The Pirate Prince

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Small sounds of pleasure escaped her, punctuated by the primal, bestial sounds of his groans. With each passing second, his passion became fiercer. He rocked his hips against hers, growling in pleasure as he kissed her. Finally, unable to breathe, she was forced to break the kiss, gasping for air as she tilted her head back.

  Jarek lifted her up. He moved in a fiery trail down her throat with his mouth. She felt the dangerous brush of teeth, but everything in her told her to trust him, that he would never hurt her. He nipped her flesh only to soothe the irritation with his long tongue. The harsh sound of their breathing mixed with the pounding of her heart reverberating in her head.

  “There is just something about you, Mei,” he whispered between heated kisses and playful bites. “I can’t stay away.”

  His hot mouth captured her nipple and he sucked, firmly kissing it before moving to the other side. Mei gasped, flooded with him—his taste, his smell, his touch. A smile curled her lips as he kissed his way lower. His dark head brushed along her stomach, his hair tickling her. He made his way down, his lips brushing between her thighs. Sounds of possession came from him, vibrating against her as he dipped his tongue along her slit.

  “Mm,” he groaned, kissing harder.

  The erotic sight of his face pressed into her was too much. She grabbed his hair. His hands on her hips kept her upright as she climaxed against his mouth. Jarek pulled back with a catlike grin as he sprinkled light kisses up over her body as he stood. With a gentle sweep, he lifted her into his arms. Mei held on tight, panting softly against his neck as he carried her toward where the bed would come out of the wall.

  “Computer,” he ordered. “Bed.”

  The bed slid out of the wall, and he laid her on it the second it stopped moving. Mei shivered as they were parted for a brief second. His body came over hers. Without a pause, he slipped his legs between hers. His erection found her wet opening, ready and waiting for him. The taste of her was on his mouth when he kissed her. He groaned, teasing her as he slipped his arousal along her sex. His breath caught, but he did it again, dancing along her opening until she was mad with lust. She stirred against him. The tip of him brushed her clit, stirring her passions until they ignited in tingles over her flesh, setting her thighs aflame.

  “Qin ài de.” Mei cried out, begging for more. She was wet, more than ready. Her hips lifted, trying to get him to thrust. He grinned, laughing softly in his passion. “Jarek, mmm. Please.”

  He pushed into her slick passage, filling her body by small, agonizing degrees. His eyes bore into hers, taking her in. The light was on, and they could see each other clearly. Mei panted, gasping for air. His hands were on her flesh, dipping between her thighs to heighten her pleasure as he stroked the sensitive bud hidden in her tender folds.

  “Jarek,” she whispered, over and over, “Jarek, Jarek...”

  He finally pressed fully into her, filling her to the brink. Jarek groaned, working his hips in small circles. Mei cried out in mindless pleasure.

  “Ah, fea, you’re so beautiful.” Jarek smiled, kissing her.

  His eyes stayed on hers. Working his hips, he pumped into her. The pleasure built between them. He didn’t look away.

  “More,” she begged. “Qin ài de, more!”

  Jarek hit harder and harder with each thrust, lifting up as he moved rapidly within her. She wound her fingers into his long black hair, enjoying the silken length against her palms.

  They came at the same time, trembling as wave after wave of intense pleasure shook them to the core. His eyes shifted with golden hues as he filled her with his seed, releasing within her.

  “Jarek,” she whispered, holding him close.

  “I love you, Mei,” he said, rolling over so she was on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her and let her lay on his chest. “I want to stay like this forever.”

  “I’ve never met anyone like you,” she answered.

  He chuckled softly. “And you never will again, fea.”

  20

  Jarek had never been happier, but with the sweet came the very bitter, the knowledge that his happiness couldn’t last. Because of this, his heart was heavy, and it put a damper on his time with Mei. When he held her, everything seemed right, more right than he’d ever felt in his long life. And, slowly, the realization came that when it was time to leave her on her home planet, he was not going to be able to. The awareness that he would go against her wishes didn’t sit well with him. But what else could he do?

