Book Title: Taking A Chance: Charity Anthology
Authors: D.G. Carothers, Toshi Drake, C.W. Gray, K.L. Hiers, Gianni Holmes, G.R. Lyons, KC Luck, Claire Marta & Abrianna Denae, Amanda Meuwissen, Shane K. Morton, Faith Ryan, Bretton Sans, JP Sayle, Lynn Van Dorn, Shannon West, Toby Wise
Publisher: Self-Published
Cover Artist: Samantha Santana, Amai Designs
Release Date: April 23, 2021 (limited run – comes off sale July 22, 2021
Genre/s: Contemporary, Sci-Fi, MPreg, Action Adventure, Paranormal
Trope/s: Enemies to lovers, star-crossed lovers, friends to lovers, Second Chances,
Themes: BDSM, Hurt/Comfort, Work Place, College, Age Gap, Size Difference, Rom Com
Heat Rating: Varied from 0 to 5 flames
Length: about 800 pages
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Come take a chance with us and help support the AIDs Healthcare Foundation in the process.
Blurb
Seventeen authors were challenged to take a chance to write something new and outside their normal box to help celebrate International Take A Chance Day. These authors went above and beyond by writing sixteen stories that span the gender and sexuality spectrum. They’ll make you laugh, cry, shout with joy as they take you on a journey through their contemporary, paranormal, science fiction, and adventurous stories.
Desert Knight by D.G. Carothers
Taking A Leap by Toshi Drake
When Clyde Met Hay by C.W.Gray
Playing for Keeps by K.L. Hiers
Alien Attraction by Gianni Holmes
In the Twilight Hours by KC Luck
Evan’s Awakening by G.R. Lyons
Always and Only You by Claire Marta and Abrianna Denae
Silhouette by Amanda Meuwissen
A Dark Half by Shane K. Morton
Fated by Faith Ryan
The Sweetest Ache by Bretton Sans
Love’s Heart Print by JP Sayle
Catch Me If You Can by Lynn Van Dorn
Take a Chance on Me by Shannon West
Taking The Leap by Toby Wise
All proceeds will be donated to the AIDs Healthcare Foundation. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-profit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1,000,000 people in 43 countries. They are currently the largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the U.S.
This anthology will only be available for a limited time.
DESERT KNIGHT by D.G. CAROTHERS
Galaxy Station Delta Universal Year 2734
It was a dark and stormy night…
“Computer, change weather simulation to a light summer rain.” The wall to the right of my desk shimmered, and the rain in the artificial window let up. It was nearing the twenty-fifth hour of the thirty- hour day cycle. It was still dark, but at least now, it wasn’t as ominous.
I picked up the datapad and scrolled through the company messages. I should probably be home asleep, but I was still wound up since finishing the surveillance job. I scrolled past the junk mail and spied a familiar name. I read the message and rolled my eyes before tapping reply.
“Tekkenwood Investigations and Security will be at your disposal upon your arrival Ambassador Ameri.” I tapped send with a sigh. I was the investigations part while my business partner, Thaddeus, was the security part. The Rinkaran ambassador had her own security, but she kept hiring us in hopes Thadd would succumb to her charms one day. Thadd wasn’t against having a little hanky-panky with another species. She just didn’t have anything he was interested in. She knew this and accepted it, but she loved flirting with him, and he loved turning her down. It was a light-hearted game between them.
Some days I was jealous of the attention my tall, muscled business partner got, and other days I was grateful it wasn’t me getting the attention. We were both fifty-four—born four days apart—but he wasn’t as grey and far more fit. I looked down at my soft protruding belly with a mixture of disgust and resignation.
I ran a hand through my hair, noting I needed a haircut as I put down the datapad. The sides of my head weren’t short and fuzzy anymore. I loved to feel the little prickles against my skin, but I would be denied that until I got it cut again. I rubbed the back of my head with both hands as I leaned over my desk, elbows resting on the cool glasslike surface.
The edge of the desk dug into my stomach, reminding me of its existence. It seemed that the older I got, the heavier and hairier I got despite all my best efforts. There was nothing one could do about genetics, especially since the Alliance banned humanoid eugenics centuries ago. There were other options like expensive surgeries, but those were just a credit sink for people like me whose bodies fought against them, and whatever changes made would just reverse over time.
Don’t get me wrong. The universe wasn’t completely horrible. There were many species and even humans who still found me attractive, but at the end of the day, if I can’t stand myself, then no amount of praise will make me feel what they see. Then it’s a cycle of guilt and frustration and hurt. I feel guilty that I’m not happy and try to make them happy, and they’re frustrated because I don’t see or feel what they try hard to make me see and feel. In the end, all parties are just hurt, and it’s not worth it.
It’s been well over a decade since I tried dating, then decided it was best for me, and any poor soul who fell for me, that I’d be better off remaining alone. Thadd thought I was ridiculous, but he stopped trying to talk me out of it years ago. That’s what best friends were for, loving and accepting you no matter what. Besides, Thadd wasn’t any better than me, really.
He was what I used to be, a serial monogamist. He’d date someone for a few years, then end it and move on to another. He normally had them lined up, but he was currently single taking one of his rare breaks. I was happy about the break. That last one was a doozy. She wasn’t the first to think they’d finally nailed down Thadd and would be the one for him. I’d feel sorry for his trail of broken hearts, but he was upfront with each one.
Thadd didn’t believe in the one, and neither did I anymore. But in my youth, I thought each one was the one—until they weren’t. There was someone who’d nailed me down for more than a few years, and in the end, I’d left, breaking both our hearts. I never regretted my deci- sion. We were young and both stagnant as individuals. Freeing us was the only way for us to grow, and we did. I just wished we would have found each other again later in life.
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