Showing results by author "Ruby" in All Categories

Firefighter and mercenary Marat Azarov thinks he’s being noble when he rescues a beautiful slave woman from certain torture. Alas, she turns out to be more than she appears and does not appreciate his interference. In an attempt to redeem himself - and perhaps win her regard - he concocts a plot that even his grenade-flinging colleague Striker deems unwise.

After a grueling battle that cost him dearly, mercenary captain Viktor Mandrake wants nothing more than to get his ship repaired, let his men have leave, and spend time relaxing with Ankari. Entrepreneur, schemer, and leaser of his company's one and only pink shuttlecraft, she has become the woman he loves and wants to keep at his side.But as soon as Viktor sets foot on the space station Midway 5, it becomes clear that the Galactic Conglomeration Fleet wants him arrested for past grievances. As a mercenary, confronting the Fleet isn't wise (it's not wise for anyone else, either). Normally, Viktor would collect his people and depart, but a mysterious disease has resulted in a quarantine, leaving him stuck on the station with no access to his ship or his crew. Fortunately, he has Ankari with him, but unfortunately, Ankari's family has been pointing out all of the reasons why she shouldn't be flying around on a mercenary vessel. And he's not certain they're wrong.If Viktor and Ankari can't find a way off the station before the Fleet ships arrive, Viktor may never escape. Worse, no matter what happens, he risks losing Ankari forever.

When Jamie Flipkens signed on as a pilot and engineer for a small medical research company, she never expected to end up on a mercenary ship full of hulking soldiers who want to make her their latest conquest. The captain has been good to her - it doesn't hurt that he's her boss' new beau - but she's on the verge of quitting when a strange man shows up at her shuttle door.

I never thought I could forgive them. I didn't believe there was still a heart inside of me that could forgive. But my boys, my knights, were taking down my walls and claiming a piece for themselves. All I wanted was to lock our secret away and enter junior year as though the past never happened...but someone won't let me. Someone knows what we did and the price for their silence may be more than I can give.

I've had a full life: wife, mom, divorcee . . . and then alien property. All of that's changing now that I'm on the ice planet. Here, I'm free again, and I've found love once more. Vaza's older and a widower, but he knows how to make a woman smile both in the furs and out of them. Everyone around me has a baby in their arms or in their belly, though, and it's hard to be the only one without. I love nothing more than being a mama . . . and when I hear there's an orphan at the Icehome camp, I want to adopt him. Vaza and I have so much love to give, but will an alien baby love us back?

Everyone knows Megan and Cashol hit it off the moment they resonated...didn't they? But when Josie goes into labor, an offhand comment makes Megan point out to her friend that no, things weren't always so smooth. Just because resonance is immediate doesn't mean it's immediately perfect. But also...just because it's an instant bond doesn't mean it's wrong. Sometimes it's very, very right.

Embrace the healing practices of herbalism practiced by witches through the ages and experience the magic yourself. It is not as complex as you may have assumed, and with this guide, it gets even easier.

Seasons ago, I resonated to the quietest of tribesmates, a male content to love me from afar while I was the center of attention. We could have been happy. Despite our differences, I loved him, and he loved me. But then a terrible thing happened...and my world was never the same again. Now, resonance is giving us a second chance, but...I'm afraid. What if what I have with my mate is too broken to be fixed? What if there's no hope left for us at all?

Flowers, favors, and a cake with a body in it...what a way to start a wedding! Diana already regrets saying yes to her neighbor's ridiculous wedding flower demands, but when she discovers a body in the middle of the multi-tiered centerpiece...it's really taking the cake! The man in the cake has been murdered. Diana suspects that one of her neighbors may be the killer. And she already knows that some of them are keeping skeletons in their closets. Sometimes literally.

All my life I have served. One lord after another, I have given them my time, my body, and my soul. My newest lord, however, is not one but three. I have become the anchor to the three Aspects of Fate, the mortal chosen to teach the gods humanity. It seems an impossible task for any mortal to satisfy a god's wishes and I must serve three? Three lords means three times the frustration, three times the petty demands . . . and three times the pleasure.

After being stolen from Earth, I learned that I could live each day in fear...or I could meet life head-on and unafraid. I chose the latter. Which is why, when I find a terrifyingly huge cat-alien male hip-deep in my favorite fishing spot, I don't run away in fear.

When Kitty hears about the notorious 'panty raid' happening at a bar Friday night, she heads in looking for a good time with no strings attached. She might want to get laid, but she does not want to be part of any motorcycle club's lifestyle. She's not good with following directions or taking orders, and she's been told that's what an old lady does. But when she meets Gemini and Domino, everything changes. The dual presidents of the Bedlam Butchers, they stake their claim on Kitty and decide to show her what the club lifestyle is really about.

It’s a common story. I’m sure you can guess how it goes. Girl winds up in the wrong place at the wrong time. She witnesses four gods of beauty and brutality murder some poor sap, and she’s stupid enough to get caught. Come on. You know what happens next. You know they tracked her...me...down.

I’m going through a bit of a rough patch. I lost my job, got kicked out of my apartment, and now I sleep under an overpass. If that wasn’t bad enough, my psychic sister is plagued with visions of my death. The last thing I needed was Sole “Sunny” Bellisario crashing through my tent. Someone tried to kill the heir to the notorious Merchant crime family, and he’ll change my life if I help him find out who. This is just a business arrangement. I will not be seduced by that wicked grin, reckless lust for destruction, or how quickly he cuts down anyone who crosses me.

Kalish has been a successful treasure hunter for years, relying on only herself to deal with deadly predators, impenetrable jungles, and diabolical booby traps. But with her father kidnapped, and a notorious pirate demanding an ancient alien artifact that may or may not exist, Kalish needs help. She hires a mercenary company because she needs their combat experience and their piloting skills - the intelligence officer with the background in translating alien hieroglyphics could come in useful, too.

They are everything to me. I love Jaxson, Ezra, Maverick, and Ryder the same and in vastly different ways all at once. It's a love that threatens to consume me. To take over every waking second of my final year...if only hidden enemies, ancient secret societies, and unsolved murders weren't also competing for my attention. This will be my hardest term yet. Not just for the horror of the present, but for the uncertainty of my future. How can I have a life with my knights when someone is determined that I don't survive my senior year at all? But I will find them. I will expose them.

The Brotherhood has us in their sights. The attacks are coming from everywhere and nowhere from a seemingly invisible enemy. When we discover how the Brotherhood manages to stay five steps ahead, it’s up to me to find and stop the traitor. But it requires me to revisit a place I swore I’d never go: my past. The battle for the city we love is heating up. The Brotherhood challenges the Merchants’ right to rule, and Genny and the Savage Princes don’t give a f--k. Cinco is theirs and they’ll fight to the death to protect it. And me…well, I just might be their secret weapon.

Homesteading on the remote farm planet Risda III can be lonely. So when I notice that my neighbor isn't doing so well, I ask for help to give her a Christmas celebration to brighten her spirits.

The thrilling conclusion to two-time National Book Award finalist Laura Ruby’s epic adventure through the streets of an alternate New York City. It was only a few days ago that Tess Biedermann, Theo Biedermann, and Jaime Cruz, along with a mysterious figure from the past, managed to survive an...

Being stolen from Earth has taught me that there's nothing in this universe to be trusted. Not people, not promises. So I make sure that I'm prepared for the worst at all times. I fill my homestead with pit traps. I make weapons for fun. I avoid my friendly neighbors. And I never leave my house if I can help it. So when I find a deathly-ill cat alien on my living room floor, I do what any sensible human woman would do. I put a stun-stick to his jock and demand answers.