Embrace the Romance Read online

  Embrace the Romance

  Pets in Space 2

  S.E. Smith

  M.K. Eidem

  Susan Grant

  Michelle Howard

  Cara Bristol

  Veronica Scott

  Pauline Baird Jones

  Laurie A. Green

  Sabine Priestley

  Jessica E. Subject

  Carol Van Natta

  Alexis Glynn Latner

  Copyright © 2017 by Cats, Dogs and Other Worldly Creatures

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  PEARL’S DRAGON: DRAGON LORDS OF VALDIER STORY, Copyright © 2017 by S.E. Smith. All rights reserved. Used with permission of the author.

  A GRIM PET, Copyright © 2017 by M.K. Eidem. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  THE PRINCE, THE PILOT, AND THE PUPPY, Copyright © 2017 by Susan Grant. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  WIRED FOR LOVE, Copyright © 2017 by Michelle Howard. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  RESCUED BY THE CYBORG, Copyright © 2017 by Cara Bristol. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  STAR CRUISE: SONGBIRD, Copyright © 2017 Jean D. Walker. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  TIME TRAP, Copyright © 2017 Pauline Baird Jones. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  COURTING DISASTER: STARDOG2, Copyright © 2017 by Laurie A. Green. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  SENSATE, Copyright © 2017 by Sabine Priestley. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  GIB AND THE TIBBAR, Copyright © 2017 by Jessica E. Subject. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  PET TRADE, Copyright © 2017 Carol Van Natta. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  MASCOT, Copyright © 2017 by Alexis Glynn Latner. All rights reserved. Used with permission of author.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  About Embrace the Romance

  Pearl’s Dragon

  Acknowledgments

  About Pearl’s Dragon

  Pearl's Rules for Living:

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Also by S.E. Smith

  About the Author

  A Grim Pet

  About A Grim Pet

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Also by M.K. Eidem

  About the Author

  The Prince, the Pilot, and the Puppy

  ABOUT The Prince, the Pilot, and the Puppy

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Epilogue

  Why Susan Grant Wrote Star Puppy

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Susan Grant

  About the Author

  Wired For Love

  About Wired for Love

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Also by Michelle Howard

  About the Author

  Rescued by the Cyborg

  About Rescued by the Cyborg

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Note to readers

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Cara Bristol

  About the Author

  Star Cruise: Songbird

  About Star Cruise: Songbird

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Also by Veronica Scott

  About the Author

  Time Trap

  About Time Trap

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  History of Women in Gymnastics

  Also by Pauline Baird Jones

  About the Author

  Courting Disaster: StarDog 2

  About Courting Disaster: StarDog 2

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Also by Laurie A. Green

  About the Author

  Sensate

  About Sensate

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Also by Sabine Priestly

  About the Author

  Gib and the Tibbar

  About Gib and the Tibbar

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Why Jessica wrote GIB AND THE TIBBAR:

  Also by Jessica E. Subject

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Pet Trade

  About Pet Trade

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Also by Carol Van Natta

  About the Author

  Mascot

  About Mascot

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Also by Alexis Glynn Latner

  About the Author

  Thank You

  About Embrace the Romance

  The pets are back! Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2, featuring twelve of today’s leading Science Fiction Romance authors brings you a dozen original stories written just for you! Join in the fun, from the Dragon Lo
rds of Valdier to a trip aboard award-winning author, Veronica Scott’s Nebula Zephyr to journeying back to Luda where Grim is King, for stories that will take you out of this world! Join New York Times, USA TODAY, and Award-winning authors S.E. Smith, M.K. Eidem, Susan Grant, Michelle Howard, Cara Bristol, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Laurie A. Green, Sabine Priestley, Jessica E. Subject, Carol Van Natta, and Alexis Glynn Latner as they share stories and help out Hero-Dogs.org, a charity that supports our veterans!

  10% of the first month’s profits go to Hero-Dogs.org. Hero Dogs raises and trains service dogs and places them free of charge with US Veterans to improve quality of life and restore independence.

  Pearl’s Dragon

  Dragon Lords of Valdier Story

  By

  S.E. Smith

  The single greatest gift for me is to be able to give to others. I am honored to share my talents to bring joy and offer support through the Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2

  Project. ~ Susan

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank my husband Steve for believing in me and being proud enough of me to give me the courage to follow my dream. I would also like to give a special thank you to my sister and best friend, Linda, who not only encouraged me to write, but who also read the manuscript. Also to my other friends who believe in me: Julie, Debbie, Christel, Sally, Jolanda, Lisa, Laurelle, and Narelle. The girls that keep me going!

  —S.E. Smith

  About Pearl’s Dragon

  Asim Kemark has lived a long, lonely life. It is his pledge to his former king and to Mandra Reykill that keeps him, his dragon, and his symbiot from going mad. He has given up on finding his true mate and devotes himself to caring for the wide assortment of creatures on Mandra and Ariel’s mountain retreat. The last thing he expects to happen when he visits the palace is to lose control of his dragon and his symbiot after they sense their true mate. Before he knows it, he has kidnapped her!

