"A sizzling futuristic romance!"

First officer Sebastian Cole of the mercenary spaceship Starrunner is a little wary of his latest assignment. On a primitive world where the people are either dominants or submissives, Sebastian is sent undercover as a Thrall, a submissive, to rescue a kidnapped prince from female dominants. He doesn't expect to fall for a beautiful dominant female, second daughter of the ruler, the Dominess.

Domina Zaria Orva isn't really a dominant, however. She has always secretly desired to be a submissive. Not to everyone or anyone. No, only for one man. When Zaria first sees Sebastian, she knows that this is the man she's always dreamed of. Despite the fact he's been purchased as a thrall, he exudes confidence and power. Too bad she can't give in to her inner desires. To act as a submissive would shock her family to no end.

Sebastian finds being with Zaria to be no hardship. He's amazed at how well she treats her people, proving to be a fair but stern taskmaster. She even tries to prevent her sadistic sister from harming her thralls. Marcelle, the heir to the throne, will kill one of them eventually. Can Sebastian use Zaria's innate sense of fairness to assist him in his mission?

What will happen to their people when Marcelle becomes ruler? Zaria shudders to find out. Zaria needs to find a way to convince her mother to set Domince Arnoux free before the neighboring dominality declares war. A war that Zaria's people would lose. And how will Zaria react when she discovers that Sebastian is working undercover to rescue the Domince?

Fans of erotic stories will be delighted to read Sebastian's tale. A sensual warrior, he finds his perfect match in Zaria. It's no wonder that Ms. Knight has been signed on by Berkley Books with the first book due out later this year. For a sizzling read, don't miss MERCENARIES II: THE THRALL.

Sensuality: Rated E-rotic by the publisher. Explicit sex, bondage, voyeurism, threesome (not hero and heroine), spanking, anal sex; sexually explicit scenes: 10

Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted March 13, 2004

Summary

Commander Sebastian Cole of the interstellar mercenary vessel Starrunner is a good man to have in a fight or in bed, but nobody ever accused him of being submissive. Then he's hired to go undercover as a Thrall—a male sub in a kingdom run by female dominants. His mission: to rescue a kidnapped prince from a queen who has sworn to enslave him. Sebastian's not looking forward to it, but the money's good, and anyway, there's nothing wrong with a little muff-munching between friends.

Domina Zaria Orva comes from a long, illustrious line of female dominants. Too bad all her fantasies revolve around being tied up instead of doing the tying. Still, for years she's managed to keep her submissive yearnings under wraps, hidden from her royal mother and vicious bitch of a sister.

But when Zaria finds herself the proud owner of Sebastian, she will have to find the courage to go after what she really wants. And Sebastian, well, he has to stop playing the game long enough to both rescue the prince and get the girl.