  He let her believe he was a pirate. One, it seemed to thrill her sexually. Two, she was insistent that if he was anything else, she’d have to take other actions. Besides, he reasoned to himself, he was somewhat of a pirate as well as a prince. It wasn’t a lie to let her believe what she wished.

  Every day, Mei cooked for the crew, and they ate with relish. It was discovered that Viktor had stockpiled a lot of food in his quarters, just in case she couldn’t. The men teased him mercilessly about it, sometimes playfully refusing to let him eat with them as they enjoyed Mei’s gourmet dishes. He’d pout, chewing on his hardening Qurilixen blue bread, tormented by the aroma that came from the dining hall. In the end, they always gave in and let him join. It was all in good-natured fun anyway.

  When they weren’t eating, they were working. Just a few blasts from the Lintianese vessel had caused a lot of damage. By the time the floating space dock was in sight, several days had passed. The ship wasn’t a hundred percent, but they couldn’t waste any more time.

  Mei stood by his side in the cockpit as Lochlann steered the ship through the port doors. The metal of the docking ship looked worn and beaten up. Black scorch marks from laser blasts marred the outside surface. Jarek tensed. This really wasn’t the type of place he wanted to bring Mei. He started to worry about what she’d think. If she was used to luxury, would this out-of-the-way space dock convince her that life in space wasn’t worth trying.

  His jaw tensed as he took in every detail as if seeing it for the first time. He tried to look at it from a woman’s point of view. The dents were glaringly obvious, and the workers looked like they hadn’t bathed in days. As The Conqueror slipped into place, Lochlann shut down the controls and stood. He stretched his arms as he led the way to the loading dock. Dev was there, already lowering the hatch so they could exit.

  “Are you ready?” Jarek whispered. Mei nodded. “I want you to stay by my side.”

  Mei listened to him and stayed close to his side. Jarek was glad. He didn’t want her out of his sight. Glancing down at her, he was surprised to see the wide smile of excitement on her face. Her hand clutched at his arm, but her eyes were all over the dock, taking it in.

  One alien, with tentacles drifting like strange arms around his head, locked the ship into place. He made gurgling noises, and every time he touched something, a suction sound popped over the large docking bay. Dev watched him carefully to make sure it was done correctly. The creature didn’t seem too happy with the supervision, but one look at Dev kept him from causing a fuss.

  “Loch, see to the fuel. Evan, take Lucien and Vik and get supplies and parts.” Jarek pulled Mei closer, holding her by the arm with a firm grip. “We’re going to see about food.”

  Evan nodded. Yelling, he called, “Vik, Luc, come on, we need to stock up!”

  “Great! We’re out of liquor,” Lucien answered, sauntering down the plank.

  Lochlann waved his hand in the air, motioning a blue humanoid with fuzzy hair over. Evan laughed, and all three trailed off toward an exit. Other creatures were in the docking area as well. Mei lifted her hand in fascination as if to point at a man with blue and silver-scaled flesh that glistened as though he was covered in water. Next to him, an orange man with gills protruding from his face wore a helmet filled with water. He rubbed his webbed hands with a greasy substance that made them shine like the blue man next to him. Jarek grabbed Mei’s hand, pulling it back down.

  “Don’t stare at them. They’ll take offense,” he ordered quietly.
She automatically looked away.

  A woman with blue hair and green tinted flesh came from the exit door. She wore a brown fur top that barely covered her two breasts and a swatch of fur and leather around her waist. She was exotically beautiful with large blue eyes that swam like the dancing stars. Her bare feet pointed with each step as if she was about to start dancing. The woman smiled at him, and he nodded politely.

  Mei poked him hard in the side. Jarek blinked in surprise to see her glaring at him. Lightly, he picked her up and placed a kiss on her nose.

  “No one compares to you, fea,” he promised, telling the truth. He was flattered by Mei’s jealousy, but it wasn’t necessary. He noticed the woman, as he noticed everything around them, but did not look at her with interest.

  “Don’t you forget it,” she said, turning a stern eye to the woman as if she was ready to fight her for rights to ‘her man’. The woman tilted her head and continued on her way to a small one- person craft docked in the corner.

