Rebellious Prince

by Michelle M. Pillow

  “You are yelling at me,” Rafe answered, swinging his hands to his sides.

  “And another thing, I don’t even know what my options are here. I didn’t like being put on display for everyone to stare at. I can’t imagine being a princess and having my every move watched. I like being invisible. I like reading and drinking wine and cuddling on the couch while watching movies. I don’t want to worry about saying the wrong thing or sending the entire palace into lockdown because I messed up some social decorum. Then there is the idea that people want me dead because of what I am. I can’t change the fact I’m human.”

  “I can help you with all that,” he said.

  “Really? And I can trust you will tell me everything why? You didn’t explain the whole dining hall thing to me tonight before abandoning me up there. And I seem to recall you telling me that the portal wouldn’t take me home for another Earth year.”

  “It won’t.”

  “That’s not what your mother told me.”

  “I do not know what she said, but it will not take you back to your village for another year.”

  Jenna sighed. Now she was frustrated. “But it does go to Earth every night. You could take me back to another village. I have my wallet in my bag so I can make my way home.”

  All fight instantly drained out of him, and his hands dropped to his side. “Is that your wish?”

  “Yes. No. Maybe.” Jenna pushed her hands into her hair and pulled lightly at the roots, wishing the right answer would come to her. “I don’t know. I didn’t get my work turned in so I’m probably out of a job anyway. My rent is on auto pay from my bank account, so I have a little time. I don’t know. I…I just don’t know.”

  * * *

  Fear gripped Rafe’s chest, and he knew what he had to do. If Jenna demanded he take her home, he would have no choice. He sat before her on the bed. “I agree to your dating terms. We will be all those things but not mated. But don’t leave me.”

  How could she not know her heart was his? Frustration filled him with doubts. He was offering everything that he was, everything he had, his very life to her, and she didn’t want it. She wanted him as a lover, and he would gladly go to her bed when commanded, but the notion left him hollow inside. She wanted his body but not his love. He didn’t breathe until she nodded her head in agreement.

  “Dating is good,” she said. “Very good. Thank you.”

  “As m’lady wishes.” Rafe stood, moving to make the room darker so that they may sleep.

  “You’re not going to stay?”

  “Yes, I will stay. My place is here with you.” He pressed a button and the lights dimmed into darkness. His eyes shifted, seeing easily as he made his way back to the bed. He pulled at the covers she clutched to her chest, forcing her to release them. When he’d managed to settle her back into his arms, he whispered, “It is late. Rest. No harm will come to you this night.”

  Chapter 17

  Three weeks, at least by Jenna’s best estimate, had passed since she’d agreed to be Rafe’s lover. She still had difficulty telling time since the sun—make that three suns—never set. At first it felt like an exotic vacation, a break from having to go to work, from having to worry about retirement plans and deadlines imposed by her boss. The only difference was this vacation wasn’t ending. All the new and shiny was starting to be slightly oppressive. She hated to admit it because everyone was very kind to her, and they tried to please her.

  Always tried to please her.

  Jenna stared at the mountain of blue bread loaves pyramided on the chair cushion in her suite in contemplation before turning to the stack taking up most of her couch. Glancing at the fresh loaf in her hands, she grimaced. If she never saw another carb again in her life, it would be too soon.

  “Come back to bed,” Rafe ordered.

  “This room smells like an old bakery,” Jenna complained. She finally opted to take the newest loaf back to the bed with her. “What am I supposed to do with all this bread? I can’t keep smuggling them to your chambers to throw pieces off your balcony. They bring me loaves faster than I can get rid of them. Are you sure there are no hungry poor people I can give them to?”

  “I have told you, m’lady, everyone works and everyone eats. It is our way.” Rafe grinned and held up the covers to show off his current erection. Though she didn’t have proof, she was starting to suspect Var men had male erection drugs flowing through their veins. The man never seemed to tire. A few nights she’d had to protest to even get some sleep.

