Title: Ground Mission
Author: Laylah Hunter
Genre: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781627570404
Length: Short Story (39 pages)
Publisher: Storm Moon Press (August 9th, 2013)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: Simon Pollux and Adrian Lovasz are podmates, and a matched set besides: Simon, the lethal scout, and Adrian, his willing and even more lethal combat specialist. In the midst of exploring an alien world, Simon is infected with an alien virus, and Adrian must decide to what lengths he’ll go to ensure Simon’s comfort.
Product Link: http://www.stormmoonpress.com/books/Ground-Mission.aspx
Review: Oh, my. What an interesting short story.
Ok! Imagine a big muscle man, all meat, and brawn and scientifically enhanced soldier with a gold, soft, sweet, loving heart. And then imagine a wiry, snippy, snarly, constantly irritated, and irritating Intel scout soldier. Don’t they make the perfect match? Hell yeah, you have no idea. This pair – along with others we don’t really care for, because they are not so much a big part of this story – travel the universe trying to find suitable planets for resources and relocation. When they are not on the ground securing, scouting, and/or anything that their work as soldiers requires, they spend the rest of their time in cryo-sleep aka unconscious. Their time to just be is limited and they are more often than not treated by their superiors as gear, another set of weapons, expensive yet replaceable ones. Not very good for morale so our perfect match has to do with the little in between fights time they have on their hands to relieve stress.
Yup, you got the main idea; there’s fast sex, there’s rough sex, and there’s no room for feelings, even if they simmer underneath their skin barely managing not to escape their mouths. So the entire read beside the action part, is quite tense with unconfessed feelings and their intimate encounters are HOT.
Action plot; keeping a fast pace we follow this pairs efforts to recon a planet that is suitable for them to inhabit. Among the old architecture that is found there are also encounters with alien semi-sentient life, a type of creatures resembling humans yet have a couple more appendages on them awfully similar to tentacles. Oh wait, they are tentacles, and my day just got brighter. Have I mentioned my new fascination with them? Loved it, absolutely loved it.
As the pair makes their round they get jumped from these aliens a time too many and our snippy, snarky Intel guy, Simon gets bitten. Fear brings up the tension of the read a notch or two, our sweet meat-shield (the nick-name for Adrian – isn’t Simon a darling for thinking that up) getting worried for his partner, and Simon himself getting a bit mellower after panic hits his system. This might be the end as Simon suffers a transformation that leaves him with sensitive tentacles flopping around, but we get to witness real romance when Adrien refuses to do the sensible thing and abandon Simon, instead standing by his side no matter what. The passion fuels by a great range of emotions leads the pair into some really hot and sexy love scenes, while they wait for help to come their way. Will they make it and if they do, will they be able to be together as normal beings or will they go back to being yet another set of gear, stored into cryo-sleep until they are needed again?
Yup, this story is interesting, enticing, erotic, and mostly it keeps evoking different emotions from you at every turn. Strongly recommended for those who love hot men in a sci-fi setting, and action with a dose of tentacles thrown in for the fun of it. Enjoy!