nicastories

Venom's Bond

When eighteen-year-old Jared, one of the few survivors of a plague that's decimated the male
population, arrives in the men's compound aboard the Trafalgar, Marquez knows that the young
man is trouble at first sight. Jared, like Marquez, loves men, the ultimate taboo on a ship full of
women on their way to populate a new, safer planet. At first, Marquez's advances are only
meant to comfort and enlighten Jared, but their passionate encounters become their only means
of dealing with the harsh treatment from the women.

They're found out, and punished. Marquez steals an escape pod and takes a sickly Jared on a
desperate bid for freedom, but when they land on a planet, the moment he opens the hatch of the
escape pod, Marquez knows he's in trouble. He's never set foot on a planet, and Jared, is dying.
Rescue comes in the form of a lizard, man-sized, intelligent, telepathic . . . and gorgeous.

Because of his abusive past, Marquez is terrified of being touched by anyone except Jared, but
the lizard Gharial's tender ministrations as a healer soon ease the worst of his fears. Desire
blossoms between them, and when Jared's condition deteriorates, Gharial becomes the only
chance Marquez has of living a happy life. Marquez desperately wants to love him and be a part
of the lizard's telepathic society, but it comes with a cost Marquez doesn't know if he'll have the
courage to face: the only way for a human to become a telepath is to mate with a male lizard . . .
and to risk death from their poisonous bite.

Read an excerpt

Nica's Dreams

queer science fiction and fantasy

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From Loose Id

Jazzy Little Christmas

No day is a good day to get a "Dear John" e-mail, but Christmas Eve has got to be the worst.
Jazz pianist Gerry had had everything planned out and waiting at home, the wine, the candles,
and the ring to propose to his boyfriend Javier. Now, Javier has run off--with a trumpet player,
of all people!--for a jazz tour of Europe .

That was three years ago, and Gerry hasn't touched his piano or another man since. Javier was
his muse as well as the love of his life. Another Christmas alone in San Diego is too much to
bear. He goes out for a short walk off a long pier--

--and wakes up to find himself inside a stranger's house, almost naked, and listening to Christmas
carols played on a tenor saxophone.

The sax player, Paz, has adored Gerry and his music for years, ever since he was a green college
musician and Gerry the guest artist. Gerry was the first gay jazz player Paz had met, and a huge
inspiration, but Paz never got a chance to tell him so. Now fate has given Paz a second chance,
but Gerry isn't listening because his belief in himself and his music has been so badly shaken.
Paz will do anything to become Gerry's new inspiration, but will love and music be enough to
mend Gerry's broken heart?

e-mail: nica (at) orossy (dot) com

Hart and Soul
Now available from Torquere and in Kindle

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Niann is an orphan raised in a tribe not his own. His one wish is to go up the mountain to seek a
spirit guide like the rest of his peers. Instead, he's forced to wait until frustration drives him to go
up the mountain without permission on his eighteenth birthday. He meets his guide--the kala deer,
the tribe's patron animal and one that grants its disciples the ability to use sex to heighten the
power of its partners' animal spirits. Unbeknownst to him, the tribe's shaman, Heyka, plans to
use Niann to harvest enough spiritual energy to transcend into the spirit world.

Jennar, a talented carver and hunter who's cared for Niann since Niann's infancy, has a secret of
his own; he went up the mountain to seek his spirit guide, but none came, and he's been lying
about his spirit animal ever since. Forced away from Niann to help a neighboring tribe, Jennar
has recurring dreams about becoming a deer that make him ill. The new tribe's shaman aids
Jennar in finding out what's wrong. Niann inadvertently stole a piece of Jennar's soul, and until
it's returned, Jennar will never be whole, nor will he get a spirit animal.

With the shaman's encouragement, Jennar returns to his own tribe to find that Niann is under the
sway of Heyka and now lives as a woman, as those of the deer spirit are reputed to do. Jennar's
focus turns from saving himself into saving Niann, but all his love and determination may not be
enough to stop the relentless ambition of Heyka and his snake patron.

Stolen Moments
Now available from Loose Id

Read an excerpt here

For years, Tereza's only lovers were the engines on her starship, but now, after she nearly died
when they exploded, she's a lost soul, an engineer without engines, roaming the decks of a worn-
out space station and hounded by the enamored Colonel Marr to tell the truth about events she
can't remember.

Twins Lukha and Liam know what happened; they just can't tell her. When Lukha is sent to
protect her, he can't help the fierce physical attraction toward her, a biological change initiated by
Liam during his own passionate affair with the unknowing Tereza. She carries within her the
key to saving the twins' people from a devastating virus—a secret kept until an accident with
Lukha makes her remember.

When Tereza finds out that the truth behind her physical attraction to the twins, Tereza's goal
becomes to reclaim her body and mind to choose her lovers freely. But when her choices are
Liam's determination and knack for suppressing memories, Lukha's conscience and ability to
restore memories, and Marr's desire to have her body as well as her expertise, she might be
better off choosing none at all even if it means dooming an entire race to genocide.

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"I heartily recommend
this beautiful,
passionate, and
profound love story."

--Syd McGinley, author
of the Dr. Fell stories

Stolen Moments
delivers everything
that is needed to give
me plain old great time.

--Mrs. Giggles

Now Available!

C onsort
Now available from Loose Id

Read an excerpt here

When the handsome shepherd Tenthus falls asleep naked on the hillside, he's surprised and
delighted to wake and find himself in the arms of a gorgeous male muse named Euterpius.
Their passionate encounter is short-lived, because it angers Euterpius's father, Zeus. Then
Zeus curses Tenthus to the life of a cicada, winged, immortal, and rising every seventeen
years for a month to exist on sex and song.

The only way to break free of the curse is to find true love with a mortal man, no easy task
despite the lovely, nubile youths trained to be Tenthus's consort. None are quite right until
Tenthus meets the captivating, mysterious Phaedrus, and instantly falls for him. Phaedrus
even craves the dark, deviant sex that Tenthus offers.

There's just one problem: Phaedrus has been trained by Tenthus's enemy, in hopes of
ridding the world of Tenthus. Even though Phaedrus has started to fall in love, Tenthus has
to die. If he doesn't, Phaedrus will, unless their love can defeat Death itself.

"a well written, creative,
and engrossing tale. . .any
mythology lover will
appreciate the setting and
characters while those who
enjoy a darker edge to
their romance will enjoy
this compelling story."

--Rainbow Reviews