THE ANDROID’S KISS - Michelle Marquis

Whiskey Creek Press Torrid - www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com

ISBN: 978-1-59374-936-1

March 2007

Erotic Sci-Fi Romance - Short Story

Rating: Sensual

Porta Vallarta, Mexico and New Tampa, Florida - 2123

Porta Vallarta, Mexico

Elle Meyers is an undercover cop investigating the marketing of illegal aphrodisiacs. When Hector, a Mexican gangster, walks in on a meeting Elle is attending in the back of a bar and identifies her as a cop, Elle realizes that her luck has just run out. Desperate to get help, Elle pushes the distress signal on her wrist comm., the likelihood of another cop being in the vicinity and picking it up is slight, but what the heck, it’s worth a try.

Proteus, a Viper series android, is in Porta Vallarta to carry out a death sentence when he receives a faint SOS signal from the back room of a bar he finds his target in. It’s a small matter to dispatch the three criminals he finds holding another officer, Elle Meyers. After stealing a kiss as a reward, Proteus walks out the door and leaves Elle behind.

New Tampa, Florida

Elle is quickly going stir crazy after being put on suspension since she failed in Mexico. When a case comes up that Elle has a tie to, her Captain is willing to let her work on it with one stipulation: she’ll have a partner, Proteus.

Is Elle’s career destined to crash and burn? Or will Proteus and Elle become the finest set of law enforcement partners this part of the world has ever seen? Then there are the passionate feelings sparking between the pair; can there be a future for a couple like Elle and Proteus?

THE ANDROID’S KISS is a great sci-fi read. With androids filling in as taxi drivers, maids, and cops that carry out the judgments handed down from the courts, the world created in this story is intriguing indeed. Proteus was a pleasure machine before he was retrofitted to be a Viper series and sex has always been a stimulating activity for him, but lately he finds himself feeling used after a session of meaningless sex. Why should he care if the women who approach him for sex don’t want to know his name or care if he knows theirs? When he meets Elle, she brings to life an idea that maybe there’s something more for him. Perhaps even, love? Elle was bred and trained to be a cop and there’s nothing else in life that she wants. She’d been married once and that marriage died a whimpering death. A relationship isn’t something Elle is interested in, and if she was, it certainly wouldn’t be with an android. Besides, he couldn’t possibly return the feelings that she’s developing for him, could he? With sizzling sex and surprisingly emotional scenes between Proteus and Elle, THE ANDROID’S KISS will surprise and satisfy.

The villain of the story is William Cobb. An old government cyborg who has been put out to pasture, William needs upgrades that are beyond his financial reach, so he turns to a life of crime to get what he wants. Elle’s captain, Frank Orr, got his position the old-fashioned way, using connections. Elle was genetically engineered to be an officer and you would think that the captain would appreciate her more for that, but instead, he just seems to keep expecting Elle to prove herself over and over again.

With murder, mayhem, and the kind of sexual tension that will make your temperature rise, THE ANDROID’S KISS is a sure winner. Stop by Whiskey Creek Press Torrid and pick up a copy.

Lori Ann