His Highness the Duke (10 page)

Riona would have been stupid not to. There was no telling how Aeron would get off the

planet now. The travel arrangements were Riona‘s specialty. What did Aeron know of

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making shady deals with space captains and pirates? For who else would give a ride to

a Federation analyst who had abandoned her commission and would most likely have a

galactic report issued on her name? Federation protocol when they located her

abandoned ship would have been to issue a watch for her. She doubted she warranted

much of a capture reward, not like a field agent gone rogue, but she did have

knowledge of sensitive intergalactic information. She was sure she could work out her

job situation with her supervisors when she returned. It would be a mar on her record

and there would be quite a bit of explaining to do, but in a few years‘ time, life would

be back to normal. Either that, or they‘d no longer require her services and she‘d be

exiled to some dive fuel docking station as a landing control technician.

―Did you leave something behind? Whatever it is, I will have it replaced for

you.‖ Bron made no move to touch her and she was glad for it. ―You will want for

nothing.‖

―You speak as if you expect me to stay here with you.‖ A strong breeze came up

behind her, sending a chill over her as it molded her long gown to the back of her body.

She lifted her arm to keep the hair from her face.

―Of course you will stay with me. You are my wife.‖ His entire body tensed.

―Wife?‖ She shook her head in denial. ―No, that can‘t be.‖

His expression dared to disagree.

―I‘ve made a mess of this, haven‘t I? I wasn‘t supposed to get married. Maybe I

drank too much wine?‖ She frowned, trying to figure out her situation more than

talking to him. ―Regardless, I don‘t think it is wise to continue on. It is better to stop

matters right now, instead of letting it drag on unnecessarily.‖ She turned her full

attention to him. ―I apologize for not making my position clear during the ceremony. I

have no excuse for what I have allowed to happen. But, now, I am thinking clearly and I

need you to understand that I cannot stay here, with you, as your wife.‖

―I‘m sorry you feel that way, but your leaving is not an option.‖ He crossed his

arms over his chest. ―You are my wife, decreed by the gods to be so, and—‖

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―Wait.‖ She held up her hand, stopping him. Memories of a conversation began

to clear. ―We did discuss this. You said if I did the ceremony we‘d talk about getting me

back to my home. I did my part.‖ She mimicked his pose, not liking his heavy-handed

tone.

―We are discussing it and your home is my home.‖ Bron dropped his arms and

motioned to the animal. ―Now that you understand clearly that you are my wife and

that you will live with me, we may discuss the ore or whatever else you like.‖

―This is not a discussion,‖ she countered. ―You are dictating to me.‖

―We will be at the cabin soon. Come.‖ He turned his back on her. ―After we are

settled, you may ask your questions about the ore.‖

―No.‖ She refused to move. If he thought she was going to just listen to his

orders like some soldier in his personal army, he was sorely mistaken.

―Aeron,‖ he paused, softening his tone. ―My lady, come. We cannot stand out

here all day. I would sleep and bathe. It has been a long ceremony and neither of us is of

the temperament to—‖

―No.‖ She shook her head, keeping her arms locked across her chest. ―I refuse to

go with you. You go sleep, and bathe, and find your temperament. I‘m going back to

the palace. I‘ll talk to the king and get this marriage terminated. After I tell him why I

have come to this planet, I‘m sure it will be easily done.‖

At that a small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. Blast it all, but he was a

handsome man. Her scowl deepened.

―And you know the way back to the palace?‖ He arched a brow in challenge.

Now that she studied him there was something to his demeanor, a familiar arrogance

that came with the promotion of rank. Whatever he did, this man had power and

respect. The knowledge made her nervous, like when she had to face a Federation

Military officer or one of the Human Intelligence Agency directors. She hated giving her

reports for that very reason.

―I‘ll manage,‖ she said, not as forceful as before.

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―Without a ceffyl? By foot? You have knowledge of our wilderness?‖ His

expression only grew more confident.

―You are… This is…‖ She hesitated, looking around the rough terrain wondering

if she had the courage to manage it alone. ―This is kidnapping.‖

At that he laughed. ―You agreed to marry me. I cannot kidnap my own wife.‖

―Well, it‘s a wifenapping, or some kind of napping,‖ she countered. ―My sister

will contact the authorities if I‘m not returned to the palace.‖

He appeared completely unconcerned. ―Galaxy Brides? They assured us your

contracts were in order. You contracted to be a bride, I chose you, you chose me, it is

done.‖

Blast!

He was right. Riona had forged contracts in her name to be a bride. She thought

briefly about turning her sister in, but then, it would be hard to prove when she had

taken the ride on the Galaxy Brides‘ ship. And, no matter how frustrating Riona could

be, Aeron would never get her into legal trouble. Riona had been doing her a favor.

―No,‖ she countered, ―the Federation Military.‖

―They have no jurisdiction here,‖ he dismissed, completely unmoved by her

threats. If anything, he seemed slightly amused by them.

―But they do over me,‖ she answered. ―I work for them. It‘s my job. They‘ll miss

me if I don‘t return. They probably have someone coming to find me even now.‖

―Perhaps, but they have no jurisdiction on this planet, and they won‘t wish to

compromise their ore deliveries by creating an incident. We have dealt with the

Federation in the past. Our negotiations with them are clear. They need what we have

too much to risk upsetting us.‖ He motioned her to follow. ―Come. The cabin is close

and will be stocked with food.‖

Aeron considered her options but still didn‘t want to follow him. Aside from his

highhanded manners, she didn‘t sense danger in him. In fact, if their night of passion

was anything to go by, he was more in danger from her. Just thinking of it made her

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want to touch him again. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. There was

really no reason why she shouldn‘t. The damage had been done.

