Sometime in the future, when Earth is conquered by space aliens and put under the control of the Dominion, humans are enslaved and seek to escape to a safe environment. Like we have cruise ships on the oceans today, the future portrayed in this story uses space cruisers for the same purpose. They possess luxurious accommodations, green room environments that can resemble most any landscape, and various entertainments, including non-lethal fighting. Kylus is a renowned Tallean fighter who has earned his reputation honestly, through training and hard work. He is also a mercenary who hires out for various types of dangerous missions for pay.....substantial pay. While he deserves a break, he doesn't believe in vacations, but his crewmates con him into one on the Star Beauty cruiser. There he meets Chloe, a human female working in the bar as a waitress. While he had always hoped to find his soulmate like most of his friends and crewmates, he never had, until this beautiful human female's scent filled his nostrils. It was instantaneous. He had to have her. She, on the other hand, being human, had no such mate drive, but she was familiar with that alien emotion, and Talleans were certainly an attractive race. When she waited on Kylus and his friend Zeylum and his mate Ashe, she too felt a little tingle and watched Kylus in her peripheral vision while she waited to fill their drink order. But trouble walked in the door next, and Kylus' courting of Chloe began in earnest.
Action ensues when pirates attack the cruiser with the apparent intention of kidnapping the human females to sell back to the Dominion. And Chloe had belonged to a high-ranking Dominion officer who wanted her back. Kylus has no intention of letting Chloe go now that he's found his mate, and things go from bad to worse as they attempt to escape the cruiser and elude bounty hunters. It's pretty intense.
This story has good structure and carries the reader along at a good pace; maybe too good a pace. I withheld the highest rating because I feel the story could have been fleshed out more and given more depth. All in all, however, it's a fun and steamy adventure, and Kylus and Chloe both achieve their HEA.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.