About Medusa's
Touch:
Medusa Pilot TiCara X273 just signed on for more trouble than
she ever bargained for. A beautiful corporate rep with a secret, her ailing
boss, a covert mission to a hidden destination, an implacable foe with some
unexpected allies and a sizzling attraction, seasoned with more than a touch of
deceit and betrayal, make for a trip that some of them may not survive. Can TiCara learn to trust the woman she’s falling in love with before
it's too late?
Available on all major ebook platforms and at Bella Books.
Sacchi Green, Editor of Witches, Princesses and Women at
Arms : “Emily L. Byrne’s Medusa’s Touch draws the reader deeply into her
deftly created universe of starships and danger and conflict, with a
fascinating main character who is entirely relatable even while she pilots her
ship by means of hi-tech tentacle implants. Whether she feels the exultation of
being at one with her ship amidst “the splendor of the starfields,” or the
ecstasy of sex with the beautiful, mysterious woman she can’t entirely trust,
we feel it all with her, and gladly follow her through inner turmoil and
blood-stirring battle. “
Dayna Ingram, Author of Eat
Your Heart Out: “Pilot-Captain TiCara X273
navigates more than just the stars in Emily L Byrne's sexy space opera Medusa’s Touch. As a medusa pilot,
TiCara is specially wired to command the Astra, the ship she longs to own so
she can fly free from corporate interference. This latest job has just enough
risk (and thus reward) to let her do exactly that. But this latest job also
includes the beautiful and alluring Sherin Khan, who might prove to be as much
of a distraction for TiCara in bed as she is a betrayer with an agenda of her
own. Byrne spins a tightly-paced web of melodrama aboard the Astra, with the
right balance of sex and explosions to keep the pages turning. TruTell: you'll
be savoring certain scenes long after you've left TiCara and Sherin's orbit.”
Cheyenne Blue, Author of Blue
Woman Stories and Editor of Forbidden
Fruit: “Byrne’s fluid writing brings this twisty sci-fi tale to life. She
pulled me in at the very start and kept me turning pages until the end. Byrne
has created a fascinating character in TiCara. I cheered her on whether she was
piloting her ship with her Medusa tentacles or seducing her woman.”
Excerpt:
Sherin looked away, her half-closed eyes and
the rapid rise and fall of her chest betraying her agitation. Was it desire? Or
was TiCara letting the want that burned through blackhole her brain? TiCara studied Sherin for a long moment,
waiting for her to look up and meet her stare, to say something that would tell
her what might happen next and what, if anything, the rep wanted from her.
But the rep
stayed silent and closed her eyes and there was a client waiting and credits to
be made and cred was too important to lose. At least for now. TiCara smoothed
her features into the sobriety appropriate for an important meeting and
gestured toward the door behind Sherin.
Sherin spun away
and hit the door’s old-fashioned secur button with a grimace. She ushered
TiCara through, still not making eye contact, then trailed after her to stand
in front of the now closed door. Her stance shifted subtly into guard mode, a
change that TiCara could sense without turning her head. It surprised her, even
hurt her a little. Did Sherin truly think that she was a danger to Vahn?
But now she was
letting herself get distracted and she recognized that for the danger it was.
Shadow trade pilots had bigger worries than chasing the nearest handsome face.
She stepped forward, walking slowly with hands clasped before her, through the
long white room toward the man she had come to see. Not for the first time, she
wondered what the two cloth wall hangings with their depictions of odd
creatures and plant life on each side of his desk cost the old man; a good
replica of Old Earth embroidered silk was worth more than her entire ship.
Originals were more creds than she could imagine.
Ser Trin Vahn,
CEO of Vahn Corp, sat behind his big gray desk looking even more like an Old
Earth tortoise than he had at their last meeting, only a half cycle ago. Word
from the Eyes was that Eternayouth didn’t work for him anymore, that he would
die a wizened old man while his seemingly younger rivals outlived him. Or so
they all hoped, ghouls that they were.
TiCara was hoping
that he outlasted them all, mostly because his credit had always been good.
Besides, she liked him better than her other clients, which meant better than
not at all. Trusting him was another matter, but then, she was hard pressed to
think of any employer she thought she could trust.
She stopped
before the desk and gave him the formal United Systems greeting: hand to heart
to lips to forehead, followed by a bow. It was more formal than she needed with
an established client but she knew it would sweeten up the old man. He was as
notorious for formality as for his devotion to the ancient ways that their
ancestors had brought to the stars from their home planet. She looked up and he
nodded in acknowledgment before he spoke, his voice rasping against her ears,
“I have need of your services again, Pilot-Captain TiCara. I apologize for the
short notice but this is important.”
It must be. Vahn
had never gone straight to business when she’d dealt with him before. Nor had
he ever mentioned anything that approached urgency. Urgency was expensive, and
they both knew it. Normally, he spoke first of interstellar trade, then asked
shrewd questions that tried to make her reveal too much about her own
operations. Then and only then would he tell her why he had summoned her.
This time was
clearly different. He didn’t mention Sirius Transport, the shipping corp she
currently subcontracted for, only her. Which meant this was an independent
deal, risky for both of them. Sirius could cut her contract if they found out.
They could do nothing to the old man, of course, not directly. But there were
other forms of vengeance for interfering with another corp’s contractors while
they were under contract: missing licenses, refusals to allow a ship to make
port, minor sabotage.
TiCara weighed
the risks as she sized up Vahn. Her latest delivery for Sirius had been a
success and their rep had let her know that they would like her to make another
drop soon, but they had not finalized any details. Sirius might ignore a side
job, as long as it was fast and quiet and her ship was available when they were
ready.
Vahn gestured for
her to sit and a roboserver emerged from a wall panel to place a tea tray with
a steaming teapot and small ceramic cups on the desk between them. They each
took a cup and sipped. TiCara blinked in pleased surprise: this was
greenhouse-grown tea, not the usual imitation made from processed protein. The
old man was trying to sweeten her up too.
- END OF EXCERPT -
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