Deadly Connections by Shannon West

Nicarr’s getting married—and about time too, as his wild ways have already come close to causing an intergalactic incident or two, but this isn’t the kind of marriage he’d hoped for and not at all like the one his fathers, Blake and Davos, have. Instead, it’s a political marriage to a young Xalian princess to forge an alliance that will end a small but vicious war in the quadrant. Nicarr’s ready to do his duty and wants to avoid some of the pitfalls his older brothers have fallen into with their husbands, so he decides it’s good that his heart won’t be involved. After the wedding and perhaps a child or two to seal the union, he can go back home to Tygeria and only be required to visit from time to time. The one thing he hadn’t counted on, though, was how much he and Princess Brista clash from the moment they meet. In fact, a fight starts between them that has to be broken up by her handsome brother, King Axel. That same night, Brista is murdered in Nicarr’s bed, and the young prince finds himself under suspicion and a definite person of interest to King Axel.

As Axel investigates the crime, he becomes more and more convinced that one of the princes was involved. His most likely suspect is the irritatingly arrogant and far too good-looking Prince Nicarr, but how can he arrest King Davos’s son without igniting a war that would destroy his people? The only way is to marry the man himself, and make sure he metes out the punishment the young prince deserves for the rest of his life. If only he wasn’t so attracted to him… With the fate of his planet at stake, he slowly begins to realize this crime is more complicated than he first realized, and when someone tries to kill another of the young princes and even the Consort Blake himself, Axel and Nicarr must work together to find the murderer before he kills again.