Excerpts
Ryder cupped her arms, thumbs roaming
up and down her sleeves, seeking the supple flesh beneath. “What, exactly, are
you proposing, Sophie?”
Her eyelids lowered, black lashes
sweeping like fans along her cheeks, then her gaze snapped back to his. “I
suggest an affair of passion, my lord.”
Heat suffused his body and a loud
roar sounded in his ears. Ryder barely resisted the urge to rip her dress
completely away and take her right there, standing and held up only by his
body. “You wish to be my mistress?”
“No,” she said immediately. “That
implies you will take care of me. I don’t need that.”
He glanced around the room, silently
pointing out the lack of influence and appointments.
She shrugged. “I will not sell
myself, my lord. If I come to your bed, it will be for the pleasure we will
both experience and nothing else.”
Her tone, and her words if he were
honest, irritated the hell out of him. He gripped her arms a bit tighter and
pulled her close, crushing her breasts to his chest. “So, nothing but sex? Lust
only?”
“Yes. After all, what have I to lose?
Why should I not, if I wish it?”
“Hmm.” He released her, turned his
back and strode to the other side of the room where his whisky sat. Bloody
hell, another sip of that and he might combust, but he needed something at the
moment. He knocked back the final draught. And waited.
“Well?” she asked, voice high and
tight.
“Well, what?” Playing the ass didn’t
come naturally to him, but she provoked him on many levels. And he had a plan
swirling in his brain that he didn’t quite believe he was contemplating. He
wanted to push her boundaries even more than just ‘sex and pleasure.’ Needed
to.
“Are we agreed,” she faltered,
cleared her throat. “Are we agreed upon a sexual liaison, or not?”
Ryder swung around and speared her
with an intent glare. “Perhaps. With a few conditions.”
Her brow wrinkled in a frown. “Like
what?” she asked warily.
“You will obey my every command.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I want a bed
partner, not to be your servant.”
He chuckled, gliding next to her. He
cupped her chin. “Only in bed, Sophie. Obey me in the realm of pleasure, and I
will teach you things you never imagined. I will give you more pleasure than
you ever dreamed possible.”
“Sounds quite egotistical,” she
muttered, but he saw the interest flare in her eyes. “What sort of obedience
are you talking about?”
Some of his tension eased. “Remember
when I told you saucy girls get spankings?”
She inhaled sharply and her nipples
tented the threadbare material of her ripped bodice. She nodded.
“Say yes,” he ordered softly.
“Yes.”
He hid his pleasure at her instant
obeisance. “That is what I’m talking about. Plus, a few more, interesting
tidbits.” He ran his thumb over her bottom lip, slipping inside for a brief
moment. “I want to teach you to submit to me, Sophie. To find the pleasure in
denial, in discipline, in how pleasing me, will please you.”
He saw her struggling with it. Knew
she didn’t quite comprehend. “I have some books I can lend you that will help
you understand more of what I’m talking about. Suffice it now to say there is
an entire realm of love-making that goes beyond lying in the dark and having a
man slide his cock in and out of you ’til he comes.”
She started. “My lord!”
Ryder shrugged. “You object to my
language?”
“Well, no, you surprised me.” Her
cheeks were pink, eyes shining and wide.
“Would you like to hear more?”
“Yes,” she said.
Ryder dropped a soft kiss on her
lips. “I will show you what it’s like to obey and submit to me, in a small way
for now.”
Her jaw clenched for a second. “I
don’t particularly care for the phrase obey and submit.”
He shook his head. “You’ll learn soon
enough, what you care for matters very little.”
“Then why would I agree to such a
ridiculous bargain? What do I get out of this?”
Ryder winked. “I already told you.
Pleasure.”
She shook her head right back at him.
“I can pleasure myself, then, thank you very much.”
Now that caught his attention.
Instantly, he was captured by the thought of her masturbating. Of her long,
elegant fingers sliding in and out of her pussy, finding her clit and rubbing
it to an orgasm.
She smirked, obviously following his
line of thought.
With a quick motion, he pulled her
bodice back down, gripped her nipple and held it lightly then began increasing
pressure until her eyes went wide and she raised on tiptoe. “Can you give
yourself this kind of pleasure, Sophie?” He twisted the nipple, taking care not
to hurt her, just impart the burn he knew would send her pussy juices running
down her long legs.
