Starfall Ranch by California Dawes
Series: Standalone
Release Date: October 26, 2019
Subgenre: Sci-fi Romance
Synopsis for Starfall Ranch:
Two women seeking refuge from trauma on an alien world meet in a storm under the unlikeliest circumstances. At the edge of the galaxy, under the apple boughs, can they reach out and take hold of their happily-ever-after?
Thisbe Vandergoss is a London socialite on the run from her controlling family. With all her assets frozen and her friends on Earth just as likely to sell her out than help her out, Thisbe signs up to be a mail-order bride on the lush moon world, Sirona.
Shiloh Kerridan left Earth five years ago, seeking to put a galaxy between herself and the people who hurt her. Shiloh has thrown herself into the creation and maintenance of Starfall Ranch, a cozy piece of farmland that boasts juicy apples and the best goats cheese on Sirona. She’s vowed never to let anyone in again, and she certainly has no patience for rich off-worlders who show up on her doorstep unexpectedly.
Especially when Thisbe shows up in the middle of a streak of bad luck: her fruit trees have succumbed to disastrous blight, her farm bots keep mysteriously malfunctioning, and a local mining company is breathing down her neck to parcel out her land. If Shiloh’s bad luck keeps up, she’ll have no choice but to sell her beloved farm and sanctuary. Thisbe is determined she won’t let that happen, but will Shiloh open her heart enough to trust again?
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“Back on Earth I’m a Leo. What would I be here on Sirona?”
“Hmm… A Leo, huh? Let’s see.” Shiloh gazed up at the sky, as if searching for the right pattern. She pointed to a series of sparkling stars just off the horizon. “There, that’s your star sign.”
“What is it?” Thisbe couldn’t keep the curiosity out of her voice; she had no idea what the shape was supposed to be, but she was suddenly dying to know her Sironese star sign.
“It’s called… the Big Fat Space Tiddies. Here on Sirona, you’re an earth sign! The future is so crazy like that!” Shy ended the explanation with a shriek of laughter as Thisbe jumped up and wrestled her way on top of her.
“Shy, have some respect for the eternal stars!” Thisbe yelled.
They laughed, tumbling against each other in the soft grass, a tangle of thighs and fingers, hips rolling against hips. Thisbe ended up back on top, straddling Shy with their hands entwined above Shy’s head, pinning her to the ground. Their laughter trailed off and Shy’s grin turned to an almost apprehensive I-dare-you look. Thisbe’s heart caught in her throat, pounding in her ears as she lowered her lips to brush softly against Shy’s.
Their warm breath mingled in the space between them and Shy tilted her chin up to flutter her lips along Thisbe’s. Thisbe’s body responded instantly: desire curled in her belly like thick smoke and licked through her veins before wrapping around her brain, drawing her deeper into the sound of their twin heartbeats over the susurrus of the wind in the velvet grass.
Thisbe let go of Shy’s hands, using hers to cup the other woman’s face into a deeper, fiercer kiss, and Shy responded by sliding her free hands up the hot, smooth expanse of Thisbe’s thighs, pushing her little black dress up until it sat just above the curve of Thisbe’s naked hips.
Goosebumps followed in the wake of Shy’s touch, like stardust trailing white hot comets. Thisbe’s mouth pulled away from Shy’s, a low growl of desire in the back of her throat, and kissed her way down Shy’s jaw and neck and collarbone. She licked and nibbled a path with no specific intent, just a fevered need to taste Shy. To experience her fully.
California Dawes is a lover of romance, fantasy, mystery, and the allure of the open road. Her romances are always set in queernorm worlds where complex characters explore the depths of their desires, pursue the truth of their hearts, and sometimes fight some demons along the way.
She lives in the San Francisco area with two highly opinionated cats and the sweetest dog in the universe. When she’s not writing swoon-worthy romances, California enjoys RPGs, running, road trips, and good coffee shops.
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