One of the Song guards leaped, flying through the air to catch up to the band of criminals. The man with the neck markings turned to face him. The other thieves kept running. The long haired man shouted an order for them to get somewhere. Mei tensed, recognizing the language. It was a star language, not of Lintian. She’d uploaded it years ago, and it took her brain a moment to translate the words.
“Pirates,” Mei whispered, her heartbeat quickening in excitement as she realized they really were pirates. She glanced up, looking around the ship for something to use to escape her guards and get down to the fight. If she didn’t hurry, it would be over.
Another shout sounded. The man with long hair squared off against the Song guard. He was tall, much taller than the warriors he faced, though not as big as the red giant. The man’s height was only all the more intimidating because of his massive girth. The foreign clothing he wore was revealing, the shirt tight to his chest as it moved like a second skin against him. Laces crossed over his sides, revealing the flesh of his waist. Snug breeches clung to his hips and legs. His arms were strong and muscled, showing that he worked out often. They joined onto broad shoulders and a thick chest. His physique intrigued her, and she watched eagerly to see how he would fight. Already by his stance, she determined he wasn’t trained as her people in the ancient technique of martial arts.
There was something wild and arrogant about the way he faced the Song guard. He was fearless, bold. His fist balled as he stalked forward, punching the guard square in the jaw. The Song warrior flew back from the sheer force of the blow. A second guard charged as he caught up to the pirate, drawing back his foot to snap out at the thief with a jumping front kick. The pirate blocked it but was hit in the chest by another Song guard. He stumbled back, but didn’t fall. The pirate had absorbed the blow, instantly finding his footing to knee the warrior in the stomach. The guard stumbled, and the pirate sprinted off before any more warriors caught up to them.
Haun stood apart from the Song warriors, out of the way as he watched and waited. Until the Zhang were invited into the fight, they would not get involved. But, by standing ready, they offered their services to their Song host as duty required of them.
Mei glanced around. Something outside of herself compelled her to move when she knew she should not. It was like a whisper in her ear, carried by the breeze, telling her to confront the thief. Instinct kicked in. It was a feeling of desperation. She needed this fight, needed to feel the blood pumping in her veins. If her destiny was truly a life at Shan Gung Din, then she would face it head on with courage. Maybe this was the deed that would bind her to Prince Lok. In that moment, nothing mattered. The breeze grew stronger, carrying the sting of the cold water with it. Her senses spun. The wind took over, urging her to act.
The two who guarded her barely gave her a second glance as she pulled back from the ship’s wooden rail. Seeing a rope, Mei grabbed a knife from beneath the folds of her skirt. She sliced through it, wrapping the thick cord around her wrist as she ran for the boat’s side. Jumping, she soared over the guard’s head with her blade gripped tightly in her free hand. The bodice of her gown made graceful movements difficult, and she kicked in the air trying to stop her body from spinning. The guards yelled at her, but she was too fast for them.
Mei flew over her brother’s head, swinging in an arch through the air, out of Haun’s reach. She kicked her feet, trying to control her descent. Her body veered toward her target, the pirate thief, and she aimed her feet at him.
“Zhang Mei!” Haun yelled, his tone irritated with her and scared at the same time. She couldn’t answer as she concentrated on her target.
Twisting in the air, she flung her legs around, so her stomach faced the ground as she let go. She flew head first at the pirate. Time seemed to slow the instant his eyes met hers. The brown pupils were so dark his eyes could’ve been black. He looked surprised to see her and held his arms out as if he planned on catching her instead of fighting her. Mei gripped the knife, holding tight. She didn’t want to hurt him but subdue him.
At the last second before impact, she tucked her body and slammed into the man’s chest. He grunted as they fell, rolling beneath her so he could absorb the brunt of their tumble. The second they hit the ground, the pirate rolled on top of her, crushing her with his weight. His large palm shackled her wrist, holding her knife hand firmly against the ground. Mei barely glanced at it. Her arm was slack, and she didn’t want to fight him. Every instinct in her screamed not to hurt him. He was bigger than she had anticipated from the distance, his body hard with muscle as it pushed into hers. Her senses took in everything—his firm lips, his dark eyes, his proud straight nose.