Bron sighed. ―If we went back to the palace, there wouldn‘t be another ship for

quite some time. Even if I was inclined to let you go, there is nowhere for you to go. The

king is celebrating the marriages of his four sons. He will expect us to have given the

marriage a solid try before he would even consider dissolving it. You are recognized as

my wife, so it falls to me to take care of you. No one will take you in. You will have no

place to live but with me.‖

―Why would the king care about your marriage?‖ she asked, wishing the details

of what had happened were clearer. Instead her mind gave her images of sex with Bron,

glowing crystals and the feeling of being completely under his spell.

―He is my uncle,‖ Bron said. His eyes narrowed. ―So you see, our marriage is not

so easy to terminate. The king will not go against the will of the gods, nor will my uncle

go against my desire to have a wife. We have the customs for a reason, to be sure we

understand the will of the gods. The crystal glows, a woman freely removes the mask,

signifying her acceptance, the couple show intent before the council of elders by

breaking the crystal. Once the crystal is broken, the binding cannot be easily undone.‖

A flash of memory filtered through her mind. She frowned, rubbing her temple.

She remembered meeting the king. He‘d been a stern man of very little humor. In fact…

―The king drugged me, didn‘t he? I remember the king doing something to me when I

tried to talk to him.‖

―It‘s a plant that grows in the forest. When a person breathes in a high dose of

the fresh pollen, it renders them unconscious. Even small children know not to fall

down in the yellow fields,‖ he explained. ―It is not dangerous in small doses, so long as

your enemy is not nearby. The king only wished to help you relax. You were, ah,

showing your agreement to the marriage quite enthusiastically.‖

Aeron remembered just how
enthusiastic
she had been. Considering her situation,

she wasn‘t left with much choice. The king had drugged her when she tried to speak.

Galaxy Brides had no incentive to come for her, and the Federation would probably do

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little to help her, especially when she‘d disregarded their order when they told her not

to worry about warning the Qurilixian people.

―Fine. I will go with you to the cabin, but only because I have no choice at the

moment. This conversation is not over.‖ She began to walk, not wanting to crawl back

on top of the large ceffyl beast. Though she intended to let the matter be, she couldn‘t

stop herself from saying, ―And I asked you if the mask could be removed without

signifying marriage and you indicated it could.‖

―It could,‖ he affirmed warily. ―Eventually.‖

―So you admit you tried to trick me into removing your mask?‖

―I did not trick you. You asked. I answered. Should the night have passed, I

could have removed my mask by my own hand after the dawn and we would not be

married.‖ He paused, grabbing the ceffyl by the horn and tugging gently to get it to

walk. ―You removed it before. The marriage is done, Aeron, and you are my wife. The

matter has been discussed at length. Let us speak of the ceremony no more.‖

Aeron frowned at his back. She considered running. But to where? Who would

help her? The Draig king had drugged her. Galaxy Brides was on their way back to

whichever spaceport they came from. Riona was undoubtedly with them having a great

laugh about Aeron‘s marriage to a primitive male on the edge of nowhere.

A hollow feeling formed in the pit of her stomach. She was trapped. Here. On

this primitive planet about to be attacked by the much more advanced Tyoe with a man

who did not love her, could not love her. They had just met. Logically, his interest in

her was purely procreational. Oh, and even better, Bron seemed to have the impression

that he could dictate to her exactly what she would and would not talk about.

―I‘m going to die without ever having lived,‖ she whispered, looking up at the

wide universe beyond her vision. Suddenly, she felt the appeal of Riona‘s carefree life

and all of the whims she‘d had since childhood flooded in. There was so much she‘d

wanted to do and try but she‘d been too scared to actually live. So she had locked

herself away in a metal box and hid. ―I thought I‘d have more time.‖

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Bron glanced back at her, but she pretended not to notice. Her words weren‘t

meant for him anyway.

* * * * *

Bron did not like how his first day of marriage was progressing. His bride spoke

as if she had been taken against her will. Every time he opened his mouth to speak to

her, he felt as if he was dictating to a servant. No, actually, he usually sounded less

harsh with his servants. He just couldn‘t seem to help himself with her. She tried to get

out of their marriage and his first reaction was to order her to stay. He was a warrior, a

leader. It was in his nature to fight and command.

Glancing over his shoulder at his reluctant bride, he frowned. Perhaps his little

woman wasn‘t as breakable as he‘d first thought. She seemed to hold her own against

him just fine. Then seeing the troubled expression brewing in her gaze, he wasn‘t so

sure. She did look delicate, fragile, even hurt. Had he hurt her? Had he put that look in

her eyes?

Bron took a slow, deep breath. What did he know of a woman‘s moods? He felt

his world pulling apart. This was not how things were supposed to be between a man

and his woman.

The gods had a plan. He trusted fate, even when it seemed to laugh at his

torment. Perhaps his crystal had been damaged? Micro-cracked? Tainted? Had the

gods‘ message for him gone awry because of it?

Why couldn‘t she just accept their fate? Bron had to believe that the gods would

not have willed this union if it was not meant to be. He may have had his doubts over

the years, but he knew that much. The whole remembered history of his people proved

their traditions had merit.

And, yet, a tiny fear whispered in the back of his mind. What if the gods had not

blessed him? What if he was cursed? What if they had merely sent Aeron to him to tell

him to give up, to not go to the ceremonies, to live a life alone? They had sent her to

break his crystal and then leave him. As the fear grew, he felt himself wanting to hold

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on tighter. She was his only chance at happiness, at marriage, at children, at love. He

had to find a way to please her, so long as it didn‘t compromise his honor.

She was coming to the north cabin with him. That was a beginning. They would