His Highness the Duke Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    rowdy bunch of men posing for their attention. The unruly men were dressed in tunics
    and pants, but the large barbaric size of them was evident. At least the grooms weren‘t
    moving, not like the surrounding crowd. She hugged her arms tighter.
    ―I hate you, Ri. I hate you. I hate you,‖ she whispered, as if the words could
    somehow give her strength. They didn‘t. Even as she said it, she knew her current
    situation was mostly her own fault. ―I hate—I have a mission. I have a mission. I ha…‖
    Her words trailed off as her attention was pulled sharply to the side. Electricity
    shocked the full length of her body, but the strange thing was nothing touched her to
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    Michelle M. Pillow
    account for the sensation. One of the tall warriors caught her attention and held it. His
    head was down as he looked at his feet. Dark brown shoulder length hair hid his
    masked face from view. She had a peculiar urge to push that hair aside, to feel its
    thickness through her fingers, to lift his eyes to hers. However, his crystal was glowing
    with a bright inner light. A small wave of disappointment filled her. He was taken… not
    that she wanted to marry the man. There was no way a woman like her could stay in a
    place like this. Her heart would surely give out from the constant fear.
    Aeron quickly averted her gaze and walked faster, willing the woman in front of
    her to move. The memory of bronzed flesh and bowed head wouldn‘t leave her. The
    man was built like the other natives—intimidatingly thick chest, corded neck, the oh-so-
    defined hip and stomach muscles like some of the more advanced Federation fighters
    had. Modern technology could only take the human body so far. The rest was hard
    physical work.
    Aeron kept her head down and kept walking, refusing to make eye contact with
    any of the locals. It was with relief that she made it to the end of the procession. The
    crowd had quieted, not that she‘d noticed when or how. Her heart beat so loud she
    could hear it in her ears. A cool breeze pressed the flimsy material of her dress against
    her body. She felt too exposed. She couldn‘t look up. The short veil affixed to her
    upswept hair tickled her cheek. She made a move to swipe it away, but the silken belt
    connected to her wrists kept her hands down.
    Unable to help herself, she peeked back over her shoulder. The ship stood tall in
    the background, the docking plank lifting. The bachelors stared after them. Not all of
    them had glowing crystals, but several did. Her gaze moved to the man with a bowed
    head. He no longer looked at the ground, but now stared after the brides. Aeron quickly
    turned before his eyes met hers. He was more handsome than she could have
    imagined—even with a mask hiding half his face. Too handsome, if the truth was told.
    Men that beautiful made her nervous. She preferred men who were… Well, if her
    dating record was any indication… Who in the black hole of Hades was she trying to
    fool? The very idea of her having a dating life was laughable.
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    His Highness The Duke
    With little choice but to follow where the other brides led, Aeron made her way
    to a raised platform where a gigantic feast had been laid out. Her sister was already
    seated with a drink in her hand by the time Aeron found her place at the table. She kept
    her eyes averted, hoping not to draw too much attention. To not eat would be rude, but
    she should be able to duck away after the meal to wait out the ceremony.

    * * * * *
    Lord Bron stared at the glowing crystal about his neck. He‘d been so lost in
    thought, so preoccupied with the idea of never finding his life mate, that he hadn‘t been
    paying attention to the procession of brides. How could he have missed his future wife?
    She was here. This was his night. And he didn‘t even know which one she was. To
    admit he hadn‘t been looking as she passed would be an insult not only to her, but to
    his pride. But then, how to find her?
    His heartbeat