Jasmine listened with half an ear, not really thinking about anything. She kept her eyes forward, not caring to look around. She took a cue from the crowd, slowly nodding her head at something the speaker said. It took all her concentration just to keep the look of lifelessness off her face.
Jasmine stared at the smile on Dr. Martens face--non threatening, happy, kind. There was a man who’d known contentment in his life. She wished she could trade places with him, give her life for his.
* * * *
Reid glanced over at Jarek and shook his head. Nozando was a beautiful planet, full of lush foliage over mountainous terrain. It was one of the prettier places he’d been to on ambassador trips, not counting the Galaxy Playmate mansion, of course. Not, that he’d been too many places on ambassador trips.
Reid nearly groaned remembering the mansion. If he didn’t have a duty to his people, he’d consider living there on the floating island paradise, surrounded by half naked women--the most beautiful humanoid women the universe had to offer. Surely the owner would give him a job. He could be a bed trainer.
Reid and Jarek stood in the back of the conference hall, their arms crossed as they waited to speak. Already he could tell the gathered crowd was uptight. These really were not his type of people. All the men wore suit jackets and the ladies donned formal gowns varying in style, all of subtle coloring. He scanned the large room for something pretty to look at. There were some nice looking women. Most of them were older, which wasn’t a necessary turn off, but they all had sour looks on their faces.
Having just arrived an hour before, they’d been lucky enough to miss the long day of speeches. As he thought of it, Reid knew the decision to go to the Galaxy Playmate mansion had been a good one. Now all he had to do was go on stage, say his little diplomatic speech, and they could leave. Maybe if they all put their money together, they could go rent the mansion again. The idea did have merit. Reid wondered how much they’d need. He’d have to talk to Rick about it.
Rick, and the rest of the crew, waited in a separate area while they negotiated the refueling of Jarek’s ship, The Conqueror. They also loaded the usual supplies. Reid was impressed. When the Medical Alliance threw a party, they really threw a party. They even gave out free medical supplies to all the ships and had something called a ‘door prize’. Reid wasn’t sure what the tradition of it was, but the winner would receive a top of the line medical booth.
Dr. Garrett, the conference coordinator, went to the podium. Reid didn’t care for the man. It wasn’t anything in particular about him. He was just too full of himself.
Shifting uncomfortably in the jacket Jarek had given him, Reid tugged at the constrictive sleeves. Apparently, his usual attire wasn’t appropriate, though he did wear his cross laced pants and tank underneath the jacket.
“At this time,” Dr. Garrett began, “we would like to pay our respects in honoring a great man and distinguished scientist, Dr. Simon Martens….”
Reid felt a pang of regret, as he saw the likeness of Dr. Martens flash on stage. The scientist had been a great man. Simon had come to Reid’s home planet of Qurilixen with Quinn’s wife, Tori. He had been attacked and killed by one of the Var house nobles while trying to help rid the planet of biological weapons--the same weapons their father had brought to the planet.
“…Dr. Martens recently passed away while ridding a primitive planet of biological weaponry,” Dr. Garrett continued.
Reid frowned and leaned to Jarek. Through the side of his mouth, he asked, “Who is he calling primitive? Sacred Cats, let’s get out of here already. These people are strange.”
Jarek grinned, but said nothing. Reid knew his brother agreed with him.
Dr. Garrett briefly listed the highlights of Dr. Martens’ long, impressive career, before stating, “Please join me in welcoming, Dr. Marten’s daughter, Stella Martens. Miss Martens will be accepting a gift from the Var of Qurilixen on her father’s behalf.”
Again there was applause, as a short, overweight woman walked up to the stage. She wore a silvery blue dress that fell in one piece to the floor. Except for the fact that she had hair, she looked just like her father.
“And here to pay their respects to this great man are Ambassadors Reid and Jarek of the planet Qurilixen,” Dr. Garrett finished.
“Ambassadors?” Reid asked, wondering why Dr. Garrett didn’t use their royal title.
