The Reluctant Lord (Dragon Lords) (24 page)

A royal complication…

The Var Princes were raised by a hard man who put no stock in love-especially love with one woman. Bred to never take a life mate, these men will do everything in their power to live up to the dead King Attor's expectations and never fall in love.

Kirill is a man who must do his duty, only he didn't expect to do it so soon. When his father dies, he knows it's his destiny to be King. What he didn't expect is the troublesome mistress that's now his to deal with.

About Lords of the Var (Books 1-5)

You met their father, King Attor, in Dragon Lords Books 1-4, now meet the Var Princes!

The Var Princes were raised by a hard man who put no stock in love—especially love with one woman. Bred to never take a life mate, these men will do everything in their power to live up to the dead King Attor’s expectations and never fall in love.

The Savage King Excerpt

Kirill watched the door to his bedroom open. He’d been sitting in the dark, trying to relieve the stress headache that built behind his eyes for the last week. The pain started at the base of his skull and radiated up to his temples until he could hardly see straight.

A heavy responsibility had been thrust on his shoulders, a responsibility he really hadn’t prepared himself for--the welfare of the Var people. King Attor did not leave him in a good position. He’d rallied the people to the brink of war, convinced them that the Draig were their enemy, and even went so far as to attack the Draig royal family.

Kirill would see peace in the land. However, he knew the facts didn’t bode well for it. The Draig had a long list of grievances against King Attor and the Var kingdom.

Before his death, Attor had ordered an attack on one of the four Draig Princes, all of which ended horribly for the Var. Prince Yusef was stabbed in the back, a most cowardly embarrassment for the Var guard who did it. If he hadn’t of been executed in the Draig prisons, he would’ve been ostracized from the Var community. Luckily, Prince Yusef survived or else they’d already be at battle.

Attor had also arranged for the kidnapping of Yusef’s new bride. Princess Olena had been rescued or else that too would’ve led to war. The old King had tried to poison Princess Morrigan, the future Queen, on two separate occasions. She too lived. And those were only the offenses that Kirill knew about in the few weeks before Attor’s death. He could just imagine what he didn’t know.

Kirill sighed, feeling very tired. He’d known since birth that the day would come when he’d be expected to step up and lead the Var as their new King. He just hadn’t expected it to be for another hundred or so years. His father had been a hard man, who he’d foolishly come to look at as invincible.

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” His lovely houseguest’s whisper drew his complete attention from his heavy thoughts.

Ulyssa bent over like she expected him to answer to the insulting call. He dropped his fingers from his temple into his lap and a quizzical smile came to his lips. As he watched her, he wasn’t sure if he was angered or amused by her words.

“Are you in here, you little furball?” she said, a little louder.

She wore his clothes. Never had the outfit looked sexier. His jaw tightened in masculine interest, as he unabashedly looked her over. All too well did he remember the softness of her body against his and the gentle, offering pleasure of her sweet lips. She’d made soft whimpering noises when he touched her--yielding, purring sounds in the back of her throat. Even with the aid of nef, he was surprised by how easily and confidently she melted into him. The Var were wild, passionate people and were drawn to the same qualities in others. He suspected she’d be an untamed lover.

Too bad she’d belonged to his father first. In his mind, that made her completely untouchable--though none would dare question his claim if he were to bring her to his bed. Technically, by Var law, she belonged to him until he chose to release her. For an insane moment, he thought about keeping her as a lover. He knew he wouldn’t, but the thought was entertaining.

Kirill’s grin deepened. Ulyssa strode across his home to the bathroom door with an irritated scowl. It was obvious she didn’t see him in the darkened corner, watching her. He detected her engaging smell from across the room--the smell of a woman’s desire. It stirred his blood, making his limbs heavy with desire. And, for the first time since his father’s death, his headache relieved itself.

“Hum, maybe I’m looking too high. I’m sure there has to be a little cat door here somewhere.”

His slight smile fell at her words. It was easy to detect the mocking in her.

“Where’s your little kitty door at, huh?” Ulyssa whispered to herself, her blue gaze searching around in the dark.

