The Playful Prince (8 page)

“You really can shift into a cat,” she breathed. A slow, excited smile crept over her features, as she moved to reach for him. She began to pant as a new wave of heat rolled down her body. “What else can the big kitty do?”

Quinn let a low, predatory sound echo in the back of his throat. Tori stopped and backed away. She licked her lips, waiting in breathless anticipation for him to pounce.

“Does the big kitty want to come out and play?” she purred naughtily. Her wide eyes drifted down to his obvious erection.

Quinn continued to stalk her, lowering his jaw as he allowed his eyes to shift with pale green for her, letting a flash of his cat eyes bend his pupils. Instantly, he was rewarded with a hefty wafting of her feminine scent. She was more than ready for him and it drove him nearly insane to realize it. Even more arousing was the fact she accepted his Var side without fear.

Tori’s legs hit the back of the couch before the fireplace. Spinning around, she thrust her butt into the air.

It was more than Quinn could handle. He rushed to her, lifting her dress to bare her thighs. His fingers ran over her skin, warming her, caressing her, discovering her.

When the gown stopped his exploration, he grimaced and took a claw to the material along her back, ripping it apart. Once he had her bare, he began kissing and stroking her from behind. Despite his urgency, he took his time as he learned the workings of her body.

Tori didn’t move from the couch as she threw her head back in pleasure. Her fingers gripped into the soft cushion, nearly puncturing it as he touched her. A weak sound left her throat and she wiggled her hips for attention. His fingers teased, skimming everywhere but the center heat. Fire burned a hot trail over her flesh, raging through her blood until every corner of her being sizzled with longing.

“Quinn, please,” she begged, moving to stand. He pushed her back down. His fingers finally dipped between her thighs, causing her to cry out. Stroking along her soaked opening, he teased the sensitive bud he found buried in her silken folds. Then, easing a finger inside, he tested her depths, stroking firmly in a slow rhythm as she thrust herself onto his hand. She was hot, ready, nearly screaming with the agony of need.

Quinn moved his body behind her, letting her feel that he’d stripped off his clothes. The heavy length of his erection pressed into her tender skin as his hands wrapped around to grab her sensitive breasts in his palms. She was a passionate woman, more so than he’d ever imagined. Her responses were pure, natural, and primitive. She was confident in her body’s reaction to him and it spurred him into a mindless web of wonder.

Edging next to her, he lightly stroked his shaft along her opening, letting her get used to the feel. To his surprise, her hips bucked back, forcing him to dip inside the rim of her body. That one feel was more than he could take. He pushed forward, burying himself to the hilt. Her muscles stretched around him, clamping down so hard he nearly lost himself.

“Ah,” Tori cried out. Her fingers worked the couch. “Oh, Quinn, oh, yes, baby, yes.”

Her hips moved, as she tried to get him to thrust. He instantly obeyed, drawing his hips back and forth as he moved within her. A tension built in her thighs, warming its way into her blood until she was screaming for release. At her cries, he only moved faster until he had her hips in his hands and was pounding so hard the slapping of their bodies echoed around them.

Quinn grunted. Tori screamed. Their hips rocked faster and harder, seeking the release they both desperately needed.

The tension built, nearly tearing Tori apart as she sought to end it. Then, suddenly, with a high-pitched yell, she began to tremble. Her body felt as if it fell off a cliff. Her limbs weakened and her muscles clamped tightly around him.

Quinn’s soft shout of pleasure followed hers. He stiffened behind her and his body released heavily into her, milked by the clenching and unclenching of her feminine muscles. They held frozen, unable to move for a long time. Then, falling against her back, he sighed and began to caress her gently.

Tori stood, turning to wrap her arms around his neck. A small sound of contentment hummed past her lips. Quinn swooped down, capturing her lips as he kissed her breath away. Then pulling back, he grinned wickedly.

“What is your first name Dr. Elliot? I’ve been listening for it all night.”

Tori laughed. A low growl sounded from him, making her knees weak and her heart palpitate. “Tori. It’s Tori.”

“Well, Tori,” Quinn said, leaning forward to lick playfully at her mouth. He swept her up into his strong arms, tossing her into the air before catching her. She squealed in delight and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Let’s move this to the bed. I want to play.”

