by Tasha Black
Crowned Mate
Stargazer Alien Space Cruise Brides #1
Tasha Black
13th Story Press
Copyright © 2020 by 13th Story Press
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
13th Story Press
PO Box 506
Swarthmore, PA 19081
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Contents
Tasha Black Starter Library
About Crowned Mate
Crowned Mate
1. Juno
2. Zane
3. Zane
4. Juno
5. Cassius
6. Zane
7. Juno
8. Zane
9. Cassius
10. Juno
11. Zane
12. Juno
13. Zane
14. Juno
15. Zane
16. Juno
17. Juno
18. Cassius
19. Zane
20. Juno
21. Zane
22. Juno
23. Zane
24. Juno
25. Juno
26. Zane
Cosmic Mate - SAMPLE
1. Serena
2. Ozmarck
Tasha Black Starter Library
About the Author
One Percent Club
Tasha Black Starter Library
Packed with steamy shifters, mischievous magic, billionaire superheroes, and plenty of HEAT, the Tasha Black Starter Library is the perfect way to dive into Tasha's unique brand of Romance with Bite!
Get your FREE books now at tashablack.com!
About Crowned Mate
Her crown might be fake, but she still rules his heart…
Juno Adair can’t believe her luck when she wins the Princess Package space cruise and sets off aboard the Stargazer II in the lap of luxury. But she soon learns that even pretend royalty comes at a price. Torn between the valet that loves her for who she really is, and the king who can save her people, Juno faces a choice that she never wanted, but one that will decide her fate. Can she resist her urges long enough to do what’s right for her people, or will she choose love over duty?
Zane is a royal in hiding. He spends his days staying out of the public eye, performing manual labor in the amazing forest at the center of a luxury space cruiser. Until he spots the newest passenger, Princess Juno, who stirs something in him he’s never felt before. He does everything in his power to be by her side, even posing as her personal valet. And when he learns that her people need help, he knows just what to do. But to help her, he will have to reclaim his forsaken lineage and take his rightful place on the throne, even if it means losing her forever. Will he reveal his secret to save her people, or will he confess his love to win her heart?
Find out in Crowned Mate, the first book in the Stargazer Alien Space Cruise Brides series by USA Today bestseller Tasha Black.
If you like strong women, sexy aliens, wild adventures, steamy sensual scenes, and happily-ever-afters, then you’ll love the world of Stargazer!
Stargazer Alien Space Cruise Brides:
Crowned Mate
Cosmic Mate
Conquered Mate
Crowned Mate
1
Juno
Juno Adair gazed around the crowded starship lobby, trying not to stare at her fellow passengers.
Most were human like Juno, or humanoid, at least. But some were types she’d never encountered before.
Just in front of her stood a woman with a head covered in delicate pink tentacles that danced and swayed under her veil. The woman counted out credits to hand to a nearby valet. Juno couldn’t be sure if the tentacles were expressing the woman’s emotions, or just being blown in the brisk flow from the air vents above.
Two round, furry passengers slid aboard on a small, wheeled vehicle. And there was even a Cerulean soldier, tall and muscular, in a gleaming white uniform.
Juno nearly cowered at the sight of him, but instead she stood tall and reminded herself that she wasn’t home anymore.
Back at home, the imposing Cerulean soldiers made life harder than it already was for Terrans like Juno.
She watched as a resplendent Cameliunak man in a swirling magnetic cloak strode importantly past her, his head held high, as if he didn’t want to risk sullying his view by making Juno a part of it.
Juno pulled her own ragged sweater tighter around herself. She might be playing it cool, but her clothing still told her tale.
She was nothing but a bumpkin from Terra-4.
And she was only on this luxury cruiser because she had won an unlikely contest. The Stargazer II had run a great publicity campaign, holding a sweepstakes that had reached all the way to her little backwater planet in the outer ring. Her family, and her best friend, Rose, had all chipped in to buy her an entry for her birthday. They’d had a pretty good laugh over it, imagining a plain Terran girl aboard a luxury cruiser. None of them had really thought she had a shot. Especially Juno.
When they told her that she’d won, she thought they had been playing a practical joke on her. But somehow, some way, here she was.
It doesn’t matter why I’m here. It matters what I do with this opportunity.
And Juno did have a plan.
It was a crazy plan, but hopefully one she could bring to fruition.
“Juno Adair,” said a smooth voice with a Terran accent.
“Here,” she called out, raising her hand as if she were back in school.
Several of the other passengers turned. The tentacled lady hid a smile behind a gloved hand. At least Juno thought it was a smile.
Juno pulled her hand down swiftly and wished she could disappear.
A pretty Terran lady approached her with a welcoming smile.
