Barbarian's Prize

Informationen zum Autor Ruby Dixon is an author of all things science fiction romance. She is a Sagittarius and a Reylo shipper, and loves farming sims (but not actual housework). She lives in the South with her husband and a couple of geriatric cats, and can't think of anything else to put in her biography. Truly, she is boring. Klappentext ""Hey, Tiffany?" Josie's voice jerks me from my sleep. I sit up, my heart pounding. There's a cold sweat on my skin and my hair is sticking to my face. I push it back and try to act normal. "Mm?" "You were having a nightmare," she says softly. "Didn't sound like a good one." Just a dream. I'm no longer on the alien ship. I'm safe here on the ice planet. There's a cave full of big warriors who won't let anyone grab me and haul me down a hallway to rape me. They'd die before they let anyone try it. The little green men and their bodyguards are dead. I'm safe. But . . . I don't feel safe. Haven't felt safe since the night I woke up and found out I was abducted by aliens. I rub my eyes and lie back in my furs. "Thanks, Jo." "Sure." She yawns loudly and I hear her roll over"-- Leseprobe Chapter One Tiffany It's cramped and dark. Arms and legs are piled onto me and there's an overwhelming stink of unwashed flesh in my nose. Sleep's hard to get, but I try, because sleep's the only escape I have. Not today, though. A light shines on the cage and goes right to my eyes. I instinctively whimper at the flash of pain that shoots through my head. One of the orange aliens with the rough skin points at me. He says something in his garbled language and I hear Kira suck in a breath. Oh no. Not me. It was just a whimper. A small sound of distress. Nothing more. Bodies peel back from me as the guard enters the cage. He grabs a handful of my hair-wild and sticking out in every direction since I haven't brushed it in over a week-and hauls me forward. Pain shoots through my head again, and even though I want to be silent, a small cry breaks from my lips. "Don't scream," someone whispers. It's too late for warnings, though. They're just looking for someone to pick on, and they picked me. The guards haul me forward and out of the storage bay where the captives are kept. I'm dragged down a hallway and then shoved through a door. I land on my hands and knees, and when I look up, there's another guard standing there. He smiles and shows needle-sharp teeth. His smile chills me, and when he grabs a handful of my hair and yanks me to my feet, I go. Not me. Not me. Not me. The litany repeats in my mind as he touches his collar to loosen his clothing. "Tiffany," he says, and points at the nearby cot, indicating I should lie down. Not me. Not me. Please, not me. "Hey, Tiffany?" Josie's voice jerks me from my sleep. I sit up, my heart pounding. There's a cold sweat on my skin and my hair is sticking to my face. I push it back and try to act normal. "Mm?" "You were having a nightmare," she says softly. "Didn't sound like a good one." Just a dream. I'm no longer on the alien ship. I'm safe here on the ice planet. There's a cave full of big warriors who won't let anyone grab me and haul me down a hallway to rape me. They'd die before they let anyone try it. The little green men and their bodyguards are dead. I'm safe. But . . . I don't feel safe. Haven't felt safe since the night I woke up and found out I was abducted by aliens. I rub my eyes and lie back in my furs. "Thanks, Jo." "Sure." She yawns loudly and I hear her roll over. I stare up at the ceiling of my cave and the nubs of stalactites that decorate it. I can't sleep now. If I do, the aliens will be back in my dreams. I need to think about something else for a while. Maybe tanning. Or my plants. Work's good. Work keeps me too tired most nights to dream, so I throw myself into whatever task I'm workin...

Auteur

Ruby Dixon

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**The next novel in the international publishing phenomenon the Ice Planet Barbarians series, now in a special print edition with a bonus original novella!

Tiffany doesn’t care about all the attention she’s getting from the alien men, but there is one particular hunter she can see herself with—if only she can find a way to move forward from the past. . . .

It’s hard being the most popular girl on the ice planet. The alien men are falling all over themselves to impress me in the hopes that I’ll take them to my furs. But they don’t know my secrets. And they don’t realize that behind my smile, I just wish they’d take their courting presents and their competitions for my affection and go away. I want to be left alone. But on a planet where women are a scarcity, that won’t be happening.

If I had to choose a mate . . . it’d be someone with a gorgeous blue body, big horns, and the most intense gaze ever. Someone who knows the truth of what happened to me and why I don’t like attention. Patient, handsome Salukh knows my secrets. He knows why I have nightmares and why I don’t trust anyone. He’s willing to let me “experiment” with him. I can use him. Take what I need from him to work through my trauma. He’s been a good friend and the best shoulder to cry on.

There’s one small problem.

When it comes to us, he doesn’t just want to be my friend. He wants to be my forever. And day by day, he’s getting harder to resist. . . .