Excerpt 1:
He wants me. And it’s been so very long since someone wanted me. So long. Like I’m pretty sure I’m revirginated at this point. Let’s face it, I want him right back. I want to feel him against me and inside me and on top of me and under me. I want to taste his kisses and his skin and to feel the way he moves. There’s a silent alarm going off in the back of my mind, trying to tell me this is a terrible idea. It’s saying something about betraying my work family and risking my heart with a man who literally just told me he has no interest in happily ever after with anyone. 

And yet…

Here we are, two consenting adults, completely alone and absolutely wanting to do this. I stare up at him, taking in his chiseled jawline, his stubble, his dark eyes that are undressing me right now. My heart pounds in my chest, my body hums with excitement. “A night to remember? That’s a bold prediction,” I say in a breathy voice I don’t even recognize. 

“I’m confident I can back it up,” he tells me, lowering his face to mine. 

He leaves just the smallest space between our mouths. Enough that I can feel his breath and can almost feel his lips against mine. It’s less than an inch and yet it’s infinitely far away because there’s still time for me to say no. To get up and walk away without allowing anything to happen. We could go back to whatever we were a minute ago. Just two people stuck out here alone together passing the time. That would be the smart thing to do— to get up and walk away because he is the very last man I should want like this. 

But he’s also the man I’ve wanted like no other. The desire I have for him is all that matters in this moment. There is nothing, no one else on this planet that means anything to me right now. There’s no future, no past. It’s just the two of us here in this perfect moment.

 

Excerpt 2:
“Anyway, I’m really sorry about Dr. Napper. I’m sure this must be just awful for you—losing your business partner and probably your best friend.”

He stiffens a little, then says, “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

“He was an incredible human,” I say, glancing out to see that we’re no longer flying over Lima, but are now at the base of the mountains. “Not only generous, but so full of life and really incredibly inspiring. I watched every one of his adventures on the Dick Cam.”

Mr. Sterling blinks slowly, then says, “You needn’t bother. I meant what I said earlier—about there being absolutely no chance of me funding any of your projects.”

“I know you did. You hate what we do, even though SETI is a real and highly respected line of research. Not like a lot of the other projects in the foundation.” Leaning toward him a little, I say, “I mean, come on, the search for Atlantis? Might as well look for King Arthur’s sword. Embarrassing.” 

His lips curve up ever so slightly, and I’ll be damned if those aren’t a nice set of lips. “Let me get this straight. You look down on them?”

My face heats up with humiliation, which turns instantly to rage. Doing my best to stay icy calm, I say, “I assure you what those other teams do and what we do are nothing alike. Ours is a very real science based on facts and certainty. Theirs is a fairy tale.”

“I have news for you. You’re not that different.”

Okay, now I’m mad. “We most certainly are nothing like those crazy Yeti people.”

“You most certainly are. You all employed exactly the same strategy when it came to sending someone on this godforsaken trip to try to handle me.”

“Which is…?” 

“Sending a young, attractive woman to convince me not to shut you down.” His eyes sweep over me. “It’s insulting really.”

Attractive? Did he just call me attractive? Is my face bright red right now? Because it feels ridiculously hot. Stupid face. “That’s not why I was picked.”

He arches his left eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” I answer, sounding haughtier than I should. “There was a very good reason my team sent me.”

“What? Are you the only one who speaks Klingon or something?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Obviously not. I’m the only one who had the necessary qualifications.”

He looks impressed for a second, but then I realize he’s just pretending. “So you’re the brains behind the whole operation then?”

“No, everyone on the team is … the brains behind the operation. We’re all one big brain and together we have all the skills and knowledge needed. Honestly, the whole thing would fall apart if you got rid of any of us,” I say, laying the groundwork in case he does give us funding but then decides to turn around and downsize us. Well, he could let Chad go. That would be fine. I’m about to say as much when the helicopter suddenly seems to be lifted up out of nowhere, pushing me into my seat with a terrifying force. 

Without thinking, I reach for Mr. Sterling’s hand and he does the same to mine. We grip each other as the nose of the aircraft pitches up violently and the engine stalls. Closing my eyes, I feel panic take over me as it feels like we’re about to drop out of the sky. Without a parachute in sight. Thank God I went pee back at the airport…

 

Excerpt 3:
I tighten my grip on her hand and place my left one over top. I can’t die this way. Not holding the hand of a smelly woman who hates me so much she defaces my photo every week. My heart pounds out of my chest, adrenaline surges through my veins, and I sit, helplessly awaiting our fate. Instruments beep loudly. The pilot starts muttering in Spanish, and I have no idea if he’s praying or swearing. 

