When you're stranded on an alien planet with over a dozen hot aliens who want to claim you, there's only one thing to do: get a bigger bed. When Celeste Ballatine took this government job, the last thing she expected was to crash on an uninhabited planet, leaving her separated from her crew and left for dead on the black sand beaches of Artaxa Prime. A primitive alien-lion hybrid finds her, and he speaks her language, but that's the least concerning thing. His chief demands she takes an alien mate, and Celeste doesn't do committed relationships. Not after last time. Ta'alo rescued the beautiful alien female when she crashed from the sky and fell to their planet. Torn between his loyalty and honor when the chief refuses to let her leave, Ta'alo hatches a plan to help her escape this fate. Though technically she's his, Ta'alo won't let Celeste pay back his kindness with her body out of obligation. Celeste is driven to find the crewmates she lost—the only permanent fixtures in her life. The only solution to the chief's demands is a fake relationship with this dangerous yet honorable kitty, but this game of cat and mouse will turn into something more if they're not careful. The Marvel-ous Mates of Artaxa Prime series is a slow-build "collection of multiple mates" / "menagerie" / R H, and Celeste's mate list will only grow larger with each subsequent book. The series should be read in order so that you can better understand all the surrounding elements of the plot.