Mei’s eyes again met his as he tried to pin her free arm. His hot breath fanned her cheek, and his lips were close. Gold flickered through his gaze as he looked at her, and she felt every hot inch of him in that second as he held her down. He succeeded in trapping her wrists, only to gracefully jerk back and haul her to her feet at the same time. Her knife stayed on the ground.
At the motion, her mental functions clicked back on, and the sudden cloud lifted. Mei was pissed that her blow hadn’t leveled him more. How could this man absorb so many kicks and still remain standing? The Song Imperial guards were some of the best fighters on the planet of Lintian, and yet this pirate took all they gave and kept going like he was unstoppable.
Or on drugs.
“Hey, fea, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but now isn’t the time for such things.” The man’s tone was low and dripped with sweetness. Mei frowned at his arrogance, but he merely continued, “I promise you that later, if you still want to continue this, I’ll be happy to help you out of that very alluring gown and onto something more comfortable.”
Mei gasped in shock at what his words implied, instantly glancing down to what he wanted to ‘help’ her onto. No man had ever dared to talk to her in such a way. She answered in the star language he used, but her words were thick with the accent of her people, “Now is…the perfect time…to halt you.”
“Captain, come on. Time to fly!”
Mei looked over the arrogant pirate’s shoulder only to find the red man waiting for them. She heard a footfall behind her and knew her brother was running to catch up to her. With the stunt she’d pulled, she’d landed far away from where he stood. Swinging her leg around, she tried to kick the man’s legs out from under him. It would’ve worked, but the red man appeared at her side and grabbed her easily into his strong embrace, lifting her off the ground.
“If you wanted to come with us, all you had to do was ask,” the dark haired man, who was obviously the captain of the pirates, said with a wink as she struggled to be free of the burly red man’s hold. He leaned over, picking up her knife only to shove it into his waistband. “Dev, get her onboard the ship. We’ll figure out what to do with this one later. It’s getting too heated down here.”
Mei blinked. Even though she took in every detail of the encounter, it only took a matter of seconds before she was being hauled off on the red man’s shoulder. She opened her mouth, but the jarring movements against her stomach kept the words from coming. Dev was too strong, and she couldn’t get free. Pushing up, she saw her brother running after them. Behind him was the mountain palace of Shan Gung Din. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be free. She pretended to fight but didn’t use all the moves she knew to get loose from the giant. Part of her wanted to be gone.
When she had jumped off the royal Zhang ship, she hadn’t intended to get caught. But, now that she was, she was going to let them take her. She tried to reason that it was because she wanted to save the pu ren they stole. However, she knew she was lying. She wanted to run from the future her great-grandmother laid out for her. She wanted to run from Prince Song Lok.
5
Jarek didn’t want another passenger, but what else could he do? Leave the little woman to be beaten for an attempted escape? The poor thing was so scared of her owner that she’d risked her life jumping off his shi
p.
Besides, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t attracted to her. There had been a moment when their eyes met, right as she was flying at him. The dark brown of hers connected with his, and he felt a shock all the way to his gut. It was blinding, liquid desire. For that second, his blood had slowed in his veins, so thick his heart couldn’t pump it. He’d opened his arms to her, unable to do anything else. Then she’d hit him like a phazer blast to the chest, knocking the wind from his lungs and consequently knocking his senses back into his head. In the midst of escaping from Imperial warriors was definitely the wrong time to be mentally undressing flying women.
Even when they look as delectable as she does.
Jarek glanced over his shoulder to check on her, as he ran toward where they had The Conqueror cloaked from view on top of the space dock building. Dev carried the slender woman. Her master was close behind them, shouting angrily.
With Jackson’s innate climbing ability, the man reached the top of the building first and tossed down a rope ladder for the rest of them. By the time the others reached the roof, the engines had kicked. Jackson leaned over the side, motioning Jarek and Dev to hurry.
