The Impatient Lord by Michelle M. Pillow

your money for you. In fact, I was working on it when you came for me. That little planet you picked me up on, you saw it, you know the kind of primitives they have there. Well, they also have an ore that’s worth a fortune.”
    Still, no answer.
    “I was going to get you jewels,” she whispered, thinking of the royal crowns. She should have taken them. At the time, she hadn’t wanted to be that kind of thief, but in light of her painfully real alternative, she was quickly changing her mind. Tears threatened her eyes and she hated the weakness of them. Her voice barely sounded as she added, “I had a way to get a reward. I was going to save them from…”
    Still, nothing.
    She hit her hand hard against the door. “Blast it, Range! Let me out of here. I told you I can get you your money. All I need is a little bit of time. I had the angle all worked out.” She thought of the crazy man who called her his wife. No part of her liked what she was doing, but she had little choice. If not only to save herself, Riona thought of her sister. Aeron would not last in such a primitive place. Her sister wasn’t built for adventure. She’d seen the Galaxy Brides ship leave. She’d seen that possessive man carry Aeron off. “Range, I have a mark. He doesn’t suspect a thing. In fact, he thinks I’m marrying him. I’ll have your credits for you in no time.”
    The longer silence persisted, the more worried she became. There was no telling where she was. The room was small. Surely that meant she was on a ship somewhere. When she closed her eyes, she felt the room move and her weak body sway. Those tiny vibrations could only mean one thing. Turbulent space travel. Right?
    “ Range?” Her voice lost some of its bravado. Tired, she leaned into the door, pressing her forehead against her wrist. “By the bounty of Jareth, I swear this guy is an easy mark. I’ll have enough Galaxa-promethium to pay you back twice over. Galaxa-promethium , Range, that’s the ore for long-distance space travel. It’s like liquid currency. Everyone will accept it. Now let me out of here so we can negotiate the interest rate…”
    Riona ’s words trailed off as she detected movement. Feet were outside the door. She lifted her head as it slid open to keep from falling.
    “ It’s about time,” she said with a boldness she didn’t feel. “Now how about giving a girl some…”
    It wasn ’t Range. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest. The half-naked husband from the Breeding Festival stood before her. He was the very last person she expected to see.
    “ Clothes,” she finished weakly. “You’re not…”
    “ Range?” the man supplied coldly.
    “ Naked,” she whispered, confused.
    Though he was fully dressed, she remembered what he’d looked like in a pair of snug pants at the festival grounds. He’d been bare-chested then. Now, he wore an immaculately tailored, loose-fitting shirt that hung over his tight pants. A tiny, symmetrical pattern had been embroidered around the bottom hem of the shirt. It was vastly different than the savage garb of the wedding event. Like this, he appeared refined. How was it she’d dismissed him as some crazy barbarian before?
    Conf used, she glanced behind him. It wasn’t a ship. In fact, it appeared as if she was in someone’s home. This man’s most likely. The place was lavish, all smooth stone walls and floors with thick rugs and wooden furniture. The oversized décor fit nicely into the spacious abode. A banner of a dragon standard hung on the wall. Its predominant placement gave away its importance. When she again looked at him, she saw his eyes shift and change with a golden hue. She knew the Draig men were dragon shifters. She’d seen him turn. The fact he had special abilities hardly scared her. She’d seen plenty of aliens, even if this one happened to be an incredibly sexy-crazy alien who made her heart beat a little faster. Already weak from whatever strange illness plagued her skin, she