“Ah, ah.” She inhaled and wriggled,
but never asked him to let go.
“Do you feel the difference between
my hands and yours?” He bent and nuzzled behind her ear, nipping at the
ultra-sensitive column of her neck. “Imagine me doing that all over. Imagine my
hands on your bottom, in your pussy. I can smell your arousal, Sophie. You’re
tempted.”
She groaned, one hand clutching his
shoulder. “Yes, damn you,” she whispered. “I am.”
___________________________________________________________________________________
Knight of the Mist
Excerpt
“You knew this would day come my lady.” The
big man’s voice held a hint of resignation. “Lord Calvin,” he spat the
monster’s name, “is going to make trouble over this, mark my words.
She shared a knowing glance with John. “Aye,
and I would rather marry this Norman stranger than be at that monster’s mercy.”
“Lady Stirling, your search has not been
completed. You must end it now.”
She held up her hand, silencing him. “Enough,
John. I need your support, not your lectures. Just because he comes, does not
mean my quest will end. I cannot just forget Father.” She turned her gaze away
from her captain. “God only knows what this man will be like. Do you know who
he is?”
The aging knight shook his head. “Only
that he had his pick of all of
She stiffened, both at the comment and
the sound of horses in the courtyard. “He chose the land, not the bride. Most
likely another fool who has heard the rumors of a golden treasure which does
not exist.”
Certainly the
“Come, John. We shall greet them
together.”
He held out his arm and they paced the
length of the great hall to the front entryway. The huge oak doors opened
slowly and a great cloud of dust, noise and armored men poured inside.
“Good eventide, sirs.” Though she spoke
French, she chose to address them in her native tongue. A childish display of
rebellion, but all she would allow herself, for now. “I am Lady Stirling of
Falcon Fire.” She cast a curious glance over them, searching for their leader. A
lean, blond-haired man stepped forward, a wide grin on his dust covered face. He
lifted her hand and placed a soft kiss against it.
“Bonjour,
demoiselle. I am Marcus Elonger, and have been sent here by King William.”
Was this her intended? This man with
laughing eyes and gentle demeanor? Mayhap she misjudged him and this forced
marriage would not be such a burden after all. “Welcome to my home, my lord. I
hope your journey was pleasant.”
“All the more so just to gaze upon your
beauty.” He winked and his smile broadened.
She knew her cheeks flamed as she tugged
at her hand, but he refused to let go.
“Aye, that is all well and good, I
suppose.” She tossed a pleading glance over her shoulder to John, who only
shrugged.
“You said that.”
“Enough, Marcus, free the wench so that
we may be about our business.”
“Of course, my lord.” Marcus winked
again and stepped away, chuckling as a tall knight stalked forward.
Awareness tingled over
“I will gladly appease your curiosity,
demoiselle, after we eat and drink.” His battle armor gray eyes raked her body
with a leisurely perusal, lingering at the rounded tops of her breasts.
Anger warred with unwelcome awareness. Mutinously
she met his glare. “I wondered what sort of knight had won this land. Now I see
William has given even his stable boy a boon!”
Laughter from the dark knight’s warriors
bounced off the stone walls. The side of his mouth quirked upward, though the
storm in his eyes did not calm. “You will call him King William. You are
She stiffened, the sting of his words
piercing her like a sharp blade. The arrogant man needed a lesson in manners.
“She is Lady Stirling,” John stepped
forward, voice filled with bullish insistence. “And her father was no traitor.”
The dark knight shrugged. “Matters not. I
am now lord of this keep, and as I have said, I require food and drink.”
“And definitely a bath,”
His icy gray eyes pierced her, full lips
curling into a sensual snarl. “Aye and you will assist me.”
She blanched. ‘Twas not uncommon for the
lady of the house to bathe visiting lords, and in fact, was expected. But for a
maiden to do so was forbidden. She crossed her arms and raised her chin. “I
will not.”
He stalked toward her though no sound
came from his booted feet against the flagstone floor. Amazed at the control he
exerted over his powerful body, she offered no resistance when he tipped her
chin up to meet his gaze. “You will. Now.”
