About Under the Skin
by Kannan Feng
88 pages / 23500 words
ISBN: 978-1-61040-294-1
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html, lit, Adobe and Sony optimized pdf, prc, epub
Padraic comes to Nagoya, Japan to sell his newly-developed neural net to the formidable Inoue Corporation. He’s not ready for a faulty language program or an unpredictable bodyguard, and he’s even less prepared for Minoru. Handsome Minoru wants both Padraic’s body and his tech, but it doesn’t stop there. Padraic finds himself trapped in a world of dangerous ambitions and high-stakes industrial espionage, and Minoru might be the only one who can get him out of it.
Review
Stephanie Vaughan, author of the Off World series, writes: Smart, sexy and inventive, with too many gorgeous turns of phrase to count, “Under the Skin” grabbed me hard and never let loose. Quirky, multi-dimensional characters thrust into a suspenseful, tech-driven plot, threaded throughout with shades of dominance and submission make for an irresistible read. Absolutely delicious.
Sample
Padraic opened his eyes again and found Minoru still sitting at his bedside,
looking at him with that familiar, intense gaze. "Sorry," Padraic said. "I'm
not very entertaining..."
Minoru laughed softly.
"No one said you had to be," he said reassuringly. "In any case, I find you
completely engaging."
Padraic self-consciously touched the replaced interface on his chest, and
Minoru shook his head.
"Not just because of that," he murmured, "though it certainly does add to
your appeal." His finger hovered over the interface, not touching, but close
enough that Padraic could feel the heat from his hand.
"Is it sore?"
"A little," Padraic admitted. "Not much. My body doesn't like it when the
gear's jostled too much."
"May I touch?"
Padraic stiffened and Minoru pulled back.
"I won't open it, I promise, I just..." Minoru looked so wistful that
Padraic found himself nodding.
Minoru ran his fingertip over the rounded corner of the silver plating.
Padraic's breathing hitched, but then he held himself still, letting the
other man gently trace the edge before just lightly touching the connection
points.
"I've wanted to do this since I first saw them," Minoru admitted, almost to
himself.
"In the board room?"
Minoru smiled, glancing up to meet Padraic's eyes.
"Before that," he said. "When I first saw the images that were sent to me by
your cousin, I knew that I had to get my hands on it."
"So you've been thinking about this for more than two weeks?" Padraic
smiled, even as he turned a little red.
"Thinking about it... I suppose you could say that." Minoru's fingers were
so gentle that it took Padraic a moment to realize that they were no longer
playing over the edge of metal. Instead, they were skating delicately over
Padraic's chest, making him shiver with something between cold and fear.
"Minoru..." The name felt strange in his mouth and Padraic realized that it
was the first time that he had said it. It was curiously intimate and Minoru
smiled almost tenderly.
"I like the way you say my name," Minoru said softly. "Say it again."
"Minoru," he said obediently, and the other man dropped his head to
Padraic's chest and kissed it, leaving just a trace of wetness and a spot of
heat.