by Tasha Black
Oz nodded.
“That makes sense,” he said. “But we should judge people by their actions, not their race. Rex showed his loyalty.”
“That was Serena’s argument, too,” Anna said.
“I’m not surprised,” Oz said. “I hope you’ll consider her proposal.”
“So both of you are asking me for this on your wedding day?” Anna asked.
“It’s better than flatware,” Oz shrugged.
“Very funny,” Anna said. “Here we are.”
She slipped ahead of him into the meadow and sat in the last open seat.
Oz strode down the aisle, eager to be close to his mate and child once more.
Their lives together had just begun, but even an hour spent out of their company made his heart feel like it was stretched taut over the distance between them.
When he reached Leo, who stood at the edge of the meadow, holding the ship’s log, he turned to face the small crowd.
In the front row, baby Starla was cradled safely in two of Vaxyn’s many arms. A third arm stroked her little cheek, while a fourth tickled her belly.
Anna was right. It was no wonder Starla was content.
He smiled at Vaxyn, who nodded to him and then went back to crooning at the little one.
He could hardly blame the midnight alien for being so attentive. Everyone who saw Starla seemed to adore her. She had her mother’s charisma, that much was certain.
He hoped they could raise her to have his loyalty as well.
If they succeeded, gods help any man or beast who got in her way.
Music began to play softly.
He fixed his eyes on the opening of the trail, where his Serena would emerge. Sure enough, she appeared a moment later, in a rustle of pale fabric.
He would have been overjoyed to see her if she’d been wearing a waste container. But the gown was exquisite, hugging her curves, accentuating the honeyed tone of her skin and the waves of dark hair that hung down her back.
She smiled at him and he felt like his heart would shatter.
The words of the ceremony flowed over him. He tried to remember his part without coming out of the trance of love she had put him in.
At last Leo called for him to kiss the bride.
Serena went up on her toes to meet him and he swept her off her feet, kissing her hard and long until the cheers of the crowd finally roused him, then placing her gently on the ground.
She blinked up at him, looking a little dazed. “Is it always going to be like that?” she whispered.
“Like what?” he asked.
“Dizzying,” she murmured.
“I hope so,” he told her. “But don’t get too dizzy yet, I think these people are expecting us to dance and party with them all night.”
“Well, it won’t be the first time,” she teased.
“And it certainly won’t be the last,” he replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Ready to start our life together, wife?”
“Yes, my husband,” she replied with a wide grin.
He grabbed her and together they headed into the crowd to collect their sweet daughter and join their new friends.
Thanks for reading Cosmic Mate!
Want to see what happens when Princess Juno’s best friend, Rose, and her sworn enemy, Rex, the Cerulean soldier, get a whole lot closer than either of them ever imagined?
Are you ready for for them to be forced to work together to solve a mystery full of stolen goods, intergalactic smugglers, a mysterious creature lurking in the forest, and more romantic tension than you can fit in a luxury space cruiser?
Then keep reading fora sample of Conquered Mate: Stargazer Alien Space Cruise Brides #3!
Or just grab your copy now:
https://www.tashablack.com/sascb.html
Conquered Mate - SAMPLE
1
Rose
Rose Mendez strode across the bustling Agro department of the Stargazer II luxury cruiser.
The enormous room was a study in white and green. Marble floors met ivory metal walls that rose up to a vaulted ceiling made of massive glowing solar squares.
And between the floor and ceiling, a forest of fruits and vegetables hung from clear hydroponic pods, an organized tangle of irrigation tubes threading them all together, like the blood vessels of some huge leviathan.
All around her, human and droid workers bustled to fulfill Rose’s orders.
To an untrained observer, it might have seemed chaotic. But Rose had arranged every detail. To her, the room and all its inhabitants were as synchronized as the workings of a magnificent Terran grandfather clock.
“Rose,” one of the new assistants called out. ”Do you have a minute?”
She paused to greet the young Bergalian.
“Yes, Zyrxa?”
“Your message was to get rid of the extra carrots.” Zyrxa’s furry face was a mask of confusion.
These poor newbies took everything literally.
Rose was just glad the kid had stopped to ask instead of dumping their overstock of beautifully ripe carrots. Everyone knew Rose hated waste.
“Call the chef at the Main Dining Room,” Rose explained. “Let him know he can double the carrots in the salads and offer carrot cake on the dessert menu for the next month.”
“Oh,” Zyrxa said, looking relieved. “What if he doesn’t want to?”
“Then shift the call to me,” Rose said grimly.
“Thank you,” Zyrxa cried, dashing off, presumably to do Rose’s bidding.
The produce buyer for the Titanium Dining Room was already inside, poking around the mango tree.
Good, Rose had a plan for that.
She jogged over.
“Danla,” Rose said in a cordial way.
