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Category: Erotica/Romance
Description: [Menage Amour: Erotic Futuristic Menage a Quatre Romance, M/M/M/F with various combination of M/M, M/F, M/M/F, M/M/M, monogamous polyamory] Dr. Emilia Hypatia is recently-graduated and looking for adventure. She's an Alpha-ranked healer, has a degree in psychology, and empath training. Fresh out of a bad relationship with a cheating ex, her five-year assignment to the Deep Space Mission Corps vessel, Tamora Bight, seems ideal. Especially when she meets the three handsome crewmen she'll spend her time caring for--in more ways than one. First Officer Caphis Bates is playful and rowdy. Mate Ford Caliban is her intellectual and emotional partner. But it's Captain Aaron Lucio who is an enigma; passionate, with a deeply wounded and carefully guarded soul. While sharing their communal bed is a scorchingly sensual experience, Emi soon learns the three men suffer a shared grief, their "crew story." She patiently works to unlock their secret past, but space exploration is cold--and cruel. Will time run out for all of them before she can heal their hearts? [Erotic Futuristic Menage a Quatre Romance. Warning: Contains graphic sexual content and adult language.]
eBook Publisher: Siren-BookStrand, Inc./Menage Amour, 2009 2009
eBookwise Release Date: May 2010

103 Reader Ratings:

Great	Good	OK	Poor

Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [387 KB]
Words: 84635
Reading time: 241-338 min.

"BEST BOOK: Full of passion, wonder, and emotion, Love at First Bight is a fascinating story that took me on a journey that I never wanted to end. As for this unexpected and interesting twist, I won't spoil it, but it definitely surprised me as I never saw it coming. Yet as I thought about it, I realized that the author dropped subtle little hints throughout the story and I never realized what they were all leading up to. I thought the author did a beautiful job of doing this and it really made the story stand out to me as everything fell into place. Overall the story is a very emotional one, more so than I initially thought it would be as I read the description. While it does have scorching hot and touching love scenes between all of the main characters, it also has heart as the four bond and form an unconventional relationship. The group becomes so close and emotionally linked that I ached for them toward the end during one of the most emotional and pivotal scenes of the story, however, I don't want to say too much for fear of spoiling it. I will say that the author did a fabulous job of making me care about these characters and allowing me to experience and feel their pain and emotion with her words. I was drawn into this fascinating world and relationship and loved every minute of it. Love at First Bight has more than earned a spot among my keepers and I look forward to reading more of what this talented author has to offer." -- Lilac, Whipped Cream Review

"5 BLUE RIBBONS: Love at First Bight got me. It totally got me. However, to say why would mean giving away the story and that is something that I will not do. Each reader deserves to enjoy this skillfully written and sexually scorching book on their own. Be assured that Love at First Bight is truly a fun and frolic filled time. I am hooked on Tymber Dalton - totally and completely." -- Natasha, RomanceJunkies

"5 STARS: Love at First Bight is an exceptionally erotic, extremely smooth read, and is infused with emotions. This first book of the Deep Space Mission Corps series blew me away, ensuring that I will pick up the next book, without fail. The sex is out of this world, pun intended. There is everything from sex between a man and a woman only, to sex between just men, as well as all four crewmembers. There is some male on male sex, which is so effortlessly depicted that it was extremely erotic and didn't seem out of place. The plot revolves around this quartet getting to know each other, allowing this story to showcase true love. Overall, I highly recommend this book as a deeply loving romance and an extremely erotic story. I can't wait for the next book in the Deep Space Mission Corps series." -- Francesca Hayne, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

Prologue

From the Earth Almanac, Copyright 2668:

"While similar in appearance to the primitive automobiles and trucks originally developed in the twentieth century, modern ground vehicles share a lineage with their early counterparts and little else. Today's modern, lightweight polymers mean vehicle weight is a fraction of the old metal vehicles, with a thousand times the strength and durability. And the newest generation of Solectric hybrid fission engines are clean, which drastically reduced carbon emissions in the world upon their initial introduction in the year 2284. Within fifty years, greenhouse gas levels had dropped to levels not seen before the original historic Industrial Revolution period..."

Chapter One

With the graduation ceremony over, an underwhelming sense of completion washed over her.

Done. Eight long years of classes and training and practice and...

Oh, Hades. Done.

Now what?

Emilia Hypatia's best friend, Donna, slid her hand-held reader over the coffee shop table toward her, and pointed to a highlighted advertisement.

"What about that, Emi?"

Emi took the reader and studied the ad her friend had notated.

Adventure! Training! Excellent Pay!

We're looking for a few good men--and especially women--to train for the DSM Corps. New missions leaving as soon as six weeks. Trained medical professionals earn substantial bonuses. Five year tenure required.

Emi sat back. "Five years is a long time."

"Excellent pay and substantial bonuses would buy you your own place, Doctor Hypatia. Set you up for life. You know the Deep Space Mission Corps makes millionaires out of people."

Emi snorted, pushing the reader back across to Donna. "Yeah, if you survive."

"They haven't lost a crew in over ten years. I saw it on the news the other night." Donna paused. "It would get you far away from Dagbert."

"Daniel."

"Whatever."

That would be nice. Ever since the night three weeks earlier when she caught him screwing one of her chem lab classmates, Emi had been dodging his attempts to get back together with her.

