In this scene from Bro, Senth plays with his new "toy" -- a cloak that hides him from copbot sensors and makes him invisible to people.
Senth plays with his toy
Once Senth stepped outside the Thieves' Guild, he proceeded down the street, gaining the required distance from the entrance. Commit thievery on the grounds and they'd blackball you so hard you'd-- He shook off the thought. After he reached the limit, he skirted around a businessman and backed away, the man's ID in hand. Senth tucked it into one of the cloak's myriad pockets. A male worker in a dirty uniform lumbered past. No trouble unclipping a debit bracelet fastened to the guy's belt.
Of course they felt nothing--his skills ensured that, but the upgraded cloak worked so well no one even looked in his direction. For fun, Senth re-clipped the bracelet on the worker, and then followed the businessman for a block before tucking the ID back into the man's pocket.
Now to see how well the cloak would let him evade after being seen. He pushed back the hood, which turned off the nightstealth, and stepped right in front of a teenaged boy.
Senth let him get a good look at his face.
The kid glared. "Watch where you're going, you half-human freak."
"Half-human? You mean HalfKin." Senth gestured to his catlike eyes. "Get it right, kid." He bared his fangs and hissed.
The punk backed off, and then darted around him. Senth tucked the guy's debit bracelet into a pocket, and then moved off the sidewalk and raised the hood, but did nothing else to hide.
The kid suddenly glanced at his empty wrist and whirled around, his gaze searching the ground. He hurried past Senth without speaking, once in one direction, and once in the other, and kept going.
"Should I return his bracelet? No, I think he should've said 'excuse me, sir.' He owes me a 'sir-charge'." He pushed back the hood and started walking.
When you can make yourself invisible, invisible truths are revealed.
Take two brothers: one a half-blood thief, one a pleasure slave. Raise them in different worlds, reunite them by fate, mix in a powerful immortal, and you have Bro, the story behind the Antonello Brothers.
Want to be first to know when Bro is released? Join one of my reader groups and you'll also get an exclusive behind the scenes booklet about the brothers.
JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It's a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors. Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.
In this scene from Bro, Senth is playing with a new tool he acquired for work as a thief. It's a cloak that hides him from copbot sensors, and renders him virtually invisible.
Getting the Cloak
Senth Antonello signed for his new cloak, thanked the worker, and carried the midnight blue garment down the stairs. The cloak pickup line wound down the stairs and back and forth across the entry hall of the Thieves' Guild like one of those rides at Planet Fun.
Senth had skipped the line, thanks to his adoptive father's clout. It sucked being expected to live up to the Man's reputation, but there were times being the son of a former grand master had its perks.
In the foyer, he shook out the cloak. After slipping it on, he checked himself out in the mirror. The cloak looked like nothing more than a loose fitting coat, with a back that fell straight down from his shoulders to the ground. Hidden pockets allowed him to carry equipment and stash items. He could tuck his arms inside the front and wear it like a cape.
Senth pulled on gloves of the same material and then lifted the hood. Nightstealth film embedded in the cloth activated. Nothing showed in the mirror. No reflection of himself. Like he'd been erased from the room. He turned right, then left.
"Nada, zip, zilch, zero. I'm invisible." He pumped both fists. "Yes!"
If the upgrade worked on people as well as it did on mirrors, copbots wouldn't see him, and he'd be no more than a shadow to everyone else. And just how perfect was that? Now he'd really live up to his guild name, Blue Shadow.
At least until the copbots upgraded their settings. And everybody else got theirs.
When you can make yourself invisible, invisible truths are revealed.
Take two brothers: one a half-blood thief, one a pleasure slave. Raise them in different worlds, reunite them by fate, mix in a powerful immortal, and you have Bro, the story behind the Antonello Brothers.
Want to be first to know when Bro is released? Join one of my reader groups and you'll also get an exclusive behind the scenes booklet about the brothers.
JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It's a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors. Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.
In this scene from For Women Only, Khyff awakens beside Mehfawni, the feline-humanoid Kin ambassador to the Tarthian Empire. He'd been ordered to seduce her, part of a complicated ploy by the Empress, who wants to remove Mehfawni from the Kin line of succession.
The seduction took no time on Khyff's part. The moment Mehfawni saw the gorgeous blond and blue-eyed human, she pursued him.
Khyff has always been a plaything for others to enjoy, never a person to get to know. Until he meets Fawni.
Khyff drifted off to sleep, more comfortable than he could remember being in years and woke sometime later to the feel of a hand sliding down his abs and across his belly. He opened his eyes.
