His Highness the Duke (12 page)

surface, running his finger along the curved edge of the frame. She was his wife. He

wanted to touch her. He caught her scent, the smell of woman mingling with the

bathwater and suds.

By all the gods, he needed to touch her. And yet, he couldn‘t. Not until he was

sure he‘d atoned for his sins.

Perhaps bringing her to the privacy of the cabin had been a misguided idea.

What else could he have done? He‘d been ordered by the king. Yet here, alone with her,

hearing the sound of what could only be interpreted as her soapy hands gliding over

her body, he could hardly be trusted to atone for anything. The beast inside him raged,

wanting him to break down the door and let instinct take over. Her words earlier filled

his mind. She wanted him in the most physical of senses. Knowing of her desire,

hearing it actually formed into words, had nearly driven him to the brink of sexual

madness.

She was his.
His.
And he wanted nothing more than to stake his claim.

His heart pounded, growing so loud it blocked out all other sounds. He breathed

hard, drawing in ragged pants. Sweat beaded his brow. Every nerve inside him tingled,

threatening with a shift. Knowing he had to put distance between them or risk another

disgrace to his honor, he pushed away from the door and practically ran outside. The

ceffyl lifted his head and warily eyed Bron‘s near wild state.

Bron sprinted toward the trees, letting the shift take him so that he could move

faster and push his body harder. The sexual desire inside him calmed, but the need did

not go away completely. It only became buried beneath the physical shell. Thankfully,

the Draig did not take women in shifted form. The fact gave him some reprieve from

the ache in his gut.

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His heart pounded in a hard steady rhythm and he became aware of his

surroundings. Every sound and smell filled his mind, from the tiniest insect to the

loudest birds up on the high peak. The mountain peaks surrounded the valley, rising

above where the trees would grow. If he ran uphill, he‘d find a clearing of rocks where

some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet roamed. Rarely was he able to

indulge in such pure freedom. Here, he was just a man, unburdened by his title and

duty, away from the prying eyes of the people and the threat of their enemies.

The pleasure of the excursion caused him to run faster. In this moment,

everything was as it should be. He understood his surroundings. The forest made sense.

He knew his body, its limits, and pushed past them. His muscles burned. His heart

raced. His mind cleared of all thoughts, but one. Aeron.

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Chapter Seven

Gone.

Aeron wasn‘t sure what to make of being abandoned. She hadn‘t thought to be

worried as she left the water bath to find a bed. She‘d assumed Bron merely slept in one

of the other bedrooms. The next morning, or at least what she assumed was morning as

she couldn‘t be sure by the constant stream of light coming from outside, he was still

missing. After preparing and eating food, she checked the bedrooms. They were empty.

The ceffyl lounged in the lawn, untethered and apparently completely

unconcerned with anything beyond licking its own hoof. The expanse of the outdoors

made her nervous. She checked around the outside of the cabin, carefully keeping an

eye on the nearby forest.

―Bron?‖ she whispered. Did she dare speak his name louder? What if someone

was in the forest? What if they came for her next? Or a hungry animal?

Aeron closed her eyes, recalling some of the uploads. There were allusions to

dangerous beasts native to the planet. If a ceffyl was considered tame, then she could

imagine what a wild creature would be like.

―Bron?‖ she said, this time slightly louder. There was no answer.

Aeron scanned the forest floor, trying to find some clue as to where he could

have gone. Old leaves and fallen logs intermingled with tiny shoots of the gray and

yellow plants. Rocks covered in fine-haired moss jutted from a few places. Nothing she

saw indicated Bron had passed by—not that she knew what to look for.

―Come on, Bron,‖ she whispered, growing more frantic by the minute. ―I‘m not a

field agent. Don‘t leave me alone here. I don‘t know what to do.‖

Aeron searched the distance from the cliff, squinting to see down the

mountainside. Still, there was nothing. Going back to the house, she tried to wait,

pacing the length of the home to look out one narrow window and then another. The

skirts of her gown tangled around her legs and she jerked angrily at them as they

tripped her. It was the same gown she‘d been wearing for days. Without a change of

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clothes, she had little choice but to wear it again. Minutes turned to what had to be

hours, and each passing second caused the knot in her stomach to tighten.

