The Pleasure Servant by Salina Strange

Length: 17,700 words

Captain Nadia Crupinski rules her deep-space salvage vessel with unyielding control and a buried yearning for genuine connection. When her crew uncovers an ancient cryo-pod on a derelict station, it holds Riven, a genetically engineered servant from the vanished Eldebran Empire, designed for perfect obedience. Claiming him under interstellar salvage law draws them into the isolated void of hyperspace, where the crew sleeps in stasis and no one can interrupt the growing tension between them.

As Nadia tests the boundaries of her authority, Riven’s programming begins to fracture, awakening emotions and desires that challenge everything he was created to be. What starts as cautious exploration evolves into a profound journey of mutual discovery, where power becomes intimacy and isolation forges an unbreakable bond. Yet external threats from hunters seeking to reclaim him and internal doubts about trust and vulnerability threaten to tear them apart.

In a universe of vast emptiness and hidden dangers, Nadia and Riven must decide if they will remain bound by old laws or risk everything for a love that transcends programming, command, and the stars themselves.