  “Yeah, you’d better run,” Mei mumbled under her breath. Jarek pulled her closer.

  The markings along the exit door were universal signs for toilets, decontaminator laser baths, food, and lodging. Jarek would not get accommodations off the ship for the night. Usually, they liked staying off the ship for a change and to get away from each other. Even the closest families needed a break. But, the rooms on the space dock weren’t exactly the most luxurious. Some of them were just plain nasty, with space bugs and rodents hiding under every surface.

  Jarek walked with Mei toward the exit. “Are you hungry?”

  “More like curious,” she answered. “This place is fascinating.”

  “Fascinating?” he mused, looking around. He’d hardly use that word to describe the run- down port.

  “Mm, yes. It seems the sort of place to find a liúmáng...” Mei tilted her head in concentration. “Ah, liúmáng, gangster.”

  Jarek chuckled, the sound low and throaty. “You’re one for danger, aren’t you?”

  Mei grinned, winking mischievously. “Think you can find some for me?”

  Jarek whipped her around, pulling her tightly against him. His erection was thick and hard as it pressed into her softer body. Her deep, rich laugh washed over him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He let the beast enter his gaze, and she instantly shivered.

  “Nî hâo mêi,” he whispered.

  “You are beautiful as well,” she said. “My cat pirate.”

  “Cat pirate?”

  “You know, they have rooms here. We could get one, and you could shift for me like you’ve been promising to do.”

  “Mei,” he began.

  “What? You wouldn’t deny me again, would you, qin ài de?” She lifted up on her toes, pressing a light, fluttering kiss on his chin. “Don’t make me beg. You have no duties on the ship tonight, nothing to repair or see to. The men are taking care of the supplies. I’m sure we can slip away for a few hours.”

  “You make it hard to resist, princess,” he whispered.

  “Then don’t.” She kissed him again, unashamed, bold. Her mouth opened to claim his, her tongue wrestling its way past his teeth. A throat cleared, but they ignored it. They were standing in the way, but he didn’t care. Jarek felt someone rudely pushing past him to get through the exit. He was thrust forward until Mei’s back was flush against the door frame.

  “Captain!”

  Jarek barely heard the word.

  “Captain Jarek!” It was Dev.

  Gulping for air, he pulled back. Mei’s eyes were glazed with passion, and her smell was all around him.

  Jarek couldn’t speak, as he turned to acknowledge his friend.

  “This guy says they have someone here who can help with repairs,” Dev spoke loudly, not moving any closer to them as he stood by the ship. “We’re in luck, it’s an engineer from Letame.”

  Jarek nodded. Letames were famous for their telepathic-like abilities. Except, they didn’t read each other minds, or even other creatures, they read and controlled metal and electricity. The Letames were rare. Most of their race had been wiped out by greed, and there were rumors that some had been experimented on by the Medical Mafia, who sought to harness their gifts. For a Letame to even admit to his heritage was an amazing thing.

  “Fine,” Jarek yelled.

  “He’ll need everyone else off the ship,” Dev called.

  Jarek lifted his hand and nodded. It looked as if they’d be getting rooms on the space dock after all.

  “I’ll stand guard tonight,” Dev added. Jarek nodded, but the man was already climbing up the loading plank.

  “The map of the Honorable City,” Mei whispered in concern.

  “We’ll get it. Don’t worry.” Jarek turned and headed back to the ship for the map. Mei was by his side.

  21

  The room Jarek was able to buy for the night was worse than he could’ve imagined. It was a small square, no bigger than a class five prison hold in the poorest of districts. The lights flickered and buzzed, annoyingly so. Black grates covered the walls, complete with hooks for hanging clothing. There was no private decontaminator, only the public one accessed from the corridor near the diner.

  The walls were punctured with holes. Thick material had been stuffed in them for privacy, held in place by the grates. On one side of them, behind the wall, odd music played, eerie and low vocals backed by some sort of string instrument.

