A Cyborg Romance
Betania Breed Book 2
The Prey
I never expected to end up in an alien brothel millions of miles from Earth, in a see-through joke of a dress, getting a lesson from the brothel owner.
But that’s not even the worst part. I’m here with Johar.
Johar is a cyborg, the most cunning and dangerous of his kind. His reputation is legendary. He’s terrifying to look at, with his considerable size, his steely muscles, and his ruthless nature. His exterior intimidates everyone. Everyone, but me.
Johar isn’t interested in me. During our mission here on Betania, I’m supposed to play the part of his lover. We’re on a mission to pump the owner of the notorious establishment for information.
Our goal: Find a woman who is the key to the survival of the dying human race.
Now I’m lying next to him in bed. Naked. Defenseless. At his mercy.
The proximity stirs something within me. The more time I spend with him, the more I see the man inside. His looks and his caress don’t leave me indifferent anymore. Is there a warm heart beating under his cold shell?
But, then again, love was never part of the deal.
* * *The Prey is Book 2 of the Betania Breed Series. * * *
Can be read as standalone. No cliffhanger. Warning: Intended for mature audiences.
Available on Amazon.com | Audiobook on Audible.com
The audiobook is read by Audie-award winner Justine Eyre!
(Paid Links to Amazon)
Dark. Powerful. Sexy. This will be a ride you won’t want to miss.
★★★★★
“Begs to be filmed! Exciting, thrilling and absolutely captivating! Just like all the other books by the author, I was so captivated by this new novel that I read it through in one go! I’m addicted!”
★★★★★
“This has been one of the best Scifi books I have read in a long long time.” –Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★
“OMG!!! My first cyborg read—really really amazing.” –Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★
“I stumbled across it by accident. The cyborg is more human than most humans. The story captivates and never lets go.”–Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★
“Let me say….I love sci-fi romances. So it’s a given that I’ve read a lot of them. So it’s hard sometimes to find something that’s different from all the rest. Jenny Foster has no problem doing that though. Her books are full of adventure and those little sweet moments that we all love. Foster has made a book that is new, refreshing, and FREAKING AWESOME! A book I have spent the last 3 days laughing and crying over. From the first page you get sucked in and you don’t come out until the end. It leaves you breathless and wanting more! I can’t wait for book 3!!” –Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★
“…the twists and turns of the story will surprise you and turn you on your ears!” –Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★
“I’m blown away. Absolutely fantabulous…everything I come to expect from this author. So many surprises throughout that I stayed up late just because I could not put this down. Johar and Mara are such strong characters with lovely sexy chemistry throughout and carry it through to the mysterious end. Bonus for me was Shazuul who became a great secondary character.” -Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★
“Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop.” –Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★
“Wow! Every time I thought I was getting the picture, it seemed to take a divergent path.” –Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★
“On top of the amazing characters and world building, you also get a fast-paced, action-filled story line that is full of twists and turns and passion. I can’t wait for the next one!” –VINE VOICE
★★★★★
“This series is AMAZING! The characters are so complex. I laughed, seethed, giggled, screamed, cringed and was relieved.” –VINE VOICE
★★★★★
“WOW WOW WOW” –Amazon Reviewer
Reading Sample:
“What is our destination?”
“An establishment called Red Moon,” he answers and I get a bad feeling about this. His eyes flash in amusement as he interprets my appalled expression correctly. He is taking me to a bordello with him! And I can’t even blame him, because, after all, I am the one who insisted on accompanying him at all times.
“Hhhm,” I mumble. “Is there anything I should avoid doing there? I don’t want to make another dumb mistake like just now.”
“The only important thing there, is that we not get separated, so stay right next to me, no matter what happens. You might see things you don’t like, or someone might mistake you for an employee of the house. If that happens, I will be there to help clear up any confusion.” For once, his voice doesn’t sound authoritarian and all-knowing, but relaxed, instead.
I slow down, because in the distance, I see a lighted sign that can only be for the bordello. Pulsing red moons that look suspiciously like ample breasts. This is so tasteless that it temporarily distracts me from my anxiety. I have only been in such an establishment once, but that one was on the military practice grounds where I received my training. All of the women had to mimic unscrupulous spies, and I remember that I was especially clumsy in trying to poison my target. It didn’t matter that the poison was merely a harmless substance that induced vomiting. In the end, my partner slipped it to me, instead, by switching the glasses.
“Who are we looking for?”
“A man by the name of Hazathel Suk,” he tells me. “Apparently, he knows someone who landed with Cassie Burnett and who might be able to tell us where she took off to.”
“Have you found out anything about the circumstances of her disappearance?” I ask. “It seems strange that she would just leave, even though she is expecting a child of the king or ruler of this planet.”
With an even tone he reports what he has learned. He really was busy this afternoon, while I was bathing and writing the report. Zeyliv, the leader of the escaped humans, is no longer among the living. There had been some kind of commotion at a slave market, and he died under unexplained circumstances. His wife, also one of the first settlers, has seized power and rules the planet with an iron fist. “Cassie and her companion, the Qua’Hathri warrior, were able to flee during the chaos,” he adds.
My thoughts are racing around in my head. “No wonder she wanted to get off Betania. I can’t imagine that the new queen would be very excited about her husband’s fling. It is possible that she, the queen, can’t have children, and instigated the uprising because of it.”
