Royal Recruit - Susan Grant Page 0,7
the fear. She could not. It would be all too reminiscent of when she’d been summoned before a full session of parliament the day she’d learned of her family’s fate. She’d felt so small, so frightened. Helpless. She’d never again set foot in those chambers.
She took a moment to push away that frightened girl, the girl she never again wanted to be. Then she tossed her hair and sniffed in disdain. “I have no patience for politics. Send me a summary.” Which she’d have Tibor summarize even further, while her attendants gave her a post-bath massage or painted her toenails. Every government communiqué was condensed by Tibor. He was invaluable. Without him she might actually have to pay attention to what was going on. “You are dismissed.”
The visitors bowed low, mumbling the usual respects, and left.
Only Tibor remained behind, silent, ever watchful. “What?” she demanded when he continued to ponder her. She couldn’t tell if there was censure in his scrutiny or pity. If he didn’t agree with her aversion to politics, so be it. She wasn’t going to change for anybody. She had her reasons for doing things, and they were private. She had no desire to share her inner thoughts with anyone, especially a man.
She shoved away from the table and stood, sending the chair spinning. It collided with a display shelf and almost sent a priceless vase crashing to the ground. What did it matter? Everything was priceless around here. They’d find another trinket in the museums.
Unlike people, objects could always be replaced.
“Taye!” she yelled.
The boyish eunuch scurried forward. “How may I serve, my queen?”
“Bring me my daggers.”
The eunuch returned with a set of ancient throwing knives. She snatched the box and stormed into her private chambers. The only way she could ease her anxiety about the rogue planet was to work with weaponry.
A breath exited her tightened mouth as she hurled a dagger at a padded wall. She selected another. The knife went hissing through the air. It landed in the same spot as the first, shattering the ivory hilt. Another replaceable object, she thought, hefting the next dagger.
Keira kept burying daggers in the wall until she’d exhausted her supply—and herself. Muscles trembling, she raised her arm to throw the last knife when the communication screen taking up half of an adjacent wall grabbed her attention.
The screen was illuminated, signaling an incoming visual.
Damn politicians. What more could they possibly want to bore her with? Furious at the annoyance, the invasion of privacy, she whirled on the screen. “Display message!” The visual came to life. She stormed forward. “I thought I made it clear that I’m not interested in—”
The sight of the man, a gorgeous man, slouched in the cockpit of a spacecraft brought her up short. Their shocked eye contact was instant and intense, and for one dizzying moment, the room around her seemed to fade away. In those few beats of her heart, she didn’t know what to say or think.
Swiftly, the trespasser’s shock slipped into curiosity and a dark flicker of appreciation, which made her acutely aware of how formfitting her workout wear was when damp. In his gaze, she felt naked, a sensation that was unexpectedly, breathlessly and infuriatingly arousing. “How dare you?”
How dare he what? She didn’t have any idea, but she felt utterly…invaded. By the goddess. “Identify yourself immediately!” Snarling, she gripped the dagger and strode forward to confront the trespasser, intending to make her displeasure perfectly clear.
Chapter Four
Whoa baby. Jared shot up straighter in the pilot’s seat as he stared at the striking alien woman on-screen.
Shouting something, she whipped her wild mane of hair. With rainbow colors glinting in the dark brown strands, it coiled like Medusa’s snakes around her shoulders as she turned to face him.
A thick, intricately jeweled band glittered on her upper arm. This was no shopping-mall purchase. The workmanship was exquisite and matched the earring dangling from her left ear. The chick was buff, no doubt—sculpted muscles flexing. She wore a black jumpsuit so formfitting it looked painted on. Jutting nipples pushed up against the fabric by one unforgettable pair of breasts as her chest literally heaved.
So much for any doubts as to the two-way feature of the ship’s display screen. She could see him, no doubt about that. Her eyes had opened wide at the sight of him, her mouth forming a luscious circle of surprise.
The moment hung in freeze-frame. He didn’t move. He had the wildest impression of having startled a rare and beautiful