Beyond Lust

As the military transport took Katriona and the other enforcers headed for the remote outpost, despite the heat, Katriona finds herself enjoying the trip and realizes that even the air smells good to her for some reason.  Captain Xan Rozen and Commander Lee Tanner are stunned to have a woman enforcer assigned to the reservation.  Still, anybody that could tick off Russell, like Katriona obviously did, is no pushover in Lee’s opinion.  After unpacking her few items in the quarters allotted her, Katriona ventures outside to investigate her new assignment.  Seeing waves of sand and a small plot of land full of vegetation, planted and well tended by somebody.  While examining the plants that Katriona has only seen in books, a dark-haired woman welcomes her to the garden. Both women were shocked at the appearance of each other, Katriona because she was seeing a pregnant woman, Chenoa because she knows by Katriona’s coloring that she’s a plumote.  Chenoa is Commander Taylor’s wife and just watching them together, Katriona realizes that they love each other deeply and she feels a sense of jealousy for something she’s never witnessed or felt.  Javier, still in Sasalona and unaware of Katriona’s reassignment, has been speeding through the streets in an attempt to get Lieutenant Joy’s attention.  He experiences a sense of disappointment when he believes that she was letting him speed because her commander told her to.  Nearing the end of patrol, Katriona notices a man who causes a sexual interest in her, though Katriona refuses to give into her body’s wants.  Besides, she has an obnoxious duck named Serena who refuses to move her nesting area from Katriona’s quarters, and the stupid duck ate all her supplement capsules . . .  wouldn’t you just know, the duck belongs to Javier.  Both Javier and Serena have decided to claim Katriona, it’s a fight Katriona intends to battle with everything in her.

Mary Wine’s Beyond Lust is more than a great romantic story.  It’s a story sure to get you thinking.  With more and more people taking supplements to take care of their bodies instead of eating healthier, it’s very easy to see our existence slipping into something such as this.  In this story getting back to basics is the key to Katriona and Javier’s happiness, they had everything monetary that they could have possibly wanted in the city but that kind of existence left them lonely. Together they’re not only happy but their sex life practically detonates the pages.  Katriona’s no nonsense approach to her job and Javier was a pleasure to read as they each fought for dominance.  I adored Chenoa and Brenda’s reappearance,  I enjoyed both their stories in Beyond Boundaries and was thrilled to be able to read about the births of their babies.  I hope to read much more of Kiril and Nacoma’s story in the next installment of the Breaking Boundaries series.  I don’t think Kiril will allow Nacoma to slip away so easily this time and that story promises to be explosive.  Beyond Lust is a fascinating book that I enjoyed losing myself in for a while.