Who Doesn’t Love A Princess and Her Bodyguard Story? #PetsinSpace

One of my favorite tropes is the loyal bodyguard falling for the woman he’s supposed to guard, and I have always, always loved a good space princess. (Princess Leia was one of my formative influences.) When it came time to write my story for Pets in Space 4 I thought it would be a great idea to smash up two of my favorite things: a space princess and the bodyguard who loves her! This leads to all kinds of delicious tangled emotions for our lovers. Loyalty, duty, passion. My story’s princess, Liana, feels like she made a mistake when she kisses the hero, Jacen. Her father catches them and it leads to Jacen being fired and exiled from their home planet. Liana regrets that stolen kiss more than anything.

Of course, what Liana doesn’t know is that Jacen would happily give up everything, including his life, for her. And the moment she kissed him was one of the happiest of his life, and…You’ll have to read my story to see how they resolve their star-crossed love. 

Adding another layer to the theme of my loyalty is my pet this year: Pym the caliba. Last year, I was so inspired by the otherworldly pets the other authors had come up with that I decided to up my game this time and get a little more creative with my own pet. For this story, I created the caliba, a species of mystical birds who have an empathetic connection with their chosen person. In this case, Pym is linked to Liana, and he has mystical powers that he can use—but only to help her. The caliba are beautiful and deadly, and the villain of my story wants to exploit the wondrous birds for profit. Of course, my hero and heroine would never let that happen. 

I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope readers will enjoy it too. Read an excerpt!

“Jacen.”

The relieved smile on Princess Liana’s face was enough to make Jacen’s heart hurt, but he pushed aside those considerations and grabbed her by the elbow to keep her close as they started down the hallway. He looked for signs of other guards, other transients as carefully as he could without being too obvious. 

“This way.” He tugged her gently into a shadowed alleyway where he’d stowed some things. “Forgive me, princess, but I’m going to need to change you out of those clothes. And we need to do it fast.”

She blinked at him, her large brown eyes warm and trusting. “Oh. A disguise?”

“Exactly.” He shuffled through the pile of rags he’d scrounged. They were all filthy and stinking, not fit to be in the same room with the princess, let alone to touch her body, but needs must drive. He chose the least offensive items and handed the pile to her. “I’ll stand at the entrance and keep watch. Please be quick.”

“I will.” 

He forced himself to walk away from her even as every instinct he had—protective and otherwise—was demanding that he keep her close, that he never let her out of his sight. But it was only a few feet, and she needed privacy. 

The sound of fabric rustling suddenly conjured up images of her pale limbs flashing, her plump curves naked and bared to the air. Jacen could all too easily imagine what she must look like. Feel like. He fisted his hands against his sides as he continued to scan the hallway. Focus. Mistakes like that, distractions, were what had cost the princess her freedom in the first place. He couldn’t let it happen again. 

From THE PRINCESS AND HER BODYGUARD

Alien Animal Rescues Series

By E.D. Walker

Princess Liana blames herself when she and her wondrous bird companion, Pym, are kidnapped. If she hadn’t kissed her bodyguard, Jacen, he never would’ve been fired, and she and Pym would never have been abducted from the palace.

Jacen has loved Liana for as long as he can remember. Even disgraced and exiled, he will still do anything to protect her—and Pym. Unfortunately, saving her life means losing her forever, but that’s a price he’s willing to pay. After all, he could never ask her to run away to the stars with him—could he?

To read this story, grab your copy of Pets in Space® 4 today! For a limited time, Pets in Space® 4 brings together today’s leading Science Fiction Romance authors to help Hero-Dogs.org, a non-profit charity that helps our service veterans and first responders. https://petsinspaceantho.com

E.D. Walker is the author of The Fairy Tales of Lyond Series that begins with Enchanting the King. E.D. lives in sunny Southern California with her family and one of the neediest housecats on the planet. Find out more on E.D.’s Website

I’d like to thank E.D. for stopping by the blog to share such fun into about her story! To read her story and all the stories in Pets in Space® 4, grab your copy before it is gone!

Perilously yours,

Pauline