Rage, Sex, and Teddy Bears: Excerpt from Paradise 21 by Aubrie Dionne

Blurb: Aries has lived her whole life aboard mankind’s last hope, the New Dawn, a spaceship traveling toward a planet where humanity can begin anew – a planet that won’t be reached in Aries lifetime. As one of the last genetically desirable women left in the universe, she must marry her designated genetic match and produce the next generation for this centuries-long voyage.

But Aries has other plans.

When her desperate escape from the New Dawn strands her on a desert planet, Aries discovers the rumors about pirates – humans who escaped Earth before it’s demise – are true.

Handsome, genetically imperfect Striker possesses the freedom Aries envies, and the two connect on a level she never thought possible. But pursued by her match from above and hunted by the planet’s native inhabitants, Aries quickly learns her freedom will come at a hefty price.

The life of the man she loves.

Striker’s Two Loves

In Paradise 21, Striker is a space pirate, abandoned by his mutinous crew. One member of that crew is a former flame, and she betrays him to get her hands on a map to Paradise. He thinks love is a weakness in a world where you can’t afford to make mistakes. He’s done with love until Aries shows up.

Love Interest #1

Tiff, the Space Pirate
5’2” Blue eyes and short, spiky blond hair
She has a spitfire attitude with selfish tendencies. She’ll change her mind about you if she thinks it will get her closer to a safe life on a paradise planet. But underneath her tough attitude, she has enough heart to save a boy from the orphanage and take him on the crew as her own son.

Love Interest #2

Aries, the colonist
5’7” Green eyes and shoulder length Auburn hair
She’s highly intelligent and driven to escape her computer designated marriage, but also innocent of the harsh realities of life, and a little bit naïve. She wants to get away, but she also wants to do what’s right.If her freedom means giving up the man she loves, then she’ll sacrifice herself.
Who does he end up with? Well, you’ll have to read Paradise 21 to find out!

Excerpt

Aries sped through space in her escape pod as if she fled the event horizon of a dying star. The controls blinked warnings around her, but she ignored them, pressing the touchscreen to fire the engines to full capacity.

Let’s see how fast this antique can go.

Her sweaty palms slipped on the cold metal as she clutched the restraining bar across her seat. Freedom intoxicated her, coursing through her veins like she drank liquid fire.

She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, releasing raging emotions held back for years of conforming and keeping her true thoughts a silent. Many times Aries had thought her head would implode from the pressure, but instead she’d schemed, plotting the day of her departure down to the last water bottle. As the sound of her voice dissipated, she opened her eyes and peered at the stars as they blurred into streaks of shimmering light.

The time flashed on the screen in fluorescent green : 1638. Aries committed the numbers to memory. She’d have at least three hours before the ceremony and reception ended and her fellow Lifers began searching for her. Her shipmates would check her cell first, then activate the locator embedded in her arm. When they realized she’d jumped ship, they’d stop the engines and count the escape pods. By the, Aries would be a parsec away from the New Dawn.

Maybe they wouldn’t come. Giddiness bubbled in her throat with the thought of the ship coursing away without her, but she knew better. They’d turned the New Dawn around before, and knowing Lieutenant Barliss, he’d have it no other way. Not only was he a high-ranking officer, but she was his chosen mate, scheduled to be bound to him in ceremony next month. Her escape would prevent Barliss from passing on their combined genetic code. There was no doubt that a man who followed the Guide to the letter would come after the woman whose DNA he needed.
The orange bulk of Sahara 354 claimed the horizon on the main sight panel. Aries soaked in the sight of the small of the small, forgotten planet, like the first time she’d seen pictures of old Earth.

Although the conditions of life on Sahara 354 were reportedly bleak, to Aries it looked like a haven. Blue and red lights flashed on the panel in front of her, warning her of the change in trajectory as the pod entered the planet’s gravitational pull. Aries shut off the thrusters and allowed the vessel to sail into orbit. She glided in space, using the pod’s sensors to complete a full scan of the surface, searching for signs of resources or life. Although she had enough food and water for days, they’d only delay an inevitable death if she couldn’t find further sustenance.

Time ticked away, seconds she knew she couldn’t waste. The New Dawn traveled much faster than an escape pod, and she needed time to fake her own death and disappear. The vast wasteland stretching before her only had small pockets of water and plant life. If she didn’t choose her landing spot wisely, she’d be plummeting to a real demise.