Jett: Alien Adoption Agency #8 Read online

  Jett

  Alien Adoption Agency #8

  Tasha Black

  13th Story Press

  Copyright © 2021 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

  [email protected]

  * * *

  Cover designed by Sylvia Frost of The Book Brander

  Contents

  Tasha Black Starter Library

  About Jett

  Jett

  1. Madeline

  2. Jett

  3. Madeline

  4. Jett

  5. Madeline

  6. Madeline

  7. Madeline

  8. Jett

  9. Jett

  10. Madeline

  11. Madeline

  12. Jett

  13. Madeline

  14. Madeline

  15. Jett

  16. Madeline

  17. Jett

  18. Madeline

  19. Jett

  20. Jett

  21. Madeline

  22. Madeline

  23. Madeline

  24. Jett

  25. Madeline

  26. Madeline

  27. Jett

  28. Madeline

  29. Madeline

  Zyon (SAMPLE)

  1. Kora

  2. Zyon

  3. Zyon

  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 Jett

  She thinks he’s annoyingly cocky. He thinks she’s a nun.

  * * *

  Madeline Atwater hasn’t been given a lot of choices in her life. When her twin sister unexpectedly dies, Madeline takes the opportunity to honor her memory and change the dangerous trajectory of her own life. Assuming her sister’s identity, she sets off to a treacherous frontier moon to raise her newly-adopted son and start a fresh life for herself. There’s only one problem – her sister was a devout servant of the church, so the faithless Madeline needs to pass herself off as one of the faithful, or risk losing everything if her true identity is discovered. She’s just beginning to think she can pull it off, when a gorgeous dragon-warrior shows up, igniting feelings in her that are too strong to ignore and threatening to bring her whole charade crashing down around her.

  * * *

  Jett is a proud Invicta warrior, assigned to guard a baby on a remote moon for twenty standard years. It’s the easiest job in the world, until an unwelcome mate bond binds him to the child’s alluring mother within seconds of their meeting. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except that she’s already pledged herself to the church. As desire and sympathy combine to drag his heart closer and closer to Madeline’s, Jett finds himself torn between his need to claim her, and his determination to honor her commitment to her beliefs.

  * * *

  When Madeline is sent on a mission to deliver supplies to another settlement, the two are thrown into very close quarters. As the hazards facing them begin to pile up, they finally begin to trust each other, and their true feelings come dangerously close to the surface. Will Madeline find a way to tell the truth before it’s too late? Or will coming clean destroy their chances of finding happiness together as a family?

  * * *

  Join the Alien Adoption Agency for an amazing adventure on the brand-new moon of Atropos!

  * * *

  If you like strong women, hunky aliens, wild adventures, steamy sensual scenes, and happily-ever-afters, then you’ll love the world of Stargazer!

  * * *

  Alien Adoption Agency is a Stargazer Alien Series – read them all:

  * * *

  Set on the moon of Clotho:

  -Noxx

  -Kade

  -Tyro

  * * *

  Set on the moon of Lachesis:

  - Zane

  - Rexx

  - Odin

  * * *

  Set on the moon of Atropos:

  - Arik

  - Jett

  - Zyon

  Jett

  1

  Madeline

  M. Atwater died of a cosmic lax mutation exactly two weeks before she boarded a rickety spacecraft bound for Atropos.

  And as that craft came to a bumpy landing on the desolate frontier moon, Margaret’s twin sister, Madeline, held her breath and pretended to say a prayer. Her sister’s cotton apron of good faith made a great prop, helping her avoid unwanted male attention, and it offered a fantastic excuse for her to be soft-spoken instead of forthcoming.

  But that didn’t mean she knew how to communicate with the blessed saints, or that she could answer even the simplest follow-up question if someone asked her about her order.

  When she decided to quietly take her sister’s place with the Alien Adoption Agency, she had hoped to spend some time reading up on the faith. But the agency had placed her with two roommates immediately, and she had spent pretty much every second with the other two prospective mothers.

  There hadn’t been a lick of privacy between the instant she decided to take over her sister’s identity, and this moment, right now, as she was exiting the craft to begin her new life.

  Not that she fully regretted it. Lucy and Kora were wonderful women, and she wasn’t sure she could have gone through the training program without them by her side. Especially when she was secretly mourning her sister the whole time.

  Madeline and Margaret, or Maddie and Maggie as they had called each other, had been best friends growing up. And though adulthood had pulled them in wildly different directions, they had both been relieved to escape the family home, where their father’s violence, and their mother’s gambling problem made life miserable.

