Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Amazon Barnes & Noble.com J. A. Clarke, Romance Author J. A. Clarke Uncial Press, Inc. Category:  Romance Publisher: Uncial Press, Inc. ISBN-10:  1601741367 Type: Fiction Pages: 292 Copyright: 2005 ISBN-13: 9781601741363 Price: $6.99 (eBook) Sold at a flesh auction and stalked across galaxies by a malevolent predator, Cassie Gordon is forced to place her faith and herself in the hands of the warrior who offers her his protection. Cassie Gordon is up for sale on the notorious flesh auction block of the Fortis Cluster. The man who pays a fortune for her promises to deliver her to sanctuary. His only demand is for payment in kind--rescue from an untenable situation. The price—marriage. The rogue trader who travels the shadowy byways of questionable commerce in three star systems may not be what he seems. Sebastian Asteril’s past begins to surface as Cassie builds a new life for herself in the Crestar System. How could her husband once have been a high-ranking officer in the elite Seventh Fleet of the mighty Mariltar Nation when all the evidence points to his illegal trade in shlil dust? The mission that has consumed him becomes an intolerable burden when Sebastian learns that the evil that delivered Cassie to the auction block stalks her still. Somehow, he has to keep her safe. Somehow, he must protect his wife from the vicious alien force that wants her back.  Excerpt Fragmenting into a thousand bright shards of light, the beloved image slipped away with the swiftness of a dying zorn star, and was swallowed into the gray fog of dawning consciousness. He resisted with all his might. He couldn't let her go. Not yet. But even his legendary will power was helpless against the sudden, piercing intrusion of reality. As the last fragment--a corner of her smile--faded into nothing, he felt a terrible sense of loss. A primitive howl of pain welled inside him, clawed at his innards, demanded release. And was never voiced. There was something else. A sense of something not quite right. A vague hint of threat. His warrior's instincts struggled through layers of numbing exhaustion to bring him to full awareness. Yet another part of him craved with an intensity that denied all the laws of survival to sink back into that blessed dream world where everything was right and exactly as he wanted it to be. He dragged his eyes open with reluctance. The vastness of space yawned before him. The velvet darkness was lit with intermittent bright flashes from the vast storm nebula he knew lay directly in his path. It was a barren stretch of the star system. There were no hiding places to shield a hunter--or prey for that matter--and it was easy to make good time, two reasons he had finally allowed himself the luxury of sleep. He shifted his cramped body to a more comfortable position and adjusted his command seat. His eyes moved automatically over his instrumentation as he searched for an indication of what had awakened him. There was nothing. Puzzled, he checked his control panel again. A myriad of lights winked back at him. None gave off a warning. All were reassuringly normal. He was dead on course and, at this speed, should make up for some of the time he had lost coming through the Gerianali Channel. Any pilot worth his merits knew the Channel was a favorite hunting ground for the vicious dag pirates, loners who preyed on the drug trade vessels and, of late, on legitimate traders as well. He had taken the appropriate camouflage precautions but still, only hanans into the Channel, he became the object of someone's very persistent attention. Precious time was wasted as he toyed with his pursuer and tried to identify him. In the end, he had lost patience. There was no more time to spare. His unwelcome company was easily shaken in a tyuine cloud vortex. Or so he thought. He checked the time. He was going to be late. It would accomplish nothing, but he rotated the transparent bubble of the vessel's control center anyway, to perform a complete visual inspection of the area through which he traveled. Again, nothing. Except, it seemed, in his mind. Yet his instincts, developed and honed in many a battle, rarely failed him.

Love Romances--5 roses
Cassie Gordon was in the wrong place at the wrong time when the space ship that she was traveling on was boarded and all the women were taken to harvest a component of the illegal drug Shlil. And her luck wasn’t any better when someone caught sight of her unusual purple eyes and deposited her on the flesh auction block. Though perhaps things were looking up when Sebastian Asteril purchased her. After all he did say that he didn’t want to hurt her and would even make sure that Cassie made it to her original destination.

Sebastian isn’t sure just why he went out of his way to purchase Cassie. After all he had seen several women on the block during his years of trading. There was just something about her. Now just to deal with her without jeopardizing his mission.

From the very first paragraph this reviewer was enthralled by J.A Clarke’s masterful use of words to paint a picture that draws the reader. The reader feels Cassie’s fear caused by her experiences at the flesh market, her relief at being rescued by Sebastian and her confusion at trying to figure out his motives. Ms. Clarke has a wonderful gift that allows her to place her readers right inside the character’s heads and hearts. This reviewer’s only regret about this wonderful book was that when it ended having to say goodbye to such treasured friends.

Lovers of Lisanne Norman will definitely want to check out J.A. Clarke’s StarJumper’s Bride. This book is an excellent example of the space opera genre and this reviewer is very glad to discover another excellent author in this genre. Readers will want to rush over to the publisher’s site to pick up this book along with others in this series.