After a few more terrifying seconds, he manages to right the helicopter, the engine kicks back in, and we continue flying as though nothing just happened. The pilot glances back at us with an easy smile. “Sorry about that, folks. We’re fine now.”

“What the f*** was that?” I demand. 

“An updraft. It happens sometimes over the mountains,” he says with a shrug.

“Well, it better not happen again,” I tell him, even though if it does, really, what am I going to do about it?

“Thank you for getting us out of that,” Ms. Fox says, giving me a dirty look. 

I roll my eyes, then look down at our hands, only now realizing I still have a death grip on her. She glances down too, then at the same time, we both let go, her looking like she was just holding a fresh turd. 

Clearing my throat, I say, “Well, that was … something.”

“Yes, it really was. I didn’t know that could happen.”

“Neither did I or I never would’ve gotten on this stupid thing to begin with,” I say, my heart still pounding.

“If you thought you were scared of helicopters before,” she says, “I’m sure that didn’t help.”

“I’m not scared. I just don’t like them.”

“Right, yeah,” she says. “On account of them feeling like deathtraps. But you’re not scared.”

“Exactly,” I tell her, letting a tiny grin escape. 

I look outside for a second, only to see the mountain we almost crashed into, then decide I’m better off looking at her. There’s something about her that’s very distracting, and if I need anything right now, it’s a good distraction. Otherwise, I’m going to wind up curled up on the floor in a ball, not being scared. I stare at her for a second, taking in how incredibly green her eyes are. They’re bright and shiny against her pale skin. Her white blouse is a bit rumpled and I can see the top of a lacy soft pink bra. Well, that’s certainly distracting. Hello, Ms. Fox. 

No, not hello, Ms. Fox. She is the enemy. Not only that, she was sent here to part you from a cool hundred mil that you need.

I stare at the back of the pilot’s head for a second to avoid getting drawn in by … whatever those thoughts were. But looking at him only reminds me of the fact that we’re flying a thousand feet above a very hard mountain in a giant fishbowl that almost crashed a few minutes ago. 

My eyes are begging me to look to my right and down a little for a sight of her … shirt again. No way, eyes. We’re not getting suckered in here. No way, no how. No matter how soft her skin is.

I allow them to focus on her face again. Better. Very calming for a woman who can’t stand me.

 

Excerpt 4:
Water immediately starts filling the vessel, soaking my feet and legs. Like a total idiot, I’m still paddling, hoping that if we go fast enough, we can outrun the water. 

“Grab our gear,” Ty says. “It’s sinking.”

My heart pounds wildly and a surge of adrenaline courses through me as panic sets in. I clutch my paddle with one hand and reach for my backpack with the other. 

“Drop the paddle! It’s of no use now,” Ty yells. 

“I can use it to fight off a crocodile!”

With the canoe now under me, I pull myself to my left to get to the closest shore, only to realize I’m going to have to tread water with everything in me just to manage to keep my head above water. Half of the broken canoe pops back up and rushes away from us, propelled by the swift current. In the distance, I hear the trill of a dolphin. 

The dolphins! They’ll save us. “Help, Flipper! Help!!!” I scream.

“What?”

Ignoring Ty, I shout, “Pink dolphins! I command you to save us!”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Ty says, and I suddenly realize he’s right behind me. He grabs me around my waist and yanks me to the left while I grip my bag and the paddle with everything in me.

Okay, this is okay. Ty’s got me. I’m going to live. I pull it together and start to kick my legs to help get us to shore. Finally, I let go of the paddle so I can use my free arm as well. Something brushes against my leg and I shout, “Did you feel that? It’s a croc!”

“That was me,” he says. “Try to calm down.”

“I am calm!” I shout. “You calm down!”

We’re just about to shore when he yells, “F***! Vampire fish!”

“Vampire fish?!” I scream, scrambling to the sandy beach. I crawl as far away from the water as possible before my body goes completely numb and I collapse. When I turn, I half expect Ty to be in a full-on wrestling match with some sort of massive fish with huge teeth but he’s not. He heaves himself out of the river, dropping the bags on the shore. He pauses for a second, glancing up at the sky, then says, “Never mind. I’m fine.”

“What?”

“No vampire fish. All is well,” he says, nodding at me reassuringly. I can tell by the sheepish look on his face that he’s totally embarrassed.

He flops onto the ground next to me, panting. “We made it.”

“Yeah, thank God.”

We’re both silent while we watch the remains of our canoe and one of the backpacks disappear around a bend in the distance, then Ty says, “You didn’t tell me you had the power to summon wild animals.”

I close my eyes and scrunch up my face. 

Ty mimics my voice. “Pink dolphins, I command you to save us!”

We both burst out laughing. When we stop, I look over at him. “I really wanted to believe I could do it.”

“I love your optimism. Truly noteworthy.”