Undercover [Paperback]

Lauren Dane (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 2, 2008

A sexy debut exploring an erotic future universe of passion, danger, and deceit?

On the battleground or in the bedroom, one woman and two men fight for dominance in a bold, new, and excitingly different direction in erotica?

As a lieutenant of the Federation military, Sera Ayers is accustomed to giving orders, not taking them. Now she must obey the one man she can?t stand?and can?t stop thinking about.

With the enemy Imperialists gaining ground, a covert team is assembled by Ash Walker. Ten years before, Sera had lovingly submitted to Ash?s dominance in the bedroom. But when he was forced into a political marriage, she refused to play mistress. His marriage now over, Ash wants Sera on his team?and back in his bed.

The third team member, Brandt Pela, has an elegance to match Ash?s savage sexuality. And when their undercover plan requires Sera to pose as Brandt?s lover, it ignites a passion among the three of them more dangerous than their mission.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dane has written a sizzling, delicious tale of love lost, found and expanded. The M/F/M triad is as endearing as it is molten hot. The friction between Sera and Ash as they resolve their past is intense, and with Brandt added to the mix, it's nothing short of explosive. An adrenaline-filled, suspenseful subplot keeps the reader engaged. --Romantic Times Bookclub TOP PICK December 2008!

About the Author

Lauren Dane writes everything from paranormals to contemporary BDSM books and develops terrible crushes on all her heroes. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; 1ST edition (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425224643
• ISBN-13: 978-0425224649
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #330,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The story goes like this - While on pregnancy bed rest, Lauren Dane had plenty of down time so her husband took her comments about "giving that writing thing a serious go" to heart and brought home a secondhand laptop. She wrote her first book on it before it gave up the ghost. Even better, she sold that book and never looked back.

Today Lauren is a New York Times bestselling author of over fifty novels and novellas across several genres.

Visit Lauren on the web at www.laurendane.com
E-mail [e-mail]
Blog www.laurendane.com/blog
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurendane
You can write to her at: PO BOX 45175, Seattle, WA 98145

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Decadent menage romance in a scifi setting December 2, 2008

By Jennifer Ray TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

A dangerous mission brings Federation lieutenant Sera Ayers into uncomfortably close proximity to two equally dangerous men.

Years ago, Ash Walker broke her heart after announcing his engagement to another woman and asking Sera to be his mistress. Heart broken, Sera fled, floundering through life until she established a successful career in the military. Now Ash is back in her life, and if that weren't bad enough, he's her superior officer.

Brandt Pela is the third member of the undercover team. As long-time best friend to Ash, Brandt is very familiar with the story of Ash and Sera's previous romance. When the mission plan mandates that Sera must play mistress to one of these men, Brandt seems the lesser of two evils.

There will be cameras watching their every move while on their mission, and their lives will depend on their enemies believing their relationship is real, making frequent intimate contact mandatory.

Both Ash and Brandt are determined to take full advantage of the situation to seduce Sera into their lives rather than just their bed. Sera has no hope of holding out against the sensual onslaught by either man, but when they combine forces she knows she is fighting a losing battle.

I became a fan of author Lauren Dane after reading her digital books published by various e-publishers. To see this talented writer move into the big-time with a New York print publisher is absolutely wonderful. The more successful an author is, the more novels their fans will be able to enjoy from them, right? *grin*

UNDERCOVER is a really great story, and one that I expect will garner more than a few new fans for Ms. Dane's work. With a delicious blend of kinky sex, suspense, and romance, this story grabs the reader's attention and doesn't let go until the final page.

With two alpha male heroes, you would expect to have a power struggle between the two, and there is a bit of that. The deep friendship these two share helps them find a middle ground where they share that dominant power. In fact, it is his friendship with Brandt that helps Ash bridge the chasm between him and Sera, allowing them to find a happy ending together.

Sera is one lucky, lucky woman. A relationship with either Brandt or Ash is the stuff women's romantic and erotic dreams are made of, but a ménage with both men? Absolutely mind-blowing. Although naturally submissive in the bedroom, Sera has more than enough backbone to hold her own with both men, no matter how masterful they are.

Readers should know before beginning the story that although the primary focus is on each man's relationship with Sera, there are some pretty hot scenes where the men share their sexual attention with each other as well.

UNDERCOVER is a sensual exploration into the dynamics of long-term ménage relationships with a fantastic Science Fiction setting. This is a must-read for fans of Lauren Dane, and a perfect introduction for erotic romance readers who are new to this author.

**Courtesy of Wild on Books**

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Hot Menage in Space! (B Grade) January 15, 2009

By Katie Babs VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Undercover is the first book I have ever read by Lauren Dane, and it defintely won't be my last. This futuristic sci-fi tale is a bit on the kinky side with a great deal of erotic sex. There is no plain vanilla fun in these pages, but a great story filled with S&M and wonderful ménage love between two men and the woman they want to spend the rest of their lives with.

Sera Ayers is a lieutenant in the Federation Military Corps, a strong leader and woman not to be messed with. Her past comes back to haunt her in the form of Commander Ash Walker. Sera and Ash had an all consuming love affair ten years ago. Sera and Ash's relationship was based on much love and respect, for Sera allowed Ash total control over her body and tapped into her inhibitions. Sera loved that Ash could dominate her in the bedroom and loved being his submissive. But things ended very badly between the two. Because Ash comes from a high-ranking family, he had to sacrifice their love because it was expected that he would marry a women who was of the same station as he. All he could offer Sera was a position as his mistress, which is quiet respectable in his circles. Sera told him to shove it and walked out of his life. Both have never forgotten each other and Ash loves her more than ever. He is now divorced and wants Sera back.

