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Lords
of the Var:
THE
ROGUE PRINCE
By
Michelle M. Pillow
Dedication: To
Brent, one of the
coolest people I
know.
“Women are like
fruit on a tree, to
be tasted, enjoyed,
and then discarded
for the next piece.
Hold one too long
and it will be sure
to rot in your
hand.”
-King
Attor of the Var
Chapter One
Prince Reid, Var
Commander of the
Outlands, grinned
before even opening
his eyes. Oh, yeah.
Life in space was
good--real good.
Bless his twin
brother, Jarek, for
knowing all the
right places to
stop. And bless
their pilot, Rick,
for having the
foresight to book
the Galaxy Playmates
mansion in advance.
He
was in one of the
playmate’s bedrooms.
The whole place was
bedecked with pink
silk and gauze. It
was soft and
feminine, just like
his company on the
bed. Grinning, Reid
ran his left hand
beneath the covers
to touch a woman at
his side. His
fingers skimmed her
naked breast causing
her to sigh in her
sleep. She was
brunette and
gorgeous, with a
dancer’s body--if
not a little
genetically altered.
Then, turning to his
other side, he
suppressed a groan
to see the blonde.
She was smaller,
petite, and just as
beautiful as her
friend. She’d taken
more convincing to
join the party, but
if anything Reid
knew how to charm
the women. Besides,
being Var it was
easy to sense a
woman’s longing and
she’d been more than
willing. Feeling a
stir by his leg, he
sat up. He didn’t
need to look under
the covers to know a
fiery redhead curled
between his knees
fast asleep.
With a skill born of
years of practice,
he artfully
untangled his limbs
and got out of bed
without waking
anyone up. Jarek
wanted to get going
early this morning.
He couldn’t blame
his brother. Duty
called and they were
already overdue.
They were supposed
to be on an
ambassadors’ mission
to Nozando. But,
hey, ‘duty’ happened
to call to the
Galaxy Playmates
mansion. Rick
couldn’t get a
refund on his money
and who were they to
say no to duty?
Normally his
youngest brother,
Prince Quinn, would
take care of such
ambassador trips.
But Quinn’s wife was
having a baby and he
didn’t want to leave
the Var palace. Reid
frowned, pausing as
he got dressed. His
brothers Falke and
Kirill were also
having children. He
was happy for them,
of course. He liked
children well enough
and they seemed to
like him. He’d be
proud to hold his
nephews in his arms
and to help raise
them, as was the Var
way.
The children weren’t
why he frowned. Reid
frowned because his
brothers were having
children with
lifemates. Each was
married and would be
mated to one woman
for the rest of
their long lives.
For the Var who
lived hundreds of
years, it was a long
time indeed. If
their mates died,
his brothers would
be forever alone.
Lifemates were a
privilege best
reserved for the
lower
classes--tradesmen,
farmers, even
hunters and lower
ranked soldiers, all
men who could ill
afford to keep many
mates on a planet so
barren of women to
begin with. His home
planet of Qurilixen
suffered from blue
radiation which made
female children damn
near impossible to
conceive.
Yet, being
surrounded by mostly
males hadn’t stopped
Prince Reid from
finding the
pleasures of the
female sex at an
early age. Thank the
stars for these
ambassador missions
and for his father’s
harem of women. His
father, King Attor,
had only slept with
half of the women,
leaving the other
half as fair game to
his sons when he
died. Reid
unabashedly took
advantage. He
glanced over at the
bed with a sense of
male pride and
vanity.
“Mmm, prince.” The
brunette on the bed
moaned, distracting
him from his
thoughts. She tossed
but didn’t wake up.
Reid watched her
flop her arm around
where his heat had
been. He knew they’d
all probably sleep
in. He’d demanded a
lot out of all three
of them the night
before. Poor women
had to try and keep
up with his stamina.
They’d done an all
right job and he
couldn’t blame them
for not fulfilling
him completely. He
was a Var, a
catshifter, and his
carnal appetites
were hard to sate.
Reid studied his
dark complexion in a
mirror as he pulled
the cross laces at
his waist. Running a
brush through his
long, dark locks, he
straightened out his
waist length hair.
He knew women
considered him
handsome and so what
if he knew it as
well? He was in top
physical shape and
knew how to carry
himself.
“Mmm, prince,” the
feminine words were
followed by a soft
giggle. This time he
didn’t turn around.
Reid wore the
clothes of his
people, mainly
because they showed
off the muscles of
his outer thighs
through the side
cross laces. The
shirt was more of
what Jarek called a
tank, with laces on
the side of the ribs
beneath the arms.
