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  Zhoryan’s Game

  Michele Mills

  To Richard Connell, the author of

  “The Most Dangerous Game.”

  I hope I did it justice…

  Zhoryan’s Game

  He’s an arrogant, celebrity warlord who thinks marriage and snot-nosed children sound like the lowest level of hell.

  She’s the filthy-mouthed daughter of a High Priest who wants LOTS OF KIDS.

  When their deck explodes they rush into the same executive escape pod and eventually crash-land together on a mysterious planet. Without food and water. Without any way to communicate with their ship. And most importantly, without Zhoryan’s gloves of the unmated. The one item that will prevent testing of mating compatibility.

  And then they find out why it’s called ‘Ship-Trap Planet.’

  Will Zhoryan be able to resist touching this female’s bare skin while being hunted by the psychopath who owns the planet?

  And will Janet learn to love such an unbearable @$$hole?

  Because, one touch is all it takes…

  Author’s Notes: This book is #5 in the series, or can be read as a standalone. Be prepared to meet new friends and revisit old favorites.

  Copyright © 2019 by Michele Mills

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Artist: Meljean Brook

  Editor: Aquila Editing

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  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

  Newsletter

  Acknowledgments

  Alien Bounty Hunters Reading Order

  Daxon’s Hostage

  About the Author

  Also by Michele Mills

  1

  Janet shoved tiny chunks of juicy red meat past her lips, happily noshing on Xylan delicacies because, dear gods, so good—when a crude remark entered her consciousness.

  “…and then the woman took her bra off, palmed her bare titties and started pinching her nipples, and we knew she meant business…”

  What?

  Janet dropped her fork, staring in shock at the four males seated around her.

  Oh gods, they did not just say that.

  She’d been so absorbed in examining the exotic dishes offered at the buffet table and returning to her seat to devour this freaking amazing Xylan breakfast, she hadn’t even heard a word the men had been saying.

  “So…what did you do next?” Maksim mumbled as he stuffed more bloody protein into his mouth.

  She threw a dark frown at the male seated next to her because—these men. Ugh. Even Daniel, the level-headed one, was chuckling as he listened along to the story.

  What were they thinking?

  This was a Xylan warship, and Xylan didn’t boast about having sex with random partners. Their species couldn’t physically mate until the spark of a bond was initiated between a male and his Bride. Pleasure mating wasn’t a thing with them. Therefore, species who boasted of pleasure mating antics were considered primitive to the Xylan. And possible non-allies.

  “Then we stripped and joined her on the bed, and…” Haruto leaned forward, along with Arnav, his partner-in-crime, so they could both tag-team a rendition of their favorite sexcapade, which involved the two of them skillfully fucking the same woman at once, and then scrambling half-naked out her window to avoid her raging husband.

  Janet groaned and pressed her fingers to her temples.

  “…then we switched places and Arnav took her mouth…” Haruto proudly declared. He elbowed his friend, “although she could barely take Arnav’s monster cock.”

  Arnav gave them all a cheeky grin.

  Maksim barked out a laugh.

  Janet desperately glanced around the crowded mess hall. Each time these two retold this story it got louder and more X-rated. When she’d first heard it, she’d thought it was hilarious too. But they were now in a public place and the five of them were supposed to be representing New Earth on this Xylan ship. She had a feeling this wasn’t the type of behavior New Earth’s government had in mind when they’d allowed the five of them to be escorted by the Xylan military to Kolothan University for specialized academic training.

  “Haruto moved behind her and started to lick her—”

  “Hey,” she hissed, “You guys…please, how about you finish this story later? Remember at intake how they told us we shouldn’t be talking about pleasure mating during this trip because it might upset the Xylan?”

  Haruto let out an exasperated snort. “I was at that same lecture and I’m not telling this story in front of any Xylan. It’s only us here at the table. It’s not like I’m walking up to the Imperial Warlord and explaining my sex life.”

  The Imperial Warlord?

  Speaking of…

  Her gaze darted across the room and landed at a table situated on a raised dais in front of a wall of glass, offering exquisite views of the vastness of space. This was where the senior officers ate their meals. And at that exact moment Zhoryan of Eighty-Two, the mighty Imperial Warlord of Sector One, turned his regal head and briefly made eye contact with her from across the room.

  She sucked in a breath. Oh, holy gods. Her stomach fluttered like a thousand butterflies taking flight.

  Had he finally noticed she existed? That she was on his ship?

  Then the warlord turned to listen to a comment from his gorgeous, female second-in-command.

  Nope.

  For a moment she’d been bathed in the light of his attention, and then the power flicked off again. Her jaw clenched. Janet refocused on the human males around her and not on the fabulously handsome, untouchable, god-like sphinx at the head table.

  Best not to think of him at all.

  Therein lies madness.

  “They have better hearing than we do,” she muttered.

