Linda Mooney : Sandeflay

Title: Sandeflay

Author: Linda Mooney

Author’s website: www.LindaMooney.com

Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press Torrid

Buy Link: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=310

Size: 121K (super novel)

Genre: sci-fi erotic romance

Heat rating: sensuous

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvqFuRo0mWE

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Blurb:

Miranda Sayers's best friend is her wheelchair. It has been her refuge for most of her twenty-six years. But the time has come when her grandmother can no longer help take care of her. Now Randi is faced with having to survive on her own, and unfortunately that future doesn't look promising.

Collin First's job on Earth is to find the Ducts between his world and this one. As an Extinguisher, he has to eliminate those passageways before any of the dangerous creatures from Sandeflay can pass through and harm any humans. The last thing he expected when he took the assignment was to find was the beautiful, crippled woman living one floor below his apartment.

Before either of them can contend with the impossibility of their relationship, Randi and Collin are thrown together, seeking each other's love and help. And when circumstances force Randi to follow Collin to Sandeflay, the greatest miracle of all awaits them both.

*****

Excerpt:

Collin stared out over the roadway but his mind was not on watching the endless parade of people on their way to work or on whatever business they needed to attend. He was recalling the early morning conversation he and his father had shared less than an hour ago. And the news the man had relayed that had chilled him like nothing had since the death of his mother.

"How is Randi doing?" The conversation started out innocently enough. It was daybreak. Dr. Tradi had already come and gone, and Dr. Mendall had signed off on his release. He was free to go home as soon as someone came to pick him up.

"She’s asleep right now, but she had a rough night of it." The moment the words were out of his father’s mouth, Collin sensed something was wrong. There could be any number of reasons why Randi had been unable to get a decent night’s rest. For beginners, being in a strange new world was enough to throw anyone off balance. However, it was Marc’s next sentence that nearly threw him into paralysis.

"I think her body is already starting to reject us."

"No." He didn’t realize he had spoken aloud. It was too soon, his mind tried to argue. She couldn’t be showing signs this early. Not yet. Not yet!

"I’m afraid so, Son."

"But . . . is that normal? I mean, isn’t it unusual for her to be having problems this soon? She hasn’t been here a full day yet!"

"To be honest, I don’t know."

"How can we find out? Would they have record of it at the hall?" The Guild’s Hall of History kept records of every Extinguisher, including those rare liaisons between Earth women. It had been at the hall where he'd learned about the problems Randi would encounter if he was to bring her over. But because of his haste to get back to Earth and back to her, he hadn’t read the entire manuscript.

As if reading his mind, Marc drolly commented, "Didn’t pay attention to the full report, I take it."

No, he wasn’t paying attention. In fact there had been nothing else on his mind since he had awakened to find her leaning over him. Despite every muscle in his body screaming for him to entwine his fingers through her helotus-colored hair and pull her down on top of him, he had forced a smile on his face and promised himself their time would come tomorrow. Tomorrow the doctors would let him go. And tomorrow...was today.

"How bad was it?"

He watched his father’s tiny image on the watch lens shrug. "The house didn’t raise an alarm, but it let me know she had gone into the kitchen. She drank quite a bit of IDA. That’s all I can tell."

Collin frowned in confusion. "She drank the IDA?"

"Yeah." His father seemed just as confused. It wasn’t common practice to give ida to an Earth woman having rejection fits. He remembered reading at least that much. Normally when the time came when the body began to break down, the doctors would inject her with a stabilization compound that would hopefully last until the woman could be taken back.

"And she’s okay now?"

His father nodded. "As far as I can tell. I looked in on her a few minutes ago. She looks like she’s resting peacefully. Oh, and that tygren spent the entire evening keeping her in sight."

That last made him smile. He’d had no doubt the animal would keep guard over her.

"I’ll be staying over at Vesta’s if you need me."

Collin nodded at the small screen on his arm. Other than Marc’s sister and another aunt on his mother’s side, there were no other family members.

"Are you going to tell her about Randi?"

"I’m debating it. Oh, you need to get her a couple changes of clothes since we didn’t have time to send over anything of hers. You won’t need to get much, considering how she’s already reacting to our world."

"I understand." A trip to a women’s clothier, a stopover at the Guild hall, and a tour of the city. But not before they went–

"Sir? Did you need something?"

Collin turned around to see a nurse standing at the door. "Please order me a scootcher since the doctor doesn’t want me doing a lot of walking for a couple of days." The nurse gave a slight nod and left.

Collin gave a final glance out the window, then turned to pace the floor for the fifth or sixth time. He felt restless and full of energy. More importantly, he hurt. No, he burned. He burned to finally hold her in his arms. And to hold her tightly against him—man to woman, skin to skin.

When he had believed they would have a week together, he had planned to take things a bit slower. He wanted to woo her, show her how special she was to him, and finally culminate their time together with a proposal.

Yes. A proposal. He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of footsteps nearing the door, but when they passed by without stopping, he relaxed.

He wanted to marry Randi, despite the objections he knew they would face. He had read and reread the laws governing Extinguishers, and there was nothing that said he couldn’t marry her. That was the fatal loophole in the law. It specifically said he could not be romantically involved with one from Earth, but it did not say he couldn’t marry her. There was no law prohibiting them from becoming husband and wife. Which meant that once they were separated, Randi was sent back to the city, and he was reassigned to another sector, he could legally still help her—financially, if not personally.

And there was nothing the Guild or anyone could do to stop him. In fact, they would become legally obligated to see to her comfort and safety, as was required of the Guild for any family member of an Extinguisher.

*****

Review:

Ms. Mooney doesn’t shy away from the issue of a relationship between a paraplegic and a handsome stud. Instead she lets the story grow with it.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Sandeflay. It parallels our world but some things are so much more advanced just as some things seem primitive in an exotic kind of way. I’m thrilled that I couldn’t predict how this author would work things out. Just when I thought I’d guessed the path she would take she’d veer off on a side path that was much better than the simple storyline I’d envisioned.
This story is rich in characters, love, eroticism and beautiful fantasy. Linda Mooney has done an excellent job of penning a story that will be fun for anyone who likes to get lost in a great book.
- 5 Hearts, The Romance Studio