Hero (Cat Star Chronicles Series #6)

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More About This Book

Overview

She's the last of her kind...and the only one for him.

"AWE-INSPIRING... CHERYL BROOKS DELIVERS PLENTY OF SEXUAL TENSION, SUSPENSE, AND PLEASURE IN SIMPLY BEING ALIVE."
-ROMANCE JUNKIES

He is the sexiest, most irksome man she's ever encountered...
Micayla is the last Zetithian female left in the universe. She doesn't know what's normal for her species, but she knows when she sees Trag that all she wants to do is bite him...

He has searched all over the galaxy for a woman like her...
Trag has sworn he'll never marry unless he can find a Zetithian female. But now that he's finally found Micayla, she may be more of a challenge than even he's able to take on...

Praise for The Cat Star Chronicles

"Sexy and fascinating... leaves the reader eager for the next story featuring these captivating aliens."
-Romantic Times

"Ms. Brooks has a way of carrying the reader off into the stars... I highly recommend this entire series... it is action packed adventure that will draw the reader in and keep them turning the pages."
-The Romance Studio

"A series that has thoroughly captivated me."
-Romance Junkies

"A WORLD OF FANTASY THAT WILL STRETCH THE READER'S IMAGINATION."
-THE ROMANCE STUDIO

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781402229411
  • Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 8/1/2010
  • Format: Mass Market Paperback
  • Pages: 384
  • Sales rank: 195,180
  • Series: Cat Star Chronicles Series , #6
  • Product dimensions: 4.20 (w) x 6.90 (h) x 1.20 (d)

Meet the Author

Cheryl Brooks is an Intensive Care Unit nurse by day and a romance writer by night. Previous books in The Cat Star Chronicles series include Slave, Warrior, Rogue, Outcast and Fugitive. She is a member of the RWA and lives with her husband and sons in Bloomfield, Indiana. Hero is the fifth book in The Cat Star Chronicles series.

Read an Excerpt

His swirling cloak was what caught her eye, but even from across the crowded park, his aura of sadness and regret went straight to her heart. A little girl ran after him as he walked away, and when he stopped and knelt beside her, she held out her hand, offering him something. His long curling hair fell forward as he accepted it, revealing a streak of orange in the otherwise black locks. There was a brief exchange that Micayla couldn't hear, but whatever the girl had given him must have been quite a treat, for his smile after tasting it was a mixture of wistfulness and delight.

Micayla had never seen him before, but, being a newcomer to Orleon Station, this wasn't surprising. So far, Windura was the only one she saw on other than a coworker basis, and that was mainly because their quarters were next door to one another.

"Hey, Micayla," Windura called out from the corridor behind her. "Let's meet for lunch, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Micayla replied. Tearing her eyes away from the man, she turned to greet her Vessonian friend.

"Lunch would be great."

"The main dining hall at eleven hundred?"

"Fine," Micayla replied, forcing herself to smile.

Glancing over her shoulder, to her dismay she saw that the man had already gone. She strained her eyes to find him among the huge potted plants and benches of the space station's "park." "Did you see that guy-the one in the cloak with the long black hair?"

"A cloak?" Windura echoed. "Why would anyone be wearing a cloak? It's hot as hell in here!"

It wasn't the first time she'd heard Windura complain about the heat, but then catering to the preferences of a variety of different beings made the choice of ambient temperature difficult. "Maybe so," she said doubtfully. "But some people are just cold-natured..." She stared off in the direction he must have taken. "What's back that way?"

"Some of the more disreputable parts of the station," Windura replied, flipping her long blond hair over her shoulder. "You're better off not going down there." Micayla nodded absently. "I'm sure you're right," she said, but something about him was so compelling that if Windura hadn't intervened, she'd have gone running after him in a heartbeat.

"We've got to get you better oriented to this place," Windura went on. "A girl like you needs to know the ropes."

Micayla frowned. "What makes you say that?"

Shaking her head, Windura replied, "If you don't know that by now, then I can't help you." With a quick grin, she added, "See you at eleven," and was gone. Micayla stood gazing blankly at the throng of children, unable to recall why she had gone to the park in the first place. Ordinarily it would've been a cold day in hell, let alone Orleon Station, when a man distracted her that much, but then she remembered: Tea. You're here to get tea. Getting in line at Starbucks, she ordered a tall cup of hot, foaming chai and then headed off to work.

The communications center was a hive of bustling activity, and Micayla had to squeeze past several other officers to get to her station, nearly spilling her tea as she finally plunked down in her seat. The guy from the previous shift had left his candy wrappers scattered about, and she gathered them up, grumbling as one of them stuck to the console.

"Sorry about that," he said from behind her. Reaching over her shoulder, he retrieved the last of them, his chest pressing lightly against her back.