Aeron gathered food supplies, hoping beyond hope that Bron would walk

through the door and thus make any attempt at looking for him unnecessary. He didn‘t

and she was forced to brave the mountainside alone. The hazy light cast over her

surroundings. At least it would not get dark.

This was not supposed to be happening to her. There had been a calming effect

to Bron‘s presence, overbearing as it was. Now, without him by her side, she felt the full

scope of the open terrain.

―You‘re in a ship. The virtual reality room is really enclosed by metal grated

walls that are projecting this impression. Nothing here can hurt me. The computer has

safety protocols activated.‖ It was all lies, but it made her feel somewhat better. Aeron

made another lap around the house, trying to find clues as to where Bron had gone.

Nothing. She secured the makeshift bag she‘d created over her shoulder and eyed the

ceffyl. ―Security protocols are on. Nothing can hurt me.‖

She stepped toward the ceffyl. It turned its head, eyeing her. A long tongue

slithered out and wiggled in the air for several long seconds. Slowly, she reached for the

center horn and gave it a small tug. It didn‘t respond. She did it again, harder, just like

Bron had done. Again, it didn‘t move.

―Fine!‖ she grumbled. ―Stay here. I‘m going to find the palace and get some

help.‖

A very ungraceful slide down the cliff saw her to the top of the long mountain

path. The skirts of the gown she‘d been given to wear after the ceremony offered little

protection as they caught on jutted rocks. She had thought about taking some of the

male clothing she had found in the home, but couldn‘t bring herself to take it without

permission. The gown would have to do. A stone scraped the back of her calf and thigh,

causing a sharp sting to radiate along her leg. This rescue mission was not going well.

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Before she could take two steps down the mountain path, she heard hooves

sliding. She turned to see the ceffyl standing behind her, eyeing her as if it waited for

her to react.

―Oh, now you come,‖ she said. The beast lifted its head and slithered his tongue.

Secretly, she was glad for its company. Surely such an unsightly thing would scare off

other unsightly things. Aeron focused her attention toward the distance. ―Well, come on

then, Hideous. We‘ve got a long walk ahead of us.‖

* * * * *

Nothing. No one.

Aeron kept walking, even when she was tired. The ceffyl followed her, stopped

when she paused, moved when she moved, looked at her with its giant reptilian eyes

when she ate until finally she set a piece of meat on the ground. She jerked her hand

back just as the long tongue shot out to pick it up. She soon discovered the thing would

put anything in its mouth, including little rocks it licked up along the trail.

Suddenly, she heard a moan. The almost pained sound jerked her into motion.

She rushed forward, up a small incline to see down the immediate path. Bron? It

sounded like a man‘s voice. What was he doing all the way…?

―Oh! Ah!‖ Aeron gasped in shock. A couple stood on the path, in plain view of

anyone and anything, locked in what could only be described as a very intimate, highly

inappropriate, private embrace. The woman was partially hidden from view, but it was

clear by the tugging motion of her arm that she was in the process of stroking her

companion most intimately. The man‘s position was little better. He had his hand

gripping the woman‘s exposed ass as he held her skirts up.

At her intrusion, the couple stopped kissing and looked at each other. It took a

very long moment for them to turn to acknowledge Aeron. She thought about running,

unsure if she should have made her presence known to strangers in the middle of

nowhere on an alien planet. But, as she was about to make good her not-so-subtle

escape, the trysting woman turned more fully into view. She had blonde hair with red

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tips and deeply soulful brown eyes. Aeron recognized her from the Galaxy Brides‘ ship

as Kendall Haven. Flustered to be caught staring and yet unable to run away from the

first sign of help she‘d seen all day, she mumbled, ―I… Apologies… Walking…‖

It wasn‘t her most graceful of sentences, but the Draig man was glaring at her

like he wanted to attack her for the interruption. Kendall studied her lover‘s face before

glancing down his body to where her hand still rested on his erection. Kendall turned

red and she twisted her body away from Aeron to straighten her clothing. The man

seemed loath to let Kendall go. His hands were much slower in releasing their hold.

