Once again this year I have a story in the science fiction romance anthology Pets in Space.  In this guest post, fellow PISA3 author Anna Hackett talks about her pet whose name is Fiend.

I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3. I often have plenty of nasty beasties in my action-packed sci-fi romances, so it wasn’t too hard to find one who wouldn’t bite anyone’s head off (well, at least not the good guys!) My story, Desert Hunter, is set in my Galactic Gladiators series, on the distant desert world of Carthago. It also stars Fiend.

Fiend is an alien canine of dubious origins. He’s a big, scruffy ball of tangled fur and he’s rescued from sand pirates in the desert by our hero and heroine, Bren and Mersi. He has a barbed tail, a lolling tongue, and doesn’t like baths…and watch out when he gets riled, because he’s very protective of the people he claims as his.

Here’s where we first meet Fiend:

Bren was scowling down at…Mersi blinked at the tangled lump jogging at his feet.

The beige-colored animal looked like a big ball of matted fur.

“What is that?” she asked.

The thing lifted its head and looked at her. She couldn’t see any eyes through the snarled fur, but a large, pink tongue was lolling out. The beast also had a long tail, with wicked spikes on the end of it, that was currently wagging in a friendly sort of way.

“It appears to be some kind of canine,” Corsair said.

“I’ve never seen an animal like it before.” Bren frowned at the canine sniffing at his boots. “The pirates were trying to capture him.”

“Capture him?” Mersi crouched down and the animal moved toward her. “Not kill him?”

Bren took a step forward. “Careful.”

“It’s fine, Bren.”

“He stinks and he’s wild. He could be dangerous.”

That giant tongue licked at Mersi’s face. As the creature exuberantly shifted closer, he almost knocked her over. She laughed. “Yes, he looks very dangerous.”

Anna Hackett is a USA Today bestselling author who loves action romance. She loves stories that combine the thrill of falling in love with the excitement of action, danger and adventure. For more info on Anna and her action-packed romances, visit www.annahackettbooks.com