Hearing a noise, Jarek turned as they reached the ladder.
“Ni shi bai chi!” the little woman over Dev’s shoulder yelled as Jarek motioned for the man to go first. Jarek didn’t understand her and didn’t have time to analyze the tone. By the dialect she spoke, it was hard for him to decipher her mood by the tone of her voice anyway. “Yang gui zi!”
“Hold on, fea, we’re getting you out of here,” Jarek assured her, assuming she was scared. He turned to the side, seeing the guards running toward them. “No reason to be frightened. We do this all the time.”
“That’s not—umph!” Her yell was cut off by Dev’s jarring movements as the man scaled the building by the rope ladder still carrying her.
Dev was on the roof in a matter of seconds, and Jarek climbed up right behind him. As he neared the top, the palace guards caught up to them.
“Hurry it up,” Jackson yelled, reaching over the side to pull Jarek up by his arm. Then, taking the knife the woman had dropped in her escape, Jarek sliced the rope ladder. The guard half way up the side fell, taking the others with him as they tumbled to the ground.
Jarek laughed, saluting the fallen men. Then, his eye caught the noble who’d been leading the woman around, her master. His face was contorted with anger as he ran for the building. Jackson pulled Jarek’s arm to get his attention. Everyone was already onboard the ship as he followed Jackson to the loading dock.
“Go, go, go,” Jarek ordered, jumping on as the door was closing. He looked out onto the rooftop. Just before the narrow slit of the closing door blocked his view, he caught a glimpse of the woman’s owner landing on the building, as if he had jumped from the ground.
“Super nebula,” Jackson swore. “Did you see that?”
Breathing hard, Jarek laughed, resting on the metal floor of the cargo hold. Excitement pumped in his veins, invigorating him like nothing else could. The ship jolted as they took off. A box slid across the floor, bumping his leg but it didn’t hurt. He knew Lochlann was most likely piloting the craft and trusted the man to get them out of there. Looking up from his prone position, he ordered Jackson, “Go and check the engine. Stay with it until we’re clear. I don’t want anything happening like in Alphet principality. We can’t afford to have the engine blow out if they give chase.”
“On it.” The man was instantly on his feet, running to do as Jarek bid.
Taking one last deep breath, Jarek kicked the box away from him and climbed to his feet. The ship shook, knocking him around as he stumbled toward the cockpit. Bright lights lit the corridor, running in intermediate strips like arches along the walls and overhead. Jarek slammed against the metal wall, only to be thrown to the opposite side a second later. The ship angled, and his feet slid as if the gravity controls were slipping. Lochlann soon had the ship righted, and he was able to continue on.
“Gun dan!”
Jarek heard the rescued woman screaming and grinned.
“Daì ruò mù jī!”
Poor thing was probably scared out of her mind from all the action. Being captain, it would be his duty to comfort her later. But, for now, he had an Imperial army to outrun.
Reaching the cockpit, he nodded at Evan in the co-pilot seat. Lochlann was in the middle of switching controls as they broke the planet’s atmosphere.
“Bravon’s Furnace, Evan,” Lochlann growled, even though he grinned. Each one of them loved the adrenaline rush brought on by such things as outrunning guards. “You couldn’t see that one coming?”
“I can read people, not predict the future, space cadet,” Evan said good-naturedly.
“We’ve got a ship coming fast.” Lochlann pointed to a transparent navigation monitor that floated above the console. It showed their position and that of other ships. “Straight up our asses.”
“It’s Lintianese,” Evan confirmed with a touch to the ship’s computer panel. The craft’s round design was distinct, giving it away instantly. “And the bad boy doesn’t look happy to see us go.”
“Always wanting to wine and dine us, aren’t they?” Jarek laughed. He grabbed hold of the back of Evan’s chair, as Lochlann took an evasive turn. Staring at the screen, he ordered, “Do whatever you have to, Loch, but get us out of here.”
6
“Shen jing bing,” Mei yelled at the red demon who tossed her on the small bed. The ship jerked, signifying a rough atmospheric change. They’d reached space. She knew what it felt like because she’d left orbit before. It had been just another part of their education, piloting space crafts in case of emergencies.
