Undercover by Lauren Dane

I picked up this book because I liked Laid Bare, and while browsing Amazon saw this book was on sale. Whoo-eee! I didn't realize it was a futuristic story, as I don't usually enjoy that sort of book, but this one was great. Sooo sexy.

Sera Ayers was in love with Ash Walker 10 years ago. He was totally Dominant and she loved submitting to him. He was the love of her life and he ended up having to marry for political reasons. Sera refused to be his sanctioned mistress. She was bitter and depressed and channeled her energy into advancing her military career.

Fast forward 1o years, and Sera is called in to her commanders office for a new assignment. She'll be working with Ash and Brandt Pela as an undercover group to travel to another planet to gather information about who is selling weapons and information to federation enemies. She is supposed to pose as Ash's concubine, but she refuses and agrees to pose as Brandt's concubine. Once they're there, though, someone notices she has Ash's mark on her (she never had it removed) and ends up having to pose as concubine to both men. I liked that the men interacted with each other as well as Sera.

Ash explains to her what's happened to him in the last 10 years, including divorce from his wife and that he never got over Sera. Sera never got over Ash either, but she's wary of seeing him again. Because of their mission, she's already involved with Brandt, and when Ash gets involved everyone is happy.

The covert mission is interesting, and the relationship between the three is complex. I enjoyed the ending once the mission was over. This was a fun read with a lot of sexin'!

Naked In Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

I had recently decided to give this series a try, then Amy J at The happily ever after... started an In Death Reading Challenge. I decided this was the perfect time to join my first challenge! (Little did I realize there are approximately 35 books in this series!)

This book was not at all what I expected. I thought it would be a contemporary romance about a cop with lots of sexytime. Not at all.

Naked In Death is set in the future with things like flying cars and voice control computers. The rain forest is gone and things like real coffee are indulgences for the rich. Eve Dallas is a tough-as-nails NYPD Lieutenant who investigates homicides. She's called in to investigate the murder of a prostitute (they're legal in the future) who also happens to be the granddaughter of a US Senator. As Eve is investigating all the leads, one of the suspects is a wealthy businessman, Roarke (that's it - one name only). He's immediately intrigued by her and pursues her romantically throughout the case. As more prostitutes are murdered, Eve is getting pressured by the Senator and her superior officers to solve the case. Throughout the storyline, we learn more about Eve's past, which is pretty tragic. Some of the secondary characters made me laugh, such as the male prostitute that kept referring to Eve as "Lieutenant Sugar" and her little old neighbor who's husband died while having pie. The ending was complicated and satisfying. *sigh* I think Roarke may soon be added to my list of Fictional Boyfriends.

I'm glad I decided to take this challenge and have already started on book 2, Glory In Death.