Hi all and please welcome Nicola Cameron to The Friday Feeling...
Hello, and thanks so much for
having me on today! Degree of Resistance
is my first foray into cyborg romance, and I had a huge amount of fun building
the world of the Pacific Protectorate and discovering Evie and Ben’s story as
it progressed (I have to admit, I love these two so much. That scene in Chapter
12 hurt to write). There are five
more books planned in the series with a possibility of two prequels and some
side stories as they occur to me, so I can promise you that you’ll be seeing
more of Evie and Ben in the very near future.
Sci Fi Romance, Cyborg
Romance, MF
Word Count: 80,000
Series: Pacifica Rising (Book
One)
Heat Level 4
Published by Belaurient Press
ISBN: 978-1-54314-670-7
BLURB:
A perfect
society hiding a terrible secret. An innocent man condemned to cyborg slavery.
A brilliant woman determined to set him free.
Freelance
tech Evie Contreras belongs to the Employee class of the Pacifica Protectorate,
the “perfect society” that rose from the ruins of the West Coast. But Evie
knows about Pacifica’s festering core and the secrets that keep it in power.
And when she discovers that Pacifica has turned her fiancé Ben into a cyborg
soldier/slave, she will risk everything to rescue him.
Saving
Ben is the first step in a deadly game between Pacifica and a shadowy
resistance group known as Rubicon. In return for Rubicon’s help, Evie must
retrieve a hidden artificial intelligence that may hold the key to protecting
Earth from a deadly new disaster.
Assuming
the protectorate doesn’t find Evie first…
BUY LINKS:
- Amazon
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N2A25GG
- Amazon
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N2A25GG
- Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/705076
- Barnes
& Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/degree-of-resistance-nicola-m-cameron/1125853898
- iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/degree-of-resistance/id1209817265?mt=11
- Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/degree-of-resistance
- Print: https://www.createspace.com/6938559
PG-13 EXCERPT
Evie
opened the control box wired to the pressure tank that took water from the
Burgess well. A set of dusty but functional solar cells sat on a pole fastened
to the tank, and insulated wiring led from the cells to the control box. “Okay,
the well is definitely not dry and the battery is pulling juice from the cells,
so it’s got to be a failure in the pump,” she said, rooting around in the bag
of borrowed tools next to her.
Ben
crouched down next to her, making sure he was in between her and any potential
restart of the McBride/Burgess water war. “Think you can fix it?”
She gave
him an “are you kidding” glance, then returned her attention to the dusty
innards of the control box. She leaned closer, nose wrinkling. “Ew.”
“What?”
Grimacing,
she reached into the box and pulled out a small, stiff body. “I think it’s a
deep-fried lizard. Can they chew on wires?”
He
gingerly accepted the small corpse. The arid air had done a fine job of natural
mummification on it. “Not as much. It might’ve peed on something, though.”
“Yay.”
She peered deeper into the box. “Yeah, I think you’re right—looks like a
contact got corroded. I can fix that.”
As she
got to work, Ben kept an ear cocked to the radio clipped to his jacket pocket.
After giving them a royal chewing out for taking an unauthorized beer break,
J.C. was overseeing the repair of the War Wagon while a chastised Vince and
company drove the bartered food and the wounded security officer back to the
base in the Bandit. Rob had volunteered to stay behind as backup, and Evie’s
presence had been requested at J.C.’s side once she was finished with the well
pump.
He
watched her frown in concentration at the control box. “There, that should
work. I already primed the pump so—” She flipped a switch and the pressure tank
rumbled before settling down to a satisfied gurgling. “Damn, I’m good.”
“Yes, you
are.”
She
squinted at him, patches of color blooming in her cheeks. He didn’t think it
was because of the blustery wind. “Thanks. We better get back to the War
Wagon.”
He got up
and gave her a hand, hanging onto it once she was on her feet. She didn’t try
to pull away, which was reassuring. “I’m sorry about punching the wall in your
office,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
The
corner of her mouth quirked. “I think you were justified.”
“I don’t,
but thanks for that.” He stared at the hollows between the hills of her
knuckles, the elegant strength of the hand. He never wanted to let it go. “I
just hate the thought of you going back to Pacifica without me.”
The wind
drove strands of dark hair across her face, curtaining it. “I know, but I don’t
have a choice. Ballardie and I are the only ones who know how to shut down
Lilith’s server. He can’t go so it has to be me. But I’m going to have Mark,
Rob, and Lisa backing me up, and they’re all armed and extremely psycho. I’ll be
fine.”
Ben
wanted to smile at her description of the security officers. “Baby, you could
head in there with a cyborg army at your back and I’d still worry.”
She
snorted. “Is there anything I could say that would make you feel better?”
“Not
really.” He brushed the hair away from her face. “I guess … I’m feeling useless
right now because I can’t protect you, and I’m scared I’m going to lose you
again, and if that happens…” He didn’t want to think about the yawning abyss
that would become the brief remainder of his life in that case.
Those
lovely russet eyes softened. “I understand about being scared,” she said,
cupping his cheek. “That’s how I felt every time you went on deployment. I
never knew if you were going to be in danger or not. All I could do was wait
and pray that you came home.”
“Shit.”
He pressed into the warmth of her hand, memorizing how she felt against his
skin. “If this is how you felt, I’m sorry.”
“There’s
nothing to be sorry about. It’s part of loving a soldier. I knew that going
in.” Her thumb stroked his cheekbone. “But I also knew if there was any way for
you to come back, you’d take it. And you proved me right. You survived twelve
years under Camden, and you came back to me. So I’m telling you right now that
I’m coming back to you, and I’m bringing Ally with me.”
