New York Times and USA Today best-selling author S. E. Smith presents two heartwarming holiday stories that will transport listeners out of this world.

The crew of the Scarlet Gaze are figuring out what they want to do now that Lord Straik sa'Rin is no longer running a corsair ship. Some of the a'ani crew want to run a cantina on Risda III. Kazex just wants Ruthie. Ruthie just wants to have a nervous breakdown. Well, she wants Kazex, too. The delicious a'ani chief of security has been a steady, protective, delicious presence ever since she joined the crew. He's made it clear that he loves Ruthie as she is, nervous wreck and all. But Ruthie's afraid of what will happen to their easy friendship if she asks for more.

Aimee Wheels loves her free-living lifestyle. She doesn't need the trappings of money to find happiness. All she needs are her crazy friends, her job as a courier in New York City, and her skateboard.

CEO Lainie Madden has her hands full. In charge of a growing tech company, her work and her employees are her life. She’s sworn off love, because the sad reality is that she stinks at choosing men who aren’t self-absorbed cheaters. But when she starts receiving disturbing death threats and her company’s website gets hit with relentless cyber-attacks, she’s in over her head.

Dax’s greatest regret is leaving the woman he loved. His only other regret—not being able to tell her how her brother died. Now, he lives by one rule: mission first. When Trinity re-appears as a suspect in his investigation, he must make a hard choice. Duty, or baring his soul to the woman he could never forget?

They're marrying me off to a monster. I knew the day would come. I just didn't think it would be so soon. I'm betrothed. I'd always imagined my future husband would be some minor lord who'd value me only because I would bear him heirs. I never thought Father would go to the capital and seek an audience with Emperor Valdon Duthriss himself. What unholy deal did he make that I, a mere baron's daughter, ended up betrothed to that man?

Fleeing a life of abuse, Sheri climbs aboard a mail-order-mate spaceship bound for a distant station but never arrives.... Fate intervenes, and her trip takes a quick, deadly turn when she crashes on the planet Atera. She's surrounded by endless sand dunes, dangerous creatures, and alien beings that remind her of Earth lizards. But one particular lizard hardly leaves her thoughts - a sexy, two-legged, muscular male bent on protecting and caring for her at all costs.

The blue alien warrior pacing in his cage terrifies me. His long dark hair is wild and messy, and his scarred body looks made for murder. I deliver food to him every day, and I'm sure by the way he stares at me that he'd rather eat me. Yet there's something about him that captivates me, and I can't stop watching him. When he lets the snarling, fearsome mask slip, I start to see there's a cool calculation to his actions. I would be risking everything to help him escape, but do I dare let this monster free from his cage?

I’m the Hyrrokin High Priest of a remote monastery on the planet Salo. I spend my days in quiet contemplation, keeping my flame-throwing banked and nursing my war wounds. And I take my vows of silence and celibacy very seriously. Very. Seriously. Then one day a mouthy, gorgeous human female is dumped onto the stone steps of the main altar. And suddenly I’m tempted like never before.

As a Holder’s daughter, Aspeth Honori knows the importance of magical artifacts . . . which is why it’s a disaster that her father has gambled all theirs away. Now that her family is in danger of losing their hold—and their heads—if anyone finds out the truth, Aspeth decides to do something about it. She’ll join the Royal Artifactual Guild and the adventurers who explore ancient underground ruins to retrieve the coveted arcane items. It’s a great plan—with one big problem. The guild won’t let her train because she’s a woman. Aspeth needs a chaperone of some kind.

Choosing Theo: Being kidnapped by aliens is only the start of Jade's problems. Thankfully, her rescuers, an alien race known as the Clecanians, are willing to protect her, but she has to stay on their planet for one year and respect the rules of their culture—including choosing a husband.

As the first humans allowed in Suevan space, there’s a lot riding on my all-woman team. Earth desperately needs their tech, and I’m determined to prove we can negotiate the price. Without their planetary defense systems, Earth is a sitting duck, ripe for invasion. Except the Suevan culture is nothing like ours. When I take part in what I think is a welcoming ceremony, I leave with more than I bargained for: a husband. A mate. Apparently, we’re there to marry them as payment—something the top brass on Earth doesn’t bother denying. Fantastic.

Abby Tanner is content to live on her mountain while she creates beautiful works of art and enjoys the peace and quiet. All that changes when a strange golden spaceship crash lands on it. Now Abby has to deal with a golden ship, a tortured alien, and an insane local sheriff.

Xenoanthropologist Kennedy Black loves exploring new cultures with Space Corps. Everyone in her life has left her, so she happily fills the void with exciting adventures. When she’s assigned to escort the new ambassador to the planet Oron for an opulent ball, she’s thrilled to get an up-close look at the Oronis knights and their culture of honor and duty to their knightqueen. But she never expected her reaction to cool, controlled Knightmaster Ashtin Caydor, head of the Oronis Knightforce.

The first three books in the best-selling Monsters Love Curvy Girls series! Ferocious flame-throwing, satanic-looking males with tender-hearted marshmallow interiors who passionately love their human females exactly as they are. This box set includes the following books: Book One: His Human Nanny, narrated by Patrick Zeller and Lexi Maynard; Book Two: His Human Surrogate, narrated by Patrick Zeller and Victoria Mei; and Book Three: His Human Assistant, narrated by Patrick Zeller and Neva Navarre.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.

Five Years Earlier: Henry Dunne knows three things: that agreeing to host this raucous house party was a terrible idea, that he absolutely cannot show up to his nursing shift tomorrow with a hangover, and that the beautiful redhead in the corner will be sleeping in his bed tonight.

Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel - The Vipers. Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses. Yes, sold me. They own me now. I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant.

Obituary writer Nadine Barbault doesn’t mind being called “Lady Death”. It suits the ice queen persona she’s cultivated to survive the fast-paced Toronto Herald. So when Nadine learns that famous (and reclusive) author Dot Voline has died, she doesn’t hesitate to run the obituary…only to discover that Dot is very much alive. Nadine’s screw-up has brought Wesley Chen of the rival Spear no end of joy—she’s been a thorn in his extremely ambitious side for years. But the renewed interest in Dot also surfaced chatter about a mysterious past scandal.

Hockey coach Ashley Jaswal doesn't take nonsense from anyone … except her overbearing and superstitious family. They believe she's a good luck charm for her brother Jas, the newest Vancouver Canucks draft pick, forcing Ash to attend all his games as he rises up the NHL ranks, sacrificing her personal life (not that she has one—who decided hockey season needed to be 10 months long anyway?). Ash also clashes with Jas’s teammate, Canucks captain Devin Snyder.