Empathic mesomorphs are the end-all and be-all when wife hunting. A being able to mold herself into whatever her first lover would ever imagine he wants, an empathic mesomorph is now the only hope for Old Earth’s inclusion in the Interplanetary Alliance Council. They need her to survive, but when Naya is kidnapped, their existence is in peril.

Dreylan Tarq was the golden boy at IAC until internal politics and a lecherous boss ruined his career. Now he’s forced to recover Naya and try to save Old Earth from destruction. How can he turn Naya over to a lecherous man intent on controlling her when she’s wormed her way past his scowling exterior? Will he give up everything again?

Spaceport: Highest Bidder is a fitting continuation of the Spaceport series. Lexxie Couper has come up with a great plot and even better characters. Naya is a fantastic woman willing to sacrifice herself for her people…to a degree, and Dreylan is just the right shade of dark for what he’s dealt with. The villain was, as always, reprehensible. Ms. Couper writes slime quite well. I enjoyed this short story and will continue to search out stories by Ms. Couper until she decides to stop writing them.


Reviewed by: Serena