GUEST POST with EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT and REVIEW: Marguerite Labbe of 'Pandora'
Title: Pandora
Author: Marguerite Labbe
Published: April 25, 2017 2nd Edition
Publisher: DSP Publications
Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Genre: Contemporary Romance; Erotic Romance; Sci-Fi Romance
Length: 210 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; BDSM; Suspense; Angst: Medium; CW: Torture
About Pandora
Haunted by the screams of the men he murdered, ex-Marine medic Riff Khora is serving a life sentence on board a prison ship. Seeking more punishment for his crime, he strikes a deal with the corrupt Captain Vidal—an exchange of pleasure and pain—and forges a new life leading the team that surveys space wreckage for salvage.
Ship engineer Zed Jakobsen’s psychometric abilities make prison a sentence worse than death, and the barrage of emotional stimuli is an unending torment. His only regret is that he didn’t kill the monster who sent him to prison, and only a glimmer of hope to escape a judgment he doesn’t deserve keeps him clinging to a brutal existence.
When they board derelict ship Pandora and discover a lone survivor, the hell of prison life plunges into abject horror. An epidemic of violence and insanity consumes their ship, driving the crew to murder and destruction. Mutual need draws Riff and Zed together, and their bond gives them the strength to fight a reality they cannot trust. But Vidal possesses the only means of escape from the nightmare, and he’s not letting anyone leave alive.
First Edition published as Pandora in the Deep Into Darkness: Aliens, Alphas and Antiheroes Anthology by Smashwords, 2015.
Submission and Dominance in Pandora
When I first came up with the idea for Pandora I was not thinking of a story that included BDSM. There was enough going on with the characters just trying to survive. Not only do they have to escape, they have to figure out what caused the outbreak in the first place. But as I explored Riff and Zed more and got to know them I realized that not only was Riff a sub who had trapped himself into a situation that had gotten out of control, but Zed did not have any experience in domination. Especially with a mouthy, bossy, sub who will push every button to get what he wants.
I wanted to throw a fit with my muses over that one and we went a couple rounds. (I do argue with my muses. They win, all the time, yet I try.) Still the idea of that dynamic between Riff and Zed persisted. As I wrote more of them I discovered they balanced each other so well. Zed can sense Riff’s mind. He’s attracted to that as much as the man. So he has a vested interest in Riff’s mental and emotional well-being. Zed’s psychometric abilities let him feel what Riff feels when he’s being dominated and it gives him insights into what Riff craves.
Riff is a natural leader but he needs that break from being in charge, from making decisions that could mean life or death. He takes his responsibilities very seriously and that’s one area where he won’t give up control. So sexual submission gives him that release. He craves that almost as much as he does the other elements. He’s always enjoyed the mix of pain and pleasure, long before he was sentenced to the prison ship. He had been in a loving, healthy BDSM relationship. Vidal twisted Riff’s needs and used it to harm him.
Zed is younger than Riff and he hasn’t been in a long-term relationship. His psychometric abilities made that difficult. And though Zed hadn’t really given thought to being dominant in the bedroom before he is drawn to Riff’s reactions when he tests those waters. The thought of dominating Riff intrigues him. Zed has no problems taking charge when they are intimate, and he also has no problems with letting Riff lead their team. His main concern is not twisting Riff further and he seeks answers from one of their teammates who knew Riff before prison. The balance between them is an element he takes very seriously.
Seeing how they interacted with each other was an intriguing dance and I love how their relationship played out. I hope you enjoy the little glimpse of their dynamic as they first get to know each other.
Khora belonged to Vidal. The man’s marks were all over him, and fuck these new protective, possessive instincts toward Khora.
Khora’s features tightened, and he gave Zed an insolent look as he shrugged. “We were interrupted. Probably for the best. He’s going to kill me the next time he sees me.”
Zed couldn’t tell if Khora was joking or not. The offhanded way he said it implied a joke, but the thin line of his mouth was far grimmer.
“For rescuing the frozen man or for mouthing off to the doctor?” Zed asked. “Seems a little extreme to me.”
“No… no….” Khora looked away, lost in thought, his face drawing into worry lines. He rubbed his brow. “You did well on the ship, kept your head with all that weird shit going on. Despite what Tuputala said about your screaming. We all were jumpy.”
“So does that mean I’ll be allowed back on the team?” That was a relief. From the way the others looked at him, he had worried he’d be left out of the next recon. If anybody had the final say, it would Khora. Even if they’d been exploring a haunted tomb, it had been such a weight off him to escape for a short while, to get his brain engaged on familiar problems instead of rehashing why he was in prison or fighting off the echoes of other minds.
“Any reason why you shouldn’t be?” Khora asked with a pointed glance, and Zed wondered what Tuputala had told him.
“No,” Zed replied honestly. “Unless I’m only there because you want me as your plaything when the captain’s not around.”
“You’re on the team because I like your instincts,” Khora retorted. “Having you around to tease is just a bonus.”
Khora was a tease all right. “Unlike you, I don’t have a death wish,” Zed replied.
Khora’s gaze turned serious. “We’re all going to die sometime. I want to live in the time I have left.”
Zed mulled that intriguing comment over. “Is that why you go to the captain? To feel alive?”
“Among other things.”
Zed looked over the marks on Khora’s body. It had been such a long time since anybody tempted him as much as Khora did. But this was ground he’d never crossed. It was one thing to have thoughts of bondage and control and something else entirely to handle a man like Khora.
“I don’t know a damn thing about domination or dealing out pain, if that’s what you want.”
“You strike me as a fast learner.”
“Sorry, Khora, not interested.”
Khora’s eyes narrowed and he shrugged. “Your loss.”
Meet the Author
Marguerite has been accused of being eccentric and a shade neurotic, both of which she freely admits to, but her muse has OCD tendencies, so who can blame her? She loves writing stories about the beauty of love with all of its fascinating quirks and the strength of family, whether it’s the family you’re born into or the one you create. Marguerite was born in New Hampshire, grew up as a military brat, moving from one end of the U.S. to the other before settling down in Southern Maryland. She married her next-door neighbor and best friend, and they have one son and two cats who rule them. To her dismay, she has failed to convince her Alabama born husband to move north, where being a passionate Red Sox fan is perfectly normal. She runs Apocrypha Comics Studio with her husband and they often trek off to comic book conventions on the weekend where they celebrate all manner of geek culture. In her spare time she loves reading novels of all genres, enjoying a table top role-playing games with her friends, many which end up on the Role With Us podcast, and finding really good restaurants where she can indulge in her love of food and wine.
For more from Marguerite visit her website.
