Book of the Week

Here’s a little tidbit about this week’s book of the week.

Nola Rule, the sultry, sexy corporate spy and ‘anti-heroine’ from A Calculated Risk was originally played by another sultry, sexy secret agent type. I changed heroine’s halfway through writing A Calculated Risk because I was also working on my Ellora’s Cave release, Rogue Theta and I thought the woman I’d set up against the incomparable Tarrant Kane belonged in a slightly different universe.

Onika Ramos isn’t the heroine of Rogue Theta, but she makes an appearance toward the end of that story in preparation for her own sordid tale of intergalactic intrigue.

How does Onika feel about being kicked out of the starring role in A Calculated Risk to play a secondary character in Rogue Theta?

You may just have to read the story to find out. ;) For now, read on to meet Nola Rule, the bad girl who got the lead role in this week’s Book of the Week.


A Calculated Risk by Bernadette Gardner

Tarrant Kane was bred for one thing: military command. When the war ends, his forced retirement leaves him with more money and free time than any man should have. His new objective becomes learning how to be a civilian.

Kane's self-imposed mission gets a little easier when he meets exotically beautiful Nola Rule at the exclusive resort on Sensuron. Nola offers him intense carnal pleasures and something he craves even more than sex: a challenge.

But Kane’s dalliance with Nola comes with a steep price. When she disappears after a night of unbridled passion, he realizes that falling in love is a risk he isn’t prepared to take.

Five Angels! A Calculated Risk is ...loaded with intrigue, along with some powerful sensual seduction, Ms. Gardner fashions a story that acts like a magnet from the first page. -Linda L., Fallen Angel Reviews



Kane sensed her approach even before he saw her. Fifteen years running Earth-Sec had taught him a thing or two about surveillance. Even shielded by thick, dark sunglasses, he'd felt the weight of her stare from across the room, and he relished it. Most of the women on Sensuron seemed intimidated by him, and he hadn't yet figured out why. This dark-haired beauty was different. She seemed utterly confident in herself, and that drew his undivided attention immediately.

Unbidden, his military conditioning kicked in. He assessed her as she approached the bar, gauging height, weight, and general build as if she were the enemy. He had to stop thinking like that.

After spending his entire life as a soldier, he'd come to Sensuron to learn how to be a civilian. Now that he had the money and the time to indulge his every fantasy, why couldn't he stop thinking like a general?

He turned slightly, angling his body to face her as she sidled up to the bar. He made himself take in the details of her appearance the way a wealthy, healthy single tourist would, rather than the way a jaded, career security specialist would.

Her jet black hair hung in soft ringlets down her mostly naked back, just brushing the waistband of a golden yellow thong bikini. The scrap of fabric left her perfectly shaped ass visible to detailed inspection, and Kane wasn't the only male in the area who had indulged. The entire resort was crawling with barely dressed females, but this one commanded a much greater percentage of admiring glances.

First, Kane allowed himself a good, long look at her legs. Like most of the women on Sensuron, she wore high-heeled sandals that accentuated her luscious curves. Thin straps wrapped around her calves and a chain of sparkling platinum links dangled around one finely turned ankle.
She flicked a curtain of hair aside, revealing the equally scant top of her bathing suit. Shimmery triangles of nearly transparent fabric hugged the peaks of her breast, tented by the hard tips of dark nipples.

Her profile was all sensuous curves. A strong chin and patrician nose were softened by a light olive complexion. Unlike most of the wealthy female patrons of Sensuron, she carried just enough weight to give her a very feminine softness. No bony angles or visible ribs detracted from her perfect hourglass shape.

Kane dragged his gaze up to her ruby lips and for a brief moment he entertained a vision of those lips poised to swallow his cock. A mouth like that was made for one thing...

"What can I get for you, Ms. Rule?" The bartender leaned forward, nearly diving into her generous cleavage. Kane gave him a disapproving look.

On Sensuron, the staff was not allowed to hit on guests.

"I'll have a Martian Sunrise, with two slices of passion fruit, please." She didn't even glance at Kane. Her suddenly stiff posture made him realize it might have been obvious how intently he was staring. Had she noticed he was breathing deeply, taking in the sun-warmed aroma of her glistening skin? He hadn't expected the scent of a woman to be so intoxicating, and he indulged in a brief glance toward his crotch where his swim trunks had become marginally tighter.

She stood motionless, her chin high and defiant, while the bartender prepared her drink. When he placed the frothy pink concoction on the bar, his eyes again dipped to that sweet valley where Tarrant now planned to spend a good portion of his very first vacation.

"Charge it to my account," she said, reaching a manicured hand toward the drink.

"Put the lady's drink on my account. Kane 745," Tarrant said, seizing the opportunity. He turned to her, meeting her curious gaze. "Perhaps you'd like to join me at a table by the pool?" Smooth, he thought. During the early days of the war, on the rare occasions he'd sought female attention, he'd followed the lead of his regiment and offered to buy the lady a drink. In the outlying colonies, that technique had never failed to get him laid.

Here on Sensuron, his offer earned him a wilting glare. She turned her head very slowly in his direction, and her lips drew into a pucker that made his cock pulse for attention.
Her eyes were amethyst, the color of Sensuron's sky. They held an odd mixture of amusement and...contempt.

"I'm flattered," she said in a voice that told him the opposite was true. "But I really didn't come here to pick up a leering playboy. I can afford my own drinks. Thank you." She curled her fingers around the stem of the glass and lifted it with a little more force than was necessary. For an instant Kane thought she might hurl it at him, but instead she brought it to her mouth and took a long sip. He nearly came when she licked those lips with a slow swirl of her tongue.
Then she turned her gorgeous back on him and sauntered away, her nearly bare bottom swaying in a way that made every man present drool just a little.

"Hmm." Kane sat back, torn between dumbfounded shock and unbridled lust. In all the years he'd served Earth-Sec he'd fought in countless battles, won most of them, and limped home from a few. He'd never been shot down with such precision before. He'd also never backed away from such an obvious challenge.

With his target in sight, former General Tarrant Kane began to formulate his battle plan.