Mate Dance (3 page)

screaming. Kaemon made a mental note to have his

assistant find her a nanny in the morning.

"How old are you?" Kaemon asked, trying to assess

her age by her size. He didn't have much contact with

children other than seeing them playing in the courtyard so

he couldn't even begin to guess.

"Nine."

He wasn't a judge of children's sizes, but she looked

small for nine.

"You're nine?" Raven asked, obviously thinking the

same as Kaemon.

Trisha tilted her chin up. "I'm small for my age,"

she declared, her eyes daring them to say anything about it.

"You're just right," Raven assured her. He gave her

a sweet smile Kaemon would've killed to have sent his

way.

"We'll feed her properly and soon she'll grow," his

father said gruffly, but Kaemon could see the concern in his

eyes. Dragonkin tended to be larger than humans. Even

though only a half-blood, Trisha shouldn't be so small.

He pressed a button on the wall.

"You called, Your Highness?" a man's voice

answered.

"Have food prepared for four. A light snack

considering the hour."

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"A light repast awaits in the formal dining room,

Your Highness."

"Excellent."

Kaemon waved a hand towards the pair. "If you'd

follow me?" He bit back a smile as the pair gave him

identical wary expressions before following him down the

hall. His father marched beside him.

"Think we can get the boy to stay for a while?"

It took Kaemon a moment to follow who his father

was talking about. "I don't think he's a boy, Father. He's at

least in his twenties."

"When you've lived two hundred years, a twenty-

year-old is a boy," his father said as they entered the dining

room.

Kaemon pulled out a chair for Raven. Other than

giving him a strange look, Raven accepted the seat and let

Kaemon scoot him in. Kaemon sat down then realized he

hadn't thought twice about his daughter as she scrambled

into another seat.

"Are you sure you're ready to be a father?" Raven

asked. A smile tilted the corners of his mouth tempting

Kaemon to taste. He shook his head as his father's voice

broke his avid examination of the dancer.

"Of course he is," his father said."My son is a good

man, despite his flighty ways."

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Kaemon glared at his sire. "I wouldn't say I'm

flighty. I keep up with my responsibilities." He didn't

appreciate his father making him look bad in front of the

blue-eyed man he was trying to impress.

"Yes, you do," his father agreed with a twinkle in

his eye. "My son heads the planetary council and runs some

important interstellar committees. What is it you do,

Raven?"

"He dances," Trisha piped up.

"What kind of dancing?"

Kaemon jumped into the conversation. "Don't you

recognize him, Father? He's the one they always show on

the galacticnet when they talk about dancing."

His father examined Raven for a moment. "I have to

confess I'm not much of a dance connoisseur but now that

Kaemon mentions it you do look familiar. What type of

dance do you specialize in?"

"Ballet," Raven said, biting into a slice of fruit. The

gorgeous man licked his lips to get that last drop of the

juice. The action sent waves of heat through Kaemon's

body. He obviously didn't go to the ballet often enough if

this is what the dancers looked like.

"He does all kinds of dances," Trisha insisted. "He's

the most talented dancer of his generation."

Kaemon gave Raven a curious look.

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The gorgeous dancer shrugged. "Some reporter got

carried away."

Smiling at Raven, he'd opened his mouth to flirt

when his father interrupted.

"What school do you attend?" his father asked

Trisha, reminding Kaemon about the real reason the

stunning man was at the palace.

"Bayside Primary," the little girl said with a frown.

"Is that a good school?" Kaemon asked. He knew as

much about schools as he did about little girls. Absolutely

nothing.

Trisha shrugged. "I don't like it."

"Why not?" Kaemon asked. He'd never been big on

studying, but he remembered mostly liking grade school.

"The others pick on me because they say my eyes

are weird."

"Those eyes mark you as one of the dragonkin,"

Kaemon's father said, his voice ringing with indignation.

Trisha's eyes didn't have the true glow of a full-blooded

dragon shifter, but they did have the right coloring.

Kaemon thought the other kids were probably mocking her

because she was different, not necessarily because they

thought she was dragonkin. Anything unusual provoked

teasing at that age. "It doesn't matter what they think

anyway. We are removing you from that school

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immediately. You will attend the Royal School instead.

Every royal has gone there since it was established three

hundred years ago."

After making his announcement, his father went

back to his food.

Raven patted Trisha's arm. "It'll be all right. Your

father and grandfather will take care of you and make sure

everything is fine."

Trisha gave a soft sob. "I want my Nana back!"

"Shhh." Raven wrapped an arm around her,

cuddling her close.

For a brief moment Kaemon felt a spurt of jealousy

towards his daughter but quickly subdued the feeling as

beneath him. Raven only wanted the girl to feel better.

Once she was settled in for the night he'd explore the

dancer. He got hard thinking about how all those lean

muscles pressed up against him.

No one said anything for a while. Trisha nibbled on

a cracker, and Kaemon watched his newest obsession eat

only the fruit.

"Do you not like the meat selection?"

Raven shook his head. "I don't eat meat."

The royals stopped eating and stared at their guest.

"Really, no meat at all?"

"Nope." Raven popped a grape into his lush mouth.

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"I can't process it. Makes me sick."

Kaemon scanned the handsome man with his

dragon sight and saw a healthy specimen with no illnesses.

Whatever the man was doing, it worked for him.