  “You look hungry,” she observed before throwing the loaf at him. He caught it but dropped the blanket in the process. “Here. Eat. I have run out of places to put them.”

  Rafe let his face partially shift so that he had fangs. Making a low growling noise, he bit fiercely into it and shook his head. A tiny shiver ran through Jenna. He’d discovered how much she liked his little shows of shifter power. His face shifted back, and he began to chew. When he swallowed, he said, “Take off your clothes and come back to bed.” He took another bite, this time less aggressively.

  “Help me figure out a way to make the bread stop,” Jenna said.

  Rafe chuckled and took another bite.

  “I’m glad you think this is funny because I expect you to keep eating until it’s all gone.” She gestured to the piles on the couch and mantel.

  “You told the hall you liked blue bread,” Rafe said. “The people wish to honor and please you.”

  Jenna had met several of “the people” and got the impression they really just wanted an excuse to talk to the new human. They kept staring and giggling and examining her. “I think they just want to have a good look at me and so use the bread as an excuse. What will happen if I just refuse to take it?”

  Rafe sat up. “No, don’t do that. You’ll insult whoever brings it. If you wait, it will stop on its own.”

  “Then you better make room for it in your chambers because I’m about to start stacking it on your floor.”

  “You are always so serious,” he said, not for the first time.

  “And you are always not-so-serious,” she answered. “Everything is a game.”

  “Only the best things.” He gave her a steamy once over and grinned.

  “Rafe, please, help, the bread.” Jenna crossed her arms over her chest, but the gesture did little to dissuade his growing lust.

  “I’ll tell you how to make it stop, but you won’t like it.”

  Looking around at the blue piles, she said, “I’ll do anything.”

  “You’ll have to be on display again. You told me you didn’t want to have to do that.”

  “Display and then what?”

  “Go to the dining hall with me and thank them for their generosity. Tell them how welcome and safe you feel here.” Rafe grinned. “Perhaps mention you are ready to be my princess.”

  “Rafe…”

  “What? The people want to love you. They see your kind heart and your open smile.” He threw the bread over the foot of the bed toward the couch. It bounced over the floor. This time he tossed the covers completely off his naked body. His eyes flashed with gold as he silently beckoned her to go to him.

  Her logical brain tried to protest, but her body obeyed him. Jenna crawled onto the bed before leaning over to kiss the center of his chest. She felt his heart beat against her lips.

  “I do like some of your games,” she whispered. “I don’t try to always be serious.”

  “There is one game I have been thinking about that we haven’t done,” he said.

  “Really?” She couldn’t help falling for his magnetic spell. From that first instant she’d felt his pull. Endless hours of sex had yet to ease her attraction. In fact, if she were honest, discovery of him and his passions only made her want him more. All he had to do was drown her in kisses, and she was bending to his sexual will. If he wanted her bent over, she bent over. If he urged her to ride, she climbed on his lap. If he needed his cock sucked he’d often get her into the shower like the
first time. If he woke up restless in the middle of the night and found his way to kiss between her thighs, she had no choice but to climax against his lips and tongue. That last one seemed to be a favorite since he did it often. He seemed to enjoy it when she was disorientated with sleep and jerking incoherently.

  “This pied piper you mentioned to me when you first arrived. I would like to know what it is.”

  Jenna laughed and teased, “I don’t think you’re ready for that.”

  “But, I am strong and virile. I am ready to do as you command,” he assured her.

  She debated on whether or not to tell him it simply had to do with his magnetic eyes pulling her in and not some sexual feat. “I was teasing. It only means you are so attractive you are like a lure to women.”

  “Lure?”

  “Trap. Like a hunter drawing in his prey,” she said.

  Rafe grinned and surprised her by jumping out of the bed. He hurried to the lights and made the room dark. Seconds later, she could hear him growling and the sound of claws hitting the stone floor as he moved. A tiny shiver of anticipation filled her as she tried to follow his movements.

