Gilded Moon: Galactic Fairy Tales, #1.5

By R. O'Leary

Is he bargaining for his escape... or her affection?

How the hell is she supposed to turn wheat into gold? Jaya has no idea-- but when a greedy tyrant confuses her for a legendary race of alien alchemists, she has no choice but to figure it out quick. The alien in the next cell has a few thoughts.

The handsome devil wants to make a deal, but she doesn't trust the sly look in his eyes... or the way her heart flutters when he smiles.

The sweet, little human sharing the dungeon might be exactly what Rym needs to finally escape. A broker of interstellar deals, he's used to pulling strings like a puppeteer... until stubborn Jaya. She's sassy and beautiful, and the only thing keeping his hands off of her are the bars between them.

The silver-eyed alien always loved a challenge.

They need each other to survive--but the attraction burning between them might be more than either of them bargained for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. O'Leary
• Release date: Sep 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223064046

R. O'Leary

R. O’Leary lives in North Pole, Alaska (no, really). When she’s not spending half the year freezing to death, she’s writing about shifters and aliens and anything else that strolls through her head. Most of her day is spent in pajama pants, chasing the pack of corgis that have claimed her living room as their own. Furbidden Attraction is the first installment in R. O’Leary’s new paranormal romance series.

Book preview

1

As cargo holds went, Jaya had been in much worse. At least this one had a window.

And was properly sealed from the vacuum of space.

She shuddered. That had been a rough one. Between the freezing temperatures and waning oxygen, she hadn’t been sure she would survive the ride.

Warm air in her lungs? She might as well be in a luxury transport on her way to a spa.

Plas-cuffs rattling on her wrists, Jaya contemplated her life choices. There had to be a decision, one singular choice, that had led to her current predicament.

Her best guess? When her mother had died and the debt collectors had come knocking at the door. If she had known it would end with her being snatched and forced into servitude to pay off her mother’s debts, she would have reinforced the door and made her last stand in the tiny studio apartment.

Or run away and started a whole new life under an assumed name. Literally anything but let herself be auctioned off as a servant.

Jaya sighed. There were worst fates than hers. She was healthy and fed, which was more than some people in her situation could claim.

At least she hadn’t ended up a concubine. She shuddered at the thought. Surviving two separate owners as a nothing but a bathroom-scrubbing wretch was quite the feat. The ever-present dirt smudges on her face, coupled with stealing a uniform two sizes too big from the laundry, had turned her into a shapeless, pathetic lump.

If only her hair could be so easily diminished. Short of shaving her head, there was nothing she could do to hide the thick, dark locks but braid it and hope for the best. If it came down to it, Jaya would shave her beloved hair in a second to continue being overlooked.

Hopefully, her amateur subterfuge could help her survive yet another owner.

She’d been staring hopelessly through the tiny window ever since she’d been marched onto the ship and had her restraints latched to the wall. Just like the last time. Work-slaves were passed around like credits in this part of the settled systems.

Or contract servants, as the Council of United Systems insisted they be called. Ten years of work to pay off the debts she’d inherited, her contract to be sold and traded as her employers saw fit during that time.

They might dress it up with a pretty name to make it legal, but it was still slavery.

She studied the distant stars. They all looked alike. Any one of them could be the star her world orbited; she could be looking right at it and never know.

Laying her head against the wall, Jaya winced as the metal collar ringing her throat pulled painfully. The trademark of a contract servant. Both a tracker and a demeaning tool to signify her service status in one simple band of metal.

Jamming her fingers under the edge, she pulled it away from her throat. Movement in the window caught her eye. She peered through the tiny gap.

They were landing. The ship twisted through the atmosphere, gliding over gleaming cities. Somewhere down there was the new bane of her existence.

They slowed to a crawl and set down in a landing bay, the hull shaking as the ship settled. Jaya peeked through the tiny window—not another ship in sight. Probably a private landing bay.

Whoever her new employer was, he had to have a lot of zeroes in his bank account to afford that kind of luxury.

Sunlight poured into the cargo bay as the doors depressurized and opened. Small bots wheeled up the ramp to grab the crates scattered around her. She waited patiently. Someone with actual brain cells would need to remove her restraints.

Not that the little robots weren’t useful. They just had the processing power of a toaster.

Two members of the crew hurried into the cargo bay, beelining for her place against the wall. They unhooked her restraints with cold efficiency. She may as well be livestock for all the care they offered her. Dicks.

Realigning her cuffs in front of her, they each grabbed an arm and marched her toward the light pouring through the open door. Jaya squinted into the brilliant sunshine. Two suns. Which probably meant longer days… and longer hours scrubbing.

Yay.

Sighing, she let them lead her toward two men standing near the edge of the landing bay. She tried to soothe the nerves clawing at her insides, but there was nothing she could do to calm her mounting anxiety.

A tall man stood beside the captain of the ship, a short, red alien with a shedding problem. Jaya had been trying to guess his species since she’d been picked up from her previous employer’s home. So far, she had decided that he was a cross between a red-eyed Jarvasa and a stuffed teddy bear.

The stranger eyed her, his beady gaze narrowed. Prickles burned her skin. She would rather jump off the side of the landing bay and take her chances impacting with the ground than let Tall, Dark, and Creepy get within a foot of her.

So, naturally, that’s precisely where the two crew members shoved her. Right between the captain and creeper.

This is her? His sharp voice cracked the air.

The short, red alien gave her a shove. Jaya stumbled forward a few steps, dread already pooling in her belly.

This is the one I told you about.

Well, that didn’t bode well for her go unnoticed plan.

Dragging his leer up and down her body, he took a step forward. She gritted her teeth as he raised his hand to her face. It was everything she could do not to give in to the nausea turning her stomach.

His thumb brushed over her cheek.

Golden, he murmured under his breath.

Shit. So much for making it through another owner unscathed.

The urge to burst into tears was nearly overwhelming. This was it. She’d been trying to remain upbeat for months now, but it was finally time to admit the truth. Her mother’s death had officially destroyed her life.

Biting down on her tongue, she tamed the tears before they could spill down her cheeks. She wasn’t going to cry. Not once since she’d been snatched up and sold had she allowed herself to weep, and she wasn’t about to start now.

Straightening her spine, Jaya stared directly ahead. The hand on her cheek fell away. She ignored the two males as a credit chip passed between them and a firm hand latched onto her elbow.

The captain bounced back to his ship. She shot a glare at his back. It was easy to skip away when you were doing it with your freedom intact and a fat paycheck in hand. Jackass.

Tall, Dark, and Creepy dragged her along the landing bay. She eyed the looming fortress. Towering and dark, it marred the bright city surrounding them. It wasn’t exactly subtle.

Whoever owned the place might as well have slapped a sign over the door reading, Evil Business Only.

Her new friend hauled her through a stone arch and into the fortress. Winding through hallways, they emerged into a wide hall. Open and airy, it dripped with gold and ornate tapestries. Even the marbled