An embrace can offer comfort…

Amber Delacroix Chen reunited with her husbands only to have to send them off to war. Now a doctor, she works tirelessly to patch up the wounded to send them back to the front lines while protecting the people at the heart of the Chen Empire. She delivers babies, tends to the injured, the lost, and even her fellow physicians, everyone—except herself. Thankfully, she has her very own Z Warriors who will lay down their lives to protect her. After years of separation, anxiety, and pain, she is finally herself and the love she and her husbands share sustains her. In so many ways, Amber’s life is perfect, if only her husbands were with her.

An embrace can offer hope…

For their part, Amari, Shane, and Hunter are in the thick of the war with Evander. It’s a fight to save their planet, their empire, their way of life…and their wife. Time together is a precious commodity and fleeting seconds of passion must sustain them. The tide is rising and there is nothing they won’t do to win this war…but when enemies old and new come for them, there is nothing the Chens won’t do to save each other.

Their embrace can save them all…

This book opens with the men still off fighting Evander and the Chen empire being attacked regularly. Waverly is labor and Amber, now Dr. Chen, will be delivering the child. I love babies and apparently so to the Zansi ‘Z’ Warriors. Once Ari joins Waverly after the birth, Amber leaves the room to find her fifteen Z warriors waiting outside the door for news of the the mother and child.

While most of the women here have seen at least one of their husbands, Amber hasn’t seen hers since they left. With Evander blocking signals she hasn’t heard their voice or  even received a message. She’s also been neglecting her treatments as the med machines have been needed for others far more critical. It’s Wade who reminds her that she has to take care of herself to take care of others.

With that behind her she is recovering from the treatment when she gets a very nice surprise.

This is a favorite scene.

A knock sounded and I woke up, groggy and disoriented. I hadn’t slept long enough. If something was very wrong, I was going to have to medicate myself awake to replace the med machine drugs still warping my system.

The knock again.

“Yes. Come.” I pulled the blanket to my chin.

Brenden rushed in. “Dr. Chen.”

“What’s wrong? How bad is it?” I got to my knees. “I need a minute to pull myself together.”

He shook his head fast “Nothing bad. I thought you should know right away. Sorry, it’s just that Master Shane is here.”

Here? That didn’t make any sense. “Is he hurt?” I scrambled up. “I’m coming. Tell Wade I’m going to dose and be right there.”

“Dose with what? No, I’m not hurt.” Shane walked into the room. He patted Brenden on the shoulder. “I got this.”

The Z Warrior nodded before he exited the room, closing the door behind him. My breath caught in my throat, and I thought I might have squealed for a second before I covered my mouth. I wasn’t reacting to Shane being back in what probably would have been deemed a formal, correct manner. I wasn’t sure what I was doing.

I drank in his dear face. He looked good, healthy but tired. There were dark circles under his eyes, but that was true for all of us these days. His hair had gotten a little longer, a little messy looking. It was adorable. His shoulders were still broad, the shine to his hair remained the same, he hadn’t… lost any limbs.

He moved because I couldn’t, taking me in his arms so gently I couldn’t help my cry.

“Hello there, gorgeous.” His strong arms were steady. Shane smelled right. I shook. “I think you missed me.”

I lifted my head. “I’m so glad to see your face.”

He wiped the tears trailing down my cheeks with his thumbs. “I’m so glad to see your face, too. What were you going to dose yourself with?”

“Oh, doesn’t matter.” I kissed him because I could. His lips were soft—they always were with Shane—and reveled in the feeling of the slight bite of his whiskers against my face. He kissed me back, picking me up so I could wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. I kissed and kissed and kissed him. I couldn’t stop. Too many months without him, worrying he was dead whenever I let myself even think along those lines, and now the surprise of his sudden arrival undid me.

He laid me down on the bed as he finally pulled his mouth from mine. “Is this an okay time in the month for us to be doing this? I tried to keep track in my head of when your treatments should be. I thought about you every free second so that was one of the things I charted in my mind. But then we had a couple of weeks that blended into days because of the battles and I think I might have lost it. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you have to be in pain.”

I kissed his nose. “I had a treatment about eight hours ago. I missed some, moved some. It’s not always convenient for me to have them done. Other people need help more than me.”

He scrunched up his face. “Then you should be sleeping. I wondered why Brenden took off like a bat out of hell to come down here. He must have wanted to give you a second to try to rouse. I thought you might be hurt and no one told me. I chased after him. None of it was well done.”

I sat up, so close to him that our heads almost banged. “I don’t want to sleep.”

“Okay.” He kissed me lightly on the lips and then smiled at me. “Amber, you can’t know how it feels to see you right now. Some nights I wondered if I’d dreamed that you were still alive.”

Our mouths fused together again. I pulled at his shirt, wanting to feel his skin beneath my fingers. He laughed as I got his shirt tangled over his head before I threw it aside. Applesauce ran into the corner to avoid being hit.

“Remind me I have to say hi to the cat when we’re done. He deserves a hello of his own.”

Shane was so sweet, all that kindness hidden beneath his serious exterior. I put my hand on his heart. It beat strongly beneath the pads of my fingers. I counted the beats. One. Two. Three. Four.

“Are you taking my pulse?” He nuzzled my neck. “Here’s a hint. Right now it’s racing. After I make love to my wife, it will regulate again and then probably slow when I take you in my arms to sleep for the night.”

I pushed back to grin at him. “I’m a doctor now. Officially.”

“Really?” The smile that lit his face would forever be in my memory. “That is such great news. I missed it. Fuck. Congratulations.”

I wanted to hear all his stories, all the things happening to him, but I also wanted to make love to him, and he wanted me, too.
Royce, Rebecca. Rising Tides: A Reverse Harem Science Fiction Romance (Wings of Artemis Book 10) . Rebecca Royce. Kindle Locations (236-274).Kindle Edition.

Shane’s visit wouldn’t be a long one, but it was enough to brighten Amber’s mood even in these trying times.

Let me say here, I cried a lot, you will need plenty of tissues for this book. I also laughed, enjoyed the babies born and I really can’t say anything else without giving away the story.

As much as I love all of the characters in these books, Amber, Amari, Hunter and Shane have a special place in my heart. This book is full of surprises and some trials for all of them.

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

5 Contented Purrs for Rebecca!

Rebecca Royce

As a teenager, I would hide in my room to read my favorite romance novels when I was supposed to be doing my homework. I hope, these days, that my parents think it was worth it.

I am the mother of three adorable boys and I am fortunate to be married to my best friend. I live in Austin Texas where I am determined to eat all the barbecue in town.

I am in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and try to use all of these elements in my writing. I’ve been told I’m a little bloodthirsty so I hope that when you read my work you’ll enjoy the action packed ride that always ends in romance. I love to write series because I love to see characters develop over time and it always makes me happy to see my favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.

In my world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.

I’d love to hear from you!