Part 1 (1/2)
Captive Heroes.
Jan Springer.
Book six in the Heroes at Heart series. Can be read alone, but best enjoyed in series order.
During a secret mission to locate their brothers on the faraway planet of Paradise, the Hero sisters become separated after they crashland.
Taylor and Kayla.
While searching for help, Kayla is bound and imprisoned by the Breeders-along with a s.e.xy male captive whose tantalizing scars pique her interest. She's thankful when he rescues her, and irresistibly aroused when she becomes his captive. Wild l.u.s.t flares in Kayla's eyes-an erotic side effect of the Fever Swamp water. Taylor is going to enjoy administering the cure-lots of sizzling hot s.e.x!
Blackie and Kinley.
Injured and lost in a dense jungle, Kinley is intimidated by the big, scarred man hot on her trail, especially considering the erotic power he holds over her. Capturing his beautiful female prey, Blackie can't wait to train her as a pleasure slave. When the well-hung male slips a collar around her neck, Kinley struggles with l.u.s.t as a natural submissive.
Captive Heroes.
Jan Springer.
Dedication.
My sincerest thanks to all the wonderful readers of the Heroes at Heart series. Thank you for your patience in waiting for Kinley and Kayla's stories to be told.
I really appreciate all your emails and letters of encouragement through the personal crisis in my life regarding my caregiving to my ill dad and subsequent loss of writing time.
I will treasure your support, your comments and your advice, always. Now that I am able to head back to full-time writing, I look forward with immense antic.i.p.ation to bringing you more intriguing stories that will captivate your hearts and arouse you to new heights.
Enjoy!
Hugs.
Jan Springer.
Acknowledgements.
I'd also like to extend my thanks to four gorgeous ladies who helped me along the way with the Heroes at Heart series.
Tons of thanks to editor Violet Hughes for her helpful comments while editing this final book in the series. You rock, Violet! Bunches of hugs to editor Kahli Reid for accepting for publication this final book in the Heroes at Heart series.
A huge thanks to publisher Raelene Gorlinsky for accepting the series in the first place and for coming up with the delightful series name. We were both newbies at Ellora's Cave and I am forever grateful she accepted me into her stable of authors and into the Cave.
Finally, warm hugs to editor Mary Moran (oh wise one) for taking the helm for part of this series from Raelene.
I appreciate everything you wonderful, hardworking ladies have done. You all hold a dear spot in my heart and you will remain on my Best Editor keeper shelf, always.
Yours, Jan Springer.
Chapter One.
”Hull breach. Computer malfunction. Electrical interference. Life support threat.”
The string of dire warnings shot like torpedoes through astronaut Kinley Hero's layers of sleep. As she struggled to awaken from stasis, her gut hollowed out with nausea.
The s.h.i.+p was in trouble.
Trying to rouse herself had always been a b.i.t.c.h in the simulation sessions. G.o.d help her, this time was no different. The fatigue that accompanied awakening made it hard to keep her thoughts straight, yet she managed to open her eyes and stare into the saucer-shaped room she hadn't seen for what should be-if the clock blinking on the far wall indicated correctly-about a year now.
The small stars.h.i.+p she and her two sisters were traveling in had been designed with the sleeping quarters smack in the middle of the saucer. All around her, computers hummed with activity. Various lights of red and amber frantically blinked, spewing off visual distress signals and echoing alerts. From what she could piece together in her foggy brain, the stars.h.i.+p was falling apart-quite literally.
Beyond the protective gla.s.s barrier of her sleep coc.o.o.n, the curling gray smoke dissipated for a few seconds. She swore beneath her breath at the hairline fissures that had appeared in the t.i.tanium framework. Fractures that-if not taken care of immediately-would lead to their demise.
In one solid jolt of awareness, she punched the emergency b.u.t.ton beside her head. The secure gla.s.s hatch slid open and immediately acrid smoke sank into her lungs, making her gag. Grabbing the oxygen mask that suddenly dropped before her face, she took a few deep, steadying breaths.
The oxygen pa.s.sed through her system with lightning speed, waking her fully. Power sifted through her and, within moments, her lethargy disappeared. Ripping aside the mask, she crawled out of the pod and moved through the smoke. Pa.s.sing her two sisters' sleep hatches, she punched each of their external emergency b.u.t.tons, hoping to h.e.l.l they'd grab the oxygen masks that would automatically deploy.
The smoke got denser and bit into her eyes as she rushed to the life support console and discovered a virus had infected the system. She didn't have time to figure out how that had happened, but managed to create an antivirus program to deal with the problem.
Just then, something rocked the s.h.i.+p and she sailed through the air. Pain slapped her naked a.s.s as she landed just inches from the captain's chair. Grabbing the padded armchair, she hoisted herself onto the plush cus.h.i.+on and snapped on her seatbelt. They were in for a b.u.mpy ride.
The main computer continued to bellow warnings.
”Security nonfunctional. Protective s.h.i.+elds failing. Replicators off-line. Warp speed down.”
A quick look at the master visual screen had her cursing up a storm. Her breath halted as the gorgeous planet grew larger and larger in the viewing window. Its pristine blue and sharp green colors and shapes looked eerily similar to Earth's.
d.a.m.n! They were going to crashland and she doubted she had enough time to stop the descent. There were too many things going wrong all at once. Panic paralyzed her, and for a few precious seconds her mind blanked out as she stared at the blinking warning lights on every system.
One by one the systems were shutting down, down, down. Just like the s.h.i.+p. Down in a blaze of glory.
Ah geez, she had to snap out of her morbid thoughts. Fifteen minutes was her best guestimate before splat time. The s.h.i.+p had hit the disintegration layers around the planet her brothers had warned against when they sent an SOS back to Earth over two years ago. This unexpected turn of events, the s.h.i.+p breaking up despite a.s.surances from the tech guys that it wouldn't, p.i.s.sed her off.
Kinley swallowed as she looked at the hairline fissures in the hull. Hopefully those guys who'd slapped this s.h.i.+p together were right and it wouldn't fall apart. If they were lucky, the stars.h.i.+p would survive the plunge through the atmosphere, but what about after that? It would need some serious repairs. She could get them out of this mess and patch up the s.h.i.+p, but only if they could get the replicators online. And only if they survived the crash.
More arrows of anger slammed through her as she thought of her three older brothers, Joe, Ben and Buck. d.a.m.n them! They were crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! They should have come home like the good little astronauts they were supposed to be and not remained on this planet. Instead, they'd sent their s.h.i.+p back to Earth without them, opting to stay with the women they'd fallen in love with because they had feared traveling the time warp in the wormhole on the return voyage would disintegrate those women.
For crying out loud. What kind of men would want to stay on a planet where the male species didn't get educated and were considered nothing more than s.e.x slaves?
Idiots. When she got her hands on them... Sadness, strong and fierce, swept through her. Who was she kidding? She may never see them again. In minutes they would be streamlined with the wreckage and- ”What's happening?” Piper's panicked voice rocked Kinley back to reality.
Snapping her gaze to the left, Kinley found her identical twin sister standing right beside her. Thankfully the smoke was clearing and she could plainly see the fear on Piper's face. Funny, she still looked the same after a year in sleep stasis-green eyes, pretty auburn, tangled hair and perfectly arched, dark eyebrows. Kinley wished she could keep the truth from her sisters, but they needed to hear the full extent of what was going on.