The Monitors by Stevie CarrollStuart is a monitor: a human back-up to the computer controls on a deep space colony transport. Working alone for months at a time, with long periods between shifts spent in cryogenic stasis, his contact with other people is limited to the change-over of shifts, and brief stays on distant planets between jobs. Born blind into a universe where genetic 'abnormalities' are screened out at conception, Stuart has come to see himself as superior to the 'normals' in some respects, but lacking in others that have nothing to do with sight. He dreams of an academic research post, a family and a permanent home, always wondering what woman will love 'a guy like him'.Claire, deaf since a childhood illness, has broken away from her overprotective family, and wants to see as much of the universe as possible. Having spotted Stuart from afar before joining the ship's crew, she is delighted when their shifts overlap, and is unafraid to demonstrate her attraction to him. The instantaneous, intense chemistry between them breaks down Stuart's inhibitions about sex on duty—and on a first date, at that—but will Claire willingly put her travel plans aside until he's ready to travel with her?Fight or Flight by Jenna ByrnesRobert Mackenzie is running for his life. In 2145 Chicago, the police have bounties on their heads and if caught, are forced to fight to the death in arena-type matches. In a seedy pub, Mac discovers a woman who looks very familiar. Although she denies it, he quickly realizes, she's the one person who's more hunted than anyone else in the civil war-fractured United States. Katherine Garza is wary, stubborn and more beautiful than anyone he's met in ages.Exhausted from months of hiding and being on the run, Mac knows he doesn't look like anyone Katy could trust. But he might be her only chance as Progressive soldiers dig deep into the trenches in order to wipe out the opposition. Katy's determined to do things her way. Mac is all for that, as long as he's really calling the shots. Together, they must work as a team to stay alive. If they don't kill each other, first.Star's Embrace by DC JurisCaptain Jacob Meryl has lusted after Maltinian Ambassador Arlite Parvone since he first laid eyes on her, but the timing has never been right. At least, not until now. A late night call for help from Arlite sends Jacob on a mission to investigate a potential slave vessel—and to win Arlite's heart.Initiation by A.B. Gayle"Life" has taken a dramatic turn for Cedric, whose incarnation was described in Reversal, a short story in Noble Romance Publishing's anthology, Echoes of the Future. The sex slave cyborg now has a new mistress, Jen.Jen was different. She was bred to be different: taller, stronger and faster than the majority of her clan. She accepted those differences because without them she could not fulfil her role as warrior and protector. What she found difficult to accept was her inability to satisfy her sexual desires. Her fellow bounty hunters managed to build meaningful, loving relationships. Why couldn't she?Cedric was also different, but he was constructed to be different. One of a kind. On a desperate mission to learn from the best—the feared warriors of the Anasazi clan—his decision to join their all-female space-faring crew as combat cyborg should mean the secret of his unusual past would be safe. Wouldn't it?