  Pearl St. Claire is enjoying a new adventure – learning to live on an alien planet. As a mature woman in her sixties, she thought she had experienced just about everything life could throw at her – only to discover she hasn’t really experienced anything yet! She is both amused and exasperated when one of the dragon-shifting aliens kidnaps her, believing she is his true mate.

  Life is no longer boring or lonely as Asim courts the enchanting and spirited, human woman, but he isn’t the only one who has noticed Pearl or the unusual animals under his care. When poachers attack, determined to steal the exotic creatures under his protection – including Pearl and a new clutch of alien eggs from Earth – he will do everything he can to protect them. Can one dragon keep the most precious creatures under his care safe, or will he lose the biggest battle of his life?

  Pearl's Rules for Living:

  Use your brain - that is why you have one.

  Safety is something you take seriously, otherwise you end up dead.

  If you have expressive eyes, keep them covered if you are going to bluff.

  Give someone enough rope, and they are bound to get tangled and hang themselves.

  Always carry a roll of quarters, you can do your laundry and knock out bad guys at the same time.

  There are rules and there are rules, pick which ones work for you.

  Don't fuck up unless you are willing to make it right.

  Mistakes are good, learn from them and move on.

  Always stay alert and don't let your guard down.

  Ask yourself, ‘Am I ready for this?’ If the answer is yes, go for it. If the answer is no, run like hell.

  If you are going to hit someone, make sure they stay down the first time. You might not get a second chance.

  Don’t trust a man, especially a good-looking one who starts out with sweet words. Same goes for a woman, she just wants something.

  A good book and fresh batteries can make your day tolerable.

  Your word is your honor, be careful what you promise.

  Humor solves any problem; think in animation.

  The only opinion you have to worry about is your own, since you have to live with it.

  Be the best possible you that you can be.

  Your goal each day is to make it a good one.

  Words can be as powerful as a fist; be careful how you use them.

  If you or your family/friends’ lives are on the line, ignore all of the above except Rule Number 1.

  Unbreakable rule: Family and friends come first. Be loyal, be true, and love them like there is no tomorrow.

  Prologue

  Present Day:

  “The last rule I’m going to share is the Unbreakable Rule,” Pearl St. Claire stated in a firm tone. She released a sigh and raised an eyebrow at the scarred warrior sitting in one of the two chairs in the room. He was staring at the board she was pointing to with a mutinous expression. “What is it now, Brogan?”

  “I told you when you started. I don’t follow anyone’s rules but my own,” Brogan stated, folding his arms.

  “And look where that got you! All I can say is you’d better learn if you want to get out of this room - alive,” Pearl snapped in a sharper tone than she originally intended before adding the last word under her breath.

  “Pearl,” Asim cautioned in a low voice from where he was sitting on a bench by the door.

  Pearl slowly counted to thirty. She’d already bypassed ten and twenty. Why she was chosen for this exasperating task was beyond her. The only thing she could think of was that she had survived raising Riley and Tina without any casualties.

  Surely, I can manage a few lessons in humility for the two men sitting in front of me, she thought.

  Unfortunately, she felt like she was starting all over again – only this time during the toddler stage. Being over sixty, she’d thought she was finished dealing with stubborn, defiant, and downright ornery kids. Back on Earth, she’d been a surrogate grandmother to the kids in the neighborhood. During that time, she had seen and heard a lot. She was well aware that she was the kind of grandmother every kid wanted to have – and the one every parent wished they could hide in the closet.

  She didn’t dress like a grandmother – she preferred leather and boots to dresses and pearls. She didn’t go to church; instead, she owned a bar. She never carried a wooden spoon, but hell if she didn’t still have a shotgun loaded with rock salt. Her platinum-white hair was cut short and she stayed in shape by doing Yoga, Zumba, and Weekend Warrior trainings with her newly adopted great-grandson.

  Jabir, Mandra and Ariel’s son, had captured her heart as quickly as her own great-grandsons, Roam and Leo, had. Unfortunately, Roam and Leo lived on the Sarafin home world while she lived on Valdier. Living on another planet wasn’t much more of a problem than living across town – well, except for having to use a spaceship to visit. Still, Pearl was able to talk with the two boys regularly and they loved visiting her here.

  At the moment, she would rather be with the cuddly little dragonling and his menagerie of unusual pets or her great-grandsons. It sure as hell beat resisting the urge to find a baseball bat and knock some sense into two well-seasoned warriors who had an elephant’s hair up their asses.

  As it was, there were currently only the four of them – her, Asim, and the twin dragon warriors– in the barn’s tack room. Her classroom was not much larger than a ten by ten shed back home. There was just enough room for the table and two chairs that Asim had brought in earlier this morning, plus the bench he was sitting on by the door. Harnesses for the Pactors, leashes for the smaller animals, and maintenance tools hung neatly on two of the four walls. The floor was clean and the room smelled of the sweet warm grass that was used as hay for the animals in the outer stalls.