Cirrus@Austlit

'They think they can break her.

'But if life hasn’t succeeded, how can four men?

'Now she'll fight for freedom — and revenge.

'Terror and forbidden desire stalk the heart of the Australian Outback

'A trip to the beach with her elementary class turns into teacher Kayla Petrovic’s worst nightmare.

'Abducted.

'Held for ransom.

'For years, she'’s believed she’s nothing more than the whore of her alcoholic mother’s taunts, trading her body for a roof, food, money, and stealing men’s hearts to heal her emptiness. But when the kidnappers threaten her students, she’ll sacrifice everything, including the last vestige of her self-respect, to save them.

'Hardened army veteran, Captain Nick West, bears his own scars—not all of them visible.

'He knows how to handle a world turned to shit. He’ll get in, retrieve the hostages, and get out, doing little damage—except to the kidnappers. They’re fair game. What he doesn’t expect is the kick in the chest—worse than the recoil on a sniper's rifle—of recognizing there’s something special about the woman he rescues. After years of avoiding emotional intimacy, he's sure as hell not interested in her.

'Love is a weakness he will never permit.

'Refusing to be labeled a victim, but haunted by PTSD-induced nightmares and ashamed of her illicit desire for Nick, Kayla is desperate to find a way free. When a kidnapper tracks her down, hell-bent on revenge, can she discover the strength to save not only herself, but the one man she may be able to love?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'EAT I have down pat, whether it's pot noodles in the Solomon Islands or Michelin star cuisine in Europe

'PRAY - praying for your ex to fall off the Harbour Bridge counts, right?

'LOVE? Well, love sucks.

'Corporate lawyer Sara is all about the rules. Until, in a far-too-young-to-have-a-midlife-crisis moment she swaps practicing law for cleaning cabins aboard The Spirit of Ohana, five-star dining for onboard buffets, and love for....well, fantasies are a girl's best friend, right?

'At least, they are until one dark and stormy night, when she drags an impossibly attractive, cocky Brit from the ocean...

'Rick's had his fill of gorgeous women throwing themselves at him. Doing his damnedest to spit out the silver spoon that hampers his philanthropic ventures, the last thing he needs is to be rescued from a tropical cyclone only to find himself consumed by Hurricane Sara.

'Yet the fiery cabin steward is undeniably intriguing—not to mention, hot as sin, all voluptuous curves and sassy innuendo. But she seems determined to keep him at arms' length and, for the first time, he's tempted to commit to the chase.

'Unless Sara can overcome her distrust of wealthy, entitled men, and Rick is able to set aside his belief that women are only after his money, these two natural enemies can never become lovers, their affair doomed to be hotter than Kilauea and shorter than the brief cruise.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Land of the Lei

'A plan to get laid

'All the best laid plans go astray...

'Summoned to attend her parents' renewal of vows aboard the luxurious Spirit of Ohana cruise line, Lissa is reluctant to leave her job, her home—heck, even her pretend cats. But the newly-diagnosed commitment-phobe is eager to escape the memories of her ex-fiancé. And, according to her bestie, a tropical vacation is the perfect opportunity to conquer the fear of being trapped that has Lissa's knees glued firmly together.

'Luck is on her side when she meets gorgeous military man, Nate. The handsome soldier is more than happy to reinitiate her into the flirting game—and take it a whole lot further when they meet up again on the cruise. However, it seems the heat may melt her reserve—dare she allow Hawaii to play with her heart?

'Yet Nate hides a secret, one that could see Lissa unwittingly break one of life's most forbidden taboos. When she discovers his deception, Lissa has a very particular revenge in mind. But if revenge is a dish best served cold, she'll have to find a way to combat both the tropical heat—and the fire Nate lights within her.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'I’m on a dangerous mission with a sexy alien jaguar shifter warrior. The last thing I need is temptation. But his searing kiss unleashes my hidden desire.

'Jag: Like the rest of my band-of-brothers, my guns, fangs, and claws are for hire-but I have a reputation for caution. Pragmatism. Methodology. The Cap, Herc, relies on me for my prudence. But now, with the world collapsing around us and danger pressing in on every side, I'm crazy in lust with Aren, the leader of the Refugees. For the first time, caution seems over-rated.

'I don't know what the Hells is going on. Jaguarkin don't bond. We mate. Rut to produce offspring. Then move on. So why does this feel like more than that? I can't afford to allow a distraction in the form of one little human. One mysterious, desirable woman with the ability to rock my world. And, if I don't handle it right, rock all the worlds.

'Aren: My life has been dedicated to one mission: to kill my father. After that, I'll die, either in a Regime prison, or from my own pair-blade—fulfilling a promise to follow my dead husband, Tracin, to his grave. When Herc & Maya and the crew need someone to infiltrate the Regime army and steal a communicator they need to contact the Aaidarian government, I see my chance. Jag will go with me, pretending to be Tracin. Which means he'll need surgical alterations, and he won't be able to shift or his disguise will be revealed.

