Line of Sight

by Jenn Burke

Betrayed by his alien partner, it takes intergalactic cop Cailad kar Natoth a full year to accept that he’s stranded on Earth. Rescue just isn’t going to happen. He’s now Cal Smith, a bartender of all things— but the situation could be worse.
Out from under the pressure of regulations, he has a chance to explore the emotions he’s always kept tightly controlled. Ryan Cameron, the man who offered him shelter and a job when he needed it most, once held up the chance to be more than friends— and now that Cal’s sure he’s staying, it’s time to take him up on it. Maybe they can see if the lust and desire ricocheting between them is the start of something more.
But Ryan’s lingering grief over the death of his husband five years before— and an unexpected visitor— might steal their future before they have a chance to build it together.

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

Photo Description:
A shirtless man stands in hip-deep water, staring up at a sky colored orange and yellow by the setting sun.

This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

Genres: Science Fiction, M M Romance, Aliens, Romance, Contemporary, Friends To Lovers, Short Stories

57 pages, ebook

First published June 10, 2015

About the author

Jenn Burke has loved out-of-this-world romance since she was a preteen reading about heroes and heroines kicking butt and falling in love. Now that she’s an author, she couldn’t be happier to bring adventure, romance, and sexy times to her readers.

Jenn is the author of a number of paranormal and science fiction romance titles, including the critically acclaimed Chaos Station science fiction romance series (authored with Kelly Jensen) and her newest series, Ashes & Dust, a spin-off of her fan-favorite Not Dead Yet series.

She’s been called a pocket-sized and puntastic Canadian on social media, and she’ll happily own that label. Jenn lives just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and two kids, plus two dogs named after video game characters…because her geekiness knows no bounds.

Jenn is represented by Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency.

Reviews

[Meags · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Sweet, sexy, and wholly entertaining for such a short little story, Line of Sight was a fun imagining of an alien/human M/M romance.

When intergalactic cop and alien-human descendant Cailad kar Natoth becomes stranded on Earth after being betrayed by his vicious partner, he must learn to find his footing in a foreign world he may have to forever call home should be never be rescued.

This is made easier by the day with the help of his sweet and caring human saviour, Ryan, who welcomes Cal into his life, and not only gives him employment and shelter, but also true companionship and friendship, which eventually turns into a love worth staying on Earth for.

This was a romantic and heartfelt little story, with lovely characters and one very intriguing and well-executed little sci-fi spin.

This was my first time reading a story by Jenn Burke, but I doubt it will be my last.

[* A Reader Obsessed * · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

As per the blurb, Cal is from outer space who crash lands on earth. He’s been stranded for over a year and finally has accepted after all this time, he’s not gonna be rescued. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as he’s held himself back from moving forward with his friend and employer Ryan, who has made it clear that he’s interested. Now, Cal can finally be free to start his new life unencumbered.

However, Ryan has some unresolved personal issues and Cal’s past comes back unexpectedly. It’s literally a fight to the death to keep what he has.

This has romance, feels, smex, and action. Just enough of a tease to make you wish the author wrote a follow up story or stories! Enjoy!

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

~2.5~

Because the relationship between Cal and Ryan developed off page, I didn't feel their connection.

The sex scene was hot, and I liked the focus on emotions.

The ending read a bit like a bad action flick, but I was still glad to see the guys get a HEA.

This is a decent story, not a standout.

[Ariana (mostly offline) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous novella with tons of feels.
I was totally captivated and just wanted MORE!
Cal's story definitely warrants at least a trilogy.

Super writing and for the novella length, impressive world building.

[Plainbrownwrapper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was written off my prompt, so I may be a wee bit biased -- but I liked it a lot. It wasn't at all what I expected, but I always leave my prompts open-ended on purpose so that I can be surprised with whatever the author thinks up.

I read one of Jenn's published books before this story was finished, and throughout both that book and this story I've been impressed with her skill at putting words together. So often with new writers you see leaden, clunky, stilted, passive, and/or just plain painful prose -- but Jenn has obviously had a lot of experience with writing, whether that's been fiction or non. And something else you see a lot of from new writers is "sf" from people who have never actually READ much sf, and don't understand how it works. Jenn obviously has, and does. Those experiences, both with words and with the chosen field, can be extremely important -- especially with subgenres like sf where there can be a lot of new ideas to communicate quickly and clearly. Good jobs there, and a big thumbs up.