Tori giggled, feeling strangely carefree in his arms. Quinn bent to kiss her as he made his way across the room with tiny steps, his pants dragging around his ankles behind them.

Chapter Five

The next morning, Quinn was grinning like a fool before he awoke. Tori had been a little wildcat, and he could honestly say he was drained. Never had he had a lover who could keep up with and maybe even surpass him with her need. Oh, and was she a vixen! The things she could do with her mouth he’d only dreamt about. Thinking about it, he moaned. As his shaft rose to the memory of her lips on him, he knew that he’d been wrong. He was almost drained, almost.

She was adventurous too, allowing him to bend her however he wished without protest. They’d both been too eager to stop and play bed games, but he was sure she’d readily agree to them. With that in mind, his hand slid next to him on the silk sheets of the bed, reaching for her.

Quinn’s fingers met with the mattress and he frowned. His head lifted, but not his body. Automatically, he knew she’d left him. Her presence wasn’t in the room and he felt cold without it. A frustrated sigh left his mouth and his head dropped on the mattress. Damned but she was a frustrating woman!

* * * *

Tori looked out over the shadowed marshes. The four scientists were led on foot by two Var guards.

Both Var men looked shyly at her with curious expressions, but none smiled as boldly as before. It was almost as if their attraction to her was tempered and she couldn’t help but wonder if they knew about her and the prince’s night together. She wasn’t ashamed of her actions, but was concerned that it might affect the legitimacy of her presence there.

They all carried large hiking packs on their backs, all except the older Simon who carried a small bag over his shoulder. The bulk of their supplies would be brought up later that day, just as soon as they found the perfect place to camp. They were told that it was an hour of travel over rough terrain before they’d reach the caves.

As they’d left the palace, they passed the Var city. It was nestled in the valley below the castle. The city was a bustling maze of earthen streets and large rectangular homes, whose walls and foundation were constructed of fired bricks held together by mortar. Clay pots were set outside doorsteps, some with flowers and other native plants.

The streets were clean and orderly. Beautiful woven rugs and blankets hung outside in the sun, drying on lines. There was less intricate tile work than inside the palace, but the city was lovely nonetheless. Many of the homes were two stories high with flat roofs and no windows. The grand design indicated that most of the Var population prospered.

The sound of young boys playing echoed around them briefly as they passed the city, then all noise was swallowed up by the surrounding forest and marshland. Tori had caught a glimpse of the palace as they traveled. It stood tall against the blue-green sky. Square turrets reached high into the heavens, looming commandingly over the city. It was truly magnificent.

According to their guides, they trudged through the edge of the swamplands. The trees of the forest were huge, bigger than the legendary redwoods on earth. Tori felt dwarfed by them.

They were told to keep their feet from the murky waters, as a poisonous snake called a
givre
swam freely in them. Across the swamps to the north was the Draig palace. The guards tensed slightly when she asked about the Var’s longtime enemy, but finally grudgingly admitted that the Draig had acted honorably so far and there was nothing to make them suspect they’d cause the scientists trouble--especially since they were there to make sure the biological weapons were completely gone.

A diffused light fell over the dense forest in a soft green haze that blended eerily with the patches of hot, steamy fog from the nearby marshes. From what Tori could tell, there wasn’t much difference between the swamps and the marshes, except that the marshes seemed dead of all life.

The marshes were an awful place. Moss hung from treetops, unmoving in their windless isolation. The air was damp, stagnant, and filled with the rotting smell of molding plant life and animal carcasses. Even the insects seemed to have deserted the area.

Stopping, Tori shared a concerned look with Vitto. Quietly, she said, “This doesn’t feel right.”

Vitto nodded. Grant stopped near them, hearing her comment. He frowned, looking around as if for the first time that late morning. He’d been grumpy since he’d been pulled from Linzi’s bed, and they’d left him alone for the most part. Now, a professional light entered his eyes, turning him serious. He slowly nodded in agreement of Tori and Vitto.

“Excuse me,” Grant said to the guards, stopping them in their progress. “Have the marshes always been like this?”

“Have been since I can remember,” one answered.

The other, who Tori sensed was the older, more hardened of the two, said, “You know, when I was a young boy we used to hunt here. There was wildlife all along the Western Ridges, but that was ages ago.