Kirill grimaced in further displeasure. He watched her open the door to his weapons cabinet. Her eyes rounded. She nodded in appreciation before closing door and continuing her search for an exit.

She stopped at a narrow window by his kitchen doorway. Her neck craned to the side, as she tried to see out over the distance. Kirill knew she looked at the forest. From under her breath, he heard her vehement whisper, “Where exactly did you little fur balls bring me? Ugh, I need to get out of this flea trap, even if I have to fight every one of you cowardly felines to do it. I’ve fought species twice as big and three times as frightening. A couple little kitty cats don’t scare me.”

If this insolent woman wanted to play tough, oh, he’d play. Curling gracefully forward, Kirill shifted before his hands even touched the ground. He let one thick paw land silently on the floor, followed by a second. Short black fur rippled over his tanned flesh, blending him into the shadows. His clothes fell from his body and he lowered his head as he crept forward. A low sound of warning started in the back of his throat. He was livid.

Ulyssa froze, hearing the growl behind her. She really hadn’t expected anyone to be in the room or else she never would’ve ranted like she did. Biting her lip, her eyes automatically scanned for a weapon as she turned.

Seeing the oversized panther stalking her, its body low against the ground as if she were its prey, she gasped. “Oh, whoa, easy there big fella. Are you one of them or are you just a pet?”

Ulyssa had fought all kinds of alien species and yet somehow her training hadn’t prepared her to face a wild animal like this one. She could see the tempered speed in the panther’s streamlined body. Steeling her nerves, she looked him in the eyes and reached out the back of her hand. “Are you in there, Var…warrior…man? Can you hear me?”

The animal roared, loud and long, brandishing his deadly fangs. She jolted back in surprise. His jaw snapped shut, as if he would bite her. His beastly yellow-green eyes narrowed in warning.

Ulyssa lost all bravado as she backed into a wall. Her heart let loose, hammering in her chest. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, making her shake. Her breath came out in ragged pants. She was terrified, too frightened to scream.

The animal crept closer. To her shame, she felt tears threaten to fill her eyes. Some agent she turned out to be! Her programming for this planet didn’t include animal combat. Weren’t you supposed to cower before wild animals and let them have dominance? Or was it the other way around? For the life of her, she couldn’t remember. It’s not like they had many wild animals left running around Earth these days. Those they did have were in locked conservatories, kept away from human interference, and left to their own devices.

The panther roared, bringing her attention back to the trouble at hand. Ulyssa recoiled, lifting her arms to protect her chest and face as she pressed into the stone wall. A dark blue banner waved near her nose as she turned her head away. The image of a styled panther fluttered before her. She whimpered, closing her eyes. Her body tensed, bracing for the initial attack. Silence followed and she couldn’t move.

“Shhh,” a gentle whisper soothed. “I didn’t think you’d be so scared of me.”

To find out more about these books or to read other books from The Raven Books visit www.TheRavenBooks.com

Part of the Dragon Lords’ Universe of Series

Frost Maiden (Space Lords 1) by Michelle M. Pillow

Empath and space pirate, Evan Cormier is obsessed with decoding an ominous premonition about his future. When a fellow crewman angered a spirit, the vengeful Zhang An took her wrath out on everyone in the vicinity. Evan just happened to be one of them. He’s now facing a future in which he’ll be forever alone.

Lady Josselyn of the House of Craven has been betrayed. With her home world on a Florencian moon under attack and her family dead, she finds herself at the mercy of the one who deceived them. There is only one thing left to do—die with honor. But before she can join her family in the afterlife, she must first avenge all that she held dear. Falling in love with a pirate was never in the plan. Evan and his thieving crewmates might have delayed her fate, but they can’t stop destiny.

Frost Maiden Excerpt

Craven Estates, Earth Settlement, Florencia’s Fifth Moon

“Lift her,” the General ordered, his shiny boots walking away from her, taking her reflection with it.