When she noticed he was watching her, mild surprise widened Mehfawni's big golden eyes with their jade green flecks. "Oh, you're awake."
"Mmm."
"I hope I didn't wake you. You looked..." She sighed. "I wanted to touch you. You're so smooth."
"It's okay. You can touch me any time you like." He stretched. It felt good to be rested. No light showed at the windows. "What time is it?"
She shrugged. "I pay no attention to such things. Local time. Tradestandard time. Time zones. Time to hold council. Time to sleep." She hooked her claws into the air, a picture of frustration. "My staff open doors and pour wine and feed me. They lay out my clothes and draw my bath. All the rest of my life is work." She dragged the tips of her claws down his body.
Khyff's skin jumped, still hypersensitive after their riotous lovemaking.
"This--" she stroked his belly "--is outside time. This is my time. I will not look at clocks while I'm with you."
Warmth swept over him that had nothing to do with sex. He turned the feeling over in his mind, unsure what to make of it, and held out his arms.
She moved into his embrace, body flush against his at leg and groin, skin pressed against his. She lay half atop him, leaning a bit to one side, propped on one elbow.
"Are you hungry, Khyff?"
He hadn't noticed until she asked. "Starving. I have plenty of food in the kitchen. What would you like?"
"Besides you?"
"You can have me, too."
She tapped his nose and sat up. "I want to take you out to dinner. In Tarth City, surely there is always food ready somewhere."
"I know plenty of places." They had told him to prepare to be spoiled. Kin females were accustomed to being in charge. Khyff hadn't mentioned he was used to women paying his way. They liked to flaunt him to their friends and display him like a new charm on their wrist bracelets. Look what I bought.
"Somewhere quiet." Mehfawni folded her legs, elbows on her knees. "I don't wish others to gawk at you when you're with me."
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?
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!”
[bctt tweet=”He’s a broken hero. She’s a warrior. The love neither expected holds them captive in the middle #scifi #romance” username=”kayelleallen”]
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.
BookHooks is a blog hop where authors share only a small snippet of a story, an enticement to read more.
Today’s snippet is from Bro, the Story Behind the Antonello Brothers. Other books in the series include At the Mercy of Her Pleasure and For Women Only. Bro is free on this website. The other two are free on Kindle Unlimited.
Khyff Antonello is off work for the day and heading for a well-earned rest. When his client mentions he knows someone with the same last name as Khyff, it gets his attention. Then he hears the person is a HalfKin like the brother he thought was dead.
“No, never mind. He wouldn’t be related to you. I just remembered. He’s a HalfKin.”
Half-human, half-feline humanoid Kin.
All the air left the room. Khyff fought to drag in a breath. “What’s his name?”
“Seth, I think. No, Senth. Yeah, that’s it. Senth Antonello.”
The light grayed around the edges.
The guy took a step forward, concern on his face. “Hey, Khyff, you okay? You look a little pale.”
Hearing the name Senth Antonello catapulted Khyff back into the past. To the point in his life when his world had unraveled, torn itself apart and dumped him into hell. He hit the floor with a smack that stung his hands and knees and he crumpled.
Bro, the Story Behind the Antonello Brothers
When you can make yourself invisible, invisible truths are revealed.
Senth and Khyff, the Antonello Brothers from At the Mercy of Her Pleasure and For Women Only, did not grow up together. They were separated at Senth’s birth. Bro shows how and why, and what event reunited them.
Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group and get a free copy of Bro, the Story Behind the Antonello Brothers https://kayelleallen.com/bro plus three more books at the same time.
[bctt tweet=”When you can make yourself invisible, invisible truths are revealed.” username=”kayelleallen”]
At the Mercy of Her Pleasure
He’s a thief. She’s a soldier. Do opposites attract? Oh, mercy!
Amazon https://amzn.to/1f7FQ2h
Here are ten Luc Quotes. These “pearls of wisdom” come from the man referred to by many in the Tarthian Empire as the Harbinger. An alpha among alphas, the immortal Luc commands attention without being vain or flashy and he gains respect by his true concern for others. Cross him however, and there is no place in the universe to hide. Luc Saint-Cyr has been in all my Tarth books and is one of the heroes in my work in progress. I chose a few from each book. Other characters have stated they decided what to do after asking themselves, “What would Luc do?”
The book is listed in which the Luc quotes are found, then the occasion of the quote.