Of course this IS a short story, so there couldn't be enough room to include everything I wanted to know about. Like Cal's first few weeks on Earth -- like WHY aliens took humans off Earth, and WHY the humans worked in tandem with aliens in the policing service -- and WHY Dez thought the escape pod was a better idea than just pushing Cal out of an airlock. But that sort of thing is why God invented novels.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I liked the premise, the worldbuilding around the alien species and how Cal was able to survive on Earth and the first part in general more than the rest, I loved Cal’s character, but the relationship drama and the suspense/action twist made me lose some interest in the story. Also, given the short page time and the fact that the relationship development is practically all in the past, barely recapped on page, and with Ryan changing his mind time and again, the sex scenes took a bit too much space and I especially could’ve done without the second one.
Rounded up for Cal.

[BWT · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had an intriguing storyline which definitely held my attention throughout.

[Kristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stranded on Earth for the past year, Cal has come to the realization that no one is coming to rescue him and take him back home. It's either come to terms with staying here on Earth and the opportunities that it opens up, or look to the stars for a little while longer, praying that someone answers his distress beacon. He never imagined that there was someone watching him all along.

A year ago, Ryan found Cal and took him in. Since then, both men have developed very strong feelings for each other. Neither wants something casual, and Ryan doesn't think he's capable of giving his heart to Cal, as he's still grieving for a husband he lost five years ago.

This was a pretty entertaining story. There were a few occurrences that were rather convenient, but the relationship between Cal and Ryan was just so well done that I overlooked pretty much everything else. The action was well written, but what stole the show for me was Cal's ability to absorb and share emotions. It added a new layer to his and Ryan's relationship, and surprisingly, made the non-human more human.

A sweet, sexy, sci-fi action set right here on Earth, this was a great afternoon read.
Thank you to the author for their time and participation in the Love is an Open Road event.

[Ami]

Thank you so much to the author who have participated in this event

I think my biggest issue here was that the idea of something 'sci-fi' (Cal Smith was an intergalactic alien cop, not exactly human, who got stranded on Earth) didn't smoothly connected with the contemporary tone that was the set-up of this story. Cal felt a little too human for me, and the only thing that made him not so was his nanites and that sometimes he struggled with English words. But on a whole, he could easily be made as a foreigner from non-speaking English country who got stranded in Canada. I just didn't feel his alien nature.

In addition, I missed reading about Cal and Ryan's interaction. It happened off page. They connected off page. When the story started, Cal had been on Earth for months and he was ready to embrace his 'new' life by finally accepting his attraction. I didn't like that. I wanted to be with them in the beginning, with the tentative glances, or with Cal slowly learning English, with them watching (and tearing up over) Titanic. Those moments I missed a lot. I also wasn't that impressed with Ryan's sudden step-back over his own offer; that was sending a LOT of mixed-signals, Mister.

I skimmed over the action part. I ran out of interest by then.

Note:
Per my own policy, any story from this year's event that I can't give 3* rating to, will be left unrated

[Didi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.65 stars

A lovely shorts on a not-so-alien left stranded on Earth.

None of that insta-love; this guy already been on Earth and living among earthlings before deciding to stay for good. So the sweet attraction between him and the bar-owner widower was definitely slow-burn.

A bit of cliche on the incident that drew out the admission, but the alien's struggles on English language was great punch! I found myself snorted quite a few times.
All in all this was a nice story. :)

[Maya]

I couldn't finish this one – I stopped somewhere in the first half.

It’s not that it was a bad read, just not what I'm looking for in sci-fi. Emotionally Cal was no different than humans so this read like contemporary.

I guess the story unfolds in the second half but I didn't have the patience to find out.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for a short story, the romance part had all the right things in the right amounts to convey the depth of emotion which is really hard to do in a short story, but it had a few implausibilities related to the SF aspect of the story that made me cringe hard.

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a wonderful and very emotional story that left me wanting more. Intergalactic cop Cailad kar Natoth has been stranded on Earth for over a year and has finally accepted that he won't be rescued. He decides to pursue his feelings for Ryan, the man who took him in when he was stranded, but there are still a few obstacles that are in the way of their future.