Two men hauled her to her feet, holding her up by her arms. Josselyn suppressed a cry as they jerked her dislocated shoulder. She couldn’t see their faces, didn’t need to. Her body hurt so badly she couldn’t tell where the pain was coming from anymore.

The one who’d betrayed them stood before her. General Jack Stephans. He’d deceived her family and the fifth moon settlement. He’d traded them in for money and power. Josselyn lifted her gaze briefly to the hard depths of the steel green eyes before her. She wanted to kick, to give one last good blow, to go down fighting, but she couldn’t raise her limbs.

“Poor little Josselyn, so heartbreaking,” the General grabbed her chin and swiped beneath her eye. He looked young, was in fact very young for his position, only a few years older than her six and twenty. And yet they all knew so much more of fighting than anyone their age should, than anyone ever should.

“We gave you a home,” she whispered. “How could you do this? How could you join them?”

“You gave me a place in your stables,” he spat, his grip tightening on her chin, bruisingly so. “Not a place at your table. Not a place by your side. Not equal. They gave me a rank, a title. They give me respect. They give me a place in this world.”

“Jack,” she said, her voice softening for the orphan boy they’d found over twenty years ago. If she begged him, maybe fate could be turned around; maybe this day could be erased. Fate had spit them out in a whirlwind of chance and deceit. Maybe all that had happened wasn’t his fault. Maybe it wasn’t hers. None of it mattered. None of it changed the fact that he had taken everything she held dear, everyone, and now he was robbing her of her family home. Her tone hardened and she closed her eyes. “General.”

“Look at me, Josselyn,” he said. His tone caught even as his grip on her face tightened until his fingers pressed the inside of her cheeks against her teeth. “You’re so cold. Even now, your face is composed. Is one, lonely tear all the passion you can muster?”

“I am Lady Josselyn of the House of Craven.” Her eyes opened slowly, focusing on the shiny white of his uniform. It gleamed with the orange glow coming from the fireplace. The material looked odd in the drabber earth tones many on the fifth moon wore. Theirs was a world based on Medieval Earth. Each moon in the Florencian system was different, each settlement patterned off a singular time in the human past, times that history had almost forgotten. But the principals of the ancestors who’d established the colonies no longer applied. Times were different now. What had started as preservation of history had turned into reality, into laws and a way of life they all believed in as generation after generation was raised into the worlds of the Florencian moons.

The General shook her by the face until finally she forced her eyes to meet his. He looked angry, hurt, wildly hopeful. “I can save you. I can say you had nothing to do with the treachery of your family. No one wants to kill a woman of noble blood. The line of Craven doesn’t have to die. I will take your name; the name denied me by your father.”

Was he serious? She knew he’d asked her father for her hand in marriage. In fact, she’d dismissed the proposal with the full knowledge he only asked because he wanted power. Did he think she could love him now? Want him? Take him into her bed?

He must have read the answer on her face because his own expression hardened. She knew Jack. He wouldn’t ask again.

“I suppose not,” he said, almost sad. “Even if you agreed, I could never trust you not to take a blade to my back. Not after today.” He sighed heavily. “Not after this.”

“Ago,” she whispered, even her voice beginning to fail in its strength, “pugna quod int-”

“Quiet your tongue! This house is mine. Mine.” He let go of her chin and her head drooped. “And you can die knowing that I have taken more than what you all refused to give me in life.”

“A place at our table,” Josselyn said, her tone softer still, the will to live leaving her. Her heart called out to her ancestors, to her dead family, begging them to come and get her.

“My table,” he answered, stepping away. The General lifted a gun, pointing it at her head. She heard the telltale click of metal on metal. The weapon was not one found on the fifth moon. They fought with swords and axes, like the old medieval ways. Though technology was available, not using it was a point of honor. He must have brought the weapon from another moon. Perhaps the Victorians? The Elizabethans? It appeared to be too old to be from much later in time.

“Do it, Jack.” She didn’t look at him as she waited for the final discharge of the gun, the loud bang before the end. When it didn’t come, she repeated, the words a mere mouthing of her lips, “Do it.”