“Hi there,” Danla replied, her three ruby eyes fixed on the small grove of mango trees that were suspended from the ceiling before her. “The mangoes are coming out nicely.”
Rose flushed with pleasure.
She had been working hard to cultivate the little trees.
“I have a proposal for you,” Rose said.
“I’m listening,” Danla told her.
“I would be willing to triple your mango share for the week,” Rose said. “In exchange for three cold storage containers.”
“We can’t get more of those until we get to port,” Danla said dismissively.
“We’ll be at port soon,” Rose told her. “And you can collect your produce daily in the interim if you want.”
That would be a pain in the ass. Danla was known for being very particular. Sometimes it felt like she had far more than three eyes looking for faults with the fruits and vegetables. It was much easier for Rose to have her weekly containers pre-filled and waiting.
“Why do you want them?” Danla asked, looking tempted but wary.
“We have a surplus,” Rose said.
“So eject it,” Danla shrugged.
“I’m going to trade the best of it on Sheldrahk for seedlings,” Rose said, practically hugging herself with the joy of it.
“What kind of seedlings?” Danla asked.
“Apple,” Rose said.
“Like… from the Terran fairy tales?” Danla asked.
“Yes,” Rose said with a grin.
“Where the hell are you going to put apple trees in here?” Danla asked, gesturing at the crowded airspace above.
“Oh, I have a plan for that,” Rose told her.
“I’ll bet you do,” Danla said, shaking her head.
“Apple trees on the Stargazer II,” a deep masculine voice said from behind her. “Incredible.”
Rose spun around to find Leo, one of the ship’s founders and co-captains, smiling down at her.
“My wife sent me to find you,” he said. “Can you come with me for a few minutes, please?”
“Sure,” Rose said. What choice did she have? When Anna Nilsson called, you answered. “Danla, we’ll finish this conversation later, okay?”
“By all means,”
Danla said. “I’m looking forward to choosing my produce daily.”
Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She reminded herself it would be well worth dealing with Danla to bring apples onboard.
And it sounded like she’d just made herself a deal.
“You’re working very hard,” Leo said politely as they headed out of Agro and into the corridor that led to the main deck.
“I enjoy my work,” Rose told him honestly. “Thank you for making a place for me here.”
“We seem to have nearly doubled production since you arrived,” Leo said.
“Well, the old irrigation system wasn’t as efficient,” Rose told him.
“The engineers told me that system was the latest tech,” Leo said.
“It was,” Rose agreed. “But they made some changes in the new line that ended up being a big step back in a lot of ways. The older valves are much better, and easier to service. We traded our new stuff for older equipment and had credits left over for seedlings. Now we’re running more efficiently and we have more stock.”
“Incredible,” Leo said again. “We’re very lucky to have you onboard.”
Rose grinned as the blood rushed to her cheeks. Back on Terra-4 praise at work was a rare experience.
“Here’s the thing though,” Leo said carefully. “I’m told we’re far outproducing what we need already, with more surplus on the way.”
“But that’s a good thing,” Rose told him, surprised at his intimation of displeasure. “We can trade our surplus for other things we want.”
“But, Rose, you don’t need to do that,” Leo said gently.
She bit her lip.
He was trying hard not offend her by just coming out and saying that she wasn’t in some backwater outer ring settlement anymore, and she didn’t need to struggle for every scrap.
She knew she didn’t have to do any of the things she was doing to make the Agro department run above and beyond. But how could she not want Agro to run as productively as possible?
Back on Terra-4 there was never enough food.
Rose remembered so many hungry nights, and the struggle to make things grow when there wasn’t enough light or water.
Now she had the opportunity to actually produce a surplus and enrich the ship’s stores.
It felt almost criminal not to squeeze every nutrient from the amazing facility she was running.
“Besides, Anna needs your help with something else,” Leo went on. “We’re hoping you can take a temporary break from Agro to assist with this project.”
“What kind of project?” Rose asked, trying not to wince.
She hated to have to walk away from Agro for any amount of time when she finally had things running so nicely.
“She’ll explain everything,” Leo said. “But it’s military.”
Rose nodded.
If it was relying on her military background, there wasn’t much danger of her really being pulled off Agro.
Rose had finished her tour of duty in the Terran military right before her best friend Juno’s husband sent a PostHaste to bring her aboard the Stargazer II.
She’d had the requisite combat training, but had spent most of her service time in Agro.
Whatever Anna wanted, if it was military, there was someone else more qualified onboard to take care of it.
2
Rex
Rex Tylarr stood in the back corner of the holding cell and watched as the guard headed out to the foyer to change shifts.
At every eight-hour shift change, there was a brief interval that left Rex alone with his cellmates for a few minutes. He wouldn’t have stood for that kind of oversight when he was head of security, but that time was behind him.
He braced himself, feet shoulder width apart, calling on years of training in the Cerulean army to calm his nerves and amp up his senses.
