A space cruise with her bestie seems like the vacation of a lifetime until Holly Winters gets abducted by aliens and finds herself on a slave ship. When the ship’s AI goes haywire and accidentally releases the prisoners from their cells, she makes a break for it—only to be kidnapped again by a huge horned and furry alien. Aeon claims to be a prince, but he acts like a royal jerk and refuses to let Holly go. But she’s determined to locate her friend and somehow get home to New Terra. Prince Aeon of Araset is enjoying his last breath of freedom from royal duties when he’s accidentally ensnared by slavers trafficking in alien species, including the protected, but despised humans. At the first opportunity he escapes in a tiny evac pod and lands on the nearest inhabited planet. In an impulsive act of sympathy, he takes a human female with him to save her from a fate worse than death. Now he’s stuck with the talkative, conspicuous nuisance. For her own safety, he can’t release her. At odds at first, Holly and Aeon quickly discover that on a hostile, dangerous planet being friends and working together offers more benefits than fighting. But when friendship turns passionate, emotions remain guarded because both know they are loving on borrowed time. Upon their rescue, Holly must return to New Terra. A human would never be accepted on Araset, and Aeon must bond with a royal of his species to inherit the throne. Can two lovers from different worlds defeat the forces against them and find happiness together?

Being saved from a slave ship and given life-saving medical attention by a tall, muscular furry alien with large curling horns is enough for Giselle Cartier to think she’s found a hero. Having him deliver her back into the clutches of the same traffickers shatters her trust and the belief that anything she’d felt was real. But just as she’s rescued by the League of Planets and is about to be repatriated to New Terra, Joule reappears with the devastating news that Giselle’s sister has been taken. What’s even more shocking is his promise to find her. He’s already betrayed her once; what’s to stop him from doing it again? How can she trust anything he says? Regardless of the risks, she has to go with him. He’s her only hope for finding and saving her sister. This time, she won’t let her guard down. She also won’t make the mistake of falling in love with him again. Long ago, Joule hardened his heart to the cruelty, misery, and death he’d witnessed in the alien species trafficking trade. As an agent with the League of Planets working deep undercover to combat the trafficking of sentient beings in the galaxy, he can’t afford empathy. To benefit the greater good, he’s often forced to make difficult, even reprehensible, decisions. But something about the vulnerable, critically ill Giselle Cartier pierces through the protective wall surrounding his heart. Choosing to save her life is startlingly easy—too easy. He should have known better than to let himself get attached. Because circumstances force his hand, leaving him no choice but to take her back to the slavers. He couldn’t risk blowing his cover for a single human woman—even if he had fallen in love with her. Now he’s involved all over again. When he learns that Giselle’s sister has also been abducted, he can’t hold back from offering his assistance. Unable to reveal his real role, he must continue to let her believe he’s a trafficker—one who’s already betrayed her. Giselle will never trust him again… which is smart. Because she still can’t.