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  The Playful Prince

  Lords of the Var: A Qurilixen World Novel

  Michelle M. Pillow®

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  The Playful Prince (Lords of the Var®) © Copyright 2005 - 2018, Michelle M. Pillow

  Third Electronic Printing July 2015, Anniversary Edition, The Raven Books

  Second Electronic Printing January 2011

  First Electronic Printing May 2005

  Cover art © Copyright 2015

  ISBN 9781452463841

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  Published by The Raven Books LLC

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence.

  Michelle M. Pillow® and Lords of the Var® are registered trademarks of The Raven Books LLC

  Contents

  About The Playful Prince

  About the Lords of the Var Series

  Michelle’s Bestselling Series

  Author Updates

  Note from the Author

  King Attor of the Var

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  The Bound Prince

  The series continues…

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  About Michelle M. Pillow

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  About The Playful Prince

  Shapeshifter Romance

  Cat-shifter Prince Quinn isn’t looking for a serious relationship. In fact, he’s never even considered it. He’s content to enjoy life to the fullest, never taking anything but his royal duties seriously. However, when a new scientist arrives to test for biological weapons, he can’t seem to stay away from her.

  Dr. Tori Elliot is at the palace to do a job and no matter what she’s going to act like a professional…which means not succumbing to the seductively sexy playful prince.

  About the Lords of the Var Series

  The cat-shifter princes were raised to not believe in love, especially love for one woman, and they will do everything in their power to live up to their father’s expectations. Oh, how the mighty will fall.

  * * *

  Lords of the Var® series is a continuation of the bestselling romance series, Dragon Lords, and is part of the Qurilixen World. They can be read as standalones, but the author recommends reading books in order of release.

  * * *

  For details please visit www.michellepillow.com

  Michelle’s Bestselling Series

  Qurilixen World Novels

  Dragon Lords Series

  Barbarian Prince

  Perfect Prince

  Dark Prince

  Warrior Prince

  His Highness The Duke

  The Stubborn Lord

  The Reluctant Lord

  The Impatient Lord

  The Dragon’s Queen

  Lords of the Var® Series

  The Savage King

  The Playful Prince

  The Bound Prince

  The Rogue Prince

  The Pirate Prince

  Qurilixen Lords

  Dragon Prince

  More Coming Soon!

  Captured by a Dragon-Shifter Series

  Determined Prince

  Rebellious Prince

  Stranded with the Cajun

  Hunted by the Dragon

  Mischievous Prince

  Headstrong Prince

  Space Lords Series

  His Frost Maiden

  His Fire Maiden

  His Metal Maiden

  His Earth Maiden

  His Woodland Maiden

  Dynasty Lords Series

  Seduction of the Phoenix

  Temptation of the Butterfly

  Having trouble finding the books?

  Updated Buy Links Here

  * * *

  To learn more about the Qurilixen World series of books and to stay up to date on the latest book list visit www.MichellePillow.com

  Author Updates

  Join the Reader Club Mailing List to stay informed about new books, sales, contests and preorders!

  http://michellepillow.com/author-updates/

  To Lesley P.

  Thank you for your help on the Lords of the Var® anniversary editions.

  Note from the Author

  Dragon Lords fans know the cat-shifting Var as being the villains of the story, but every conflict has two sides. With King Attor dead, it is up to the Var princes to pick up the pieces. Though these stories can be read as a standalone series, they do begin where the Dragon Lords left off, most significantly after Dragon Lords 4: Warrior Prince. There is also a prequel story, Dragon Lords 9: The Dragon’s Queen that tells the story of how Attor became the cat-shifter king and how the Var-Draig war really started.

  Lords of the Var® are interconnected to many series installments, including: Dragon Lords, Captured by a Dragon-Shifter (the dragon-shifters and cat-shifters in modern day times), Space Lords, Zhang Dynasty and more. To find out more about the books, including reading orders, visit my website, www.MichellePillow.com.

  As an added bonus in the Lords of the Var® series, see cameo appearances from some of your favorite Dragon Lords prince and princesses.