“It would be a mistake to jump to conclusions before having all of the facts.” His tone is dry and slightly amused. It really is strange that he, of all people, who is only half-human, has such a repertoire of expressions. I wonder if my father made a mistake back then. Cyborgs are supposed to be easily recognizable as machine beings, and therefore have only very limited expressions. Their ability to express emotion is strictly limited, not in the least because they don’t have any. This cyborg is definitely not a normal specimen. He is old, he is emotional and he could even pass, if he went to the trouble of hiding his metal, for a pure human.
“Will we find this Hazathel Suk at the whore house? What is he doing there?” I bite my tongue, but it is too late. What would a man possibly be doing in a bordello?
“He works there, as a bouncer,” Johar responds, overlooking my embarrassment.
“Do you want to pretend to be a client who misbehaves, so you can meet him?” I ask, half-joking. I suspect that Johar loves crazy plans like that one. But he shakes his head and gives me a broad smile.
“I thought about it,” he admits. “But once we have been thrown out, it would be hard to get back in. And how can you talk to a man who is grabbing you by the scruff of the neck and depositing you in the street? We will have to improvise.”
I could …,” I start, but he looks at me with a furrowed brow and closes his eyes in a strange desperation.
“Mara,” he says my name emphatically. I have goose bumps all over, just from him saying that one small word. “This is the kind of house where every wish, no matter how strange, is fulfilled. People like Hazathel have seen everything, and will see through an unworldly person like you in under two seconds. He is dangerous. Don’t forget that. His animal is a scorpion.”
The color drains from my face. I can practically feel the blood draining away. Despite our comfortable pace, we are now so close to the Red Moon, that I don’t say anything else, but hold on to Johar tightly. The entrance is deceivingly simple, if you compare it to the lighted sign, which is anything but discreet. Johar gives me a last warning look, puts his arm around my waist, and rings the doorbell. Not even two seconds later, a young woman is standing in the doorway. She has a small ball of yarn with her, out of which two black button eyes are looking at me. I assume that this is a tiny dog, because the dog jumps up and down at the cyborg’s leg, panting a hello. Johar does not acknowledge the dog, but asks to be admitted, instead.
“What about your company? Does she want to wait, or is she looking for a little distraction, as well? Maybe a brief interlude à trois?” Before we are even inside, she is listing other possibilities, of which one is as astounding as the next. When we leave the plush decorated entranceway, and go into a kind of living room, she falls silent. With a gesture that looks like a circus director’s, she points to at least twenty beings, in various stages of undress. I notice two men, among the female beings, who are humanoid and who are both looking me up and down. I hide behind Johar, who is walking by the women slowly, and finally nods at a red-headed one.
“What can I do for you, sweetie?” she breathes with a raw voice that sounds like it should come from a woman with a much ampler chest. She is wearing a bikini made of shiny gold fabric, leaving nothing to any visitor’s imagination. Every dark blue vein that supplies her body with blood, is visible underneath her alabaster-white skin. The only color, other than her flaming red hair is her bright green eyes and her red lips, with which she gives him a routine smile. She seems creepy to me, but I don’t dare let go of Johar, so I follow him, instead. Before we go upstairs, so Sherri can have fun with Johar, he pulls out his money pouch and puts a few coins in the hand of the woman who met us at the door. I see her eyes light up happily, and then suspiciously, as she counts the coins.
“No damage to the merchandise,” she says and squints her eyes warily. Johar laughs and it sounds utterly convincing.
“Don’t worry,” he replies and pulls the red-head to himself. “I just want to be spoiled for a little bit, while the little one here watches.”
I realize that I am the little one, and breathe in sharply, appalled. But Johar isn’t finished yet. “She is still pretty shy, if you know what I mean.” He winks at the bordello owner. “I want Sherri to show her a few things.” I pinch him in the ribs, well, I try to, but my fingers just run down his skin. “Also, I am aware that not many of my kind come to your establishment, and that it might take some extra effort.”
The hardened whore mother actually pats him on the cheek! It seems almost comforting, and I can’t stop gaping. “We are not on Earth here, boy,” she states the obvious. “Your origin doesn’t count here. Just your money. He who pays, is treated well. He who pays more, is treated better.” Her dog-like creature wags his tiny tail in agreement. “And anyway, my Booby likes you, and that is enough for me to trust you.” Booby must be her little ball of fur, because when she says his name, he barks happily and wags his tail so hard that his whole body jerks. My goodness, where have we landed? There is no trace of Hazathel Suk.
“So, get to it,” she tells us. She takes my hand and squeezes it. “It is good that you don’t have the same dumb prejudices that other humans have,” she praises me. “And if you are afraid of getting pregnant, stop by and see me after. I can give you something that will prevent conception, so you can just focus on your lust. You seem very tense, my little one.”
“Thank you,” I blurt out and force myself to smile. “Maybe that’s exactly what I need.” Should Johar not have a chance with Sherri, maybe I can pump her for information, I think, before I notice the double meaning of my words, so I clamp my mouth shut, before I say something dumb.
With a deep breath that feels like the last one of my life, I follow Johar and Sherri up the steps.
An hour later, I am lying next to Sherri and Johar on the bed. How has it come to this?Somehow, Sherri managed to get me to relax with her chatter. I had thought I was going to have to watch the two of them, and had prepared myself for an hour of awkwardness. But Johar figured out a way to maintain his disguise without going to extremes with Sherri, or me, or even Sherri and me.
He is lying naked on the bed…
End of the Reading Sample.
Also available as audiobook on Audible
? Listening sample on Bookfunnel
The audiobook is read by Audie-award winner Justine Eyre.
Audiobook on Audible.com
Betania Breed reading order:
The Captive
The Prey
The Human
The Dragon