WIP Wednesday - Clans of Europa: Bernadette

 

First meeting of Bernadette and the Kalquorian who would turn her world upside down

“I recognize that look of betrayal, Bernadette.” He came close again, and the wall was suddenly at her back. She couldn’t retreat any further, and he loomed over her. “I too lost out on love. See? We already understand so much about each other.”

“I don’t want to understand you.”

“No?” His hands closed around her waist. Warmth radiated from the pressure in all directions. It was a man’s touch, a touch she’d once dreamed of.

“No.”

“We’ll find out.”

He was so close. Close enough that the heat she felt didn’t come from just his hands. Prophets, she could feel him right through her nightgown, the coarse fabric no protection. He stared down at her with the air of a predator. She was certain he’d tear her gown off and force her.

She was shocked when he stepped back, releasing her. “A meal will be arriving shortly. And a bed. I’ll talk with you again soon, Bernadette.”

With that, he left her, alone. Shaking. Confused. Feeling as if she’d somehow been defeated.

 

She searched for the man she couldn’t forget and found a shattered clan she couldn’t resist.

Captain Bernadette Miller was a nun on the moon Europa, hiding from a painful past. Now she hunts the galaxy for the Kalquorian who made her stop running from herself. When she gets a lead on his clanmates, she thinks her search is finally over. What she finds, however, is a clan devastated by broken promises.

Nobek Halmiko was once a star kurble player. Now he wanders space aimlessly, picking up jobs where he can find them, trying to forget the clanmates he let down. When Bernadette shows up asking questions about his missing Imdiko, he has nothing to say. But some women get in a man’s head. Some women don’t take no for an answer.

Dramok Tumsa had it all: a career he loved, the perfect clan, a troubled but talented brother he’d do anything for. Tragedy on the kurble field destroyed it all. Now his estranged Nobek is back, with a beautiful, hardnosed Earther captain who offers him an opportunity to make amends. Can he piece his clan together again? Does he deserve the chance?

Imdiko Doljen is wracked by guilt. He’s hidden from those he let down…including a woman he couldn’t keep. When she shows up in the company of his clanmates, old hurts ignite anew. It doesn’t matter what he wants; he can’t fix the mistakes he made.

The only path to regaining the love Bernadette lost means healing this shattered clan. Is she ready to commit to three men instead of the one she came for? When disaster strikes, she has to call on all the strength she possesses to stop them from falling apart for good.

Releasing late 2022