“It’ll get us off the planet faster. This is a room of doctors and scientists. If they hear the word prince, they’ll try to get us to donate money for their projects. Trust me, it’s not pretty.”
Reid grinned. “Good point, Ambassador Jarek.”
A polite clapping ensued and the two Var brothers stepped up to the stage, keeping in stride with each other. As the front light fell over them, the clapping faltered before lifting once more. Reid was used to the reaction of shock from women and didn’t care. Both he and Jarek together often made the ladies more than excited. But, when he saw some of the men look at them in snobbish disgust, it was all he could do not to start a fight. It would be fun to crash up the party and he could use the exercise. However, it was out of respect for Dr. Martens that he held back.
Climbing up the podium, Reid smiled at the crowd, feeling suddenly mischievous. If they him wanted to act as if he were a barbarian, he’d be a barbarian. Reid glanced at Jarek. Jarek saw his look and suppressed a grin.
* * * *
Jasmine clapped without bothering to turn around, until she heard the applause falter. Glancing over her shoulder, she froze. Two identical, very large men stepped forward into the spot light. Her mouth went dry. They didn’t look like the typical Ambassadors she saw at these events. The both had long, dark hair, black as midnight. It touched all the way to their waists. The one on the right kept his pulled back neatly, showing peeks of a black tattoo marking on his neck, whereas the one on the left allowed his to fall freely about his shoulders.
Their height was only all the more intimidating because of their massive girth. Even clothed, she could see their strong arms were joined to broad shoulders and thick chests. Both men looked exactly the same from the build to the color of their dark brown-black eyes, but for some reason Jasmine found she was staring at the one with his hair down. There was something about him, an arrogant confidence, a wildness, a nonchalant devil-may-care attitude.
Her breath came hard and she couldn’t move. Time seemed to slow. She willed him to look at her so she could see him fully. A smile curled his lips and his eyes stayed forward. He didn’t see her in the crowd.
Feeling a hand on her elbow, she gasped and turned. Chad stared at her, his eyes narrowed with what she could easily interpret as anger. Jasmine’s heart skipped a beat and she shivered, just then realizing she’d stopped clapping, her gloved hands pressed tightly together as she stared too long at the Var Ambassadors.
“I don’t feel well,” Jasmine said, leaning forward so only he could hear her. She glanced away from his face, before lying, “I think I might have forgotten to take my pill today.”
Chad didn’t move. The grip on her arm tightened, but looking at his face, it was impossible to see if anything was wrong.
“May I be excused?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“You may go after the presentation. I don’t imagine these two savages will speak long,” Chad said, whispering it into her ear.
Jasmine nodded.
“I am Ambassador Reid.”
Jasmine turned her attention to the stage, trying to tell herself that the savage man didn’t give her chills with his low voice. Reid was the one with his hair down. Ambassador Jarek who had the tattoo stood silently at his side.
It was a strange reaction in her chest, one she’d never had. Maybe she really had forgotten to take her heart pill. It would be the first time in nearly four years of marriage. Jasmine didn’t feel right at all. She was beginning to sweat and her heart raced violently in her chest. A tremor worked up her body.
“We would like
to thank Dr. Martens for his service to our planet by presenting this knife,” Reid paused, pulling his jacket back to unsheathe a decorative knife from his waist. Jasmine was stunned to see a peek of his taut flesh along his side, hidden by cross laces.
Several of the onlookers gasped as Reid wielded the weapon in his hand. With a light throw, he tossed the hilt up and caught the blade. The Var man’s back turned to her as he offered the knife to Stella Martens. Stella paled and drew back slightly at his motion. Jasmine couldn’t see what the Var man did or said to her, but Stella blushed and nodded, instantly relaxing. Reid lifted the knife up, offering it. The woman hesitated before taking it from him, her blush deepening.
Reid turned back to the podium. Jasmine expected a speech, but instead, the man simply said, “Thank you.”
Reid nodded at Jarek and both men walked back down the way they’d come. There was a long silence before someone slowly clapped. Soon others followed suit until the hesitant sound followed the two men from the room.