Luc Quotes from At the Mercy of Her Pleasure
To Senth about NarrAy
“Listen to me, my young Deshai. Despite the romantic nonsense you’ve heard about Betters being extraordinary lovers, their kisses can poison you. If her saliva mixes with yours, she can control your mind. The touch of her hands will drive you insane. There are ancient myths about sirens, women who used their voices to lure men and then slay them. Betters aren’t mythical. They’re real. If she subjects you to her passion, you’ll be at the mercy of her pleasure forever.”
To Khyff, who had been falsely imprisoned
“Know the law?” The Harbinger stood, and then laughed, obviously enjoying himself. “Son, I’ve been breaking it for so many years, I know it better than any of those high-paid courtside braggarts. Besides, none of the lawyers I contacted had enough clout. I got you a judge who’ll be fair and impartial.”
To Khyff, who had delivered a coded message for him
“I can see why you were so popular at Stalkos’s place, Khyffen. You know when to shut up, and you don’t talk back.” The Harbinger made a wave of dismissal. “Fact is, my young Senthys is ready to take wing. He’s been scratching at the nest for months. Ever since you came into his life. The way he took on the task of seeing to your freedom…” He shook his head. “Senth has been impressed with you since the day you met. So have I.”
Luc Quotes from For Women Only
To Khyff upon his refusing to accept a job
Saint-Cyr remained silent. With his all-black eyes, there was no telling where he looked. Finally, he nodded. “It won’t be easy finding another detail-oriented, by-the-book, stringent, weaned-on-pickle-juice hard-ass like you. But I’ll try.”
To Khyff about Senth
Saint-Cyr tossed himself back against the cushions of the car seat. “Do you suppose the woman who ordered him killed at birth knew she was his grandmother?”
To Khyff about two cops who refused to protect Luc’s son, Senth
“They’re ready for you.” Saint-Cyr motioned to him. While they walked, he explained the charges. “They’re holding her on two counts of murder by pheromones, violation of Better Laws, treason, harboring a criminal, and reckless endangerment of public officials. She was protecting Senth. She had to threaten to kill both cops that showed up before they’d call an ambulance for Senth, because he was a HalfKin.” He threw up his hands. “The fact that he’s my son should’ve sent them running for help.” His piercing black eyes narrowed. “They were both killed an hour ago. Line of duty, so they say.”
Luc Quotes from Wulf, Tales of the Chosen
To Wulf about an enemy Wulf tried to frighten off by being seen with Luc
“Four reasons.” He laid a hand next to the shot glass. “First, the concept of scaring off one bad guy with a bigger one rarely works. That brings us to the second, which assumes your agent will fear me. He may not. Although, unless he’s a fool, he should. Third, you didn’t simply ask for my help. Fourth, you assumed I would agree to being used.”
Luc Quotes from Alitus, Tales of the Chosen
To Empress Rheyn Destoiya about Wulf and Alitus sneaking off together
“The security tail I put on Wulf said he gave them the slip at an art gallery. He was seen walking through the place with a Better less than an hour ago. A Better who was accompanied by armed Praetorian. Unless you have Praetorian guarding anyone other than Alitus, that was him. Right now, neither of them is in sight and my goons can’t find him. What am I paying them for if they can’t keep him in sight for five minutes?”
Luc Quotes from Jawk, Tales of the Chosen
To Jawk upon his arrival at Luc’s home
“I’m pleased to finally meet you, Jawk.” The man’s voice had a deep timbre befitting his size. Tall as a Kin, taller than Jawk. Broad shoulders filled out his tux. Wulf had been elegance; Luc was power.
To Jawk who argues that Luc’s ship can’t possibly work
“Do you know what the word shibboleth means? It’s an ancient word to describe the way a culture speaks. ‘Physics laws are immutable’ is a NETway shibboleth. They are only immutable to those who lack the technology to change them.”
Want to know more about Luc, or about these books? You can read sample chapters from each one at the links below. Each opens to a page on this website.
For Women Only is Erotic Science Fiction Romance, and Multicultural. Khyff is a master of pleasure with a tortured soul. Mehfawni falls for Khyff, and wants to redeem the man her people destroyed. The problem is, his fragile trust could be a response of love and a healing heart — or a ruse for revenge.
The antagonist of the book is Empress Rheyn Destoiya, who manipulates Khyff to gain power. Destoiya’s brother, Pietas, plays a small but crucial part in the story. These two are immortal, and manipulating humans is part of a role playing game they created called Peril. Let’s take a look.
Warning: this book contains smokin’ hot sex, humor, and angst. This combination has been proven addictive. Author assumes no responsibility for the reader’s battery consumption in adult toys while reading this book.