  To stay informed about when a new book in the series installments is released, join my newsletter mailing list at: http://michellepillow.com/newslettersignup/

  King Attor of the Var

  “A man cannot bow to a woman and still call himself a man.” - King Attor of the Var

  1

  Tori Elliot, the very dignified scientist, opened her mouth. Her heart beat furiously in her chest, thumping so hard it echoed in her ears. For a moment, no sound left her as she kept her eyes focused straight ahead. There was a dramatic pause and all around her was dead silence. Suddenly, the twentieth century Old Earth music picked up and her naked body jerked into movement. She belted out the tune into her mouth sanitizer turned microphone with her mirror as an audience. After a few bars, she dropped the mouth sanitizer and danced and sang around her metal cabin. Her arms flung through the air, wild and carefree, as she slowly dressed.

  The spacesh
ip she was on belonged to the Exploratory Science Commission. The ESC hired out staff and freelance scientists to large corporations, mostly contracting ecological work with mining companies and wealthy environmentalist groups. The ship had been traveling through deep space for weeks, just now reaching the outer edge of the Y quadrant.

  Tori didn’t really care where they were. Her last job, testing mineral compounds fourteen thousand feet below the ice surface of Sintaz, had been a great success. With the bonus the drilling company had given her, she’d made enough space credits to support herself in high style for at least a couple of years. She was going to take that money and indulge in a month long spa treatment on Quazer while she figured out her next move.

  The material of the black, skintight jumpsuit stretched as she pushed her arms into it. The outfit molded to her body, covering her arms and legs completely. Even though she didn’t technically work for ESC but was a freelancer, she was expected to dress in uniform when contracted through them. The uniforms all came with a transmitter sewn into the v-neckline, so the company could find them if anyone went missing. There was always a certain amount of risk in what she did, but the scientific rewards were well worth it. Besides, she never took unnecessary chances.

  “Doctor Elliot.”

  “Ah, crap!” Tori jumped. The Old Earth music automatically turned off as the voice invaded her privacy. Turning to the round cabin mirror, she quickly smoothed down her wild hair and threw it over her shoulders. She stood, watching the shiny surface. It glimmered slightly, fading into a view screen. The image of the ship’s senior ESC advisor, Doctor Fontaine, replaced her reflection.

  “Good Morning, Doctor Fontaine,” Tori answered, keeping a rigidly professional expression. Her heart skittered around in her chest from being frightened in the middle of her impromptu dance number. That was the last thing she wanted her colleagues seeing.

  “Is everything all right, Doctor Elliot?” Fontaine asked. He was an older man with graying black hair. He wore the black jumpsuit of the company covered by a white lab coat. Tori hadn’t had much contact with him on Sintaz because he stayed up on the surface while she went below ground with her crew. “You look flushed.”

  “I was logging in my fitness hours early.” Tori dutifully answered. Okay, so it was a stretch of the truth, but she had worked up a sweat. Besides, she hated logging in fitness hours.

  “Ah, quite right,” Fontaine answered, easily dismissing his question. “Listen, we have a minor situation. The Human Intelligence Agency is coming aboard to commandeer our ship. They’ve asked that all personnel records be turned over to them immediately, and we have complied. They have assured us that this should only delay travel for a few days at most.”

  “What does the HIA want with a bunch of scientists?” Tori asked, mildly concerned. “Do they suspect something onboard this ship?”

  “I don’t have all the details, doctor, but they seemed most insistent that it’s an intergalactic emergency. They’ve requested you to head up the team.”

  “Wait, what team?” Tori demanded. Blast it! She was on vacation, as of the completion of the last assignment. She wasn’t ready to take another job so soon. Besides, she hadn’t signed a contract with ESC. They couldn’t force her to do anything. Keeping her voice level, she said, “I’m not personnel. Why were my private records handed over? As of the completion of my last mission, I’m technically a civilian passenger.”

  “Sorry, doctor, they had an intergalactic warrant. We had no choice but to give them the qualifications of all onboard scientists.” Fontaine’s expression gave nothing away, but she didn’t expect it to.

  If the HIA wanted her to head up a team, she knew she’d have to head up the team. They might pay her, but she wasn’t happy about being forced to do a job. Technically, she’d be given a “choice”, but if she refused they could make the rest of her career a nightmare. When they were finished with her, she’d be lucky to get work teaching school children scientific categorizing on some remote jungle planet.