  Haruto and Arnav both shut their mouths then, mulish looks plastered on their faces. Everyone turned toward Daniel, their defacto leader. Tie-breaker extraordinaire. A thoughtful look settled on his features as he gave the matter his undivided attention. Finally, he nodded in agreement. “This is a great story, but maybe we should save it for quarters. The Xylan have better hearing and eyesight than us and they don’t appreciate pleasure mating like humans do.”

  Her shoulders softened. At least here was a bit of support.

  Haruto angrily tossed down his napkin. “Why should we follow Janet’s orders? Her mouth is filthier than any of ours.”

  Her cheeks heated. It was true. “But I don’t talk that way…here. When we’re in public I act the part. As should you. I’m not saying don’t ever tell the story. I’m saying just save it for when the five of us are alone, that’s all.”

  Arnav snorted. “You’re just jealous.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Jealous of what?” What the hell did he think she was jealous of—that men could have sex with whoever they wanted without repercussions (okay maybe a little jealous), or…did he think she secretly wanted to be on the receiving end of their threesome? Eeew.

  “Janet?”

  She tore her gaze away from the two meatheads and met Daniel’s kind blue eyes. He shook his head, telling her to let this go.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She exhaled. �
�I’m worried we’ll give these Xylan the wrong impression and embarrass New Earth Government. What if they decide we’re too primitive and kick us off their ship? Then how will we get to Kolothan University? New Earth doesn’t have any currency or influence.”

  “Whatever. I’d be fine if that happened. We’d find someone else to help and a different escort sounds like a terrific idea,” Hurato cut in. “It gives me the creeps that none of these Xylan like sex.”

  Janet’s mind flashed to her Xylan brother-in-law, Kayzon of Twenty-Seven. She’d once accidentally walked in on him and her sister vigorously going at it in the hallway of their home. They’d had no idea she was there, and she’d quietly scuttled away, the shocking visual burned into her brain for all eternity. That moment had certainly taught her one thing—the Xylan species definitely enjoyed sex, they just saved it all up for their mates. “It’s not that they don’t care about sex,” she answered, “they just focus all their energies on their life mate.”

  Arnav shivered with disgust. “Sounds boring as hell. You know they don’t have prostitution, right? Because, get this—they don’t need it. They don’t understand the concept of paying for sex with strangers. And there’s no rape, or adultery…”

  She twirled a strand of her long, dark hair, willing herself to not peek at the warlord across the room. “I don’t know, sounds kinda perfect to me.”

  “All of this is ridiculous,” Maksim remarked. “Why should we worry if the crew on this ship can overhear us? They don’t care. They don’t even act like we’re worthy of speaking to. The Xylan might’ve saved our planet from the Hurlians and technically consider us allies, but that doesn’t mean they’ve tossed out their pigment caste system. Royal pigment is still the highest, then Margol, and then ‘colorless,’ which is basically considered an unnatural aberration.”

  “And the four of us,” Haruto pointed a finger at himself, then at Janet, Maksim and finally Arnav, “are probably Margol to them, but Daniel here is a colorless aberration.”

  Arnav laughed out loud and high-fived Haruto. “Good one. It’s true, Daniel is an aberration.”

  “Hey,” Daniel exclaimed, throwing up his hands, pretending to be shocked. “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”

  They all chuckled at his antics. Janet’s lips twitched. She glanced at Daniel’s white-blond hair and blue eyes, and silently agreed that they deemed him a freak of nature. Poor guy. She’d actually witnessed Xylan crew bugging their eyes out with horror at his light skin and avoiding him in the hallways.

  “Dude, they think you’re ugly as hell,” Arnav chortled, slapping Daniel on the back.

  “Meanwhile those royal pigment officers don’t even notice us. We’re either Margol or colorless to them, and not even Xylan. Totally beneath their notice.”

  “We’ve been given the lowest status on this entire ship. We’re not considered worthy enough to be seated with any of them,” Arnav answered. “We’re not with the Margol crew or the royal pigment officers. We’ve been assigned this remote corner of the mess hall and our cabins are basically next to the engine room. The rumbling is so loud in my room at night it’s hard to sleep.”

  “True,” Janet answered. And it was a total bummer because after two diurnals on this ship, she still didn’t know anyone beyond the four males seated around her. She’d actually been hoping to get to know more Xylan on this trip, but it hadn’t happened. Maybe they didn’t know yet how to categorize a human who was part Gravian? The humans on New Earth never seemed to notice she wasn’t fully human, but she bet the Xylan knew all too well.

  “Well…” Daniel responded, trying to be the voice of reason in the midst of their crazy. “I’d rather be here relaxing with all of you than over there”—he gestured—“trying to make forced conversation. Maybe the Xylan have us at our own table because they think that’s what we want, to be seated with our own species?”

  “Whatever,” Janet muttered. She took a sip of Traq and swallowed the last chunk of meat on her plate. “If they’re not speaking to us, I think it’s because they’re following the pattern of their leader. The Imperial Warlord hasn’t greeted us either, not once.”