Palace District, Conqueror’s Palace
When her brother bowed and insisted she go first, Empress Destoiya smiled. Good. Pietas should be worried. She entered the empty foyer and took the door leading to the elevator for her private rooms. Inside it, she leaned her back against the corner, feet out, arms folded, blocking him from coming anywhere near her.
Pietas draped the black velvet cape around his shoulders and raised the hood. “I suppose you’ll be glad to see me go.”
“You still have a flare for understatement, I see.”
He faced the doors. “You have no more than fifteen years left on your current role in Peril. Most of the players outside the empire are through their games already and want reassignment. If you like, I could summon them here. It would help you, and keep them out from under my feet.”
Pietas had used the role-playing game Peril to end the boredom of immortality. They’d played tor thousands of years, each game forty years in length, scattered all across the galaxy. Unlike a human role-playing game, the Sempervians lived their roles in real time, always in character except around each other. Luck had awarded her two turns as a Ruler, and she’d ended her forty-year reign as Destoiya the Great by faking her death, and then in a coup, reclaimed it as Destoiya the Conqueror, the unacknowledged daughter of the Great. No one had suspected the twenty year old upstart of being the eighty year old deceased monarch.
Destoiya touched his shoulder. “There haven’t been more than twenty of us together anywhere in a thousand years. Why now?”
He turned toward her, but the darkness of the hood hid his face. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t use the support.”
“Oh, I could.” She brushed at lint on her black uniform. “It would nearly guarantee a win.”
“Then you want them?”
The doors opened, and Destoiya brushed past him. “Follow me.” They went through several doors, all opening with the touch of her palm on a panel. The next door scanned her retina. A long hallway led to a red door.
Pietas, Bringer of Chaos
They reached the chamber. Destoiya turned back to Pietas. “Will accepting extra players change any of my rules, goals, or assignments?”
He made a simple, negating gesture. “No.”
“Will penalities be added?”
“No.” He pushed back his hood.
“How will their powers be decided? Will they have to roll for them, or can they use their natural abilities?”
Pietas unhooked a bag of dice and jingled it before her. “Pick one and roll it.”
She ignored the bag and withdrew a coin from her pocket. “I prefer a yes or no answer.”
He rolled his eyes, and with a sigh, returned the bag to his belt. “Call it.”
“Heads they use natural. Tails they roll.” She flipped the coin into the air.
Pietas caught it. “I feel generous. Tell me what you want and you may have it.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“I told you, Sister. I feel generous.”
Destoiya folded her arms. “The last time you said that, we lost a war. What are you up to?”
“Do you want them to roll for abilities?”
“No. Natural.”
Pietas extended his hand, and she held out hers. He placed the coin on her palm. “They’re yours.”
—
For Women Only goes out of print in June 2014, so grab it now. It won’t be re-released until the fall, in a new format. Bringer of Chaos will be released later this year.
Pietas ap Lorectic was introduced in the book For Women Only. He’s a physically beautiful immortal male who appears young, despite being over twelve thousand years old. He and his twin sister were the only naturally conceived and born Ultras.
The name Pietas comes from the word “pieta“, meaning “representation.” A famous statue by Michelangelo called “The Pieta” represents a dramatic event in Christendom. Another word for “pieta” is “creation.” Pietas was considered (at his birth to two supposedly infertile immortals) to be the highest creation, the epitome of success. His mother, Helia hid her pregnancy from all but a close circle of others, fearful of what might happen if humans discovered she was fertile.
Unknown to Helia, she carried twins. A female child was delivered only minutes after Pietas, and she was considered a delight, and a good omen. She was named Dessy from the root word decet (dess-say) meaning good or proper. We know her today as Empress Rheyn Destoiya, or the Conqueror. She detests being called Dessy. Pietas makes a point of calling her that to irritate her.
Pietas and Dessy’s father is Mahikos. Those who’ve read Surrender Love had an opportunity to meet him. Helia will appear in an upcoming book.
Other names for Pietas in human history are Marauder, Impaler, Hammer of God, Soul Ripper, Destroyer of Worlds, Slayer of Innocents, and Hound of Hell. He is mentioned in the Tales of the Chosen series, and Surrender Love. There is a love-hate relationship between Pietas and Luc Saint-Cyr, whom Pietas insists on calling by his Sempervian name, Cyken.
Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It's a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors. Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.
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’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?
BookHooks is a blog hop where authors share only a small snippet of a story, an enticement to read more.
Pietas ap Lorectic was introduced in the book For Women Only. He’s a physically beautiful immortal male who appears young, despite being over twelve thousand years old. He and his twin sister were the only naturally conceived and born Ultras.
