Authors: Michelle M. Pillow
The woman’s smell filled his nose. It was an exotic fragrance, mingled with the unmistakable scent of desire. No wonder his head was clouded and drifting. The woman was practically in heat. His shaft filled even more, instantly ready to do her body’s silent bidding. But, looking at her eyes, her mind wasn’t as welcome to him. In fact, she looked a little frightened.
Sacred Cats! He didn’t need this distraction.
“I am captain of this ship,” Jarek said, knowing full and well he wasn’t giving her the answer she desired.
“And you, my lady cook, are my guest.”
With that, he left her, locking her into the room. Until he had the ship well in hand and the damage assessed, he didn’t want the added worry of the pretty Líntianese flower on the loose.
“Gaxìng jìandào nî!” the woman yelled through the door. Jarek grinned. He really needed to upload her language, though by her hoarse yell it wasn’t too hard to figure out she was upset with him. “Húndàn!”
* * * *
Guest? Mei frowned. Was that what they called prisoners? Guests? Shaking her head, she forced her eyes away from the locked door. She breathed heavily, caught between irritation and desire. To know she desired him only made her all the more irritated.
Why did he have to be so handsome? So thrilling and dangerous? She could’ve
done without his subtle face shift. His brow had lengthened some as his eyes had glowed with an eerie, animalistic gold. He’d looked like a beast, ready to pounce and take. The way her body heated, Mei had to admit she wasn’t too adverse to the getting taken part.
Who was she fooling? She wasn’t averse to the being pounced on part either.
Captain Jarek was well built and attractive in a very roguish sort of way. He’d changed his clothes and let down his hair. It fell in long dark waves to his waist, pulled up and back at the temples in braids to keep it out of his face. Now that she had looked at him fully, she noticed how dark his skin was, especially compared to her lighter complexion.
Black tattoos marked up one of his arms, the symmetrical pattern disappearing under his sleeve only to peek out of his collar by his neck. He was dressed in a loose white linen shirt, rolled at the sleeves, and tight black pants. His calf boots were polished to a high gleam. He scared her more than any man ever had. Which in turn only made her all the more annoyed with him and herself.
“So far they have acted honorably,” she whispered, even though no one else was in the room to hear her. “Let’s just hope that continues. But, for the time being, I’ll just keep my mouth shut and see what I can discover.”
Lying down on the bed, Mei stared at the metal ceiling.
“Computer, requesting security clearance,” Mei said. The ship’s mainframe didn’t answer. If Haun had hit the ship with blasts of energy, it was quite possible they were adrift in space. Then why hadn’t Haun come aboard? That was the whole point, disable the ship so it couldn’t get away and then make demands while the ship was helpless and out of commission.
A sickening feeling curled in the pit of her stomach. She grabbed a blanket and pulled it to her chest. Fear overwhelmed her as images of Haun’s ship exploding invaded her imagination. The calm she felt moments before dissipated. “Blessed ancestors,” Mei whispered.
“Please keep Haun safe. I’ll do whatever I have to, just keep my brother safe.”
Chapter Four
“Viktor, I need you to break the food simulator,” Jarek ordered. He chuckled at the men’s stunned expressions of utter horror. “It needs to only materialize uncooked ingredients.”
“Have you gone mad?” Lucien protested, staring at his brother. “He’ll never get around to fixing it again.
We’ll starve!”
Viktor leaned over the table and threw a piece of Qurilixen blue bread at him. The food was a favorite amongst the crew. Lochlann had introduced it to them last time they were on the planet. “Ha ha, very funny.”
They were in the commons, a lounge area equipped with a viewing screen, gaming tables, couches and chairs. The men spent a lot of time there, when they didn’t want to be alone in their quarters. Lucien, Viktor, and Jackson leaned over the map with a hand held translator trying to read it. Dev watched quietly from behind, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed in concentration.
“No, our prisoner claims to be a royal chef,” Jarek said. “So, let’s see if she’s telling the truth. Evan, I’ll need you to watch her when she cooks. If she tries to poison us, you’ll sense it. Dev, go to the cargo hold and crack open that wilderness kit we salvaged. There should be some cooking utensils in there somewhere that she can use. If anything, this will keep her busy while we do repairs.” Lucien chuckled. “Your sister-by-marriage would be so proud to hear you stole from the Human Intelligence Agency.”
