotional chill. From the door, nothing broke the stark monotony of white. And why did he care?

Because he'd do anything to impress Cyken.

"Fool that I am." Pietas tapped his bracelet. "Uurah. I ordered plants for my quarters." He crossed to the life-sized statue of Cyken commissioned multiple lifetimes ago. "Where are they?"

"An android crew is on its way, my lord. They should be there any second."

Why had he not noticed a shiny spot on one cheek of the black-and-gold marble? Pietas brushed the back of his fingers across the statue's cheek in a hand-kiss, an affectionate greeting among their people. He did that every time he passed. Had he caused this? Perhaps so. He'd touched it at least once a day, over hundreds... no, thousands of days.

Curious, he turned to the white marble statue outside his bedroom. Two worn places on this one. Cheek and shoulder. A third statue stood further out of his path, but in direct line of sight upon leaving his bedroom. If his gaze had weight, that one would have holes in it.

Here he stood, surrounded by life-sized images of three people he'd loved most, yet feeling more alone than he'd ever been in his immortal life.

The door buzzed, and Pietas tapped his bracelet to open it.

Six androids entered, each carrying a large pot with green plants. "Where would you like these, my lord?"

Another bracelet tap. "Uurah. They want to know where these plants are supposed to go. Get down here and deal with this."

"Yes, my lord. On my way."

Pietas beckoned one of the androids closer and inspected the plant. A robust ivy, common on most worlds. "Uurah, why are they all green? I ordered flowering plants. This room is solid white. I can't greet Cyken in a room that's solid white."

"Three questions."

"Are you on your way? If yes, you may ask."

"I am, my lord. Has Cyken not met with you in that room before?"

What kind of question was that? "You know he has."

"I am confused. Since you have greeted General Cyken there before but now cannot, has something changed in your relationship that I need to be aware of?"

Fates preserve him from literal androids. "No, Uurah. No change. What else?"

"The plants are green and the statue of Cyken is black-and-gold, are they not?"

"Yes, yes." Pietas pressed two fingers against his tight brow. "What's your point?"

"How can the room be solid white if those items are there?"

He stopped himself from snapping a response. Wishing for patience only bred trouble. One did not acquire patience by everything going one's way. He must keep his head while teaching this new variant of Uurah.

What idiot had convinced him upgrading this android again would be worthwhile?

Oh, yes. That would be Cyken. Bless him.

"Uurah, just get down here and bring flowers."

~ * ~
Ring of the Dragon has not yet been released. Although it is complete, it will be released with three other books. Want to know when? Here's how you can discover my new book releases: 1) Sign up for my newsletter. You'll get a five book starter set and other exclusive perks. You can unsubscribe at any time. 2) Follow my Amazon Author Page and get one alert from Amazon when a new story is available. 3) Sign up for AuthorAlarms and the app will send you one email when I release a book. You can add and remove authors on this app at any time.