High Octane by Kathleen Scott - Now Available

Two hearts are never more than one dimension apart.

A routine fuel run through one of the planet’s dimensional portals explodes in violence when Major Geneieve Lockhart’s Jumper team is hammered with an unprovoked attack. With her ship disabled and contact to mission control limited, Genie faces her worst nightmare—losing her crew on the blood-soaked floor of a foreign desert.

Help comes from an unlicensed freelance mercenary ship, piloted by a man she never thought she’d see again. Her AWOL ex-lover, Lt. Col. Dante Bowen.

Bowen knows answering Genie’s distress call puts his undercover mission to expose a governmental conspiracy at risk. But after faking his death six years ago, he owes her something. Ending up chained in her cargo hold for transport to his own court martial wasn’t the thanks-for-the-rescue he expected.

The bridges between them may be in ashes, but their desire burns as hot as ever. Even as Genie wonders what happened to Bowen’s code of honor, her body betrays her heart at every turn. The hostile race that attacked her ship, though, is coming back to finish them off. The only way to ensure freedom—on both sides of the dimensional divide—is to put her trust in the one man who betrayed it…

Warning: Contains action-packed dimensional travel, hot military wartime sex, betrayed lovers and evil, power-hungry bastards.




Excerpt:

From High Octane by Kathleen Scott – Samhain Publishing, 2010

Misery wormed its way into her heart like a parasite. The team’s safety landed on her shoulders. The fact they had been ambushed and slaughtered was her responsibility. She should have been more careful. Should have sought out alternate methods of intelligence instead of relying solely on what her superiors wanted her to know—which in this case hadn’t been much. How could a force as powerful as the Muloons pose an immediate threat during this jump and not be part of the information provided to teams crossing the portals during the time of heightened threat? It was unconscionable.

Bertram’s gaze found hers. His jaw tightened and he looked away again. If it wasn’t enough she blamed herself for the events of the day, she had one of her most trusted team leaders blaming her too.

A hand on her back made her turn to stare into a pair of golden hawk eyes. “The Gordanes have a room for you to shower and change.” Bowen’s gaze skimmed over her half-bare chest, gentle as a caress.


The Gordanes were notorious for admiring strength in their women. Strength tempered by modesty. Geneieve noticed the Gordane soldiers’ gazes never quite met hers. The Gordanes’ looks came from the corners of their eyes, confining her to their periphery.

She nodded consent and allowed Bowen to escort her to the base guest quarters.

They walked down a long hallway painted a utilitarian gray. There were no frills or decorations other than the Gordanian flag hanging in a pressure-sealed case on the far wall.

As Geneieve and Bowen walked side by side, she wondered why he seemed so comfortable at the Gordane base. Bowen acted as if he owned the place and all the people working there. Though not a new attitude for him, it struck her as odd, since Didan was a closer ally to the U.S. than Gordane. But then, Bowen admitted he wasn’t exactly a welcome commodity with the Didan government.

“Here you go.” He stopped in front of the last room on the right side of the corridor. The door slid open when he placed his hand over the palm-recognition control.

She raised a brow at him. “Don’t think because my door is calibrated to your print that you can come in any time you want.”

“You have my word.” He ran a bent knuckle down her bare arm.

So many emotions—all of them conflicted—swirled around her heart and head. Granted Bowen’s word wasn’t worth much on the open market, but he had managed to save what was left of her team. He had gotten them to a place where they could await their next assignment in safety. Though she hated like hell to admit it, she owed him. He’d lost much this day as well. If he hadn’t come to her team’s rescue, most of his crew would still be alive. And that was the material point.

“I’m sorry, Bowen.”

“So am I.” Pain etched brackets around his mouth. “I tried to get to you sooner.”

Neither of them brought up what she knew they were both thinking. If she had listened to him about the Muloons instead of locking him in the cargo hold, the outcome would have been much different.

“You didn’t have to do it. Didn’t have to lose your men to try to save mine.”

That hawk-sharp gaze zeroed in on her mouth. He leaned forward, trapping her between the wall and his body. Heat speared her to the spot. Her hand crept up his chest, feeling his heartbeat under her palm. The hard drum of his heart sped up to match the quick beat of her own.

“Yes I did.” The words were a breath against her lips.

His mouth descended on hers. Six years melted away in the space of an instant.

Geneieve curled her hands into fists in the soft nap of his shirt. No man tasted as good as Bowen. None had even come close.

Gently, he pressed her mouth open and ran his tongue against hers. Emotion exploded in her like a shooting star. He overwhelmed her senses. Stripped her of all reality.


Dignity bade she put him in his place. To keep him at arm’s length. To deny him intimate access to her. But her body remembered all too vividly how it felt to make love with Bowen.


Available Now!!! At Samhain Publishing





-Kate