Title: BELOVED ENEMY - The Destiny Trilogy Book 3 (Each book is a complete story)
(Shortlisted for the Romance Novel of The Year (RNA ‘RoNAs’) 2nd Runner up RONE 2017, Winner Best Banter MMRWA Contest 2017)
Author: Hywela Lyn
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Book Blurb:
Cat Kincaid is obsessed with killing the man she believes is responsible for the torture and death of her sister, but when she eventually catches up with him, survival becomes a greater priority than revenge.
Kerry Marchant, haunted by memories, regret, and self-blame, shields himself from the pain of the past by committing himself totally to the starship, Destiny, of which he is part owner. However, the beautiful, red-haired woman who reminds him of his lost love, and who he suspects is working for a corrupt regime, represents a possible threat not only to the ship, but to his heart. Marooned on an inhospitable planet, they need to work together to stay alive, fighting not only unknown assailants, but their growing attraction. But how can they learn to trust each other when he has vowed never to get close to a woman again, and she made a solemn pledge to destroy him?
Excerpt:
“I need to cut open your shirt to see how bad the wound is. If I meant any harm, don’t you think you’d be dead by now?” He did not reply, and she went on, “Are you going to let me tend to your wound or not? I can just as easily leave you here to bleed to death, if you’d prefer.”
The fingers eased their vice-like grip. “There’s…a bio-regenerator…in my hip pocket…I need to get it.”
“Slowly then, no sudden moves.” She waved the knife to emphasize her meaning.
She stood back as he slowly withdrew the small instrument from his pocket. The effort seemed to drain him, and his face grew even paler. “Just press the lever…on the edge to activate it. Then…run it over the wound…take care not to touch…the under-surface.”
“I could’ve probably worked that out for myself,” she muttered, her voice laced with sarcasm, and felt a momentary twang of guilt at her impatience. He must be in pain. No need to get irritated because he tried to prevent her from injuring herself. In an instant, she dismissed the thought from her mind. Too bad. If she had her way, he’d suffer a lot more than a few sharp words once he’d told her what she needed to know.
Carefully slicing open the tunic, she checked the wound in his chest. Deep and jagged, it seemed to be only a flesh wound and probably nothing vital was damaged, although it still bled profusely. She ran the instrument over the injury, amazed to see the blood clot, and a rapid regrowth of new skin form over it. In a few seconds, it healed almost completely. His shoulder had also sustained severe lacerations in addition to the vivid purple bruises forming on the skin. She repeated the operation with the device. The bruises faded and the torn flesh knitted together barely leaving a scar.
She replaced the knife in her belt, and in a deft movement pulled her hair back and
knotted the scarf around it once more. “Impressive. How d’you feel?”
“It seems I will survive,” he said, in the slow, precise tones that made his voice so
distinctive. “Thank you,” he added, almost as an afterthought. He reached for the bio-regenerator and stashed it back in his pocket. His face gained some color, and a minute or two later, he was unrecognizable from the man she’d found wounded and bleeding a short while ago.
“What is that, anyway—what did you call it—A bio-regenerator?”
“Exactly. It does, as you see, precisely what you would expect, including destroying any
toxins or bacteria present in the wound.”
She inclined her head as she considered his words. “It’s not Terran.” She meant it as an
observation rather than a question.
“The technology was given to us by a race called the Phidians.”
“I’ve heard of them. Their advances in medicine are well known.” She looked up at the
heavens. “About time we got away from here. Night isn’t too far off by the look of that sky.” The light faded perceptibly while they spoke and the air took on a noticeable chill after the earlier oppressive heat.
“What about our ‘friends’?” He turned his head and looked in the direction of the rocks
where the assailants of a few minutes before let loose the last salvo of blaster fire.
She put the tri-dee-viewer to her eyes again and scanned the area. “There’s no sign of life over there. They must all be dead or badly injured. They’d have shot at us again if they were still capable.”
“Unless they are waiting for us to show ourselves, so they can pick us off more easily,”
Kerry said. He made as if to stand, and in an instant, she drew her pistol.
“Like I said before, no sudden moves. Get up—slowly.”
“So you are making me prisoner?”
“Not exactly, but I’m not stupid enough to take any risks.”
He rose to his feet, his gaze not leaving her gun-hand. Several inches taller than her, broad shouldered and slim, he presented a commanding figure. His expression froze as his gaze honed in on the insignia on her breast pocket, his eyes like chips of blue ice. “You work for the Union.”
“I work for myself.”
“Then why are you wearing the insignia of the Global Union of Earth and Allied
Planets?”
“I have a license to requisition any enemy ship trespassing in the sectors of space over
which they hold dominion.”
“A licensed pirate in the pay of the Global Union,” Kerry’s eyes showed outright
contempt. She almost preferred the icy coolness.
“I prefer to think of myself as a freelancer—doing a service.”
His expression did not change, although he did change tack. “You could have left me to
die—or just shot me. Why didn’t you?”
“Call it a personality flaw. I don’t like abandoning someone who’s wounded even to save
my own skin. And I don’t kill in cold blood. If I have to shoot someone, I’d rather they were facing me, with their eyes open.” Even if I did swear to leave their dead body for the Union to use in their hideous experiments. Keep it casual. Don’t let him guess what’s really in your mind.
To her amazement, he smiled, the most devastating smile she’d ever seen, and made even more remarkable because he didn’t look as if he did it very often.
“My own philosophy as it happens. It seems almost a pity we are on opposite sides.”
“Opposite sides?”
“I have no love for the Union. That puts us on opposite sides, even if you are just a pirate, doing their dirty work for them.”
She gave him her best withering look. “Fine. And just because I decided to save your
hide, don’t get any ideas. We don’t have to like each other.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
AMAZON U.S. (Available on Amazon in Kindle, Paperback or Audio format)
What makes your featured book a must-read?
“I have to admit I’ve never read many romance stories set in space, but after reading this one I’m hooked! Wonderful, kick-ass heroine and brilliant hero, and the world-building was totally believable. Would definitely recommend this.”
(Review by Christina Courtenay)
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs August 23 – August 31, 2023.
Winner will be drawn on September 1, 2023.
Author Biography:
Award winning author, Hywela Lyn spent most of her life in Wales, whose beautiful landscapes and wealth of myths and legends inspired her to write. Together with fantasy tales, she weaves romantic Science Fiction adventures set in the future, and on distant, mysterious worlds, with characters who overcome great odds to find deep and enduring love: Stories she hopes will truly take you 'out of this world' and beyond. She writes under her real first two names which reflect her Welsh ancestry.
A keen animal lover, especially horses and dogs, she is pet-parent to a rescued terrier, Choccy, who manages to twist her round his little paw. When she is not writing, she can usually be found enjoying the outdoors with the horses and dog - or just eating chocolate!
She is a member of The Romantic Novelists' Association and Chiltern Writers, her local writing group. Lyn loves to hear from readers, who can write to her at Hywela.lyn@btinternet.com and she will always reply if you leave contact details. To know a reader enjoyed her books and was able to escape for a little while 'out of this world' makes her happier than words can express.
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