He’d been listening
to his twin brother,
trying to pick up on
Jarek’s worldly
ways. Though he did
find being the
‘sheltered’
barbarian drove the
women wild. They all
wanted to train and
tame him. He let
them pretend, but
the truth was Prince
Reid would never be
tamed.
Looking at the three
very satisfied
women, he knew he’d
never be happy with
one woman. There was
no way one woman
could satisfy his
unrestrained needs.
He’d cripple the
poor thing in less
than a week if she
were to try.
No, Reid couldn’t
understand why three
of his brothers
chose to bind
themselves. To his
thinking, lifemating
wasn’t wise with the
Var kind. Once
lifemated, it
couldn’t be undone.
The Var lived a long
time and passed that
long life on to
their lifemates--aided
by the same mystical
power that guided
them and the
radiation from the
blue sun. But a lot
could happen in the
hundreds of years
they lived. If a
lifemate died, the
widower would be
condemned to
centuries of
heartache. Many Var
had died from such a
fate.
That’s why Reid and
his twin bother
Jarek planned on
never falling in
love. What was the
point? With so many
beautiful women out
there to sample, who
wanted to choose
just one and risk
centuries of
unhappiness? Sure,
they might take half
mates eventually. A
man did need to have
sons. But, never a
lifemate.
He
looked at the women
on the bed. The
blonde sighed,
tossing in her
sleep. Her hand fell
on the brunette’s
chest. He grinned.
It
was like their
father always said,
“Women are like
fruit on a tree, to
be tasted, enjoyed,
and then discarded
for the next piece.
Hold one too long
and it will be sure
to rot in your
hand.”
Reid didn’t relish
the idea of rotted
fruit. He liked his
refreshments new,
ripe, and so very
juicy. With that in
mind, he glanced at
the brunette’s
larger breasts and
grinned. No, he’d
never fall in love.
He didn’t want to.
Taking the memory of
the Playmates with
him, he left the
seductive bedroom.
“About time,” Jarek
teased, pushing up
from the wall when
Reid came out of the
bedroom. Though he
looked like Reid
physically, Jarek
was dressed as his
crew--tight black
pants and a looser
shirt. His long,
dark hair was pulled
back from his face
showing off a black
tattoo. “I was about
to send in
reinforcements. I
was worried you
wouldn’t be able to
handle so many.”
Reid laughed. “You
should be scared
that I’d bring a
couple half mates
onto the ship with
me.”
“Don’t even joke
about that.” Jarek
rolled his eyes. “I
already caught Rick
trying to smuggle
two of the girls
onboard. If not for
their protesting, he
might have been
successful.”
The Var princes were
born of different
women--all but Reid
and his twin, Jarek.
Kirill, the oldest,
was the new King and
the first to fall
for a woman. It
hadn’t surprised
Reid much that
Kirill had found a
lifemate. Ulyssa,
the new Var Queen,
was a good woman.
She used to work for
the Human
Intelligence Agency
and made a good
match for the Var
leader. She was
smart, cunning, and
knew how to use a
weapon. To her
credit, she loved
Kirill very much.
Still, only one
woman? Reid didn’t
understand it.
The second to fall,
Prince Quinn was the
Var Ambassador. He
had mated to an ESC
scientist who’d come
to Qurilixen to rid
it of bioweaponry.
Dr Tori Elliot was
highly intelligent,
if not a little
overly serious, also
a good choice for
the royal family.
King Attor had
brought the weapons
to the planet to
kill their long time
enemy, the Draig--a
race of dragon
shifters. Though now
it seemed their
father’s hatred for
the Draig was
unwarranted, for
Kirill had managed
to make peace.
The biggest shock of
all was when the
stoic Commander of
the Var armies,
Prince Falke,
lifemated to the
Space Captain who’d
kidnapped him. Reid
had been positive
that Falke would
never succumb to one
woman. But Samantha
had captured his
brother’s heart
somehow, making the
big bad warrior
feel. Now Sam was
highly intelligent,
but she was no
ex-undercover agent
like Ulyssa and no
overachiever
scientist like Tori.
She was, on the
other hand, a bit of
a hardheaded
smartass and Prince
Reid could more than
appreciate that
quality in her. In
fact, to Falke’s
irritation, he
gladly encouraged
it.
“Are you sure we
have to go to
Nozando?” Reid
asked, falling into
stride with his
brother. It wasn’t
far to the docks
and, being early
morning, they were
alone in the lavish
hallways.
“Duty calls and
unfortunately it
calls away from
here,” Jarek said.
Out of the two, he
was the quieter one.
“I
say you should’ve
let Rick take his
stowaways.”
“There is always nef,”
Jarek teased, “if
you feel yourself
too distracted to do
your duty to our
kingdom.”