Because the third member of Ash's covert ops team retired, he and his Para-Commander, Brandt Pela, who also happens to be his ex-brother in law and close friend, need someone to fill the empty position. Because Sera is so skilled, she has been assigned to join their team. The Federation's enemy, the Imperialists, have attacked various outposts and have obtained very classified data. They have tracked the stolen information to a planet called Nondal. Ash, Brandt and Sera must go undercover to Nondal. Sera freaks out because she must go as a concubine to either one of the men since Nondal is very patriarchal and women are seen as play things. Ash assumes Sera will be his concubine, which will enable him to reach into Sera's heart. Sera is not falling for it and rather be with Brandt. Brandt accepts even though Ash and Sera may still have to be hands on for the sake of the mission.

Ash is hurt that Sera won't give him a second chance and knows he has a great deal of work cut out for him. He must prove to Sera that there is no other woman for him. And you would think the guy would be jealous because Brandt will be intimate with Sera in ways that only Ash wants to be. But Ash isn't. Ash and Brandt have a very special relationship where they have enjoyed each other sexually. He feels that it is something very special for Brandt to share Sera with him. Knowing the man he cares for will be with the woman he loves excites him. He only hopes that Sera will welcome two men into pleasuring her, and give pleasure in return.

Sera knows she has no choice when it comes to Ash because if she is only intimate with Brandt and refuses Ash, it could jeopardize their mission. She gives into Brandt, which at first is a bit awkward, but all too soon he breaks through her defenses and from that she welcomes Ash into her bed. Soon these three are not just acting for the sake of their mission, but they genuinely begin to care for one another. Most of the time Sera is riding Brandt into orgasm or Ash is driving into her. And then when both men want to share her at the same time, Sera is so sexed beyond belief that she can hardly move.

But even as Sera has fallen in love with Brandt, and admits to Ash that she still loves him more than her own life, they still have an important job to do. Not only are they being watched and listened to every moment of the day, but the enemy may be closer than they think. Is it just coincidence that Ash's ex-wife Kira and her husband have arrived on Nondal? Or do they have something more sinister planned?

Undercover is a great sci-fi romp that is heavy on the sex. The action and suspense is more secondary. Brandt, Sera and Ash make a great team. Sera is no TSTL (to stupid to live) heroine and even as she is deeply involved with these two men, she doesn't let them walk all over her. All three give and take equally, and because of that, the love scenes really work. Sera is able to handle these two men. She says what is on her mind and won't take any crap from anyone. My favorite character was Brandt because of his loving nature for both Sera and Ash. He is a great guy who shows his love proudly. The way he is with Ash and Sera is really sweet. It took me a bit longer to warm up to Ash. There was just something off about him, as if he wasn't too well rounded, perhaps a bit too one-dimensional. It may have just been my own personal preference, rather than Lauren's writing of him. I found Sera to be very believable, and her emotions over Ash's betrayal came through nicely. I enjoyed Ash more when he was having fun with both Sera and Brandt at the same time, rather than one on one with Sera. But even though I may have a small issue with one of the main characters, I still felt the love story to be very well written. Who would have thought that a woman being shared by two good friends could be so much fun?

Like I said before, the sex scenes are not your typical vanilla ones you may read. There are a great deal of various positions and holes being filled. Even so, Lauren can write some steamy sex that may cross some lines but nothing too uncomfortable for my tastes. There was bondage, sex play and some domination games. Sounds like a great time, right?

Undercover is an easy read for those who enjoy characters who are not afraid of sex exploration in a unique type of setting. Sex in space has been giving a whole new meaning in Undercover with the creative story writing skills of Lauren Dane.

Katiebabs

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Hot and wild erotic scenes, but weak on the story side. January 21, 2009

By Jane TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

STORY BRIEF:
Sera's parents were from a low class. Ash and Brandt are from the "Ranking Families" the highest class. Sera and Ash were in love, but Ash couldn't marry Sera due to the class difference. His family forced him to marry Kira, for an alliance. Ash wanted Sera to stay with him as his mistress, but she was hurt and left. She became a successful military officer. Ash ended up divorced. Ten years later Sera is assigned to work with Ash to find out who is giving information to the Imperialists, the enemy. Brandt is also assigned to the job. The three of them go undercover to another planet Nondahl, to spy. Nondahl is a society where women are not allowed in public without a male escort. Sera must pretend to be Brandt's concubine/mistress while there.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Don't read this if you want plot and character development. The story about finding a traitor doesn't move along. There is not much action. There is a lot of talk and discussion about these guys or those guys might be doing something bad. In the end, the evidence and what happens to the traitors was not very interesting, sort of conveniently wrapped up. The story that does move along is the relationship among the three: how they interact with each other, start having sex, fall in love with each other, and decide what to do about it. They are primarily attracted to each other's physical beauty.

On the positive side, some readers will enjoy the hot, wild sex scenes. Most of these are ménage a trois with two men and one woman. One scene has just two men. There is rear door activity and some bondage. If readers are ok with these combinations, then they should find the erotic scenes definitely above average.

DATA:
Story length: 328 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 12. Total number of sex scene pages: 67. Setting: Various planets in the future. Copyright: 2008. Genre: erotic science fiction romance.