Later that night, Emi looked up the ad on her reader, noted the code, and requested an information packet. Couldn't hurt to check into it, right? Not like she had any family. Her mother and father had died ten years earlier in 2659, when a meteor slammed into their research station on the moon, near Mare Serenitatis. A totally preventable freak accident for which the government compensated her and provided a complete paid college education.

Now she was a trained healer, with holistic, medical, and surgical rankings, not to mention the empath training and minor in psych. She could probably name her price and have her pick of the juiciest job appointments.

Yet she wanted more.

The information packet was in Emi's email the next morning. She browsed it, interested. Safety wasn't guaranteed, of course, but unless it was a hell of a lot riskier than they let on, they were honest that it wasn't a sure-fire return trip home. Those who did return home, however, would be set for over ten million bucks and a pick of future assignments within the DSMC, on or off-Earth, as desired. As an Alpha-ranked healer, she'd earn an additional five mil bonus.

They had a one o'clock interview slot available.

Why in Hades not? She took it.

The DSMC complex sat on a wind-scoured desert plain minutes outside of New Phoenix, grouped with several other military services sharing the gigantic, sprawling dry dock facility. It was the DSMC's main compound, where ships were brought for extensive retrofits before being sent to the orbiting docking hubs to leave Earth.

The receptionist looked up Emi's appointment information and directed her to the correct building. After twenty minutes of playing twenty questions with a lab assistant, Emi was ushered into a small interview room and took a seat in front of a large desk. A few minutes later, an older man joined her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Dr. Hypatia." He shook her hand. "I'm Dr. Louis Graymard, the personnel acquisitions supervisor."

"Emi is fine."

"All right." He sat and consulted his hand-held console. "You're twenty-six. You just graduated?"

"Yes."

"Graduate Alpha Healer Ranking, very nice. We don't get enough of those. Psych minor, empath training. That's a bonus." He looked at her. "Why are you interested in one of our positions? You could have your pick of jobs here."

She shrugged. Why not the truth? "I have no family. I have no boyfriend. I've got a couple of degrees and a dwindling government settlement for the death of my parents. So why not?"

"You realize it's a five year contractual commitment? There's no getting out there in deep space and saying, 'Sorry, I want to go home now.'"

"I have no home to go to. I have to be out of the school dorms by the end of next month anyway."

He nodded and noted something in his console. "You went through the information packet we sent?"

She had, and that's where her questions started. "Let's cut the bullshit. What exactly is meant by crew will be expected to 'mutually care for each other?' Are we talking doing each other's laundry, or doing each other?"

Graymard laughed. "Very perceptive. The second. No force will ever be allowed, of course. Our crews are fitted with compatibility chips."

"Which tells me bubkis."

"It means they can't force you, you can't force them. Likewise, you won't find it comfortable to let them...suffer, as it were. Or them you. It also insures fidelity amongst the crew to prevent straying. They are removed upon returning from the mission."

"I don't want to spend five years stuck with some ugly-ass jerks."

"Oh, it doesn't work like that. If you don't find a compatible crew, you aren't assigned. It's no fun for anyone if it's...well, not fun."

At least they couldn't cheat on her.

"I won't sleep with a girl."

"You wouldn't be asked to do that, then."

Emi sat back in her chair. "I get to pick the crew I work with?"

"Absolutely. Of course, there are the usual precautions. Everyone is screened for health concerns, and the compatibility chips also take care of the birth control issue."

She thought about it. She'd looked through all the paperwork and contracts last night, had nothing here on Earth, wanted to get as far away from Daniel as possible. Why not try something new? Sow some wild oats. She could settle down later.

"All right, I'm game. What's the next step?"

"We'll take you first for a complete physical, including a brain scan, that takes a couple of hours. Then we'll introduce you to the crews."

"I won't commit to anything until I find a crew I like."

"You won't be signing anything unless or until you find a compatible crew. Contingent upon passing the scans and other evaluations, of course. If you didn't find a compatible crew and still wanted to be kept in consideration, we could offer you an on-Earth position until you're matched with a suitable crew."

"So I don't lose, is what you're saying?"

He laughed. "No, you're actually the one with the upper hand."

Graymard escorted her to another building, talking as they walked. "We're assembling four-person crews right now, we call them 'four-packs.' It would be you and three men."

She hoped her knees wouldn't buckle. "Three men? No one else, no other women to, eh, help out?"

"No." He stopped and turned to face her. "Having second thoughts?"

She swallowed hard. "No. Let's do this."

Holy crap. Three guys. It hadn't quite slammed home until then. She'd figured one, maybe two. Three guys?

Well, at least it wasn't more. And she had wanted something different.

The converse was three guys who depended on her, and who wouldn't be cheating on her.

Couldn't cheat on her.

Maybe not such a bad deal after all.

The scanning center was filled with rows of dozens of units that looked like old-fashioned tanning beds without the lights, some of which were already occupied. After Emi gave blood and urine specimens and went through a physical, a technician hooked her up and made sure she was comfortable.

"This takes about two hours, feel free to doze off. We can adjust the temperature, any of that, just tell us." He handed her a small cup of clear liquid. "Take this, it helps with the results."

She sniffed it, but it was odorless and colorless and tasted like water. "Doze off, huh?"

He smiled. "People usually do."