Their father, King
Attor, had been
killed in battle not
long ago. He was a
good King, one who
worked hard for his
people, but he
encouraged men to
have too much
control in the
bedroom, to drink
nef--a drink that
calmed the Var
sexually and gave
them restraint. Reid
never drank the
stuff himself.
“Ugh,” Reid
grimaced. “Our
father was a good
man, rest him, but I
never agreed with
his views on
complete sexual
detachment. Why
should we tame our
natures? We are Var.
We should be proud
of our prowess.”
Long ago things had
been different for
the Var people. It
was a wild time, a
time when the Var
let emotions rule
their heads and
their hearts. They
acted rashly and on
pure instinct. Reid
liked his ancestors’
way of thinking.
Life was too short
to hold back from
sexual pleasures,
from any worldly
pleasures. No, the
only use he found
for a mate was to
keep his house clean
and to cook. He
could well hire a
servant for that
with less of a
headache.
There was no way
Reid would drink nef
to calm his
appetites.
The old King had
been a hard man, but
Reid respected his
father and his
ideals. Attor had
urged the Var men to
prove their worth
and dependability
with emotionless
detachment. He
taught by example
that to prove great
prowess in the
bedroom showed
prowess in the field
of battle, until
strength in one
meant strength in
the other.
If
this was true, Reid
knew he had more
than enough prowess
to make up for three
of his brothers
settling down. In
fact, he should be
damn near immortal.
“Besides,” Reid said
as they waited for
the metal door
leading to the space
docks to open,
“you’re one to talk
about duty to the
kingdom. While I
have been down
fighting a war, you
have been up here,
flying around space
at leisure.”
It
was an old argument,
to which neither one
of them took
offense.
“Ah, not again. I
have four brothers
who do not need me
to help run the
kingdom.” Jarek
dismissed Reid
easily. “It was
decided that I would
go out into the
universe and learn
its ways. That is
what I have done. I
didn’t hear any
complaints when I
sent back the new
mainframe parts for
the palace’s central
computer.”
“Speaking of which,
Kirill still wants
you to change the
settings,” Reid
said. “Siren lasered
Tori in the ass and
locked me in the
weapons chamber
because I called her
a rusted piece of
cyber trash.”
Jarek laughed. Siren
was what the
computer mainframe
called itself--ever
since Jarek
programmed the
finicky female
personality into the
Var palace.
“You think that’s
funny?” Reid arched
a brow.
“No, what’s funny is
that I don’t
remember the
security codes to go
in and fix her.”
Jarek grinned.
“Are you guys coming
or what?” Rick
yelled from the
ship. “If you plan
on standing there
talking, I’ll just
go find myself
another playmate
to--”
“We’re coming!”
Jarek yelled, waving
his hand to urge
Rick back inside. To
Reid, he said, “Come
on. Let’s go get
this over with.”
©
copyright Michelle
M. Pillow, October
2004
This is a work of
fiction. All
characters, events,
and places are of
the author’s
imagination and not
to be confused with
fact. Any
resemblance to
living persons or
events is merely
coincidence.
REVIEWS
The Rogue Prince is
a fabulous
story...highly
recommended."
Elizabeth, Novelspot,
October 2005
"4
HEARTS! This
reviewer recommends
that any lover of
futuristic romances
run out and get your
copy of THE ROGUE
PRINCE today!" Love
Romances, Oct 2005
"This entire series
is a lot of fun to
read, and I can’t
wait to see what
happens next in the
world of the Var."
Julie Brown for The
Road to Romance,
Sept 2005
"The Rogue Prince,
Book 4 of the Lords
of the Var series by
Michelle M. Pillow,
totally captured my
attention...(combining)
futuristic elements
with a great
romantic storyline
and the plot just
flowed. I am
looking forward to
reading book 5 of
this series!"
-Joyfully Reviewed,
August 2006
"5
ANGEL! RECOMMENDED
READ! Michelle M.
Pillow has created a
wonderful story with
a plot rich in
characters,
emotions, and the
frustrations of
dealing with both of
them. ... Lords of
the Var: The Rogue
Prince is definitely
worth spending hours
curled in a comfy
chair in front of a
fireplace reading.
Michelle M. Pillow
offers readers an
outstanding story of
loyalty, duty,
honor, and love."
Jessica, Fallen
Angel Reviews
Additional
Book
Information
Amazon
ASIN:B004JN127E
Electronic
ISBN:978-1-4524-4263-1
PRINT
ISBN-13:
978-1466250277
PRINT
ISBN-10:
1466250275
Release
Date: Jan
2011
Series
The Savage King
The Playful Prince
The Bound Prince
The Rogue Prince
The Pirate Prince
Series is related to
Dragon Lords Series
Available at the following vendors
Eros Ebooks, Smashwords
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(if applicable)
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