Micayla shifted away from him slightly. Scott was Terran and an attractive fellow with a terrific smile, but he was getting a little too... chummy. As a female of an unknown species, if there was one thing Micayla had learned, it was that Terrans and whatever she was weren't compatible-at least, none she'd met so far-and having grown up on Earth, she'd met quite a few. "That's okay, Scott," she said. "I'm sure I leave tea stains for Xantric to wipe up when she comes on duty."

"Not sure she'd notice," Scott said with a shrug.

"And if she did, you'd never know it. Twilanans never complain about anything." He turned to leave, but then paused, adding, "Not much traffic on the system for the past couple of hours, but I'm sure it'll pick up for you."

Micayla took a sip of her tea and nodded. "It always does," she agreed. "Get some sleep."

Scott sighed. "Too bad you and I work different shifts. Otherwise, we could spend a little more time together-instead of me just going back to my quarters and dreaming about you."

Micayla felt a pang near her heart and wished she could have felt something other than regret when a man said such things to her. Steeling herself against his inevitable reaction, she purposely avoided his eyes, focusing instead on resetting the instrument panel with her fingerprint on the log entry. "Dreams will have to suffice, big guy," she said. "I'm not looking for a boyfriend."

"You always say that," Scott grumbled. "Sure I can't talk you out of it?"

"You could try," she said, wishing it really would work, just once, "but it probably won't do you any good."

"Ice Queen," he muttered.

"I've been called that before," she said wearily.

"Treacherous Temptress?"

"Been called that too."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"You'd be surprised." Micayla sighed. "And believe me, it's nothing personal, Scott. I have no problem with being friends, but if you want more than that, I'm simply the wrong species."

Seeming to take this as an invitation, Scott turned and leaned against the partition that divided the workstations.

"What are you, anyway?"

"No idea," she replied. "But I'm not human, that's for sure."

"No shit," Scott said. "You're better looking than any Terran I've ever seen. I love those cat-like eyes of yours. The elfin ears are nice too, and the fangs..." His voice trailed off there as though indulging in some erotic fantasy.

"The better to bite you with, my dear," Micayla quoted. When her stepmother had first read her that story, she probably never realized that Micayla identified much more with the wolf than with Little Red Riding Hood-though, in truth, she looked more like a lion or a panther than a wolf.

If Scott's response was any indication, being savaged by a lioness was the answer to his wildest imaginings. "Would you?" he asked eagerly. "Please? Pretty please?"

"Absolutely not," Micayla said firmly as a hail came through the system. "Get going, now," she added, shooing him away. "I've got work to do."

Scott withdrew with obvious reluctance, mumbling imprecations under his breath as he went.

Micayla redirected the hail and wondered if it would be worth it to try to spend a little more time with Scott. He was a nice guy and it would take no encouragement whatsoever to-no, she decided. It wasn't worth the pain. Her lack of interest in the opposite sex wasn't her fault, but he would end up despising her for it and then she'd be right back where she started.

Her attitude wasn't precisely a lack of interest, however; it was more a lack of desire, and though she knew what desire was supposed to feel like-she had one fantasy that never failed to elicit that response-it never seemed to work with a flesh and blood man. The man she'd seen in the park might have been different, though; she'd at least felt something for him, if only compassion. Had the little girl been his daughter, telling him good-bye as he left on a journey through space? Was she a friend or a complete stranger? Micayla had no way of knowing, but the more she thought about it, the more she itched to find out.

She glanced up as Dana took her seat at the next station, apologizing to Roxanne for being late. "I had such a tough time getting Cara out of the park!" Dana was saying. "She started talking to someone and didn't want to leave. I'm surprised she didn't go running after him."

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 68 )

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 69 Customer Reviews

  • Posted July 28, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    the latest Zetithian science fiction romance also contains the most powerful Cat Stars Chronicles coupling to date

    Since his brother Tychar found his soul mate (see Rogue), Trag the Zetithian is depressed though he feels great for his sibling as he wants the same thing for himself. An outlaw on many planets, he is careful even when he offers to pay for sex; his talent insures he never has to remit any money as women find him to be the sexual encounter of a lifetime. Still he dreams of meeting a female especially from his now destroyed species, but fears no soulmate exists for him. He is especially despondent when he is with his few surviving male brethren (including his brother) as each has found their females.

    Micayla leaves her home world of Earth for the first time in her life. She feels lonely but accepts a truism that men or women don't turn her on and that somehow she is different than her family and friends. That changes in an instant gut changing observation of the back of a stranger who she finds desiring. However, when she meets the hunk who she wants, instead of jumping Trag's bones as her inclination screams inside her, she rips his skin off blaming him for her unwanted desire.

    While the overarching story line involving the pandemic destruction of a race and their planet moves forward with insight into who committed the atrocity, the latest Zetithian science fiction romance also contains the most powerful Cat Stars Chronicles coupling to date. That says a lot as previous tales like Fugitive, Rogue, and Slave are excellent. Readers will relish this pairing of two of the universe's loneliest people; as Micayla makes Trag dance the Macarena to snare his soulmate.

