Star Struck

By Buffi BeCraft

Smart girls know two things. Don't pick up hitch-hikers and avoid dangerous men.

Down-on-her-luck trader captain, Drew Roberts' fascination for dangerous men is equal to her need for a crew. When the sexy alien kith pair, Ashwin and Kormec wanders onto her ship with the offer of passage for repairs, she knows trouble is not far behind. But a girl's gotta do, what a girl's gotta do—And getting back at her rival, the kith Captain Larissa by taking these two on, seems like a pretty good idea at the time.

On the run, Ashwin and Kormec, know that the best way to avoid a political marriage is one of another kind. Is Drew Roberts the one' for them? Can she survive an encounter with Ashwin's mother, the fierce Captain Larissa? The three of them may generate enough heat to power a sun, but question is, will they survive it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
• Release date: Jun 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9780857155788

Book preview

A Total-E-Bound Publication

www.total-e-bound.com

Star Struck

ISBN #978-0-85715-578-8

©Copyright Buffi BeCraft 2011

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright June 2011

Edited by Lisa Cox

Total-E-Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing.  Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2011 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated Total-e-burning.

Star Runner

Star Struck

Buffi BeCraft

Dedication

I was a tomboy/geek/nerd before I knew what any of that meant.

This is for my tomboy/geek/nerd friends and family who helped wear out three sets of Star Trek and Star Wars movies long before we started on the DVD versions. Late night black and white monster flicks (Dad). For actually sitting down with us (Mom) when it wasn’t your thing. For appreciating my eight-foot-long, purple scarf while we stood in line to get Tom Baker’s autograph (Angela). It’s also for the hours my three home-peeps put in patiently explaining video games and animé to me (Jason, John, and my Shae-Shae).

I love all of you guys.

Chapter One

Captain Drew Roberts rummaged through the crate of spare parts, her mood going from sour to downright bitchy. The warm exhaust-heavy air, the norm for any port and a must for a space station, wafted in through the aft engine room doors. Air quality on Celestial VIII was better than most. She hefted the wrench, a nice old-fashioned, earther tool that should get the job done. Switching on the power, Drew hit the start-up sequence from the maintenance panel, listening for the catch and stutter that was keeping her grounded and eating at her profits.

Watching the entwined barrels of the massive engine hum, she held her breath as the hiccup began in the first, sending a shudder through the ship. She hit the kill switch before the jerking stutter pulled the engine from its moorings. Or before anything else made strange noises.

She crouched in front of the first engine barrel and stared into the open panel at the jungle of wiring and computer boards and sensor knobs. Okay, Mara, Drew whispered to her dead business partner and mechanic. She’d been speaking Galaxy I Common for so long, she rarely even thought in her own language anymore. What would you do? She closed her eyes, hoping to channel just a little bit of her friend’s genius. When nothing occurred immediately, she reached one hand in, hoping for a little luck in the place of her lacking skill. The first hiccup was on this side. Surely, she could see a burned out thingamajig or something. Aha! A blackened knob was tucked up next to the optic wiring going to the next barrel. Drew was pretty sure she’d seen one of those in the crate. I got you now, you little bastard. She reached down for the wrench.

You do not want to use that on a crystal hybrid engine. The smooth voice jerked Drew around, swinging the huge-ass wrench in front of her as she rolled to the balls of her feet. Quickly, she assessed the intruder—smarter than his pretty looks if he could identify a hybrid engine. Human descent, male, pale skin, medium build, loose travelling clothes. With his colouring, chestnut and gold topknot, tilted eyes and full upper lip, she connected the dots and lowered the wrench a fraction. Long dormant hormones blinked to wakefulness. Yeah, he was hot, but she wasn’t buying anything a trader offered.

Sorry, I’m not taking on passengers. She used the end of the wrench to point at the engine. It pained her, but she admitted her failure anyway.  Engine trouble. Mara would have had the stupid thing running in seconds. He nodded, approaching carefully, bringing with him the scent of wild primitive forests, a real scent, not a fabricated cologne. I heard. Mischief glittered in the shadows of his grey eyes. The tip of one long canine peeked when he smiled. To some that would be a turnoff. Mara always teased Drew about her fascination with dangerous men. In the end, Mara beat her hands down in worst boyfriend material. The moral? Never date cold-blooded men. Most of the port heard. He pointed at the open panel. May I?

You’ve got the look, kith-ra, just not the attitude. Those grey eyes lost some of the polite genteelness she hadn’t noticed until it was gone. She almost felt bad about her rudeness before remembering who was responsible for the turn her life had taken.

Still, his manner reminded her very much of the one and only time she’d seen the legendary warriors. Sleek, efficient fighters defending the evacuation of their people with the ferocity of leopards when pirates invaded the Silas Two station. That glimpse she’d got had stuck with her all these years. The pirates had been clumsy thugs. A bunch of clumsy thugs that had won the station by sheer numbers, but Drew watched the kith-ra battle from her ship’s security surveillance. The pirates didn’t have a chance. Kith-ra danced and wove