Read Online The Impatient Lord by Michelle M. Pillow - Free Book Online

home in the mountains.”
    Did crazy half-naked dragon man just say he wanted to take her away to the mountains? Her parents might have exploded, but Riona was pretty sure there had been a childhood lesson warning her against traveling to secluded places with irrational strangers.
    “ You were not frightened by my shift.” His words were more of a statement than a question.
    “ No. Should I be?” She glanced around, unconcerned that the planet was filled with shapeshifters. In their modern society, everyone was an alien. She was an alien. For all he knew, she grew fangs and spat poison. She didn’t, but that would have been a useful trick.
    “ They took the extra tents down,” he said, drawing her attention back to him. “But I will find a place where we can get out of these clothes and into proper attire.”
    Riona looked down at the ridiculous dress she still wore and ignored the tiny thrill of pleasure his statement caused. She licked her lips, feeling as if a strange pressure was against them. “You are not getting me out of these clothes.”
    “ You wish to keep the dress? There is no law against it. You may treasure the gown forever, my bride, whatever you wish.” He still smiled at her.
    Blast it all, but he was a handsome man. And his eyes , so green they reminded her of… Well, in truth they didn’t remind her of anything. In all her travels, she’d never seen eyes so captivating, and looking directly into them made it hard to breathe.
    “ I will keep the loincloth as well,” he stated, seeming very eager to please. “I have it at my campsite if you wish to see it later.”
    Riona almost said yes to that. She pur sed her lips tightly together and clenched her teeth to keep the word inside. When did the planet surface temperature become so hot? Her body heat spiked. And tingly. When did the planet become so tingly?
    “ I don’t understand that expression,” he admitted. “You wish to see it now?”
    Yes , please. Now, please.
    “ Uh, you know what I could really use…Lord Mirek, was it?” Riona gave him her sweetest, most alluring smile. She needed to put distance between them. “I could use a drink. A really strong one. It’s been a pretty long night.”
    “ Long night? Yes, I am sorry I did not find you in the receiving line, my lady. It was a very long night for me as well.” His smile dropped by small degrees. “But we will be happy. I promise I will do everything to make you happy.”
    “ I could use a drink,” she repeated, not knowing what else to say. “That will make me happy.”
    “ Drink?” He nodded, grinning wider as if she’d just bestowed the greatest favor on him. “I can find that.” He looked around before leading her behind a tent. “Wait here.”
    Riona watched the man hurry away from her. Okay, so he was really handsome in a crazy I-just-tried-to-marry-a-stranger-and-asked-her-to-go-into-the-secluded-mountains-with-me sort of way. When he was out of sight, she turned back toward the stage. She didn’t have time to deal with the lunatic calling himself her husband. For the most part, he seemed harmless enough, not aggressive, just overly certain of their life together.
    Riona needed to find Aeron before this Bron Duke person decided he wanted to drag her sister off into the mountains. If her sister left the area, Riona would have a hard time trying to track her over alien territory. Ship signatures, she could follow. Ground prints, not so well.
    Riona made her way across the encampment to where she’d last seen Aeron being led away by her husband—actually, captor had a nicer ring to it—being led away by her captor.
    Going into an alien forest wasn’t her crowning adventure, but she also wasn’t adverse to a little danger. Like before, she walked as if she had purpose, making her way across the landscape of ashen bonfire pits. A few of them still had red embers burning inside them. Giant logs surrounded the pits and large footprints littered the dirt.