The Impatient Lord Read Online Free PDF Page B

in time to see the door sliding shut behind her sister.
     

     
     
     

Chapter Two
     
    Lithor Republic Ambassadorial Spacecraft, planet of Qurilixen’s outer orbit
    Lord Miroslav, Ealdorman of Draig, absently watched as his home world passed across the viewing portal. Mountains and forest seemed to meld seamlessly together, so small he could block the entire planet from his eye line with both hands. Absently, he drew his finger along his line of vision, tracing what would be the route he’d soon travel from his home in the northern mountains to the Draig royal palace where the upcoming Breeding Festival was to be held. The path reminded him of the curve of a woman’s hip.
    From the sky, Qu rilixen appeared reddish-brown, but where he lived in the mountains, the earth was red with streaks of grey. Though he couldn’t see it, he knew exactly where his castle home lay nestled in a valley. It gave him some comfort to know the fortress was hidden from view, virtually undetectable from space.
    Here on the ship in his duties as Mining Ambassador , he was Lord Miroslav, but at home with his three brothers, he was simply Mirek. He preferred being Mirek. His family was everything to him. Unfortunately, family consisted of merely the four noble brothers. Mirek’s parents were no longer living. None of the brothers had been blessed with a wife and consequently had no children.
    From space , there were no shadows over the land as the suns hit the surface at different angles. The temperatures on the planet were moderate to warm, though it could get cold in the highest mountains. Near the royal palace at the base of the mountains, the earth was a dark red and filled with nutrients to support the colossal trees of the southern forest. With three suns, the planet received a lot of light. Some of the vegetation was so large that the space craft he was on could fit inside a hollowed-out tree trunk.
    The t wo yellow suns were great for the plants, but the radiation from the blue sun affected the people. Radiation altered the men’s genetics and made Qurilixian-born women rare. Maybe one in a thousand births was a Qurilixian female. If not for bridal trade, his people would have gone extinct generations back.
    Marriage was a complicated matter. The fact they had no women of their own was why the services of corporations like Galaxy Brides were so invaluable. In return for Galaxy Brides arranging the screening and transportation of women willing to marry a stranger, his people mined a specialized ore needed to make high-quality ship fuel. Since the Draig rarely left the planet and didn’t use landcrafts to get around, they didn’t really have a practical use for the ore.
    The next marriage festival was soon, and Mirek was duty bound to attend, and to keep attending year after long year until he found a wife. This was to be his fourth ceremony. Such continual bad luck did not make him look forward to another failed attempt. Like all men, he wanted a wife, yearned for one. It was their duty to marry and have children, to carry on the family name and the Draig culture.
    If Mirek was honest with himself, he would admit he wanted more than to carry on the family line. He wanted th e entire experience of having a woman. Sex he’d had, but it had been meaningless physical exertions with offworld travelers. He wanted more. He wanted a woman that would wake up beside him, whisper his name, laugh with him, honor him with sons, grace him with smiles and soft touches and…
    Mirek frowned, not allowing his thoughts to drift to such things. The gods had not blessed him. Nor had they blessed his brothers. It was a dark shadow that hung over his family’s honor. It was quite possible his family line would end with his generation.
    For his eldest brother , Bron, this year marked his seventh attempt at finding a bride. Undoubtedly, the High Duke would be in a vile mood during the festivities. The second oldest, Alek, faced his fifth attempt. That left