BREAKING THE ALIEN LOVE CURSE. Amellia and Hagan have been co-workers with a more than casual interest in each other for a while but haven’t taken any action on the attraction. Hagan just got back from an assignment in the field.
The excerpt:
As if conjured from thin air by her thoughts, the man walked into the office, tall and commanding as always, headed for her desk.
Amellia sat up straighter and wished she’d worn her new tunic but at least she’d tried a cute hairstyle today. “Welcome back,” she said as he got closer. “I hope the mission went well?”
His smile was more of a grimace. “About as expected but it’s a pure pleasure to come back here and see you, Ms. Taneek.”
“I did give you permission to call me Amellia,” she said demurely.
“I brought you something.” As she stared, heart beating faster, he fumbled with unsealing one of the many pockets on his cargo pants and brought out a small wooden box, which he set on the counter in front of her workstation.
Wondering what he might have picked out for her, hoping she wouldn’t have to refuse the item, Amellia made quick work of opening the container and pulled out a tiny stone statue of a pombatt, which was an adorable fluffy local wild animal. She set it on her palm and moved the carving this way and that, admiring the skill with which the artist used the natural veins in the stone to highlight the body of the creature and suggest the patterns in its fur. There were flakes of glittery quartz in the shiny purple and white stone which caught the lights and sparkled.
“I love it,” she said with genuine enthusiasm. “It’ll go perfectly with my collection.” Doing a half spin with her chair, she gestured at the modest wooden curio cabinet on the wall behind her, where a dozen other small animal figurines were arranged, along with other keepsakes and her various awards. Amellia liked personalizing her official workspace to make the area feel more like home in the rather stark Sectors office architecture. “Thank you!”
“I noticed you collected these and when I saw the pombatt, I knew it was for you,” he said with a grin.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, although there was a warm flush of satisfaction and a bit of tingling at her core, knowing he’d been thinking of her.
Head tilted, he studied her briefly. “Oh yes, I think I did. I like your hair by the way.”
Amellia patted the flippant curl. “My cousin persuaded me to try a new stylist.”
He squared his shoulders and straightened his back. Socializing time was clearly over. The pleasant interlude was concluded as clearly as if he’d said so and yet again he hadn’t asked her out. “Was anything delivered for me while I was gone?”
THE BLURB:
Depositphotos
BREAKING THE ALIEN LOVE CURSE (THE SECTORS SF ROMANCE SERIES)
Amellia Taneek loved her job as the office manager for a group of Sectors agents from various organizations, all based out of her central location. She enjoyed the challenges of handling administrative details for them and the excitement of constantly meeting new offworlders. She was especially intrigued by Hagan Raljarr, seven feet of green, scaled, muscular SCIA agent, and more than a little curious about his tail. Hey, she was a healthy unmarried, unattached female and there was no rule against dating a co-worker.
But so far he’d shown confusing signs of reciprocating her interest.
Hagan was an honorable warrior and before he could pursue his definite interest in Amellia, who might even be his fated mate, he had to clear up one little detail – the engagement contract he’d been entered into as a child with a female from his own planet. They barely knew each other and she was highly ambitious. Surely in this modern day and age she’d be happy for him to sever the contract and set her free, right? Leaving him in the perfect position to begin courting the lovely human.
But the jilted fiancée sends a mysterious box across the galaxy to him and when he unwisely opens it, a powerful love curse is activated, striking both him and Amellia. They’ll die at dawn if the curse isn’t broken. With help from Amellia’s aunt, who is said to have magic powers, the pair set out on a desperate quest for three special ingredients needed to break the spell. Over the course of a very long night, will Hagan and Amellia find their way to a relationship, break the curse in time and survive? Is such a thing even possible?
This 23K word novella first appeared in the Supra Vellum Anthology, which is no longer available. No new material has been added.
Glad I got to read this! Very fun! And exciting! (You always deliver!)
Thank you!