  Her sister Margaret had gone to the church, dedicating her life to the teachings of the saints, and serving the community by teaching at the local school.

  Madeline herself had gone to the devil.

  “Slide through the chemical bath,” the pilot’s voice crackled over the speaker.

  Madeline took a deep breath and slid down the metal tube that led out of the craft.

  A freezing chemical mist invaded her eyes and mouth. It tasted like copper and sizzled on her skin.

  Suddenly, she was standing on the ground outside the craft. The mist froze on her skin as the frigid air of Atropos sank into her bones.

  A waiting droid wrapped a thick, fur-lined robe around her and replaced her slippers with warm, fur-lined boots, as she shivered and looked around the lonely landscape of the frozen moon. The droid was taking a lot of liberties, but she didn’t care. The warm clothes felt good.

  “Bring luck on Atropos,” it advised her, and then pointed to a path leading down between the ice-frosted rocks. “Claim your child.”

  Madeline hesitated for a moment, still trying to get her bearings. Her friend Lucy was already disappearing over the ridge above, without so much as a good-bye. And Kora wasn’t down the chute yet.

  “Claim your child,” the droid repeated firmly.

  She took another deep breath and followed the path down between the rocks, grateful for the thick boots, which seemed to a
djust and form themselves around her feet as she navigated the rough terrain.

  Just below, a mountain of a green-skinned man stood with his back to her. He was holding a baby on his hip as he looked out over the icy landscape below and the looping paths of the rivers that led out to the mountains beyond.

  Something seemed to melt in her chest as the man and baby watched the horizon. She couldn’t have said what it was, but it felt like familiarity, mixed with a sizzle of excitement.

  Get it together, Atwater, she advised herself.

  As Madeline took another step down the path, the wind changed, pushing her hair in front of her face.

  The man turned and stared at her, something like shock in his dark eyes.

  He was incredibly sexy, and enormous, with dark hair and eyes. Despite the cold, leather armor and low-slung breeches were his only coverings, leaving so much of his green skin exposed that she felt like she might be overstepping her bounds just looking at him.

  The baby in his arms seemed incredibly tiny, but it might have been dwarfed by his extreme size. It had half its tiny fist in its mouth, and observed her with an expression of wary wonder that mirrored the man’s, as did the green cast of its smooth skin.

  “Jett,” the man introduced himself suddenly, his deep voice reverberating in her chest. “Are you the mother? M. Atwater?”

  “Madeline,” she said, nodding. “Is this my child?”

  The tiny baby gazed at her solemnly from his arms.

  “This is Taj,” Jett agreed. “Or that is what he has been called. You are his mother, so you’ll name him formally.”

  “Taj,” Madeline said, trying it out. “I like that. Let’s keep it.”

  Jett let her see the first hint of a smile as the right corner of his mouth lifted very slightly. It was a tiny thing, but it only made her long to see how he looked when he was truly happy.

  She smiled back and held out her arms for the baby.

  But when Jett held the little one out, his tiny face fell, and he began to cry.

  “You don’t have to come to me yet,” Madeline said, immediately putting her hands palms up. “We’re just getting to know each other.”

  Taj let out a tiny wail that subsided the moment Jett pulled him back to his chest.

  “He is just waking up from his nap,” Jett said in a defensive tone, as if Madeline might not approve.

  “He’s fine,” Madeline said. “He’s never seen me before.”

  There was an awkward pause, during which it hit Madeline that she hadn’t yet done anything her sister would have done. If she was going to pass as Maggie, she had to play the part.

  “A blessing on you, little Taj,” she said in what she hoped was a reasonably spiritual voice. “May the saints watch over you, and guide us in our journey to becoming a family.”

  Jett’s eyebrows went up to his hairline. But he didn’t say anything.

  “Can you walk with us toward our destination until he feels more at home with me?” Madeline asked.

  The burly warrior only stared as Madeline wondered how long she could keep up the performance.

  Once it was only her and baby Taj, she would be able to relax more.

  2

  Jett

  Jett fixed the little Terran with his dark gaze to see if she was joking.

  She was not.

  The dragon stirred in his chest, sending him very clear signals.

  Mine, it demanded.

  But how could that even be?

  Mere moments ago, he would have scoffed at the idea that this woman could ever be his mate, but he couldn’t ignore the pull he felt from the moment he laid eyes on her. The feeling was clear and strong, and nothing to be argued with.