The only trouble was that his Cerulean cellmates all had the same training.
The first one rushed him, a huge brute with a feather tattoo. His fists were like hammers, and he was fast to be so big, but Rex had learned after the first few times that he telegraphed his attacks.
Rex held on until the last pre-tooth-shattering moment and then ducked his head, causing the punch to hit the crown of his head and doing more damage to the attacker’s fist than to Rex.
A knee came at his groin next and he managed to block it.
But the third hit glanced off his rib cage, practically knocking the breath out of him.
Pain blossomed, sending stars in front of his eyes.
And two more guys were already headed his way.
He managed to get the big guy in a choke-hold and held him up in front of himself like a shield as he struggled wildly, every movement an agony to Rex.
He could kill the man with no more than a harsh twist, but that wasn’t really an option for Rex. He tried hard not to do much damage to any of them, it would only make things worse.
He felt the lure of the battle rage calling to him, willing him to use his innate power to defeat his foes. But he knew his attackers were holding themselves in check as well. If any one of them decided to amplify in this small cell, it would be a disaster. No, they weren’t going for a kill. They wanted to make him suffer.
He was holding them off, but Rex felt himself wearing down.
“Fucking traitor,” the smaller of his two assailants muttered.
Rex had been the only Cerulean onboard not to rise against Ambassador Scott during the assassination attempt.
As a matter of fact, Rex had tackled her enemy to the ground when he pulled a blaster on her.
And the only thanks he got was being jailed with the rest of the Ceruleans.
Now his countrymen wanted to hurt him with even more passion than they had wanted to kill her.
So far, they had settled for beatings, but they would tire of that soon enough.
Rex was friendless, and his days were numbered.
But he wasn’t giving up.
The little guy was advancing on him, flanked by the other one.
When the smaller man took a swing at Rex’s jaw, he blocked it.
But the other guy got him in the eye, opening up a nasty cut from the day before.
Hot blood gushed down his cheek.
“Hey, what’s going on in here?” a familiar voice called out.
He released the big guy and all three of his attackers scrambled to blend into the rest of the group.
The security guard stepped up to the bars, a concerned look on his young face.
When Rex had been head of security, he had trained this particular guard, Jensen Wayne.
“Boss, are you okay?” Jensen asked, his voice quavering slightly.
“Fine, Jensen,” Rex replied. “And I’m not your boss anymore.”
“You’re bleeding,” Jensen pointed out.
“Yeah,” Rex grunted.
“What happened?” Jensen asked.
He looked back at his attackers before answering.
“I fell,” Rex said. “Hit my head on the bars.”
There were snickers from the crowd of Cerulean prisoners.
It figured that they laughed at his loyalty. But he wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of tattling like a schoolboy.
“Boss, if you just say the word I can get you put in solitary,” Jensen whispered. “Nobody wants them to hurt you. Ambassador Scott asks about you every day.”
But the last thing Rex wanted was special treatment.
He had treated Terrans like beings with as many rights as anyone else in the system - shown them respect and dignity as individuals.
But when the shit hit the fan, they had shown him that they saw him as no more or less than one more member of his race - defined only by his blue skin and muscular form.
He wanted no favors from them.
“I said I fell,” he hissed. “And I’m not your boss.”
Jensen’s face fell and he stepped back against the wall.
Ambass
ador Scott had tried sending him missives and special food in the beginning.
He sent it all back without looking at it.
He didn’t regret saving her. But there was no point clinging to a connection with Terrans.
He leaned back against the wall, babying the bruised rib a little and trying to ignore the furious stares of his cellmates.
He’d gotten off relatively easy at this shift change.
He would rest up and be ready to face them again at the next one.
He was sure they would be ready to face him, too.
His injuries were beginning to add up. Sooner or later they were going to get the best of him.
“Not today,” he muttered to himself. “Not today.”
3
Rose
Rose followed Leo to a platform and held her breath when they stepped on.
“Lower deck,” he said, placing his palm on the sensor.
She had just a fraction of a second to wonder why they would be going to the lower deck.
Then the platform dropped and she was mercifully to afraid to scream as her stomach threatened to exit her body through her mouth.
After what felt like a lifetime of falling, the platform stopped abruptly.
Rose held back a gasp of relief.
“Takes some getting used to, huh?” Leo asked.
“We don’t have anything like this back on Terra-4,” Rose said.
“That’s the fun part about a space cruiser,” Leo told her. “Everyone is from someplace different. We’re all getting used to something out of our comfort zones.”
She smiled in spite of herself.
Leo was super nice. Anna was very lucky to have such a great partner.
Rose had spent most of her life scrambling for survival. She hadn’t given a lot of thought to romantic entanglements.
But if she did one day, she hoped she could find someone half as nice as Leo. He was wonderful with their little boy, Tolstoy, and friendly with all the passengers, too.
