Last Flight of the Ark - #SFR @dlaree69

Hi guys! Today Garland & Gould is hosting the fabulous D.L. Jackson. She has a SFR release coming up: Last Flight of the Ark. Okay, sooooo...hold on to your seats and check this out....

Blurb:

Evolution never happened so fast.  

Twelve hours outside of Terra II, Colonel Kaleb Titan, a molecular geneticist and commander of the Ark faces a life or death choice that could change the fate of mankind.

The Genesis I, aka the Ark, travels with a hold full of wildlife and three crew members. When a wolf bite and genetically-altering gamma radiation transform Kaleb, he notices his senses have been heightened, his libido has gone haywire and he can’t keep his hands off his crew. Worse yet, they don't seem inclined to stop him.

When their sister ship, the Genesis II arrives early, Kaleb’s problems compound. As soon as the command crew of the Genesis II boards, one whiff tells Kaleb they’re not from Earth or who they appear to be.

When he discovers that they’ve kept the Genesis II’s crew of over two thousand alive, he begins to believe their reasons may be far more ominous than anyone could have imagined. However, he also discovers what’s holding them back. The hijackers seem to be allergic to canines.

Now they're forced to employ biological warfare against their own, but will it be enough to save humanity?

History is about to repeat and only one species will survive.

Genre: Paranormal romance, erotic, sci-fi, military romance, ménage, shapeshifters
Heat level: 5
Word count: 61k
Cover art by Tibbs Designs

Buy Link: Amazon

 

Excerpt:

The lift clanged to a stop and the door slid open. He stepped into the bay and headed for the quarters that housed the predators and his nemesis, Sheba. In a few hours, he could turn her over to the planet’s care and she’d no longer be his problem. It wouldn’t be soon enough.

He walked up on Jessica, peering over her shoulder into the cage at a snarling Sheba. The bitch caught sight of Kaleb and backed up with a whine, sinking to her belly.

“I’ll be,” Jessica muttered. “She’s submitting to you.” Her ponytail smacked him in the face as she turned. He flinched and knocked it out of his eyes.

“She’s not stupid.” He glared at Sheba, whose tail thumped against the floor. Her golden eyes studied him. “She knows I mean business.”

Jessica grinned. “I don’t think that’s it. I think she’s got a crush on you. She likes you.”

“What?”

“Sheba’s the alpha female. She doesn’t submit to anyone but the alpha male. Hence the reason she bit Lobo. He’s not alpha enough.” Jessica eyed Kaleb. “Apparently you are, sir.”

“Will she let me in the cage?”

Jessica shrugged. “She’s not growling, and we’ve got to try something. I’d hate to tranq her again. Use that catchpole over there with the loop in the end.”

He nodded and snagged the pole. One way or another, someone had to go in there. If Sheba liked him, it might as well be him. “Open the door when I say and get the tranq gun in case she gets ugly. First sign of aggression, put her out. I’d rather keep my arm.” He’d request they import another if this didn’t go well. He eyed the wolf. “Sorry, sweetheart, I have priorities. Just be a good girl, and everything will be fine.”

Jessica loaded a cartridge into the gun. “Ready?”

Kaleb nodded and Jessica opened the door. He stepped inside and it clanged shut behind him. “Hey, girl.”

With a growl that sounded more like a roar, Sheba launched from the corner. Her paws landed on his chest, knocking him to the floor. Kaleb only had seconds to register her open jaws and large teeth. He threw his forearm over his throat.

Sheba latched on, sinking into flesh. A crunch and then sharp pain shot up his arm. Oh, God. Her teeth had pierced bone.

“Shoot her!” The bitch shook her head side to side, shredding flesh, and wouldn’t stop until she’d ripped his arm off or torn out his throat. “Anytime…ahhh.” Crunch. Easing her grip and then clamping back down on another part of his arm, she backed up and tried to pull his limb from where he’d blocked her access to his jugular. It was the wolf or him. “Kill her!” Little flickers of light swam before his eyes as pain exploded through his body. “Now!”

The tranq popped and was followed by a yelp from Sheba, who released his arm and staggered back. Blood dripped from her muzzle and stained her white fur. She swayed and dropped to the floor with a snort. Her front paw dug at air as she fought the drug.

“Omigod.” Jessica threw the door open and rushed to his side. “You okay?”

Kaleb glanced at his blood-soaked sleeve. “She likes me, huh?” He cringed as pain radiated from his fingers to his shoulder. Last time he’d trust a smiling female. They were all trouble.

Jessica helped him to sit up and ripped his sleeve open, staring at the bite. Blood pumped from the wound and formed a puddle on the floor. “Can you walk to the med-bay?”

“Does it look like she bit my leg?” he snarled.

“It just looks like a lot of blood. Calm down or you’ll make it bleed faster.” Jessica glanced around for something to stanch the flow. Eying the heavy, water-resistant fabric of his jumpsuit, she groaned. “Where’s a bandage when you need one? Turn your head.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

Kaleb looked away and Jessica unzipped her jumpsuit. There was a rustle of fabric and he heard her zip back up. She pressed her tank against his arm. “Deluzio!” she called into the com. “I need you down in the predator bay, pronto.”

“No can do. Seems the debris is moving. We’ve got a minute before it’s on top of us. I have to launch this ship now or we’ll be soaking in radiation.”

“Roger.” Jessica rose and helped Kaleb to his feet. “Looks like we’re going to have to ride the jump out here, but we should be on the other side of these bars. If Lobo freaks, we could both be bleeding.”

Once outside, they leaned against the wall and braced for the Gs that would accompany their jump through hyperspace. Kaleb eyed the shirt Jessica held against his arm. “When we get through this jump, we’re going to have a conversation about what you’ve been wearing.”

“Why’s that, sir? This jumpsuit is regulation.”

“Going without a bra isn’t. That undershirt isn’t.” He glanced at Sheba’s sleeping form. “It’s damned distracting.”

“Oh. Right. You’re lucky I wore that shirt today. The fabric in our uniforms is too high-tech to absorb a damn thing, the bra is the most uncomfortable garment you can think of, and you don’t have to wear one. So are you out of regulation because you’re braless…sir?”

“You know damn good and well….” He turned to Jessica, who had raised a brow and now stared. At the moment, he felt like Lobo: FUBAR. Fucked up beyond all repair. Any amount of arguing would only dig him deeper. Next, she’d be asking him why he’d been looking. “Forget it.”

“Forget it? I don’t think so. You brought it up.” The ship lurched and slammed them back into the wall, knocking Jessica’s next words down her throat, where Kaleb hoped they’d stay. He really didn’t feel like explaining how or why he’d noticed. Some might consider that sexual harassment.

FUBAR. Yeah, that summed him up.