“Short and sweet,” a doctor at their table said, laughing.
“What do you expect of primitives?” a woman answered.
Jasmine watched a second longer as Reid disappeared through the back door. She glanced at Chad. He was studying her carefully. She managed a weak smile for him. He didn’t return it as he again looked at the podium.
Chapter Two
“Nice speech,” Jarek said, chuckling, as they left the conference, the sound of hesitant applause behind them.
“What?” Reid grinned. Both brothers made their way down the long corridor toward their ship. The accommodations coordinator had offered to give them a room, but they declined. Reid was glad for it. He was already tired of this crowd. “It got us out of there, didn’t it? Besides, all I had to say about Dr. Martens I said to his daughter. I don’t need to impress these men. She’s the one we came for.”
“Agreed.” Jarek nodded. “Let’s see what the guys are up to.”
“Yeah, I’m ready to go,” Reid answered. They passed a servant carrying a tray of drinks. The slender man hurried past them, eyeing the twins as if they would attack him. “These people are stuffy prudes.”
“Agreed.” Jarek chuckled, again nodding.
Finding The Conqueror on the docking strip where they’d left it, the brothers looked around. They heard a shout of laughter from the other end of the docks. Jarek groaned, motioning as he said, “This way. I’m betting they didn’t even get all our supplies loaded.”
They found the crew lounging before a holographic viewer watching a play. A woman bent over, her tiny skirt lifting to show ruffled underwear as she picked something up off the ground. The men laughed harder. Reid and Jarek exchanged a confused look.
“Oh, man!” Rick nearly jumped up in his chair as he clapped his hands in exaggerated merriment. Reid liked Rick a lot. He had a love for the women and an easy-going nature that went well with the mischievous glint that was constantly in his brown eyes.
Sitting next to Rick was Evan Cormier. Evan was a good man to have on a ship, a hard worker, and a hell of a smart guy. The man was part telepath--a fact he didn’t share with too many. He had short black hair, with glints of silver along his temples, and according to the Galaxy Playmates, he had a sexy appeal because he was able to ‘read’ what a woman wanted and give it to her. It really had been more information than any of them had wanted to hear at the time.
Lucien and his brother Viktor sat on Rick’s other side. The two constantly bickered, but were really quite close. They were half human, half Dere, and had a milky white complexion that contrasted the strangest red-brown and red-green of their eyes. Lucien was a communications genius and Viktor was one hell of a mechanic. The man could rig anything, as he’d proved his first few days aboard their ship when he rigged all the private view screens to play human porn around the clock. Now, with a press of a button, deep space didn’t seem so lonely. None of the all male crew had complained.
All four men were originally part of Sam’s crew. But, when Sam married Prince Falke, they’d gladly come along with Reid and Jarek. Dev was missing, but Reid guessed he was still aboard the ship. Dev was half Belvon, a demonic looking race with red skin. Aside from the intense coloring, he appeared humanoid, only larger. He was the ship’s muscles and a bit of a loner.
Dev was all about maintaining order. Rick was all about breaking it. It often led to humorous fights. Sometimes when the crew was bored, they’d provoke them into an argument for the sake of entertainment.
The only men who had flown with Jarek before he took over Sam’s crew were Jackson, a dark blond security officer who kept to himself, and Lochlann. Reid guessed if anything, Jackson was training with Dev in the virtual reality room. The two fighters spent a lot of time in the VR.
Lochlann sat next to Evan. Reid couldn’t help but be a little uneasy around the man. Lochlann was born on Qurilixen, like the Var princes had been, only he was a Draig--a dragon shifter. It was strange for Reid to find out that Jarek had been out flying in outer space with a Draig, even while their people had been fighting. Technically, the Var and Draig were no longer at war, but it didn’t ease the natural distrust between the two races.
“We ready to take off?” Jarek asked. The men moaned.
“Already?” Rick whined. “We just landed. We still haven’t checked out the merchandise.”
The men laughed.
“Didn’t you get enough?” Lochlann teased, his voice soft and low.