“Westole from them,” Jarek corrected, giving a meaningful nod. His oldest brother, King Kirill was married to Ulyssa, an ex-HIA agent. She didn’t talk about it to him too much, but from what he gathered, she had been one of their top agents. “And we didn’t steal it from HIA. It was the Exploratory Science Commission and we simply salvaged what wasn’t being used. Besides, ESC wasn’t doing anything with it on Sintaz.
It was just sitting there.”
“Blessed Stars! That planet was cold enough to steal the manhood from a libear,”Jackson swore. “If I never go back there, I’ll be a happy man.” “It’s not our fault you took Rick’s bet,” Lucien said. “You didn’t have to run out of the ship naked into that snowdrift.”
“Hey,”Jackson protested, his eyes widening innocently. “He paid me twenty space credits.”
“And you added new meaning to Rick’s Earth term, blue balls,” Lucien teased.
The men chuckled. Jarek looked down at the map, trying to memorize the lines as he listened to the others joke back and forth.
“But seriously here,” Lucien said. “What if she can’t cook? We’ll all starve.”
Viktor grimaced at his brother.
“Well, I guess that will make you our new chef,” Jarek told Lucien, laughing as he glanced up for a brief second. The map was hard to read. He didn’t recognize the markings as they didn’t resemble any map or chart he’d ever seen. It made sense. The Líntianese had isolated their culture for so long it was bound to be different and mysterious.
“We’ll all be poisoned for sure,”Jackson said dryly. Viktor and Jackson groaned, grabbing their stomachs. Lucien rolled his eyes and shouted, “Hey, I’m not that bad!”
“You’re not that good,” Viktor teased. “Or so the women complain.”
“At least leave it programmed to give out liquor,”Jackson suggested. “We should be studying the map,”
Dev reminded them sternly. He was the only one not joining into the ribbing.
“He’s right.” Jarek glanced up. “Any luck with the translator?”
“No,”Jackson said, placing his hands on the table. “It doesn’t recognize the symbols.” He pointed at a long line that moved through squares. “I’m guessing this is a river of some sort by its curves in relation to everything else that’s here, but without reading what it says, there is no way to be sure. These squares could be houses or property lines, farmland, or even … I don’t know. These hieroglyphs are like none I’ve ever seen before.”
The writingJackson referred to was a series of square-like designs lined up from top to bottom.
“Evan?” Jarek inquired, knowing him to be the most well read of the group.
“I don’t recognize it,” he answered.
“We need someone to translate them for us,” Jarek said, looking around the room meaningfully before turning in the direction of where their prisoner was locked away. “I just don’t know if she’s going to be willing to help us.”
“Do we have a choice?” Evan asked.
“No.” Jarek took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, we don’t. Let’s all upload her language as soon as possible. We should’ve done it before.” “There was no time before,” Dev said. “There isn’t much time now. We should be concentrating on repairs.”
“We’ll make time now. There really isn’t a choice. Lucien, you go first. There isn’t much you can do in communications until the systems are up and running. Evan, go with Viktor to break the food simulator, then bring the woman to the kitchen and see what you can find out. We need to know if we can trust her and right now it’s the best thing we’ve got. The rest of us will get to work repairing the ship. I’m going to go see if Lochfigured out where we are for sure.”
“If I can access the computer,”Jackson put forth, “I might be able to match these rivers to the landscape photographs stored in the logs. It might help us get an idea of what this thing says.”
“Do it,” Jarek ordered. “Right now that map and that woman are our best hope in getting Rick back.”
“He owes us,” Dev growled, even as his face fell. Jarek nodded in agreement. “Let’s just hope we can save his butt in time to collect.”
* * * *
Mei absently threw food on the hot plate in front of her. The self heating unit was used in camping, or so her guard told her. The stir fry was a simple dish, one she was more than trained to prepare. She doubted any of the pirate brutes would notice if she made the popular, unglamorous Líntianese dish instead of something a gourmet chef on her planet would create.
Mei laughed softly despite her distress. She doubted any of these brutes would know gourmet if they tasted it. They didn’t seem to know a princess when they saw one.