Kendall swept her hands over her body to make sure she was covered.

Aeron forced her gaze down and to the side. It was a meaningless gesture, as

she‘d already seen what they‘d been doing. ―I didn‘t mean to intrude.‖ She regained the

majority of her senses. Maybe if she ignored what she saw and never mentioned it, they

wouldn‘t either. ―I‘ve been walking for a long time.‖

―Who are you?‖ the man questioned. ―What are you doing with that ceffyl?‖

Aeron glanced behind her to the animal following her over the ridge. Her ceffyl

caught up to her only to walk down toward the other animal waiting near the couple.

The smaller ceffyl lowered its head and moved toward the much larger beast. The two

ugly creatures began rubbing horns.

―It followed me,‖ Aeron answered. She looked almost desperately at Kendall for

help. The woman wasn‘t a friend, but she was a welcome face in light of the man‘s

overly harsh tone.

―Alek, this is Aeron. She was on the Galaxy Brides‘ ship with me,‖ Kendall

explained.

―Aeron Grey,‖ Aeron filled in.

―What are you doing out here alone, Aeron Grey?‖ Alek asked.

Aeron gestured helplessly. The morning had given her ample time to worry

about Bron. She might not think to live happily ever after with him, but that didn‘t

mean she wanted him dead or injured. ―I don‘t know.‖

―Where is your husband?‖ Alek took a step toward her.

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―I‘m not really married. I mean, I am, but I‘m not. It‘s hard to explain,‖ Aeron

said.

Alek shot a sidelong glance at Kendall. ―There seems to be that complication a lot

with this shipment.‖

Kendall looked to the ground and took a step away from him toward Aeron.

―What happened?‖

―I don‘t know. There was the ceremony and then the king drugged me with this

yellow pollen thing and then I was taken to,‖ she turned and pointed up the mountain,

―to this cabin home in the mountains. I took a bath, went to bed, and I woke up alone.‖

Alek was on her in an instant. ―The mountain cabin? What happened? Where is

your husband?‖

―I…‖ Aeron automatically tried to get away from the charging man. His dark

brown eyes narrowed in on her. Alek grabbed her arm and jerked her forward. His

fingers bit into her flesh. ―I don‘t know.‖

―What have you done?‖ he demanded, giving her a small shake.

―I did nothing!‖ she cried. ―I woke up and he was gone.‖

―Who?‖

―My husband,‖ she answered, desperately tugging at her arm. It did no good.

The more she pulled the tighter his grip became. She looked at Kendall for help, but the

woman didn‘t move. Instead, Kendall stared at Alek with a strange look on her face. ―I

waited for him for hours, most of the day, but I think he must have gone out the night

before and he didn‘t come back. He didn‘t say what he was doing. I tried to find him,

but it was as if he was just snatched from the ground into the heavens. I couldn‘t even

see footprints.‖

―Who is your husband?‖ Alek demanded. And Aeron had thought Bron was

high-handed in his manners! This man was infuriating. Only her fear of him kept Aeron

from arguing.

―B—Bron,‖ she stammered. ―He‘s the High—‖

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―I know who he is,‖ Alek snapped. He let go of Aeron‘s arm. She automatically

rubbed the injured appendage. To Kendall, he said, ―We must go to the cabin. Bron

would not have left her alone. Not for so long. Something must have happened.‖ He

looked suspiciously at Aeron. ―Or someone did something to him.‖

There was definitely a difference in him when he looked at Kendall. For Kendall