  She squinted but couldn’t see him in the dark. “Rafe, this isn’t what I meant. What are you doing?”

  The low growl answered her, rumbling dangerously in the back of his throat in the opposite direction that she thought he was in. She gave a small gasp of surprise. Her heartbeat quickened as she waited for him to pounce, not knowing where it would come from.

  “Rafe?” she whispered.

  Another growl sounded in a different location, and then another.

  She burrowed into the covers to her neck, leaving only her face and ears out. Suddenly, a loud roar sounded and he pounced. Rafe landed on her legs. Jenna screamed, startled.

  Light suddenly burst forth from the door as two guards ran inside, half shifted and ready to fight. “M’lady!” She was pinned beneath the covers. Rafe straddled her with his human body. When the guards saw the naked prince, they instantly backed away. “Forgive us, we thought…”

  The rest of what they said was lost as they closed the door.

  “Oh, no…” Jenna rocked, trying to free herself. She couldn’t believe they’d just been walked in on.

  Rafe laughed. He leaned over, letting her have a little more wiggle room beneath the cage of blankets. “I think it is you who is not ready to be pipered. Though you are very lovely prey.”

  “And I can’t believe you let the guards hear you!” She squirmed harder.

  “I have explained the shifter hearing to you, right?” His lips brushed her cheek.

  “Yes, but…oh, I see.” Jenna closed her eyes tight and made a weak noise. “So you’re saying with shifter hearing they can always hear what we’re doing in here and…”

  “They won’t listen. It would be impolite,” Rafe said. She felt him smile against her. He began working the covers down from her body before pulling on the underdress she used as a nightgown.

  “This is so embarrassing.” Now that her arms were freed, she pushed at his chest. “Get up.”

  He let her push him up, but only so that he could press his hips forward. His arousal moved over her stomach. “What if I promise to be quiet?”

  “I can’t, not knowing they might be…”

  Rafe took her hands and pinned them above her head. He threaded his leg between hers and kneed one of her legs open before moving to do the same to the other side. When she was spread open, he drew his hips to hers.

  “I’ve captured my prey,” he whispered, “and now I’m going to stake claim.”

  He thrust himself inside her. As it always did, her body readily accepted him.

  “Rafe…”

  He stretched along her length, holding her wrists over her head. One of his knees bent into hers as he moved sensually against her body to thrust. “Now, do you want to pretend to fight me off, little prey?”

  Instantly understanding his game, she tugged at her wrists. The movement caused him to slide in deep and press down. Liking it, she fought harder, careful not to cry out. Rafe moaned. She managed to buck up, and his erection slipped out.

  With a low growl, he flipped her onto her stomach and held her down as he entered her from behind. The position wasn’t deep enough, so he drew her back to get better leverage. Holding her by her hips, his thrusts became frantic as he claimed her. The mattress pressed hard to her chest, and she gasped for breath. Pleasure came hard and sure. She forgot to keep quiet as she cried out her climax. Rafe’s animalistic release met hers and he locked is hips to her ass.

  When finally he let go, she collapsed forward and didn’t move. Every nerve tingled, and her bones felt as if they melted out of her skin.

  He fell to the mattress beside her. “I like this piper game. Perhaps next time we’ll play it in the forest.”

  Chapter 18

  “Thank you for your generosity in welcoming me to your home world.” Jenna smiled her frozen smile at the crowd. This was everything nightmares were made of—public speaking while standing in a medieval lady’s gown, all eyes examining her to pass judgment, all ears listening to her every word.

  The queen had seen to it gowns were made to fit Jenna, which was to say the gowns were made to the queen’s liking. A snug red bodice flowed into a floor length skirt. An embroidered braid wrapped the neckline, went straight down the front only to wrap around the hemline. A contrasting green and gold belt hung low on her hips but was more decorative than functional. A smaller version of the belt had been made into a headband. Apparently the queen was very excited by the fact the dress looked lovely with her red hair. Lovely is not the word Jenna would have used. Now, if she were in the market to date Santa Claus, the red and green Christmas theme would have been perfect.