The man guarding her, Evan, was polite. He tried to make conversation, but she didn’t indulge him as she kept her attention on the task. Occasionally, she would speak to him in her own language. He didn’t seem to understand it. “How’s it going in here?” Jarek’s voice came from the dining hall’s door. “Smells interesting.”
Mei’s hand shook and she dropped too many minced peppers on the plate. They sizzled, sending a hot aroma up into the air. Instantly, the dining hall was filled with the spicy scent. She caught the sight of Jarek from the corner of her eye, but didn’t look at him directly as she stirred the food. Inside she shook, just like every time she was near him. The man definitely did something to her.
“She’s not talking,” Evan offered the captain.
“Mm, I like them silent,” Jarek said, picking up one of the red peapods off the hot plate. He popped it in his mouth and chewed. Mei looked up at him and smiled. The pod was covered in the minced peppers she’d just dropped. Seconds later, it came flying out of his mouth as he coughed. “Sacred Cats, Evan! She’s trying to kill us!” “Pepper too hot for you?” Mei teased, doing her best to sound meek. She pursed her lips and continued to stir.
“Hot?” Jarek let loose a long breath. “No, not hot. It tastes horrible.” Mei gasped in offense, looking down at the food. Horrible? Did he say it tasted horrible?
“You’re no cook,fea ,” Jarek said. “Though, if you were, it would explain why you are so tiny. With a diet like that, no wonder you don’t eat.” Mei’s jaw dropped and she stared at him. “I’m a good cook! I trained in the palace kitchens when I was a child.”
Jarek smirked, glancing down from his impressive height. “Um, no. No, you’re not,fea . It would explain why your people are so small as well. No doubt they can barely stomach the will to eat. It’s a wonder they live at all.” “What?” Mei grabbed a warm peapod and thrust it into her mouth. It tasted fine to her, maybe a little too spicy hot, but fine. “There is nothing wrong with this.”
“If you say so,fea .” Jarek shrugged and walked around her. Mei spun on her
heels, hands on hips, aware that he stood closer than was necessary. She tried to take a hurried step back, but her hip hit the table and she was trapped. Lifting her jaw, she met his eyes. It was a mistake. His gaze sparkled with the flecks of gold. Almost instantly, her insides melted and her heart beat picked up a few notches. His lips curled, drawing her eyes down as he spoke. “We have any of those Zigon paks left, Evan? Or maybe some of those ESC rations?”
“ESC rations?” Mei couldn’t believe what she was hearing, as she was jolted to her senses. The Exploratory Science Commission had stopped on Líntian to test farmland soil samples several years back. They thought the nutrients in their soil could help other planets whose farmland wasn’t as thriving. Mei and her brother, Shen, had stayed in their camp for three days overseeing the operation while they collected their samples. The sealed packs of stew they provided for meals were some of the worst food she’d ever tasted. Years later, the thought of it still made her sick to her stomach.
And he thought her cooking was worse than that?! Stunned, she glanced over him. How in the seven galaxies did he get so large eating ESC rations?
“Excuse me! I’ll have you know that I am the best chef on my planet,” Mei lied.
“Poor planet,” Jarek answered easily.
“Excuse me?” Mei demanded, unable to think of a better response.
“I said, I feel sorry for your planet if yours is in the best cooking Líntian has to offer.” Jarek grinned. It was a sexy, provocative smile. She wondered if he looked at her like that on purpose to disarm her. It was working. Her body was hot with desire and she couldn’t stop staring into his dark eyes. He was tall and broad, dwarfing her in a way that was exciting. There was something very animalistic and potent to his bold ways, making her feel small and protected, yet vulnerable at the same time. He wasn’t like the quiet men she had grown up around. There was life and vitality in every expression, a
playfulness that gleamed in his gaze when he looked at her. The man was hardly a noble, that was for sure. His easy manner gave way to his lack of decorum.
You are not a princess here,Mei had to remind herself. You are on the same level
as him. That is why he treats you the way he does.
Mei frowned. That wasn’t necessarily true. She wasn’t on the same level as him.
She was a prisoner. If he knew she was a princess, he might not treat her any differently.
Though, her value as a prisoner would go up. Would he ransom her to her family? Or just sell her and be done with it?
It’s quite possible he’s going to sell me anyway.
Was it better to tell him in hopes he’d ransom her back to her family?