“I swear you tried to conquer the whole mansion,” Lucien added.
“Almost,” Rick mumbled. “I had to get my money’s worth. But I’ve never been with a … what kind of creatures are here again?”
“You’re not missing a thing,” Reid answered. “All snobby old women.”
“Ah, but they’re rich,” Viktor said, raising a finger.
“Yuck.” Lucien shook his head. “Not worth it. I can take the age, but not the snob.”
“I don’t know,” Rick answered, his voice laughing. “We are broke.”
“Excuse me.” Reid heard the soft, feminine sound in the corner of his mind, but it didn’t register. All the men ignored it.
“Whose fault is that?” Evan said, leaning over to punch his arm. “You’re the one who spent all our scavenger hunt prize money.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining when Ruby was giving you a lap dance,” Rick said, affecting a pout. “Or when Garnet was doing her famous naked massage.”
“Oh, yeah,” Viktor said. “That was nice. Not very relaxing, but nice.”
“Did you see the giant--?” Rick began, getting excited as he motioned his hands as if to make breasts.
“Excuse me!” the feminine voice said louder. She sounded irritated. All eyes turned around. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt your--you.”
Reid’s breath caught in his throat. The woman who spoke was no old lady, though she did definitely look like a rich doctor’s wife. She was beautiful, not genetically enhanced stripper beautiful, but natural woman beautiful. Looking at her, he much preferred the natural.
She wore a light cream colored gown of silk. The V neck dipped from her slender throat to show a modest amount of cleavage. A gem necklace hung in the V. The silk clung seductively to her body, not tight, just hugging enough that it showed teasing brushes of her curves when she moved. Over the cream dress, she wore a long jacket overdress of light blue. The two sides clasped just beneath her breasts with a sapphire jewel. Both parts of the gown went all the way to the floor.
Reid was disappointed. He wanted to see her legs. He’d bet she had great legs, really long. Licking his lips, he could already imagine pushing them apart--not that it took much to get his active imagination going.
Dark brown hair swept up from her face, crowning her head in a thick braid before trailing freely down over her shoulder. Even partially up, the thick waves hit just below her perfect breasts. Her solid, dark brown eyes looked like Lithorian chocolate and he’d bet her lush lip
s would taste just as sweet. To his carnal pleasure, her tongue brushed over them nervously.
Her eyes roamed over the crew. That’s when he noticed he wasn’t the only one staring at her. He glanced at the men. Evan looked polite, but he always looked polite. However, his brow was slightly furrowed in thought. Lucien, Viktor, and Rick all had inviting smiles on their faces. Reid had the insane urge to slap them off.
He frowned. That wasn’t like him. The woman was beautiful, why wouldn’t they stare at her? Sacred Cats, he wanted to stare at her. Why the hell was he looking at the crew? As he turned back, he caught Jarek’s eyes. His brother smiled slightly and Reid knew by the look that he was amused. Jarek was laughing at him.
“I,” the woman began. She licked her mouth again and Reid felt his body lurch. “My name is, ah, Mrs. Dr. St. Claire. If I could, I’d like to speak with Ambassador Reid.”
Reid let a smile curl on his lips as she finally turned her eyes to look at him. Her hands gripped tightly in front of her waist, her knuckles white. He smiled. How sweet. She was nervous meeting him. It was no wonder, either. He’d seen the men she was exposed to. She probably wasn’t used to getting attention from a real man.
“I am Ambassador Reid,” Reid said, throwing his voice with sexual confidence. The tone had melted women easily in the past. To his amazement, she stayed upright, not giggling or swooning. In fact, she wasn’t even smiling.
“I know, I saw your speech,” she answered.
She glanced over his body. Reid grinned. Oh, yeah, Mrs. Dr. St. Claire was definitely checking him out.
“Ah, honey,” Rick said. “What do you want with Reid? I’m sure I can help you. I’m the brains of this operation.”
“Don’t listen to Rick,” Lucien immediately put forth. “He’s just a pilot. I’m the one with communication skills. Talk to me.”
The Rogue Prince Page 2