Dressed in her black designer suit, Paige Brown recruits men and women for the Space Service. After the end of her marriage, and several failed recruiting missions, she yearns to find a way out of her lifelong contract to live a normal life. To find love again.
Jared Barnes’s life had been flipped upside down by two little kids. When his former Commander’s wife shows up to give him a reprieve, he jumps at the chance for a break, and to visit his former squad. But it is not his buddies he meets in the private suite at the Washington Capitals game, instead a woman who has been the star of all of his recent fantasies, fulfills his wildest dreams except the one that binds his heart.
Has Madame Eve made a mistake or can two lonely hearts overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles?
She scanned her thumb across the ignition of her luxury sedan—only the best for members of the Space Service. None of it mattered anymore. She’d lost her enthusiasm for fostering relationships between Earth and the many worlds in the universe sustaining intelligent life. No, she wanted to stay on her home planet and find the love and happiness she’d thought she once had with her ex-husband.
She smirked, considering the possibility of her dream if she didn’t find any new recruits soon. The Space Service would revoke her contract. Her last three prospects had turned down her offer of an “out of this world” work environment, not once, but repeatedly. Why hadn’t she found the same strength, all those years ago to turn down the man in black who’d visited her and her husband? Though if she didn’t recruit, what would she do for a living?
Foot on the brake, she glanced back at the house of her latest failure then pressed the button to shift into drive.
An honorably discharged former Marine with no ties to keep him grounded, he met every criteria for the ideal recruit. A fine male specimen, too. His dark, alluring eyes, smooth bald head, and well-defined muscles rippling under milk chocolate-colored skin stirred desires dormant inside her since she’d thumb-printed away her marriage.
She hadn’t meant to arrive when he was in the shower, but would never apologize for the view of Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome, wearing a thin white towel around his waist when he’d greeted her at the door. The image would remain forever implanted in her mind, the reference for every fantasy from that day forward. She should have thought to capture a digital image of him before she’d left, her forty-year-old brain known to dispose of information she’d rather remember.
Merging onto the highway, heading home, she sighed. Why could she no longer convince anyone to sign their life away? She’d contracted twenty men and women already. Had she lost her touch?
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Reviewer: AlexJouJou
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Paige is struggling trying to recruit for a secret space service as none of the potential recruits are saying yes. When she makes an attempt to recruit Jared and he says no she knows she should think about what this means to her career, and she does, but her focus is overwhelmingly on Jared's hot body and attractiveness. Although she doesn't know it, Paige is playing out prominently in Jared's fantasies though he has little time to act on anything, what with gaining custody of two children who need a home. When the two are matched up by Eve for a one night stand the sparks fly and nearly melt the ice at the hockey arena. There is a mystery for Paige to solve as to why none of her recruits want to be recruited; and only when she confronts her past will she be able to release herself and think about a future with Jared and the kids.
The SciFi elements in Sudden Breakaway are minimal and it would have been great to get more exploration of them to frame the story. This is a future based story so you'll find a few things named differently (like communicator's for phones) but, for the most part, this is similar to today. You get basic info on Jared and Paige but not enough to develop a deep relationship with them. The sex is hot and sexy but the core of the story seems more about Paige trying to figure out what to do with her job and how to get out of it. The kids are a nice touch and elevate this one because they are such little monsters. The way Jared handled them (or didn't, as the case was) seemed so real. I would have liked to see how Paige will interact with them, given her whole life has been dedicated to the space service. An epilogue would have been very tasty. A nice interlude with some heat for when you need a short break!
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