  When no one moved, she looked to Rafe, who stood by her side. The rest of his family lined up next to them at the head table. She leaned to him and whispered, “I said it. Now what?”

  “Tell them you’re my princess,” he answered just as quietly, giving her a playful grin.

  “Rafe,” she scolded in a hush. “Be serious.”

  “I am serious.” His eyes dipped to her mouth, and she felt her cheeks heating under his gaze.

  “Rafe,” she mouthed in warning, well aware of everyone watching them.

  “Bow your head and take your seat,” he whispered.

  Jenna bowed her head and sat. The gathered pounded their applause onto the tabletop. The royal family also took their seats, and the servants began to bring food. Jenna took a deep breath and held it, trying to calm her nerves. At least it was over. No more blue bread. No more speeches.

  A guard approached the king and spoke to him in their native tongue. The king glanced up to the ceiling before answering with a curt nod. Ivar leaned over his mother to join the conversation.

  “You look lovely,” Rafe said, not for the first time.

  “I’m just glad the hard part is over,” she answered. A servant set slices of blue bread before her on the table. Jenna made a weak noise. When the woman was out of earshot, she said, “You have to be joking.”

  Rafe chuckled. “It has nothing to do with you. We’re having a traditional yorkin dish, which is customarily served with bread.”

  “We have guests landing,” the king said when the guard retreated the way he’d come. “Syog vessel.”

  “I am not doing the negotiations,” Ivar stated.

  “Don’t look to me,” the queen said. “I don’t have the right equipment.”

  “Who are the Syog?” Jenna asked.

  “They’re a very aggressive alien,” Rafe paused as if considering his words, before adding, “with a particular fondness for uncomfortable negotiations.”

  Ivar laughed. “You could say that.”

  “Just don’t agree to negotiate anything with them.” Rafe’s hand brushed against her leg. “It does not end well.”

  “Stop that,” she whispered, pulling her leg away from him.

  “Sto
p what?” He smiled his rakishly handsome smile but lifted his hand back to the tabletop. Servants brought the yorkin dish. It smelled and looked like peppery sirloin steak and was cut into bite size chunks.

  “How many aliens are there?” she asked.

  “I could not begin to count the population of all alien species.” Rafe lifted a two prong fork and stabbed a piece of meat.

  “You know what I mean. How many species are there?”

  “I could not begin to count how many species of aliens are out there. We meet new ones all the time,” Rafe said.

  “Twenty-three have visited this planet so far,” Ivar answered. “And there is an accounting of at least three times as many.”

  “So many.” Jenna lifted her fork. “Do they look mostly like we do? Or do they look like Roswell and Mogul?”

  “I have not seen any that look like the Reticulans,” Ivar said before Rafe could tease her again with a non-answer. “Many are what are known as humanoid, as are Earth people, as are Var and Draig. The Syog are humanoid.”

  “Do they shift?” she asked.

  “They—” Ivar began.

  “Rafe, you should bring Lady Jenna up to meet them since she is so curious,” the queen said.

  Rafe didn’t readily answer. He also turned his back on her to face his mother so she couldn’t see his face. “Did the guard say which ship it was?”

  Ivar smiled. Jenna was sure she’d never seen the man look mischievous before. It was a little unsettling.

  “Just a ship,” the queen said.

  “It’s decided. Rafe will greet the Syog,” the king said. “And be nice to them. We need all the alien allies we can get.”

  Chapter 19

  Jenna watched in stunned horror as two very symmetrically perfect athletic alien supermodels wrapped their arms around Rafe and refused to let him go. The landing pad stretched along the rooftop with white stones inlaid into the red to mark where the ships were to land. At first she’d been mesmerized to see a spaceship up close and had been full of questions about flight and ships and space travel. That was until the alien babes sauntered across the pad like they were on a runway.