“Congratulations. You’re the winner of our Princess Package,” the woman said. “I’m Captain Nilsson, but you can call me Anna. Welcome aboard the Stargazer II.”
“Thank you,” Juno said politely, unsure whether she was supposed to shake hands or salute, or maybe even bow.
“Let’s get you to wardrobe before we show you to your room,” Anna suggested. “Where are your bags?”
Juno felt the blood rush to her face. She had no bags. Everything she had taken with her was in her pockets: a few credits pooled together by all the neighbors, a photo of her best friend, a tattered paperback copy of her favorite science fiction novel, all about a daring girl and her adventures among the stars.
“You travel light,” Anna said quickly, saving her the embarrassment. “I like that. I used to be the same way. And now my husband, Leo, wishes I would stop collecting souvenirs from every port we visit. I guess it’s a career hazard. I used to be in the salvage business.”
“Does he work here too?” Juno asked, following Anna’s quick steps as they travelled deeper into the ship.
“Yes,” Anna said. “We’re only part owners of this ship, but we’re probably the most hands-on of the six of us.”
“That’s amazing,” Juno said. “You must have been really good at salvage.”
“We salvaged this ship, actually,” Anna said, laughing. “Back when my friends and I crewed the original Stargazer. It was my very first mission, and all of us almost died. In the end, it worked out so well that our old captain gave us this ship as a sort of parting gift. If you’re curious, you can stop by the historio-gram on the lower level. It’s kind of a wild story. But for now, let’s get
you settled.”
Anna flung open a set of thick walnut doors to reveal the interior of the ship proper.
Juno gasped before she could stop herself.
She’d seen the vast scale of the ship from the outside. It was mind-bogglingly huge, the size of a mountain, with rings of floors going up, around and around its perimeter.
But nothing on the surface of the ship could have prepared her for what she now saw behind the glass walls at its center.
A forest.
This wasn’t some garden with a few scraggly trees, like the one at the center of Juno’s home prefecture on Terra-4.
This was an honest-to-goodness forest, twenty stories tall and bristling with verdant green leaves. The trees were so large that their gnarled branches almost blocked out the light source above.
Flower studded bushes grew right up against the glass, their tendrils climbing the panes.
A mist hung among the foliage, as if it rained heavily and often inside the glass. The fog gave the woods the effect of the illustrations in the children’s books about old Earth back at the museum on Terra-4.
“It’s incredible, isn’t it?” Anna said softly.
“I-I’ve never seen anything like it,” Juno agreed.
“This was the first thing I saw when I broke into the ship,” Anna said, her voice dreamy. “The ivy was bursting through the glass.”
“Life will find a way,” Juno said thoughtfully.
Anna nodded.
They walked slowly past the entry to the forest and into one of the glassy storefronts on the first level.
Anna tapped her wrist and Juno watched in fascination as her bracelet unfurled from her arm and fluttered into the air.
It was a real origami droid. Juno had read about them, but no one back home had any tech as advanced as that.
She tried not to stare.
“BFF-19, would you please measure our honored guest?” Anna asked.
“On it,” the little drone chirped in a friendly, female voice. “Arms out at your sides, feet shoulder width apart, please.”
Juno only marveled at the little robot as she flitted through the air.
“Like this,” Anna said, demonstrating by lifting her own arms.
Juno copied Anna’s posture and the droid let out a chirp of approval, then whirred around her, twin webs of laser light emanating from her wings and encompassing every inch of Juno.
She hoped her measurements weren’t about to be sung out.
“Excellent,” BFF-19 said simply.
She flitted over to a framed white panel on the wall and projected a series of images.
Each one showed a lavish outfit, complete with accessories, and perfectly tailored to suit Juno’s body type.
There was a gown with colors like oil on water, and a sleeping array in soft fur. A hunting costume in fawn colored suede was followed by a crystalline ball gown with a low bodice encrusted in what looked like real Cerulean dust.
Juno was unsure how she could ever choose.
“Yes,” Anna said. “All of those. But I’d also like a few choices that are similar to the clothing of her home planet. Terra-4, is that right?”
“Yes,” Juno managed.
BFF-19 clicked and whirred.
“We all like to feel at home,” Anna said to Juno with a smile.
Another set of images scrolled past. These were the flexible multi-pocket trousers and willowy blouses Juno was used to, but in lovely colors and soft, durable fabrics. Belts and accessories of suede were dyed in wine and berry tones.
“Exactly,” Anna said with satisfaction. “How long until Saca can complete them?”
“Saca is already at work,” BFF-19 said. “The wardrobe will be prepared by the time our guest finishes her bath.”
“I’ll bring her to the spa,” Anna said. “But first we’ll need her chipped.”
“Chipped?” Juno echoed worriedly.
