When reading through the submissions for Pirates, I looked for stories with different flavors of heroes and timeframes. I didn’t want all Regency-era Jack Sparrows. So, when I found T.D.’s story about a hero who’s a thief in space, I thought, yeah! Add the fact the heroine is kick-ass, the tone of the story is a little snarky, and the action scenes are fun, and I knew I had a winner! Enjoy this snippet! And remember, yesterday’s gift-card prize is still up from grabs, so enter that contest, too! AND be sure to order your copy of PIRATES! ~DD

 Excerpt from T.D. Rudolph’s “Lust in Space”

A roguish space criminal teams up with a fearless vamp to steal a cache of titanium—from the dark side of the moon…

“On-board computer says we touch down on the lip of Orion crater at 17:00 hours,” I said. “That means we’ll have to hike in to keep the element of surprise on our side.” I looked her up and down, trying to assess her mettle. “Think you can handle your specimen pack and your Uzi for a mile and a half? In the cold and dark?”

Nikki smiled like I’d said something funny. “If I didn’t have these tits, you would never have asked me that question.”

She had me there. I’d never taken a girl—okay, a woman—on such a dangerous mission before, so naturally I was a little uneasy. On the flip side, the spunk she’d shown dealing with the near-miss asteroid had me feeling better about what might go down on the lunar landscape.

“Sorry,” I said. “You’re right. Any chick who has the stones to rip off an interplanetary freighter like you did has got to be one badass sister.”

Nikki licked her lips, which were slick with silver lip gloss. “What can I tell you?” she said. “I’m a fucking pirate. Just like you, Fenn. Anyway, looks like we’ve got some time to kill. So, before we have to get all serious…” She unzipped her flight suit down to her navel.

Women. The smart ones knew the way to a man’s heart wasn’t through his stomach, but somewhere south of the equator. “You’re not suggesting…” I said, hoping like hell that she was.

“Sex cures butterflies,” she said. “It’s a scientific fact.”

“I’m not one to argue with science,” I murmured.

Nikki peeled the suit from her creamy shoulders then pulled her arms free, revealing a luscious rack you could hang ornaments on. I pulled her close then took a diamond-hard nipple into my mouth and gently nibbled. She groaned her appreciation.

“We’ll be going up against some very unsavory characters,” I whispered, feeling my cock balloon inside my utility shorts. “If they capture me, they’ll kill me, and I’m okay with that. But if they capture you…” My voice trailed off. We both knew what lonely, ruthless men stationed on a godforsaken outpost like the moon were capable of. Especially the Russians.

Nikki put a calming finger to my lips. “You talk too much, Fenn,” she said. “Just fuck me. Make it all better, at least for a while…”

A pirate’s life is so unpredictable, but sometimes you just have to rise to the occasion.

Contest

For a chance to win a free download of one of the anthologies shown below, answer me this: Do you think you’d prefer historical, futuristic, or present day pirates?

Click on the covers to learn more about the stories!