Title: STAR CRUISE CHEF’S KISS
Author: Veronica Scott
Genre: SciFi romance
Book Blurb:
Five star chef Stephanie Clemmons has a contract to cater a Halloween-like party on the planet where her cruise ship the Nebula Zephyr orbits. Little does she know the dangers of a night where alien demons walk among humans and never expects the deadliest demon of all to offer her a bargain. She has to cook a special dinner to satisfy him or spend the rest of eternity laboring in his hellscape kitchens.
But as the night and the meal progress, Stephanie and the demon lord discover they both may be getting more than they bargained for, as undeniable attraction grows between them. Can an ancient Lord of the Underworld and a human chef find a way to make a new bargain for love?
This story first appeared in the Celestial Seductions anthology, which is no longer available. I’ve added 6K words including an epilogue to the original novelette.
Excerpt:
She picked up a mask and headed into the ballroom one more time. The lighting had been adjusted to be quite dark, with flashes of colored light in time to the music. Mist was rolling across the carpet. She felt the mood had changed markedly since her last visit and was now less lighthearted fun and more in the vein of pursuits best done in the dark. There’d been an influx of new guests in elaborately embroidered capes and full masks, adorned with plumes. She saw several with tails and taloned gloves here and there in the room, talking animatedly with small groups of individuals. Wow, pretty realistic costumes, if you're going for the demon effect. The band played on, slower songs, the rhythm getting deep into her bones, and the dancers were much more closely entwined. Stephanie wasn’t by any means a prude but she wished the more animated couples would avail themselves of the rooms the hotel had at a discounted rate tonight. Averting her eyes before she saw too much of one couple and their disheveled, half off costumes and then having to hastily change her direction before getting run over by another menage-in-the-making right there in the ballroom, she was a bit shaken. Inhibitions had certainly been removed tonight.
Turning to retreat to the kitchen, glad their required time to serve food was nearly over, she got a prickling between her shoulder blades and goosebumps ran up and down her arms. Reluctantly she checked over her shoulder and found a richly dressed guest watching her from across the room. His black suit was elegant and his cape was one of the splashiest, with gold trim and possibly even gemstones at the collar. His mask was gold and black, with striking red plumes, revealing only his strong jaw and a pair of firm masculine lips.
She fanned herself, suddenly perspiring, annoyed to be visualizing herself kissing those lips. Get a grip, girl. As if. The man was still watching and had moved closer so she hastened through the door to the kitchen and didn’t stop until she was in the center of her sous chefs and assistants, who were leaning on the counters, drinking sodas and flavored waters and gossiping about the event they’d just catered. The staff jumped to attention as she bustled into their midst. “All right, we can clean up and go,” she said with relief. “Good job, everyone, the guests have been extremely complimentary tonight.”
There was a clattering of pans and racks and utensils amid the flurry of cleaning up the kitchen and organizing themselves to commute to the shuttle at the spaceport. She didn’t go out into the ballroom to retrieve anything there herself, curiously afraid to encounter the staring guest again, but feeling foolish about it. There was hotel security, there were her own people, nothing would happen.
Tonight the music was failing to stir his blood. The available humans partying too hard and drinking too much and laughing nervously about demons failed to amuse him. When one had lived as long as he had much of life was boredom. He knew the others were picking victims and he could experience their pleasure if he cared to make the effort to open his senses to them. Leaning against the wall, resigned by his own strange mood to being merely a spectator, he watched for the one human woman who had intrigued him tonight. The kitchen seemed to be her domain and the people serving the food were obviously her vassals. None of the dainty, sophisticated offerings had appealed to his jaded palate of course, but he’d admired the display and the effort. He supposed few of the hard partying guests here tonight had understood or cared what a rare culinary treat they were being offered. No, their minds were on other, more carnal pursuits.
This woman took pride in what she did, he could tell.
For some reason she drew his attention. Her face was round and her expression always serious, unless she was joking with one of her servers. Then her smile lit up her face and crinkled the skin by her lovely eyes and she was beautiful to him. Her generous figure appealed to him more than he wanted to admit, although the crisp chef’s tunic and apron striped in the CLC Line’s colors did nothing to enhance her allure in his mind. Her red curls were tied back with a ribbon but tendrils escaped, inciting in him a desire to toy with them as she lay under him.
He made her nervous, he could tell. The last time she conducted an inspection of her offerings she looked straight at him, finding him in the crowded dark room with no problem and then scurried to the supposedly safe sanctuary of her kitchen. Run, little mouse, but before the night is done, you and I will have made a bargain and the advantage will be all mine.
This Wamigda Night was worth sliding through the door between realms for after all.
With relief Stephanie remembered most of what was in the ballroom could be left to the hotel to deal with so soon enough all her staff members were ready to depart. The majority of the equipment had already been taken through the winding corridors to the groundtruck loading dock.
“Go ahead, I’ll be right behind you,” Stephanie said to Richard. “I want to make one final sweep of the kitchen and be sure we haven’t forgotten anything.”
“Okay, boss, we won’t leave without you.” He grinned as he untied his apron and threw it over his shoulder. “Don’t take too long though.”
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Author Biography:
USA Today Best Selling Author
Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.
Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job, not her romances!
She read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the official audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”
Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vscotttheauthor
Bluesky: veronicascott.bsky.social