"Two outcasts find love in the least likely place in the universe"

Gunrunner Jax Romely has spent seven long years in exile for a crime he didn't commit. The exile itself wouldn't be so bad, except for his once-yearly fertile cycle. When it comes upon him, he is forced to pick a female to alleviate his needs for the twenty-four hours it takes to complete the mating ritual. Unfortunately, the slave he just bought isn't a slave after all. And she's in heat, too.

Transport pilot Waverly has been living on the fringe since the Inter-world Council banned women in the military. With her family all gone, she has no ties to her home planet, Alteria. Waverly finds herself attracted to a man for the first time in her life. Why this man and why now? Is it the hormones, or something more?

After the fertile cycle is past and his exile ended, Jax finds himself still drawn to this feisty female. Could he have found his mate? Although it's unusual for his people to bondmate outside their race, Waverly is only part Alterian. Could they be compatible as mates?

After their tryst is interrupted by a foiled home invasion, Waverly accompanies Jax to his home planet of Jimlee. There, dangerous undercurrents threaten to claim their lives. Will Jax be able to find out who framed him and why was he framed? Will Waverly want to live at Jax's ancestral home, or does she have other plans?

Going in a completely different direction from her previous release, Ms. Wyndfield has creating an intriguing universe. I was completely drawn into the story from the very first chapter. Fans of science fiction or futuristic romance should add IN HEAT to their must-read lists.

Sensuality: Explicit sex, public sex; sexually explicit scenes: 10.

Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted December 4, 2003

Summary

Jax refuses to go though his yearly mating cycle alone and in agony. And the beautiful slave Waverly is the answer to his prayers. He'll buy her at any price and after their time together, give her the one thing all slaves crave, freedom.

But Waverly isn't just any slave. A transport pilot double-crossed by Junkeaters and sold to a notorious gunrunner, she'll do anything to escape. The last thing she wants Jax to know is that she's in heat, too.

With the Inter-World Council out to hang Jax for a crime he didn't commit, Junkeaters hot on their trail, and ruthless arms traders gunning for them, their over-powering need to mate just might lead to their death. But if they survive, will the passion still burn as hot between them when they're no longer IN HEAT?