  Well, Fontaine said it was only a few days delay so it shouldn’t be that bad. They probably had a tanker ship carrying liquid ore crash in an isolated area, or some other type of ecological disaster. Why else would they need her? Her specialties were alien biology and geology. Remaining professionally calm, she stated, “Very well, Doctor Fontaine. Please inform me when they arrive. I’d like to be briefed on my new assignment as soon as possible so I can prepare.”

  “Thank you, doctor,” Fontaine said. “Your willingness is noted and appreciated.”

  “Doctor.” Tori nodded in dismissal. The mirror blipped, and she was once more alone with her reflection. Under her breath, she grumbled, “Willingness my ass.”

  What did the HIA want with her? She didn’t feel like working. She needed a break—a long, relaxing vacation in a place that didn’t have arctic temperatures all year round.

  Tori sighed, her good humor dampened by the turn of events. The music started again where it had left off, but she was no longer in the mood. Irritated, she called, “Music off. Bed.”

  The music turned off, and a narrow bed slid out of the metal wall of the cabin. She threw herself down on the stiff mattress with a thud. Groaning heavily, she stared at the metal ceiling in dejection.

  With a grumble, she turned her back on the room, facing the metal wall. “So much for my time off.”

  2

  “This is the planet of Qurilixen,” Franklin, as he told Tori to call him, said. He pointed to a 3-D map floating above the desk. The small, transparent red sphere rotated slowly between them. There weren’t many bodies of water that she could see, but there was a mountain range and plenty of forest area. It was quite possible the dense forest hid rivers and swampland. By the apparent height of the trees, she’d guess they were surrounded by excessive moisture.

  Franklin was a mission director with the HIA. According to him she was now a temporary HIA employee, and he was her new temporary boss. His shortly cropped, dark brown hair was trimmed to military perfection, and he walked with rigid purpose. He was young for a director, but that didn’t stop him from issuing orders with confidence to those around him.

  Tori had met his kind before, all work, no play. Not that there was anything wrong with that. She was the same way while on the job, okay, mostly she was.

  “And here,” Franklin continued, his hip perched on the edge of the desk, as he pointed at the floating sphere, “is the Var palace. This is where we’ll land and make contact with my agent.”

  “Excuse me, sir,” Tori interrupted. She looked at the map and then at him. “But what, exactly, are we landing on Qurilixen for? I need to choose and brief a team, pack my supplies, work on securing permits. In order to do all that, I need to know what we’re up against.”

  “Everything you need has already been assembled for you, Doctor Elliot. As for your team, you will command every scientist on board this ship for the duration of this mission.” Franklin paused and Tori instantly filled the silence.

  “But, there are nearly a hundred scientists on this ship, maybe more. You can’t mean me to command them all.”

  “Yes, I do,” he stated easily as if it was an everyday occurrence to be handed a huge, career breaking assignment such as this one.

  Tori swallowed. Even if it were for only a few days, the fact that the HIA picked her out of hundreds to handle their “intergalactic emergency” would do volumes for her record, not to mention her pay demand. She tried not to be nervous. She couldn’t mess this up, whatever it was. She wondered which part of her work record had impressed them. The biological categorizing on Denat 7? The time she was second in command and helped clean up the mineral spill on Merca? Her numerous publications on DNA sequencing and its application to modern exploratory science?

  “It’s a simple assignment and you’ll be afforded with the best equipment and protective gear the HIA has to offer.” Franklin smiled at her, but the look hardly passed as pleasant. “I will offer you whatever as
sistance I can. All we ask is that you be quick and efficient. I want you in and out of there fast. Discretion is a very vital key in this matter.”

  Tori hid her smile. How discreet was sending down a hundred technologically advanced scientists to a primitive planet?

  “And what would that ‘simple’ assignment be?” she insisted.

  “One of our agents has detected biological weaponry from Ranoz. They believe they’ve have found the weapon intact. It will be your job to test the Var palace and everyone who’s come in contact with that crate to see if they have been contaminated. It will also be your job to make sure the situation is contained.” Franklin again paused, and Tori wondered if he was doing it for dramatic effect. It wasn’t necessary. What he said was dramatic enough on its own. “You’ll have the team down with you for one day. I expect you to utilize them efficiently and get the job done in that time.”