  Jarek took a deep breath, embarrassed that he had Mei in such a place. Sacred cats! How was he going to convince her that life with him was where she belonged? Sure, she seemed enthralled now, but this was a trip, an adventure. As a lifestyle choice, it wouldn’t be so glamorous. Any hope he harbored of convincing her to choose him faded. He’d have to force her to stay with him.

  I’ll think about that later.

  Sitting on the woven mat on the floor, he put the map of the Honorable City behind him and looked up at Mei. She walked around the room, lightly touching everything within her reach.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere so dirty,” Mei said. As the words left her, a ten-legged bug crawled over the floor. Three eyes spun around in the creature’s dark brown head. It was the size of Mei’s foot. She yelped, jumping over it to be next to Jarek. “Can we go back to the ship? I think I’ve changed my mind.”

  “Ah, come here, fea. Perhaps I can make you forget where you are.” Jarek lifted his hand to her.

  Mei took it but pulled instead of joining him on the mat. “You, my pirate, are going to take me to dine.”

  “Am I?”

  “Mm, yes, you most certainly are.”

  “Hâo ba,” he said reluctantly. “If I have to.”

  Mei giggled. “Yes, fea, you have to.”

  Jarek grimaced. “Men are not feas.”

  “Really?” she said coyly. “What is a fea anyway?”

  “Long ago, before my people settled on our planet, it is rumored that there were beautiful women, tinier than my thumb. They flew about on gossamer wings and sprinkled magical dust over Var men, making them crazy with love, until they would do anything the little feas asked. They were enslaved by love.”

  Mei smiled. “Is that how you see me, Jarek? As your little fea?”

  “It’s exactly as I see you. You are my fea. The first moment I saw you I fell under your spell.”

  Mei laughed, tossing back her head. “Those were my feet I hit you with, qin ài de.”

  “I remember it as magic.”

  “You’re delusional.”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Come on, pirate,” Mei pulled on his shirt collar. “Buy me dinner.”

  Jarek laughed, following her. “Whatever you say, princess.”

  22

  The diner was small and old, but at least it was clean. Mei took in everything. It was the first time she’d ever been just an ordinary person in public. No one knew of her title. No one bowed or paid her more than a passing notice. Well, that wasn’t completely true. A f
ew of the humanoid males paid her notice and Jarek, like a truly possessive man, growled and threatened them with his cat eyes and fangs. He even lifted a clawed finger to one of them who dared to step too close to their table.

  Mei found she didn’t mind his possessiveness. She liked being protected by him though she was sure she could take care of herself if it came down to a fight. A short, round gelatinous woman brought them plates of food and dropped them on the table with a clank. They hadn’t even ordered.

  “Psychic?” Mei asked her.

  “Only thing we got,” the woman answered, her tone husky. Her dress hugged tightly to her frame. It was pink with little red flowers, an odd contrast to her green skin and blue hair though both were darker than the woman who’d flirted with Jarek on the docks. The woman waddled away.

  “You know how to treat a girl,” Mei teased. Jarek’s face fell slightly, and he glanced around. Reaching out, she touched his hand, drawing his attention back. “Hey, I was only joking.”

  “What? Oh, I know, fea.” Jarek took up a skewer and stabbed a chuck of meat on his chipped plate. Biting it off, he chewed thoughtfully. “It’s not bad.”

  He sounded unconvincing. Mei was a little more delicate as she poked at a piece of meat. Slowly, she brought it to her mouth, touching it with the tip of her tongue. The sauce was tangy and sweet, with an odd flavoring she couldn’t place. It wasn’t exactly appetizing. Finding her bravery, she popped the whole piece in her mouth. She did her best not to taste it as she swallowed the meat whole.

  Mei was well aware of Jarek’s eyes on her and did her best to smile and pretend that she enjoyed it. He was unusually silent as they dined. She tried a few times to start a conversation, but in the end contented herself with observing her surroundings. There wasn’t much to see. A hairy, smelly beast of a man sat with another pale man with red eyes. At least Mei thought they were both men. It was a little difficult to tell.

  “Hey, captain,” Evan said, sliding into the seat next to Jarek. He leaned over and picked up a piece of meat with his fingers and popped it into his mouth. “Ship’s all stocked.”