“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 that 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 ever so slightly 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 averse 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, what have done?” Mei whispered. “Please keep Haun safe. I’ll do whatever I have to, just keep my brother safe.”
9
“Viktor, I need you to break the food simulator,” Jarek ordered. He chuckled at the men’s stunned expressions of utter horror. “It needs only to 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 the 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. I’m sorry, that we salvaged from the Human Intell—”
“First, we stole 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’d gathered, she had been one of their top agents. “Second, 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 accepted Rick’s challenge,” 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 Old 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 difficult 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 Lintianese 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 in 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 writing Jackson referred to was a series of square-like designs lined up from top to bottom.
“I picked up enough of her language from an old tracker, but I do not understand the writing,” Dev said.
“Evan?” Jarek inquired, knowing that he was 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 Loch figured 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 expression fell.
Jarek nodded in agreement. “Let’s just hope we can save his butt in time to collect.”
10
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 Lintianese 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 her 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 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 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. “Do 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 Lintian 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 the best cooking Lintian 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 in 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?
Bide your time, Mei, bide your time. Keep your wits about you and try to discover what you’re up against.
Her body tingled.
And keep your thighs closed as well!
“What happened to the ship that was following us?” she asked, her stomach knotted. Unable to keep moving, she stiffened, looking at Jarek as he answered.
“We escaped their attack by flying into a magefeld,” he answered.
Mei shivered. Her voice was soft, but she couldn’t help it. Images of Haun dying floated in her head. She turned back to the food but didn’t move as she stared at the sizzling pot. “And the other ship?”
“Unharmed,” Jarek stated, his tone suddenly very stern and serious. Mei glanced up and nodded once. Relief curled inside of her at his words. She sensed he’d told the truth and felt as if a weight of stress and fear was lifted off her stomach. The devil-may-care attitude had faded from his expression only to quickly return.
“Where are the other women?” she asked, turning back to her food. If he didn’t want it there’d just be more for her. Let him have his disgusting ESC rations.
Jarek shared a look with Evan and laughed.
“You find kidnapping us amusing, chûnrén?”
“Ah, fea, you break my heart. At least get to know me first before you think me foolish.” Jarek winked.
Mei paled. He understood her. “I know all I want to know about you, captain. And my name is Mei.”
“Mei,” Jarek repeated softly, a strange look on his face as he looked at her. If she didn’t know better she would’ve thought he was enamored of her. “So, Mei, are those women friends of yours?”
“Yes,” she lied. “And I want to assure their safety. I demand you let me see them.”
“Demand?” He laughed, shaking his head in amusement. “Mei, you remember Dev don’t you?”
The big red guy came out from behind the door as if he’d been standing guard all along. Mei shivered. She’d thought of running and was glad she’d decided against it. Dev lifted his jaw. He was undoubtedly their most fearsome warrior.
“He’s going to keep an eye on you,” Jarek said, motioning Evan to follow. Giving his cocky grin, he whispered to her. “Be good, fea. Don’t get into
any trouble and don’t poison my crew.”
Mei made a face at the captain. Jarek grinned, and the look shot through her like lightning. Just wonderful. Now her body was moist as well as aroused. It took all her effort not to wiggle in frustration. The last thing she needed was to have burning desires for her arrogant captor.
“Dev,” Jarek said, as he and Evan stepped out, “you know what to do with her if she misbehaves.”
Dev nodded once. Mei shivered, wondering just what that punishment would be. She quickly turned back to cooking, doing her best to ignore her giant bodyguard as she silently cursed the pirate captain.
11
Jarek strode from the dining hall. He couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face. The woman was entertaining, he’d give her that—so easy to tease. There was just something about her, something that made him want to trust her even though he knew she was lying to him. There was a subtle change in her smell when she lied, like when she had said she was a cook. The fragrance was faint, but he was so in tune with her that he had caught it easily.
When they were down the corridor, far away from hearing distance, Evan said, “You did well taking her off guard by insulting her cooking. It was the first clear read I got from her. She is very disciplined. I can’t tell if it’s because she suspects me reading her, or if she is always so guarded. I can barely even feel fear.”
“Maybe she doesn’t fear us,” Jarek said.
“Perhaps.” Evan stopped walking and glanced back. “She has no problem lying to us, though.”
“Claiming to know Viktor and Lucien,” Jarek answered, knowing that was what Evan was speaking of. There was no way Mei knew the two men. She was bluffing.
“Yes. And about being a chef. Was her food that bad?”
“No,” Jarek chuckled. “It was actually quite good. It was all I could do to keep my stomach from growling for more.”
Evan smiled.
The Pirate Prince Page 6