The room was tiny, especially compared to what she was accustomed to. It was rectangular and constructed mostly of metal, lacking the luxury of decoration and design. However, the bed looked comfortable, and there was enough space to move around in. A small decontaminator was built adjoining the room. By the looks of it, the pirates weren’t very rich. She could tell by the ship’s style, and the fact that it had been on the roof of the docking building, that it wasn’t a Lintianese vessel. Finishing her quick assessment, she turned to her captor, the red giant.
Dev grinned. He wore all black. The color matched his eyes and his short cropped hair. It actually looked stunning next to his red skin. “I assure you, my lady, I am quite sane.”
Mei paled. He understood her? She’d been yelling obscenities at him since before they boarded the ship. She just assumed none of them knew what she was talking about. Blushing, she took a deep breath. Watching him carefully, she made sure he wasn’t going to try anything. His stance wasn’t leering or sexual so she doubted that would be his intent. Good thing for him. She knew about a dozen ways to rid a rapist of his manhood.
“And I highly doubt you have the anatomy you claim to possess, let alone truly wish for me to put it in my mouth.” Dev’s grin widened as if he could read her suspicions. He looked like he was teasing her, but Mei was frightened by him and could merely stare, concentrating on hiding her emotions. The red man straightened his back, his black eyes taking her in. “Forgive me, my lady. I am Salebinaben Johobik en Dehauberkelsain en Thoraxian en Yyrtolzx Devekin.”
Mei frowned in concentration. He spoke so fast. Slowly, she repeated, “Salebinaben Johobik en Dehauberkelsain en Thoraxian en....
“...Yyrtolzx Devekin.” Dev nodded, looking impressed. “But you may continue to call me shen jing bing if it makes you feel better.”
“Your leader calls you Dev. I shall use that.” Mei lifted her chin, giving him her most regal look. “Now, I will know by what right you kidnap me and Emperor Song’s pu ren.”
“You’ll have to ask the captain. I was just following orders.” Dev nodded, backing out of the door. He lifted his hand to the door sensor.
Before he could shut it, she asked, “You know who I am? You said ‘my lady’.”
“All women aboard this ship are a la
dy. Captain’s orders,” Dev answered, running his opened hand across the sensor. The door slid shut between them.
Mei took a deep breath. Was the title mocking of their prisoners? She doubted it was said in respect.
Shivering, she thought of the pirate captain. As she was forced onto the ship, she had a good view of the man, perhaps more than she wanted as Dev held her upside down. By her guess, he was a human male, or in the very least a humanoid. His eyes had glowed with gold flecks signifying there was some other kind of blood in him. If she had her guess, she’d say he was a shifter of some sort. The thought thrilled her. She’d read of shifters, but had rarely seen an actual shift.
Mei hated to admit that the man intrigued her on a very primal level. She wasn’t stupid. She knew what lust and desire were. She’d even had a few lovers in her lifetime, even though she was still young, only forty-seven years of age. It wasn’t as if she had been conceived that very morning. Though, in her experience, men usually came with more strings attached than she liked.
Looking around the room, she shivered anew. The walls bore down on her as the impact of her decisions hit her full force. In the midst of the fight, all she could do was think of how she wanted to be in on the action. The wind had stirred, calling her, telling her to go. The element was a wicked temptress. It always had been to Mei. The wind got inside her and urged her to be free, just as it was, blowing wherever and however it willed.
Then, as she was lying beneath the strong pirate captain, she’d just wanted to be free of her duty, of the Song palace, of her future with the stoic Prince Lok. She wanted the freedom that the pirate captain represented. And, there was no denying it, she wanted the pirate as a lover. There was danger and excitement in him, a sense of the unknown. The intoxicating power of it overwhelmed her blood, making her heart beat so fast she could barely breathe. There was a seduction to that facet of his appearance. He was everything she shouldn’t have, but he did represent, albeit to the extreme, everything she’d ever wanted.
The Pirate Prince Page 4
