Desert Heat — Melodee Aaron

DESERT HEAT: The time or place doesn't matter. A cop is still a cop, and a marine is still a marine. Ikira "Ike" Payne, marine beat-cop for the Empire of Mankind, has love, crime, politics, and interstellar terrorism all on her plate. * * * * Ike's life is complicated. She's the Marine General in charge of security for His Majesty's Starship Boone. Her husband, Devon, is suffering problems with his memory since he was injured in the battle with the Palean Liberation Front a year ago. Ike has to escort the spoiled Princess Miranda to Nerumie to settle a civil war. Just when things might take a turn for the better, their ship crashes in the deep desert. The crash strands Ike, Devon, Miranda, and Sergeant Jack Ingram with little food and less water. The temperature swings from half that of boiling water to far below freezing, and killer animals stalk them in the darkness and from the skies. Attraction, love, and lust weave a web through the group as they deal with their growing feelings for each other. Discoveries of hidden feelings made under the orange sun of Nerumie cause tempers to flair. Passions rage between the four, testing devotion and love to the limits as they fight for survival in the desert heat.