  “You hate him, don’t you?” Daniel remarked.

  She blinked in surprise. “Him? Him who?”

  “The Imperial Warlord. You’ve never said one nice word about him.”

  “What? No, I don’t hate the Warlord. I’m just…annoyed, as anyone would be by a person who acts like he’s never met you in his life, when you’ve actually met before.”

  “What?” Haruto broke in, “You know Zhoryan of Eighty-Two How is that possible?”

  Shoot. Why did she let that remark fall out of her mouth? Stupid. Stupid. This was a slippery slope to them finding out everything else she didn’t want known.

  “Maybe you were in the same room with him once but you two weren’t actually introduced?” Daniel offered.

  “Nice try, but no, we’ve been introduced many times. And he still acts like I’m a complete stranger.” And yet she knew everything about him. Asshole.

  Daniel’s eyes widened.

  Aaaaand there she went, digging the hole deeper. Ugh. She bit her lip and glanced down. Maybe they hadn’t really heard what she’d admitted there…

  “How could you possibly know the Imperial Warlord of Sector One?” Maksim sniffed.

  She lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes at the male who’d been an annoying thorn in her side since the moment she’d met him. This guy had some kind of chip on his shoulder when it came to the fact that she was the lone female in the midst of their band of bros. Like if only her bothersome female presence wasn’t around, their circle would be complete. “It’s not any big deal,” she answered, trying to be vague, “I’m not getting special treatment or anything. I think he’s unaware I’m even on this ship.”

  “Wait…does this finally explain why you’re here with us?” he asked, giving her a hard stare. “Why they picked you?”

  You.

  Meaning, why they picked a female. Her jaw clenched. She’d labeled Maksim as a first-class asshole since the moment they’d met and not one thing had happened since to change her mind.

  “I know why she’s here,” Arnav blurted out. “It’s because her father is Dago Cho. That’s why.”

  The table went quiet.

  She glanced around at everyone’s looks of shock and surprise. Oh hell. She’d been hoping to keep this secret for…the entire mission. She would’ve been happy if they’d never found out. For once in her life she’d been hoping to make friends and be judged as herself, not on who her family was or the power her father held.

  Her hands fisted underneath the table and she threw a sharp stare at Arnav. He smirked back. How long had this jerk been hoarding this information, waiting for the right moment to toss the grenade?

  “Dago Cho?” Maksim dropped his utensils. “Holy gods. Your father is Dago Cho, the High Priest of Singapore? Well, that explains everything.”

  “Explains what?” she gritted, gearing herself up for some serious bullshit.

  “Explains why a woman is here with us.”

  Her entire body tensed. “I earned my spot on my own merits, just like everyone else,” she responded, falling right into his scripted trap, but she couldn’t let it go.

  “Yeah, right. Sure you did. I’ve been trying to figure out why New Earth would put a woman on such a serious mission and now I finally understand. Although finding out the real reason doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.”

  “Maksim…” Daniel cautioned.

  “Fuck off, Daniel, you’ve all been thinking it, I’m the only one who’s ready to call this shit out. I’ve been doing my best to treat her like one of the guys, but enough is enough.”

  “I earned my spot here,” she raged. “I worked my ass off to get a slot on this mission. It doesn’t matter who my father is. He didn’t even want me here. I had to prove I could do this, just like each of you did.”

  “Well, then you
should’ve listened to him and stayed behind and let a man take your place. You’ve bumped a worthy male out of this mission. A male who could’ve used this training to financially take care of his family.”

  “Hey, one day I’ll have a family to take care of too.”

  “No, your husband will support you and your children, not you. Women stay at home. It’s wrong for you to take a male’s place on this mission. Sending you to university and giving you this knowledge is a waste. We’ll come back, you’ll marry, get pregnant and work from home for the rest of your life. What then of all the time and currency spent on training you? Wasted.”

  “You know birth control is a thing, right?” she countered. “Ever since New Earth opened up to the four sectors there are new-fangled things, like birth control. Now I can actually wait to have children. I’ll go to university on Kolothan and study Hydrology and Water Management, just like you are, and come home and put those skills to use helping our planet revamp its water reclamation systems. We will do it together and make better lives for our people. And then when the time is right, I can start a family.”

  “No, you won’t. You’ll return and get married. Within a year you’ll be pregnant and busy at home, where you belong, while your husband is working his ass off to provide for you. And meanwhile, your skills will be lost because a woman’s brain can’t retain higher-level education like a man.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You did not just say that.”

  “Maksim, you go too far,” Daniel warned. “You need to drop this. Now.”

  Maksim shrugged. “It’s the truth. Women can’t think like men do. It’s why they’re better suited for womanly tasks, like taking care of their household. Women belong in the home and men in leadership and the workplace.”