The Serpent's Mate

Book excerpt: When Cass is abducted by aliens, her first experience with extraterrestrials quickly turns from surreal into a nightmare that only grows more terrifying when an alien with a snake-like lower body and a surprisingly handsome face comes to her rescue. But Cass isn't sure she's actually safe with him, because he looks at her with hunger in his eyes.Nahash has always been a loyal, honorable Iriduan soldier, but after scientists performed drastic alterations to his biology using genetic engineering, they told him he was free from the affliction that caused Iriduan males to imprint on a single female, bonding him to her for life. He isn't prepared when he bonds instantly to a human female he rescues during a raid on a pirate colony. Now, he's stuck with her, because if he isn't exposed to his mate's scent on a regular basis, he will die. The fact that his body craves her as much as it needs her fills him with resentment, but when he realizes that the Iriduan Empire will do anything to keep her under their control because of what she means to him, he doesn't hesitate to protect his mate-even if it means betraying his people.He makes a desperate escape with his mate from the Iriduan Empire, but the galaxy proves to be a dangerous place and there are worse things than the Iriduans waiting in the darkness of space. With no one to rely on except for each other, Nahash and Cass might not live long enough to find a home where they can settle down and explore the love that grows between them-love that takes them beyond their physical bond.Author's Note: 18+ Contains steamy scenes between a human heroine and a very alien hero.