'And I'll have to have sex with him to ignite the blades. Shouldn't be too bad, right? A quick round in bed in exchange for a chance to finally see this through. Except, one touch from Jag sets my skin on fire. And I'm falling for him fast. How will I satisfy my Dragarian pair-blade's thirst for my blood if I'm bondmated with Jag?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Lily: I was thrown into an alien gladiator ring, the prize for the victor. Christophus won me. He's kind and sweet and beyond appealing. I'm falling fast. But can I capture his heart?

'Christophus: My captors think they've broken me, forcing me to fight as a gladiator. But I'll never perform the one act they desire the most ... until they throw Lily into the ring, and I instantly know she is My One. Now I'll do anything to protect her and win her heart.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Amelia: Abducted by aliens and taken to their ship, my best friend and I are desperate to escape and return to Earth. I'm tossed into a cell with a reptilian alien and told I must satisfy him or they'll hurt my friend. I never thought giving in to his needs might satisfy my own...

'Then they put me with a new beast and say we're going to compete in a deadly game called the Rampage. Alien Hunger Games anyone?

'The beast is snarly and ferocious, and he could rip me apart with his tusks and claws. Yet in his eyes, I sense something vulnerable. Lonely. With hints of something I found with the other alien.

'I'll do whatever I can to soothe the beast and convince him to help me win the Rampage. Because losing means death.

'Jrecatoa: I was once a man, a Krakarian warrior.

'That's all gone now. Hidden beneath this abominable exterior, far more Beast than man. Not only in appearance, either; because the scent and the sight of this female does things to me. Things that surely no man would ever feel.

'Of course, I've wanted women before. Had women before.

'But I've never needed them like this.

'She's awoken my Hunger.

'But maybe that's just as well—without the fury of the Hunger, neither of us has any chance of surviving the Rampage.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'I've been captured and imprisoned. To escape, I must bond with a
cocky, alien cat shifter warrior. I'll do it, but he won't get past the walls surrounding my heart...

'Lyrie: I have three secrets, but I'll share one with you. I'm falling for Khal, a Cheetakin shifter. But I won't—can't—let anyone know how I feel. Because, if the Regime who holds me captive discovers there isn't anything I wouldn't do to keep Khal safe, well, they'll use my love against me. Use him to break me.

'I must escape the compound and cross the desert to reach the relative safety of the Resistance. Before it's too late. If I don't get away, they'll force us to come together, then steal the child we make for their evil experiments. Turn an innocent baby into a monster. So, I'll fight my growing love for Khal and somehow, resist his touch.

'Khal: There are secrets in my past. Things no-one outside my band-of-brothers will ever know. Guns, fangs, and claws for hire, the guys and I are tight, and I know they'll never judge me for what I did. They don't need to. I judge myself.

'And that's why I have to be alone. That's why I can't allow Lyrie into my heart, into my life. Because loving her means death. But not necessarily for me.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'With my medical career on the line and laser guns pointed at my back, the last thing I need is a sexy alien lion shifter warrior determined to make me his…

'Leo: Dr. Janie Hartlin could've been the woman of my dreams—hells, she is the woman of my dreams—but I clawed my way through life on the streets, and now I have nothing to offer her but a share of my bedroll, military rations, and the life of a guns, fangs, and claws-for-hire mercenary.

'I didn't need the hot-as-hells buzz of our awesome three-part bond to prove that Janie's the only woman for me. The question is, am I the man for her?

'Janie: Regime soldiers are hot on my heels with laser guns pointed at my back. I snooped into their secret project and discovered they're engineering a shifter army they'll use to exterminate the Resistance. Curiosity killed the cat, right? Or, in my case, the cougar. Because, eight years younger than me, Leo is the cat shifter of my wildest fantasies.

'Fleeing across a desert is more exercise than any girl needs. Falling into an armor spider nest only makes things worse. Until Leo rescues me. One touch, and my body's on fire.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'I have three goals.

'Infiltrate the enemy compound.

'Rescue my sister.

'Escape into the desert.

'Not bond with a hot alien cat shifter warrior.

'Herc: A cat shifter mercenary—gun, fangs, and claws for hire—doesn't fall for a pretty little human. It's cost the Regime big-time to have me and my guys hunt down the Resistance fighters skulking in caves spread across this gods-forsaken planet. My sole focus here is this deployment. Until Maya touches me, igniting the first phase of a bondmate.

'It doesn't matter how freakin' sweet she is. How sexy. No way in all seven hells will I complete the three bonds. As long as I don't kiss her, we won't hit second base. And I'll be damn sure to keep my hands off her incredible body, because having sex with her would bring on bond three, linking our souls for eternity. Problem is, now it's not just my damn life that's in danger. My heart is in all kinds of trouble.

'Maya: Herc has to believe I'm nothing more than a nurse working for the Regime. If he finds out I've infiltrated the military compound to rescue my imprisoned sister, my life's in danger. He may be the hottest guy I've ever seen—shifter or man—but I refuse to bond with someone who's hunting my people into extinction.

'Now that my mission's accomplished, I can flee into the desert. He'll never find me once I'm hidden in the Resistance stronghold. Problem is, Herc's hot on my heels. If he catches me, will he return me to the Regime? Or does he have his own—very personal—plan for me instead? Hooking up with me will ruin Herc's career and make him an enemy of his own people. But if he hands me over to the firing squad, the bullets won't need to hit my heart to shatter me into a billion pieces.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.