“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about,” Anna said immediately. “It’s just a special bracelet. All our VIP guests have them. It allows us to locate you for security purposes and it acts as a redundancy for the platforms and room sensors. It’s sort of like a backstage pass, so you can have access to all the good stuff.”
Juno shrugged. It sounded like overkill, but she had no problem being tracked. It wasn’t like she could leave the ship, and it certainly wasn’t like she wanted to - at least not until she had done what she came here to do.
She followed Anna out into the main corridor again. A few paces later they turned into another glassy storefront.
A dark-haired woman was entering code into a dimensional printer.
“Hi Angel,” Anna said. “This is Princess Juno.”
“Hello, your majesty,” Angel said, bowing deeply.
They were really going all in on the whole princess package.
“Angel is another one of our founders,” Anna explained.
Once the woman had stepped out from behind the counter, Juno could see a little boy on the floor playing with some sort of wooden puzzle. He seemed to be making quick work of it, taking it apart and reassembling it into various geometric shapes.
“I’ve got your chip bracelet right here,” Angel said kindly, holding out a delicate silvery band.
Juno allowed her to fasten it around her wrist.
“We’ll have your BFF drone waiting in Wardrobe when you’re finished at the spa,” Angel said.
“My BFF drone?” Juno echoed.
Angel smiled. “They’re super cool. You’re going to love having a drone around.”
“This is incredible,” Juno said, hating herself for being so starry-eyed, but unable to hide her enthusiasm.
“Of course, your wardrobe and accessories, and the drone are all yours to keep after the cruise is over,” Anna told her, squeezing her shoulder. “It’s part of the package.”
Juno forced herself to nod and pay attention. She could do mental calculations on the value of used clothing and a BFF drone later, when she was alone in her room.
“Come on, Juno, let’s get you pampered,” Anna said.
“Bye,” Juno said to Angel.
The dark-haired lady smiled and bowed again.
“Your whole wardrobe will be ready for you when you’re finished at the spa,” Anna said as they headed back into the corridor.
“How could anyone make all those clothes so quickly?” Juno asked, trying not to picture some poor woman in the back sewing until her hands bled. Maybe it was a being with multiple arms.
“What do you mean?” Anna asked.
“The droid, she said someone called Saca was working on them?”
“Oh, ha,” Anna giggled. “I don’t mean to laugh at you, Juno. Believe it or not, this is all kind of new to me, too. But S.A.C.A. is an acronym for Sewing And Compilation Android. She’s the computer that instructs the machines that make the clothing and accessories.”
Juno nodded, trying to play it cool.
“Oh, here we are,” Anna said, pulling her into another glass store front. “Hi Vaxyn. This is Juno.”
A sparkling alien of undetermined gender strode over with a determined frown on its lovely onyx face. Long, graceful appendages trailed behind it.
“Juno is the recipient of our princess package,” Anna said.
Vaxyn looked Juno up and down slowly enough that she began to worry she was about to be cooked and eaten.
“Excellent,” Vaxyn said in a voice that slid like syrup. “I know what to do.”
“Wardrobe will be ready when she’s finished here,” Anna said.
“We’ll handle it,” Vaxyn said dismissively, as if they were anxious to get to work. “First, a bath.”
“Have fun, Juno,” Anna said, waving to her.
Juno followed the midnight alien to another room where a grass-like floor surrounded what looked like a small pond. The water was so still and dark that Juno couldn’t see the bottom, if there was one. Steam rose from the water and the scent of florifaua and honey fill
ed the air.
“I trust you know how to bathe.” Vaxyn said in what sounded more like a question.
“Of course,” Juno replied, embarrassed.
Though she couldn’t blame Vaxyn for the uncertainty. Her journey here had been fraught, and there wasn’t overmuch water on Terra-4 for bathing to begin with.
Certainly not enough to cleanse herself in the way that was implied by this room.
“Remove your clothing and fully submerse yourself in the water,” Vaxyn advised her softly from the doorway. “Take your time. Refreshments are on the floating table.”
Juno nodded, grateful for the advice, even though she’d claimed to not need it.
She began peeling off her clothing as soon as the door closed.
Habit had her searching for a place to stash her clothes so that they wouldn’t be stolen during her bath. She found a small cubby close to the water and placed her things in it. Even if they were shabby, they were still hers.
She dipped one toe in the water and closed her eyes in ecstasy.
This was a hot bath. The books talked about these, too - though they always showed a plain white tub, not a pond.
Juno slipped into the water and was relieved to find it went up only as far as her chest.
It was hard to focus on getting clean. All she wanted to do was soak in the heat and the lovely scent of the room.
Her walk to the boarding shuttle had been nearly twenty kilometers, and she’d begun on an empty stomach.