Now this black moss grows on everything.”

“Black moss?” Tori asked, looking around. She didn’t see any black moss.

“Here,” the guard offered. He walked over to a stone and kicked it over. Sure enough there was a black fungus on the bottom of it. As they watched, it slowly withered as if affected by the sunlight. Within a few seconds, it turned a dark gray.

“That’s going to make it harder to study,” Vitto observed.

“Hmm, not if we figure out if it’s the air or the light that affects it,” Simon put forth from behind them.

“Come on, guys,” Tori urged. “Let’s set up camp first, then we can begin collecting samples and mapping the cave systems.”

“You know,” Grant allowed as they began walking again. “You never mentioned how your date with Prince Quinn went.”

Vitto began snickering. Tori stopped. She eyed Vitto and then Grant.

“What did you two do?” she demanded with a worried frown.

“Nothing,” Vitto said, trying to look innocent and failing.

“Yeah, nothing,” Grant mimicked.

“You better spill it,” Tori warned.

“They told him you were a feminist and you hated to be treated like a lady,” Simon offered with a sheepish grin.

Vitto and Grant laughed harder at their own joke.

“Come on, Elliot,” Grant pleaded. “You have to tell us what happened. What did you say to the poor guy? We know you tore him apart.”

“Come on, Tor! We’ve been dying to know.” Vitto turned his dark eyes to her in merriment.

“Actually, you two troublemakers, he was a perfect gentleman,” Tori announced. “He brought me flowers, chocolate and a bottle of wine. It would seem some men know how to treat a lady and how not to listen to morons like you!”

“Oh my gawd!” Grant announced. His mouth dropped open. “You got laid!”

“Ew!” Vitto grimaced. He grabbed his ears and started wailing. “I didn’t want to hear that! My ears, my ears, they’re burning! Make it stop, mommy, make it stop!”

Tori hit him repeatedly on the arm to make him be quiet.

“That’s workplace abuse,” he grumbled good-naturedly. “I’ll take you up on a section eight charge.”

“You’re an imbecile,” Tori said. “Section eight is for misappropriate use of funding. Now shut up or I’ll tell everyone how you really got this job.”

“You shut up or I’ll tell everyone what I used to call you when we were kids,” Vitto returned with an impish grin.

“Do and I’ll fire you!” she teased.

“Tori,” Vitto whined. He made a face behind her back as she walked away.

Grant laughed and, in a little kid voice, said, “
Ooooh!
You’re gonna be in so much trouble, Vitto. I’m telling Dr. Elliot on you.”

* * * *

“What do you mean, she left?” Quinn asked his brother in the growling tone of their shared language.

Kirill looked up from his long stone desk in the royal office to study his brother. He was surrounded by chairs, a couch, and rugs.

The royal office was much like the rest of the palace with the same beautiful tile work on the walls and the same medieval castle feel to the structure. Opposite Kirill’s desk, a large barren fireplace was dwarfed by the even larger sidewall. Long banners hung on either side of it. A large woven rug of red and blue lay on the floor. Its intricate pattern was perhaps the loveliest in the palace. Next to the rug were large chairs, so deep they’d nearly swallow a person whole.

“She insisted on going, to get started this morning. I’m having the rest of her supplies sent out after they established what she called a base camp. Why?” Kirill’s nearly black eyes studied his brother curiously.

“Has something happened? You seem oddly ... tense. It’s unlike you.”

“I’m fine,” Quinn grouched. He paced around the office, stopping at the fireplace to look at nothing in particular.

“Ah, so it did not go so well last night, I take it?” Kirill asked, standing from his desk. “Did you give her the flowers?”

“Yes.”

“The chocolate?”

“Yes. Yes. Yes,” Quinn insisted. “I gave her ... everything.”

“Ah,” Kirill answered then, as a knowing look came to him. He said, “
Ooohh.
Then you’re upset because she’s gone.”

“Ever since you fell in love you’re really annoying, you know that,” Quinn stated with a grimace. “My mood has nothing to do with Dr. Elliot leaving. I only wish to be informed of their whereabouts for the sake of my duty. I can’t very well be ambassador if I don’t know where the scientists are at all times, can I?”