by Ruby Dixon
My breath quickens as a mental image of the dark-eyed aliens returns, and I look for them. Wherever I’m at, I’m alone.
Thank God.
Ice Planet Barbarians is available now!
Barbarian Alien
Ice Planet Barbarians, Book 2
Twelve humans are left stranded on a wintry alien planet. I’m one of them. Yay, me.
In order to survive, we have to take on a symbiont that wants to rewire our bodies to live in this brutal place. I like to call it a cootie. And my cootie’s a jerk, because it also thinks I’m the mate to the biggest, surliest alien of the group.
BARBARIAN ALIEN is a sequel to ICE PLANET BARBARIANS. You do not have to read both in order to understand the plot, but the story will be richer if you do!
Part One
LIZ
Kira and I watch as Megan and Georgie run their fingers along the panel of the alien ship's hull, trying to figure out how to pry it open and get out the girls enclosed inside. There are six capsules, and each one has another captive girl. Each girl inside has no idea of where she is or how she got here.
"I can't decide if they're the lucky ones or the unlucky ones," I tell Kira.
"Lucky," she says, her soft voice flat. Her gaze is fixed to the blinking lights and the dark wall of the hull. "They don't know what we've gone through for the last few weeks."
I grunt a maybe sort of agreement. I don't know that I agree with Kira, but she can be a real Debbie downer at times. The last few weeks haven't exactly been a party for the rest of us, but maybe it's better to know everything than to be blind to it.
I guess.
Kira and I are watching the others work because we're too weak to actually help. Of the six of us, Georgie is the strongest still. She's been with the alien guy so she's been getting three squares a day and warm clothing. The rest of us have been stuck in the hull, and Megan is doing the best out of our small group. I'm weak and lethargic, and my toes hurt like mad. Josie has a leg that looks like it's broken in two spots, and no one knows how to fix it. Kira's ankle is swollen and she's super weak. Tiffany is possibly dying, since we can't wake her up out of the deep sleep she's in. She roused for a bit of broth and then fell unconscious again.
We don't need a warning from the aliens that this planet is killing us. Big duh there.
"It's opening," Megan says, and she and Georgie step back. The panel lifts from the wall with a hiss, just like in the sci fi movies. Inside is a girl in a t-shirt and panties, weird coils wrapped around her body and feeding into her throat.
I shiver despite myself.
Georgie and Megan study the sleeping girl, trying to figure out the best way to free her. Eventually, they just start ripping tubes and cords off of her and she wakes up and begins to gag. A moment later, the new girl is collapsed on the floor and vomiting up the last of the tubes as Megan strokes her back.
Well, that did it. For better or for worse, we have another person.
The girl begins to sob, her eyes wide. She's clearly confused and frightened, and Kira stands up, opening her arms to pull the girl to her. She makes quiet, soothing noises and enfolds the girl in a hug, helping her away from the wall. Without a single person touching them, the rest of the pods suddenly open.
"Shit, I think we triggered something," Georgie says, and they get to work freeing the next girl. In moments, there are several more girls collapsing on the floor. I get to my feet as best I can, ready to help out.
I limp forward, and as I do, I hear the sounds of the aliens talking. I look over even as the girl nearest to me begins to hysterically wail. "What's happening? Where am I? Who are you?"
I offer her my hand. "I'm Liz and I'll explain when we get the others, okay?"
She keeps wailing and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from shouting at her. Look, I feel like shit and am probably a few steps behind Tiffany on the death ladder, but am I squealing and moaning? No, no I am not. I am sucking it the fuck up.
I gather up a second new girl, this one with freckles and bright red hair, and as I do, Squealer starts to make horrified, choking cries. "Oh my God, what is that?" She points a trembling hand in the distance, and I slap it down.
Barbarian Alien is available now
The Ujal Volume One
Celia Kyle
The first three books in the bestselling Ujal series at one low price!
Vados – A human woman, a tail-sporting alien, and a deadly hurricane… of course they’re going to hook up! Or rather, they did hook up. But that was then. This is now.
Tave – Rina Zeret is not prepared to settle down. Unfortunately, her mother has other ideas and submits Rina’s biological material to the Population Ministry to see if they can find a genetic match for her. Suddenly Rina is presented with Tave fa V’yl, Crown Prince of Ujal, High Warrior of the Ruling Caste and Earth’s greatest ally.
Rhal – Sometimes a lie is the only way to get to the truth. Rhal fa Adar—Ujal assassin—is a liar and Cara is more than ready to beat the truth out of him. She knows she wants Rhal fa Adar—with his thick muscles, midnight black scales, and dark eyes. But he always keeps her at arm’s length, sharing pleasure and nothing more. He wants her but refuses to mate her. When she discovers the reasons he told her are lies, she takes her battered heart to the Intergalactic Mating Agency. But what if all she can imagine is a future with Rhal?
The Ujal Volume One by Celia Kyle is available now!
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Other Titles by Ruby Dixon
The Bedlam Butchers
Off Limits
Packing Double
Double Trouble
Double Down
Double or Nothing
Slow Ride
Double Dare You
Ice Planet Barbarians
Ice Planet Barbarians
Barbarian Alien
Barbarian Lover
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
BARBARIAN LOVER
Copyright © 2015 Ruby Dixon
All rights reserved.
First Digital Edition, September 2015
www.rubydixon.com