He leaned
down, pressing his forehead against hers. “You better. I don’t think I can live
without you.”
“Same
here. Twelve years was long enough.” Her lips quirked. “And as for you being
useless, may I remind you that you just walked into a strange town alone,
convinced an armed man to let you into his bar, singlehandedly negotiated a
ceasefire between two crazy people, rescued a bunch of our guys in the process,
and you didn’t fire a single shot or spill a drop of blood doing it. You’re
about as far from useless as it’s physically possible to be.”
He
considered what she’d said. Viewed in that light, it was kind of impressive. “I
was just doing my job,” he said, self-conscious.
“That’s
what heroes always say.”
“You
think I’m a hero?”
Her smile
was blinding. “Well, you’ve always been my hero.”
Christ,
he loved her. He pulled her into his arms, resting his cheek on top of her
head. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he murmured, “but damn, I’m
glad I did it.”
“So am
I.” She leaned back and kissed him, her lips cool and soft. “And I know this is
kind of pointless to say to a hero, but try not to worry about me. The thing
is—”
She
shifted, her hands moving. He suddenly found himself on the cold ground, right
arm straight up behind him with his hand flexed in a wrist lock and her foot
braced under his shoulder blade. “—I’m not exactly what you’d call helpless.”
He huffed
out a rueful laugh. He could break the lock with his augmented strength, but
not without hurting her. And if he was honest with himself he was damned
impressed that she’d put him on the ground so neatly. “Someone’s been
practicing.”
“Yup.
Rob’s pretty damn good at hand-to-hand, and I still remember everything you and
Tio Christo taught me.” Her voice dropped. “I’m coming back, Ben. And
I’m bringing our daughter with me. You’re not going to lose either of us ever
again.”
The grip
around his wrist disappeared. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the most
beautiful mouth in the world. Upside down, he wasn’t sure if she was smiling or
frowning.
She
planted her hands on her hips. “You believe me, right?”
He
grinned. “My momma didn’t raise stupid children, ma’am. I believe you.”
“Good.”
She toed at the dust. “Now get up. I’m freezing my ass off out here and I want
to go home.”
Home.
That sounded like a fine idea.
NC-17 EXCERPT
NC-17 EXCERPT
“Let me see you, Ben.”
Without a word he loosened the knot in
the towel and let it fall.
He reminded her of a da Vinci nude she’d
once seen, every muscle developed without unnecessary bulk and giving the
impression of restrained power. His chest was the same from her memories at the
pool, beautifully shaped pads of pectoral muscle and shoulders ending in curved
deltoids that she wanted to grip. The same light scattering of blond chest hair
narrowed to a trail that led down over trim abs to his navel and beyond.
His legs were those of a runner, lean
muscle and tendon rising in powerful mounds at the backs of his calves, along
the length of his thighs. The hair covering them was sparser, only slightly
darker than the hair on his chest, and curled against his indoor-pale skin.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at his
groin. The hair darkened here, turning sandy brown and curling in a springy
nest around a well-shaped cock, neatly circumcised. It had thickened a little,
judging from the way it stood out from his body, but wasn’t anywhere near full
erection yet.
He laughed softly. “You should see your
face. You look like all your birthdays and Christmases came at once.”
“I think they just did.” There were no
scars, no signs that any part of his body was artificial. “You’re perfect.”
He glanced down at himself. “I think you
may be a little biased, but thank you.” His pupils expanded, compressing all
the light blue into a thin ring around each black pool. “Besides, you’re the
one who’s perfect.”
He came to her and knelt, gently urging
her knees apart so that he could move closer. Her heart raced as he loosened
the belt on her robe, letting it fall to each side. The terrycloth gaped open,
putting her on display the same way he’d done for her.
He didn’t say anything for a minute as he
drank her in. The nervousness she’d felt earlier was gone, banished by the
naked worship in his eyes. “You’re everything I ever wanted.” His voice was
husky. “You’re so beautiful, baby.”
She fought back the sudden urge to cry
from sheer relief. “Kiss me. Please.”
He did, his chest pressing against her
breasts as he slid the robe down her arms, his mouth devouring hers. She
surrendered to the delicious sensation, every brush and teasing press lighting
up her nerve endings like wildfire. When his tongue trailed along the soft
inner flesh of her lips she opened them, welcoming him in. Between her thighs
an echoing heat began to build.
It was the night in the front seat of the
GoCar all over again, but this time they didn’t have to stop. And it was much
better than the evening in the park hotel because now he knew who she was, who
he was.
His tongue danced around hers before
breaking away to lick at the roof of her mouth. A shocking pulse of pure
sensation ran through her body and she moaned into his mouth.
She broke away for a necessary breath and
heard him chuckle. “Okay, so I like that,” she muttered, amused by his
smugness.
“Good. I like making you moan, baby. Plan
on doing a lot of it, to be honest.”
BIO
Nicola Cameron is a married woman of a
certain age who really likes writing about science fiction, fantasy, and sex.
When not writing about those things, she likes to make Stuff™. And she may be
rather fond of absinthe.
While possessing a healthy interest in
sex since puberty, it wasn’t until 2012 that she decided to write about it. The
skills picked up during her SF writing career transferred quite nicely to
speculative romance. Her To Be Written work queue currently stands at around
nineteen books, and her mojito-sodden Muse swans in from Bali every so often to
add to the list, cackling to herself all the while.
Nicola plans to continue writing until
she drops dead over her keyboard or makes enough money to buy a private island
and hire Rory McCann as her personal trainer/masseur, whichever comes first.
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Website: http://www.nicolacameronwrites.com
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicola.cameron.1460
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/YesItsNicolaC
Thanks so much for having me on today, Raven!
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