Authors: Lauren Dane
Captivated
Praise for
Mesmerized
“Wow! What a sexy and fun read. Dane has a way of making the futures seem so real and believable with characters that just pop off the page. Love it!”
—
Fresh Fiction
“From the first chapter,
Mesmerized
grabs you by the throat and leads you through an exciting twist of sensuous romantic and science fiction adventure … A well-told blend of hot sensual romance and science fiction.”
—
Night Owl Reviews
“No one combines space opera and erotica quite like Dane. If you thought the only thing missing from Joss Whedon’s
Firefly
series was a little explicit sex, you have to check out
Mesmerized
.”
—
RT Book Reviews
, 4½ stars
Insatiable
“The story line is fast-paced and loaded with action as the irresistible force meets the unmovable object when two enemies from different life stations fall into heated love … This is quite a sizzler.”
—
Genre Go Round Reviews
“Dane has created a fully realized, intricate world with thoughtful, sympathetic characters, which makes it easy to lose oneself in the romance … The cliffhanger ending will leave readers panting for the next installment.”
—
RT Book Reviews
“Lauren Dane is one of the best authors out there writing exciting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat science fiction romance …
Insatiable
is also a great suspenseful thriller where the chase will leave some readers breathless.”
—
Babbling About Books, and More
Relentless
“
Relentless
will sweep you away.”
—Anya Bast,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Jeweled
“Exceptional … an intriguing alternative world.”
—Joey W. Hill, author of
Bound by the Vampire Queen
“Hot romance, detailed world-building and a plot focusing on righting injustice make
Relentless
a page-turner. With passion and politics, Dane delivers again!”
—Megan Hart
“Ms. Dane takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of emotions … This is a fabulous read for fans of sci-fi with a generous helping of erotic romance. I hope that we’ll be seeing more installments in this futuristic world.”
—
Darque Reviews
“Pulled in from page one, readers will enjoy the delicious sensuality.”
—
RT Book Reviews
, 4½ stars
“Emotionally charged, passionate and at times volatile,
Relentless
once again proves that Ms. Dane is a first-class author who is fully capable of delivering exactly the sorts of story lines that readers crave.”
—
Romance Junkies
, 5 Blue Ribbons
“Filled with heat and erotic passion …
Relentless
is a do-not-miss.”
—
Joyfully Reviewed
“This terrific science fiction erotic romance is fast-paced and filled with action in and out of the bedroom.”
—
Midwest Book Review
“Fiery, erotic and rich with plot, this book is definitely a keeper on my shelf.”
—
Night Owl Reviews
Undercover
“Delicious eroticism … a toe-curling erotic romance sure to keep you reading late into the night.”
—Anya Bast
“Sexy, pulse-pounding adventure … that’ll leave you weak in the knees.”
—Jaci Burton, national bestselling author of
Taking a Shot
“Exciting, emotional and arousing … a ride well worth taking.”
—Sasha White, author of
One Weekend
“A roller coaster of emotion, intrigue and sensual delights.”
—Vivi Anna, author of
The Vampire’s Kiss
Berkley titles by Lauren Dane
CAPTIVATED
HEART OF DARKNESS
NEVER ENOUGH
THREE TO TANGO
(with Emma Holly, Megan Hart, and Bethany Kane)
MESMERIZED
INSIDE OUT
INSATIABLE
COMING UNDONE
LAID BARE
RELENTLESS
UNDERCOVER
lauren dane
heat | new york
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2012 by Lauren Dane.
Cover photograph by Claudio Marinesco.
Cover design by Rita Frangie.
Text design by Kristin del Rosario.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
HEAT and the HEAT design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
PRINTING HISTORY
Heat trade paperback edition / May 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dane, Lauren.
Captivated / Lauren Dane. — Heat trade paperback ed.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-101-56887-3
1. Imaginary wars and battles—Fiction I. Title.
PS3604.A5C37 2012
813’.6—dc23 2011040585
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
This one goes out to all the fans of
the Federation Chronicles.
Thank you all so very much for supporting these books
and allowing me to continue to write futuristics.
First and foremost, my thanks always go to my husband, who is my biggest cheerleader even though I hardly ever kill people off the way he suggests I should.
To Laura Bradford, my agent and my friend, for all the hard work you do for me every day.
I really can’t overemphasize how important it is to an author to have a great fit with her editors, and in Leis Pederson I am so very fortunate. Thank you, Leis, for being shiny and awesome.
And a big giant thank-you to Fatin, Mary and Renee, who kindly beta read this (and many other of my books) and gave me so much wonderful input.
Chapter 1
S
he rocked because it brushed her hair over her skin. It was the only way sometimes that she remembered she was still there. The sound of her feet shuffling across the floor, the way the blanket felt when she pulled it around herself tight, the songs she sang in her head—she knew she was real.
They wanted her to forget. Wanted her to forget she existed before they brought her here. They wanted to break her and tear her from reality, but she would not let them win. Because if they won, it meant she’d cease to believe she was real.
She was real.
She was real.
She was real.
“My name is Hannah Black. My parents are Shelby and Bertram Black. My name day is in midsummer as the grain is above my head.”
She spoke to herself to hear the noise. Her voice was rusty, and she wondered if she even sounded remotely human anymore. She
repeated the words her mother taught her in the time before she started at school. Several times every day, because it helped her remember the person she was.
Before
. When she got up every day and went to work. When people spoke to her, touched her, when she laughed with friends at large dinner parties. It was real and they would never take it from her.
A banging noise. She didn’t bother to look. They liked to taunt her sometimes. She didn’t know if they realized the isolation was less when they made sound, but she never responded in any case. There were some lab workers who tried to help when they could. And others who liked to harm when they could.
Some of the latter liked to underline how much power they had over her. Just in case it was a physical lesson she slunk from her cot and headed to her corner, taking her blanket with her. Once, in the very beginning when they still interacted with her, they tried to take it and she took something from the guard instead. She smiled to herself. She kept her blanket and he had a prosthetic eye.
Of course then they’d gassed her room so she was unconscious when they came in. But they never tried to take her blanket again. And from then on they’d used the gas before anyone entered. Fear made a well-learned lesson. Her father used to tell her that so she whispered it to herself over and over as she rocked.
The door slammed open and she looked cautiously through the veil of her hair. It had been a long time—months—since she’d seen another person. Klaxons rang in the background and when she truly saw him, she knew he wasn’t one of them. She backed up, trying to make herself smaller.
“My name is Vincenz Cuomo and I’m here to help you. I’m a Federation military officer, and we’re about to blow this place up. Do you want to live?”
It took a moment to focus on the words. It had been a very long time since anyone had actually spoken
to
her. She was afraid to speak. Afraid they’d hurt her. She licked her lips and gripped the bed to stand on legs fear had rendered a trembling mass.
She nodded her head and took a step toward him. Willing herself to believe it was real. Willing herself to believe this wasn’t a trick and she was getting out of this chamber of horrors. But her legs didn’t support her very well and she had to hold on to the bed to keep standing.