Free The Reluctant Lord (Dragon Lords) by Michelle M. Pillow Page B

every gesture planned. She was elegance and grace and he desperately wanted wild and passionate. He wanted her to yell if she felt like yelling. He wanted her to smile if she was happy, laugh if she was so inclined. He wanted passion not perfection.
    “Are you coming out?” he asked. By the way she was seated on the bed he guessed she’d been dressed for some time. Vlad watched her face. Was she scared? Excited? Bored? He couldn’t tell. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
    “I was waiting for my summons.” Again, she didn’t move to stand.
    “They’re waiting for you to come break the crystal.” Vlad moved so he could help her to her feet. However, when he reached to take her arm, she lifted a fist into the air with her elbow bent. It took some hesitant gestures, but he finally realized she wanted him to hook her arm with his. Her hand did not touch him as he pulled her to standing. He felt the weight of the gown as he drew her fully to her feet. If he had his guess, he would say it weighed more than the ancient iron armor his people had used for battle in the centuries before centuries.
    Clara artfully untwined her arm from his without letting her fingers touch him. The gown’s skirt, by its very large nature, kept him from getting too close to her. She placed her elbows on the sides of the skirt, bent and rested on the frame. Her hands hung forward, limp. “I am ready.”
    Vlad wanted to ask about her composed demeanor but refrained. The two men awaited them outside and he was most eager to finish the ceremony to make her his wife. He led the way out of the tent, pausing only to hold open the tent flaps for her so she could maneuver herself under them. At her appearance, Bochman stiffened. The corner of the king’s mouth twitched ever so slightly before he caught himself.
    “King Llyr, Elder Bochman, may I present Lady Clara of Redding.”
    “Lady Clara of the Redding,” she corrected quietly.
    “Lady Clara of the Redding,” Vlad repeated. She nodded once.
    “Proceed,” the king instructed.
    Vlad slipped the glowing crystal from around his neck and presented it to Clara. Instead of taking it from him, she stepped back and lifted her arms to the side. She bowed her head, turning her eyes briefly to the ground indicating he should drop it into the dirt. He hesitated before letting it fall to the earth. He’d worn it for so long that his neck felt bare without its gentle weight.
    She hardly looked the stone. Vlad sighed in slight irritation. Why was she acting so cold and distant? He’d thought their time together in the marriage tent had gone really well. He wanted to touch her, kiss her. Only, the large skirt would hardly let him crush her against his body. The stiff frame seemed constructed of metal underneath to give it shape.
    Keeping her hands held out to her sides, she stepped forward. The crystal disappeared beneath the thick material. The skirt swung as she moved her leg beneath it. Suddenly, she blinked and swayed slightly before catching herself. She took a deep breath. Then, without speaking, she stepped back to reveal the broken stone. It had shattered like clear, thin porcelain.
    The elder said, as was customary, “Welcome to the family of Draig, Lady Clara of the Redding.”
    She nodded once, not meeting the man’s direct gaze.
    “Welcome, my lady,” the king said. “I hope you will enjoy your new home.”
    Again, she nodded without looking directly at the king’s face. “My family will need to be told of the ceremony’s completion. They will want to know I am officially married.”
    “I will send a man to the communications tower to transmit the happy news to your people’s ship,” Elder Bochman said. The king nodded in agreement that it should be done.
    Vlad smiled at the men and quickly thanked them for meeting them away from the ceremony grounds. As the two dragon shifters disappeared down the side of the hill, he turned to Clara. “Welcome to your new home world, wife. May