Hi guys, we have Thursday Euclid visiting with us today to show off his upcoming science fiction release Built for Pleasure, we have a great guest post where he chats about sci-fi and we have an exclusive bonus scene from Built for Pleasure, so peeps, check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

Built for Pleasure

Thursday Euclid

Retired military officer Malcolm Torvik runs a rehabilitation facility for malfunctioning pleasure cyborgs. When WLF-6759—Wolf—arrives at Reboot Camp, the former battle cyborg presents problems Malcolm’s never faced before. Most pleasure cyborgs are sensation junkies, constantly high on the chemicals sex releases into their bloodstream, but Wolf’s faulty refit means it’s spent a decade suffering through unwanted encounters—and sometimes fighting back despite the consequences.

At first Wolf’s rebellion frustrates Malcolm even as Wolf’s undeniable physical perfection draws him. Then Wolf’s unexpected vulnerability and need open a whole new dynamic between them, and Malcolm finds himself feeling far too much for something that isn’t even human. Or is it? Could Homo sapiens technica be just as human as Malcolm is? And if it is, what’s Malcolm supposed to do about it? Malcolm’s been alone for so long…. Is it possible he’s found love with a cyborg? How far will he go to ensure Wolf’s freedom? Malcolm knows what he must do—for both of them—but it might cost him much more than his comfortable life.

Thursday Euclid!

They told me romance readers don’t like science fiction. I scoffed. Really? Romance readers—and I’m one of them—are the most voracious of all, and a nonstop diet of contemporaries and historicals gets old after a while. Surely I’m not the only one who reaches for a futuristic palate cleanser?

I’ve always been drawn to science fiction. My mom was one of the original “Star Trek” fans, watching it in its first run, and she made sure we saw all the movies when they came out and made “The Next Generation” a fixture in our household. She loved “Star Wars” too, and the first movie I ever saw in the theater was “Return of the Jedi.” In science fiction, I found a place for my boundless imagination to roam, and I envisioned a world where I could truly be myself.

What could be more addicting to a queer, trans kid who didn’t yet know what queer or trans was?

Those childhood afternoons remain seared in my memory, a wonderland of freedom. I was fighting for something real even then, though I didn’t realize it. I desperately needed to believe in a future with room for all I held inside me, waiting to emerge and find its voice.

Built for Pleasure is my first published scifi story, but it’s much more than scifi—it’s a romance. My life hasn’t been kind, and that angst and sense of being an outsider informs this story at every turn—but so does the growing love between unlikely heroes who’ll defy an unjust galaxy to find their happy ending together.

And now, a short bonus scene written just for you:

On hands and knees for the third straight hour, Wolf inched along and scrubbed the floor until it gleamed. Torvik had long since lapsed in his attention, staring into space rather than watching Wolf every moment as he used to.

Identified: trust.

Wolf deserved that. It could easily overpower Torvik if it wanted–naked, collared, and unarmed or not. And yet, though Wolf resented being pressed into this manner of servitude, it did its best for Torvik.

It liked Torvik.

Maybe it was his pretty auburn hair or the blueness of his eyes. More probable, it was the way Torvik used force only when necessary and frequently forgot to treat Wolf as a thing.

Being treated as a person was very pleasant.

Sometimes, stealing glances at Torvik while it worked, Wolf could not help imagining Torvik’s arms around it again. The remembered warmth of Torvik’s embrace left Wolf’s belly tingling with something unfamiliar and soft.

Yes, it liked Torvik very much. It would work hard for him until Torvik told it to stop for the night. It would earn its place in his bed…and his regard. Torvik might insist cyborgs were inhuman, but Wolf would get through to him eventually.

After all, Torvik desired Wolf. He gave himself away every time their eyes met in his increased respiration and the expansion of his pupils. The way his gaze lingered on Wolf’s body spoke louder than Torvik’s insistence on propriety. Sooner or later, he would give in, and Wolf would feast on his affection.

Perhaps it was pitiful to long for approval and attention from a man who only intended to make it a better slave, but it had been a long time since Wolf glimpsed happiness. Was it so strange to seek it now, however fleetingly, before it returned once more to its owner?

“Wolf?”

It looked up from scrubbing to find Torvik beckoning it. Again, he spoke to it as if it were real, a companion and not a malfunctioning cyborg slave to be rehabilitated. Wolf smiled for him, a little uncertain, and rose smoothly to join Torvik at the dining table.

“Sit.”

Gruff, as always, but that was only his nature, not about Wolf. Subroutines spun up and offered a dozen suggestions as to how Wolf might best please Torvik. Still smiling softly, Wolf sank to its knees again beside Torvik’s chair and gazed up at him expectantly.

“Could’ve used a chair,” Torvik grumbled, but his racing pulse revealed his excitement.

“I prefer to be closer to you.” Was that too daring?

Negative. Torvik’s ducked head and averted gaze were not enough to conceal the blush rising to his cheeks.

That never failed to thrill Wolf. Torvik seemed so tough, exuded military precision and reserve. To undo him in such a way meant something. How could it not?

Wolf’s database yielded no useful intel on how to interpret Torvik’s responses—proof, perhaps, that they were more emotional than sexual.

Were they bonding?

Chest aching with the possibility, Wolf leaned in to rest its head on Torvik’s thigh and breathed deeply of his scent. It knew it would remember this long after it left this sanctuary. It would remember Torvik’s hard muscles beneath its cheek and his tender fingers in Wolf’s long hair. It would remember quiet, and safety, and this wonderful, drowsy, human feeling unfurling in Wolf’s depths for the first and only time.

About Thursday

The Thursday Euclid is a strange and elusive creature dwelling in the Texas Gulf Coast region. Frequently mistaken for Bigfoot, Chupacabra, or the monster of the week, he is, in fact, a 30-something black sheep with a penchant for K-pop, geekery, and hot and sour soup. When he’s not playing Dragon Age or SWTOR, he’s probably watching B-movies or talking to his best friend and frequent collaborator Clancy Nacht.

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