He is ice cold. Both his personality and his skin. When his icy gaze lands on me it freezes me temporarily, but the first time he touches me....Sparks fly. Not the romantic kind. The tattoos on his pale skin illuminate and they are brighter than the Northern Lights. And then something in his eyes changes, making him less callous, less cold. And making me hot.  

I won’t be forced into alien servitude. I’ve spent my life mucking out the houses of the rich and famous. I know what they’re really like. They think they can take whatever they want. I learned that the hard way.  

As one of the new human cadets at an alien military academy, I knew I’d have to prove myself. Especially since I’m one of only a few females sent by Earth. I just didn’t know that the one alien I want to impress would be the one who seems determined to hate me. I was sent here because I’m a champion pod racer, so why won’t the big, gruff pod instructor let me show him what I can do? If he thinks ignoring me or assigning me after-hours work polishing his pods will discourage me, then he’s never met a girl from Texas. 

We’d heard rumors about the Vandar raiders — everyone in the galaxy had. Terrifying and ruthless, they were a scourge on the Zagrath empire and destroyed everything in their path. Few had actually laid eyes on the Vandar or the notorious warlords who led their fleets of warships — and survived to talk about it. So, when the ruthless aliens boarded our ship intent on destroying it and killing the crew, I did the only thing I could do. I gave myself to the dark and menacing warlord. 

Aliens. That's right. I said it. I know - it sounds stupid to me also. I'm a psychologist (sort of), so you'd think I'd be able to reason my way out of this mess. Except the reality is that I've been abducted to become their breeder, and it doesn't take an advanced degree to recognize this is all sorts of jacked up. But I digress. Apparently, these aliens are on the brink of extinction and need me and my fellow captives to repopulate. Yay us. I guess it's time to figure out an escape plan before they knock me up. I'll be back later. Hopefully.

I’ve been abducted. Twice. My situation with this new group of aliens has gone from bad to worse. I was with a bunch of elf-like aliens who had unparalleled technology, but now I’m in the midst of a group of primitive gargoyle aliens running around in loincloths. Which doesn’t hide much, let me tell you. There’s one gargoyle in particular who watches my every move, but what’s under his loincloth scares me more than his beastly appearance. To be sure we’re worthy to breed with, the savages have us each perform a rite of passage. And by that I mean a test of survival.

The aliens who abducted me made a mistake. The Grivath have sold us on Gule - a planet known for dealing in human flesh. The women who are being held captive with me are in high demand and they all look like models. Me? I’m 5'2 shy, curvy, and a kindergarten teacher. Maybe they really meant to take my pageant queen sister? Our ship has crashed and half of the women are missing. Insert the tall, sexy warrior aliens, who saved us. Things are looking up, except that one of them is eyeing me like a snack, and not in a cannibalistic way - if you catch my drift.

When I get the chance to be part of a first-contact mission to space, I jump at it. I need a break from my life back on Earth. From the lie of my marriage. From the heartbreak of betrayal. But after we crash on a planet far from our planned destination, everything changes. Stranded in an unforgiving wilderness, I suddenly find myself hoping extraterrestrial life doesn’t exist. No such luck.

Hordes of tall, grey aliens with tusks arrived in spaceships the size of cities. Before the news channels went dark, humans named the creatures orcs. The human armies fought and failed. War crimes were committed on both sides. Eventually, when food supplies failed, society collapsed and the government was overthrown. Humans turned on each other. Nowhere was safe. The orcs rounded up the survivors and locked them away in refugee camps. In the fullness of time, some women had little grey babies.

Recently jobless and homeless, now I’ve been kidnapped by aliens. I thought my day couldn’t get any worse, until the disgusting Orkun warlords who abducted me tell me I’m meant to be a “bride” for their commander. No! No freaking way. But before I can figure out a way off this spaceship, I find myself caught in the middle of an uprising by their other captives: a breathtakingly masculine gladiator race called Kalixians.