Gambit by Kim Knox

 
Captain Chae Beyon is a hustler, a mercenary pilot, a wounded woman who prefers her men to be easily thrown aside. 

Daned Traern is a first-caste Ladaian bound by tradition and DNA to protect his race. He's willing to align himself with the hot space captain if she'll transport him home in time to ensure the right candidate is crowned-and thus prevent a bloody war. 

Disguised as Chae's sex toy, Daned is erotically bound to her through living gold, alien tech designed to increase pleasure. When he frees himself, their passion only increases...but succumbing to temptation will bind them together-permanently. 

But there's more at stake than their needs. As Chae is dragged into a world of insane princes and sentient stones, hired killers hound them across the quadrant. 

And then, as only her lousy luck would have it, Chae must choose between the good of the galaxy and her own heart..

I am really starting to look forward to reading book by Carina Press.  They all tend to be top quality with very few problems with the editing.  GAMBIT is no exception. 

I will admit that I didn't particularly care for Chae in the beginning of the book, or Daned either for that matter, but they very quickly grew on me.  I found myself cheering Chae along when things with right or holding my breath when her lousy luck made itself known.  Daned can be a real charmer when he lets himself be.  I also appreciated the fact that in GAMBIT, the choice to be tied to another person permanently is not made by an outside force or directive but instead is one that the parties involved have to weigh for themselves.

Of course choosing to be permanent does make for some really hot sex.  Ah a girl can only dream that it would work that way outside of fiction.  I really enjoyed the book and would love to see a sequel so that I can go back and visit with them both.  

I rate this book a 3.5 out of a 5.