The Pirate Prince by Michelle M. Pillow Read Free Book Online

it in my mouth.” Dev’s grin widened as if he could read her suspicions. He looked like he was teasing her, but Mei was frightened by him and could merely stare, concentrating on hiding her emotions. The red man straightened his back, his black eyes taking her in. “Forgive me, my lady. I amSalebinaben Johobik en Dehauberkelsain en Thoraxian en Yyrtolzx Devekin. ”
    Mei frowned in concentration. He spoke so fast. Slowly, she repeated,
    “ Salebinaben Johobik en Dehauberkelsain en Thoraxian en....”
    “...Yyrtolzx Devekin.”Dev nodded, looking impressed. “But you may continue to call meshen jing bing if it makes you feel better.”
    “Your leader calls you Dev. I shall use that.” Mei lifted her chin, giving him her most regal look. “Now, I will know by what right you kidnap me and Emperor Song’spu ren .”
    “You’ll have to ask the captain. I was just following orders.” Dev nodded, backing out the door. He lifted his hand to the door sensor. Before he could shut it, she asked, “You know who I am? You said
    ‘my lady’.” “All women aboard this ship are a lady,” Dev answered, running his opened hand across the sensor. The door slid shut between them. Mei took a deep breath. Was the title mocking of their prisoners? She doubted it was said in respect.
    Shivering, she thought of the pirate captain. As she was forced onto the ship, she’d gotten a good view of the man—perhaps more than she wanted as Dev held her upside down. By her guess, he was a human male, or in the very least a humanoid. His eyes had glowed with gold flecks signifying there was some other kind of blood in him.
    If she had her guess, she’d say he was a shifter of some sort. The thought thrilled her.
    She’d read of shifters, but had rarely seen a full shift.
    Mei hated to admit that the man intrigued her on a very primal level. She wasn’t stupid. She knew what lust and desire were. She’d even had a few lovers in her lifetime.
    After all, she was forty-seven years of age. It wasn’t as if she had been conceived that very morning. Though, in her experience, men usually came with more strings attached than she liked.
    Looking around the room, she shivered anew. The walls bore down on her as the impact of her decisions hit her full force. In the midst of the fight, all she could do was think of how she wanted in on the action. The wind had stirred, calling her, telling her to go. The element was a wicked temptress. It always had been to Mei. The wind got inside her and urged her to be free, just as it was, blowing wherever and however it willed.
     
     
    Then, as she was lying beneath the strong pirate captain, she’d just wanted to be free of her duty, of the Song palace, of her future with the stoic Prince Lok. She wanted the freedom that the pirate captain represented. And, there was no denying it, she wanted the pirate as a lover. There was danger and excitement in him, a sense of the unknown.
    The intoxicating power of it overwhelmed her blood, making her heart beat so fast she could barely breathe. There was a seduction to that facet of his appearance. He was everything she shouldn’t have, but he did represent, albeit to the extreme, everything she’d ever wanted.
    But now, the reality of what she had done was setting in. There were some impulses that shouldn’t be followed.
    She was a princess. These were pirates. What would they do if they found out who she was? Would they ransom her? Sell her into slavery on the black market at the Torgan sex slave auctions? A princess would undoubtedly fetch a high price for such men. Then why had the wind whispered to her to go? Did this ship have something to do with her fate in marrying Prince Lok? Was this her way to deny fate? Would she have to trade her family, her life, and her home for freedom? Even as she thought it, she knew she couldn’t do that. She would never give up her family and her homeland, even if that meant marrying a man she could never love. If fate