  Madeline blinked up at him with an innocence that was sweet enough, but maybe not quite as sweet as he would have expected given that she was a believer in what Terrans called the good faith.

  The communication he had received from the agency let him know she was a member of the church. But there was a touch of mischief and maybe just a hint of world-weary wisdom in her blue eyes, instead of the expression of mildness he usually associated with believers.

  Maybe the good faith had more going for it than he had suspected. Invicta warriors were generally not superstitious. Jett and his brothers believed in justice and glory, and not necessarily in that order.

  But now a woman who believed in the good faith seemed to be his bonded mate.

  And she thought he was about to point her in a direction so she could start walking away from him.

  “You don’t have to come with me,” she said, as if she thought the momentary lapse in conversation was because he didn’t want to walk with her for a few minutes. “I’m sure he’ll calm down quickly. And you have places to be.”

  “I am duty bound to serve as this child’s protector until he is of age,” he said plainly.

  “Wh-what?” she stammered, her dark eyes going wide.

  “It’s twenty standard years,” he clarified. “Though we’re already a few months in, so nineteen and change, I suppose.”

  “You’ve served him since he came out of his birth pod?” Madeline asked.

  Jett nodded once.

  “That’s why his coloration matches yours,” she realized out loud. “He’s bonded to you.”

  The baby wasn’t going to be the only one. Though Madeline wouldn’t change colors when he claimed her.

  “Yes, he is Imberian,” Jett informed her.

  The people of Imber were natural mimics. That was why the little one had shifted his skin tone to match Jett’s.

  “Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about whether or not you’ll hold him until he’s used to me,” Madeline said as she begin to walk away from the landing area. “Do they expect him to be in some sort of danger?”

  “Of course not,” Jett told her, following along with the whelp. “No more than any other pioneer on a frontier moon would be in, that is.”

  “Isn’t twenty years with an Invicta warrior kind of overkill?” Madeline asked.

  He had thought the same for months while he waited for Taj to mature enough to emerge from his pod. Once the little one was out of the pod, there had been little time to think about it. Or anything else, for that matter.

  “Do you know what the Invicta did to the people of Imber?” he asked.

  Surely, she must, how could she be adopting an Imberian baby without that basic information?

  “There was an accident,” she said. “Before either of us was born. The Invicta mistakenly wiped out the whole population of Imber.”

  Accident was being generous.

  “That’s why our leaders got permission to use Imberian DNA to create pod babies,” he said.

  “When they grow up, they will inherit the mineral wealth of Imber,” Madeline recited. “But that doesn’t explain why they need you to baby-sit in between.”

  “What our forces did was horrible, and it is considered a great reward to be part of the restitution,” Jett explained. “Many Invicta pray for the honor of watching over an Imberian child.”

  Madeline nodded, but made no comment.

  He wondered suddenly if she could see his heart. Believers of the good faith were supposed to be able to read people.

  Did she know that he was torn between twin shames?

  Half of his heart was broken because he felt useless. If the whelp were to be raised on the plains, he would be able to protect it from wild animals and rustlers. But he was about to walk it into a tidy little village where it would likely face no danger during the whole of its lengthy childhood.

  The other half of him was draped in shame. His role was only to protect the child. Instead, he adored the little one.

  The whelp’s tiniest sound of displeasure caused Jett pain. And each milestone it reached filled him with a pride so sweet it was nearly unbearable.

  Jett could neither wish to increase his duty, nor to throw it off.

  Being a soldier of the Invicta had always been
challenging, but simple. He had a single mission and he followed it with all his body and heart.

  Now his spirit felt like it was broken into two jagged pieces that would no longer fit back together.

  “How long is the walk to town?” Madeline asked.

  “Not long at all,” he told her. “We’ll be there before dark.”

  “Is there much of a town?” she asked as they walked.

  “Not much,” he replied. “But there’s a general store, a butcher, a greengrocer, and a few other shops, and the church, of course.”

  He couldn’t help noticing that she had no particular expression of joy on her face when he mentioned the church. Interesting. Based on what little he knew about her, that should have garnered a reaction.

  Surely, she would be excited about continuing her work.

  A terrible thought occurred to him. What if there was something in her duty to the church that kept her from returning his affections, or from participating in the mate bond entirely.

  He pushed the thought aside. For now.

  He had plenty of time to get the answers he needed.