"Please let the kitchen know what special food

requirements you might have while you're here," Kaemon's

father said.

Raven smiled. "I won't be here long enough for that

to be a problem."

"I wouldn't count on that." His father gave a smirk

before taking a long drink from his stein.

Kaemon shot him a warning look. He didn't want

his father to frighten the dancer off. He turned back to see

Raven yawning.

"Sorry," the dancer said with a blush. "It's been a

long day."

"We should get you to bed then," Kaemon said.

And didn't that thought heat up everything inside until he

wanted to breathe fire? His eyes grazed the long, lean lines

of the dancer. Dancers were flexible, weren't they?

The king motioned to a servant standing close by.

"Is there a room available for Mr. Raven?"

"Yes, Your Highness. The one across from Prince

Kaemon's is ready for a guest."

"Excellent," his father said.

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The staff always kept a few rooms available for

guests. Too bad the dancer would never see the inside of

his guest room. If the looks flashed in his direction were

any answer he'd know how good that body looked naked

any minute now.

"If you're finished, I'll show you the way," Kaemon

offered.

* * * *

Raven looked into the fiery eyes of the prince. If he

was reading the prince's expression right, his chances of a

night of debauchery were looking better and better.

"Where am I going to sleep?" a quiet voice spoke

beside him.

"You are going to sleep in Kaemon's old room. The

one he had as a child." The king gave her a kind smile. "It's

down the hall from Raven's and your father's rooms."

The king flashed Raven a look that said he wasn't

anyone's fool. It looked like the monarch had a good idea

what Kaemon wanted to do with his guest. Luckily, it

appeared the older man didn't mind.

"But I want to be near Raven." Trisha pouted.

Uh oh.

The king rang a bell. A thin servant dressed in black

appeared by his side so quickly it was almost magical.

"Yes, Your Highness?" the servant asked with a low

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bow.

"Bring me Ms. Starny."

"Immediately." The servant gave another bow

before vanishing down one of the corridors like a ghost.

"Creepy, isn't it?" Kaemon said, sharing a smile

with Raven. "He did that even when I was a little boy."

"A little, yeah," Raven agreed. Of course with that

smile turned on him, he'd probably agree to anything.

"Who's Ms. Starny?" Trisha asked.

"She's the household nanny. She oversees the

childcare for the staff."

"You have a nanny for your servants?" Raven

asked.

The king nodded. "Of course. People can't

concentrate if they're concerned about their child's welfare.

We have a small facility on the grounds or we'll pay a set

amount if they want to sponsor them elsewhere."

"That's very generous of you," Raven said. Not that

he knew a lot of monarchs, but this one seemed to care

about his peoples' needs. He just hoped taking care of

people ran in the family. He had some needs of his own he

wanted the prince to take care of. Another heated look from

Kaemon had him hoping the nanny came quickly.

"You wanted to see me, Your Majesty?" A slim

dark-haired woman came into the room. At the sight of

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Raven, she froze. "You're Raven, the dancer, aren't you?"

she asked, staring at him.

"Yes, I am."

The king rushed to cover the silence as she stood

and stared at Raven. "Ms. Starny, as you guessed, this is

Raven. Raven, this is the palace nanny, Ms. Starny. Raven

found Trisha and brought her home."

Raven shifted uneasily beneath Starny's gaze. Her

eyes glowed with the zealous expression of a rabid fan.

There was something a little unsettling about her

expression. He let out a breath when she shifted her

attention to Trisha.

"Ms. Starny, as you probably heard through the

palace grapevine, I have discovered I have a daughter. We

need you to look after my daughter tonight. She's had a

traumatic experience and needs companionship this

evening."

Ms. Starny smiled down at Trisha. "I'd be happy to

stay with Trisha for her first night in the palace."

"I want Raven," Trisha said, pinning her father with

her big, sad eyes.

"You're not the only one," the nanny said, in a voice

loud enough that Raven heard it.

"Raven needs his sleep," Kaemon said. "He'll still

be here tomorrow when you wake up." He gave Trisha a

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kind smile. "Ms. Starny will sleep in the room with you in

case you get scared, all right?"

Trisha stared at the woman for a long time before

finally nodding.

Raven leaned over and gave her a one-armed hug.

"I'll see you in the morning."

Trisha's face lit up. "Promise?"

Raven nodded. "I promise."

"Okay."

Kaemon stood and walked around the table to

Raven's chair. "Now I think it's time to take Raven to his

room and tuck him in for the night."

Trisha giggled. "You don't tuck in adults."

Kaemon smiled at the little girl. With the pair of

them so close, Raven saw the resemblance for the first

time.

She had her daddy's smile.

"That's true most of the time. But it's always polite

to tuck in special guests." The prince pulled out Raven's

chair, wrapped a hand around his arm, and all but lifted him

out of his seat. Leaning over, the prince's hot breath

warmed Raven's ear as he spoke. "What do you say,

Raven? Are you ready to be tucked in?" the prince asked in

a caressing tone that made everything in the dancer go hard

and tight.

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"Oh, I'm very ready to be tucked in," Raven said.

Tucked in, fucked. It was all a question of semantics.

Kaemon looked Raven up and down. A satisfied

smile crossed the prince's face.

"Excellent, then let's get you to bed."

Raven had no problem being escorted through the

castle, especially if it came complete with prince tour

guide. Hopefully, he'd be guided to the handsome man's