Cal and Ryan’s story was short, sweet, and very emotional. I was instantly sucked into Cal’s story and really fell hard for these two and their feelings for each other. I also enjoyed the brief hints of Cal’s world and life in space. It does make me want to read more about his people and other people who escape the emotionless existence they are being forced to live.

CW: gun violence; death of a spouse in a car accident mentioned; grief

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Really liked this short story! The "human descendant" origin reminded me of Farscape (which is always appreciated), and the emotional control expectation aspect brought to mind Spock. Gotta love an author that can do both of those tropes without it seeming a rip-off.

I'd totally read some prequel stories of Cal's space cop adventures; they'd have to be some exciting tales!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good little sorta sci-fi story. I say sorta sci-fi because the story is set on modern day Earth, but one of the heroes is an alien who looks human but isn’t, who gets stranded on earth after his ex-police partner betrays him.

Freebie from author.

[SJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good sci-fi based story.

[Chris, the Dalek King · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twinkling stars mocked him. They popped into existence, carefree, unstoppable. If he were in a better mood, he might even admit they looked nice, the Milky Way all laid out across the indigo darkness of space. They looked gentle, welcoming, like they wanted him to be back amongst them.

The fuckers lied.

It has been a year since Cal crashed down to Earth. Since then he has not heard a word, or seen a sign, that he has been missed back home. And if no one is going to come pluck him from this third rock from Sol, then maybe he should stop waiting for them. And then maybe he could finally take up the offer Ryan–the man who runs the local bar–made to share his bed. If no one in the stars wants him, maybe someone down on Earth will.

I recently read Chaos Station, the first book in Jenn Burke’s Chaos Station series, and I quite enjoyed it. So when we went searching thru the long list of stories written for GR’s M/M Romance Group’s LOR collection, I was drawn to this short story of her’s.

I’ve always been fascinated by aliens-on-Earth stories. I love the blend of scifi and contemporary settings. Plus, the whole “surprise, honey, I’m an alien!” scenes are fun to read. For the most part this story is about life moving on–and Cal giving up his place in the stars to find a home here on Earth. He has already spent a year here, already struggled thru anger and grief about his partner and what she did to him. Hope isn’t so much centered on getting home, but instead on building a new home on this strange planet. Despite a few scifi gadgets-–nanites in his blood, and a holographic interface–-Cal is living a pretty normal life.

The relationship between Cal and Ryan is almost one step forward, two steps back. And while that can get frustrating for Cal (and the readers), I think Ryan’s grief and reticence to start over was very well written. Until the very end, a lot of this story deals with what these two guys want–and feel they can give.

For a short story, this was really good at building up a world and circumstances that I could believe. I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend you pick this one up. With it being free, who could say no?


This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

LINE OF SIGHT was a fun science fiction romance that managed to really tug my heartstrings in a short amount of time. Intergalactic cop Cailad kar Natoth has finally accepted that he's not going to be rescued from Earth and he's ready to see what might happen between him and Ryan, the man who took him in and gave him a job a year ago. There was a lot of story in this novella and I really liked Cal and Ryan; they have a few hurdles to overcome, including an enemy from Cal's past, but they're a sweet couple.

Content Warning: Ryan is still grieving the death of his husband

[Fritz42 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about Cal, an alien, who gets stranded on Earth after being betrayed by his partner. It has been a year, and Cal finally comes to the conclusion that he isn't going to be rescued. He resigns himself to live out his days on Earth, and it is then that he turns to his boss and friend Ryan, wanting more than just the physical release that Ryan had offered him 10 months ago. But even with the offer, things aren't easy for Ryan either, with memories of his previous relationship, coming between them.

Great world-building on Cal's background. There is some seriously cool technology here, making it easy for Cal to heal, read people's emotions, and to communicate with people. But even with that, idioms and metaphors get screwed up with Cal and make for some funny moments.

There's great moments between Ryan and Cal and heart-wrenching angst, too. There's nail-biting tension and action. There's great secondary characters and a rotten badguy/badgirl. Everything to make this a great story for me.

[Jeanne 'Divinae' · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cal, is stranded on Earth, in Canada. He has been hoping… wishing for rescue for a year. But nothing. So he decides to turn off the beacon and go live his life as a regular human. Where he was from, he was an advanced human, with nanites in his blood and his psychic ability(read and feel emotions).

