The Rogue Prince Read online

  The Rogue Prince

  Lords of the Var: A Qurilixen World Novel

  Michelle M. Pillow®

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  The Rogue Prince (Lords of the Var®) © copyright 2005 – 2018 by Michelle M. Pillow

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

  Second Electronic Printing January 2011

  First Electronic Printing September 2005

  Cover art © Copyright 2015

  ISBN 9781452442631

  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 Rogue 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

  The Pirate Prince

  The series continues…

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  About Michelle M. Pillow

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  About The Rogue Prince

  Cat-shifter Prince Reid is always looking for a good time, and no woman is safe when he turns on the charm. When the opportunity arises to go on an ambassador’s trip, he jumps at the chance–especially when that trip includes exotic destinations and available women. What more could a rogue prince want? But he never thought he'd find a woman who could bring him to his knees with just one look. He will do anything to protect her and make her his...forever.

  Jasmine St. Claire appears to have it all, but looks can be deceiving. Escaping her gilded cage by joining a foreign transport, she didn’t plan on leaving one man’s rule for another. Yet it would seem the charming Var prince has decided he wants to claim her for his very own.

  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/

  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/

  To Brent one of the coolest people I know.

  King Attor of the Var

  “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.”

  1

  Prince Reid, Var Commander of the Outlands, grinned before even opening his eyes. Oh, yeah. Life in space was good—really 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 decked 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 the 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 made it 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 from 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 help raise them, as was the Var way.

  The children weren’t why he frowned. Reid frowned because his brothers were having children with life mates. 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.

  Life mates 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 barren of women to begin with. His home planet of Qurilixen suffered from blue radiation that 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.

  “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 would still have 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 alright job, and he couldn’t blame them for not fulfilling him completely. He was a Var, a cat-shifter, and his carnal appetites were difficult to slake.

  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, life mating wasn’t wise with the Var kind. Once life mated, it couldn’t be undone. The Var lived a long time and passed that long life on to their life mates, 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 life mate 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 brother 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 life mate.

  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 room. Though he looked like Reid physically, Jarek was dressed the same 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 climbing up his neck. “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 of 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 life mate. 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 bio-weaponry. Doctor Tori Elliot was highly intelligent, if not a little overly serious, also a good choice for the royal family. Reid’s father had brought the weapons to the planet to kill their long-time enemy, the Draig, a race of dragon-shifters. Though now it seemed King Attor’s hatred for the Draig was unwarranted for Kirill had managed to make peace.

  The biggest shock of all three was when the stoic commander of the Var armies, Prince Falke, life mated 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 love. 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 by 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. Of the twins, 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 for our kingdom.”

  Their father, King Attor, was killed not so long ago in battle. He had been a good king, one who worked hard for his people, but he encouraged men to drink nef, a drink that calmed the Var sexuall
y and gave them restraint and control in the bedroom. 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 head 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 which would cause less of a headache.