Lucy Dosch (EBookObsessed)

“Surely it would be easier for a small escape pod to zip through asteroids than it would be for a hulking warship. “Let’s lose them in the asteroids!”
“Unlikely,” the computer said calmly as the pod swerved again. “Asteroid Belt 116749 is far enough away that we will probably be—”
“Just try, damn it!” Ava gritted.
The harness dug into Ava’s shoulders as she was jerked from side to side. She thought about asking Evie to turn off the artificial gravity but honestly didn’t know if that would make things better or worse.
“Asteroid Belt 116749 is now in sight.”
“Yes!” Ava cried triumphantly. “We can do this!”
“Unlikely,” the ever-unflappable Evie replied. “Though the pod can change direction faster than the Gathendien ship and I have eluded its acquisition beam, the ship is still pursuing us and—”
“Evie,” Ava gritted, “you’re killing me.”
“Negative. Killing you is counter to my programming.”
“I don’t mean literally!” She grunted as the pod changed directions again. Thank goodness motion sickness never plagued her. “I’m trying to be optimistic!”
“Optimism at this juncture is inadvisable.”
“Oh, for crap’s sake!”
― Dianne Duvall, The Purveli

“Jak’ri nodded toward the cliff’s edge. “Shall we?”

“Not if you give me time to think about it.”

He flashed his teeth in a boyish grin. “One-two-three, jump!” he called and took off running, pulling her after him.

Ava’s eyes widened and her heart thudded hard in her chest as she ran alongside him.

Their feet hit the edge at the same time, and together they leapt off.

Jak’ri whooped as they plummeted toward the ocean, the sound so wonderfully carefree and appealing that Ava found herself grinning big even as she shrieked and squeezed the hell out of his hand.

He hit the water a split second before her. Cool liquid closed over their heads. Bubbles surrounded them as if they’d just jumped into a vat of club soda. Then he looped an arm around her waist and propelled them both to the surface.

“That was crazy!” she blurted, unable to stop smiling as she swiped water from her face.

“Crazy but fun?” he quipped, eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Maybe,” she hedged. “But not as fun at this.” Propelling her upper body out of the water, she planted her hands atop his head and dunked him. As soon as she released him, she began a lazy backstroke.

Jak’ri surfaced with a sputter and a laugh. When his silver eyes found her a few yards away, they acquired a devilish glint. “Oh, you’re going to regret that, little Earthling.”

Ava shrieked when he dove for her. Rolling onto her stomach, she took off, swimming in earnest.

Jak’ri’s fingers closed around one of her ankles. “Caught you!” She swam harder, getting absolutely nowhere, breaking into giggles as he issued dire threats in a villainous voice.

When was the last time she had honest-to-goodness giggled?

She yelped when he gave her ankle a yank.

Then she was in his arms and he was grinning wickedly at her.

“Think you can get the best of me, do you?” he taunted. Tucking his hands under her arms, he kicked his feet.

Ava laughed as he tossed her up out of the water. Through the air she flew, landing on her back several yards away. The water again closed over her head. When she surfaced, she quickly bent her head to hide her smile and rubbed her eyes. “Hang on a sec,” she mumbled.

Jak’ri immediately stopped laughing and swam toward her. “I’m sorry. Did you get something in your eye?”

“No.” She grinned at him. “I just needed to lure you closer.” Then she swept her arm through the water in front of him, sending a cascade over his head.

Sputtering, Jak’ri dove for her.

Laughter abounded as they played, even more so when he started sharing tales of his exploits with his brother.

Clunk.

Ava jerked awake. Damn it! She really hated to wake up. She and Jak’ri had been romping and playing like children. Having to come back to the reality of this cell and the assholes who’d put her in it sucked.”
― Dianne Duvall, The Purveli

“Jak’ri surfaced beside her a second later.

Grinning, Ava drew in deep breaths and swiped water from her face. “That was awesome!”

Once again, he found himself smiling, something he did a lot around her. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“You’re so fast!”

He nodded. “You should see the Purvelis with tails. They’re even faster.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Some of you have tails?”

He grinned. “No. I just wanted to see your reaction.”

Laughing, she splashed him.”
― Dianne Duvall, The Purveli

“Ava motioned to the darkening passage that led from the cave. “This is the first time I’ve set foot on an alien planet. And even though it bears a general similarity to Earth, there are enough differences to make me want to walk around like this all the time.” Widening her eyes, she dropped her jaw until her mouth formed a large O and gaped at the walls around them in exaggerated amazement.

Jak’ri laughed.

“I’m serious,” she insisted with a grin. “I saw a butterfly today that was the size of a duck!”
― Dianne Duvall, The Purveli