    Harriet Klausner

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted July 20, 2010

    You Need to Grab a Copy of This Book!

    Originally posted at: www.whippedcream2.blogspot.com ***** How do you know that you are falling in love when you don't even understand what you are? Take two aliens from a destroyed planet with unknown mating rituals and watch what happens when they get together. It's a comical challenge because they have absolutely no idea what's going on.

    This is the story of Trag. Even if a reader has never read any of the other stories in the Cat Star Chronicles or the one about his brother, Tychar, in Rogue, this book stands alone just fine. The only reason I'd recommend reading Tychar's story is to understand the depths of loneliness that Trag endures. For this reason especially, Hero already has a certain warm spot in my heart.

    Micayla is away from Earth for the first time. She doesn't understand why her libido is dormant. She is just not interested in guys the way her friends are. She is awfully good at her job, however, and she takes pride in her efficiency. Sure, she's often wondered why she looks a little different than her step-mom, but she had a great time growing up and she knows she's loved. But something never felt quite right. Until one day the sighting of the back of a mysterious man sets her pulse pounding. How odd is that? For Micayla, very odd, and it's the beginning of her journey to finding out about herself and what makes a man interesting to her. Too bad when she finally meets him, she reacts to him with a vengeance. And not in a nice way. Personally, I found it very funny. His reaction is just as interesting because he's perplexed, affronted and not a little bit hurt.

    I liked Micayla. She's clever, thinks well on her feet and when she calls someone friend, she stands by them.

    Trag is a man who, by the choice of his friends, is termed an outlaw. He's not really, but to certain planets he's classified as one. So he has to be careful. He seeks solace from paid women, who never charge him because of his 'talents'. Believe it or not, it's a good thing he does, because it plays a key role later in the book. He's a lonely man who has pretty much insured he'll never get his own happily ever after because he wants what he can't have - a Zetithian woman. The planet was destroyed with all souls lost and that's pretty much how Trag feels - lost. There is a lot of heartfelt emotion in this story because of it. I wanted Trag to be happy especially when he's surrounded by all his brethren, the last remaining Zetithians. Of them, he is the only one unmated, left out. The author did a wonderful job in reaching that part of me that wants to reach out and hug him.

    Ms. Brooks was brilliant in her choice of conflict. Micayla and Trag both want one another but the mixed signals, the confusion, the hurt feelings stemming from so many unknowns about their innate instincts have them running around in circles. Compound the situation with mistakes and making erroneous assumptions and I wondered how in the world they'd come to realize they were falling in love. Some of their reactions and dialogue were hysterically funny, some were annoying and some just broke my heart.

    If that conflict isn't enough, readers finally find out who blew up the Zetithian home world in the first place. This is a major revelation with lots of intrigue, power plays and dastardly doings. The reason for it all only makes sense if the villain is crazy - which I think to be the truth. But the villain is crazy genius which makes it all the worse.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 14, 2011

    good story, just a lot or (porn)sex

    I LOVE the story line, but I think the soft/hard core porn sex is a bit overdone...sell it as sexual sci fi if you want, but I hate to see such a good story line, and yes, I did read some of the others, but the porn was a bit much...I mean, I got the idea after the second description,, and on and on and on...not suitable for some of my friends or even me....Keep writing, you have good story ideas, and good characters, just clean up the act a bit...

    cdlpeke

    1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted August 6, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9781402211928 9781402218965

    OMG!!!

    I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down from the moment I bought it (which was Wednesday and finished it Thursday)!!! Brooks, this series will stay in my collection for a long time; keep'em comin'!!! For those of you who have not been fortunate enough to read this series, you should consider trying it out (especially if you like a little sci-fi mixed in with your sex)! Personally, I can't wait to find me a Cat! Until then, I will spend the rest of my time trying to figure out how to make SNARD! I'm going to be rich!!! Happy reading!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 12, 2012

    Nice addition!

    Cheryl Brooks continues to entertain and intrigue in this latest version of the Cat series. You will not be disappointed .

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  • Posted June 17, 2011

    Can't read it on my computer!!!!!!!!!

    It really sucks when you spend 13 dollars on a book you can't read.

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  • Posted January 11, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    Yummm!

    Definetly a very good read. Each and every book in this series has not disapointed!

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  • Posted November 1, 2010

    I want one for my own!

    I love Cheryl Brooks Cat Star Chronicles and have read every one of them. These books are definitie keepers. I love all the characters and my favorite is Jack and her family because she's so fiesty! I hope this isn't the end of the series because I just can't get enough. Thus far, I have found that this race is entirely different from what is out on the market such as the vampire and wolf series. Ms. Brooks spins a wonderful tale on each book and I have found that it is hard to put each book down once you dive into it. Great job!

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  • Posted August 3, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Bridget's Review

    This has to be one of the most seductive books in the history of romance. Trag is a spicy male character that sweeps both Micayla and the reader off their feet. I give this book four stars, easy.

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    Posted April 10, 2011

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