Strange Little Band – Dark, edgy sci-fi romance

Shane felt like he was trapped in a virtual reality simulator from hell.  He simultaneously floated in the cold security of his alien side, heard Frasier’s babbling, and felt Gibson’s hands shaking Harris.  It’s the bloody bracelets! she thought as she tried again to claw hers off.  It hurt like a sonofabitch, and her continued [...]

The ringing of the damned videophone on the far wall of the bedroom helped Shane pry his eyes open.  He felt like complete and utter crap.  He hadn’t felt this bad since the party when he and Harris had gotten drunk and banged each other senseless.  Shane grinned from the memory despite his throbbing head [...]

After dinner Daniel decided to go forth and mingle, which meant Addison would, too. Her continued good mood was due to champagne, which she now sipped slowly. If not for alcohol she’d have tired of playing belle of the ball. Addison knew all too well that Daniel wasn’t Prince Charming. The closest thing she had [...]

Addison and Daniel entered the ballroom more than fashionably late: before dinner was served, but after the band had begun playing. Spotlights found them as they descended the curved staircase, with Addison’s hand tucked in the crook of Daniel’s arm. Even if smugness hadn’t been rolling off her date, Addison knew that Daniel had planned [...]

Even Triptych worked to keep up employee morale. Addison supposed it made sense. Happy employees were productive employees, even if Triptych all but owned them outright. The chosen worked and played at the Alpha Facility, a city all its own. As with any community, celebration kept people healthy and balanced. One such celebration was the [...]

Continued from Into the Lion’s Den – part 1 Daniel Gibson was everything that Svetlana expected. And he was nothing like what she expected. He was as handsome in person as he was on television and magazine covers, effusing charm and good humor. Gibson moved and spoke as a man who had been raised knowing [...]

After an undignified amount of bowing and scraping, Shane was granted an appointment with Gibson with less than 24 hours notice. Wrapped in his alien calm, he strode into the penthouse office feeling healthier than he had in months. Gibson’s assistant closed the door behind him. Ignoring the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows on the [...]