Of course nothing goes right. His love life interest rejects him, because he is fearful of how others will react(his adopted family) and then his ex-partner/ex-friend comes and finds him. But it isn’t a rescue mission. Needless to say, he has a lot going on.

The story was enjoyable to read. The only thing, at least for me, was sometimes it was hard to follow, probably because it is based on Prince Edward Island. But it wasn’t enough to make it very confusing.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good love story. I got into this in depth tale with aliens and action and angst. I liked both guys. Very entertaining.

[DC · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an ok story; nothing great. It was amusing to watch Cal’s struggles with English idioms. However, the fact that Ryan’s and Cal’s relationship started a year prior, and this story takes place only over the course of a few days, it’s really hard to feel anything for them and connect emotionally in any way. For most of the story something was bothering me and I could place it. But then, towards the end when Dez, of the alien race called “aryuhns” told Cal that her people thought of Cal’s race, “gaeclae,” as an inferior race, did it hit me. Was the author deliberately going for the similarities between “Aryuhn” and “Aryan” and using that as a metaphor. Maybe so, but it just didn’t sit well with me.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this short easy to read story about an alien cop who had been betrayed by his crooked partner and dumped in Canada. There he had been found by a sweet caring man grieving his husband's death. I liked the emotion and the ending where Cal is victorious against his old partner.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was sweet with big feels. I like that it was set on PEI and I really liked Cal. I didn’t feel I really knew Ryan though. The sci-fi aspects were great - not too techy but enough to convey the different worlds.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a very intriguing taste, just enough to get me curious for more of Cal's homeworld and the work he did there! The romance itself was good, there were a couple small bumps that felt extraneous but overall very sweet.

[Elayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this quick, fast paced, short story.
Aliens stranded on earth, blending in making relationships, fighting to survive. What more could you want.

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Grief & loss depiction
Death of a husband

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little short story that is free when you sign up for Jenn's newsletter. Well worth the read! Also I think this the only other story I've read set on PEI that isn't by L.M. Montgomery!

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently watched Sense8, I have to admit, the romantic notion of the whole cop thing is a thing for a reason. Will was pretty hot, and there’s just something about a man in uniform swooping in to save the day. I know, I know, I’m totally caving to a stereotype, and I know most cops are smouldering piles of muscle and sexiness. This is fiction. Allow me my heroes.

Now, an alien cop wasn’t something I’d have considered, myself. But then I bumped into this little novella, and it turns out alien cops? Just as hot.

So you’re an alien cop (born of human stock long removed, mind) and your partner (a non-human from a species that thinks humans are kind of pathetic, really, as they can’t control their emotions) has turned out to be crooked. Said crooked alien partner has smacked you down hard and chucked you out in an escape pod and stranded you on the backward planet Earth. It’s been a year. It’s time to admit that no one is listening to your homing beacon. It’s time to decide that this weird planet is your new home.

And it’s definitely time to give in to the temptation in the form of the local bar owner who gave you that job eve though you had no ID at all and showed up out of nowhere about a year ago. The attraction is definitely there – though said bartender also lost his love recently enough that starting something new feels a little bit like a betrayal. In space, the cop had long learned to repress his emotions and keep himself under strict control.

But on Earth? Why not – finally – give in and feel.

Which is, of course, when everything will blow up in their faces. Maybe literally.

This was fun, and sexy, and the science fiction aspect was strong enough without overpowering the narrative. The characters were interesting and well drawn, and I liked where they started (and where they went). More, the conflict that does arise from without (from said science fiction aspect) made sense and was consistent, which I loved. This was a great taste of Burke’s writing, and I’ll be diving into her sci-fi series from here.

[Dawn Sister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a nerd, through and through, and I love sci fi. However, I find it difficult to read, most of it anyway. I love this kind of sci fi though. Action, romance, a tiny bit of world building but nothing complicated, because the story doesn't need it.

This was tight, action packed, full of lovely little snippets that let you know Cal isn't quite what he appears on the outside. I loved his character. I think I need to read more about him, now he has settled on Earth.

And Ryan, he's just an angel.

There were glimpses of other characters too, Drew is an interesting one, and even Kerr, who I think maybe had about two lines of dialogue. I'd like to read more about him.

I'd like to know how they explained the gunshots away at the end. Not giving too much away, but doctors would ask, wouldn't they? Or would they just not, because asking creates too much paperwork.


Anyway, great read.